It’s a sunny morning at Athelle Homestead and a group of kids, aged one to 10, are excitedly playing shop in the shade. They pretend to serve hot coffee and dunk make-believe bikkies into cups of tea. Their smiles are wide and giggles contagious.
This could be an average morning in any playgroup, except it’s not. It’s a rare occasion and a muchneeded moment of connection. The last time this playgroup was held was seven months previously. The facilitator, Kylie Jones from RAISEducation, has driven seven hours to be here, and a number of families couldn’t make it because a fire in the region needed fighting. This is the reality of living in the bush: Fires, floods and far-reaching distances.
Athelle Homestead, at Anmatjere in the Central Desert Region of the Northern Territory, is located at the end of a corrugated, red-dirt road. The nearest major supermarkets and schools are a two-hour trek away in Alice Springs (Mparntwe). Further still is the closest capital city, Darwin (Garramilla), a 13-hour drive north.
“We can go weeks without seeing people,” says Athelle owner Danyelle Haigh, who lives on the 2000-hectare property with her husband, Anthony, and their sons, Heath, nine, and Theo, four. “It’s hard for the boys because they don’t get to see other kids – or a teacher – all the time.”
Heath and Theo don’t have classmates to
