Journey into the heart of Australia to experience and cherish the unique Outback through the camera and words of Terry Underwood - wife, mother, cattlewoman, nurse, book-keeper, cook, counsellor, gardener, photographer and writer. These are just some of the roles Terry juggles each day on her remote and beloved Riveren Station, 600 kilometres south west of Katherine in the Northern Territory.
Terry Underwood, writer and photographer, lives on a remote cattle station in Northern Territory, Australia. Terry's best-seller called In The Middle Of Nowhere, tells her story beginning in the bright lights of Sydney where she first met husband, John Underwood. The couple married in the early 60's and took up family life in a bough shed, without elecricity or running water, 600 kilometers from anywhere, at Riveren. Today, Riveren, three thousand square kilometres of cattle station, supports sixteen thousand head of Brahman cattle.
Terry's photography and her many speaking engagements have also helped convey a sense of what is so special about the Northern Territory, the Australian outback and its people, to a much wider audience. Her latest task, as Ambassador for 'Year of the Outback', was to not only initiate the idea but also to coordinate a major fund raising exercise for the Katherine Icon - the stockman's tribute. This one and a half times larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of a stockman on horseback by outback sculptor Archie St Clair, is a lasting tribute to the pioneers of the pastoral industry.
Through the generosity of 86 sponsors worldwide the dream became a reality. Terry Underwood stated in her address at the Official Opening Ceremony:
'I did not have to search for a role model. There was one obvious person, one who qualified beyond dispute in a variety of ways. With the blessing of Dorothy and family, I announced that Sabu Peter Sing was the role model for the Katherine Icon.
A gentle humble man , he was our mate. He rode beside my husband John and many of you gathered here today. Sabu's outstanding skills as bushman, horseman, stockman and cattleman were widely recognised and acclaimed. Born of the Wardaman tribe, Sabu epitomised different races and cultures. At Wave Hill Station, he met his match and in 1970 Dorothy became his wife and soul mate. Tragically killed in 1993, Sabu's spirit lives on through his children Samantha, Gregory, Lionel and Damien. And now through Sabu, the chosen representative of all people - blackfella, whitefella, yellafella - our history and heritage will be immortilised. We are all inextricably linked'.