Summary

This image is of Cath Marriott and her daughter-in-law Carly Marriott at Goomalibee taken by Tagen Baker on 13 August 2016 as part of The Invisible Farmer Project.

This particular image shows Cath Marriott (left) standing with her daughter-in-law Carly Marriott (right).

Cath Marriott comes from a sheep and cattle farming background, with the majority of her experience having been gained in sheep farming. At the peak of her business operations, she was running 4,000 ewes.

Cath's daughter-in-law Carly is from Barooga in New South Wales where she and her husband are invested in her parents' family farm, growing winter and summer crops.

Cath and Carly speak passionately about farming practices, irrigation, and dealing with crises within the industry.

This photograph is 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

Two women standing next to each other in front of a flowering tree with yellow blooms.

Physical Description

Digital colour photograph

Significance

As a visiting research associate for Museum Victoria, and a PhD student in Utah State University's Department of Environment and Society, Tagen Baker had the opportunity to explore the diverse landscape of Victoria and interview and photograph women farmers as part of The Invisible Farmer Project-to learn from them about their histories, responses to climate change, and how they adapted their agricultural practices to sustain themselves and their families. Tagen wanted to know how their experiences have been similar or different to women in her home state of Idaho, USA. How have women been key agents of change embedded in their environments? How do women farmers provide unique perspectives and contributions to the futures of agriculture and to their communities?

As part of her research process, Tagen asked several women farmers if she could photograph them with an item of value. This item opened up a unique opportunity to communicate and learn about the farmers' lives. The item chosen was not only symbolic as a physical item of value, tangible and necessary, but a portal into a storytelling journey, a symbol of their rich and unique life experiences.

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