With two-and-a-half bitumen roads and about 15 residents, the outback Queensland town of Adavale is no metropolis.
Vietnam veteran Ted Robinson wouldn't want it any other way.
Warning: Readers are advised that content in this story includes the discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.
"Listen to that, there's nothing — it's wonderful," he said.
Mr Robinson and six mates purchased a dilapidated hut in the red-dirt town, about 1,000 kilometres from home on the Sunshine Coast, for $200 in the 1990s.
They spotted it on their way out to the Birdsville Races.
"A few of us came into the Adavale Hotel that night, and they were telling us about the old hut down the street we could buy for $10," he said.
"It sits on two blocks, so we offered a $100 per block."
The location started out as an occasional outback escape for a small group of friends — all veterans.
The isolation, serenity, and small community were a profound tonic for Mr Robinson's post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following deployment to the Vietnam War in 1968 as reinforcement and then work as a police and news photographer in Australia.
"It's finding a place where you can get a bit of peace," he said.
"I'm a lot safer out here than I am on the Sunshine Coast, [where] there are temptations everywhere and you have sirens every 20 minutes, planes and helicopters flying over all the time."
An outback escape
In 2021, The Hut site became the charity-run Adavale Veterans Retreat, where veterans and first responders can stay in air-conditioned dongas for $30 a night.
Navy veteran John Francis, from Canberra, said experiences at Adavale have aided his struggle with PTSD.
"When I left the navy, I joined the Victoria Police, so I've had a double dose," Mr Francis said.
"Going out to Adavale has helped and assisted in many ways, whether it's sitting by yourself on Blackwater Creek trying to catch a yellowbelly [fish] or just wandering around the old dump there trying to find treasures.
"The peace and the solitude of that place, watching that sun go down on that horizon and watching a billion stars come out, you forget about your problems."
The group behind the Adavale Veterans Retreat charity ran a similar operation — the Alaric Veteran's and Ex-servicemen's Retreat — for more than a decade on a nearby property in south-west Queensland.
Combined, the two retreats have hosted about 1,000 visitors in the west.
Mr Robinson said it highlighted how the concept of disconnecting and finding peace in remote outback places resonated with many veterans.
"It de-stresses them, and they're also in a place where they're not judged," he said.
"Staying in a caravan park, in a town mingling with civilians who look at you and think, 'What's wrong with you? You're not missing a leg or an arm, why should you get money from the government every week?'
"But out here, in the veteran community, we know. You don't have to explain to another veteran."
'This is what we can do'
Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed 1,273 former and serving defence personnel took their lives between 2001 and 2019.
Mr Robinson said his community involvement following veteran suicides had been a major motivator for starting veteran retreats.
"When you roll around to a parent's place and their decorated son has just bloody topped himself, it really gives you the motivation to do something," he said.
"This is what we can do — me and my mates can do this."
Anecdotal evidence supports retreats
Associate professor Lisa Dell from Phoenix Australia Centre, the national centre for post-traumatic mental health, said there were "several" outdoor retreats like the one in Adavale across the country.
She said there was anecdotal evidence of their benefits.
"They also provide an opportunity for individuals to step away from usual life and connect with others," Dr Dell said.
"And we know that being with and connecting with people who understand your experiences — especially for veterans — can be quite powerful.
"These retreats aren't geared towards treating PTSD in veterans and that's a good thing because we have very clear guidelines for the treatment of PTSD."
Dr Dell said there were no overarching or national guidelines about how these types of programs should be structured or run.
"We don't want to stop these programs, we know that they're attractive, we know people enjoy engaging with them, and the feedback is often positive," she said.
"But what we really need to be doing is just making sure that they're designed and monitored appropriately."
