135. High Valley Dawn
Ross O’Reilly on a rugby legend’s journey to vulnerability & regenerative vision
Ross O’Reilly is a former champion regional rugby league coach, real estate agent and restauranteur, all on the way to founding his ultimate vision in 2016 – High Valley Dawn. It carries the label ‘permaculture farm’, but somehow feels like so much more. Think incredible market garden and food forest, deeply restorative work place and learning centre, grazing animals and thriving community, with all sorts of layers on that. And it’s still just getting started.
Ross O’Reilly at the farm, just before this conversation (pic: Anthony James).
“What I loved about coaching was having a window of opportunity to empower young men and help them get through their challenges - be there for them, to help them let go of the past, to find the blessing, the lesson, the gift and the learning, and any trauma or any challenges that they had. And to bring them together collectively to focus on some goals. And come together and learn as much about each other, learn each other’s life story. That way, when you’re in the heat of battle at training or out on the field, and you get triggered by a teammate, you could understand why.”
I first learned about Ross when Terry McCosker made particular mention of him when he was in WA late last year. Terry’s the legendary founder of RCS Australia who featured on episode 67, and will feature again next week, this time with wife Pam, to talk about the recent Convergence event in Brisbane, among other things. It was after that Convergence event that I drifted back to Yeppoon in central Queensland with the RCS crew, and made tracks for Ross’s place.
The High Valley Dawn journey began for Ross when a passion for wellness and sustainable development collided with a desire to serve fresh, local, organically grown produce in his nearby restaurant Beaches in Rosslyn Bay. His intention to one day create a self-sustaining community that would fulfil these desires, and help inspire future generations to get back to working in harmony with Mother Nature was set. In 2016, the stars aligned. But really, this story goes way further back.
This conversation was recorded at High Valley Dawn, just outside of Yeppoon, Queensland, on 2 August 2022.
Click on the photos below for full view, and hover over them for descriptions (pics by Anthony James unless otherwise noted).
-
Please note this transcript isn’t perfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read.
SPEAKERS
Anthony James (host), Ross O’Reilly
Anthony 00:00
You're with The RegenNarration, exploring how communities everywhere are changing the systems and stories we live by. This is independent media, free of ads and freely available, thanks to the support of listeners like you. So a special thanks this week to Jenny and Rod for your very generous donation and message. If you too sense something worthwhile in all this, please consider joining Jenny and Rod and a great community of supporting listeners, with as little as $3 a month or whatever amount you can and want to contribute. You can get all sorts of benefits, including of course continuing to receive the podcast, now with transcripts, every week. Just head to the website via the show notes regennarration.com/support. Thanks a lot.
Ross 00:45
That's why we gotta start covering our planet again. They're finding food forests all around the world. They found one in Morocco recently. They predict it's 2000 years old. In the Amazon, as they're hacking that down, they're finding food forests that were planted out by the indigenous people. They become self sustaining systems and provide a lot of food. And I forage through that food forest now that it's starting to produce, and my handbrake automatically comes on my Hilux going past there there because my body's saying 'get in there'!
Anthony 01:37
G'day, my name's Anthony James. This is The RegenNarration. And that was Ross O'Reilly, former champion regional rugby league coach, real estate agent and restauranteur, all on the way as things happen to founding his ultimate vision in 2016 - High Valley Dawn. It carries the label 'permaculture farm', but somehow feels like so much more. Think incredible Market Garden and food forest, deeply restorative workplace and learning center, grazing animals and thriving community with all sorts of layers on that, and it's still just getting started. I first learned about Ross when Terry McCosker made particular mention of him when he was in WA late last year. Terry's the legendary founder of RCS Australia, who featured on episode 67. And by the way, he'll be on next week too, with wife Pam, talking about the recent Convergence event in Brisbane, among other things. It was after that Convergence event that I drifted back to Yeppoon in Central Queensland with the RCS crew, and made tracks for Ross's place. The high valley Dawn journey began for Ross when a passion for wellness and sustainable development collided with a desire to serve fresh local, organically grown produce in his nearby restaurant Beaches in Rosslyn Bay. His intention to one day create a self sustaining community that would fulfill these desires and help inspire future generations to get back to working in harmony with Mother Nature was set. In 2016, the stars aligned. But really, this story goes way further back. I spent a ripping afternoon and evening with Ross and co, and was blown away by so many aspects of this story. So Ross was good enough to welcome me back a few days later to press record on this conversation.
Anthony 03:33
Ross, great to be back here with you. Thanks a lot for having me back.
Ross 03:36
My pleasure.
Anthony 03:38
Want to bring the listeners into where we are?
Ross 03:40
Yeah, we're on our 140 acre permaculture farm. It's only five minutes from Rosslyn Bay. Yeppoon. Yeah, we're totally off grid and do some good things here.
Anthony 03:53
Oh, let's start with this place. This is amazing in itself, specifically where we are right now.
Ross 03:57
We're sitting in a little pizza hut with a big clay pizza oven. The clay pizza oven was built by one of our WWOOFers, a young lady from Uruguay who rocked up here for a few weeks. And she said Ross, you've got some beautiful clay on this property. Can I build you a pizza oven? Sure. So we all got in and helped her and she built this pizza oven sitting out in the middle of the paddock. And we had a Dutch guy, another WWOOFer who was a bush builder, and he said we need to build a Pizza Hut over that. So we he masterminded this masterpiece and used all recycled materials and some timber off the property we built this beautiful Pizza Hut
Anthony 04:43
is beautiful too.
Ross 04:46
And then at the resort pool next to our restaurant and in rosin Bay. They wanted to replace the pavers with concrete so they offered us the pavers. So myself and the Woofers went and pulled them all out and bought them out here and On a couple of pallets, and the day that the pallets arrived on the property with the with the pavers, an Italian Woofer turned up and he was a paver. So we went bang, bang, bang, and we've got this beautiful facility here that we have regular pizza nights and, and we sit around and have a pizza and, and normally Friday nights and we just celebrate the week.
