Teaching in Queensland: Sarah Lions falls in love with remote experience

Sarah Lions was happily living on the Sunshine Coast with her husband, Jaycob, and their three young children when she felt the call to adventure.

Sarah Lions was happily living on the Sunshine Coast with her husband, Jaycob, and their three young children when she felt the call to adventure.

While she loved her teaching job at Currimundi Special School and the home they’d lovingly renovated, life felt too busy to enjoy the most important things.

“We’ve always been ocean lovers but life just felt a little bit too fast paced. Between work and the renovations we weren’t getting to the beach with the kids nearly enough, so we decided it was time for a change,” Lions, 33, says.

After spending a week in the Torres Strait Islands as part of the Queensland government’s Rural and Remote Teacher Experience Program, Lions was ready to pack up the house and make the move.

“I just knew we’d found the adventure that we’d been dreaming of. We wanted a slower pace, we wanted more time together as a family, and we wanted an opportunity to experience something unique and different. We just figured life’s too short to be stuck doing the same thing day after day, so we took a leap and we haven’t looked back,” she says.

It’s been almost a year since the family moved to Boigu Island in the Torres Strait, home to 180 people and a school of 40 children. While it was hard leaving family and friends behind, they’ve made plenty of new friends and fallen in love with the islander way of life.

Sarah and Jaycob Lions with sons Finn (7) Harry (5) and Jack (3).

Sarah in the classroom.

“The slower pace of life here is exactly what we were looking for. Island time is a real thing and it’s been a blessing. We feel like we have more hours in the day to enjoy as a family, whether it’s exploring the islands, fishing or just enjoying fresh coconuts. We love the connection to the ocean and the deep sense of community that comes with living here. And our boys have picked up the local creole language. They’ve learned local dances and are making lifelong friends with the local kids, so that’s been really nice as well.

“The Torres Strait Island culture is just such a part of our life now and we’re really grateful to learn from it,” she says.

To encourage more teachers to move to regions where they are needed, the Rural and Remote Teacher Experience Program allows Queensland state school teachers to get a taste of what living and working in places including Far North Queensland, North Queensland, Central Queensland and Darling Downs South West would be like. The program includes a one-day orientation with a host school, a weekend staying in the community, and five days of teaching at the host school.

Teachers can apply for a regional or remote position with benefits including financial incentives and allowances, reduced HECS debts, more opportunities to undertake leadership roles, additional leave days, subsidised housing, relocation assistance and more.

“One of the perks of living up here is you are able to save money. It’s given us the financial flexibility to plan for holidays and future adventures, so we’re in a good spot financially,” she says.

Sarah Lions out fishing.

Jack (3), Harry (5) and Finn (7) are loving the adventure.

The financial incentives have also allowed her and Jaycob to balance work and family life. When they first moved to the island, Jaycob cared for their three sons Finn, 7, Harry, 5, and Jack, 3, before taking on part-time work doing maintenance jobs at the school and on the island.

“We really believe it takes a village to raise a child and that’s part of the culture up here,” Lions says. “We’ve always been the types to embrace change, even if it seems a little wild. We just trust our instincts and when the opportunity to move came up, it just felt right, so we embraced it.”

Health services are also available, with two nurses living and working full-time on the island and a doctor visiting every fortnight.

“We love the idea of giving our boys a chance to grow up surrounded by nature, a strong community and a rich culture. We’re making some good memories. It’s amazing,” she says.

Like Lions, Campbell Evans, 24, is a teacher who is loving the relaxed lifestyle of the rural town of Richmond, halfway between Townsville and Mount Isa in northwest Queensland. Originally from Townsville, he initially received a grant to complete his teaching prac in Winton. It was here that he met his wife Rachel, also a teacher, and ended up staying for three years. When Rachel was offered a promotion in Richmond, he also applied for a teaching position there and got it.

“It’s easy going and stress-free. Everywhere is 30 seconds away and you don’t have that hustle and bustle of the everyday commute which makes a big difference,” he says.

“The fact there are fewer people, for me personally, I find it very stress-free, because you haven’t got people moving a million miles an hour around you. One of the best things about it has been making new friends and the quality of the people out west. Something that is getting lost a bit on the east coast with the rise of social media is when you walk around the shops or the pub, you barely have any interactions because everyone’s heads are down.

“If you go out west, everyone’s heads are up because everyone out here values time and connection with each other,” Evans says.

Teacher Campbell Evans

As well as receiving subsidised housing and paying just $96 a fortnight in rent, Evans and his wife have been able to save money thanks to the additional financial incentives that come with working in a rural setting.

“In the last couple of years I’ve saved a fair bit and been able to buy an investment house on the coast. I’ve saved it for travel and spent it on overseas trips as well. It definitely allows you to get ahead financially,” he says.

After four years working at a remote school, Evans’ $20,000 HECS debt is due to be wiped next year. He has also just accepted a promotion to become head of curriculum in Winton and will be moving back there next year.

A wise friend from Winton once told Evans how to respond when people ask him, “What’s out there?”

“It’s not what’s out here, it’s what’s not here, and what you do to fill in those spaces,” Evans says.

■ In partnership with the Queensland Government

Originally published as Teaching in Queensland: Sarah Lions falls in love with remote experience