There was something in the air when We Are.SA spoke to Karcultaby Area School principal Neil Seaman.
That something was rain, the first good soak after a long, hot summer.
And while a good drop is always welcome in the city to freshen up the lawn or wash the dust off the car, up here – 70km west of Streaky Bay, between the wild West Coast and the rugged Gawler Ranges – rain is a far more important commodity.
It’s literally the difference between success and disappointment in this wheat and sheep country where the vast majority of families earn their living on the land.
"Yeah, it puts a spring in people’s step," Mr Seaman says from the preschool to Year 12 campus surrounded by 300 acres of land (a bit over three-and-a-half acres per student, if the school’s 85 students spread out).
"We’ll need more rain later in the season, but any rain is welcome – especially after the last few years."
For Mr Seaman taking the reins of this little school in the bush was an opportunity too good to refuse.
"I actually did my schooling at Wudinna," he says.
"So I grew up only 60km from here. Mum was in education too, and moved around a bit, so when we landed in Wudinna when I was 10 my brother and I sort of put our foot down and we stayed.
"After Year 12 I moved straight to uni in Adelaide and did my teaching prac in Port Lincoln, and I got a job out of that the following year at Port Lincoln Primary School. When my wife fell pregnant, we decided that moving back to Wudinna where there was more family support would be a good idea."
Working at Wudinna Area School and keen for leadership opportunities, Mr Seaman filled roles at Lincoln Gardens and Tumby Bay before becoming principal at Karcultaby in 2023.
He says Karcultaby Area School, which was established in 1977 after the amalgamation of Minnipa Area School and Poochera Special Rural School, was a unique teaching experience.
"For the kids here, they really are like a big family, and that creates both opportunities and challenges," Mr Seaman says.
"They’re all from the same community, so they not only go to school together, but they also play sport together and do things together on the weekend.
"So one of the challenges we have is to make sure that they are exposed to the diversity that they’ll experience in the wider world.
"We’re always looking at ways to put them into situations which go beyond the school environment."
And, of course, there’s the tyranny of distance.
Port Lincoln is almost three hours down the road, and a drive to the big smoke of Adelaide involves a leisurely six-and-a-half hours in the car.
The students themselves arrive on one of three different school buses, coming from as far away as close to Port Kenny.
But this isolation and closeness produces far more opportunities than challenges, Mr Seaman says.
"Like any school we have kids with their own complexities and challenges, but at Karcultaby they’re just accepted," he says.
"It's part of the culture here and something we prioritise to maintain. There's such a sense of safety and community here.
"We get that feedback from people who visit our school all the time. They tell us what a wonderful place it is and how the learners make eye contact and ask questions and shake your hand. It’s great to hear.”
And when Karcultaby needs to find strength in numbers it simply joins forces with other schools in the region.
"We combine with Miltaburra Area School up the road, which has 40 or 50 kids, for our swimming carnival and our sports day," Mr Seaman says.
"We alternate between the schools for sports day, and we travel to Minnippa for the swimming carnival."
Mr Seaman says Karcultaby proudly claimed the number 10 spot on the list of South Australian public schools in 2025, and that while there were no Year 12s at the school this year, he was excited about next year’s group.
"We actually have a really big cohort of Year 12’s coming though next year, which is very exciting and really promising for our school," he says.
