Toowoomba to host second national conference for rural women’s charity Motherland

What started as a podcast highlighting the mental health challenges of rural women has become a national movement. Now charity Motherland Australia is bringing its advocacy to Toowoomba.

When considering the right location to connect hundreds of rural women in one place, Motherland founder Stephanie Trethewey had a difficult choice to make — with an easy answer.

“We looked at what regions really suit women travelling from all over the state and from other states, and Toowoomba is a great gateway to Queensland and it’s very accessible,” she said.

One of Australia’s largest charities supporting rural women and mothers will bring its second annual conference to the Garden City in 2026, as the organisation works on building up its outreach and scope across the country.

Ms Trethewey, who was Tasmania’s Australian of the Year last year for work with the charity and the podcast that started it, set up the group as a way to combat isolation and mental health struggles of rural women — particularly mums.

Motherland CEO Stephanie Trethewey (left) with marketing and events manager and Toowoomba local Jane McAlpine announce Toowoomba will host Motherland's second national conference next year, Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“We are in the middle of a mental health crisis for mums in the bush — we know that women on the land are struggling with isolation, they’re struggling with their mental health,” she said.

“Over 50 per cent of new mums have told us they don’t have access to something as simple as a mothers group, and over 70 per cent say that they’ve suffered from some level of post-natal anxiety or depression, which is three and a half times the national diagnosed average.”

A former journalist who swapped the city for the country when she met her farmer husband, Ms Trethewey’s own experiences of loneliness and isolation as a new mum in Tasmania’s Central North helped inform the purpose of Motherland.

She said women played a huge role in the success of the Darling Downs and regional Queensland as an agricultural powerhouse.

Motherland CEO Stephanie Trethewey announces Toowoomba will host Motherland's second national conference in 2026, Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“The mums are the glue holding our bush communities together across Queensland — we always put everyone else first, always put their kids first, their partners first,” Ms Trethewey said.

“You have mothers who are you know, in the cattle yards working on farms physically, you have women who are holding the business together in the office (and) you’ve got full-time stay at home mothers who are raising the next generation of children and deserve to be valued just as much as other women.

“So Motherland brings all of that together.”

Since its launch, the digital-based charity has established online rural mothers group programs, handed out government-back scholarships and helped connect thousands of women to services.

The original Motherland podcast, which has interview nearly 250 mums about their experiences in regional Australia, now has more than 1 million downloads.

“Our online mothers great program’s been running for three years – we’ve connected over 350 rural mums nationally into our program,” Ms Trethewey said.

“We surveyed the women before and after the program and of the women that were struggling with their mental health before the program, over 95 per cent say that the program has improved their mental health.

“We are in the middle of a loneliness and isolation epidemic in rural Australia so we are tangibly changing women’s lives through our program.

“Motherland Connect only launched four months ago and we’ve already had 1300 users and there are over 130 organisations listed across a range of categories.”

Motherland CEO Stephanie Trethewey (left) with marketing and events manager and Toowoomba local Jane McAlpine announce Toowoomba will host Motherland's second national conference next year, Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Following the success of the initial conference last year, Ms Trethewey said it was important for Motherland to expand its in-person outreach.

“This conference in Toowoomba is about bringing these mothers here to put themselves first for once and to go back home happier and healthier,” she said.

“That physical connection is so important – we are a digital charity first, but that closing the loop and enabling rural mothers to connect physically is so important and that’s what Toowoomba will do for these women.”

In the lead-up to the conference in Toowoomba, Ms Trethewey urged rural mums to complete Motherland’s national survey to offer their input.

You can find the survey at motherlandaustralia.com.au.

Originally published as Toowoomba to host second national conference for rural women’s charity Motherland