- Roofless but not hopeless in the outback: At the far-flung meeting point of NSW, Queensland and SA, a tiny roadhouse proved community spirit is alive and well. Mick, the proprietor of the Cameron Corner Store, recounted how a freak storm earlier in the week tore the iron roof clean off his pub. Rather than see their only watering hole shuttered, neighbors from stations 100 km around converged with tools, tarps and elbow grease. He laughed as he described serving ice-cold beers “under the biggest sky in Australia” that evening, locals and travelers all raising a glass amid bits of flapping tin. By next day, they’d patched the roof together out of salvaged iron and sheer determination. “We’re a tiny dot on the map, but everyone pitched in,” Mick said proudly. It was a portrait of bush camaraderie in crisis – equal parts hardship and heart – and by the sound of clinking glasses in the background, the Corner Store is back in business come rain, hail or shine.
- Digging up dinosaurs in Queensland: Out near Winton, QLD, an amateur paleontologist named Julie rang in positively bubbling with excitement from a fossil dig. She and a volunteer crew had just uncovered what they believe is a sizable sauropod bone, peeking from red earth that hasn’t seen daylight in millions of years. “It’s like unearthing a time capsule,” she told Macca, describing the careful work of brushing away sandstone to reveal the fossil’s honey-brown surface. The find – possibly a new species – is the talk of the town; locals have been stopping by the makeshift dig site to take a peek at Winton’s latest prehistoric resident. Macca was enthralled, peppering Julie with questions about how big the creature might have been. She joked that the outback’s ancient giants make her cattle back home “look like toy dinosaurs.” The call offered a sense of real-life Jurassic Park in cattle country – science and history entwined under the big Queensland sky, with Julie’s grin practically audible as she invited Macca out west to see the discovery for himself.
- Sweet start to the cane season: Further north in the cane country of Queensland, Gary – a fourth-generation grower in the Burdekin – gave a lively report on the first crush of the sugarcane harvest. At first light a few days ago, Gary fired up his harvester to begin cutting the season’s inaugural paddock of tall, green cane. By mid-morning, the local mill’s stacks were puffing out sweet-scented steam. “You can smell the molasses in town, Macca – sweetest smell on earth if you ask me,” he chuckled. He painted a rich picture of the northern winter routine: cane trains trundling along narrow tracks, cane fires crackling at dusk (“just a quick burn to take the trash off before harvest”) and everyone from truck drivers to mill workers gearing up for months of long shifts. A decent wet season earlier in the year means a bumper crop, and Gary’s optimistic this could be their best harvest in over a decade. Macca could almost taste the sugar in the air as he congratulated Gary, reminiscing about past visits to cane country and the sight of “flames dancing along the rows at night.” It was a sensory slice of rural life that brought a dose of Queensland sunshine into the studio.
- Birds flock to a desert lake: From Marree, SA, charter pilot Trevor called in with an awe-inspiring update on Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, which months after rare rains is now a temporary oasis in the desert. “It’s an inland sea out there, Macca – water as far as you can see,” he said, describing the view from his Cessna. He’s been flying sightseers over the lake’s glimmering expanse and was elated to report thousands of waterbirds have made it their home. Huge flocks of pelicans in V-formation are cruising over mirror-like waters, and down below, the shoreline is peppered with black swans, gulls and even duck species rarely seen in the interior. Trevor recounted one sunset landing where he was greeted by the distant din of birds – a wild, joyous noise in a place that was cracked saltpan not long ago. The normally quiet outback pub at Marree is bustling with tourists who’ve driven up for a glimpse of the phenomenon. “Last time the lake filled, it was 2019 – we don’t take this for granted,” he noted. Macca marveled at nature’s spectacle, reflecting on how a flood hundreds of kilometers away can bring life to the heart of the continent. Trevor’s report gave everyone listening a mental postcard of shimmering waters and whirring wings in the middle of Australia’s arid expanse – a reminder that even the driest regions can spring to life in the most dramatic way.
