Meet Carol Mudford, cover star of our new issue

CAROL MUDFORD WANTS TO GET SHEARERS TALKING

In Issue 45, cover star and shearer Carol Mudford tells us why she traded her nursing career for life in the sheds. “It was only supposed to be for a few weeks,” says Carol, who was caring for her terminally ill father when she started work as a rouseabout for her cousin, a shearing contractor based out of Dubbo, New South Wales. “But one day I asked if I could shear a sheep, just for a bit of fun. I then shore a few more, and I was hooked.”

Carol’s path took another turn when she heard news of three shearers who’d lost their lives to suicide. It was the beginning of Carol’s organisation, sHedway, which has been creating real change in the woolshed — and has just seen Carol named the NSW/ACT winner of the 2025 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

“We all know that if we turn up to work on Monday morning with a dirty gear pot full of rusty combs and blunt cutters, we’re going to have a pretty horrid day… And that’s the same for our mental health. We need to make our mental health a priority.” — Carol Mudford

THE WOMEN REVIVING KANGAROO ISLAND’S WOOL INDUSTRY

Like Carol, Deb Lehmann and Sophie Clarke of Kangaroo Island have overcome tragedy with a determination to do things differently. The two women — one a veterinarian, the other a business executive — speak to journalist Robin McConchie about the devastating bushfires of 2020 and what they have done to help the island’s woolgrowers reclaim their livelihoods. 

“Many sheep that didn’t need to be put down were destroyed, breaking my heart… Those people thought they were doing a good job. They thought they were helping the farmers, but they left them with nothing.” — Deb Lehmann

A FINE FLOCK, OUTBACK BLOOMS AND LIVING WITH DROUGHT

Maggie MacKellar drops in to Kinlet Farm, where pioneering breeder Holly Young is working with rare blacknose sheep. Mel Hammat of Bundaleer Flower Farm shares her tricks for growing blooms in outback South Australia, where the ground is rock-hard and the climate is punishing, and a farmer on the south-west Victorian coast documents the hope and heartbreak of drought on the family property.

“When I was newly married, my grandmother, bless her, asked me whether I resented the farm at all, and at the time I laughed and said, “No, Nan! Of course not; it’s a wonderful life.” But now I know what she meant.” – Edwina Moutray

A WOOLLY WEDDING, WINTER GARDENING AND THE BEST BERRY JAM

Finally, in lighter reads, a bride shares the details of her special day, which celebrated the coming together of two families with generational ties to the wool industry. Her dress – made of pure wool – is stunning. Plus, Claire Austin shares her gardening plans for the season ahead, printmaker Bridget Farmer welcomes us to her sunny studio in central Victoria, and Jane Smith (aka The Shady Baker) talks show tips with a CWA cookery judge (and shares a recipe for berry jam that will forever change your approach).

“It was important to us that wool had a presence at our wedding — a nod to our heritage and the industry so central to our lives.” —Molly Noonan

You can pick up a copy of Issue 45 (June/July) online or at boutique stockists, newsagents, airports and selected Coles supermarkets across the country. Or subscribe for one, two or three years and you’ll receive an Antola Trading shirt (valued at $89.95).