Anthony 05:21
Outstanding. It's brilliant to be sitting in here with you. And we're gonna circle back around your brief mention of resort and restaurant just for listeners who are thinking what was that? Okay, from here then, where we were the other day largely was garden and food forest and so forth. Why don't we map the property a bit as we go around.
Ross 05:44
well, the permaculture you have your zones in permaculture and zone zero is your house. Zone one is your yards around your house, we can grow a lot of fruit and herbs and some veggies. And then Zone Two is your Market Garden and food forest. And zone three is your sort of grazing areas for your livestock and zone four is where we've let it get back to nature and some natural areas on the property. So we're sitting in Zone One. And there's our farm house we call it. We bought a four bedroom workers unit with en suites and one with three bedrooms and we put them up four and a half meters apart. Put a kitchen on the front of the three bedder deck on the front deck on the back laundry and an eighth bathroom on the back. And the eight bathrooms are there to service are two old buses that are all decked out, and two caravans and got a solar system on there. 23 panels six kilowatt system and one lithium battery. And we've had up to 14 people live in here. And we've got some really starting to get established gardens and orchards and food forests around around the house here in zone one. And zone two, we've got a two acre market garden that's been gone for a bit over five years. And a food forest has been going about four years. And we've got over 1000 Different edible plants throughout the market garden food forest, all using natural systems, no chemicals, no pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, just using Mother Nature or just working with Mother Nature.
Anthony 07:32
And all that's come about with the same MO right. You've had the right people at the right time.
Ross 07:39
Oh, definitely mate. You know well, the property came to us in a beautiful way. Amazing way. I had an old friend who I did a lot of real estate with and she's been a family friend here for 14 years or so. And she had a big parcel of land that I sold for her right before the peak, before the GFC and sold it for $11m for her. And developers bought it and they bought the two adjoining properties and got approvals on one of those properties. And then the GFC hit and they went under so it all, it was all up for sale. I think Westpac bank were caught with it. And so I helped her buy the whole lot back - her property plus and two other properties for 6 million. So she's had all this land on about 13 different titles. We sold a lot of that off for her. The stuff that wasn't hers, we sold some of that off - she nearly got all the money back. And we talked to her about leasing some of this little lot here, which was one of the 13 Lots there and her solicitors called us in. And he said Dawn doesn't want to lease that she wants to gift your family that parcel of land to do what you want to do. Because her and I used to come out here when we're selling the property first time. She knew the vision. She certainly knew the vision. We sat on top of that hill plenty of times. And she also followed the wellness business that we've got. Yeah, where we, you know, run with retreats. And it's all about helping people I suppose. And she donated the property, which was valued at about 570,000 at the time, it was all just a bush block. And we've tipped in, you know, probably three times that amount in creating this. So it came to us in a really lovely way. And that hasn't stopped you know, we've got we just keep getting the right people turning up at the right time to take the property to the next level and the vision for this place is to be one of the best regenerative agriculture education centers and one of the best healing centers you know in Australia that's that's the full blown vision. And it's just been amazing, the journey so far. There wasn't a road wasn't a fence, there was nothing here. So what we've done in the last five and a half years is, we couldn't have done it without our wwoofers, our volunteers. We've had over 240 Here, now from all over the world, and they all bring their their contribution, that will make a contribution. And they learn about permaculture, they learn about self sufficiency, a lot about sustainability. And most importantly, they learned about living in community. And that's something that's been a good journey to, you know, just really being involved in human beings working out how they can, you know, live and serve each other, and be self sufficient on a property like this.
Anthony 10:45
It's amazing to think that this much has been done inside half a dozen years. And that program has brought so much of it. But then the other flank of it, as you said, has been the right person bobbing up at the right time, by other means you talked about healing as being a key focus of the vision here. And we were hanging out with Dan, obviously the other day in the market garden. And wow, what a powerpack of knowledge and generosity.
Ross 11:11
He's a genius, he's really connected to nature. And he just needed a place where he could be loved and supported. You know, he's had a very rough journey, you know, has been institutionalized a few times. And he was, you know, not long prior to him arriving here. And he's doing fantastic. And I told him one day I said, Dan our planet needs people like you. And you need a place like this. And you need people like us, around you to support you. So you can do what you've been put on this planet to do. And he's doing that he's doing a fantastic job.
Anthony 11:50
Outstanding. I'm wondering for you, I mean, there's one right there. But for you so far, what speak of the great successes of the place, and I guess forebears of what you're imagining could come?
Ross 12:05
Oh, I'm probably gonna get a bit emotional here, but I just love what we do here. You know, we've had three young men that have you know, had been addicted to ice that have spent time here and we've assisted in their healing, working with Narcotics Anonymous, and, and, but providing a place you know, where they could eat good food, get good exercise in the garden, being in a community that was loving, caring, supporting and non judgmental, and also connecting with nature, connecting with the animals, the horses, getting a hands in the soil, you know, nurturing plants, that's there's four pillars of wellness. And people have got to be ready, though, we've had some turn up that just weren't quite ready, not many, but some that just had a look and had a feel, and said no that's not for me just yet. But the ones that are ready to get their life back and take their life to another level. This place is perfect for it. So to expand that side of it one day is certainly definitely going to be a part of it. Having a good facility here to educate people, which we're doing plenty of that now. A daycare group that operates from here we have lots of other daycares come through - kindergartens, homeschooling groups, primary schools, all the major high schools, the university, placing ag students with us for their eight week placements, get lots of bus tours and I do tours every Sunday morning for families and so we're getting the education side of it. And with the the other part of permaculture Earth care is one, that's the first ethic, the second ethic is people care. And that's the part that I believe we do quite well here. And we want to do it even better. But we do care about people, and we assist in their healing and recoveries and help them take their life to another level or get their life back.
