Hi, my name's Annette, resident boat person, POMME, girl in the middle of a tennis court, “Come fishing with us we need a Net!”. I'm different things to different people….. Daughter, Daughter in Law, Aunt, Cousin, half Sister, long lost Sister, Wife, step Mum, Immigrant, Widow......

After finishing my Sports Science degree in England, backpacking brought me to Oz in my 20s and it was on that trip that I met my first husband, a sheep farmer in WA. Coming from suburban England to a farming lifestyle was eye opening, but I embraced it and the community. We had been married for 6 months when he was killed in a motorbike accident. A cat with nine lives, on that day, he used his last. The tiny community of 300 was the best place I could grieve.

But things happen for a reason. I met my second husband and we moved to NSW, where we have 2 delightful girls and a fortunate lifestyle. But yeah, there are some days I don’t feel like saying hello and putting on a cheery face, which is tricky when you are acquainted with most people in a small town. But please don’t judge.

I love being involved as a volunteer within the community. I learnt that these small rural towns do not run without us. There are so many intelligent and educated women out here, many of whom put their careers on the back burner for their families and their farming lifestyles. But what we do have (apart from no queues for parking or coffees) is so many other opportunities that our metropolitan counterparts fight over. We run committees, we project manage, we lobby, we fundraise and we learn and lead in so many different ways. I job share with my mother-in-law on the farm business, have sat on many committees and even considered running for local government but I've found my current calling helping run one of the local swimming clubs and teaching swimming. And when my husband retires, we’ll travel Oz fixing “s#*t’ and swim teaching in remote towns.

Annette

Quirindi, NSW

Make Chocolate Cake

We are hardwired as humans to cling to the negative and it is easy to assume the grass is greener on the other side. Life on the farm can be tough, unpredictable, isolating, fund thirsty and at times cruel and unrelenting. It is all too easy to fixate on all that is hard or things that fail, particularly while enduring them.

I now reflect on what I thought “was the worst time of our lives”, now my most treasured memory, the drought of 2002 -2003. Our children were older and at school but after school, weekends and holidays we faced the farm as a family. We worked side by side, supported each other, cried and argued, but laughed more often and I swear I cooked a chocolate cake a day, often gone by lunch.

We lost our beautiful 24 year old son in 2015 and realised true tragedy. I see wholeheartedly and appreciate the life gift that was our family and our property. I now make chocolate cake with my grandchildren and our family give them every opportunity to work alongside of us, their parents and their cousins on our farm, knowing this is the best there is.

Pauline

Scone, NSW

Emily

Crookwell, NSW

Hi, my name is Emily Jade Greer and I’m from the Dubbo, NSW, now based in Goulburn & Crookwell.

I started out working at a stock and station agency straight out of school, but I quickly realised I couldn’t sit still. So I packed my bags, moved to WA and decided I’d be a jillaroo. Along the way I even tried nursing and had a stint at the local small town newspaper (turns out chasing cattle is easier than chasing deadlines). Since then I’ve worked on cattle stations, in shearing sheds and now with Elders as a livestock production trainee, where I spend my days wrangling everything from drench guns to paperwork (the paperwork is still scarier).

But it hasn’t been an easy road. There were days I thought it would be easier to give up. I’ve struggled with feeling like I wasn’t smart enough, like I always had to prove myself and the thought of letting people down ate away at me. I never wanted to burden anyone with my problems and asking for help was like pulling teeth. But I learnt the bloody hard way, it is okay to ask for help and it doesn’t make you weak.

Saying yes to opportunities has landed me in some funny spots, from sticking my arm where most people wouldn’t dare to giving worm advice like some kind of livestock Dr. Phil.

I still have so much to learn and experience and that excites me. Agriculture has taken me many places, introduced me to incredible people and taught me courage, grit and the importance of finding laughter in the hardest moments.

Lucy

Halls Creek, NSW

G’day, my name is Lucy Gallagher and I am from Halls Creek, near Tamworth in NSW. I say ‘g’day’ rather than ‘hi’ because I want to hang onto our pioneering language and let’s face it, those Americans already have too much influence over us…

So, about me: can you tell I’m an over-thinker?! My head is a constant flurry of thoughts and rabbit holes and I suspect my grey matter is in steady decline.

I am a perimenopausal, neurodivergent, overly-sensitive, over-worked and overwhelmed farmer, writer, mother and wannabe domestic goddess. The other day I threw a tissue in the bin. It was a good shot, but it didn’t go in because a cobweb caught it. I thought about taking a photo because I thought it was funny but then I worried that other people might think I’m crazy.

Or lazy, because I hadn’t dusted for a while.

Or dirty, because maybe I just don’t care.

The truth is: I don’t care about cobwebs, but clearly, I still care about what other people think.

Ugh, it’s exhausting being me!

Nikki

Wallabadah, NSW

Hi, I’m Nikki! My journey started in a small Swiss village near Zurich and eventually led me to an even smaller village in Australia called Wallabadah. I’ve always had a love for languages, which is what first brought me to Australia back in 1986. That’s when I fell head over heels in love—with the country and with my now-husband, Brian. After eight years of travelling back and forth between Switzerland and Australia, we finally tied the knot and I made the move Down Under.

Finding my way in the Australian workforce was an adventure in itself. Over the years, I’ve held various roles: Legal Assistant with the Veterans Advocacy Service and Legal Aid, teaching German at Community College, working as a Health Care Interpreter for Western Sydney Area Health Service, doing freelance translation work, even helping out in the kitchen at a nursing home and as a job coach at a high school. But it wasn’t until I landed a role in tourism for Local Government that I found my calling. Promoting this beautiful country was exactly what I was meant to do.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a chameleon, wherever life takes me, I make the most of it. When Brian, after living in Sydney, wanted to move to the country, I was hesitant. But it didn’t take long before I was fully involved with the P&C and other volunteer groups. I’ve found that city life feels pretty similar no matter where you are, but rural life really captures the heart of a country. The vast distances, the challenges of nature, droughts, floods, fires and the honesty and generosity of country people make it truly special.

I’ve had the chance to be part of some projects that made a real difference. Some of the highlights include working on the Quirindi Silo Art and Light & Sound Show, the Liverpool Plains Sunflower Growing Competition, and an agritourism pilot project that led to the creation of The Plains Inc., a group of innovative, resilient farmers driving agritourism in the region.

For me, making a difference can take many forms, but seeing someone smile is always the best reward.

The photo I have chosen is me, with wind blown hair, saying: what now?!