stuartwalmsley.com

02/03/2026

My image of Underbool pool is featured in Guardian Australia Picture Editor Carly Earl's top February photos:

From dramatic protests to a small-town oasis, these are Guardian Australia's top three photos for February. Photographer and picture editor Carly Earl hand-p...

28/02/2026

Great to briefly connect with my old pal  while shooting 's win over the Blues in Canberra last night. 

The 36-year-old prop is on the verge of becoming the most capped player in  history, but he continues to break new ground. 

Last night he pounced on a loose ball and chipped into the backfield for man-of-the-match to chase through and score the opening try. 

After the match he admitted he hasn't kicked in about eight years, even at training, and it amazes me how he continues to withstand the physicality and speed of modern rugby. 

was again outstanding for the hosts, stealing the win with an injury time try, and the Brumbies are sitting pretty at the top of the standings after three weeks. 

Would be nice to see a few more bums on seats in Canberra, though. I know it's not the sexiest venue, but with blokes like Slips strutting their stuff out there, what's not to love?

16/02/2026

On January 27, the northern Mallee was the hottest place on the hottest day in Victoria's history - the peak of nine days in a row above 40°C.

So, when it's 48°C and you don't have air conditioning, or there's a power outage, where do you go?

In Underbool, the answer is the pool. Data shows locals use it at more than three times the national average.

From November through to the end of March, the pool becomes the community hub, and something they've been fighting hard to keep.

Built in the wake of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the facility is falling into disrepair, and locals began a decade-long lobbying campaign which eventually yielded the $3million required for an upgrade.

Mildura City Council mayor Helen Healy says it was “a big deal” for the council to spend so much money on a facility in a town of only 220 people, but Underbool had demonstrated that the pool was integral to life in the town, and that the community punched well above its weight with its economic contribution to the region.

“......there was not one negative about this," she said. "This community is fully deserving”.

During one of the hottest and driest summers for some time, the pool's value is greater than ever, so Guardian Australia called on their middle-of-nowhere correspondent.

On Friday, I had the privilege of attending Underbool Primary School's combined swimming carnival with Tempy, after an early start with the town's regular lap swimmers.

Underbool's school only has around 25 students, but they are all confident in the water, in no small part due to the influence of local swimming teacher Maureen Wandel OAM.

It's a very Australian thing, learning to swim as a kid, and the existence of these facilities in small towns and the dedication of people like Maureen saves many lives every year.

Primary school pupils were among hundreds who made submissions to council, explaining how important the pool was to them.

The full yarn by Steph Convery (who has roots in the Mallee) is now live at the link below.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/16/in-the-tiny-outback-town-of-underbool-the-community-pool-is-a-vital-part-of-life-and-they-almost-lost-it

08/02/2026

First outing with a camera after ankle surgery, but almost put me back into rehab with this pull shot during her match-winning innings for against .au.

A beautiful evening down at Newstead Cricket Club, on the only bit of green grass around town.

A shout out to Gisborne's umpire, 'Mad Dog'. Love your work.

01/01/2026

A couple of ankle surgeries (one planned, one unplanned) has meant a sedentary summer for me but, while I was on two feet, it was another busy year of storytelling.

Much of my work in 2025 was on long-term film projects - yet to be completed - but looking back this morning I was surprised at how many stills jobs I also shot.

There was a return to the rugby sidelines, Stateside with Rugby Football Club Los Angeles, followed by a little R&R in beautiful Oaxaca.

When I returned to Australia in April, I was up and about shooting the Canowindra Challenge, and completed really worthwhile commissions for Vreeland Media, CSIRO & OUTBACK Magazine.

The big shift this year was more regular shoots and writing assignments for Guardian Australia, returning to my media roots on jobs as diverse as the Dezi Freeman manhunt, sheep racing, amateur gold prospecting and boutique cricket grounds made by Swiss-Italian pod shavers (Google Cricket Willow).

My ongoing film projects involve profiling some of our most progressive farmers for Weddin Landcare and documenting the crucial social services work of CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes.

Reflecting on the last 12 months, it occurred to me that no job involves turning up and going through the motions. Every assignment is challenging and stimulating and, increasingly, aligned with my own interests and values. I'm also fortunate to meet a lot of remarkable people through my work.

I feel good about who I am telling stories for, and remain extremely grateful to my loyal client base. These relationships have taken time to build but, these days, most of my assignments feel like collaborations rather than commissions.

There's already quite a bit in the diary for 2026, but I'm sure there will be a few unexpected twists and turns, hopefully involving more mezcalitas.

Oaxaca - I miss you. Anyone have a contact for the Mexico Tourism Board?

26/11/2025

Some stories you really have to chase, and others you come across unexpectedly while looking for worm juice.

So it was that I happened upon Cricket Willow, on a Saturday drive to Daylesford to source fertiliser for the ailing snow peas in my vege garden.

On the way home, I decided to drop in to see how my Newstead clubmates were faring in their Castlemaine & District Cricket Association fixture against Muckleford.

The match was being played at a ground I'd never been to - on a picturesque backroad which meandered through the hamlet of Shepherds Flat (population 71).

I rounded a bend, and let out an audible gasp, because some madman had carved a cricket ground into the side of a hill and surrounded it with willow trees.

The resident cricket nut turned out to be a Swiss-Italian 'handyman' named Ian Tinetti, and the story of why he created a shrine to worship the game can be traced back to MCG Ashes Test of 1902.

