1. What’s the story that lead you to living in a rural community?
I grew up in Nyabing. My childhood years were full of wide open spaces, playing sport, learning to work hard and a vivid imagination of all the places in the word I would travel. My family are farming people - on both sides, and for generations back. So even though I haven’t always lived in the country, I have always been a part of it.
2. Distance from family, friends & services like supermarkets/ fast internet can present challenges to living & working in the bush. What have you found that makes rural isolation easier?
For me isolation is more a state of mind than a physical challenge. I think the benefits of living in a rural environment far outweigh the inconveniences. Isolation brings personal clarity, strength, individualism & creativity, and a strong sense of oneself. The friends you make in small communities are ones really worth having, and your family and old friends are never far away on the end of the telephone or the internet, which makes it very easy to communicate these days - and much less costly than it used to be. Having a sense of purpose and being busy with that purpose makes isolation much less daunting. Having spent 7 years living in Albany while the kids were at high school, I quickly realised that shopping weekly is much more efficient than having the supermarket at your beck & call!
3. Can you tell us about some of the amazing things you’ve done since moving rurally and how its created resilience in your life or to the community?
I moved to Borden in 1994. I was lucky in that there were a group of us who all got married and moved around the same time. I was also lucky that there was a fabulous group of women here who were energetic, talented, stylish and great fun, and us newbies were absorbed into the community with long, long lunches, great nights at the Borden Tavern, all sorts of events and just a super sense of energy. It was an inspiring, ‘can-do’ and very supportive community and I was able to continue to use my work skills in events and marketing to create and run some great events over a number of years. It began on a volunteer basis and lead to me establishing Eventuate as an events and sponsorship business which I enjoyed for over 10 years. I’m now in retirement from that business as my accommodation business has grown to the point where I can’t fit everything in! Probably the highlight was the community run Opera Australia events in 2014 and 2017 (which still crack a mention every now and then), and growing my accommodation business steadily over 20 years to five properties, with guests from all walks of life getting to experience our beautiful part of the world and leave with hopefully a better understanding of farming communities and the rural way of life.
4. How has living rurally effected your relationship with the land/country you work on ?
When you grow up on a farm you have a strong connection to the land. My father has been a farmer for 70 years and has always had a strong affinity with the bush. He instilled in my brother and me from an early age that caring for country is part of what living in this landscape involves. My husband Richard, being a 4th generation custodian of Yardup, also has a strong sense of caring for the land and the creatures that live on it, so it’s something that I don’t think about on a deliberate level, but rather something I see as an inherent part of my life. I must say though, as I get older, and perhaps because of the increase in visual prompts through social media, that I appreciate the beauty of our landscape more often and take it less for granted. I am very aware of how lucky we are to live and work here.
5. Who’s someone in the rural women community who inspires you?
I love the art that is inspired by our landscape, and admire artists such as Bronwyn Gaze and Carly le Cerf who can capture this beauty so meaningfully. I have hosted artists at Yardup who come to paint the mountains and farmland and I am always inspired by the creativity and different perspectives that come from these get-togethers. I am inspired by the next generation of young women forging their way in our community. Pip Moir is a great example at the Borden Pavilion with her role at Coordinator bringing excellent arts events to the region. I love the new knowledge, energy and different take on things that youth brings, and I love to discuss ideas and opinions and new ways of doing things with these fabulous women. And I cannot fail to mention my dear friend Rebecca O’Meehan. We clicked from the moment we met, and she continues to inspire me with her intelligent and well read take on issues - global and local, her widespread and unstinting kindness and generosity, her unwavering loyalty and support and her sense of fun and adventure. We have played sport, raised children, socialised and volunteered together on many community projects and events, and I am continually inspired by her capacity to give of herself.
6. Do someone in the rural women community who inspires you?
My favourite thing about NSPNR at the moment is the bright new take on leading the organisation forward, by some powerhouse women in Stevi Filipowski, Caroline House, Tegan Knowles and Emily Jaekel. It is never easy to find enough volunteers willing to get on board and support local clubs and associations, but Landcare is important in a predominately agricultural area, and I commend these women for working hard to drive change and try new things to attract members and volunteer committee members to join NSPNR. Keep up the good work!