Spending time in good company has many rewards. You learn from the people you’re with, you support each other and together you are stronger than your constituent parts. Bad times are made better if you’re working through them with the right people. And good times? Well, they’re elevated to another level again. With this in mind, it was encouraging and uplifting to spend time on Jumbuck Pastoral’s Killarney station in the Victoria River District earlier this year (p66–78). A strong young crew of ringers are at work there, led with wisdom, experience and empathy by manager Jamie Laurisson and his wife Gemma, and by assistant manager Michael Stanley and partner Alex Laurisson. There is a strong sense of people teaching and learning with and from each other, something that is vital to the ongoing evolution and success, of not just the pastoral sector, but the broader intergenerational space in the bush.
This belief was reinforced for me while travelling with a small party through the Simpson Desert in the company of the remarkable Denis Bartell – who at 88 has crossed the Simpson more than 70 times: alone, in company, on foot, and by car and camel (p116–128). This journey was instigated by Pilatus Australia CEO Sebastian Lip and guided by former RFDS board member and fine bushman Brendan Eblen.
While Denis is perhaps best known for his solo endeavours, he is clear that although undertaken alone, many of his feats could not have been achieved without the help of others – his family, friends and the communities of which he is a part. For Denis, as on Killarney, humour, humility, determination and enthusiasm all combine to create a successful working whole.
This is exactly the case with the R.M.Williams OUTBACK team, whose members work together to bring you this magazine. The core staff across editorial, art, finance, advertising and subscriptions has been together for between 8 and 18 years. Many of our far-flung cohort of writers and photographers have been working with us for just as long. It is a privilege to be a part of this group, and for all of us to be part of the wider community of the bush, whose stories we record and share.
Whether in good times or in bad, keeping good company can be its own reward

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