Christina Thompson
You could say Barjarg resident Christina Thompson lives in an ideal setting - surrounded by mountains, snow capped during the winter, with the Broken River running the length of her 193 hectacre property.
The 88-year-old bought the beef farm with her late husband Bill in 1969 when the couple decided to make a lifestyle change retiring from their surgery and midwifery in Brunswick, Melbourne.
“Back then I knew how to deliver a baby but not a calf,” Mrs Thompson said.
“But we’d always wanted to have a place in the country.”
Although Mrs Thompson said the Broken River was not the reason they chose that particular property, she now feels nostalgic about the River she fondly dubs “My River”.
“That’s what I call it, ‘My River’,” she said.
“But when we bought the place it was just an added bonus.
“It did not mean a lot at that time. It was just a property with a river running through it.
“Of course I was intrigued that we had a river.
“I didn’t know it would be full one week and empty the next. I’ve seen it so high there are waves rolling in and then I’ve seen it when it is only a trickle.
“This has been a successful little farm and it wouldn’t have been without the River.”
Most of Mrs Thompson’s property, where she breeds cattle, is fenced along the Broken River. She said the stock can access the River at some points but not all the time. She would like to plant more native vegetation on her property now most of the willows had died off.
Mrs Thomspon has spent hours on end paddling in the River, reading a book under a tree at the water’s edge or just enjoying the ambiance. Over the years she has seen countless water rats (Rakali) but never a platypus.
“There are only a few places where you can swim properly,” Mrs Thompson said.
“There’s one part called waterfall which feeds a deep hole and you can swim there but you get covered in leeches.”
While growing up in Melbourne, Mrs Thompson was a keen swimmer until aged 19. She used to swim in the Yarra River from the Burnley Bridge to the Flinders St Bridge and trained to compete in the selection finals for the Commonwealth Games known then as the Empire Games.
She was forced to choose her nursing career over swimming competitively but she never gave up her love of the river.
“It’s wonderful here,” Mrs Thompson said.
“And as I say, it’s My River.”
