Harden-Murrumburrah to host work-life balance themed gathering for the state's rural women

The hottest tickets in the Hilltops right now are up for grabs with the highly anticipated annual NSW Rural Women’s Gathering to take place in Harden-Murrumburrah in October.

Now in its 31st year, The Gathering, as it’s colloquially known, is an annual event traditionally providing women from regional, rural and remote areas of NSW the opportunity to hang out, celebrate, connect, network and learn.

This year’s theme, ‘Sowing the Seeds of Success – Creating Your Own Work, Life Balance’ offers not only an impressive line-up of speakers but a program filled with cultural experiences, arts and crafts, and workshops.

Held at the Orange Field Days in 2023, the 2024 event is a huge catch for the small twin town, and so too is their top billing in former Australian Olympian and two-time athletics world champion Jana Pittman, given she’s now a doctor and a mother of six children, who is somewhat of an expert in work-life balance.

“I’m incredibly excited to be speaking at The Gathering,” she said, “given the theme, I guess you could say I’ve had a bit of experience around this.

“I’ve had to overcome many hurdles in my life, be that sporting injuries, the challenges that go along with having children and maintaining a healthy wellbeing,” she said, “so juggling my work with my children, for me time is very precious, so it’s about time management and ensuring you have good foundations in place to set you up for success.

“I can’t wait to share my experiences with the attendees and show them the more often you put yourself out there and things don’t go to plan — and you realise you survive it — the stronger you become.”

The gatherings are for all women, including women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women with disabilities, young women, older women, LGBTQIA+ women, mining women, women in the fishing, forestry, and primary industries, and women who live in regional cities, towns, and villages.

Also in town for the 19 October event, and another guest speaker, will be Wagga-born youth mental health advocate and regional health advocate, Ruby Reithmuller.

Ruby is not only the founder of Womn-Kind – a first-of-its-kind social wellness platform – but in 2024 was a NSW/ACT finalist in the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

“As someone who grew up on a farm in the Riverina, I know firsthand how difficult accessing services and opportunities can be for women in the country,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to talking about mental health and wellbeing in the modern world and I’ll be sharing practical tools to optimise wellbeing, the current context of youth mental health in regional Australia and the ways that communities can support the young people in their lives,” Ruby said.

Bendigo entrepreneur Kimberley Furness – an award-winning magazine publisher and chart-topping podcast host – will talk about the power of storytelling and its role in connecting and empowering women in rural, regional, and remote areas.

Kimberley says supporting rural, regional, and remote women is important to her because they face unique challenges, including limited access to services, economic opportunities, and social support.

“I’ll share insights from my journey with OAK magazine, highlighting stories of inspiring women who have overcome challenges and made significant impacts in their communities,” she said.

As if that wasn’t enough to fill the day – a packed program of workshops will also be on offer to assist participants to build new connections and learn new skills to ensure they can reach their full potential and thrive.

For instance – learning about bush tucker, its home cooking uses, and how to create a bush tucker garden in your own home.

There’s knitting and networking, fitness, physiology, yoga, nutritional advice, painting for wellness and a whole lot of information on maintaining your mental health and wellbeing in the modern age.

Speaking of the modern age – an iPhone workshop with Camilla Duffy might unlock some of the secrets to the device we can’t do without.

The Rotary Club of Harden-Murrumburrah will show the benefits of growing fresh produce and Golf NSW pros Casey Thompson and Andrew Welsford will have you learning some golf fundamentals and skills.

The full program and other useful information, including accommodation options, is available here while updates can be found on the NSW Rural Women’s Gathering 2024 Facebook page.

NSW Minister for Women, Jodie Harrison MP, who will also be a guest speaker on the day, said she was looking forward to meeting women from across regional NSW and hearing their stories and vision for the future.

“Each year, the Rural Women’s Gathering brings women together to share experiences, learn and support one another,” she said, “it is an important event to help regional women feel connected through friendship, mentorship and professional resources and services.”

Tickets are $65 and are available until sold out.

To secure your place at the 2024 Rural Women’s Gathering visit humanitix.