Heather, a nursing graduate educated in Albury and trained at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, was not particularly enthusiastic about their future there.

The town lacked electricity and a reliable water supply, and drinking water had to be collected from rooftop catchments. Moreover, the summer's thick dust storms felt both unfamiliar and threatening.

Lester, a son of Hopetoun, had a father who broke with tradition by valuing education over physical labour.

After completing his studies at Scotch College boarding school in Melbourne, Lester graduated from pharmacy college and became a qualified compounding pharmacist.

The couple were well-suited to care for Lester's ailing father, whose declining health had first influenced their decision to move to Hopetoun, where his extensive farming properties were located.

Their business, the Mallee Pharmacy, became an oasis for healthcare products and advice, and a valuable centre for veterinary and agricultural supplies and guidance.

Lester's reputation quickly grew, earning recognition from state and federal agricultural and veterinary agencies.

His knowledge was instrumental in managing land and vermin control not just in the region, but also internationally — as far away as South Africa, where his 1080 rabbit poison was in great demand.

While Lester attended to the community's farming needs, Heather became an equally valued resource.

All the while, she not only supported her husband through periods of deep depression but also became the go-to person for many mothers and children.

She provided healthcare advice and administrative expertise in managing the town's public resources — chairing public meetings, organising funding for community projects such as a retirement village, hospital modernisation, and a community-owned hotel, among other contributions that enhanced the town's reputation throughout the state.

Heather's organisational skills were so effective that she was drawn into many state community organisations, including the Victorian Bush Nursing Hospital Association, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, the Public Land Council of Victoria, and St John Ambulance.

Heather's role model was Dame Edith Cowan OBE, the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament in 1921.

Inspired by her example, Heather earned her place as a leader in Hopetoun, a highly conservative community, through considerable relationship-building, overcoming long-held prejudices, and confronting institutionalised parochialism.

These experiences shaped her gift for connecting with people across political and social divides.

Having served as Country Vice President of the Victorian Liberal Party, it was only natural that she should become the first woman president of the Victorian Farmers Federation in 1986.

Then in 1989, aged 71, she was elected the first woman vice-president of the National Farmers Federation.

During 1986, Heather's friendship with Joan Kirner — then Victorian Minister for Conservation, Forests, and Lands — deepened.

Both shared quick wits, and their company was always entertaining, yet anchored by their shared commitment to protecting the land.

The perspective they shared was the empowerment of those they called the “stewards of the national estate” — those whose wellbeing was most at risk.

From the formation of landcare in Victoria, it would take three years of quiet coalition-building until their vision reached the national stage.

In 1989, in perhaps her most significant legacy, the national program Landcare Australia was formed, and Prime Minister Bob Hawke declared the “Decade of Landcare”.

Today, there are thousands of landcare groups across Australia and around the world.

Meanwhile, at Hopetoun's cemetery, their two graves are simply marked: Lester's reads "Man of the Mallee —He Made Two Blades Grow Where Only One Grew Before," and Heather's "Woman of the Land —The Sin Is Not In Having Failed, But In Failing to Try”.

The Mitchell Family,
Still in awe of our parents.