I visited Cricket Willow twice more in the following weeks, and a many-layered and timely story revealed itself, which I'm happy to share through Guardian Australia.

It's a tall Tinetti tale about the dying art of bat making, the determination of migrant families, cricket in Vietnam and - believe it or not - a doll collection.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/nov/26/cricket-willow-australian-oval-bat-maker-history

21/11/2025

It's that time of year, again. Experiencing the harvest highs for

03/11/2025

I spent a lovely afternoon with the Bayao family last week, shooting portraits to run with Della Vreeland's Guardian Australia story on why more Australians are moving to satellite cities.

First kid I've ever seen nail a one-armed push-up: they make 'em strong in the Ballarat West Growth Area.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/01/australians-choosing-to-live-regional-satellite-cities

11/10/2025

When my partner and I first moved to central Victoria, I would occasionally hear an alien-like 'woo woo' noise in the adjoining bush.

At first, I didn't know what the hell it was, but while out running one day I almost collided with a fella fixated on the ground, waving a strange 'woo wooing' wand just over the surface.

Turns out he was prospecting for gold and, after a long yarn, he convinced me to regard the clay-heavy soil of our area a little differently.

In recent times, there's been a bit more 'woo wooing' around our place, motivated in no small part by the gold price cracking $AU6,000 an ounce.

Given our proximity to Victoria's famed Golden Triangle, Guardian Australia sent me to investigate if a fresh gold rush is on the offing:

Gold prices have climbed 45% in 2025, the steepest rise since 1979. It’s reignited interest in prospecting – but the odds of striking it rich are slim

15/09/2025

Caragabal Sheep Races are held annually in the village of Caragabal (population 174), 45km west of Grenfell in Central West NSW.

The event began in 2006 to save the village's Country Club and keep the farming community connected in a time of drought.

Sheep-racing funds allow the club to continue to function as a community centre and have paid for a synthetic bowling green, upkeep of tennis courts and 18-hole golf course.

Punters can 'win' sheep in a sweep, or buy a specific animal in the auction before each race, with names like Ewe Jackman, Shorn But Not Forgotten, What The Flock and Lamborghini.

After the popular lolly drop by a cropdusting plane, the day culminates in the Ram's Cox Plate Final, with a $500 purse.

Club president Mitch Po***ck (& wife Karen) are old friends of mine, so I put together this film to honour their efforts. Events like this really do keep people on the land half sane, especially when times are tough.

Search 'Marilyn Merino v Lamborghini: Caragabal sheep races – in pictures' to view my image gallery, shot for Guardian Australia.

Caragabal Sheep Races are held annually in the village of Caragabal (population 174), 45km west of Grenfell in Central West NSW. The event began in 2006 to save…

07/09/2025

I have always loved travelling by train.

When I lived in Europe, it was my default mode of transport, and I am fortunate to live close to a regional line in Victoria.

Unfortunately my job entails carrying a lot of baggage but, when I am unencumbered by cameras, I catch the V/Line service from Castlemaine to Melbourne and cycle happily to my commitments in the city.

It's a (mostly) reliable, comfortable and affordable way to travel to the big smoke, and it allows many folks to live regionally and work for a Melbourne-based company.

Adriana Saraga and Peter O’Brien feel similarly, and when the couple were looking for somewhere to live and bring up their kids, they followed the V/Line to Ballarat.

They both have roles which allow them to work from home three or four days a week, and this flexibility enabled them to move out of Melbourne, to lead a more affordable and balanced lifestyle in the country.

Victorians could soon have a legal right to work from home two days a week under Australia-first laws recently announced by premier Jacinta Allan, and used Adriana and Peter to explain the potential impacts in her latest story for Guardian Australia.

The more affordable housing in Ballarat meant they were able to buy, rather than continue to rent, and Adriana says they have warmed to the feeling of community that characterises regional areas.

The premier herself often works from her home in Bendigo, two hours north of Melbourne, and insists the working from home policy 'works for families and is good for the economy'.

Here's a few images I shot for Della's yarn. Search: ‘No-brainer’: why Victoria’s work from home laws could benefit the regions, to read her erudite words.

Thanks also to Lake Wendouree's chilled-out swans on this one.

10/08/2025

As someone who has benefited from being part of a mens' circle, I felt extra purpose in helping Della Vreeland tell the story of how such gatherings are improving mental health across regional Australia.

These portraits of The Outback Mind Foundation facilitator Bruce Zelinski and founder Aaron Schultz ran with Della's Guardian Australia piece over the weekend.

She spoke to men across Australia about the circles that are enabling participants to open up emotionally and be vulnerable around other men - a preventative, community-based approach to mental health care.

I have witnessed first hand how absent or misguided many clinical services are outside of large urban centres in Australia, and men account for about 75 per cent of all suicides.

It's certainly not traditionally seen as 'manly' in the bush to express emotional vulnerability. Guys feel like they need to just 'suck it up, and get on with it', which is an attitude we desperately need to change if lives are going to be saved.

As Bruce says, it's not that men didn’t want to talk, but more that they 'don’t have the software'.

Supported by The Walkley Foundation Solutions Journalism fund, Della is producing a whole series of articles on regional and rural mental health. Extremely important storytelling.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/10/mens-circles-rural-australia-mental-health-support