The first time a mine forced Wendy Bowman off her Hunter Valley farm, it followed a four-year legal battle in which she fought to prove her land had been destroyed.

The second time she was served an eviction notice, with just six weeks to make way for a new mine.

The third time, she said "enough was enough".

At 83, Mrs Bowman seems an unlikely character to be taking on Yancoal, one of the biggest mining companies in the world. And yet the self-described "country girl" has been lauded for "turning the tables" in the fight against coal development in the Hunter Valley.