El Rowland

**Elena "El" Rowland** is a contestant from *Australian Survivor* (2016).

Wishing to play a heroic game, El quickly found herself in the majority on the Aganoa tribe, becoming the main ally of Phoebe Timmins. After the tribe dissolve, she would eventually form a power trio with Flick Egginton and Brooke Jowett whilst also developing a strong bond with Lee Carseldine; these four, as well as Sam Webb and Matt Tarrant, would wind up taking control of the Fia Fia tribe. However, it became clear that Lee was her sole true ally; the pairing made it to the final three with the assistance of Kristie Bennett, but a shocking win by Kristie at the Final Immunity Challenge proved her undoing; due to Kristie's stronger bond with Lee, she became the final member of the jury.

## Profile

*Retrieved from 10play.com.au*

**Age:** 33
**Occupation:** Army Corporal & Charity Worker
**State:** QLD

A corporal in the Australian army, El is also the founder of two charity organisations supporting homeless veterans and women in the Defence Force.

A dental nurse by trade, El has been deployed to some dangerous places around the world and spent three months in Thailand after a tsunami. She says: "We lived in collapsed buildings, ate nothing but rations, felt earthquakes, had tsunami scares, didn't sleep for days and didn't shower for the duration."

El has represented the Australian Armed Forces to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and has made it her mission to make a difference for women in the Defence Force.

Mum to four-year-old Darcey, El says she finds humour in every situation and this is her coping mechanism. While physically fit from her love of playing sports like volleyball and netball, she also has a softer side and enjoys writing poems in her journal.

Deciding to apply for *Australian Survivor* was an easy decision for El. "I love adventures, challenges and meeting new people but deep down I applied because I want to inspire people to live the life they were born to live. I want to show people to trust their journey and that nothing is impossible."

El has already planned how she would split her winnings and says: "I'm going to give 10% to five of my favourite charities – Wounded Heroes, Cams Cause, Young Veterans, Ex Stone Pillow and Veteran's Health – and another 10% to a charity I have to decide on. Then I will put some away for my son and perhaps throw a bash to celebrate. I will go on a crazy holiday then probably invest the two dollars that are left."

## Australian Survivor

**This section is empty.** You can help by adding to it.

### Voting History

**^1** In "Episode 23", the vote ended with a 2-2 tie between Matt and Sam, forcing a revote. El changed her vote to Sam on the revote.

## Post-Survivor

* El dated *Australian Survivor* (2016) castmate and runner-up Lee Carseldine. The couple broke up in 2019.
* She started a program called Belle of the Ashes to help and empower women.

## Trivia

* El is the only member of Aganoa to be voted out after the merge and the only member of Aganoa to be a member of the jury.
* El is the first person in *Australian Survivor* to be only juror to vote for a certain finalist while all other jurors vote for the other finalist.

## References

1. ↑ https://10play.com.au/australian-survivor/participants/season-1/el/pa191010islpa
2. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3842138/Australian-Survivor-s-Lee-Carseldine-confirms-relationship-fellow-contestant-El-Rowland.html
3. ↑ https://www.hit.com.au/story/aussie-survivor-couple-lee-and-el-have-called-it-quits-123146