You never know what is around the corner if you don’t have the courage to step outside the square.
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For Susan Goudriaan, that step was a little bit bigger than a square and involved moving from The Netherlands to Australia.
In the process, she has found where she is supposed to be.
And surprisingly it is on a dairy farm at Bamawm, and Susan absolutely loves it.
In 2021 after a relationship breakdown, the death of her dog and a family member passing away, Susan decided to rebalance her life.
She had to give up her job as a policewoman and decided to travel to South America for what she thought would just be a trip overseas.
“It was during COVID and Central America was the only place I could go.
“But I had an amazing time and came to the realisation that this was only the start of what has turned into three years of travelling.
“I was approaching 30 and I really wanted to go to Australia so I applied for an Australian visa while I was still in Central America.
“I went back home to The Netherlands, gave up on my house, let go of everything and came to Australia with just a backpack.”
Initially she travelled the country and stayed in Melbourne and Sydney.
Susan decided to apply for some farm work because she loves animals and a dairy job sounded appealing.
She started working on a dairy farm in Numurkah.
“My visa was about to expire back in August and I thought if I don’t do something I will have to go back to The Netherlands.
“I was enjoying the dairy industry so much that I realised I wanted to pursue a career in agriculture.
“I started a diploma in agriculture around the time my visa was about to expire.”
Susan was looking for permanent employment and via Facebook found a dairy job with Bill and Andrew Cochrane at Bamawm.
“I couldn’t even pronounce Bamawm when I first got here; it was the locals at the pub who taught me how to say it properly,” she laughed.
“I also thought to myself ‘why does this place have a name when it is has like 10 houses’.”
Susan has found the work on the farm, combined with studying for her diploma, to be extremely fulfilling.
“Before starting my study I didn’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to plants, soil and water, but surprisingly I am finding plant biology very interesting and I think I will take my studies even further.”
A typical day for Susan starts with the 5.30am milking.
“I then feed the calves milk and grain and then the day starts. It could be tractor work with Andrew, drenching, moving stock or whatever else is happening.”
On Fridays she goes to Melbourne and goes to school to study for her diploma on the weekend.
“I don’t have much time for anything else at the moment but I do hope to do some more travel on my days off.”
Susan said agriculture is the missing job she has been looking for since she was 17 and finished secondary school.
“I never really knew what I wanted to do when I left school and who would have thought that would be farm work.
“I love the freedom of being outside, the animals and the physical work — it gives me great satisfaction at the end of the day and every day is different, which I love.”
One thing Susan doesn’t love, however, is the hot summers.
“I come from a cold, rainy country and I am not built for 40-degree temperatures. I definitely prefer working in the colder months.”
Susan said she has fallen in love with the Australian countryside, especially driving around and watching the beautiful big sunsets after a hard day’s work.
“I am so glad I had the courage to take the first step.
“Moving away from everything I had in The Netherlands was scary but now I have my job and my studies, which makes it all worth it.
“Looking back I wish I’d spent less time in Sydney and Melbourne. I now have such a soft spot for the countryside, and I am just so happy here.”
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