On paper, the job looked simple: help rebuild a set of damaged, 50-year-old cattle yards. But when two Outback Links volunteers, Lester and Wendy, arrived at David and Janette’s property in Queensland, they found nothing about life on a farm is ever quite that straightforward.
Running a property alone
It’s just David out there most days, since Janette’s work keeps her away from the property. The operation spans several paddocks, and getting between them can mean a half-hour drive on its own.
A year earlier, that isolation had nearly cost David his life. He came off his horse with a foot caught in the stirrup and was dragged across the paddock. With no one else around, he crawled all the way back to the homestead to reach Janette. He was airlifted to hospital and spent three weeks in intensive care, unable to work for months afterwards. He’s still restricted in what he can physically manage on the property, which makes it hard to ever get ahead on the bigger jobs.
Rebuilding the yards alone simply wasn’t realistic, so David asked for a hand.
Side by side, through thick and thin
Lester and Wendy, both seasoned Outback Links volunteers, turned up ready to get stuck in, tools packed and no time wasted.
For three weeks, Lester handled the welding while David dug post holes and set the rails, squeezing the work in around managing his own cattle. It was a genuine two-person effort, each doing what the other couldn’t easily do alone.
“David was more than capable of doing this work, but when would he find the time? It would’ve taken more than 40 days of continuous effort,” says Lester.
According to Lester, working side by side like that opens up space to talk, really talk, about the things that matter.
“You laugh with them, you cry with them and you work beside them. I love it.”
Wendy adds, “We talked for hours on the verandah over meals.”
Building a new future
David hadn’t quite realised how much the help would mean to him.
Outback Links Coordinator Janine dropped by partway through the project and found David close to tears as he walked her through what they’d achieved so far.
David built the original yards with his father five decades ago, back when he was just a boy. Rebuilding them stirred up plenty of old memories. But working alongside Lester, someone who genuinely cared and understood what he was going through, turned the job into something more: a way of building toward whatever comes next.
David’s cattle yards are standing again because Outback Links volunteers like Lester and Wendy gave their time, and because of the generosity of our supporters. It’s this kind of quiet, practical support that helps farmers across the Outback keep going, one project at a time. Thank you.
This story first appeared in the August 2026 edition of Frontier News. Want more stories like this one delivered straight to you? Subscribe to Frontier News to stay informed.
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