Three new characters arrived on our screens (and in Martha’s face) this week. First, grumpy old Bruce Campbell showed up at Jack and Martha’s picnic and promptly fired off a round (literally). Then Annie and Geoff, Bruce’s grandchildren, had the hide to wake Martha up after she’d spent the night in their barn. Yep, it was just another typical 24 hours in the life of Jack and Martha. But enough about them…
The Campbells are an interesting addition to the Summer Bay community. They’re not from the Yabby Creek, they’re not from the coast and they’re not from (Gasp! Horror!) the city.
The Campbells are from the country. A small family unit trying to make ends meet living on a farm.
Chris Haywood plays Bruce. You might have seen him before on any one of the many TV shows he’s worked on (such as All Saints) or one of the eighty or so feature films he’s made (including Breaker Morant with Ray Meagher). Chris tells us that the Campbells have been working on the land for generations.
“They’ve been on this property since the 1800’s but you don’t see them around Summer Bay because they’re tied up with the farm, that’s the reason they haven’t been there before,” says Chris.
That and the family patriarch is just a little bit of a nutter.
“Bruce is not a modern-thinking man, he’s a religious zealot and he’s quite narrow in the way he approaches life.”
Behind all the bluster, though, Bruce just wants to keep his family and their way of life together. But even before a certain Acting-Principal came sniffing around for truant school kids, Bruce was already losing his grip on his wishes.
“I reckon the farm is too small to be economically viable in the modern world which is why the problems are there,” says Chris. “Probably the drought has affected them a bit, but I think it’s more about the viability of the size of the thing in the modern world of farming and the old man hasn’t really bitten the bullet and either sold up or bought up more. Now I think he’s a bit lost in the sense of he’s trying to keep the whole thing going and to keep his grandchildren happy.”
Ask any farmer and they’ll tell you farmin’ aint easy. With the drought still going and the general decline of small farms, a family of three can find it tough to get by. Especially when two of those three are still teenagers.
Annie particularly, and Geoff somewhat quietly, both like what they’ve seen in the Bay. It’s a whole new world to them. When they start to hear that they could and should be going to the local high school, it excites them (even if Geoff is too staunch to admit it).
“Since there’s been this connection to the possibility of going to school, it’s taken their minds off what they’re supposed to be doing at the farm and it’s having a very detrimental impact on Bruce’s life because things aren’t getting done. They’ve got a life that’s built around the farm and the church, so this sudden connection to the school has been incredibly distuputive on life back at the farm.”
It’s a situation that many families have gone and are going through. The parents (or grandparents) wish for a certain kind of future (and present) for their children that, as the kids grow older and become more experienced, lines up less and less with what the children want for themselves.
While many a child has happily carried on the family business or stayed in or near the family home, so have plenty of kids wanted something different to their parents’ ideas for the future.
Do you live on a farm or in the country? Write to us and tell us about your experiences (homeandaway@seven.com.au).
Elena: (Tamworth) Life on the farm is one of the hardest jobs around especially if your parents own two farms, one an one hours drive behind Tamworth and a huge one out in Bourke (Weston Australia).
Life is tough but I still love it, looking after the farm animals, riding motorbikes and riding horses, but there are lots of problems now because of the drought and out here we haven't had enough rain like Sydney and Wollongong. The crops are dying, you have to check if there's enough water in the dam for the cattle, sheep and horses and we had to sell all our pigs because the conditions are hard. Most of the animals are dying from no food so you have to buy hay for the animals which is costing our family heaps of money for all the animals to get fed each day. But the life on the farm is the best thing possible to life on because you can plan your own day and not get bossed around.
Animals are one of the nicest people to work with especially with the cattle dogs and riding horses moving most of the animals to one packdock to the next. Life is sure fun working on the farm.
Michelle: I've lived on a working property all my life, and no, its nothing like mcleods daughters. We have cattle, sheep and horses, and the working dogs. Every day horses need to be worked, animals need to be fed, checking water troughs and dams. Life on a property is an amazing life, with lots of ups and downs. The dought is our biggest worry at the moment, but we try to stay positive and work with what we've got. We have a horse training business, the money from that helps feed the animals. we supply our own meat, veggies and most fruit. we make our own bread and milk the dairy cow for milk/butter/dairy products. It may sound like a hard life, and trust me its not easy, but is what i've been brought up doing and it's what i love. i wouldn't trade it for anything!!!!
Sarah: I've lived on the land my entire life and wouldn't change a thing, I love it. Having lots of animals means responsibilites and that's what makes living on a farm fun.
It's also heaps of fun when you get to raise a little calf or lamb yourself because it's unfortunatly lost its mother. To see them grow because of your TLC is amazing.
If you've never been to a farm, i recommend you go, it's lots of fun, and there's heaps of things to do.
Melissa: Answering to that question about if anyone lives on a farm or in the
countryside, yes, I live on a farm in Brisbane. It's more of a fruit and veg
farm, although we have some poultry chooks. Figs, strawberries and
silverbeet are our main crops but we also have small quantities of tomatoes,
raddicho (an Italian, bitter, purple lettuce) and cumquats. We also have
three motorbikes, a 250yz, a PeeWee 50 and a 250 quad, which are lots of
fun! That's an insight into my life on a farm, I know that I love it!
