Raising More Than Cattle: A Mother’s Legacy on the Land

CHRISTINE (Chrissy) RASMUSSEN | BRANGUS PARK, NEVERTIRE, NSW

From tin sheds to riverbanks, from horse saddles to cattle yards, Chrissy Rasmussen’s journey is one of motherhood, resilience, and a life deeply rooted in the land.

In celebration of Mother's Day, we caught up with Chrissy Rasmussen, a mother, horsewoman, and cattle farmer who shares her powerful story of life on the land, family legacy, and what motherhood means to her.

Chrissy’s story begins with her father, a young man who left city life in Sydney for the bush. "My farming life began with my father, a young man in Sydney who wanted to be anywhere but the city. He had worked in the accounts dept of AML&F, when he was sent to a tin shed at Garah and then onto Gloucester, which led to his stock & station business of 25 years, Corbett & Swatridge." From tin sheds in Garah to auction yards in Gloucester, he built a life from the ground up.

Her maternal great-grandfather owned a department store, Street & Parish in town, but insisted his son (Chrissy’s Grandfather) learned to work the land, setting the roots of the family farm down Bakers Creek. "Mum and Dad milked dairy cows on the 'Number Two' dairy when first married and my eldest sister was born." It was here Chrissy spent childhood days with her grandmother, milking cows, rearing poddy calves, and learning the gentleness and grit of farm life.

"Heaven on earth to me! I rolled on the ground with puppies, annoyed cats, chooks, poddy calves, the retired draught horse ‘Sputnik’ and rode on the pommel of Grandmum’s favourite piebald mare ‘Alice’. Long walks kept the grandkids tired and there was endless nature to enjoy.”

Over the years, Chrissy became a sidekick to her father, learning the ropes as they fenced, fought fires, and raised cattle in the hills. "Travelling from Gloucester to Bakers Creek with working dogs in the footwell snorting into the vents (no air conditioning) and slobbering on me didn’t dampen my resolve to be included." Even during her time working in Sydney’s corporate world, Chrissy’s heart never left the land. "That part of my life was always ‘temporary’ to me." She always knew she’d return. A serendipitous meeting at a rodeo with Dean, a cowboy and competitor, shifted her story again. Together they began a new chapter of love, family, and farming.

Chrissy’s father entrusted her with the reins of “Brangus Park,” a property as distinctive as the legacy behind it. It wasn’t inherited; it was earned. Chrissy’s father bought the property with savvy business sense, risk-taking, and hard work, buying it at around the same age Chrissy is now. His faith in her wasn’t just about land; it was about values, resilience, responsibility, and the grit to keep going. "There was not the luxury of pre-ordained land, it begins here," she reflects. "The challenge now is to uphold Dad’s wishes, honour his legacy, and ensure this land thrives for generations to come."

"Dad purchased this country which has amazing water courses, threading and weaving all the way across it. When it rains and flooding occurs these cowals direct water west eventually to the Darling, so over centuries magnificent River gums have grown, and because it is conducive to floods, the country has remained beautifully timbered and used mostly for grazing."

"Training and competing my horses from foals in my later years has afforded me skills which have benefited the cattle operation." Recognition from her dad that the weaners were quieter than he got them, increasing their productivity, is attributable to horse training. “When you ride across these big paddocks, the quiet cattle remain asleep under trees or grazing in open spaces, which means especially in summer heat, cattle can be readily checked, and no stress equals better weight gain.”

The drought of 2019 changed everything. With her father’s health declining, Chrissy took full responsibility for the farm, rebuilding the herd post drought and honouring his legacy. Though the work is demanding, the deeper purpose, to protect and pass on the story of the land, keeps her going.

For Chrissy, farming is a life defined by purpose, not just profit. It’s not "linen tablecloths and fresh cut flowers", its hard work, resilience, and the quiet satisfaction of seeing what has been built. "I get my sense of achievement from knowing what has been accomplished so far, knowing what my goal for our family is and having a direction to get us there." It’s about raising her children with the values of resilience, responsibility, and reward. "To know that my children appreciate the sacrifices and see the purpose of pursuing this life on the land makes me very proud."

Motherhood wasn’t separate from the land; it was shaped by it. "Motherhood was the next progression for me after having met someone who was as deeply imprinted with a love of land and matching work ethic. I believe what was shown to me through involvement with nature and animals gave me practical maternal direction. I never doubted that the strength and knowledge to be a mother would come naturally, but I did question how much I could love another being when I felt so overwhelmed with love for my husband. I immediately learnt with my first baby that my capacity to love just doubled, and by my fourth child, it was proven limitless." "Being involved with the land had greater influence in my becoming a mother, rather than the other way round." Her children grew up riding, mustering, campdrafting, and rearing poddies, living a life where hard work meant more than just making a profit.

As for motherhood, it didn’t teach Chrissy anything she didn’t expect “I never expected it to be easy. I never expected anyone else to do it for me. I always expected myself to do the best that I could."

Though, for Chrissy, the story isn’t just her own, it’s a legacy. "I would hope my children take responsibility for making the stories of our past generations remain known into the future. The story which got us here is just as important as the stories which will evolve with time."

Chrissy thinks often of the women who came before her, mothers and grandmothers whose work on the land was rarely recognized, often unpaid and yet essential. "They proved that strength and resolve could break the mould of their era and pave the way for me to elbow my way in." These women did the work with quiet determination, milking cows, raising children, mending fences, all without the fanfare. Chrissy carries on in their spirit, "We still do it with a child on the hip, or in the cab of a tractor, or on the pommel of a saddle. The work still needs to get done, and we get it done because we are passionate about both farming and being a mum." To Chrissy, “It is satisfying to now see the opportunities and inclusion of women on the land being championed in society, valued and encouraged.”

Chrissy’s wisdom is earthy and hard-won: The land will care for those who care for it. Her lessons for her children are lived, not just spoken, consistency, patience, humility, and the power of showing up. "There are two aspects of farm life which never change, there is always a job to do, and your work is never done; and life on the land never stops changing!” As with life in general, each day farming brings another challenge, always as the result of Mother Nature, but as Chrissy puts it “Mother Nature is simple. Like all mothers, ‘she’ gives bountifully when possible, makes up for being harsh when necessary, and will best look after those who don’t take her for granted.”

Chrissy leaves us with a favourite Mother’s Day memory that perfectly captures life on the land. "Was it the one when we were mustering? Or spraying burrs? Or carting cotton? No. It was the one when it rained."