Country living and a generous heart

Lin Huddleston was a power house on the land and to those who knew her.

Born in 1933 in Wilcannia as Elinor Laura Fitzgerald, she was sent to Adelaide to the then-Presbyterian Girls’ College, returning to manage the family-owned Burragan Station in northwestern New South Wales when her father died.

Over 60 years on the station, Lin expanded the property to some 135,000 acres, running up to 9000 sheep and several hundred cattle.

Regarded as a very hard worker, she would tackle any tasks on the farm.

“During shearing, she would slaughter sheep to feed the shearers and wasn’t afraid to get in the cattle yards at branding time,” said Peter Mann, her long-term accountant and executor of her estate. “There is little doubt that she was some tough lady.”

A steely and determined woman, Lin won awards for her wool exhibits and also enjoyed great success in horse racing.

She married Lawrence (Laurie) Huddleston, a station hand on the property, much to her mother’s disapproval. Lin and Laurie did not have any children and lived on the farm with Lin’s beloved chihuahuas until Laurie’s death in 1998.

In 2007 Lin moved to a Broken Hill nursing home and when she died in 2012, a portion of her estate was used to establish the Lin Huddleston Charitable Foundation.

“Lin was a private but generous woman who wanted to use her success to give back in a deeply meaningful way,” said Peter.

SAHMRI has been a beneficiary of the Foundation, receiving more than $400,000 for heart disease and cancer research. This has provided significant support to purchase new equipment, and to fund vital research projects, improving the quality of life for those living with heart disease and cancer.