W.O.F. 2017

This year's 'Women on Farms Gathering' is again in the region, and will be held at Harrow in the West Wimmera Shire.
The event will run for 3 days - Friday 24th to Sunday 26th March, with a variety of events, workshops, bus tours, and entertainment.

Details are on the  West Wimmera Women on Farms Gathering 2017 website, with a program list and registration form.

Once again the Library will be conducting three workshops - 
'Place-names of the Wimmera': explore the history of the Wimmera and Southern Mallee region at 'Place-names of the Wimmera', a presentation showing how explorers and surveyors named specific places – localities & towns, parishes & counties, and lakes & streams, hills & mountains across the region. It includes Aboriginal and historic etymology of some of the place names.
'Delve into your Family History : using electronic tools': learn how libraries can assist in researching local & family history using online resources such as TROVE, Find My Past, Ancestry, and PROV.
'Country Schools': a photographic journey around the Wimmera,showcasing the many and varied schools which have existed over the years.These schools also represented centres of communities often serving as churches, halls, polling booths and dance venues. Many of the now vanished schools were small one-teacher rural schools which existed for short periods of time opening, moving and closing as school-age populations waxed and waned with farming fortunes.

The presentations will be held in the Harrow Library at the Harrow Hall.
To book go to the registration page of the WOF website (registrations close on 3rd March). 

The woman and the farm

If you’re in Melbourne on Wednesday 8^th June you might want to check out this talk - ‘Securing the History of Australian Farming Women’ at Museum Victoria.

Women in Australia play a vital role in agriculture and farming, contributing over 49% of the total value of the output of farming communities. The woman’s contribution to farming has largely been ignored, unrecognised and rendered invisible. Historically, farming women have been excluded from censuses and official documentation and stereotyped as ‘housewives’, ‘helpmates’ or ‘domestics’ despite their significant contributions to the farm economy.

Museum Victoria’s ‘Invisible Farmer Project’ is an ambitious project that seeks to redress the ongoing invisibility of Australian farm women in cultural, historical and contemporary narratives. The Project explores and documents of the contributions of women to agricultural production.

‘Securing the History of Australian Farming Women’ speakers - Catherine Forge and Liza Dale-Hallett will highlight the importance of Australian farm women’s history and provide an overview of the key issues that the ‘Invisible Farmer Project’ aims to address. Catherine Forge will share excerpts from the oral history interviews that she conducted with key women involved in the Rural Women’s Movement in Australia.

Catherine Forge was Curator of the 'Invisible Farmer Project' in 2015 and wrote her thesis on the 'Victorian Women on Farms Gathering Collection' in 2007. She has since worked as a Research Associate on the Collection as well as conducting oral history interviews with rural women across Victoria.

Liza Dale-Hallett is Senior Curator of Sustainable Futures at Museum Victoria. She has been involved in preserving the history of farming women since the 1980s and was instrumental in establishing the 'Victorian Women on Farms Gathering Collection' at Museum Victoria in the early 2000s.

‘Securing the History of Australian Farming Women’ is in the Theatre at Melbourne Museum from 1-2pm. Entry is free, but booking to reserve a seat at rsvphumanities@museum.vic.gov.au is necessary.

Farming women

The Library is taking part in the Hopetoun Women on Farms Gathering. Hopetoun is hosting the annual event over the weekend of 18-20 March.

The Women on Farms Gathering provides a unique opportunity for women to network, increase their skills base in farming & business practices, share their stories and experience a wonderful sense of support. The gatherings help promote and establish the notion of rural women as farmers, business women and community leaders.

The Library will be running three sessions on Saturday, from the RSL Hall in Austin Street.

“Digital Details : shooting, scanning, saving, storing” providing information and tips on curating and preserving your digital photographic collection.

 “Delve into your history : using electronic tools” how to research local & family history using online resources such as TROVE, Find My Past, Ancestry, and PROV.

 “Crafting your story : inspiration and sources for your book, journal or story” how to construct the elements of a story & tell a story in pictures, photos, anecdotes - using bit n’ pieces, scrap and memory objects to create a look for your book, journal or album.

Checkout their website for more information, details and bookings