Hello.
Tonight's Australian Story is the kind of sweeping saga
that would sell a million copies if it was a novel.
A beautiful but rugged setting,
an ordinary family against powerful authorities,
and at the heart of it all, a grand love story.
Chris and Jacquie Henggeler raised a family
in one of the most unforgiving parts of Australia,
enduring challenges few could imagine.
And right now, they're facing the biggest one of all
as Chris fights for his mission to regenerate their land.
MAN: Dad fell in love with Kachana the minute he saw it.
He often refers to it, you know, almost in a way as his calling.
He said his dream is to leave this planet a little bit better
He said his dream is to leave than how he found it.
And it has become his life.
It has become his life!
CHRIS: When I came and looked at this,
I thought, "Well, I don't have to keep looking.
"This ticks all the boxes and more."
But it took us a while to realise
actually this country is a skeleton of what it could be.
This country comes with a custodianship obligation
and we need to look after these beautiful landscapes
and we need to look after and to restore them.
WOMAN: Chris's work has been absolutely amazing.
He has transformed a desert into an oasis.
When I first moved here, there was so little vegetation around.
And now I walk around and I see grass everywhere.
And now I walk around I see life everywhere.
I see water everywhere.
Just watch yourself.
MAN: It's an extraordinary case of regeneration
at a time when we desperately need it.
And it was playing out for a couple of decades
when suddenly, as far as the station was concerned,
they found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
MAN 2: I've got better things to do
than go to court with my own government.
than go to court with If someone had said, you know,
that you're gonna be spending seven-odd years
thinking about how to keep a few donkeys alive,
I would have...you know, I would have laughed at the idea.
If the science is not on my side, I deserve to be locked up.
And if the science is on my side,
well, I deserve an apology.
PRODUCER: Would you go to jail over this?
PRODUCER: Would you go to jail Yes.
Our home is Kachana Station,
which is 120km south-west of Kununurra.
which is 120km south-west It's got no road access.
You can only reach it by air
or by taking a five-day walk.
MAN: It's an area bigger than Singapore,
but had been abandoned, stripped of First Nations, of course, MAN: It's an area bigger than Singapore,
but had been abandoned, stripped of First Nations, of course,
and then abandoned by whitefellas who'd been out there.
(GROANS)
CHRIS: When we first started, the intention was to do some
pastoral venture and have tourism to subsidise us.
pastoral venture and have tourism There is more shopping over there.
So I had no intention of becoming a landcare apostle There is more shopping over there.
So I had no intention of becoming a landcare apostle
So I had no intention or a prophet or whatever.
We're just going down to the...
Dad's very set in his ways, very single-minded, We're just going down to the...
Dad's very set in his ways, very single-minded,
Dad's very set in his ways, and it can sometimes be difficult
working with such a strong personality as Dad's.
WOMAN: Chris is absolutely not afraid to be unconventional,
WOMAN: Chris is absolutely not to do things differently.
This is as far as this goes.
WOMAN: He swims against the stream.
I'm a person who swims very much with the stream.
I always try to change Chris.
CHRIS: Kachana has been just a wonderful learning experience
CHRIS: Kachana has been just that continues.
But the price has been... unacceptable.
I...had I known the price
that Jacquie and my children would have to pay
for my learning, I would not have embarked on this project.
REPORTER: They called their oasis in this desert Kachana,
an African word meaning faraway place.
CHRIS: 25 years ago, Landline came out and did a segment on Kachana,
and our children at the time were small, little helpers.
(ON LANDLINE) I wanted something to do with cattle,
at least enough cattle for self-sufficiency.
at least enough cattle And we had sunshine, we had water.
So, yeah, I believed that I could compensate And we had sunshine, we had water.
So, yeah, I believed that I could compensate
for my lack of experience and lack of knowledge
with a bit of common sense and perseverance.
