Australia’s community for rural mums
You’re not alone out here
in the trenches
Motherland is the village every rural mum needs as you navigate all stages of parenting in the country.
- 310+ podcast episodes
- 35,000+ rural mums in the community
- 520+ mums through the village
- Support in every state
Our mission
No rural mum left behind.
Motherland is a national charity supporting rural mothers across Australia by reducing isolation and improving mental health outcomes through our programs and services. We connect rural mums to the support, understanding, and village they need, no matter where they live.
Steph TretheweyFounder & CEO · 2024 Australian of the Year, Tasmania · 2022 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National WinnerExplore Motherland
Helping rural mums find their village, wherever they live.
Through stories, community, events and support, we create more ways for rural mums to connect and find their village, no matter where they live.
The Podcast
300+ honest conversations with women who've been exactly where you are.
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Motherland Village
Join Australia's first online mothers' group program and be matched into your own small, personalised support group.
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Private Chat Room
Our private Facebook group is the warmest corner of the internet - and there's a spot in it for you.
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Events
Community events and conferences, bringing rural mums together, face to face.
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Scholarship Fund
Connection shouldn't depend on what you can afford - apply for a fully funded place in one of our six-week programs.
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Motherland Connect
Australia's digital resource hub for rural mums - connecting you to services that support your mental, emotional and physical health.
→Our impact
Seven years of connection, support and community for rural mums
What started at our founder Steph’s kitchen table on her farm in 2019 has grown into Australia’s leading organisation for rural mothers.
Every day, we listen to, work alongside and support rural mothers across the country – creating connection, strengthening community and improving access to services and support, wherever they live.
The Motherland Podcast
Real stories from rural mums, so no one feels alone.
300+ episodes. 1.4M+ downloads. Every week another extraordinary rural mum shares her story.
Episode 316
Mum of Four & Fitness Entrepreneur Joy McClymont on Parenting Teens, Confidence & Perimenopause
Finding your place in a farming family isn't always easy, especially when you're raising children. Joy McClymont knows that feeling well. Joy lives on a sheep and cattle property west of Longreach, where she and her husband have raised four children. Before motherhood, Joy had travelled the world, competed in an Ironman World Championship and worked as a teacher. But moving onto her husband's family farm challenged her confidence. Between babies, distance education, drought and farm work, Joy built something of her own: Off the Track Training, an online fitness business supporting rural women. Almost 17 years later, with her eldest at university, three children at boarding school and the challenges of midlife, Joy is preparing to close that chapter. Today, Joy shares the highs and lows of raising four kids in outback Queensland, finding her place on the farm, navigating perimenopause and learning when to put herself first.
Listen to her story
Episode 315
Mum of Four Sara Grant on Life After Stillbirth, Infant Loss and Finding Hope Again
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and October 15 marks Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Sara Grant is a mum of four, but the rest of the world only sees her as a mum of two. Her first baby, Jesse, was stillborn after a devastating diagnosis at their 20-week scan. The following year, she welcomed her daughter Holley, and while living remotely in Mount Isa, found an important sense of connection through a local mothers’ group. Then in 2008, after an otherwise healthy pregnancy, her daughter Bo died just five hours after birth. Two years later, Sara and her husband welcomed their daughter Belle. Today, Holley is 20 and Belle is 16. Jesse and Bo remain very much part of their family. For the past six years, Sara has worked with Red Nose, supporting other bereaved parents, including families in rural Australia. Today, Sara shares her story of loss, grief, motherhood and finding her village. It’s heartbreaking, but it’s also full of hope.
Listen to her story
Episode 314
Nikita Hayes on Station Life, Raising Irish Twins & the Night Her Family Lost Everything
In June this year, Nikita Hayes was home with her two little boys when their house caught fire. They escaped, but within hours, almost everything they owned was gone. Just a few months on, she's speaking publicly in depth about what happened for the first time. But Nikita's story begins long before that, growing up on a sprawling cattle station outside Alice Springs, going droving, meeting her husband Luke and, just eight months later, being the one to propose… and trust me, where and how she did it is a story in itself! Then came motherhood and two little boys born just 11 months apart. In this episode, Nikita opens up for the first time about her experience with postnatal depression, raising Irish twins far from family support, the terrifying night they lost almost everything, and how her family is now picking up the pieces and starting again. This is her story.
Listen to her story
Episode 313
Kristie Bargenquast on Mothering on the Land Through a Life-Changing Disability
Kristie Bargenquast was pregnant with her son, Mitchell, when she went searching for answers about her own health. Everyday movements were becoming harder, and when Mitchell was just over a year old, Kristie was diagnosed with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic condition causing progressive muscle weakness. Suddenly, she was navigating new motherhood alongside a disability that was changing what her body could do. Today, Mitchell is 11 and has become her beautiful right-hand man, instinctively stepping in when she needs help. Living in Queensland's South Burnett, Kristie also struggled to find work that could accommodate her declining mobility, so she created her own opportunity. Now running a thriving bookkeeping business from home, Kristie shares her fears for the future and the promising new treatment giving her fresh hope.
Listen to her story
Episode 312
Amie Penny Left Sydney With No Job & No Farming Experience - Now She Runs 1,200 Cattle
Amie Penny was born and raised in suburban Sydney and was building a promising career at Macquarie Bank when one weekend on a family farm near Cowra changed everything. Within a month, she'd quit her job and moved into a rundown farmhouse with no job, no real plan and no idea how to farm. It was there she met her husband Jason, but building the life they wanted would take almost 15 years, countless moves and plenty of sacrifice. Amie raised their two children largely without a village while Jason worked away, with their son Cooper attending six different primary schools as the family chased work around Queensland. Today, Amie runs around 1,200 Angus cattle across several properties near Gunnedah. On this episode of Motherland, she opens up about learning to farm from scratch, raising children without family support and why the life people now call "lucky" was anything but. This is her story.
Listen to her story
Episode 311
Fiona Bryant's Secret Fight to Become a Mum of Five - Plus Raising a Son with Diabetes
Fiona Bryant always knew she wanted to be a mum, she just didn't know how hard she'd have to fight for it. After a polycystic ovaries diagnosis, Fiona faced years of fertility treatment, multiple miscarriages and gruelling trips to IVF appointments, all while keeping much of her struggle private. Today, she and her husband Mark have five children and run a farm in central New South Wales. In this episode, Fiona reflects on raising her family, embracing her role as a stay-at-home mum, and supporting her teenage son through a diabetes diagnosis. Now, as her kids start leaving home, she's training to become a midwife... determined to bring better maternity care to rural women like herself. This is her story.
Listen to her storyMotherland Patron
Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
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No rural mum left behind.
Whether you're here to find connection, access support, or help us reach the next rural mum who needs us – there's a place for you at Motherland.