The film stars Purcell, Rob Collins, Sam Reid, and Jessica De Gouw.

It tells the story of a woman and her stubborn determination to protect her family from the harshness of a life in 1893 in the Snowy Mountains.

It garnered thirteen nominations, including Best Film, at the 12th AACTA Awards, with Purcell winning Best Lead Actress.

The film opens with a scene in which Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell), heavily pregnant, shoots a stray bull which has wandered near her home, after ensuring that her four children are safe.

After Molly returns from a walk, finds Yadaka face down in the yard, as she has contractions, signaling the impending birth of her baby.

Yadaka stays at the homestead while he does odd jobs for Molly which includes felling trees and teaching Danny how to use a spear.

The judge welcomes Nate into the town and says if he makes to Sunday he will swear him in, and when a fight breaks out Nate stops the fight and is cheered on and at the station and when two drovers Robert (Tony Cogin) and John who are in lockup being released reveal that Joe had never missed a drove in 8 years.

Molly rides into town and she goes to the McGuiness' home and retrieves her children telling her that her kids belong with her.

Outside the house, on the front porch, the adult Danny retells to his family the story that Yadaka had taught him years earlier.

It is the first Australian feature film to be written and directed by an Indigenous woman who also stars in the lead role.

The website's consensus reads: "The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson occasionally struggles to cohere, but writer-director-star Leah Purcell offers a unique, compelling perspective on historic myths.