At the time when we did Landline, it was still, you know,
like I was still trying to find my feet out here.
like I was still trying It took a long time.
MAN: What were your first impressions, Jacquie? It took a long time.
MAN: What were your first impressions, Jacquie?
I really enjoyed it. I liked the place.
You know, you're still young, and I was in love
and I think anything is possible at that stage.
But I didn't realise how difficult it would be.
But I didn't realise how difficult You know, I just...
The terrain and everything, it was so new to me.
I grew up in Switzerland, in a little village called Engelberg.
You've got high mountains all around you
where you can ski all year round, because there is always snow there.
It is the total opposite of Kachana,
not just the landscape, the way I grew up as well.
not just the landscape, I had a very privileged lifestyle.
My parents managed a hotel I had a very privileged lifestyle.
My parents managed a hotel in that village.
You know, I never had to cook or do much.
You know, I never had to cook I met Chris, I was in Year 6
and we were told that a new girl was going to join our class
and that they had just moved from Africa
and that they had lost their farm.
And so this new girl was Chris's sister.
CHRIS: I grew up on a little farm in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
Dad was Swiss-born and Mum was Austrian.
And in '73,
for security reasons,
the family decided to move back to Switzerland.
Our farm was in a hotspot of one of the areas
where the liberation war started
and it was pretty clear that we weren't going to be able
and it was pretty clear to keep the family farm.
FILE FOOTAGE: The new flag was raised, to keep the family farm.
FILE FOOTAGE: The new flag was raised,
Robert Mugabe's government assumed power, and Zimbabwe was born.
CHRIS: What drew me to Australia was really the wide open spaces.
Europe was too crowded for me and too controlled.
Being a farm boy, I needed land.
I was looking for a place to commit to. I was looking for a home.
I wanted my children, if I had any, to grow up in a bush setting.
When I got to the Kimberley, I thought, "This is it.
"I don't need to go any further."
It was far enough to be able to do our own thing
It was far enough to be able and hopefully, be left alone.
JACQUIE: Chris had already emigrated to Australia
but then he came back to Switzerland for quite a few months
but then he came back to Switzerland because his mum wasn't too well.
I was probably 24 and he would have been 29.
I'd last seen her as a little girl,
but I'd never really looked at her... I'd last seen her as a little girl,
but I'd never really looked at her... as a young woman, prospective wife.
JACQUIE: He had told me about the project Kachana.
He had told me that this is where his heart was.
I couldn't tell that he was stubborn straightaway
but he knew his goals.
He knew where he wanted to go in life.
She was in love and blind and obviously didn't see
She was in love and blind how hard it would be.
I didn't think it would be how hard it would be.
I didn't think it would be that hard either.
Yes, I can remember we watched Crocodile Dundee and I thought,
"Oh, this is my own... This is gonna be my Crocodile Dundee,"
"Oh, this is my own... This is something like that.
(CHUCKLES) Yeah.
We moved out here in 1991.
Our first bedroom was the back of the Land Cruisers.
The plan was, oh, we're gonna just camp here for maybe two years
and then in that time we'll build the homestead, you know,
but that never eventuated.
And so where we actually camped became our home, but that never eventuated.
And so where we actually camped became our home,
And so where we actually camped and, yeah, that's where we still are.
CHRIS: We don't have roads. Everything has to be flown in.
So I was very fortunate insofar that I was able to explain to my wife
that the aircraft and the airstrip was more important than the house.
So we bought an aircraft very early in the piece.
I had to learn to fly. Then we started building airstrips.
JACQUIE: The cooking was all done in camp ovens, on the fire,
which got really annoying during the wet season
because, you know, no sooner had you built a nice fire
to maybe bake bread in the camp oven,
you had some rain and then, you know,
you had some rain you had to start all over again.
So that was hard work.
Yep, very hard work.
In those first years, there were many, many occasions
where I could have just packed up and left.
But to me, at that stage, I already had little children.
