THE smell was unmistakable as Chelsea Woolston grew up at the family farm, hemmed in by the spectacular sandstone cliffs of the Grampians.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I'd say 'Mum, you've been spraying again' and she'd say 'yes, yes I have'," Ms Woolston recalled.
"She sprayed Roundup excessively by hand ... spraying the garden out, all the edges, around the laneways and around the shearing sheds."
At the age of 63, Dot Dunn was vigorously healthy, shouldering her share of the physical labour at the farm in western Victoria where she lived with her husband Bernie.
But within 51/2 months of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2011, she was dead.
Bernie Dunn, former Horsham Mayor and former Victorian Nationals president, was devastated to lose his high school sweetheart.
"Mum and Dad met when they were 14 and 16, they'd been together like absolute soulmates from when they were teenagers," Ms Woolston said of her parents. "They just had a beautiful relationship."
Mr Dunn did not repartner, and took on the weed spraying his wife had carried out so conscientiously.
In 2017, Mr Dunn was also struck down with pancreatic cancer at the age of 73, of an identical kind to his wife.
Neither Mr nor Mrs Dunn had a family history of pancreatic cancer, which has been linked to Roundup exposure in scientific studies overseas.
Ms Woolston was blindsided.
"Exact same pancreatic cancer, same spot, and he lived for about eight months," she said.
"I strongly believe it's [Roundup/glyphosate] that killed Mum and Dad prematurely, absolutely. Especially when I read their diaries and find out how much they were using and spraying.
"The oncologist said because they're not genetically related, that it is likely an environmental factor."
The manufacturer of Roundup, Bayer, denies the flagship product is carcinogenic and says its safety is supported by regulators around the world, including the US EPA.
However the key ingredient, glyphosate, has been declared a "probable carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Mr Dunn's career in politics included a stint as leader of the Victorian legislative council. He later served three terms as the mayor of Horsham and was a recipient of an Order of Australia.
In a cruel irony, Mr Dunn had attempted to pioneer a chemical-free grains business in the late 1980s, his daughter recalled.
"He tried to sustain it for five years but he said he just couldn't do it, there was no money in it and if they continued they were going backwards," Ms Woolston said.
READ MORE: Couple awarded $2bn in Roundup cancer case
But her parents considered Roundup "the safest chemical you could use", taking few precautions as they sprayed it liberally around their property to curb the risk of bushfires.
Ms Woolston believes Roundup should be labelled carcinogenic.
It's a touchy subject back home in the Wimmera, where locals depend on the chemical for their livelihoods.
"I'm very wary of that, if we really push how we feel about Roundup we've got a lot of farming friends, that it could have detrimental effects on them," she said.
"There's a big conflict there. It's hard. I know if Roundup is banned, what are all those farmers going to do?"
But Ms Woolston feels she owes it to her parents to spread awareness of the risks.
"It's what my parents would fight for if they were here," she said.
"It's left a huge hole in our family. We've all got young children that are missing out on amazing grandparents. And we're missing out on our parents, they were just robbed of their life."