Anthony 14:05
Yeah. Where'd the name come from?
Ross 14:07
High Valley Dawn? Dawn's obviously in there. And that was original name of, of a part of the property a long time ago. So we named it in her honor and Dawn passed a couple of years ago - went in for a simple operation - had a bowel blockage. And didn't come out. So you know, she's made a great contribution here. So we're dead set, focused on taking this all the way. And the visions we talked about. And that was a really sad part when she passed and unexpectedly in hospital. And I actually was asked by the family to do the eulogy, and that was a pretty sad time.
Anthony 14:55
Totally. But what a legacy even just this let alone her broader life. Just this is an extraordinary legacy to have seeded. You know what occurs to me, Ross, the amount of times you hear these days despair from people at certainly the state of the Earth, planet, climate, biodiversity loss, so forth, but also the seemingly intractable social problems. And so I think of when I was in the Kimberley, for example, and people talk to me after about, oh the Indigenous kids there, it's tragic crime spikes and suicides and so forth, which are all true. But they're sort of like, If only there was a way to address that. And I think that here too, because you're talking about being with people here, that that gets said about too right? If only there was a way. But I saw it there. And I'm seeing it here. There are ways.
Ross 15:54
Definitely. Getting to them young, which is a really good part of what happens here. You know, we get all those young kids through there - take them through the gardens, give them a little pull a carrot, give them some fruit at the end of the food forest. that's gold for those those kids. And that little daycare group that operates here three days a week, those kids come down there to the animals every day and give them a bit of feed and collect eggs. And that's where we've got to start. I think we've, you know, well we've gone right off track. And just the big ship got steered off course, going right back when the first Corporation was formed up on this planet, I believe.
Anthony 16:35
well, actually do you wanna go on with that? Let's, because part of what we're interested in here is the systemic drivers. and what we ultimately need to face down and change
Ross 16:46
well, that'll go over alright, if I open up about that? Yeah, well, you know, I've been saying for a very long time, the day that the first Corporation was formed up, you know, with a board of directors and CEO, shareholders, you know, wanting capital growth, wanting dividends, is just all driven for profit. And humanity, and in our care for our planet, really went out the window. And we've got to wrestle that back
Anthony 17:18
And care for each other. I mean, to your point,
Ross 17:20
definitely. care for each other. So we've got to wrestle that back, and the only way I believe we can do that is forming really good communities, good, solid, resilient, self sufficient communities that are close that care for each other that look after each other. You know, the way it used to be. I was brought up on a dairy farm at Iron Pot Creek, the outside of Kyogle, and all families, all dairy farms, right along that creek. If someone got into trouble, the neighbors would go and milk for them or, you know, keep them supplied with food or, you know, there was just that real community at the community hall at the little country school. It was a very fantastic way of life. There was 11 kids in my family, I was number 10.
Anthony 18:05
I'm guessing it wasn't overly flash premises
Ross 18:10
Oh no, we we had no money. Had a big old house was extended on - kids kept coming and kept coming
Anthony 18:19
I make mention of that, because you're talking about it like a super rich life. So that well, let's clarify what we're talking about here.
Ross 18:25
It was super rich in all the right ways. You know, had a mother who was an absolute angel, that was a carer. There was 13 in her family, 13 in dad's family. They were born on that creek, both of them. The families were raised on that creek, we ended up with dad's original farm. And we had cousins doing it tough everywhere. And so we always had extended family of cousins that my mother would make sure they come and stay with us. And I remember loading up the old station wagon a trailer on the back and taking lots of food to town. We had no money but we grew plenty of food and our own beef, pork lamb chicken, every form of poultry. And we loaded up and taken look after our cousins, you know, every couple of weeks we'd head in there. So that's a pretty good beginning to life.
Anthony 19:13
That was the upbringing that sort of set you up and defined these values and gave you the sense of what's required to be healthy and and live well and certainly recover if you've been on the back foot. What came next for you out of school and out of the farm?
Ross 19:29
I was the youngest boy and all my older brothers are at the top end of the family. They all took off. And I thought well, I ain't gonna get stuck on this farm and pull on teets for the rest of my life. So I left school at 15 and my first job was working in fossies which was a store. And then I got an apprenticeship on the Gold Coast as a fitter and turner. And that was a massive transition you know from a farm boy to living on the Gold Coast and renting a caravan on my own Palm Beach caravan park and working in Currumbin in a big foundry and machine shop. But my old man said to me, he said if you get a job sweeping floors in a factory, learn how to be the best floor sweeper and you won't be sweeping floors for long. So I was pretty committed to that job and stuck out and apprenticeship and played footy all my life. You know, my dad used to drive us in to Kyogle at a very young age and played on the Gold Coast when I was there and used to travel back to Kyogle and play.
Anthony 20:43
This is rugby league?
Ross 20:44
Rugby league. So teams, I was born into a big team and probably learn at a young age just how tricky teams can be. So as soon as I finished that apprenticeship though, I had an old Orange panel van and I headed north. I had some mates in Broome that I wanted to go and visit and I worked along the way - worked in Bundi and worked in Gladstone for a while, came to Rocky on a Friday afternoon 21 years of age - head of hair like I wear these days. And pulled up at one of the first pubs - coming into town there's the Sayarts hotel and one of the local footy clubs had their raffles here on Friday arvo's. So I started talking to these guys and got on well with them - blokes my age, took me out on the town and to the nightclubs and met my wife that rocky girl first night didn't remember it.
Anthony 21:42
Way to impress.
Ross 21:43
Yep. And then party with these guys all weekend, actually. And they took me to a barbecue on Sunday. They didn't tell me it was their 'sign on' day. My wife and a few of her friends walked in that day. And she said hello Ross and I said hello. She said you don't remember meeting me on Friday night do you? And I said no.
