Caroline Robinson is working enthusiastically to help promote the real worth of the agricultural sector to the rest of the country.
Caroline Robinson hails from Perth but has embraced life in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt.
To describe her as down to earth is apt and the character trait is a signpost that she has not looked back from the rural way of life since moving to Southern Cross several years ago.
Marriage took Mrs Robinson to Woolocutty, about 350 kilometres east of Perth, where she has developed a business based on community development and project management.
This work landed her the title earlier this year of Australian Rural Woman of the Year from the Commonwealth’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
Mrs Robinson was brought up to have respect for rural Australia. Experiencing first hand how difficult life can be in the business has made her believe that agriculture does not receive the recognition it deserves from the rest of the country.
“Agriculture in Western Australia and nationwide is not valued,” she says.
“The way the world is growing, everyone is touting that we will have a food shortage … with the world’s population growing, we need to start valuing agriculture.
“I don’t just say that because I am married to a farmer, by any means … our society does not value food producers.”
Mrs Robinson says the ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia flowing from the debate over animal rights has caused deeper damage to the primary sector and are an indication the sector is often not on the priority list. “Farmers aren’t condoning the practice, but a quick, rash decision has actually impacted more people than what the government realises,” she says.
Promoting regional Australia and helping to develop a better understanding and recognition of the work being done in regional communities is one of Mrs Robinson’s priorities, after receiving the title of rural woman of the year.
“I see my role is to promote regional Australia, to get people in to the conversations, to get women particularly into the conversations about regional Australia, not necessarily just agriculture … to promote regional Australia as a great place to live, work and invest,” she says.
She has long been working on community development and project management through her company, Solum, which she established after the move to Woolocutty.
“I needed to start my own business, we are too far out from a major town – 80 kilometres from Narembeen and that’s a long way to go to get milk,” she says.
Initially, Mrs Robinson thought her business would be focused on administration support for businesses in the region but its primary function is now in project management for community development projects for local governments and community groups.
Her latest project is managing the development of the Narembeen Grain Discovery Centre, which will act as an educational centre and regional tourism attraction.
Eighteen months ago, she established the Wheatbelt Business Network after realising that Wheatbelt businesses were isolated and, with few local business bureaus, lacked the support of a network, promotional activity and a business voice.
“The Wheatbelt is as big as Tasmania and there were only four towns with chambers of commerce in the area, which was not sufficient,” she says.
She is now keen to establish a marketing campaign to promote the Wheatbelt more completely, not just in its tourism offering.
“Regional people come down and invest in the metropolitan areas, we invest in housing, education … I think now we need to turn that around and say, ‘we have invested a lot in metropolitan regions, how about now you come out and invest in our regions’,” she says.
As Mrs Robinson explains how many days a week she and the WBN committee spend on establishing its member base and how much time she spends on Solum, other pastimes come out of the woodwork and it becomes clear she is not one to sit on her hands and is keen to support local business and communities.
“I play hockey in Merredin, teach ballet in Merredin, Narembeen and Southern Cross, I shop in Hyden and Narembeen and any other community I am in for work,” she says, walking the talk of community development.