Chris was the most fantastic father I could wish for any child.
They were so involved in, you know, his daily life.
I probably would have had to leave on my own
because I could not break those children's hearts, nor Chris's heart
because he just... he's such a good... He loves family.
Romeo, Zulu six, Whisky, X-ray, Victor, are you there? Over.
Romeo, Zulu six, Whisky, X-ray, Good morning, Bobby.
MAN: We could only get into town maybe four or five times a year,
and it made you very self-reliant and resourceful.
We didn't just have a Bunnings down the road, so you had to... and it made you very self-reliant and resourceful.
We didn't just have a Bunnings down the road, so you had to...
..you know, you had to look after your stuff.
Where you broke the handle and the shovel,
you'd have to go and find a tree, find the right branch,
you'd have to go and find a tree, make a new one.
REBECCA: We had a very free childhood, I would say.
REBECCA: We had a very free We were always outside, outdoors.
When we went to Kununurra,
our friends would just be, like, jumping on a trampoline, you know, When we went to Kununurra,
our friends would just be, like, jumping on a trampoline, you know,
in a small backyard.
And we were like, "Well, OK, you know, where's the fun in this?"
WOMAN: From an early age, Dad put a lot of responsibility on us,
and we helped out a lot before and after school.
So there was always chores,
and, um, you know, he wouldn't tell us how to do things, So there was always chores,
and, um, you know, he wouldn't tell us how to do things,
he would tell us what needed to get done.
CHRIS: For the children, it wasn't unconventional at all
because this was reality for the children.
The rest of the world was unconventional.
REPORTER: Pretty much the only thing that's come off this property
REPORTER: Pretty much the only thing in the past decade or so is soil.
Possibly millions of tons of it, washed down the creeks
and rivers and out to sea during a wet season deluge.
I was passionate about the land, passionate about conservation,
but I had no inkling that this country was... I was passionate about the land, passionate about conservation,
but I had no inkling that this country was...
..that there was an issue here.
So by '92, we'd realised that something was very wrong.
The very areas that had attracted us, these little oases,
were being carved up and draining and dying.
Every morning I would wake up with sand between my teeth,
because when you had the wind and the storms come in,
there was no vegetation around.
It was just dirt.
And Chris knew from what he had seen in Africa
where desertification had started,
he knew the same thing was happening in these rangelands.
he knew the same thing was That we were losing a lot of soil,
and unless something was done, it would all be a desert one day.
CHRIS: The conventional thinking is that we had too many animals.
When we first arrived on the property,
my estimation was that about 1,200 head of feral cattle
my estimation was that about and about 400 feral donkeys,
and so then we did the destock.
And then after the destock, things got worse.
All of a sudden we had a fire problem.
We forgot to tell the grass to stop growing,
and the grass grew and we ended up with a fire nightmare.
That's when he then started going back to, you know,
doing different courses, learning more about it,
finding like-minded people to talk to.
finding like-minded Mostly they weren't in Australia,
they certainly weren't in the Kimberley.
CHRIS: In '97, I found out about the work of Alan Savory
and that in seasonally dry environments you need
the large herbivores for their mouths and hooves
the large herbivores to keep the soil healthy.
That's when the penny dropped and I realised,
"Hey, we need more mouths and hooves, not less."
Basically, we're getting them to do what their wild ancestors
would have done prior to domestication,
and that's a role that's sorely needed in the Australian landscape.
Our cattle are very valuable as a landscape management tool.
They mulch, fertilise and prune vegetation,
which helps build the soil structure.
Each one will take about 15 kilos of manure
Each one will take about and spread it around the landscape.
So we've got these landscapes...
..seasonally dry landscape that's dotted with
..seasonally dry landscape these biologically active microsites.
It's still humid. It's damp.
This will be working for another two months,
This will be working and then it just goes dormant.
And when the rain comes, it'll explode with life.
And the question is, what do we do in the areas
where the cattle don't readily go to?
