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Articles by Bill Ormonde
Farmer passes halfway mark in mission to be the first to swim entire Darling River
Stroke by stroke, kilometre by kilometre, Scott Gladman has spent the past 72 days consecutively swimming down the Darling River in outback New South Wales. The 64-year-old Victorian farmer has firmly set his sights on being the first person to swim the river from top to bottom as part of his "Fight the Current" campaign. He and his support team are well past the halfway mark on their 1,650-kilometre odyssey.
One Nation's 'missing' aircraft located at hangar in Broken Hill, ABC investigation confirms
Exclusive by investigative reporter Rory Callinan and Bill Ormonde The mystery of One Nation's missing first aircraft has been solved: the plane was sold to a private pilot and is now locked in a hangar in far-western New South Wales, an ABC investigation has confirmed. One Nation's national director James Ashby has indicated he received the proceeds from the sale of the plane.
Program: Swim for Parkinsons
A farmer swimming the length of the Darling River in New South Wales, has passed the halfway mark in his 16-hundred-kilometre endurance journey. 64-year-old Victorian Scott Gladman has spent more than two months in the water - all in the name of raising awareness and money for motor neurone's disease and Parkinson's.
NSW coroner recognises deficiencies in police investigation into Wilcannia woman's death
Warning: This story contains distressing details and mentions suicide. A coroner has been unable to determine if a young woman's death in 2022 was the result of suicide or homicide. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Teresa O'Sullivan found there was not enough evidence to determine Sonya Dutton's cause of death.
Wilcannia cafe changing lives and breaking stigma about outback town
When Shona and Conrad Cook arrived in Wilcannia five years ago, they noticed two things pretty quickly: there was nowhere to eat in town and the local teenagers had very little to do. So, drawing on their hospitality background, the Cooks decided to help solve those problems in one go by opening a cafe.
Program: Outback town transforming itself into tourism hub
Program: Outback town transforming itself into tourism hub Thu 29 Oct 2026 at 7:10amThu 29 Oct 2026 at 7:10amThu 29 Oct 2026 at 7:10am Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Climate change, over-extraction and conservation lessons from Botswana's Okavango Delta
Bill Ormonde in Botswana In one of the planet's most pristine wetlands a small boat weaves through floodwater. Armed with binoculars, bird books and cameras, budding ecologists scour their surrounds, surveying for wildlife. As they pass through the reeds they spot an array of iconic African animals who call Botswana's Okavango Delta home. They pass a handful of elephants playing, then a pair of hippos, as dozens of black vultures circle overhead. 20-year-old Sophie Nguyen is on board.
Program: Australian students learn from Botswana wetlands
Australian university students and staff have found themselves far from home in southern Africa studying the impact of climate change and human development. Their journey is part of an international partnership teaching and inspiring the next generation of conservationists, ecologists and wildlife managers.
Climate change, over-extraction and conservation lessons from Botswana's Okavango Delta
In one of the planet's most pristine wetlands a small boat weaves through floodwater. Armed with binoculars, bird books and cameras, budding ecologists scour their surrounds, surveying for wildlife. As they pass through the reeds they spot an array of iconic African animals who call Botswana's Okavango Delta home. One of Botswana's 130,000 elephants. () A crocodile lounges in the sun.() They pass a handful of elephants playing, then a pair of hippos, as dozens of black vultures circle overhead.
Students launch designs in Australian Universities Rocket Competition at White Cliffs
Bill Ormonde and Sarah McConnell On a remote sheep station in outback New South Wales, rockets are being launched kilometres into the air. About 20 teams of students have travelled from across Australia, New Zealand and as far away as India to compete in the third Australian Universities Rocket Competition (AURC) at White Cliffs. The teams are working in partnership with sponsors and companies operating in the aerospace, engineering, defence and university sectors.
Students launch designs in Australian Universities Rocket Competition at White Cliffs
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Program: Rocket competition blasts off in outback
Program: Rocket competition blasts off in outback Mon 5 Oct 2026 at 7:10amMon 5 Oct 2026 at 7:10amMon 5 Oct 2026 at 7:10am Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Outback graziers to help fix remote NSW roads after businesses decimated by closures
Soofia Tariq and Bill Ormonde Samantha and Richard Maiden of Mt Gipps Station estimate they have lost more than a quarter of their annual business due to ongoing road closures The couple's sheep station, which also offers farm-stay accommodation in remote Far West New South Wales, has had about 25 millimetres of rain this year, closing its mainly dirt roads on and off for more than five months.
