Motherland is connecting rural mums around the country, helping them to find their village and support their mental health.
For most of her twenties, Sydney-born Stephanie Trethewey was a TV reporter, busy chasing stories (and often criminals) around the country for shows including A Current Affair.
It was on a slow news day in 2013 while working in Central Queensland that the trajectory of her life changed forever, when she interviewed her future husband Sam for the six o’clock news.
Sam is a third-generation Tasmanian farmer who was a guest speaker at an event in Rockhampton. Fast forward over a decade, and the pair now live on a beef property in northern Tasmania with their two children, five-year-old Elliot and three-year-old Evie.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be swapping my dresses and stilettos for farm gear,” says Stephanie.
Opening image: Steph and her family. Image: Ness Vanderburgh
Stephanie Trethewey. Image: supplied.
A new life
In 2019, Steph and Sam left their city lives to move back to Sam’s home state. It was a baptism of fire for Steph to say the least. They moved when their firstborn was six months old, and overnight, Steph lost her village.
“I had no family or friends here, I didn’t have access to a mother’s group, and felt so isolated and alone; I honestly thought I’d made a huge mistake,” says Stephanie.
For Steph, her darkest time navigating postnatal depression and loneliness on the land became her source of her greatest inspiration. She created Motherland, which she proudly calls her ‘third baby’.
Motherland is a national charity that supports rural mothers across Australia, and is on a mission to reduce isolation and improve mental health outcomes for women on the land. It started as a podcast from Steph’s kitchen table, where she still records and edits the show. Every week, Motherland shares real, raw and unbelievable stories of motherhood told by women on the land, with the podcast recently clocking one million downloads.
The Motherland National Conference. Image: supplied.
How Motherland began
In 2021, while struggling with her mental health again after welcoming her second child during the pandemic, Steph created Motherland Village, Australia’s first online rural mother’s group program which connects rural mums with children aged all the way up to 18 to their own personalised support group through a six-week program.
“Over 50 per cent of rural mums don’t have access to a mother’s group, and over 80% per cent say feeling lonely or isolated is the hardest part of rural motherhood,” Stephanie says.
Today, Motherland is proudly supported by a team of eight rural mums based around the country who work incredibly hard to deliver support for rural mothers. In March this year, the charity held its inaugural national conference, a sold out event that saw 250 rural mums from across the country descend on Tasmania. And just recently, Motherland launched Motherland Connect, Australia’s first online digital resource hub, connecting rural mums to services that support their mental and physical wellbeing. The charity also launched a scholarship fund, enabling rural mums struggling financially to access its program for free.
Stephanie was named the 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania for her work creating Motherland, and while she and her team have barely taken a breath this year, there are no signs of the innovative charity slowing down anytime soon.
“We are just getting started. Rural mums are the backbone of our farming communities, and Motherland is committed to doing everything we can to support them.”
Visit Motherland Australia here.
For more on amazing Aussies making the world a better place, check out our Charity stories.