Mt Barker Courier journalist Scott Murphy’s photo of a young farmer keeping cool amid a heatwave has been recognised in the 2025 Australia Council of Agricultural Journalists (ACAJ) awards.
The photo of 14-year-old Oscar Kowald in a tub at his family’s Mt Torrens farm won the Australian Star Prize for Rural Photography under the people category earlier this month.
The ACAJ professional awards recognise the leaders in Australia’s rural media sector, with finalists nominated by State rural media organisations affiliated with the council.
Mr Murphy said the idea for the photo came from brainstorming creative ways to capture a “fun yet on-topic image” with editor Elisa Rose for a story about the hottest March day across the Hills since 2019.
“I love capturing creative photos that invite readers to a story and I take great pride in this aspect of my job,” he said.
“This was an incredible effort by all the farmers who helped out – Oscar for jumping in the tub and his dad for moving the tub a bunch of times with a forklift as the sun moved.
“Who would have thought being a little silly in telling a story about the weather would generate this much attention.”
Mr Murphy’s photo also won the people category of the SA/NT Rural Media and Communicators (RMC) best individual photo award last year.
“That … was a huge achievement on its own, but to go on and be named the winner of the national award is surreal,” he said.
