Tim Lee
Tim Lee’s passion for rural Australia stems from his childhood spent on family farming properties in Gippsland, eastern Victoria.
He’s been a woolshed roustabout, rabbit trapper and bushfire fighter.
He worked in regional newspapers and television before joining the ABC’s rural department in 1992.
He’s worked around Australia as a rural and regional reporter and as a producer on Australian Story.
Tim joined Landline in 2001 and has reported on the biggest issues in rural and regional Australia.
He’s been awarded a United Nations’ Association Media Peace prize and been named Victorian Rural journalist of the year three times.
Tim is also an historian and author of books on woolsheds, drovers and fishing.
Latest by Tim Lee
How Upton Engineering saw potential in WWII army surplus to change farming
The Upton tractor transformed Australian agriculture and now holds a revered place in engineering history for its innovative design and pulling power.
Ledger from forgotten 'Halfway Hotel' reviving stories of intrepid travellers from a bygone era
Now just a pile of stone, the hotel's ruins lie hidden in Victoria's high country. But a precious piece of record-keeping from the 1890s is providing clues to its past.
The bulletproof plant undergoing high-velocity growth
Hemp is one of the toughest plants on the planet and its potential uses range from bulletproof vests in the US to waterproof flooring for housing and other robust building products in Australia.
Equine ER ambulance to revolutionise health care for million-dollar racehorse foals
When a foal is worth millions of dollars its owners seek the best health care if it becomes ill — and that's what Australia's first 'foal ambulance' aims to deliver in Central Victoria.
Forestry industry pushes back against mounting calls for nationwide native logging ban
Native logging will no longer be allowed in two states from next year, and there are calls for other jurisdictions to follow suit. But some experts and industry representatives say the bans could be devastating for developing nations.
The company turning French fries into eco-friendly cling wrap
The plant-based bio-wrap industry is challenging the dominance of petroleum-based plastics, as consumers become increasingly willing to pay for environmentally friendly alternatives.
Bronze statue of only horse to return home from WWI unveiled during solemn tribute
Sandy was among more than 100,000 Australian horses sent to World War I a century ago but, remarkably, was the only horse to return, with his story now immortalised through a bronze statue in his town of origin.
Final curtain call for Mary Parker, the first woman to appear on Melbourne television
When television arrived in Australia in 1956, Mary Parker became an overnight star and a household name.
This pocket-sized gadget could be the answer to stopping livestock theft
Farmers say it's like having a shepherd guarding stock the whole time. Eartag satellite-tracking technology could save them millions of dollars and a lot of heartache.
How Australian craft brewers and hops growers are finding flavour and favour around the world
The growing popularity of craft brews and the brewers' quest for distinctive aromatic taste has put the focus back onto hops breeders and new varieties.
How some conservation-minded farmers built a wildlife haven in a swamp
Not-for-profit Wetlands Revival Trust is working with traditional owners and community to protect and restore ecologically-significant wetlands in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.
Once almost bereft of trees, this property is now lush with vegetation
Australia imports more than $2 billion of timber per year, but a group of landholders in south-west Victoria which began growing trees three decades ago are now reaping the rewards.
Horse whisperers or not, these Australians are riding high on the world stage
If you've ever ridden a horse you've probably wondered how you can form a closer bond with your equine friend. The challenge of better understanding the animals has made Australian horsemen and women stars on the international stage.
How two veterans of Melbourne's wholesale fruit and vegetable market created Australia’s largest glasshouse operation
Mark Millis and Warren Nichol started Flavorite as part of a quest to grow a tastier tomato. Almost 30 years on, their sons are growing their empire and enjoying the fruits of their labour.
The family keeping the legacy of the Clydesdale alive
The Marriott family's devotion to Clydesdales is especially strong. The family used draught horses to plough fields until the 1960s and are now prominent stud breeders.
How reproductive technology is shaping livestock industries
More and more Australian farmers are adopting a process that allows them to choose the gender of their livestock. Dairy, beef and sheep farmers are using semen that has been sorted into male and female.
How racism tarnished the lustre of gold
The Chinese influence on Australian goldfields is often forgotten or overlooked, however, to their descendants, they are venerated as hardworking and resilient entrepreneurs.
Could a livestock gene bank save endangered farm animals?
The threat of foot-and-mouth disease has intensified the push to protect and preserve Australia's priceless livestock pool. Is a national gene bank the answer?
Sheep have gotten bigger in the 49 years since Rocky began shearing. New technology may lighten the load
New shearing technology promises to eliminate the "catch and drag" of sheep shearing, making it easier on the backs of shearers.
Tracing the wild and woolly heritage of Australia's modern-day Merino
If John and Elizabeth Macarthur, both long dead, magically reappeared on Earth, they would be delighted to see their former residence at Camden, south-west of Sydney, lovingly preserved. And they would be probably tickled pink to see an all-too-familiar type of Merino grazing in nearby paddocks.
Ears, snouts and pizzles: The range of unusual pet foods is rapidly growing
Pet ownership is on the rise and so is Australians' concern for their animals' nutrition. It's seeing demand for pet food soaring and a move towards more unusual proteins.
The riches flowing from Victoria's 'new gold rush'
The gold rush of the 1850s transformed Victoria, but for all the precious metal extracted back then, some believe as much again lies waiting to be discovered.
Unlikely conservationist: Cattle farmer sells land inhabited by critically endangered species in bid to save them
The critically endangered helmeted honeyeater and the Leadbeater's possum have a fighting chance of survival after a farmer sells land to conservationists in a last effort to save the species.
'We owe a great deal to that man': Wosleley's shearing designs changed wool industry forever
In 1888, the sight of 184,000 gleaming white, newly shorn sheep on the dry plains of the Darling River near Louth in New South Wales represented a technological leap and a glimpse of the future, owing much to the perseverance of an industry pioneer.
Settling this harsh and dusty part of Victoria was a battle even ex-soldiers could never win
The ghost town of Annuello lies on the road between Managatang and Robinvale in Victoria's north-west. The last resident left half a century ago, but later this year Annuello's descendants will gather for a reunion.