Rebekah Lowe

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Tamara Clark |Andrew Kelso |Rebekah Lowe

On a still autumn day in Victoria's Wimmera region, two groups of women walk from a football field, exhausted and a little bruised, but with big smiles on their faces. Their footy boots and jerseys are splattered with mud. And even though just 11 points decided the game, every player felt like a winner because they knew they had just made history. These women and girls know they are part of something big and new, bringing a women's Aussie rules football league to town for the first time.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Andrew Kelso |Tamara Clark |Rebekah Lowe

If you spot a small orange butterfly fluttering around St Arnaud there is a good chance it was raised by Ellen Reid. The 82-year-old retired pharmacist has been breeding butterflies from her verdant green garden in western Victoria for more than 50 years. It is a passion that took flight in the early 1970s sparked by a chance encounter with famed TV naturalist Harry Butler. "I just think they're wonderful little creatures," Ms Reid said with a laugh.

Feb 18, 2025 | abc.net.au | Laura Mayers |Rebekah Lowe |Steve Martin |Andrew Kelso

As the sun rises over the Grampians town of Pomonal, population 300, all is still. Birds sing, wallabies feed on the grass of a local recreation reserve, and somewhere in the distance a rooster crows. It's a stark contrast to 12 months ago when a dry lightning strike started a fire that ripped through the town, destroying 45 homes. This summer fire again threatened the town, reigniting the fears and realities that come with living in the shadow of a national park.

Dec 9, 2024 | abc.net.au | Rebekah Lowe

After spending a year without a science teacher, the principal of a small regional Victorian school realised he might have to get creative to attract one into the role. Lake Bolac College in western Victoria is a small school in a small town, with a population of 368 residents. Principal Shane Hoffman said he had been searching for a maths-science teacher since the end of 2023 and only had one applicant in nine months.

Oct 4, 2024 | abc.net.au | Rebekah Lowe |Andrew Kelso

It was 10 years ago that George Cullinan first noticed an odd-looking bird on his farm in the Victorian Mallee. "The first one I found was dead in a water trough," he said. Intrigued by his morbid find, Mr Cullinan reached out to his friend and conservationist Greg Ogle, and described to him in detail the peculiar bird's yellow beak and yellow legs. The bird turned out to be a plains-wanderer, one of Australia's rarest birds, with an estimated population of between just 250 and 1,000.