Back Roads: Boot Scootin’ Tour, TAS (ABC TV Monday 14 August 2023)

Back Roads: Boot Scootin’ Tour, TAS airs Monday 14 August 2023 on ABC TV

What can we expect from this episode

Heather Ewart travels to Tasmania with two courageous line dancers who are hosting ‘Hoedowns for country towns’ across Australia in an effort to raise money to help those in need.

In early 2022, friends Claire Harris and Kate Strong decided to take a year off from work and travel around Australia while dancing the Boot Scootin’ style of line dance. Through their travels in WA, SA, QLD, and the NT, they were able to raise money for various charities back home. Heather Ewart has joined them on their Boot Scooting adventure across Tasmania.

They travel from place to place, sleeping in their cars during the day and teaching line dancing to crowds of 100 people or more at hoedowns at night.
One convert is author Rachael Treasure. Her outlook on life shifted drastically after she connected with the Boot Scootin’ girls on Facebook. She invited them to a fundraising hoedown on her farm near historic Richmond in southern Tasmania.

They are assisting Rural Alive and Well (RAW), a Tasmanian mental health charity that operates independently of government funding. RAW is a nonprofit that collaborates with businesses across the world to monitor the emotional health of their employees. Heather meets Paul Jordan, the revered captain of the ‘Diana’ fishing boat docked in Hobart, whose life was changed by RAW.

Heather stops by The Grumpy Goat Co., owned and operated by Alyssa and John Coates, as the final Hoedown draws near Smithton in the northern United States. They take a novel approach to mental health by operating a care farm where young people in the area can help care for 80 goats.

Back Roads transports audiences to some of the nation’s most remote and inspiring communities that highlight rural Australia’s trademark grit, generosity, humour and innovation. Each week award-winning ABC journalist, Heather Ewart, who grew up on a sheep and wheat farm in Victoria, uncovers corners of Australia where misfortune has brought some to their knees, but imagination, faith and fun has lifted them back up.

Season 9 Episode 15

When can we see the episode

Back Roads: Boot Scootin’ Tour, TAS airs Monday 14 August 2023 at 20:00 on ABC TV

Featured image credit: ABC TV