Inspiring atmosphere at QRRRWN City meets Country Ekka High Tea

This was the focus of the annual Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network (QRRRWN) City meets Country Ekka Week High Tea held at the Ithaca Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall.

More than 100 women gathered last Friday to connect, create and maintain friendship networks over a delicious high tea filled with dainty cakes and macarons with guest speakers, artist Lyn Barnes, photographer Lisa Alexander and writer Kelsey Nielson entertaining the crowd with their own inspirational stories.

A local Blackall legend, Lisa spoke about her motivation behind becoming an award-winning rural photographer, citing an invitation to capture a friend’s wedding as the kickstart she needed to commit to her ‘hobby’.

Lisa developed the ‘Better in Blackall’ campaign at the beginning of last year which encouraged the western Queensland township to take images of the streets and surrounds in order to better connect the community.

With the help of some very supportive friends, Lisa was able to secure a grant which enabled the team to print the images to be placed in Blackall’s shop windows.

Much like Lisa, writer Kelsey attributed the completion of her first novel, which has now sold more than 80,000 copies, to the encouragement she received from her sister.

“I’ve always been very close to my baby sister, she’s my best friend, and she’s been a fantastic support through all my trials and triumphs - she was reading my short stories and told me I should be writing novels,” Kelsey said.

“If she wasn’t in my life, I think I would still be writing but the stories would all still be on my computer.”

Kelsey said, although daunting at first, attending the QRRRWN Ekka High Tea was an opportunity to speak on behalf of rural women and connect with city cousins.

“It was a privilege to be able to stand up for the many women who are facing their biggest test yet and it’s crucial that we get the drought message out there.”

Kelsey said the supportive atmosphere of the high tea left her feeling inspired and overwhelmed.

“You cannot measure the value of when a stranger looks you in the eyes and hugs you - it invigorates you to go on.”

QRRRWN president Melissa Barnett said the theme of storytelling was warmly welcomed by attendees with “everyone having their own story to share”.

“There are so many out there that should be told and they’re great stories - they’re happy and sad and they’re about family and hardship and triumph and the best thing is that people can tell their story in a multitude of different ways - it isn’t just words.

“It is vital for us to be able to strengthen their skills and develop their networks, supporting them to nurture and lead others, all the while celebrating rural and regional resilience, diversity and richness,” Melissa said.

QRRRWN members hosted multi-draw raffles and a silent auction on the day in order to raise much needed funds which will go toward increasing the organisation’s capacity to support Queensland women to grow regardless of where ‘they hang their hat’.

“It was a highly successful afternoon and we were able to raise enough money to establish a couple of new bursaries for rural women to attend the QRRRWN Conference in September,” Melissa said.

“The bursaries provide an opportunity for isolated rural women to get off the farm and it provides a little break and it’s also a wonderful learning opportunity - we have amazing speakers this year and workshops.”

The team from QRRRWN welcomed those from suburban homes, and equally, those who travelled from rural and remote properties across the state and beyond to attend the event in the hope of shedding light on the contribution of rural women to their community, industry sectors and state-wide.

The function was also a time to celebrate and prepare for the 2018 Strong Women Leadership Awards with the finalists officially announced over a cup of tea.

Many of the nominees attended the event with many travelling long distances, along with their families, to be there.  

The women nominated have been rewarded for their work, both paid and volunteer, regardless of where geography places them.  

The diversity of the fields represented in this year’s nominations is significant with 13 finalists selected in seven categories, from a plethora of skilled women from across the state.  

Melissa said The QRRRWN Strong Women in Leadership award nominees for 2018 represent the very best of our rural regional and remote women.

“Each and every one of the 27 women put forward for an award deserve recognition for their skills, commitment, and support of the communities they choose to live and work in,” Melissa said.

“Each of those communities is a stronger and more resilient place because of them.

“To be able to shine a light on the work these women do, award winners or not,  gives QRRRWN great pride - they are one of us and all of us.”

The winners in each category will be announced at the 2018 QRRRWN Conference Gala Dinner on Friday, September 14.