Summary

Audio interview with Caroline Hogg recounting her experiences with agriculture and rural life, in particular her contributions to the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s during her career as a state politician in Victoria. The recording was taken on 20 July 2015 at Melbourne Museum's conservation sound studio, interviewed by Catherine Forge.

Caroline was a state politician for the Australian Labor Party in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time she became actively involved in the Rural Women's Movement through her various ministerial appointments and her interactions with a range of organisations including the Country Women's Association, Landcare and the state government's Rural Women's Network.

The Victorian State Government was central to the Rural Women's Movement, particularly due to the creation of the Rural Women's Network in the mid 1980s and the work of femocrats such as Caroline Hogg and the then Premier of Victoria the Hon. Joan Kirner. Caroline's reflections in this interview provide a unique insight into the role that femocrats and government played 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.

Part of the Invisible Farmer Project. 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 one woman discussing her political career in Victoria's state government, particularly as it related to the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s. The interview focuses on Caroline's political career as well as her memories of networking with rural women and rural institutions.

Physical Description

Digital Audio Recording: 2 WAV files.

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