Summary

Audio interview with Rosemary Grant recounting her experiences with agriculture and rural life, in particular her education in agricultural science and her career as an agricultural journalist (ABC radio) during the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s. The recording was taken on 3 August 2015 at the ABC studios in Launceston, Tasmania.

Rosemary Grant studied agricultural science at the University of Tasmania in the 1970s and became a journalist with ABC radio upon graduating. She moved to Victoria and worked for the ABC in rural Victoria, which is when she started to get involved in the Rural Women's Movement. Rosemary was on the committee of the 1994 International Women in Agriculture Conference, which was a significant event in the history of the Rural Women's Movement. ABC radio has intersected with the Rural Women's Movement in a number of ways, and particularly through the creation of the ABC Rural Women of the Year Awards in the early 1990s. Rosemary's 27 year career with ABC rural radio provides a unique insight into this period in Australia's history, and highlights the importance of journalism and the media in raising the profile of rural women.

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 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.the absence of rural women in mainstream histories and museums.

Description of Content

Interview with one woman discussing her education in agricultural science, her career as an agricultural journalist for ABC rural radio and her memories of the Rural Women's Movement of the 1980s-1990s. Throughout the interview Rosemary offers her candid views on gender, feminism, farming, community life and rural women's networking.

Physical Description

Digital Audio Recording: 2 WAV files.

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