WOMEN OF THE LAND
Jane BLACKWOOD
“It’s a lifetime’s work”
Growing up in Brisbane, Jane Blackwood was an outdoorsy kid. “We rode bikes and horses and roamed the bush,” she says. “Our parents didn’t want to see us!” That’s how Jane’s passion for nature was ignited, and that passion has taken her to some of Australia’s most remote environments.
Today, Jane works as the manager of Cravens Peak, a 233,000-hectare Bush Heritage nature reserve on the remote Northern Territory-Queensland border. At the edge of the Simpson Desert, where summer temperatures nudge 50 degrees, Jane lives and works alone, repairing fences, managing feral animals, weeds and controlled fires. She plays a pivotal role in defending this desert habitat from the erosion and invasive species that plague the surrounding cattle properties. “It’s like caring for an ancient patient,” says Jane. “It’s work that will continue long after I’ve gone.” Largely unspoilt, Cravens Peak is home to one of the world’s richest reptile communities and boasts an extraordinary 500 million-year-old fossil record.
It’s a hard, lonely existence, but one that Jane relishes. “I’ve lived remotely for years. I like the independence, the spiritual and physical fulfilment,” says the 56-year-old, who began working in the outback when her son, Sam, was still at school. “Then I was a ranger and we travelled a lot. Sam’s
