AFTER GROWING UP on 100,000 acres of cattle, sheep and cropping stations in conservative southwest Queensland, Farmer Dave, as he has come to be known, broke down barriers when he boldly came out on Australia’s Big Brother. He even introduced his boyfriend, a former DNA cover model, into the mix as they swayed together on national TV to Belinda Carlisle’s Summer Rain.
Ten years on, that relationship is history – and so is rural Queensland. Dave is now mostly based in northwestern Sydney at his purpose-built Farmer Dave Dog Centre with its sports fields, dams and sheep herding paddocks. He is also in high demand travelling the dog road show and workshop circuit, referring to himself as a “homeless carny”. Yes, a lot may have changed since his stint on Big Brother – but he’s still hounded by bitches!
DNA: Readers will remember you from Big Brother. What was your biggest takeaway from that experience?