How Melanie Jolley is breaking down mental health barriers in rural SA
From farm paddocks to hospital steps, counsellor and mum-of-two Melanie Jolley has spent the past 15 years taking mental health care directly to the people who need it most.
Melanie Jolley has been nominated for the 2025 Shine Awards. To nominate an outstanding rural woman you know, click here.
It’s not unusual to spot Victor Harbor’s Melanie Jolley behind the wheel of her “tagging wagon” – an old Nissan Patrol – checking on cattle with her husband Randall and their children Lincoln and Evie.
But most days, the Fleurieu Peninsula local is travelling for a different purpose: bringing counselling and mental health support to people who otherwise might never reach it.
The 42-year-old is the driving force behind South Coast Nurturing, a mobile outreach counselling service she built from the ground up after becoming a mother in 2012.
For 15 years she has quietly, tirelessly supported carers, veterans and their families, dairy farmers, NDIS participants and children across rural South Australia.
“I knew first-hand how hard it was to ask for help growing up in a small town, let alone to travel into the city to find it,” she said.
“That’s why I wanted to create a service that goes to people who physically, mentally or emotionally can’t get to an office in town.”
Her approach is simple, but powerful.
Melanie meets clients where they are – sometimes on farms, sometimes at schools, sometimes at their own kitchen tables – and helps them uncover the tools they need to move forward.
Her husband Randall describes her impact as “incredible and worthy of an award.”
“Everywhere she goes, people are drawn to her wholesomeness and passion. It’s easy to see the difference she makes to the lives of those she supports,” he said.
That difference shows up in countless ways.
For one young man battling trauma and addiction, Melanie’s calm presence on the steps of a country hospital helped de-escalate a police standoff and set him on the path to rehabilitation.
“To this day whenever I see this young man around our town he always gives me the biggest smile,” Melanie said.
“To see him functioning within society as a fully-fledged healthy adult it brings tears to my eyes — it’s truly the greatest gift.”
For local farmers, she has become a trusted confidante who understands the pressures of drought, markets and the daily grind of food production.
“Looking after our farming families is essential,” she said.
“Their mental wellbeing is a vital element for ongoing and successful food production in our country.
“Farmers are the heartbeat of our great nation.”
Her own roots run deep in farming life.
Randall is a fourth-generation dairy, beef and cropping farmer, and Melanie helps with calving duties during the summer, alongside raising their two “spirited” children.
She also finds peace in surfing, riding horses and bushwalking – rituals that keep her balanced while caring for others.
The nomination for the Shine Awards, which celebrate women in rural Australia, has left Melanie humbled.
“To be nominated for this type of award is outstanding – the very fact my husband and best friend still believes in me after 20 years means so much,” she said.
“It gives me such an overwhelming sense of pride and makes me feel humble that I am doing the right things in the right areas.”
For Melanie, the work is not about recognition, but connection.
“Sometimes the simplest acts make the biggest difference,” she said.
“If I can help someone believe in themselves and their future, that’s what truly matters.”
Shine Awards 2025: Meet the winners
