RURAL LOVE: Ainsley fell in love with the French backpacker who came to work on her parents’ property

Ainsley met her first great love and now husband Arnaud while he was working on her family’s sheep station. It was a union that would lead her to her second great love — baking traditional French pastries to make the French backpacker feel at home in the middle of the Australian outback. 

The now 29-year-old grew up at Boullia station, a property located 280 kilometres north of Broken Hill, a frontier mining town in the far west of New South Wales. Her and Arnaud are the third generation to live and work on the farm. Her grandparents, Ron and Anne Young, purchased the property in 1981 and her parents, Rowan and Karen Young, bought it off them in 2001, when they decided to move back to South Australia to retire. 

“Growing up there was an adventure,” says Ainsley. “I was homeschooled through School of the Air and after school I would be out with the animals.” 

“I always loved animals and we always had poddy goats, poddy lambs, chickens, sleepy lizards, you name it. It was a beautiful childhood and something I hope I get to experience from the other side as a parent.” 

“I always loved animals and we always had poddy goats, poddy lambs, chickens, sleepy lizards, you name it. It was a beautiful childhood and something I hope I get to experience from the other side as a parent.” 

After high school, Ainsley moved to Adelaide and started working as a makeup consultant for The Body Shop. In 2014, during her second year in the job, Ainsley found herself feeling a bit lost and crying on the phone to her mother, who suggested she come home for a visit.

“She said ‘Your father’s just hired this delicious French backpacker and you should come home and meet him’,” she remembers with a smile. 

So, Ainsley packed up her car and headed home for the weekend. After a few brief, shy meetings in the woolshed, 19-year-old Ainsley and 23-year-old Arnaud began getting to know each other over text when she returned to Adelaide. 

Around 10 months later, when Ainsley decided to move home permanently, the pair started going to friends’ parties and to the pub together. They became closer and closer but remained hesitant as they knew any future between them could be short-lived. 

“We both knew we were attracted to each other and we wanted to pursue it but at the same time I knew his visa was ending and he knew his visa was ending and it was a bit like do we really want to go down this path?” 

Spoiler alert — they went down that path. 

When Arnaud’s visa was up, Ainsley accompanied him back to France so they could continue to be together and eventually apply for a partner visa. 

“I didn’t speak French and his family didn’t speak any English and we’d only been together about three or four months,” she explains. “But his family was so beautiful and welcoming.” 

They lived with Arnaud’s family for about three months and then moved to London so they could both find work. When they arrived back in Australia 12 months later, Arnaud was able to get a two-year sponsored partner visa. They returned to the family property where they moved into another house on the property and began to fix it up together. 

Arnaud wasn’t able to return to France to visit his family for two years as a part of the conditions of his visa, so Ainsley began baking French pastries to give him a little slice of home in the Australian outback. Later, she started taking photos of the pastries and that’s when the Station Pâtissière was born. 

“Photography’s always been a passion of mine ever since I was stealing my grandmother’s old film cameras and taking photos of lizards,” Ainsley explains.

“When we were in France, we’d seen all these beautiful patisseries and breads and croissants and I thought if I could try to replicate that it might help ease the homesickness. Then one thing led to another and now I have a home full of props.” 

“Photography’s always been a passion of mine ever since I was stealing my grandmother’s old film cameras and taking photos of lizards.” 

In April 2023, the pair tied the knot at Glen Ewin Estate in the Adelaide Hills. Fourteen members of Arnaud’s family travelled to Adelaide from France for the wedding and the couple arranged for a family friend to translate the speeches for them. 

“They had an absolute ball and having the translator helped them feel like they were more part of the day.” 

After surviving the drought and the pandemic on the property, Ainsley and Arnaud are now prepared for anything and are looking forward to building their future together in the outback community. 

“There’s always something going on in the district and it’s a very close community. We meet people for lunch at the pub and get together at gymkhanas and rodeos. We’re very, very blessed.” 

To find out more about Ainsley’s baking and photography adventures, visit her website or follow her on Instagram or Facebook. 

Do you have a unique Rural Love story? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at hello@graziher.com.au 

Subscribe to Graziher and never miss an issue of your favourite magazine! Already a subscriber? You can gift a subscription to someone special in your life. 

To hear more extraordinary stories about women living in rural and regional Australia, listen to our podcast Life on the Land on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.