CAROLINE Robinson has been crowned the winner of this year’s Australian Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Women’s Award.
The Wheatbelt entrepreneur, ballet school director, state country hockey player and founder of the Wheatbelt Business Network (WBN) received the award from the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Dr Mike Kelly at Parliament House in Canberra last Tuesday night.
Ms Robinson was one of six national finalists, after winning the state Rural Women’s Award for WA in February.
She was nominated for the award by the Shire of Narembeen.
As winner of this award, Ms Robinson will be awarded a bursary to visit other rural communities throughout Australia to network and learn from their strategies, as well as share her own experience of innovation and leadership in a rural community.
Ms Robinson said it was a great honour to receive the award.
“The networking and opportunities it opens up are fantastic,” she said.
“However, my family, the community where I live, the WBN, my work, ballet and hockey all come first and are important to me.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without the community.”
WBN committee member and Merredin business owner Dionne Hayes-Thompson said Ms Robinson was a worthy recipient of the award.
“As a WBN committee member I along with all of the WBN members am so very proud of Caroline and all that she has achieved,” Mrs Hayes-Thompson said.
“Caroline is a real asset to the Wheatbelt area.
“Her work ethic is second to none and in all of the time that I’ve known Caroline everything she puts her hand to is carried out to an exceptionally high standard.
“Her passion for the Wheatbelt and the sustainability of Wheatbelt businesses is contagious – the WBN is a fine example of this.
“Caroline has been working very hard to get it up and going and I believe through winning this award it will certainly help to boost the profile of the WBN.
“Personally I would like to encourage all non-WBN members to support Caroline and our local business community by getting on board.
“The WBN wishes Caroline every success in her role of National Rural Woman of the Year and agree that she is certainly a worthy recipient.”
Originally from Perth, Ms Robinson completed a commerce degree, did a student exchange program to Canada and worked for various tourism and hospitality businesses in Perth before obtaining a diploma of education.
She moved to the Wheatbelt as a teacher and then moved to her husband Ian’s farm in Woolocutty, 85 kilometres east of Narembeen, when they married in 2009.
Caroline has her own business, Solum: Wheatbelt Business Solutions, and is a rural development consultant specialising in community development, strategic engagement and project management.
Caroline also runs a ballet school and travels regularly to conduct classes in Southern Cross, Narembeen and Merredin.
She also plays hockey for the Merredin Women’s Hockey Club and has represented WA at the Australian Country Hockey Championships.
Caroline is also the brains behind the WBN, which was established to promote local produce and regional tourism and to provide opportunities for entrepreneurship and networking, training and education and the advancement of women in business.
Since its formal launch in March last year, the WBN has become a central point in the eastern Wheatbelt for news and information and a hub for businesses to promote their services and products.
“My ambition through winning this award is to further develop the WBN as a conduit to investment into the region, as a vehicle to help businesses support each other and to encourage business to engage in electronic and social media and marketing,” Ms Robinson said.
“I plan to research and develop a ‘Buy Local’ marketing campaign for the Wheatbelt that will emphasise local consumer loyalty and the value of business-to-business sales.
“I also think the Buy Local marketing campaign has the potential to be adopted by other communities across the country.”
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