Anthony 22:04
clearly the forgiving type
Ross 22:06
Something clicked. And anyway, obviously I signed up and thought I'd play a season for Brothers in Rockhampton. Got a job at the meatworks or they organized me a job at the meatworks as a fitter and went through we won the competition. I started taking my wife out a couple of months after the season, born and bred rocky girl - and we went on won the premiership - I got player of the year and they offered me a contract for the next year. So I thought well Rocky's been pretty good. I'll stay on here for a while.
Anthony 22:43
Just describe yourself as a player.
Ross 22:46
Na not a brilliant player, but a team player. And pretty good at rallying the troops together. And probably put my body on the line and played above my weight, I suppose.
Anthony 22:58
So leadership was there from the get go?
Ross 23:01
Yeah, definitely. And then I made the rep side that second year. And when I was playing the rep game, and one of my teammates from Brothers was in that team. And he broke his leg really bad broke both bones - had the gas on him and on the stretcher and he pulled the gas mask off and said Roscoe. Can you look after me boys till I get back on my feet - and he was coaching the under 16 Brothers team. I said yeah no worries Bluey. No worries. So I started coaching these young kids. Paul White, the Broncos CEO for 10 years was in that team. Anthony Griffin, the current St. George Illawarra coach was in that team. And I took those boys through undefeated and I fell in love with coaching. So remember what my dad told me so I got in and did all my level one level two level three national coaching certificates and sports medicine certificate and strength and conditioning certificate and started studying sports psychology and did a week in Canberra at the Institute of Sport. And that's when everything changed. For me. That's when I started getting this couldn't get enough of that and got into self development journey and did all to Anthony Robbins stuff and did his leadership and worked for him at some of the events and Eckhart Tolle and just got on the spiritual journey as well and in my mid 20s And of course that was making me a better coach. And I coached the eighteens the next year the nineteen's the next year, the A grade A grade A grade and just kept winning and then coached the Capra's Central Queensland under 19s side - they won the state competition and and then, Queensland under 19s and they beat New South Wales - first time for 16 years. Curtain raiser for State of Origin and then Capra's a grade Central Queensland team and made the semi finals and Grand Final the next year, and then Queensland country toured Western Australia. And then Queensland residents which is the Queensland side - all the players based in Queensland, we toured Fiji and New Zealand undefeated, and just got on this roll. And at the same time I, with the self development, I learned how to let go of some limiting beliefs and the belief that I was just a dumb little farm boy. And that was my biggest limiting belief. did some work on letting go of that and got in studied financial planning and started my own financial planning business in Rocky. And when it got to a stage of coaching the Queensland residents, the Redcliffe Dolphins made an approach and asked me if I'd be interested in going to Brisbane and coaching the club. So I did and sold up the financial planning business. And Anthony Griffin was one of those buyers that bought that - two young blokes who I'd coached, bought that business and off I went to Redcliff. And they only won one premiership back in 1965. And the first thing we did went to preseason camp took the whole club all four grades, everybody involved the board directors. And the stuff I learned about visualizing and goal setting and getting things on paper. We did a couple of sessions down there. And our goal at the end of that weekend camp was: in three years to win four grades, which was the 19s, 3rd grade, reserve grade and A grade. And the first year was a little bit rough because it made a lot of changes and and you know, some of the older players couldn't make that make the change and the transition has been prickly there that first year. And then, you know, our vision was - Lang Park, 4 buses heading home pub crawl back to the peninsula, going over the Hornibrook with a trophy in each bus. And that was our three year vision and goal. We did it the second year, we won our four grades. Marquees up on the field couldn't fit them in the clubhouse. That was a tremendous time, a huge party that just kept going on and go on
Anthony 27:05
an extraordinary series of events. What what I guess what were you learning that could trigger such a
Ross 27:15
oh what what I loved the most. And what I loved about coaching was having a window of opportunity to empower young men and help them get through their challenges, be there for them, to help them work out, you know, to let go of the past, to find the blessing the lesson, the gift in the learning and any trauma or any challenges that they had. And to bring them together collectively to focus on some goals and come together and learn as much about each other, learn each other's life story, learn what basic human needs each other's had in their lives and haven't had in their lives. That way, when you're in the heat of battle at training or out on the field, and you'd get triggered by a teammate, you could understand why. And so we did a fair bit of that work. And that's what I really loved about the footy coaching. And from there I got an offer to go to Super League in England and coach in the first year of the summer Super League. And that was a challenge. That was a club right up in the north of England, Cumbria. No money, sort of geographically made it into Super League. But what a fantastic experience - my family had a great time, my children were only seven and nine - had two years there. And you know, didn't make the semis or anything - didn't have a lot of success - but it was good. It was really good. Good for me to grow - was a real growing opportunity for me. And when we finished coaching we toured around Europe in a caravan. My wife and two kids for about six months before we headed home.
Anthony 28:49
When we met the other day, I mentioned a bloke by the name of Ben Crowe, who was Ash Barty's mind coach when she was winning Wimbledon, and so forth. And also the bloke who worked with Richmond football club in AFL circles, when they won their three flags in four years, as well. And he's become quite well known out of this now, because of leadership that's all based on vulnerability and leading with vulnerability as a strength. And this This is exactly what you've been exploring through these experiences as well. how do you go about that? I guess particularly when you're in the rough and tumble, you know, mobs of young men, as you said, like, how do you go about that?