Police investigate disappearance of 200 cattle worth over half-a-million dollars from outback station
Bill Ormonde and Patrick Reincke Police are investigating the disappearance of more than 200 head of cattle from a property in outback New South Wales. Inquiries are in the "early stages" and officers are working to establish whether the cattle strayed or were stolen. The disappearance of the 212 head from the station on West Wilcannia Road, Wilcannia, was reported on September 6, but police believe they may have gone missing between March and August.
Police investigating disappearance of 200 cattle from outback station
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Calls for investigation into EPA as lead found at childcare centres in Broken Hill
Em Jensen and Bill Ormonde The New South Wales Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is facing criticism for not directly informing parents after finding high lead contamination at 10 out of 13 childcare facilities in Broken Hill. In response to questioning in parliament last month, the EPA shared results of soil testing conducted at childcare centres across the city on multiple occasions between 2015 and 2025.
'Exciting' signs of survival as quolls and bandicoots reintroduced to outback
Bec West has been involved in the Wild Deserts project for a decade.() It has been more than a century since bilbies, bandicoots and burrowing bettongs roamed freely across outback New South Wales. Their local extinction here and throughout most of Australia's mainland was due to cats, foxes and rabbits. But now they are back and breeding. Beginning in 2016, the Wild Deserts project aimed to reintroduce seven locally extinct native species to an area in the north-west corner of NSW.
Program: Project saving threatened species celebrates milestone
For the past decade, a group of conservationists has been working to re-introduce locally extinct native species like bilbies and quolls back into a protected area in north western New South Wales. Now the team at Wild Deserts is celebrating its 10th anniversary and despite having plenty of success already, they have some lofty goals for the future.
Program: Travelling family feeds the homeless
Program: Travelling family feeds the homeless Wed 19 Aug 2026 at 6:00amWed 19 Aug 2026 at 6:00amWed 19 Aug 2026 at 6:00am Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Dream becomes reality as couple takes over 127yo Yunta pub
Bill Ormonde and Patrick Reincke You've heard a pub with no beer, but what about a town with no pub? That's the situation locals in outback South Australia were facing after the doors to the Yunta Hotel closed a couple of months ago. That was before Jacki and Rob Williams moved to town. The new publicans had been working at the Peterborough Caravan Park for the past six years. Before that, Jacki had been at the North Kapunda Hotel, claimed by some to be Australia's "most haunted" pub.
Community concern over doubling of water release from Menindee Lakes
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Community concern over doubling of water release from Menindee Lakes
Residents have been left "gobsmacked" and disappointed by the decision to dramatically increase the amount of water being released from the Menindee Lakes. In late May, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) revealed the volume of water drawn from the system would rise from 200 to 400 megalitres a day. Menindee resident and Australian Floodplain Association vice-chair Graeme McCrabb said the decision was "quite upsetting". "I was gobsmacked, to be honest," he said.
Program: Efforts underway to save Murray Cod
Hundreds of millions of litres of additional water is being released from the Menindee Lakes system each day to help Murray Cod populations. It follows repeated fish kills in recent years, which have decimated the Murray Cod and other native species along the Darling River. But some locals have questioned the decision, asking what impact this will have on the area come summer.
Burrowing bettongs returned to outback decades after local extinction
A football-sized relative of kangaroos, the burrowing bettong once thrived across much of Australia's arid and semi-arid interior. Then, within a century of European settlement, the marsupials vanished from most of the mainland. Like many native animals, the population was decimated by feral cats and foxes. A baby burrowing bettong trapped in one of the project's two feral-free safe havens.
Program: Project restores Bettong population
Once thriving across Australia's arid interior, the Burrowing Bettong all but vanished across the mainland within a century of European settlement. But now in the north-west corner of New South Wales a team of ecologists has released a handful beyond their breeding grounds marking another milestone for the Wild Deserts project.
From wine to water, Adelaide Hills charity OpBlue brings hope to children in Kenya
Far from a river or water source a large blue truck rolls into Esonorua Primary and Junior School, hours south of Nairobi. Carrying thousands of litres of cargo, as it arrives the faces of students light up. As the truck stops, a hose is connected to a large tank … and water begins to flow out the top. Students try to capture the overflow.
Mould, overcrowding and housing delays affecting families in Wilcannia
Five mattresses cover much of the living room floor of an outback home where Leetisha Jones is raising her young family. Ms Jones lives in the outback town of Wilcannia, about 1,000 kilometres north-west of Sydney, and rents a home through the Mid Lachlan Aboriginal Housing Management Cooperative [MLAHMC]. She said mould had made one of the bedrooms unusable and, as a result, five family members had been sleeping on mattresses in the living room.
