City Country Kids
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to grow up more than 16 hours drive from the nearest capital? What about going to school in a high-rise building in the centre of one of those big, busy cities? In this story, we meet Angus from country Queensland and Emilia from Melbourne. They're joining us to share some of the ways their lives are different and some of the things they have in common.
EMILIA: Hi, I'm Emilia and I'm 12 years old. I live in Sandringham in Melbourne with my younger sister, who's 8, my mum and my dad.
ANGUS: Hi, I'm Angus. I live on Hughenden Station with my mum, my dad and my big brother Lawson.
CITY LIFE
EMILIA: This is the acorn patch, it's a park near my house. Its called the acorn patch because there are lots of oak trees. I love going here with my dog. My dog's called Gryffindor, he's a miniature Schnauzer. My sister and I named him Gryffindor because we absolutely love Harry Potter!
One of my favourite hobbies is cooking and I do it quite often! One of the things I really enjoy doing is climbing trees and doing ballet with a few chores in-between!
EMILIA: I love living in Melbourne because there are so many things to do and great facilities such as the beaches, parks and the playgrounds.
There are also art galleries, theatres, sport games and lots of shops. The markets are my favourite!
COUNTRY LIFE
Hughenden station is four hours from Townsville. It was founded in 1863 and my family's owned it since 1985. We have 37 thousand acres of land - that's a lot of space!
ANGUS: My favourite things are the pets. They are always there with you. I got three horses at home and I got all my dogs - Buster, Ranga, Lacey, Nic, and Aussie.
I often help my Dad with work, but sometimes we go camping in the bush! I also play sport!
Town is ten minutes away. Only around a thousand people live in Hughenden, but it's known for some big things!
ANGUS: This is a Muttaburrasaurus - it's a big attraction in Hughenden. There've been a lot of bones found here in Hughenden. It's what makes it really famous.
There's even a dinosaur museum where you can see some fossils found here!
This is where kids go to get the best milkshakes!
The best thing about the country is all the space.
ANGUS: You get to play in wide open spaces, there's always a fresh breeze and you get to see more and more things every day.
CITY LIFE
EMILIA: I catch the train to school - it takes me about 40 minutes. I really like catching the train `cause I can read or listen to music. The only problem about Melbourne is that the public transport can be quite busy. It also gets quite wet and cold and rainy like today.
My school is a high-rise building in the CBD! We have ten levels and move around for different subjects. Level six is science, level two is the arts, and level one is sport!
EMILIA: So we go here for PE and we play all different types of sports. You can also come here at lunch time to run around and have fun!
We can also play outdoors on the terrace!
Sometimes we get to go to different places for lessons like the art gallery, or Etihad stadium.
EMILIA: I like going to high-rise school in the city because it's different to other schools and there's lots of stuff to do. You also don't have to walk around as much and it's really fun!
COUNTRY LIFE
ANGUS: I live ten minutes out of town, so I gotta wake up a lot earlier than all my friends in town.
My school has 42 students and I'm the School Captain for this year. I'm Year 6, but my class is Year 4, 5 and 6. It means you get to meet more kids and play with everyone. I'm actually the only boy in my grade!
ANGUS: The girls kind of keep me in check all the time and make sure I'm doing the correct thing. They keep me in line, it's kind of funny sometimes!
At school, we have a veggie garden and five chooks.
ANGUS: That's their nest in there where they lay their eggs. We usually get a few eggs per day. And, yeah.
EMILIA: I hope you've enjoyed learning about my life in the city!
ANGUS: And I hope you've liked learning more about the country. See you later guys!
- Amelia Moseley | Reporter
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