“We’ve found our strength”
Women are carrying their heels as they hobble across stony ground. A cold, spiteful wind is blowing dust high in the air and tossing fascinators, hats and synthetic wigs asunder. The horses flying around the track are lost in clouds of that insistent red dust. Under a pale blue desert sky, the legendary Birdsville Races are reaching critical mass.
Through the excitement, the noise, the swirling dirt walks Nell Brook: tall and straight backed, with patrician bearing; her bobbed hair somehow remaining immaculate; warmly greeting everyone she meets, from the punters in varying states of disarray in the stands to the gussied-up graziers in the VIP tent. A touch on the arm, a genuine inquiry into their wellbeing, she moves through the crowd with gracious, practised ease.
Nell and David Brook have been presiding over the Birdsville Races, in executive capacity, for the entire 45 years of their marriage. Their six properties, spread across close to five million hectares, make them the biggest organic beef producers in the world, and among the most influential cattle people in the outback. The 8000 travellers who have spent days and weeks driving and camping to be here for the races have passed through their land for much of the way.
The Brooks are known for their hospitality, especially at this time of year. As the
