Summary

Icon created for and displayed at the Women on Farms Gathering, Macedon Ranges (Kyneton) 2002.

The organisers for the Macedon Ranges Gathering commissioned the ceramic hands to represent the following meaning: 'Made from clay. The hands rise from the earth and reach out. Our hands are strong, hardworking, can hold, carry and are flexible. And our hands are supporting, nurturing, touching, caressing, and reach out in welcome.' The hands were created by Kyneton potter Peggy Thallong-Smith with assistance by Pat Beasley. The hands are slip cast and modelled on Pat Beasley's hands.

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

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