Through the ringer
The Australian Women's Weekly|November 2020
In the Northern Territory’s dry season, Liz Cook has one of the most dangerous jobs on Earth – wild cattle and buffalo ringing. She shares her unlikely journey with Tiffany Dunk.
Tiffany Dunk
Through the ringer

When Liz Cook first arrived in the Top End in 2013, she had one broken arm and was carting six-month-old son Blake in the other, while two-year-old Charlie trailed behind. The trio was finally joining Liz’s husband, Willie, who had taken a contract flying for North Australian Helicopters five months earlier. He’d been forced to find a new job after their dairy grazing farm in New Zealand’s Central Otago was sold by the bank when a client defaulted on a large payment.

The sweltering heat, red dust and isolation were a far cry from the lush green hills, relatively close quarters and chilly temperatures they were used to, but Liz was determined to make a go of their new life Down Under.

And so, as she waved her husband off on what was supposed to be a six-day trip to a property some 1500km away (it would prove instead to be six long weeks, thanks to a series of floods), Liz gathered the kids and stepped inside their new home … where she promptly found a snake in the toilet.

“During the time Willie was away, Charlie got stung by a paper wasp and I’d never seen one of those before,” Liz chuckles to The Weekly.

“We’re an hour away from town and I was like, ‘Will that cause a major reaction?’ Then there was the time I had to go and start a bore that was about 50km from the homestead.

“I went out in a Toyota that wasn’t exactly reliable and had to crank the handle and pull it away before it let go. There were a couple of times it swung off and went flying over, narrowly missing my head, and there I was with the two little boys. It was a tough time out there … I thought, ‘God, what have I done?’”

This story is from the November 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLYView All
Where to go in 2024
The Australian Women's Weekly

Where to go in 2024

Who doesn't love fantasising about their next trip? We've gone for lesser-known locations, and whether you're seeking bright lights, striking natural scenery, serenity or excitement, here's where you're sure to find it.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2024
Money matters with Effie
The Australian Women's Weekly

Money matters with Effie

Didn’t reach your financial goals in 2023? While a new year won’t wipe away pressures like rising costs, there are  a few things you can do now to refresh your money mojo in 2024.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2024
Bright stars in a rugged land
The Australian Women's Weekly

Bright stars in a rugged land

The hot, dusty opal fields around Lightning Ridge in outback NSW have traditionally been a man's world. Now The Weekly meets the women who have been struck by opal fever.

time-read
6 mins  |
January 2024
The gift of life
The Australian Women's Weekly

The gift of life

Maureen Elliott had just months to live when she went on St Vincent's Hospital's transplant list. Thirty years on she's one of the longest living heart-lung transplant recipients in the world.

time-read
9 mins  |
January 2024
An uncaged heart
The Australian Women's Weekly

An uncaged heart

After more than two years in Iranian jails, Kylie Moore-Gilbert has forged a new life that's brimming with love, and a determination to help others who have been wrongfully imprisoned.

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2024
The woman behind The King
The Australian Women's Weekly

The woman behind The King

As Sofia Coppola's biopic Priscilla readies to hit screens, we look back at the early life and great love of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2024
Say hello to the Cockatoo cake
The Australian Women's Weekly

Say hello to the Cockatoo cake

When we put a call-out to our readers for their best children's cakes we were inundated with recipes, and this clever cockatoo was ahead of the flock.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2024
The French revolution
The Australian Women's Weekly

The French revolution

Dawn French quit her sketch show because she felt so ugly. Now the \"roly-poly comedian\" wants us all to stop fretting about our faults. She talks body image, surviving the 1980s and owning her mistakes.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2024
Trump's women
The Australian Women's Weekly

Trump's women

Will it be the jailhouse or the White House for Donald Trump this year? The women in his life could make all the difference.

time-read
9 mins  |
January 2024
Can you buy a good night's sleep?
The Australian Women's Weekly

Can you buy a good night's sleep?

Forty per cent of Australians have trouble sleeping, and the market has responded with a mind-boggling array of sleep aids. But do any of them actually work? The Weekly goes in search of slumber.

time-read
7 mins  |
January 2024