BEING A TOWNIE IN BOARDING

It always seems to catch day girls off guard when they ask me how my farm is doing, and I tell them that I don’t have one. It’s a pretty common misconception, but not all boarders are farmers! Quite a few of us are what we call ‘townies’; girls living in towns and more residential areas.  

I come from the town of Mukinbudin, 400km north-east of Perth in the central Wheatbelt with a population of around 500. About half of those live in town. I have lived in town my entire life, but my entire extended family are from a farming background or are farmers. So I have grown up around farms and farming. A lot of other townies also have farming backgrounds, but there are a few who don’t have any connection to it. 

I am very lucky that I live in town. My access to just a regular IGA and even just a steady social life is a lot simpler than those who live out of town. I lived just up the street from my best friend as a kid. Almost all of my friends lived in town, so I had the opportunity to be with my friends at almost any time. 

Boarding townies are mostly from a farming background, but there are a few of us that do not have that connection at all. Boarders from farming backgrounds may make 70% of Boarding, but don’t forget about us townies! We have lots of our own rural experiences and stories to tell.  

Harriet Comerford-Smith, Head Boarder