- Hello from the Great Wall: Perhaps the most far-flung call of the morning came from near the Great Wall of China, where a Brisbane couple, Tracy and Dave, decided to start their Sunday with Macca. In a scratchy but enthusiastic line from a village outside Beijing, they explained they’ve been overlanding through Asia in a trusty 4WD for the past four months – and never miss a show thanks to patchy hotel Wi-Fi and a bit of luck. “We’ve got Australia All Over playing under the shadow of the Great Wall,” Dave laughed, saying it was surreal to hear familiar accents while overlooking such an iconic scene. The pair had woken up before dawn to hike a quiet section of the wall, thermos of tea in hand, and couldn’t resist phoning in to share the moment. Tracy described the sun rising over the wall’s winding ridges and how, despite being thousands of kilometers from home, “we feel like we’ve got a bit of Australia with us each Sunday.” They’ve been keeping a journal of friendly faces and curious questions encountered on their journey (including a Chinese truck driver who was astonished to hear an Aussie radio show playing in the background). Macca was tickled and declared it a highlight to have the Great Wall join the program’s long list of outside broadcasts – if only by phone. Before signing off, the couple gave a hearty zàijiàn (goodbye) to Australia and promised to ring again from wherever the road takes them next. It was a delightfully all over moment that shrank the world for a few minutes, connecting listeners at home to two adventurers on the other side of the globe.
Other calls included:
- Pumpkins on a roll: A caller from Goomeri, QLD celebrated her town’s famed Pumpkin Festival held last weekend. She painted a hilarious scene of dozens of bright orange pumpkins careening down Policeman’s Hill in the annual pumpkin roll, with locals cheering like it was the Melbourne Cup. The whole town turned out in good humor – kids in pumpkin costumes, pumpkin scones in the CWA tent, and visitors from afar learning how to roll a squash with just the right flick of the wrist. It was country quirk at its finest, and even Macca could be heard grinning at the mental image of rogue pumpkins bouncing through the crowd.
- Pearls and whale sharks: Up in Broome, WA, a pearl diver shared an awe-struck account of an underwater visitor that stopped by during his morning dive. While checking oyster lines in the clear waters of Roebuck Bay, he suddenly found himself shadowed by a gentle giant – a whale shark gliding slowly past. “Big as a bus and utterly beautiful,” he said of the surprise encounter, noting it’s early in the season for the world’s largest fish to be in close to town. The diver swore even his oysters seemed impressed by their colossal company. He took it as a good omen for the pearling season and invited Macca (half-jokingly) up to Broome “to help shuck a few” if he fancied an adventure.
- Southern lights: From Bruny Island, TAS came news of the Aurora Australis putting on a midnight show earlier in the week. A stargazer phoned in to describe green and pink ribbons of light dancing on the southern horizon – so vivid that even long-time locals grabbed their coats to step outside and watch in wonder. “It was like the sky was waving the Aussie flag in neon,” the caller laughed, noting that the aurora’s magic made the chilly 2 a.m. air well worth braving. The celestial spectacle was brief but breathtaking, and Macca mused that one day he’d love to see the “Southern Lights” for himself, preferably with a warm thermos in hand.
- Bush verse at dawn: The program closed on a poetic note thanks to a listener’s bush poem faxed from the Snowy Mountains. In just a dozen plain-spoken lines, a retired stockman named Clarrie evoked the bite of a winter pre-dawn – frost on the paddocks, a billy boiling over a campfire, and the first rays of sun catching the gumtrees. The poem’s humble homage to cold mornings and warm hearts brought a reflective hush over the airwaves.
Listen to the podcast episode here.
Disclaimer: Brisbane Suburbs Online News has no affiliation with Ian McNamara or the “Australia All Over Show.” This weekly review is an attempt to share the wonderful stories that Ian broadcasts each week and add value to what is a smorgasbord of great insights.
