7 minute read
Rural changemakers
Ruraltrailblazers
Meet three amazing women committed to driving change and creating a brighter future in regional Australia
WORDS ERIN MILLER
Cara Peek, 41, is a lawyer and Yawuru/Bunuba woman who lives in Broome, WA, and is dedicated to helping Indigenous communities.
Surrounded by the blue water and red cliffs of The Kimberley is where Cara Peek draws her inspiration and strength.
The lawyer and social innovator works tirelessly to improve employment opportunities for Indigenous communities in remote Australia.
At high school in Melbourne, Cara was interested in social rights and would read books about Nelson Mandela and the civil rights movement in the US.
“I’ve always been driven by a strong desire to help and understand people, so law and psychology was a great choice for me,” she says.
She worked as a judge’s associate at the Federal Court and then as a lawyer specialising in Native Title law, but decided to move to The Kimberley so she could reconnect with her grandmother, culture and family history. “There’s such strength and resilience in my family,” Cara says. “From my mum and grandmother to my great-great grandmother, who walked hundreds of kilometres to find her child who had been taken from her as part of the policies that created the Stolen Generation. Indigenous women are the strongest people I know.”
In 2013, Cara launched Saltwater Country, which aims to empower Indigenous people through celebrating the lifestyle of Aboriginal stockmen and women and provides training, employment and events.
“Ultimately there is a lack of access and opportunity in our community and many other Indigenous, rural, remote and regional communities across the country,” Cara says.
“There is often a lack of inspiration and hope for some people as a result of intergenerational trauma and poverty. Saltwater Country is here to remind them that trauma is only one part of our story, and that with the right opportunities and support anything is possible.”
With sister Adele, Cara also founded The Cultural Intelligence Project, which promotes the importance of conscious business. One of their goals this year is launching the physical space in Broome for Make It Happen HQ, an entrepreneur’s hub for First Nations talent.
“I want to continue to highlight the capacity and the incredible amount of talent and determination of our people and help provide further opportunities,” she says.
“I am in the legacy business — the work will never be done."
STEPHANIE COOMBES PHOTO
— Cara Peek
Pip Brett, 38, is the founder of homewares and fashion store Jumbled. She lives in Orange, NSW, with husband Nick and two sons Digby, 9, and Barnaby, 7.
As a young girl growing up in country NSW, Pip Brett would often be found lending a hand in her mother’s clothing store in Orange.
“Growing up in Mum’s store, I’ve always been around fashion and art,” Pip explains. “She designed her own fashion range, which was so colourful and over the top. You could spot a Kezz Brett design from a mile away.”
That shared passion for fashion and art led Pip to buy her own retail business in the same rural town.
At the age of 22, she opened her first fashion store. It has now grown to stock homewares, clothing and art (including her mum’s artworks) with a strong online presence.
“I started really small,” Pip says. “Online didn’t exist for small and medium businesses back then. It was really challenging to convince brands to stock a regional store.”
Indeed, a town with a population of 37,000 might not seem the obvious spot for a retail brand, which has exploded to include international customers and collaborations with brands such as Emma Kate Co and Kip&Co, however Pip sees her rural location as key to her business’s success.
“These days, online is booming and living in Orange has become part of our story instead of the roadblock to stocking particular fashion labels,” Pip says.
She credits Buy From The Bush as a “fantastic advocate” for the talent and quality of small businesses in country locations and relishes being part of a community that supports rural women.
“It feels great knowing you’re not alone, and that someone else knows where you’re coming from,” Pip says. “I find passion and success to be the most motivating and inspiring — so hearing other women’s stories really fuels my fire. I listen to a lot of podcasts on women and, in particular, women in business.”
— Pip Brett
She has also built a strong network around her of other like-minded passionate and creative women.
“I have a great community of women that I can call on for support and advice,” she says. “I am constantly inspired by the women in my community.”
As for what tip she would give to another woman wanting to take the plunge and create change in their industry, Pip advises: “Be the change — don’t wait for it to happen to you. Go out there, and just start.”
ABOVE: Pip Brett at Jumbled, which (inset) stocks homewares and art. RIGHT: Jillian Kilby and (inset) with her team.
Jillian Kilby is the founder of a civil engineering and project management firm that works on infrastructure projects in rural Australia. She also launched The Exchange — a co-working space in Dubbo, NSW. Jillian currently lives in Newcastle, NSW, with her husband and their daughter.
When she was considering university courses, Jillian Kilby wanted to ensure she selected a path that would allow her to spread her wings and live in the city and overseas, but would also let her return to her regional roots.
“Engineering speaks every language and there are career opportunities in every country around the world,” Jillian says. “I wanted to ensure I could return to the country and be able to live and contribute to regional Australia.”
She moved from the family cattle, sheep and crop farm at Coonamble to study engineering in Sydney. After graduating she worked on Sydney Harbour managing construction projects, before starting her own engineering company that works with local governments in regional NSW.
“The opportunities that were given to me in a rural town were so great and the upbringing, with a focus on education, was excellent and it got me to where I am today,” Jillian says.
Her work now is assisting councils to move infrastructure projects from planning shelves to “shovel-ready”.
“A lot of people think of engineers and they think steel-capped boots and hi-vis on a construction site, but my role is very much a suit in the boardroom,” she says.
“Regional Australia has been so supportive. If you do a good job you will be rewarded because the grapevine will tell other people. I like my line of work and knowing that the work I’m doing is impacting the people I know.”
Jillian is also committed to seeing other rural businesses thrive and in 2018 opened The Exchange, a collaborative coworking space in Dubbo that hosts everyone from farmers wanting business administration space to visiting corporate banks hosting meetings.
To bring the project to fruition, Jillian bought the town’s old post office from Telstra and renovated the building. It now also hosts networking and education events. Jillian has also just expanded and bought an old cordial factory in Narrabri to launch another location.
“We are empowering the brave to grow, connect and succeed,” she says.
Undaunted by launching her own multi-million-dollar projects, Jillian says she believes it’s “a bit of a case of if not me, then who?” and having the confidence to try.
“We didn’t get a government grant to make The Exchange come to life,” she says. “It was me bringing my savings and taking a bank loan to launch. The advice is to not sit back and wait for a grant — put your thinking cap on about how you can create that change sooner rather than later in your town.”
She also hopes more young people who leave regional areas to further their education or job prospects will consider returning to their home towns and adding to the community.
“Build something worth coming back to,” she says.
“I think it’s great that people have the opportunity to leave regional areas to experience and explore, and I think it’s amazing when they can return and bring something that they saw overseas or in another town, back to their town.”
— Jillian Kilby
