Celebrating rural women: Meet the 2021 Shine Awards finalists

We’re celebrating the huge contributions of rural women across Australia. And these ladies are the top crop of a remarkable field.

Meet the finalists in the 2021 Shine Awards.

Celebrating its fifth year, the Shine Awards celebrates the achievements and contributions of women across rural and regional Australia, in partnership with Harvey Norman.

Nominees’ stories have appeared in The Weekly Times during the past year, with a dedicated campaign that put rural women in the spotlight for the past 14 weeks.

All of the nominees do outstanding work on farms and off them, in rural towns across Australia, in community groups and sporting clubs, in businesses, schools and homes.

Finalists have been chosen in each of six categories — Belief, Courage, Dedication, Grace, Passion and Spirit. This year to celebrate Shine’s fifth anniversary, a new Youth Award will also be presented to a nominee under the age of 30 who shows great potential to be a future leader in her industry or endeavour.

The category winners will each receive a $2500 voucher from Harvey Norman.

From these, one will be chosen as the overall winner and receive an additional $5000 from Harvey Norman.

The winners will be revealed in a special Shine Awards magazine, featuring the inspirational stories of all 19 finalists. Don’t miss it, free in The Weekly Times on Wednesday, November 24.

SHINE AWARDS 2021 FINALISTS

BELIEF

Brady’s Lookout Cider co-founder Caroline Brown. Picture: Rob Burnett

Caroline Brown, Tamar Valley, Tasmania
Co-founder of Brady’s Lookout Cider, Caroline uses a sustainable approach to managing her land and her heritage variety apple orchard, determined to build the business using practices that are environmentally sustainable.

Beekeeper Natasha Roebig. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Natasha Roebig, Jimboomba, Queensland
A beekeeper who is passionate about removing barriers for women to enter the industry, Natasha runs female-friendly beekeeping workshops and is planning to launch a bee education program in schools.

Ruth Sandow with her husband, Jon.

Ruth Sandow, Milparinka, Corner Country, NSW
Ruth is chair of the Milparinka Heritage and Tourism Association and the driving force behind creating a 1100km tourist loop called Sturt’s Steps, to draw visitors to remote Corner Country in NSW.

COURAGE

Farmer and livestock exchange manager Rebecca Barry with her family, Matthew McDonald and their kids Oliver and Charlotte. Picture: Jay Town

Rebecca Barry, Apsley, Victoria

Manager of Naracoorte Livestock Exchange who farms with her partner near the Victoria-South Australia state line, Rebecca bravely spoke up on behalf of border communities when harsh travel restrictions were splitting families and ruining livelihoods.

Horsemanship trainer Tamara Coakley. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Tamara Coakley, Kyneton, Victoria

After nearly losing her life in a road accident, Tamara has fought through therapy and chronic pain to relearn how to ride, and now helps other riders overcome fears about riding and develop close bonds with their horses.

Dirranbandi director of nursing Elyse Hannan. Picture: Jacque Hemming

Elyse Hannan, Dirranbandi, Queensland

Nursing director at Dirranbandi Hospital who has remained committed to providing the best care to her community throughout Covid, even in some of the most trying circumstances.

DEDICATION

Sawmill manager Donna Layton. Picture: Elise Derwin

Donna Layton, Grafton, NSW

After losing her property in the 2019-20 bushfires, Donna shouldered the burden of keeping the local sawmill running despite the shortage of available timber and devised a plan so workers could keep their jobs.

CWA member and Meeniyan champion Marilyn Mackie. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Marilyn Mackie, Meeniyan, Victoria

A highly respected member of the Meeniyan community, Marilyn has volunteered for everything from CWA and the local footy club to Scouts and the Red Cross.

Coolamon cheesemaker Jennifer Nestor. Picture: Brad Newman

Jennifer Nestor, Coolamon, NSW

A master cheesemaker at Coolamon Cheese, Jennifer uprooted her life in West Gippsland to move interstate and take up the role to help grow the brand, and has won global awards for the small business’s lactose-free brie.

GRACE

Tamsin Carvan at The Borough Dept. Store. Picture: Chloe Smith

Tamsin Carvan, Korumburra, Victoria

A true champion of her community and her region’s producers, Tamsin launched The Borough Dept. Store in her South Gippsland town to save the historic building and create a collaborative retail and hospitality space to showcase produce from the region.

Frances Frahn on Holowiliena Station. Picture: Matt Turner

Frances Frahn, Holowiliena Station, Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Wool grower Frances steered her family’s Holowiliena Station through drought by diversifying with agritourism and despite Covid disruption, has grown the tourism business to survive while they had to fully destock the station.

Landcare champion Janette O’Keefe. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Janette O’Keefe, Winslow, Victoria

A leader in revegetation ahead of her time, Janette was a driving force behind setting up a land management group in her southwest region of Victoria which eventually evolved into the local Landcare chapter.

PASSION

Boort vet Fiona Caine. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Fiona Caine, Boort, Victoria

Treating everything from small pets to cows with calves, and wildlife from kangaroos to echidnas, Fiona is her region’s dependable country vet who bought the local practice to ensure her community would not go without essential veterinary services.

Wool classer and rural photography coach Chantel McAlister. Picture: Pip Williams

Chantel McAlister, Goondiwindi, Queensland

A wool classer and talented photographer, Chantel shares stories of the wool industry through images, and is also a photography coach who gives people in rural locations skills behind the lens.

Free-range egg producer Kumi Slade with her husband, Kelvin. Picture: Chloe Smith

Kumi Slade, Willow Grove, Victoria

An expert in efficiency, Kumi has applied those principles to the pastured free-range egg operation she launched with her husband, to run a streamlined and sustainable farming business that aims to regenerate the landscape.

SPIRIT

Aviation maintenance engineer Verity-Jane Dolton. Picture: Supplied

Verity-Jane Dolton, Carnarvon, WA

This young aviation maintenance engineer overcame barriers to enter the industry, and now is head engineer servicing helicopters used for mustering in Western Australia’s Pilbara.

Denise, Donna, Lou and Melanie Jackson. Picture: Chloe Smith

Jackson family, Boho, Victoria

Denise, Donna, Lou, Melanie and Ruby Jackson live and work on a 400ha farm at Boho, managing every aspect of the property, and also running a produce store and cafe at Violet Town.

Lee O'Connor, editor-owner of the Coonamble Times. Picture: Supplied

Lee O’Connor, Coonamble, NSW

Sheep and crop farmer Lee bought her local newspaper, the Coonamble Times, rather than let it close and had to juggle daily feeding of livestock during the recent extreme drought while rebuilding the paper.

Matilda, Jemima, Molly and Bonnie Penfold of Four Daughters. Picture: Supplied

Bonnie, Molly, Jemima and Matilda Penfold, Meandarra, Western Downs, Queensland

These young sisters are integral to their family’s grain-fed Black Angus business, Four Daughters. Launched originally intending to supply the Chinese market, the sisters had to change tacks quickly when China suspended trade with Australian abattoirs, launching domestic sales of beef boxes instead, with a head-to-tail no waste philosophy.