Every Life’s a Story & This is Mine

Dyslexia and growing up in the bush as one of seven kids never stopped Stephen Oxley from writing stories and poems about everything he saw. Always a larrikin, from working on the railway, to cotton farms, bush servos, and farm work, he eventually became a linesman for PMG and Telstra. His story takes us on a winding journey from 1952 to 2022, in Brewarrina, Boorowa, Gerringong, Warilla, WeeWaa, Jerilderie, Gunning, Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga, Balgowlah, Balranald, Mosman, Binalong, Goulburn, Barham, and Orange. Every life’s a story, and this is Stephen’s; his life, loves, mishaps and career, along with a lot of laughter and interesting people.

Stephen Leonard Oxley, born in Boorowa in 1952, has lived and worked throughout NSW his entire life. The third child of seven, he started working on the railway at age 15, later trying his hand working at cotton-picking, at a bush servo, on farms and eventually, training as a linesman for PMG, where he worked for 31 years. After his retirement, Stephen continued working, doing odd jobs and groundskeeping at Burrowa House, Boorowa’s aged care facility. Stephen has always loved to write, jotting down stories and poems since he was small, doing so despite struggling with school and reading. Stephen has two children, Matthew and Danielle, and four grandchildren.