Summary

Photograph of guest speaker Bryce Courtenay on stage at the 1995 Swan Hill Women on Farms Gathering. Notable Australian author Bryce Courtenay was Saturday morning's keynote speaker. Addressing the crowd with his talk, 'A Recipe for Dreaming', he argued that 'nothing happens without a dream and dreams are not intended for other people, they're intended for you.' According to the Swan Hill Gathering Proceedings, Bryce Courtenay claimed at the start of his speech that when he was born, his mother was visited by a witch doctor who told her that Bryce would be a rainmaker. On the final day of the Gathering, the rain came down in torrents following considerable drought. In the hope that this rain would continue, a 'rain dance' was organised during the Saturday night dinner, and led by locals Elaine Paton and Helen Morris. Strangely enough, 2005 ended up being a year of increased rainfall and the Swan Hill Gathering Proceedings reflected on this by stating: 'never underestimate the power of a women to wring tears from heaven'.
Part of Museums Victoria's Invisible Farmer Project Collection. The Invisible Farmer Project was the largest ever study of Australian women on the land, uncovering the histories and stories of Australian women in agriculture. It began as a pilot project (2015-2016) and evolved into a three year (2017-2020) nation-wide partnership between rural communities, academic, government and cultural organisations, funded by the Australian Research Council.

Description of Content

Guest speaker Bryce Courtenay on stage at the 1995 Swan Hill Women on Farms Gathering.

Physical Description

Colour Digital Photograph

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