And we already had donkeys,
and I realised, well, maybe let's not shoot the donkeys,
let's have a no-shoot zone between this gorge and the next gorge.
let's have a no-shoot zone between And we started experimenting.
JACQUIE: We have very, very rough country out here.
We have a lot of rocks, we have a lot of, you know, steep banks.
The cattle won't go up there, but the donkeys will.
CHRIS: We've learned that we can manipulate the donkey behaviour
through lick blocks, through how we shift the cattle around.
It's actually been a surprise to me that donkeys are a key ingredient,
because I didn't like donkeys.
By appreciating the value that these animals could have in a landscape,
that's when I started getting enthusiastic about it.
(SHOUTS) (DONKEYS BRAY)
When I was young, and Dad first started out there,
they laughed at him. When I was young, and Dad first started out there,
they laughed at him.
They would say things behind his back, no doubt.
JACQUIE: Most people, you know,
thought he was a crazy Rhodesian, maybe.
I guess they couldn't really understand because, you know,
like, obviously you have to have an income somewhere,
and with a young family, why would you suddenly put
all your efforts into regenerating land?
all your efforts BOBBY: It is a bit of a challenge
because Kachana hasn't paid its own way yet, BOBBY: It is a bit of a challenge
because Kachana hasn't paid its own way yet,
um, and we are supporting it off...by our farm income.
Oh, there's a spider there.
JACQUIE: Chris had some investments,
we've got an apartment in town that we rent out,
and then I sometimes go and work a little bit as well.
CHRIS: The hardest part was the social rejection and the ridicule.
I found the peer pressure was more of an issue for Jacquie
I found the peer pressure and the children.
I could always see the reward and the children.
I could always see the reward in what I was doing
by looking outside and nature responding,
but the drudgery of being based in the camp
but the drudgery of being and having primitive conditions
and people thinking your husband's a nutter,
or your dad's nutter, you know, that was the pressure
or your dad's nutter, you know, that the children suffered from.
Like, especially when they left here and realised,
"Oh, nobody can relate to what we've been through."
KRISTINA: I think now people are starting to wake up and listen,
and more and more people are going towards the regenerative
way of managing the land, and that's really exciting.
ANTHONY: The method of regeneration
is 100% ground cover ANTHONY: The method of regeneration
is 100% ground cover 100% of the time.
So, he achieves this with what he's framed as the new megafauna - is 100% ground cover 100% of the time.
So, he achieves this with what he's framed as the new megafauna -
large herbivores that used to run on the Australian continent.
The diprotodonts of today, he would say.
This is a fledgling experiment in many ways.
They still don't have enough megafauna
They still don't have to cover their whole 200,000 acres,
but they've got these model areas
which show extraordinary regeneration
of grasslands at Kachana.
Now we've got this ground cover, it actually acts as a filter.
So all the water that goes through here into the main river
gets filtered, and you've got clean water going out there.
I can only admire the work that he's done out at Kachana Station,
you know, and he's used his cattle and he's used his donkeys
to take care of country.
You know, I believe that what Chris is doing is a perfect example
of what Aboriginal people want to see on their country.
JACQUIE: A few years ago, Chris won an award as soil champion
for the Kimberley region for, you know, the work he was doing.
for the Kimberley region for, And I think, "Wow, this is amazing."
CHRIS: There are a number of tests for rehydrating your property,
and the simplest test is go to the lowest end of your property
and drink what runs off it.
And I'm perfectly happy to do that.
That's good.
Yeah, good enough for me.
Cheers.
He's slowly starting to get recognised, which is really nice
because it's been a long battle for him,
and I think it still is a fairly big battle, especially with the donkeys.
CHRIS: We thought we were doing quite well
and it was looking very promising,
and then all of a sudden 2018, the rules seemed to have changed.
We were told, no, we'd have to get rid of the donkeys.
