By KATH GANNAWAY
HEALESVILLE has been chosen for the 26th Women on Farms Gathering in March this year, and the plan is that it will put Healesville and Yarra Ranges Shire on the rural map.
Organisers are, appropriately, making every minute count as they plan the landmark event, entitled “Making Every Woman Count”.
It’s a great coup for Healesville which is getting a second bite at a very appealing apple after the town successfully hosted the event in 2000.
WOFG chairwoman, Woori Yallock farmer, Debbie de Laps, said female farmers, horticulturalists, winemakers and entrepreneurs from around Yarra Ranges Shire are gearing up to showcase the colourful heritage and cosmopolitan business heart of the Yarra Valley.
Ms de Laps said registrations were pouring in from local women who were being urged to open their hearts and their homes from 20 to 22 March, to their rural sisters from around Victoria.
With more than 300 women expected to attend, they are also asking for other community members to play host to the visitors.
“With rural women already expressing interest from as far afield as East Gippsland and Northern Victoria, Healesville Bed and Breakfast owner, Jenny Parker said the generosity of strangers with a room to spare would be the key to the WOFG’s success.
As well as organised tours to notable artists’ haunts, vineyards, fruit and flower farms, and walking tracks, visitors will have the chance to view the historic Coldstream home of Dame Nellie Melba.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Maria McCarthy, said there would be a multitude of workshops and a colourful line-up of inspirational speakers, including the event patron, well-known author, culinary wizard and media personality, Ann Creber and Lois Peeler, Executive Director of Worawa Aboriginal College in Healesville, and a former member of The Sapphires.
She said the Victorian Rural Woman of the Year, Julia Aldous and independent MP Cathy McGowan would be opening speakers.
Describing the event as “a coup” for the shire, Cr McCarthy said its historic significance would be marked by an intriguing collection of artifacts currently in the care of Museum Victoria.
The collection will be displayed at The Memo in Healesville and illustrate the role women have played in the state’s rural history.
“We know that women’s roles are at the heart of our colourful heritage in the Yarra Ranges, and this will be highlighted by our own memorabilia which we hope will give our visitors some insight into our lives and challenges,” she said.
A patchwork quilt created by Singed Sisters, a group of women who survived the devastating Canberra bushfires, and which was gifted to the women of the Shire following the Black Saturday fires, will be a local highlight.
To register for the event or to help with visitor accommodation, visit yrwofg2015.org.au or email info@yrwofg2015.org.au.
Follow the event on facebook: facebook.com/yrwofg2015 or twitter – twitter.com/yrwofg2015.