Ross 29:35
Well, you lead by example, I suppose. First thing you do. Yeah. And I don't mind having a cry. I don't mind getting emotional. And it's really good to let your emotions out. And I wouldn't cry after a loss but I knew I'd cry after a win pretty well. And one player that comes to mind is Paul white. He went on to become the CEO of the Broncos for 10 years. He'd cry when we won, he'd cry when we lost. And you know, you just need a couple of players like that, that unafraid to let their emotions out and share their vulnerability and tell their life story and talk about their grief. They've had their lives talk about the challenges, the traumas they've had their life. And I know it works. On our men's retreats, they've been running for nine years. The men are easy. And I run the women's retreats as well. And the women had more practice and holding the big stuff down but the poor old men, when they get in that vulnerable space, they just pop like champagne bottles, after one goes they all go. But it's it's really what men need. Men, men need to be vulnerable. Instead of this big boys don't cry and don't share your emotions. That kills too many people - kills too many men.
Anthony 30:50
It does exactly. So there's the seeming paradox, but not at all a paradox that you lead with the vulnerability, but that's the source of your strength. And so you're in this in particularly, obviously a explicit sort of form of expressing the warrior spirit, if you like in in the football code. But we need that more in life to not to fight each other, but just to take on to take on things like this vision, for example. That's what it is, though, right? It's actually feeding your strength to be vulnerable.
Ross 31:22
That becomes your power.
Anthony 31:23
Becomes your power. Talk to that a bit for us?
Ross 31:25
Well, I'll give you another example. I coached the Capras to a semi final and Grand Final when I was on the way up and the young guy that's coaching now, Lionel harvin, his dad was one of my trainers. And Lionel's worked his way up. And this is his first year coaching the capras A grade team in the state competition. They've been down the bottom of the ladder for three years. And when he got the job, he range me and said mate can I come down and pick your brains. And I said, Yeah, for sure. And anyway, he said, What do you think about a preseason? And I said bring them to the farm and let's give them a camp on the farm for the weekend. So we did, and we planned it out. And I said mate, I'll given them some men's work in that stuff I do at our retreats, stuff that I know that really works and, and we've got to get these blocks vulnerable. We're gonna open them up and get them to know each other at deep level. He said, Yeah, it sounds great. So they come and camp out here for the weekend, we had sharing circles every night around the fire, passed the didgeridoo around as a talking stick. And I led the way and talked about the vulnerability and just how powerful that is and how good it is. And for teams, and we need to share the grief that we've had in our life, the challenges we've had in our life. And, and they did, you know. And there was a box of tissues in the middle, and there was lots of tears and some of the things the boys, you know, they really opened up and talked about their childhoods and talked about the challenges and I had one lad got up and took his shirt off and said see that little scar there, a bullet went through there. And I felt the Spirit building in that vulnerability. I felt the building the spirit and that team that weekend. And I've been really enjoying going up there watching all their games going into the shed there and you wouldn't believe it. Four rounds to go. They are sitting number two on the competition. After being at the bottom for three years. And Lionel's done a fantastic job too, and his coaching staff have done a fantastic job. But I know from my journey in life, having those young men become you know, share, be vulnerable in the group - it really, really set the platform for them.
Anthony 33:53
You mentioned before the visioning part of it as well, that that's a really key part too. And you mentioned even writing it down like putting it on paper
Ross 34:03
Oh, huge!
Anthony 34:04
Tell us what's going on there.
Ross 34:05
well the visioning part of it. I remember at that week at the Institute of Sport we did a lot of that was about visualization and you know there was a long distance mid mid distance runner 400 meter runner, I think I forget his name key. He won a lot of gold medals. But he used to pull out of driving home from work on the freeway. He would drive home like he was running his race that was coming up where he'd sit out, he'd pull out, he'd overtake, sit back in, and he waited for his little run home - and that really stuck in my mind. And with different players and teams, laying them down on the floor, get them relaxed, get them in a meditative state. Visualize and seeing them the team playing the game on the weekend. Seeing them recovering from setbacks, seeing them getting on top and cheering each other home and supporting each other if we make a mistake and my players were hugging back then in the 80s. And that was really, really powerful to be able to visualize the game ahead and visualize not just the good things, but visualizing how you going to recover from mistakes. You know, if the referee is giving you a cane, and the supporters are giving you a cane, the touches and giving you a caning and the opposition is belting the hell out of you, you gotta visualize how you can recover from those tough circumstances, as well as when you're on top and everything's flowing.
Anthony 35:27
Well, this is part of what Ash Barty's talked about too, right. That the big thing for her was in the moments where things weren't going right to exactly be able to respond and have gone through those processes. And for her, it was a lot about not getting caught up in herself. So it was thinking bigger than herself, in a sense, thinking of ... these are my words, but thinking of the whole person, if you like, which of course she's gone on to demonstrate in spades as both a champion and then retiring because she's, she's got more to do in life, but it was that sort of quality. So again, I'm just seeing the parallels from what we've heard there. And indeed in other football clubs in AFL since Richmond sort of came out with how they did it. Melbourne have gone on with it, and they won last year. Similar threads again, coming through with with the way things have been worked out in this space
Ross 36:18
definitely, they used to call it mental toughness. But if you're mentally prepared for the good and the bad, that's what gives you the resilience.
Anthony 36:30
So for you then after you came back to Australia, what was next?
