Meet the young guns of regional South Australia ahead of the Bush Summit
Whether it’s in business, helping to feed the world, making fine wine, on the sports field, or in our mines, here are the rising stars of regional SA.
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As part of The Advertiser’s Bush Summit in Port Lincoln on Tuesday, we’ve been championing all that is great about country SA and addressing some of the challenges it is faced with.
But regional South Australia wouldn’t be anything without the people living and working there, and who call it home.
It’s these people who are the backbone of those communities and who it is worth celebrating.
Whether it’s in the business field, helping to feed the world, making fine wine, on the sports field, or in our mines, here’s a dozen South Australians under the age of 40 who are blazing a trail in our regions.
Renee Pye, 29, Zerella Fresh general manager, Parilla
Zerella Fresh is one of Australia’s leading suppliers of potatoes, carrots and onions in Australia.
And as general manager of the family owned company, Renee is helping to call all the shots.
They distribute to Woolworths, Coles and Aldi and supply thousands of tonnes of potatoes to McCain.
Renee is passionate about what the family-run company has achieved since coming on board seven years ago at just 22. She had been the company’s marketing and media manager before becoming general manger earlier this year.
“Every day it blows my mind that we are producing food that goes all around Australia and also internationally,” she said.
“What we’re also doing is contributing to people across Australia, people that are fortunate enough to go to the supermarket and create fabulous meals at home.”
Bec Rowe, 31, Princess Royal Station compliance manager, Burra
After completing her studies in business management and marketing, Bec planned to work overseas.
But those plans were ultimately usurped by the lure of returning home to Burra to help expand the family business, Princess Royal Station.
In 2017, Bec co-ordinated a multimillion dollar expansion, which tripled the size of the station’s cattle feedlot to handle 58,400 head each year and increase capacity to house 16,642 head.
Currently based at the business’s feedlot, Bec handles compliance and administration.
“There’s always a challenge or something new to learn,” she said.
“It can be stressful but it’s very rewarding and there’s no traffic and the views are great.”
Bec also enjoys working with her family, especially with her “little nieces and nephews running around now”.
“They’re obsessed with cattle and work already and they’re only two. All they want to do is help with animals and the trucks,” she said.
Bec is currently expecting her first child and looks forward to having a new “little cowboy or cowgirl” on the farm.
Karl Milde, 28, farmer, Eudunda
Karl, the 2021 National Rural Ambassador and a fifth-generation Eudunda farmer, is passionate about sustainable farming, life in the regions and mental health awareness.
His commitment to his community and region shines through his work with agricultural shows – a major part of country life – and youth involvement with them in particular.
Karl considers his ability to recognise personal strengths and connect with people to be critical in regional communities.
“You don’t have to be the smartest person or the fittest person or the richest person, as long as you identify what your number one is in life that you are good at,” he said.
“And I feel mine is connecting with people.”
His dedication to mental health, especially in rural regions and farming communities, make him an inspiring young figure in regional South Australia.
Callum Powell, 29, winemaker, Agricola Vintners, Barossa Valley
Growing up in the Barossa with passionate winemakers for parents, it’s no surprise Callum ended up following in their footsteps to become a winemaker.
In 2014, Callum, who holds a degree in viticulture and oenology, and father, Dave, started Powell & Son Barossa wines.
The father-son duo had a vision to “create expressive wines” expressing the “true Barossan terrier and its diversity”.
Callum has now gone on to forge his own path with Agricola Vintners, with his wines drawing high praise.
As a child, Callum spent time in both the “hot and sunny” Marananga and “cooler, high hills” of Flaxman’s Valley in Eden Valley and aspires to reflect the “equal greatness” of both regions in their wine.
Callum lists building his winery and cellar door in the Barossa Ranges as his proudest achievement.
Last year, Callum also told The Advertiser rural living makes you appreciate the little things.
“Having lived in the city and the country, I definitely have more of an appreciation for natural resources living in the country,” he said.
Emily Riggs, 34, Iris & Wool founder, Burra
Emily met her husband, Burra local and merino wool grower Tom, more than ten years ago and made the move to the state’s Mid North.
After moving to Burra and having children, she wanted to find her own way of supporting the family business.
She founded the fashion brand Iris & Wool as a way to showcase the end product of merino wool.
Iris & Wool has a stand-alone shop in Burra and is stocked in 40 places around Australia.
“I suppose it’s my way of contributing to the wool industry,” Emily said.
Australians can own a piece of the region in the form of “a beautiful garment you can have for many years”.
Alex Thomas, 36, #PlantASeedForSafety and Alex Thomas Pty Ltd founder, Nairne
Since growing up in the bush on Parnaroo Station in the state’s northeast, Alex has spent much of her life in the regions across various fields.
After childhood, she worked as a station hand on neighbouring properties before “falling into” a career in work health and safety in the mining industry and lived in Roxby Downs.
Alex has also lived in Port Lincoln, where she worked in the fishing and agricultural industries, spent time in Darwin and WA, and is now based at Nairne.
