Shine Awards: Ripple effect – all the write moves for love of the land

Novelist Rachael Treasure has dedicated her life to sharing stories about rural Australia and teaching others about regenerative farming practices.

Author Rachael Treasure on her property, Ripple Farm, in Victoria. Picture: Rosie Treasure

Rachael Treasure’s love of rural Australia runs so deep she has written nine romance novels set in the Australian bush.

The Tasmanian writer has dedicated her career to sharing stories about agriculture and rural living with a wide audience and teaching people about life on the land.

Treasure doesn’t just talk the talk; she has her own farm in southern Tasmania where she is an ardent advocate of using regenerative agriculture methods.

“I have a passion for rural Australia and particularly engaging women in the hands-on of rural life,” she says. “I love the unpretentious community that (rural Australia) can generate. It’s a very accepting kind of community.

“The other thing I love about rural Australia is it’s where our food comes from. I love the people, the landscape, the animals.”

Treasure’s first novel, Jillaroo, published in 2002, was a trailblazer for female writers in rural Australia and became a bestseller.

She’s since written another eight novels and her next, Milking Time, will be published next year.

“Over my career, I’ve had quite a few readers say that they read my books as a young person and that inspired them to move into the field of agriculture, and they left the city and went on their own adventure,” Treasure says.

“But I think most importantly, the books are there to open people’s mindsets and hearts about different ways of farming that don’t damage humanity and the environment. So there's some very serious themes that are layered within my stories.”

Treasure’s property, Ripple Farm, where she lives with partner Daniel and her two teenage children, has become a passion project with a particular focus on improving the health of the soil.

The past few years have been challenging but the author has been given the all-clear for breast cancer. She likens the experience to the environment recovering after a bushfire or other natural disasters. “Mother Nature thrives after hardship and becomes stronger and more resilient.”

For her work advocating for rural communities and sustainable farming practices, and for paving the way for other rural female writers, Treasure has been nominated for the Shine Awards, a joint initiative between rural newspaper The Weekly Times and Harvey Norman, celebrating the achievements and contributions of women across rural and regional Australia.