The Mistake Creek story unfolds on a cattle station on the border of Northern Territory and Western Australia, near Kununurra. Steven Craig is the manager of Mistake Creek Station - a large pastoral lease fully owned by the Aboriginal traditional owners, who form the board of directors. Run entirely by Aboriginal people, Mistake Creek is an example of how commitment, dedication and sheer hard work can fulfil your dreams.

Steven is a bushman to the core, having worked on stations from an early age.

"Went right through Grade 7 - in the front door and out the back. That was the end of the education for me," he recalls.

Steven dropped out of school aged 13 and has progressed the hard way, learning the skills of a ringer and a stockman, before finally becoming a station manager.

His father died when he was very young and Steven was brought up by his cousin, Ronnie Ogilvie, who appears in the film. "I don't know if he wanted to be a ringer at the time, but that's where I was going, y'know," Ronnie says.

Steven knows the seasons like the back of his hands. He knows the country and every rugged landmark. This is where he is at homeŠout on the range in the dust of the muster.

But Mistake Creek is more than a story of a cattle station. It's a story about family. In this film, for the first time, Steven and his wife Jo-Anne tell us about the struggle they had to keep their marriage and family together through years of separation, when Steven had to take work wherever he could find it; often being away from his family for months at a time. There were issues about where they would live, where they could find work and how best to educate their children: Daniel, Weebie and Lindsie.

"One of the main reasons I didn't want to live out bush was because of the education. I always thought that the best education for your kids is at school, but when we shifted out here I realised your kids get a better education doing School of the Air because it is one-on-one," says Jo-Anne.

It's not easy living on such a remote property. Although Steven was always drawn to the bush, Jo-Anne was reluctant to move away from town. Over the years they found a balance and it's clear that they are now very close and appreciate each other deeply, having supported each other and weathered difficulties along the way.

CAAMA Productions executive producer, Cilla Collins went with husband Allan Collins (director and cinematographer) to Mistake Creek last year. After the trip Cilla was dedicated to tell their story. Allan returned to spend more research time with Steven and Jo-Anne. At that stage, the focus was on the running of a successful cattle station, but Allan began to see the story differently.

Allan says, "Documentaries that interest me are personal stories. I was struggling with the concept of Steven's 'achievement' in relation to other people who have achieved on, say, a political level. Then I realised it was actually pretty simple - it was a love story about the achievement of building a strong family."

In their daily lives, Steven and Jo-Anne wouldn't normally talk about the issues they discuss in the film.

Series producer Rod Freedman discussed the change of emphasis with Allan and supported the idea of making the family the main character in the film.

"This is a very personal story which reflects Allan's interest in the universal truths of family life rather than the original focus on the business side of running a cattle station. This is a stylish, beautifully filmed and paced documentary that reflects a lifestyle that most of us know nothing about," says Rod.

Shot on widescreen 16:9 Digital Betacam by Allan, the cinematography brings to life the beautiful, vast landscape of this special part of Australia as well as the ultimately rewarding lifestyle of a warm, hard-working family.

The six-part Everyday Brave series was designed not only to celebrate Indigenous Australian achievers but also to offer production opportunities and skills development to Indigenous filmmakers.

• About the filmmakers
• About the production companies
• Behind the scenes: production stories
• Back to Indigenous Voices Showcase home

For more about the series and specific episodes, see our program detail pages where you can also purchase video copies online:

• Everyday Brave: The Series
• For Who I Am-Bonita Mabo
• Jetja Nai Medical Mob-Naomi Mayers
• Media Nomads-The Thaiday Brothers
• Mistake Creek-Steven Craig
• Saltwater Bluesman-Uncle Kiddo Taylor
• Stranger in My Skin-Ray Cotti

Download a copy of the Everyday Brave teachers notes (Acrobat pdf, 392kb)

Download a copy of the Everyday Brave press kit (Word file, 336k) which includes:

• synopses
• production stories
• filmmaker biographies
• full credit list

for each episode

Note: detailed information is available for many titles in press kits that are downloadable from program detail pages.