Summary

Audio interview with Anna Lottkowitz and Jenni Mitchell recounting their experiences with agriculture and rural life, in particular their work with the Rural Women's Network and contributions to the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s. The recording was taken on 3 July 2015 at Melbourne Museum's conservation sound studio, interviewed by Catherine Forge with Liza Dale-Hallett.

Anna and Jenni were key figures involved in the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s. They were appointed to develop the Rural Women's Network (via the State Government's Office of Rural Affairs) in the mid-1980s. The Rural Women's Network played a pivotal role in facilitating rural women to develop a more active voice in government and decision-making, and encouraging women to network, lobby, share their stories and gain more recognition in public life.

This interview is part of the Invisible Farmer Project, which was funded by the McCoy Fund and involves a partnership between Museum Victoria and the University of Melbourne. This six-month pilot project aims to interview a small number of women about their involvement with agriculture, shine a light on the history of the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s, identify existing public/research collections that document women in agriculture, develop a strategic collecting alliance that could further enhance these collections, and prepare a larger funding proposal that will address the urgent need to collect and preserve these histories.

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

Interview with two women discussing their work with the Rural Women's Network and their wider contributions to the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s. Anna and Jenni firstly provide some biographical information relating to how they got involved with agriculture and State Government. They then speak about their work with the Rural Women's Network, their personal memories of the Rural Women's Movement and some of the key events / people that they feel need to be remembered in relation to this time in history. They recall working with the Hon. Joan Kirner in her Landcare initiatives and being involved in the first Women on Farms Gatherings, as well as the 1994 International Women in Agriculture Conference.

Physical Description

Digital Audio Recording: 2 WAV files.

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