In the outback town of Wilcannia, hope lies in the classroom and on Country
As the melody of the butcherbird swirlswith the wind, a bus rumbles along a dirt track in outback Australia, leaving plumes of red dust in its wake. But unlike most school buses, this one doesn't have a set route or timetable. And it won't just go on one morning pick-up, it'll go on two, to help collect the stragglers who haven't made the first. Getting to school in the bush is complex, and extra supports are in place to help as many kids as possible walk through the front gate.
Broken Hill's Willyama High School to be rebuilt after mould led to demolition
Work to rebuild a high school in Far West New South Wales has begun more than 850 days after the discovery of a mould outbreak. Students, staff, members of the education department and politicians were at Willyama High School as the sod was turned on a rebuild reportedly set to cost $90-100 million. Construction work is expected to get underway soon. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown) Demolition of the high school began in 2025 but was delayed in September due to the discovery of friable asbestos.
The Aussie farmer making waves in Kenyan agriculture
Growing up on a farm in regional New South Wales, the chances Stuart Barden would find himself in Kenya were slim at best. But about 50 kilometres south of the capital Nairobi lies AusQuest Farm, his home of the past 15 years. Machakos is more than 10,000 kilometres from where Stuart Barden grew up in Gilgandra. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde) It borders a private nature conservation area and the neighbours come in all shapes and sizes.
Program: Aussie farming techniques boost Kenyan crops
For more than a decade Aussie farmer Stuart Barden has called Kenya home, after initially travelling there as part of an agricultural scholarship, he saw what others didn't - hidden potential. The 55-year-old has since fallen in love with the country and its people and has introduced Australian dry-land farming practices with great effect.
National park expansion fuels land price surge and anxiety of NSW farmers
Loading... It resembles an inland sea — teeming with birdlife. Deep in the outback, Narriearra-Caryapundy Swamp National Park is probably not what you'd expect to find after a 15-hour drive from Sydney. The former outback cattle station is located in the north-west corner of New South Wales. It was the first in a series of properties purchased by the NSW government in recent years. A black kite glides through the sky.() Its stated goal is to increase conservation and attract tourists.
Program: Graziers say no to national parks
There are growing calls for the New South Wales Government to stop buying land for new national parks until the consultation process is improved. The concerns follow the acquisition of more than a dozen large outback stations in the state's west since 2020. The local council and independent MP are joining graziers in questioning the purchases which the NSW government hail as a win for the environment.
Program: Farmers concerned about national park purchases
Since 2020 the New South Wales Government has purchased more than a dozen large outback properties across the state's west. It's been a significant expansion for conservation, but local farmers are concerned what it might mean for the future of their grazing communities. Featured: Sam Beven, grazier Jaymie Norris, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service 60,468 hectares of land has just been acquired by the state government with the purchase of Langidoon and Metford stations.
Wilcannia Weir project delayed for decades gets delayed again by funding shortfall
After decades of lobbying, the small community of Wilcannia has once again been told that a new weir will not be built any time soon. The long-awaited project had gained momentum recently, with the NSW government committing $70 million towards it but needing an additional $60 million from the federal government to fulfil it. The federal government has said it is unwilling to consider any request for funding without a detailed business case.
'One minute it was daylight, the next minute it was black' - massive dust storm rolls through outback NSW
After months of hot and dry conditions, including a record-breaking heatwave, the largest dust storm in years has rolled through outback NSW. The wall of orange and red earth charged into Broken Hill, and continued east for more than 100 kilometres. It is a stark sign of how dry the region has been since the beginning of August, with less than 55 millimetres of rain recorded in the city. A woman walks across the unrecognisable main street in Broken Hill.
AI saving fish lives
It's been almost three years since tens of millions of native fish died on the Darling River in outback New South Wales. Now, a project based in the small town of Menindee using artificial intelligence hopes to help prevent further mass deaths.
'Promising' results for AI fish passage aiming to help stop another Menindee mass fish kill
The operators behind an innovative solution to prevent mass fish deaths are feeling confident as the $6.52 million trial draws closer to its three-year mark. Using AI to identify and transport native species from the Darling River in far west New South Wales into the Menindee Lakes, results have so far proved "promising". However, the Finnish company behind the temporary fish passage faces an uphill battle to prove to locals the taxpayer-funded project will pay off.
