From boarding school to station school: Meet the next-generation cowboys of the Kimberley

Tim Mallard has only been riding horses for four months, but it feels like a rite of passage for the trainee stockman

The 18-year-old is part of a new generation of Aboriginal workers embracing the heat and hard work of the pastoral industry, despite being raised in towns far from the dusty yards.

“It’s completely different to what I grew up with, but I love it,” he said.

Mr Mallard was recruited to the Indigenous pastoral training program at Roebuck Plains Station in early 2020, after graduating from boarding school in Perth.