Fiona McLeod moved to Coombah Station with her husband Andy in 1982. Raising 3 children on the property with a strong interest in horses, the property has always been a busy operation, particularly as it expanded over time.

“Coombah is 120,000 acres and we have since added Popio and Tor Downs which is an additional 180,000 combined. We used to run quite a lot of cattle and Merinos but over the years we’ve gradually changed over to majority goats, some of which are managed, some of which are still opportunistic. We’d probably sell about 15,000 a year – It’s a lot of work when you are here by yourself.”

Situated on the Coombah Creek (which no longer fills from the Anabranch due to the build-up of the Silver City Highway) and with part of Popio and part of Popiltah Lakes on the property, there are occasional cropping opportunities following flooding events to augment the enterprise.

“We’ve all had to work out how to do the cropping on the lake which we’ve done ourselves for the last few flood events.  We can do about 6000 Acres of oaten hay, wheat, and barley in a cropping year. We have and have mucked around with safflower and chickpeas, but the emu’s like them too much.”

Fiona has been on the Board of Anabranch Water for over 3 years (2 terms). With years of experience on other boards, she says it is a privilege to be able to return something to the community through her contributions.

“I spent 20 years on the Pastoralists of the West Darling and a few years on the Goat Industry Council of Australia and I enjoyed those roles. It’s very rewarding to participate on the Board and to give something back to the community”