FOR four generations, Nicole Alexander's family has farmed a 10,000ha north-western NSW property.
For four generations, Nicole Alexander’s family has farmed a 10,000ha north-western NSW property.
Nicole's great grandfather, Frederick, settled the land in 1893, and is buried on the property, while her father, Ian, still farms at 81.
"Because I’m fourth generation, our family has a great sense of emotional attachment to the land," Nicole says of the mixed agricultural business near Moree, which produces Hereford beef cattle, Merino, White Suffolk fat lambs, as well as cropping.
"I’m working on a property where my ancestors have lived and worked and died before me. The fact they drove on the same roads and rode on the same tracks is very compelling for me."
So compelling is this link that it motivated Nicole to turn author.
Putting pen to paper during the quiet nights that followed a tough day on the farm, Nicole released her first book, The Bark Cutters, in 2010, which was the highest-selling rural literature debut in Australia.
