Canberra staffer to Casterton digital start up: How one farm girl built an online business

Growing up on her family’s Western District farm Emily Edge wouldn’t have guessed her career would take her to Parliament House and back again to run an online travel business.

Emily Edge would never have guessed her career path would have taken her from the far south west of Victoria to the halls of Canberra, only to happily return to build a business from her family’s farm.

From there, overlooking the famed rolling hills of Casterton, Emily has built a new business, a digital start-up that sets out to highlight some of the hidden gems off the beaten track, in the heart of rural Australia.

Edge Guides is an interactive, free travel website for caravanners and campers, and features local events and highlights for those wanting to travel “like a local around rural Australia”.

Emily spent several years working for Liberal federal government ministers, but during Covid, she returned to the farm and, as she puts it, “put my thinking cap on”.

“I love being in nature, being on the farm and not having the traffic of the city,” she said.

Working in a rural location has had its share of setbacks including challenges with internet connections, but Emily says the benefits of living in a rural community outweigh them.

Emily Edge has started a digital business from her family’s farm in Western Victoria and is helping the volunteers running this weekend’s Casterton Kelpie Festival.

This weekend she is working with the Casterton Kelpie Festival on its annual King’s Birthday long weekend event, providing a check-in site that will help the organisers collect more information about who is travelling to the festival.

Action from the high jump competition at the Casterton Kelpie Muster, Casterton, 2018. Photo: DANNIKA BONSER

This year’s event is the 28th for the Casterton community, and features novelty events and entertainment on Saturday and a working dog auction and demonstrations on Sunday.