With the 30th annual Rural Women’s Gathering set to take place in Orange in August, the call out is on for local communities wishing to hold events. But, if you plan to make the journey to Orange rather than celebrate locally, you may recognise a few Western Plains faces that will be on stage to share their expertise.

The Western Plains has hosted the popular gathering over the years; Cobar in 1996, Bourke in 2002, Coonabarabran 2004 and Coonamble in 2008. The three day event provides an opportunity for rural women to connect, share experiences and support each other through good and tough times. It is not a conference so much as a special event which brings women together

Coonamble's 2004 event hosted 300 women with larger numbers expected at Orange in August. There are plenty of new skills to learn with presenters on dancing, journalling, small business support and the basics of being a bush mechanic, among other things.

Local guest speakers making the trip to Orange include Grace Brennan from Warren, who created Buy From the bush (BFTB) in 2019. What began as an Instagram account showcasing the amazing things available to buy from rural communities facing drought connected bush business with city audiences

In the years since BFTB's inception, it has evolved to have more than 550,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram and generated over $9 million in revenue for rural small businesses.

One local business supported by BFTB is Peggy & Twig at Trangie which, since being featured on BFTB’s social media campaign saw online sales surge with hundreds of orders from people across the country and internationally including the UK and France. Success has meant that owner Emily Burton has opened a flagship retail store in the main street of Trangie.

“Since running my own business, I found it so empowering to turn my side business into something that can support myself and my partner,” Ms Riggs said.

It is expected that Ms Brennan's presentation at the Rural Women's event will be extremely popular

Also on hand to discuss her small business journey will be Jillian Kilby. Winner of the 2018 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Award, Jillian is a civil engineer and farmer’s daughter from Coonamble.

In 2018, Jillian purchased the grand, historic post office in Dubbo’s main street to create The Exchange - a regional innovation hub and co-working space.

Keiley Noble from Narromine who won this year's RM Williams Royal Agricultural Society Awards is also a guest speaker at the Rural Women's Gathering.

Ms Noble is a Policy Officer with the NSW Government, working on drought policy and economic strategy. In addition she helps husband Ross run a contracting and hay sales business and looks after daughter Ruby on their small farm near Narromine.

There is plenty to see and learn at the Rural Women's Gathering, and organisers are also keen to hear from any local groups wishing to hold simultaneous events across the Western Plains.

The full program and further information is available at https://www.nsw.gov.au/women-nsw/rural-womens-network/rural-womens-gathering