Demystifying the grieving process in regional Australia

When WA’s Michelle Moriarty lost her partner suddenly in 2018, her skills as a social worker were put to the test in the most personal way possible.

The loss of a loved one – a husband, a wife, or a parent – often leads to feelings of isolation and even awkwardness.

Throw into the mix the tyranny of distance for regional Australians, and many can be left feeling very alone in their grief.

It’s this dynamic that Western Australia’s Michelle Moriarty is trying to dismantle, by bringing tools and workshops to support people in regional and remote Australia through their grief.

Based near Bunbury, Michelle was the winner of the 2023 WA AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award for her work as the founder of Grief Connect.

Having spent almost 20 years working as a social worker, Michelle has spent a career working alongside people at their most vulnerable moments.

But when she lost her own partner, Nathan, suddenly in 2018, Michelle was confronted with the grieving process in a deeply personal way.

“I went into a period of shock. I was experiencing deep grief, and widow’s grief,” Michelle said.

“Even though I’d worked as a social worker, with people experiencing grief, going through it myself gave me new insights into its complexity.”

Grief Connect founder Michelle Moriarty, who is using her own experience of grief to help others in regional Australia. Picture: Joanna & Marcin Zydel Photography

Her organisation, Grief Connect, works to provide tools, resources, grief support groups and webinars to people – particularly those in the regions – to assist them in to navigate the grieving journey.

Michelle said she experienced first-hand the awkwardness of some moments following the passing of her partner.

“People didn’t know what to say or do, and even I didn’t know what to do or say,” Michelle said.

“Firstly, it’s all about checking in, and asking the question rather than avoiding it. Having the confidence to ask ‘how are you travelling’, or ‘where is your grief at today?’.”

Michelle is now focusing her energy on expanding Grief Connect to include an educational webinar series and program, specifically designed to support regional and rural areas. 


“The more people I speak to, the more I realise everyone has a story. Even in grief, quite often people get on with it, their head down and have the stoic kind of rural mindset,” Michelle said.

“I talk a lot about a grief journey, but it’s a life journey. We grieve as long as we miss the person, and that’s usually lifelong. But it’s about how we manage our grief in our life journey, and honour our person and celebrate their life.

“I can grieve and still enjoy life. They coexist.”

The Shine Awards is a joint partnership between The Weekly Times and Harvey Norman that is a true celebration of women right across rural and regional Australia.

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