Ross 36:37
What was next I got a job as the CEO of the Central Queensland Rugby League, and they were doing it tough financially at that point in time. And my role well, I looked at the books and had a junior coach and Development Officer - him and I put heads together and thought we need to form a club and not be the representative team from Central Queensland we need to actually form a club where we can get some sponsors on board and so we did that we put a plan together - we got it ticked off by the QRL, they tipped a little bit of money in and we formed an actual club rather than a rep side. Our major sponsored in the Rockhampton Leagues Club went out and got 60 businesses on board I went and door knocked and made phone calls and sent out proposals and and and we got cracking and got kept the capras alive I suppose kept them going. And you know had a big over half the grandstand roped off corporate area and the tafe college involved and you know, all the sponsors Red Rooster, Domino's pizzas, Subway, Bundaberg rum 4xxxx, you know, so we can look after our people and give them some fun. And we had lots of entertainment with a mascot Captain comet used to climb bloody light poles and get on top of the clubhouse and keep the kids entertained. And we had mascots, races and fireworks and skydivers every game and really gave the family something coming up for. So that was good. That was a good part. And then I'll realized well I've gotta go and make some money for myself, again, like financial planning was very good to us. Super League coaching was good. And chose to get into real estate and start our own real estate business, in O'Reilly's real estate that we had for 15 years. Got in at the right time in 2003, rode the wave up to the GFC build a really good team did most of the project marketing here in Yeppoon, selling new apartments off the plan. And that was that was a stepping stone to be able to do what I really wanted to do. And that'd be running my own retreats, doing the hard core coaching the life coaching and, and and then I discovered permaculture and that just loved the permaculture ethics
Anthony 38:53
How did you discover it?
Ross 38:54
A friend of mine who actually did a course told me about it. So I looked in and went did a course at the Noosa rainforest retreat, with Ian Kew. Earth care, people care, fair share, and we've added community and future care to our ethics here. So then, you know, the real estate, played its part - been running the retreats for 10 years now and had the farm for five and a half, six years.
Anthony 39:21
And it's worth saying to that you were getting increasingly dismayed by what you were seeing in that financial sector, too as well
Ross 39:28
definitely when I looked at getting back into financial planning when I come back from overseas in 97, and financial planning pretty well consisted, with a little bit of insurance but consisted of fund managers encouraging agents just to gear people into the share market. And it was all just so top heavy. You know, it was very obvious. To me it was it was top heavy. So I didn't choose to get - had a good look and didn't get back into it and that's when decided to go down the real estate track. And that was good timing with the way that property was, was a hell of a boom, leading up to the GFC. And so we rode that boom, and made some, some good money and got ourselves set up and did all that business for Dawn and made her a lot of money. And she was a really dear family friend and a very, very special person in my life. And she was encouraging me to give up the real estate, I was working too hard, we had businesses on the go and the management rights to the resort, we had the restaurant, and the wellness business, had a charter boat business. And she really encouraged me to follow my dream and, you know, and this vision here, and, and we didn't accept that gift for a long time, for quite a while, until she finally talked us into it and, and then I made sure she was looked after and had a place that - she didn't go there,.but we had a place in a beautiful three bedroom apartment in retirement village, already for her when she had to move out of her house. So we had all that ready for her to go home and she had it all - interior decorators, furniture to go in, and she got sick, and I never got the opportunity to walk us through that door. And that was really, really sad.
Anthony 41:34
Yeah. You mentioned the restaurant that ended up being part of what you were doing. And that's ended up being part of what you tied into this vision as well.
Ross 41:42
Yeah we've got a beautiful restaurant there, it was only a small restaurant, we put decks around the outside and renovated it. And now we grow a lot of produce for that restaurant. That's our first priority is to supply in the restaurant and we take the surplus to the markets. Well, our first priority is feeding the woofers. So we've got a farm to table operation, which is good. In that restaurant, we've got our head chef that's sort of recovered. He's done AA and NA since he's been with us, become a leader in those organizations, and with our young team that we've got in the front of house, you know, young 21 year old manager has been with us six years and a lot of those young waitstaff have been with since they were 14, and a lot of those kids come here with anxiety and depression like most of them - medication. They've given them a really good team environment that really cares for them and supports them and doesn't judge them, and fulfills that basic human need that a lot of our kids miss out on these days. And that's significance, make them feel significant, find an opportunity to pat him on the back every opportunity. Tell him how good they are at the job. Only rarely put the other coaches hat on and have to coatch them and improve them. You can do a lot of coaching just by compliments. And so we've grown some really good kids. And that's been probably the most enjoyable part. And I do tell the team that's the most enjoyable part of that whole journey in the restaurant is seeing those kids grow. And that's got to set them up for the rest of their lives. I keep telling them you know, you've learned that you've learned to be here and operate as a team member how to have responsibility and you know, we step them up. If they're good enough. They're old enough. That's our philosophy. Same in our rugby league coaching - if they're good enough, they're old enough, step them up. And they'll surprise you.
Anthony 43:37
When we were there the other night having, by the way, incredible Moringa infused pasta. My goodness. Coming out of the garden here too, right. That's a whole other story. Magnificent. But you were showing me the video that plays on cycle at the restaurant as well where Matt Galinsky was on it. And it's another incredible story and you've connected up there. How did that connection come about? And do tell us that exchange you had with Matt
Ross 44:02
Yeah definitely. Well, Matt just came out to do a lot of fundraisers on Great Keppel and Rocky and we were approached to put him up at the at the resort in one of our rooms that we owned there to support the fundraiser. So that's how I met Matt and had dinner with him a couple of times when he was there. And told him about the vision of the farm before we even had the farm and told him about what we would like to do. So we formed a friendship then and Matt comes up and does a Farm to Table event for us. Where we have booked out the the event 150 people, they rock up the restaurant at four o'clock. Buses organized bring him out to the farm here which is only five minutes away. We give them a drink champagne or a beer or wine and a Nibley out of the garden. Give them the story about the farm. Tell them what the farm is all about. And then Single file them through the market garden through the food forest and down and feed the animals, check out all the animals, and then bus them back and Matt cooks them up a four course dinnner - every single item off the farm. And one night there I went and had a few drinks after the event with Matt, we had a couple of drinks. And I said to Matt, I just admire you and like what you've been through in life, you know, he lost his wife and three children in that house fire and he nearly got burned to death himself trying to save them. I said, I just admire, you know, how you how resilient you are and how you've come back and do what you do today. And he said, Ross - Can you swear on this podcast?
Anthony 44:02
Yes.
Ross 44:08
He said Ross, I've had one day, it was a bad fucking day. But I've had one bad day in my life. That's the way I look at it.