In a 'complete 180', graziers get early Christmas present with significant rainfall
Outback graziers have welcomed heavy rainfall across far-west New South Wales. Previously, just 33 millimetres had been recorded in Broken Hill since the beginning of August. Graziers are hoping for follow-up rains over the summer. Significant rainfall across parts of outback New South Wales has been hailed as a "godsend", arriving just days before Christmas. The falls, of up to 50 millimetres in some parts follow months of hot, dry and windy conditions.
Inquest into Sonya Dutton's death in outback NSW hears of 'many unanswered questions'
The father of a woman who was discovered in the backyard of her family property in 2022 says 'many unanswered questions' remain, following a coronial inquest into his daughter's death. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died. The images have been used with the permission of their family. This story contains distressing details and mentions suicide.
Alice took her own life at 13. Now her family is fundraising to help others
Alice Wilkinson loved music. The 13-year-old from Broken Hill would often collate playlists with songs from the 1930s through to the 2011 hit Tongue Tied, which was often on repeat in her bedroom. WARNING: This article contains references to mental health and suicide. Her father, Trevor Wilkinson, admired her love of "old school" music, particularly 80s and 90s rock that they would blast in the car. Alice was the life of the party and always made sure her friends were having a good time.
Remote properties to become national parks
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NSW government acquires two outback stations to convert into national parks
The New South Wales government has purchased two more properties in the state's west to be converted into national parks. It follows a long list of acquisitions in recent years, with more than a dozen stations being converted from grazing to sole conservation areas. The 71,000 hectare properties, Tasman and Corinya, north of Ivanhoe and about 800 kilometres west of Sydney, were purchased for about $10 million.
Cricket fan's mission to crisscross Australia on his yellow Vespa to attend every Ashes Test
Scott Stokes is a man on a mission: to attend every Test cricket match in Australia on his little yellow Vespa — a trip encompassing 12,000 kilometres of open road. Scott Stokes (no relation to England captain Ben Stokes) is a cricket tragic. The 55-year-old from Canberra is crisscrossing the country for several weeks on his lightweight scooter to watch every game of the Ashes. While some might choose to fly, Scott is doing it via bitumen at 90 kilometres per hour (85km/hr if it's windy).
Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers visits Broken Hill for How's Ya Mate mental health program
Olympian Kyle Chalmers has travelled to outback NSW to speak about the importance of being open about mental health. The 27-year-old met with the next generation of aspiring swimmers as part of his work with Lifeline. Lifeline are planning to expand their How's Ya Mate program to Victoria and South Australia. Standing on the banks of the Menindee Lakes more than 1,000 kilometres west of Sydney, Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers is taken aback by the amount of water in front of him.
Wilcannia Weir project relies on increased federal funding, NSW minister says
The New South Wales water minister has revealed it is unlikely a long-awaited project to ensure water security for an outback town can be built without increased funding from the Commonwealth. Rose Jackson told ABC Broken Hill "I won't bullshit people" when asked about the Wilcannia Weir project, saying her government needed the federal government's help to fund it.
Menindee fish passage trial aimed at preventing mass deaths enters second stage
The second stage of the Menindee fish passage trial connecting the Darling River and Lake Wetherell has begun. AI is being used to identify native fish and redistribute them to other parts of the Murray-Darling Basin. The trial will run until June 2027. There are hopes artificial intelligence could help to prevent more mass fish deaths in New South Wales. A $6.52-million temporary fish passage is being trialled to transport native fish from the Darling River overland to the Menindee Lakes.
Southern Cross Care receives $50 million for new Broken Hill aged care facility
More than $50 million has been set aside for a new aged care facility in Broken Hill by the federal government. The three-story building will replace Aruma Lodge and increase the number of beds from 58 to 90. The money for Southern Cross Care (SCC) Queensland — which operates Aruma Lodge, Howard Williams Home and St Anne's Nursing Home in Broken Hill — was announced this week. SCC's chief executive Jason Eldering said it was an "amazing result" for the community.
Asbestos discovery further delays Willyama High School demolition
The demolition of a mould-infested Broken Hill High School has been delayed after the "unexpected" discovery of friable asbestos. While the NSW Department of Education previously said it had been expecting to find asbestos, the discovery of friable asbestos on August 25 forced work to stop. Friable asbestos is considered high risk due because its fibres can become airborne and inhaled once disturbed.
Children are being 'poisoned' by high lead levels as state government agency is accused of report cover-up
Accusations of a NSW state government cover-up are being made after it was revealed a key government body sat on a report into lead dust that was "poisoning" children for nearly four years and tried to keep its release quiet. The accusations came after Mudgee resident Jayne Bentivoglio received a tip off in 2023 after the Bowdens silver mine, which would also produce lead and zinc, was approved near her farm.
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