Published: 02:01 BST, 11 August 2026 | Updated: 02:25 BST, 11 August 2026
David Pocock has opened up about the terrifying violence that forced his family to abandon their farm in Zimbabwe and start a new life in Australia.
The former Wallabies captain turned independent senator was 14 when his parents moved the family to Brisbane following years of political and social turmoil.
Speaking to businessman Mark Bouris on the Straight Talk podcast, Pocock recalled losing the family farm, seeing neighbours murdered and inspecting the bullet holes left in a vehicle after a deadly ambush.
The 38-year-old said he enjoyed an 'amazing childhood' growing up close to nature before conditions in Zimbabwe deteriorated rapidly during the late 1990s.
'The currency started to slide, the government became unpopular and they tried to change the constitution and they lost a referendum,' Pocock said.
'It was kind of this trigger where they just went into survival mode and they basically said, you know, white people and especially white farmers are the reason why Zimbabwe is not doing well.
David Pocock revealed his family fled Zimbabwe after losing their farm as deadly violence engulfed neighbouring communities
Pocock (left) was just 14 years old when his family was forced to flee the violence in Zimbabwe
The former Wallabies captain told Mark Bouris that several neighbours were murdered during Zimbabwe's political turmoil and unrest
'And there was this sort of mass land redistribution program.'
Pocock said his family had once never imagined leaving the country they considered home.
However, that changed as then-president Robert Mugabe's government intensified its campaign against white farmers.
'Very quickly it went from never imagining that my family would leave Zimbabwe and feeling like this is home, this is my country, to seeing the president on TV saying, you know, white people must leave this country,' Pocock said.
'Thankfully my mum was a qualified teacher and we got in here on a skilled visa, but a huge few years of turmoil.'
