On the 12th of March 1984, Meryl Freshwater first set foot in the Gyranda kitchen and now, 39 years on, she is still a permanent fixture of both the property, and it's daily operations.
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Home to the Gyranda Santa Gertrudis stud, the property is located 10 kilometres from the town of Cracow, and half-an-hour from Theodore.
Currently owned and run by Peter and Nikki Mahony, Meryl was originally hired by Nikki's parents, Burnett and Louise Joyce.
Hailing from the Kingaroy area, Meryl grew up on cattle properties before taking a job as a governess after completing high school, which took her to stations at Alpha, Augathella, and her final posting at Mt Isa, where she first worked in a kitchen.
"When I was at Mt Isa, teaching the children there, I thought I would try to cook a little bit on the weekends," she said.
"At that station the men were fed seven days a week, even if they didn't work on the weekends.
"The funny thing was, I made more cooking for a weekend than I did for a week of governessing.
"My friend and I wanted to go overseas and I thought cooking would pay more money, so I thought I would get a job as a cook."
Meryl never did make it on that overseas holiday, but thanks to fortuitous timing and two ads published in the Queensland Country Life, she instead found a job, and a home, at Gyranda.
"I had put an ad in the country life advertising that I wanted a cooking job and Louise had an ad in the paper at the same time looking for a cook, so I rang her up and they offered me a trial," she said.
"So that's how I ended up here, and I've been here ever since."
Pulling out a photo album, Meryl explains how Burnett and Louise had helped her make a home at Gyranda - among other things, building a fence around her cottage so that she could expand upon her love of gardening.
Watching her make her way around the kitchen, it is clear that she knows every cupboard and drawer like the back of her hand, however Meryl says she wasn't always a whiz in the kitchen.
"I didn't really know a lot about cooking when I first started, I'd only done a little bit," she said.
"My mum was quite a good cook so she taught me bits and pieces.
"Louise thought I'd been cooking for a long time and told me that I was doing so well, but I was just faking it really."
Meryl says that her chocolate cake is a crowd favourite, particularly with Nikki and Peter's four children and their friends who return home to the property for school and university holidays, with her crumbed steak also being highly requested.
"I would have made that chocolate cake at least once or twice a week for the past 39 years, I suppose," she said.
When asked what her signature dish would have to be, Meryl said that she was quite proficient at making pavlovas, and had made them as the main dessert at two of the Joyce childrens' weddings.
Over the years, many visitors have enjoyed Meryl's meals at the Gyranda table, including the 40 to 70 people who visit the property each year for the family's annual bull sale.
She recalled a visit from the crew behind children's television show, Channel 7's Wombat and Rewind, which ran in the 1980's, who came to film a group of kids who were the winners of an essay competition.
During her time at Gyranda, Meryl said she has witnessed numerous droughts and fires, as well as experiencing a number of changes on both the property, and in the local community.
While home-grown beef and vegetables are a staple of the household, the Theodore IGA is the closest supermarket for all other ingredients and pantry staples.
Now just an email and quick delivery away, Meryl said she used to ring orders into the grocery store, which has also changed several times, and wait for the goods to arrive with the mail the following day.
You know it's meal time at Gyranda when the cowbell rings, and in a matter of minutes a procession of workers and family members comes through the door, exclaiming their excitement at the day's offerings.
"Jaffa slice, how good!" the boys say as they take a peek at the slice tin cooling on the bench.
In a coffee table book written by Louise Joyce in 2017, Meryl was regarded by the family as "one of Australia's top cooks."
"She is well known by anyone who has visited and eaten a meal there," it read.
"Meryl has to be one of Australia's top cooks and fortunately for us, she has made her home at Gyranda."
Meryl says she will continue to call Gyranda home, even after she retires, having loved her almost-four decades working and living on the property.