And, yeah, I guess there was a... on my part, it was just disbelief.
ANTHONY: The Department of Agriculture and Regional Development
issued a shoot order to Kachana Station to kill the donkeys
they'd observed in a helicopter flyover inspection.
It's effectively a culling order that they're expected to implement.
FILE FOOTAGE: The wild donkeys are descendants of pack animals
FILE FOOTAGE: The wild donkeys used in the old gold rush days.
ANTHONY: The wild donkey story started when donkeys were
brought out to Australia as transport and beasts of burden.
And, like many other pests today,
they were let go and then came to be regarded as feral,
as they were doing extraordinary damage to the landscape.
In the Kimberley alone, upwards of half a million donkeys
have been culled in the last four decades or so. In the Kimberley alone, upwards of half a million donkeys
have been culled in the last four decades or so.
MAN: In relation to Kachana Station, I can't comment on the specifics
MAN: In relation to Kachana Station, of what they're looking to achieve
in the use of donkeys on their property,
but donkeys are certainly one of the major problems in the use of donkeys on their property,
but donkeys are certainly one of the major problems
in northern Australia. one of the major problems
in northern Australia.
They can carry weeds, and they do have the tendency to change
soil structure by removing the native grasses,
and in some cases they will create erosion on the banks
or actually get into the water and increase turbidity.
We think of donkeys in line with lantana, cane toads,
We think of donkeys in line feral horses, etc.
Under the guidelines of the WA state legislation
that has declared donkeys as a feral pest,
it is the responsibility of the landholder to control
and manage donkeys on their landholdings.
CHRIS: I'm not for one minute suggesting we need to sort of unleash
CHRIS: I'm not for one minute wild donkeys all over the Kimberley.
I'm interested in managing the resource that I'm responsible for.
The feral behaviour we've always culled against
right from the start, and we still do.
We had up to 150-odd, depending on the seasons.
If it was a drier season, we'd bring that number back down.
(HELICOPTER BLADES CLATTER)
You know, I've shot an awful lot more donkeys than any one
of those people sending us letters in the department have.
But to go out there and shoot our little population of donkeys
that we know to do good, no, that won't be me.
that we know to do good, And it won't be Chris.
CHRIS: I realise we've got to look at it from the science point of view,
and the role of science is not to defend your hypothesis,
and the role of science is not it's to challenge it.
So we need to have research, and we came across Arian Wallach.
Thanks for coming up.
ARIAN: I'm an ecologist interested in feral and invasive species.
ARIAN: I'm an ecologist interested The first time I came to Kachana,
I was struck by the complexity
of what was going on here.
CHRIS: So, I run this country here.
You know, it's too rough for cattle. Yeah.
And you can see the donkeys, they go up here regularly.
And you can see the donkeys, Yeah.
ARIAN: In this case, Yeah.
ARIAN: In this case, we have an opportunity
to ask some really interesting ecological questions,
such as the relationship between donkeys and fire.
REPORTER: Burning through thousands of hectares,
a bushfire shuts the Kimberley outback's main highway.
ANTHONY: Fire is an extraordinary problem in the Kimberley.
Everybody agrees, we have to prevent wildfire.
Yeah, so, then this is this year's prime dust bath.
One of the interesting things that donkeys do is dig dust baths.
They'll rub around in the soil until it becomes powdery and soft.
These dust baths are a good thing if you don't like fire.
Once it rains, those depressions fill up with water.
Once it rains, those depressions Vegetation grows on the edge of it,
the soil becomes wetter
and the fire becomes less likely to spread through the environment.
and the fire becomes less likely to I'll use those later in the year.
If there's a fire, I can back-burn I'll use those later in the year.
If there's a fire, I can back-burn off one of these pads.
If there's a fire, I can back-burn You can see...
Donkeys can cut down fire risk in ways that cows cannot
because they can eat dry, senescent vegetation,
the most flammable vegetation, and they can go up into the hills
the most flammable vegetation, where you really can't control fire.
