Australia’s backroads abound with hidden gems. These quiet, less-known thoroughfares are where you can still find the great Aussie experience.

Nestled in our backyard, the popular Backroads Trail launched a new podcast last week sharing the stories of farmers, community members, artists and business owners.

The six-part series titled ‘The Backroads Trail Podcast’ explores the origins of the Backroads Trail, which includes 22 attractions covering Echuca-Moama, Womboota, Bunnaloo, Barham-Koondrook, Caldwell, Deniliquin and Mathoura. 

“In 2007, out at Caldwell, where Jo and I live, we were in our eighth year of drought,” said Don Hearn as he addressed the crowd at the launch.

“We had started to see people who had lived in the Caldwell Bunnaloo area for a long time start to make noises about leaving the area, moving into town because the drought was horrible.

“I suddenly realised we were losing a lot of the knowledge and history of the local area because people were about to move away.

“I said to my lovely wife Jo, what if we put the word out and start gathering some photos and some stories from the local residents and collect them all together in case no one is here in a couple of years.

“We got the word out, and I was overwhelmed by the number of photos and stories and the amount of history that was coming in, and then it just kind of snowballed.”

The idea started Don questioning the what-if possibilities of the project.

“What if all of a sudden, we had a critical mass of visitors coming through the area, then for those kids who grew up on farms… they could come back and help out at harvest or landmarking, and then value add something from the farm, create farm gate businesses.

“All of a sudden, we reverse the trend of people leaving our area and we create this extra layer and richness of different businesses in the area.”

A committee was formed, and five years later, the Backroads Trail was launched in 2012. A trail where visitors could travel to historic sites, read stories, share the history and buy produce directly from the farm gate.

The recording of the podcast was completed by Echuca-based copywriting agency The Splendid Word with collaboration by Radiant Media. Christy O’Brien of The Splendid Word conducted the interviews for the podcast and grew up on Caldwell property, Brigadoon. 

“It’s the stories behind the signposts that we really wanted to put out to the world,” said Christy.

“It was a labour of love. It took almost all of last year to do.

“I really loved doing it.

“I was really sad when I recorded the last episode because I wanted to keep going.

“I just want to say what a privilege it was, as someone who knew the area, but I got to know it so much better. I became to love it even more than I already did and be proud of the communities involved in that part of the world, because that’s what keeps them going. The communities and the people and the care and love for each other, and care and love for the place that they call home.”

The podcasts were made possible with funding from Murray River Council and you can find the podcast on Spotify and other platform providers.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 16 February 2023.