Anthony 45:53
Yeah, extraordinary.
Ross 45:54
And that just broke me up. I got emotional and I still get emotional every time I hear that.
Anthony 46:02
Me too. That hasn't left me since you told me
Ross 46:09
Yeah, so Matt's due to come back here soon too, so I'll have to rally him up and get another one in before the end of the year.
Anthony 46:15
Magnificent. Yeah. But the era's coming to an end for the restaurant. And you've you've moved on from the real estate as well. So you're really dovetailing everything now into this vision. It's all on so the restaurants on the market at the moment. And you've got the possibility in tow that may even understand what you've built there and hopefully keep it going. And from here, then Ross here, what are you thinking?
Ross 46:39
Oh, right now, like it's been - Energy flows where focus goes. And when you've got focus in too many places, you can't supply the energy that it needs to really take it to where it's got to go. So the restaurant's been an 11 year journey - it's been great. It's been good to us - a whole new industry for us. And if that sells now, and you know, with 'Love To' [a new business in development] as well.
Anthony 47:05
Which we'll speak a bit more about on the podcast, no doubt
Ross 47:09
So now the full vision - and I'll be talking to our private town planner, that's that's working with us to start working on getting the full approvals here. And we're going for a nature based tourist attraction, which is a very broad approval that that will open up for a lot of things for us, you know, a cafe, small restaurant, cafe, education room, which also can be for education for regenerative agriculture for conferences, retreats, and a facility for the schools to use where they can come and pick their own produce, prepare their own lunch in that facility. To having cabins, farmstay cabins around the farm where people can come and stay longer term and have a week here or more and learn about permaculture, learn about community have an area over in the bush which we've started to work on already. I've been involved in in running father and son Journey to Manhood retreats, down in Brisbane and we want to run into those here next year. Next year. That's the whole goal. But can really take it to another level. And also, you know, yoga and meditation classes and running good workshops, which is not far this year, we're going to be running workshops to teach people take them right back to the basics. Teach them how to prepare soil how to compost, supplying them with a starter kit of seedlings, seeds and cuttings. Teach them how to plant how to nurture in a series of ongoing workshops. Teach them how to harvest how to process even how to cook - getting them right back to basics. And I know that's gonna go off the chart because I get so many people through you now that are asking for that sort of information.
Anthony 48:58
Yeah, well, this is where it meets the zeitgeist the moment in the in the broader world. And I'm so curious how you're seeing that evolve, and, and your sense of where that might go may perhaps over the next 10 years. I mean, we just were at the convergence conference where there was a hefty sense of the changes that are afoot. But how are you seeing things and and how you seeing opportunities like this, and not just here for that matter. But potentially that could be people could learn from this and do it elsewhere as well to meet this moment?
Ross 49:31
Well, we've been doing that for four years with our wwoofers. They've gone back to a lot of their countries around the world, starting community gardens and they've come here and they've really enjoyed gardening and permaculture and going back into their countries. And so we've we've sort of rippled out already to a degree, but we've got to get a good strong community here. And you know, I've got a group of people together and Terry and Adam are on that group where we meet regularly and Putting some plans in place and running workshops out here has given everyone Plan B, because Plan A could go pear-shaped anytime. So if there's a food shortage, which has started, it gets worse, people can at least have some food in their backyard. And the in the big picture another 30 farms like ours - having farmers markets for few times a week. Like we got farmers markets 530 In the morning here on Saturday mornings, is the only Farmers Market in Yeppoon, we'd love to see people come in buying local produce, not the stuff that's done 2000 k's to get here. You know, all the all the mono farming and bulk crops that we send off overseas to get processed - export them our beef, we buy it back in - we're vulnerable as a nation, we're vulnerable. And how we got to this situation is it's hard to work out. You know, we've got it, we've got everything here to produce our own food. We should be processing our own food should be more self supportive in our communities. And that's where we've got to go. And I really feel that we will and we are right around the world. It's happening where communities are coming together, saying hey, let's start looking after ourselves. Let's not let's become less reliant on the government - let's become less reliant on the corporations that are now pretty well ruling our planet.
Anthony 51:23
Yes. Yeah, this is interesting, because it does, I was thinking it just dovetails back to those broader dynamics that you alluded to earlier in our conversation. And but you've, you've had a life where money hasn't been absent, right. So when you talk about the self sufficiency, I suppose of sorts, you're talking financially as well. And not that money is the issue. I mean, you talked a bit before about how we got all consumed by profits, instead of what your actual purpose of being here for each other and the planet and the earth you live on. So you're doing that but you've indeed found that anything you've done in your life, all these things you've done in your life, leading with that purpose, the money has come. You sort of echo Terry McCosker in that way and a multitude of others that I speak to - it's do what matters.
Ross 52:14
Earl Nightingale - he was ahead of his time, he put out some cassettes in the 60s, I listened to him in the 80s. And the big takeaway for me was focus on the contribution you can make, and the rewards will take care of themselves. And we practice that as a family. And, you know, okay, we've, we've, people will say, we're lucky. With Dawn giving us this block of land, for example. But it was all about contribution, and she was all about contribution and community. And I think that's what we need in our world. let's focus on making a contribution for a better world make a contribution for this beautiful planet that we've been absolutely gifted. You know that to arrive here you know, out of all those 1000s sperms and eggs, we got the jersey to play the game of life on this magnificent planet, you know, and to wear that jersey, you know, we should be making the most of our lives and we will be happier in life if we are serving others. And looking after our planet
Anthony 53:23
should mention that you have a festival coming up here. Is that open invite
Ross 53:28
Yeah, it is.
