"Maybe we needed this to work out how much we love this place".
A year on from the hypothermic monsoon that froze more than three-quarters of their herd, Winton's Tahnee and Ross Oakhill finally feel they are picking up the pieces of their lives.
Along the way there's been plenty of soul searching, feelings of helplessness, and tears, interspersed with the random acts of kindness that meant the world to them.
The rain started not long after Ms Oakhill arrived home at Bernfels Station with the couple's children after the first week of school in Winton, fortuitously with a load of groceries on board as well.
A mate had called in for drinks and so was caught for the duration of the rain event.
"It was desperate times by the end - three adults and two children in the house for days - the dryer was my saving grace," Ms Oakhill said.
The party atmosphere ended when a neighbour rang to warn them of what he'd seen when he hired a chopper to fly over his country.
"The blood just drained from our faces," Ms Oakhill recalled. "We went for a drive along the highway and it was a very quiet camp after that."
The year that followed seems to have gone quickly in her mind, filled firstly with a kind of numbness as they struggled through the grieving period, and then with the things they needed to action to try and repair their business and their lives.
"Getting the kids into school, getting money together - there was lots to do," she said. "It was good in a way after not being able to move for so long - we just hooked in so we didn't have to smell the cattle anymore."
Students from AB Paterson College on the Gold Coast helped repair kilometres of broken fencing, which meant 100 head of cattle on agistment could be brought back to the property owned by Ms Oakhill's in-laws.
Meanwhile, it was in their house in town by herself, once the children had returned to school, that Ms Oakhill finally broke down after being strong for her husband and children.
The couple also had the challenge of an off-property income and not being the owners of the property they were living on, when they went to talk to QRIDA about financial assistance.
"It was because of the drought we'd gone out to earn a second income, to feed the cattle herd we'd built up," Ms Oakhill said.
"We weren't considered a primary producer on paper.
"We'd taken out a loan when we were younger to start a herd and we'd had to sell a lot.
"We had just built our numbers back up when we lost them all."
While she said QRIDA had been very helpful, assisting with ways they could fit the funding criteria, Ms Oakhill said she and her husband spent a lot of time questioning whether they should forget trying to own a herd and just stick with management.
"But the whole point of the first loan was to keep young people on the land - I said we have to hang on and fight for this," Ms Oakhill said.
Eventually they were able to head down to a cattle sale at Blackall - ironically one that took place after a downpour of rain, meaning they had to haul their mudboots back out - and buy around 80 cows to start again with.
"That was like winning Lotto for my husband, and it was a huge weight off my chest too," Ms Oakhill said.
Part of the reason they hadn't restocked earlier was because the topsoil on Bernfels had been washed away and grass hadn't responded well.
"We thought we would let it spell for a bit.
"It was really, really hard - people were coming in off the highway, knocking on the door (for agistment)."
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Ms Oakhill was able to bring in some money, and save her sanity, thanks to the filming of television drama Total Control in Winton, for which she became a production runner, after working for the Way Out West festival.
As for the couple's children, they seem to have processed the event with help from their parents, teachers and community.
"The oldest is really proud of his Dad, the teachers say he talks about what he had to do," Ms Oakhill said.
"This is life. We were sorry they had to see it but it shows them it won't break you.
"There's always something you can do to get through each day."
And as for their community, they are pretty proud of the people who live in Winton.
They didn't want to answer their phone for a while after the event but business owners just showed up in their boots asking what they could do, and others dropped off food.
"Help has kept on coming, right up to Christmas," Ms Oakhill said. "I think we all feel more connected now."
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
