My Outback Life
Having grown up on the massive Killarney cattle station near Katherine, NT, Toni Tapp Coutts was well prepared when her husband, Shaun, took a job at McArthur River Station in the Gulf Country, 600 kilometres away near the Queensland border.
Toni became cook, counsellor, housekeeper and nurse to the host of people who lived on McArthur River and the constant stream of visitors. She made firm friends, created the Heartbreak Bush Ball and started riding campdraft in rodeos all over the Territory, becoming one of the NT's top riders.
In the midst of this busy life she raised three children and saw them through challenges; she dealt with snakes in her washing basket; she kept in touch with her large, sprawling Tapp family, and she fell deeply in love with the Gulf Country.
Filled with the warmth and humour readers will remember from A SUNBURNT CHILDHOOD, this next chapter in Toni's life is both an adventure and a heartwarming memoir, and will introduce readers to a part of Australia few have experienced.
Born and raised in the Northern Territory, Toni Tapp Coutts has had a varied career, from living on cattle stations, riding in campdrafts and barrel racing, to owning a variety store in outback Borroloola and a dress boutique in Katherine. Her first memoir, A Sunburnt Childhood, was published in 2016 and quickly became an Australian bestseller.
Toni is a leader in her community in Katherine. A board member of the Northern Territory Writers Centre and coordinator of the Katherine Region of Writers group, she has been an elected member of the Katherine Town Council for more than ten years. Toni is currently producing a book of collected stories about women of the Katherine region, to be published by the Katherine Museum in 2017. A mother of three, she lives in Katherine with her husband, Shaun.