Shine Awards 2022: Rural Women’s Day founder Jackie Elliott nominated
Shine Awards nominee Jackie Elliott has created a rural women’s event with a difference, sparking female collaboration nationwide.
Jackie Elliott, Stephanie Trethewey and Emily Riggs are nominees in The Weekly Times Shine Awards, supported by Harvey Norman. If you know a rural woman who deserves recognition, nominate her in the form below and learn more about the Shine Awards here.
The pandemic has made rural and regional the new place to be, but it also magnified the sense of isolation in rural communities — at least for a time.
Southern Grampians resident Jackie Elliott understands how important remaining connected has been over the past two years, and has gone to lengths to help rural women do so.
“Over the past two years things have been tough for everybody,” said the 29-year-old, who works in customer support for a farm machinery auction house.
About this time three years ago, Jackie was counting down the days to an event she had been planning for months.
It was meant to be a one-off celebration for rural women in her patch of Victoria’s Western District.
She dubbed the get-together Rural Women’s Day — an Aussie take on celebrating the International Day of Rural Women.
PLACE TO BE
On October 15 that year, thanks to hundreds of volunteer hours and planning put in by Jackie, rural women flocked to the town of Dunkeld to share stories, laugh, learn and make friendships that would last the test of time; and distance.
The 170 guests came from across the nation to hear speakers, gain inspiration from rural female entrepreneurs, and find like-minded friends who enjoyed country life.
Jackie was blown away by the response.
“I realised with 170 people in attendance that it needed to be more than just a one-off event, so obviously then we had grand plans to come back in 2020,” said Jackie, who turned the idea into a not-for-profit group that is now dedicated to connecting rural women through collaboration and celebration.
Jackie is a nominee in The Weekly Times Shine Awards, supported by Harvey Norman. The Shine Awards celebrates regional and rural women who make a real difference to their industries and communities, inviting readers to nominate women who deserve recognition.
GROWTH PLAN
From one event, Jackie has spun off a podcast, magazine and networked with women in other states, helping promote other events to connect rural women in communities nationwide.
Jackie has even scaled back her paid work to part-time, so she can put more effort into the charity.
“When I started looking into International Day of Rural Women, there wasn’t a lot of local information or events inspired by Australian regional and rural women,” she said. “I thought well let’s start Rural Women’s Day — because that is what the majority of people call that day anyway — it was generally my interpretation of how I see we should be celebrating rural women’s day.
“It wasn’t just about women in farming. It was for all rural and regional women.
“You may work at the local accountants, or as a teacher or a nurse — if you still call rural and regional Australia home, you should be welcome to celebrate the International Day of Rural Women.” Growing up in Kyneton, Jackie always felt at home in the wide-open spaces of country Victoria.
Covid may have “smashed” her plans to host a second RWD event in 2020, but Jackie discovered the fledgling female community she started had a huge need to be connected and support each other during the pandemic.
Her Rural Women’s Day social media pages gathered a huge following.
“The community has grown to about 10,000 followers,” Jackie said. “They give more than they expect in return. They are honest genuine rural women who always share both sides of the story … it is not just the good sides of life and farming.”
And, she emphasises, the community is for women on farms and off them, new rural residents and also those who may have moved to the city from a country town, but still think of that town as “home”.
The big online following during Covid prompted Jackie to come up with a different idea to help rural women collaborate despite the pandemic restrictions.
“Even though we couldn’t have an event I thought outside the square,” said Jackie, who worked with Georgina Morrison to create a 70-page keepsake magazine featuring stories of 20 inspiring rural women from across Australia and New Zealand.
They sold 700 copies of the magazine, then invested the funds back into organising an event for 2021 – hoping to bring people together when Covid restrictions lifted.
BACK IN ACTION
While another lockdown in Victoria ended last October’s plans, planning for this year’s Rural Women’s Day celebration at Dunkeld is in full swing, with 200 tickets available for the two-day event on October 15-16.
MC will be Tasmanian farmer and the 2022 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award winner Stephanie Trethewey, founder of Motherland podcast. Also nominated by a reader for the Shine Awards, Stephanie is on a mission to eliminate the isolation that can accompany rural motherhood.
A former city girl and broadcast journalist who moved from Melbourne to a small farming community in Tasmania’s northwest, Stephanie experienced the isolation that rural mums can feel first-hand. “My struggles as a rural mother fuelled my desire to create meaningful change for rural mums across Australia,” Stephanie said.
Motherland struck a nerve with women, gaining more than 330,000 downloads and profiling more than 130 rural mothers.
Jackie’s RWD speaker line-up is full of current and past Shine Awards nominees including farmer and equestrian Kathy Gabriel from Benambra, a 2021 nominee, and Iris and Wool fashion label founder Emily Riggs, from South Australia, nominated this year.
Jackie hopes the event will be the starting point for more exciting partnerships like the one she formed with Georgina. “That is what rural women’s day is all about – being able to meet someone who you might one day call a friend or a business partner or someone you will collaborate with,” Jackie said.
To read more stories about Shine Awards nominees, or nominate a rural woman visit shineawards.com.au
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