Rural Women's Day Hits 50 Events After Starting as a One-Off in Dunkeld

In 2019, Jackie Elliott planned a single get-together for rural women in Dunkeld, at the foothills of the Grampians in Western Victoria. Rural Women’s Day has since held 50 events across mainland Australia.¹

The nonprofit says more than 5,000 women in rural areas have come through its doors.¹² That figure comes from the organisation and counts attendance, not friendships. But Elliott says friendships are what keep coming out of it.

Why she started it

Elliott moved to an unfamiliar farming community in Western Victoria at 18. She spent about nine years in Byaduk struggling to find women her own age.¹

“When you’re in a male-dominated industry, where most of my colleagues were the same age as my dad, there wasn’t exactly an opportunity to connect socially with other women my age,” she told ABC News.¹

“I started the day because I was looking for belonging in my community and I was feeling a bit isolated,” she told Stock & Land.²

The first event, on October 15, 2019, sold out with 170 attendees.²³ Not bad for something meant to happen once.

How the events work

Rural Women’s Day has no fixed date on the calendar. Events run through the year in different regions for women working in agriculture and living in isolated areas.¹ Each one draws about 200 women from the local region, according to ABC News, and the organisation aims to return to each location every couple of years.¹

The format is simple. Elliott recruits local women to give talks, then hosts a dinner where attendees can meet informally. She attends almost every event herself.¹

This year’s events ran in Rockhampton, Narromine, Young, Nagambie, Moama and Dunkeld.¹ Beyond the gatherings, the organisation runs workshops and has produced two collaborative magazines distributed across Australia and New Zealand.²

Best friends who lived nearby

Elliott’s evidence that it works is personal rather than statistical. She says repeat attendees have told her they met their best friend at an event after sitting next to each other, only to discover they lived nearby all along.¹

In the countryside, living nearby and having met are apparently two different things.

“People are finding their best friend at Rural Women’s Day,” Elliott told ABC News.¹

“You may be geographically isolated, but you (can) still feel connected through Rural Women’s Day,” she said.¹

The connection runs both ways. After Elliott had her first child, attendees at one event surprised her with a baby shower.¹

Recognition and what’s next

Elliott, who runs a sheep and beef farm with her husband, Daniel, has won the Victorian Toyota Wellbeing and Safety in Agriculture category at the Australian Agriculture Awards for founding Rural Women’s Day.⁴ In 2023 she was named ABC Rural & Kondinin Group Community Leader of the Year at the Farmer of the Year Awards.³

Stock & Land reported that the 50th event would return to Dunkeld in October 2026, where the whole thing began.²

Her advice for anyone sitting on a similar idea is short. “If you’ve got an idea, have a go,” she told Stock & Land.²