She’s been running her own businesses – #PlantASeedForSafety and Alex Thomas Pty Ltd – for the past 13 years, where she works predominantly with the agricultural industry, regional businesses and rural communities around workplace and personal safety.
“(Regional communities) are uniquely cohesive, resilient and resourceful, which really shines when the chips are down,” she said.
“They’re intimate, collaborative and are well known for their generosity of spirit.”
Courtney Higgs, 27, agronomist, Naracoorte
Courtney, an agronomist from Naracoorte in the state’s South East, was named the 2022 State Rural Ambassador – highlighting her passion for the regions.
She finds her role of closely working with local farmers to support and foster the food chain empowering and essential.
Her passion for regional South Australian communities extend beyond her profession, as she is enthusiastic about giving back to the community that nurtured her. This is evidenced through her role with the South East of SA and Border Show Societies Association, helping to grow and promote country shows.
The agronomist sees the regional part of the state as “ripe with great opportunities, especially in food production”.
Courtney says she can’t see herself leaving the country for the big smoke anytime soon.
“It’s a lovely drive to work, and passing through that natural beauty every day, wide open spaces, and the culture,” she said.
“It’s quite nice to know you can talk to your next-door neighbour, it’s very comforting.”
Chandrika Coulthard, 24, underground miner, Prominent Hill
Chandrika was the winner of the Indigenous Young Achiever at the Premier’s Energy and Mining Awards in 2022.
She started working at the Prominent Hill mine in the state’s Far North, when owned by OZ Minerals, as a 21-year-old truck driver. She was promoted twice in the space of three years and is now responsible for leading and training new starters to work safely underground.
Upon winning the award, judges noted that Chandrika was blazing a trail in the mining industry as the youngest female leading hand on site and the only Indigenous person in her crew.
Chandrika continues to work at the Prominent Hill mine – which is now owned by BHP following its takeover of OZ Minerals – with contractor Byrnecut.
“Being a young Indigenous female I’m sort of a role model to everyone,” she said at the time of the awards.
“But I’d like to see a lot more females and Indigenous people applying, and knowing that they can achieve what I’ve achieved.
“I’m really interested in seeing people grow but doing it safely and then also knowing that they can achieve the job to a high standard because I’ve shown them how to do it.”
Dyson Sharp, 16, junior footballer, Barossa Valley
Dyson is fast emerging as one of the best young football talents coming through junior competitions across the country.
He joined rare company in SA earlier this year when he was awarded the coveted Kevin Sheehan Medal as the best player across Division One of the AFL U16 National Championships.
The award came during a campaign for which he was captain of the U16 South Australian team and followed selection in the All-Australian team as a 15-year-old at last year’s U16 Championships.
Dyson, who hails from the Barossa Valley and the Barossa District Football Club, has caught the eye of AFL club recruiters playing as a big-bodied midfielder. He will be eligible for the AFL draft at the end of 2025.
Jaime Pike, 39, Pikes Wines managing director, Clare Valley
Jaime’s parents, Andrew and Cathy, founded Pikes Wines in 1984 when he was just a baby, and last year he took over as the company’s managing director.
It marked the continuation of a steady rise up the ranks, following more than 10 years’ experience at other wine companies before returning to Pikes in 2016 as sales and marketing manager.
He’s now charged with leading the family owned Clare Valley winery into the next generation.
“It’s a tough time for the industry but it’s an exciting time for our business,” Mr Pike said.
In terms of the challenges they face, he said “there’s a global oversupply of Australian red wines, and just the general increasing costs of doing business”.
Jaime prides himself on the company culture they’ve been able to create.
“We’ve been a fantastic team and we’ve got lots of long-term employees,” he said.
Louise Foote, 38, TACTIC chief executive officer, Port Augusta
Louise’s studies and career have taken her to Adelaide, Darwin, Western Australia and London, but her hometown of Port Augusta has always been her favourite.
It was the support from loved ones at home which gave her the confidence to “go and try new things, live in different places and have different experiences,” knowing she always had a “home base” to return to.
Since returning home, Louise has taken up the role of chief executive at Spencer Gulf-based organisation TACTIC, which “connects regional industry businesses into major project supply chains”.
“Our ability (as an organisation) to support that local supply chain for regional communities to be able to capitalise on these major projects is very important,” she said.
For Louise, who is also a Port Augusta City councillor, the best part of her job is “knowing that the work that you’re doing is supporting your local community and benefiting your friends and family and making the region better for everyone”.
Tom Glazbrook, 37, Mine Tech Engineering managing director, Roxby Downs
Tom, a born and bred SA countryman, started his career as a boilermaker in Minlaton on the Yorke Peninsula, climbed the ladder of success and has worked his way up to become managing director of Mine Tech Engineering.
He co-founded the company nine years ago in Roxby Downs after several years progressing through the boilermaker and fabricating ranks while working for companies at Olympic Dam.
Tom’s love for his local community and his passion for mining has driven the company’s success.
“I grew up on the farm, I like remote country, and I like the challenge,” he said.
The company has continued to grow and now employs about 250 workers, with headquarters now based at Edinburgh in Adelaide’s north and a main facilities centre at Roxby Downs.
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