The career of a young female helicopter pilot, based at one of Stanbroke’s remote cattle stations, is off to a flying start.
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At just 24, Courtney Hay has secured her dream job, mustering cattle from the air at Donors Hill Station in northern Queensland.
She is believed to be one of only a handful of women in Queensland - and the first employed by Stanbroke - in the non-traditional role, but Courtney says she always had it in her blood.
“One half of my family are pilots and the other half are all cattlemen, so I think I was destined to be flying up here,” she said.
“Mustering can be challenging at times, but that is one of the things I love about the job.
“That, and the incredible view you get, especially at sunrise and sunset.”
Courtney grew up in Taroom on the western Downs and, after working as a jillaroo and in the mines, funded her own helicopter pilot’s course.
She has worked for Stanbroke for almost two years, based 240 kilometres north of Cloncurry. During that time, the passionate pilot has clocked approximately 1400 flying hours to her name.
Stanbroke’s manager of aviation, John Hall, commended Courtney and described her as a worthy role model for the company to celebrate on International Women’s Day.
“Courtney is an impressive woman and she is someone who other young people on the land can look up to,” Mr Hall said.
“The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Be Bold for Change’ and Courtney is certainly someone who is willing to go out and get what she wants.
“She came to Stanbroke with no mustering experience and completed all her extra training on our properties. We are extremely proud of what she has achieved.”
For Courtney, however, it is all in a day’s work.
“Working here is like being a part of a big family and we are all mates,” Courtney said.
“At this time of the year, I am up mustering most days, either at Donors Hill or at one of Stanbroke’s other stations in northern Queensland.
“When it’s not mustering time, we are still flying out to check rain gauges or doing other work that you can’t get to by car.
One half of my family are pilots and the other half are all cattlemen, so I think I was destined to be flying up here.
- Courtney Hay
“Every day is different and I wouldn’t swap that for the world.”
Stanbroke is a family-run, Australian owned company.
It operates eight cattle stations in northern Queensland, encompassing more than 1.6 million hectares of prime pastoral country.
Stanbroke also manages 46 properties in southern Queensland, operates its own feedlot at Chinchilla, and a processing plant at Grantham.