Anthony 53:30
And you're young boy - who's about here these days
Ross 53:33
Shae, yeah, this is his baby. He'll be playing and he'll do a really good job of pulling it all together. And it's a festival where we'll have a lot of healing workshops, permaculture workshops. And one of those workshops which I'll be involved in is planning out our bushtucker forest that we're creating. And we'll have it all fenced, we'll have the swales finished, we'll have the irrigation ready, have the holes dug and, and we'll have the people that want to be involved on the day in that workshop. They'll be helping plant and bushtucker trees, we've got 300 seedlings to go on the ground. We've got to mention that Fitzroy basin Association and the Great Barrier Reef Association have both given us a bit of sponsorship towards that project because they love what we're doing. The swales, preventing erosion, covering the ground, getting more vegetation into the ground, food producing vegetation. That's we gotta start covering our planet again, instead of, you know, like they're finding food forests all around the world. They found one in Morocco recently, they predict this 2000 years old. In the Amazon as they're hacking it down, they're finding food forests that were planted out by the indigenous, they become self sustaining systems and provide a lot of food. And I forage through that food forest now that it's starting to produce and my handbrake automatically comes on my Hilux going past there, because my body's saying, get in there! Because I've had it I've been a bit unhealthy lately. I've had a bit of a flu that I'm getting just getting over and get in there to eat some of that food is a body screaming out for it
Anthony 55:03
magnificent, you have got plans for a temple on site too. And I'm really curious, like, where all this experience and learning for you dovetails into a sense of spirituality and, and how you're going to manifest that here.
Ross 55:18
Definitely spots up on top of the hill tops here. And it's something that I'm building for myself as well as everybody else because I need to get more of that into my life. And I want to evolve my soul as much as I possibly can in this lifetime around. And there's no better way to do that than stilling the mind. Getting in the present moment. You know, that's when you open up to your higher wisdom. And I've been pretty busy in this lifetime wearing that jersey, and I think that jersey might had a number six on the on the back of it, because it's been pretty full on. But I need to, I need to get on the bench and gradually get in the grandstand and, and have time to do a bit of work on myself and, and really become the the visionary and the the elder and the spiritual leader, you know, on this property. Temple will be there for everybody to go and use. And it'll be a sacred space. And just probably one other thing I'd like to mention, that is the respect that we've given the Darumbal people and their country. We've had them involved right from the very start, when we felt that things weren't right in this region, and in this on this property. And I had some people that are very, very connected, spiritually that told me that there was, you know, some trauma with the aboriginals on this property.
Anthony 56:45
Wow. Which let's face it, for where we don't know that that's true, there's a high likelihood it is, but go on.
Ross 56:56
So we've done a lot of work. You know, we've had smoking ceremonies here with the Darumbal elders, asking for permission to do what we wanted to do. And, or even with that bush tucker, we got in started clearing and cutting swales. And we had the guy who was doing that he had three machinery breakdowns. and we thought something not right here. So we did some work, did some dowsing in there. And we sort of asked him for permission, we forgot to ask for permission to move into that project. So I went and spoke to the elders and asked them to name the bush tucker. They're going to be here on the day festival and they're going to bless bless it before we start planting trees. You know, and I think that I know that has made a real difference. And you look at our livestock. They're so placid, they're so happy and content. They don't fear humans, you know all that's because the subtle energies and I did through ICS I did two courses now with Patrick McManaway. And I love that stuff. And I can't get enough of that stuff these days. The land healing and working with the ancestral spirits and the nature spirits on the land. And I know that that's made a difference
Anthony 58:22
all right, Ross, piece of music. What's been significant to you in your life in that domain?
Ross 58:28
Well, my favorite song that I've sung many, many times karaoke and entertainers at the restaurant, they always get me up. And it was a song I liked as a teenager, Van Morrison was one of my favorites. And here's a song I really loved was brown eyed girl. So I sing that a lot. But I ended up marrying a brown eyed girl. And I ended up having a brown eyed daughter as well. I've got two Brown Eyed Girls my life
Anthony 58:57
manifest right there.
Ross 58:58
Maybe
Anthony 59:00
Ross bloody brilliant to chat. Thanks for having me out here. It's been an incredible honor to meet you and learn of your story. Terry mentioned to me way over in Perth when we were meeting over there before I even came over to Queensland to be with you at the conference and here. So it's been brilliant. Thanks a lot and power to you on your journey.
Ross 59:19
Thank you. And I just want to say Terry's been very good mentor of mine as well. I just admire everything he's done 30 years. And he's pushed on and against all the odds. And now it's his time
Anthony 59:32
bang. Cheers Ross.
Ross 59:34
Thanks AJ.
Anthony 59:35
That was the founder of high valley Dawn Ross O'Reilly. For more on Ross, high valley dawn, the new dawn gathering coming up there on the 24th of September. And of course for a transcript of our conversation too now, see the links in our program details. Ross also invites you to get involved if you'd like to volunteer your time to contribute and learn on the farm.
Anthony 59:59
While I'll be at the New Dawn gathering in spirit, I'll be at the brilliant Quantum Words festival in person next weekend in Perth. So join me if you can from the 16th to the 18th of September. I'll be hosting conversations with Bruce Pascoe, Greg Mullins, Oral McGuire, Lesley head and others. And David Pollock from Wooleen Station will be amongst it too, along with many other quality folk. The Friday is schools day. So if you're a secondary school teacher, come along for free with some students.
Anthony 1:00:32
And that's of course with thanks as always to the generous supporters who've helped make this episode possible. If you're enjoying what you hear, please consider joining this community of supporting listeners so I can keep the podcast going. Just head to the website via the show notes regennarration.com/support. Thanks again. And if you can share this episode with someone you know who you think might like it. The music you're hearing is Regeneration by Amelia Barden, off the Regenerating Australia soundtrack. My name is Anthony James.Thanks for listening.
Find more:
New Dawn Gathering on 24 September 2022.
Quantum Words Festival in Perth 16-18 September 2022.
Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, available for community screenings now.