At the end of each term, Haylie Hill packs the car and trailer, gathers the children and heads home to Camooweal. They cannot wait to get there. Home means their dad, familiar faces, freedom for the children and a community where they belong.
During term, though, Haylie and her three children live in Charters Towers, while her husband keeps working away. Education has reshaped their family life, and affordability sits at the centre of that decision.
In this episode of Letters from Home, Haylie shares what it means to make a choice that opens doors for your children while taking you away from the life you love.
Together, Haylie and her husband run a contracting business. Before the move, she taught their younger children through School of the Air and helped in the business. They could follow her husband to jobs and work together, fitting lessons around the demands of remote life.
But with two children boarding, a prolonged wet season disrupting work and travel costs mounting, the numbers became increasingly difficult. At one point, the family was spread across three places. Evenings were a succession of phone calls, trying to stay connected to children and a husband who were all somewhere else.
Haylie researched the alternative: moving with the children so they could attend school as day students. There would be rent, two electricity bills and two households to manage. Financially, it proved the better option for them. Emotionally and practically, it brought another set of challenges.
“But in the end, it has been worth it, but it is hard.”
There is real joy in this chapter, too. Haylie can watch her daughter play rugby, see her friendships develop and be there for everyday school life. Yet the children miss their dad, and Haylie misses home, community events and being able to lend a hand.
When asked whether a family scholarship could have enabled her to remain in Camooweal while the children boarded, her answer was immediate: “Absolutely.”
That possibility is at the heart of the Spirit of the Bush Scholarship Foundation we are building: helping families afford boarding so they can keep their home base and continue living, working and contributing in their communities.
Haylie’s story invites us to consider the full cost of accessing education, and what meaningful support could make possible.
Listen to Haylie’s conversation on Letters from Home, and visit The Boarding School Collective for resources to support your family’s education journey.
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