Summary
Icon created for and displayed at the Women on Farms Gathering, Bendigo 1997.
The computer motherboard was selected by the Bendigo Gathering organisers to symbolize the place of women in the heart of rural communities. Just as the motherboard is essential to the functioning of a computer, so women were seen as fundamental to the function and survival of their farms and rural communities. Women have taken a lead in using new technologies for farming and management. The computer has also proven to be an important networking tool for sharing stories and exchanging experiences across the diversity and distances of rural Australia.
'The motherboard is the main component in a computer. If it doesn't work, the computer won't work. We felt as women we could relate to that!' - Thelma Shearer, Bendigo Women on Farms Gathering committee member.
The closing of each Gathering and the anticipation of the next is celebrated with a formal 'baton changing' ritual, where a symbolic 'icon' is handed over from one organising committee to the next. Each item represents a story or message of some of the key themes and issues, which have shaped the meaning and experience of these women's rural identity.
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.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Loan & Subsequent Donation from Victorian Women on Farms Gathering, Mrs. Rhonda Diffey - Women on Farms Gathering Heritage Group, 20 Nov 2002
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Commissioned By
Victorian Women on Farms Gathering, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1997
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Place & Date Collected
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Classification
Agriculture & rural life, Community activity - women on farms gathering, Symbolic objects
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
210 mm (Length), 212 mm (Width), 17 mm (Height)
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Dimensions
216 mm (Length), 22 mm (Depth), 211 mm (Height)
Measurement From Conservation.
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References
[Link 1] viewed 12.05.2008 LDH [Link 2] viewed 12.05.2008 LDH
[Chapter] Dale-Hallett, Liza, et al. "Rural women reclaiming their place through symbols, stories and rituals"., 2008
[Article] Dale-Hallett, Liza & Diffey, Rhonda. 2006. "Motherboards and desert sands: stories of Australian rural women" Frontiers: A Journal of Women's Studies., 2006
[Article] Dale-Hallett, Liza, et al. 2006. "Creating collaborative living history; the case of the Victorian Women on Farms Gathering Heritage Collection", History Australia., 2006
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Keywords
Agriculture, Gender Issues, Globalisation, Politics, Rural Life, Work