Bush advocate Pat rewarded

And now she's in a class of her own.

On Saturday night, Pat was named one of five Queensland Great Award recipients - the only female to make the prestigious list.

The awards, announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last Saturday, are part of the Queensland Week celebrations marking another year since the state became self-governing in 1859.

Driven and committed to the cause - whether health, education, water conservation, indigenous affairs or agribusiness - Pat is one of the true pioneering women of the bush.

The humble mother of four said receiving the award "meant a great deal".

Born and raised in Charleville, in the state's south-west, Pat relocated in her early 20s to pursue life with her husband, Mark, on a cattle station near Winton.

They continued to move around the countryside, owning 11 different properties "from up near Mount Isa right down to the desert country near Marion Downs".

They bought, fixed, sold and then moved on to their next adventure.

On the Queensland and Northern Territory border was "where life really got interesting", Pat recalled.

"We had no running water or sinks or anything. Everybody was doing it tough, too, so it didn't matter.

"We were happy and when you're madly in love, you do all sorts of things, don't you?" she laughed.

"We've had an interesting life - we really filled up our years, I can tell you."

It was her life experiences in these areas that drove Pat to lobby for improved services in the bush.

She's been heavily involved with a number of community organisations and industry bodies, including the Women's Council for Rural and Regional Areas, Landcare Council, Cattle Council of Australia and the National Health Council.

One of her biggest achievements, she said, was during her time working for the Cattlemen's Union, where she played an active role in establishing the live cattle trade into Indonesia and the Philippines.

"As I travelled around the Gulf country, it became very evident to me there was a golden opportunity to assist northern graziers to be on an equal footing with their southern counterparts," Pat said.

"It was also a great thing for people of the north Pacific, who need protein.

"They have surplus labour and fodder there, so to me it was a win-win situation."

Her experiences living on isolated cattle stations - including often calling upon the Royal Flying Doctor Service for an injured stockman or a sick child - inspired Pat's passion for improving remote health services.

"It brought home to me that some services were fairly inequitable.

"Even when we got to Mount Isa, they didn't have the facilities they have now," she said, recalling when she and Mark moved to the regional centre 20 years ago.

Here, she was instrumental in ensuring a future in remote health.

Alongside Dr Dennis Pashen on the National Health Council, she helped found what is now known as the Centre for Rural and Remote Health in Mount Isa.

The centre meant that students "could stay with their families and we didn't lose them to the coast".

"Prior to that, they all had to go to Townsville or Brisbane, and many of them never returned," Pat said.

"Allowing them to stay here and work in their community means we've retained many of those nurses and doctors."

Her strong desire for equality on all levels extended to social justice, including her unwavering support for indigenous families in rural and remote communities.

"I was trying to achieve equality wherever I possibly could for all people."

Pat is now retired and lives with her husband on a property near Mount Isa.

She still does "a bit of church work and environmental work", but said she was happy to be in the background.

"It's family time now as we get older.

"I've been most blessed to have a family who all love one another - I think I'm a very lucky woman."