So, in the hills, in places as rocky and steep as the Kimberley,
So, in the hills, in places as rocky it's either fire or donkeys.
In 2021, we were given an infringement notice
and a pest control notice, which we've challenged
and a pest control notice, and are still challenging.
BOBBY: And, so, we asked for the pest control notice to be reviewed
under the State Administrative Tribunal,
and it appears at this point in time, there will be a hearing
and it appears at this point scheduled for later in the year.
JAMES: One thing I do believe that Chris deserves is an ear,
you know, and great constructive conversations, JAMES: One thing I do believe that Chris deserves is an ear,
you know, and great constructive conversations,
because looking after country is everyone's responsibility.
I don't want to go to jail, but I don't...
..I want to be able to look my grandchildren in the eye and say,
"Listen, I knew what was going on, I did my best to communicate that."
I'll go visit him in jail if they want to lock him up,
and if I need to go, as well, as being one of the directors,
and if I need to go, as well, we'll see.
JACQUIE: This is another example where I would have given up
JACQUIE: This is another example years and years ago.
I don't know if Chris actually knows how to give up,
I don't know if Chris actually knows but, you know, it's up to him.
It's got to sit right for him, and I will just support him.
KRISTINA: Hello. JACQUIE: How are you?
Hello, Kristina.
Um, so, today was the deadline.
We sent in all the witness statements, so that's happening,
that process is continuing,
and we have faith that'll do its thing.
Are you feeling a little bit less stressed now, Dad?
You know, we've got science...I believe we've got science on our side
and let the science prevail.
It's had a lot of impact on Dad. He had health issues last year.
That would have definitely been related to stress.
CHRIS: Well, it's totally derailed my whole succession plan.
Like, I'd hoped to be retired a long time by now,
but, like, I'm ready to step back the moment someone steps up.
If any of the children come back to live here, that would be great.
I can't see it happening within the next five years.
If you just penalise innovation,
well, we're not going to expect young people to step up to the plate.
BOBBY: I do want to see Kachana, if possible, stay in the family.
BOBBY: I do want to see Kachana, Thumbs up?
With, you know, either myself Thumbs up?
With, you know, either myself or a combination of us running it
and managing it and making that happen.
But I'm definitely hesitant to keep investing more money and time
until we have a clear way forward.
We're hoping that once we get a positive result with the donkeys,
we can start focusing on our succession planning
we can start focusing on a bit more as a family.
It would be disappointing to see the land go back to what it was.
REPORTER: As a family, you're going without a lot of the day-to-day
conveniences which most people come to take for granted.
What has that done for you
and what do you think it's doing for your kids?
JACQUIE: I actually think it's very good for the children
JACQUIE: I actually think and also for us.
You learn to communicate
because you can't run away You learn to communicate
because you can't run away from each other.
You just have to, you know, sort your problems out.
I think the love story is stronger, much stronger.
So, you're going to retire with me out here, aren't you?
So, you're going to retire with me I will. I will support you.
You've got to say I do. (BOTH LAUGH)
JACQUIE: I learned to love Chris as Chris,
JACQUIE: I learned to and that's nice.
That is much better than just, and that's nice.
That is much better than just, you know, falling in love.
It's been tested a bit, hasn't it? It has been tested a lot.
I think I might have fallen out of love a few times,
I think I might have but I have...I certainly love you
much more now than then, I would say.
And it's...yeah, it's a strong love.
Likewise. So, it's good.
It's been a success against the odds.
CHILD: I don't want to get lost.
BOBBY: Get lost?! Oh!
I don't know where that came from.
I'm swimming with my clothes on, Mummy.
With your clothes on? Yeah!
Whoo!
(LAUGHTER)
Dad!
Hey!
That is funny.
Perfect. Nice and cold?
MAN: What a shot! How cold is it? Cold.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation