Judith Bensley

Judith met me on her four wheeler at the farm gate of her Nerriga road property, just ten kilometers out of historic Braidwood, the day I came to photograph her last year. At this time the area was in desperate need of rain, and still is, having endured a bitter winter with no feed for the stock on the sheep farm. Still, Judith presented to me as if nothing was too difficult to handle; a very capable lady who lives alone on the farm still, and is right now busy with lambing season. We are on the verge of drought here, but at the age of 87 Judith is no stranger to these tough conditions, having spent her life on the land.

"Be kind to people"

on her four wheeler at the farm gate of her Nerriga road property, just ten kilometres out of historic Braidwood, the day I came to photograph her last year. At this time the area was in desperate need of rain, and still is, having endured a bitter winter with no feed for the stock on the sheep farm. Still, Judith presented to me as if nothing was too difficult to handle; a very capable lady who lives alone on the farm still, and is right now busy with lambing season. We are on the verge of drought here, but at the age of 87 Judith is no stranger to these tough conditions, having spent her life on the land.

Judith grew up at Thuddungra near Young before moving with her family to "Spring Grove" at Braidwood in the early 1950s. She recalled to me this time being prosperous in Australia, though her family's wheat and sheep farm never made any money and life was often hard. Judith met her husband Alex on the farm; their families lived only three miles apart. They married in Braidwood in 1954 and lived together in the cottage on the family property "Milgadara" until Alex's passing five years ago. They have three children, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Judith's son told me recently "I remember lots of times as a kid when they were short of money or in drought, we ate a lot of rabbits. You don't realise how hard your parents had it for a long time."