International Day of Rural Women, Celebrating Elise

Elise, from Cudgewa, Victoria, embodies tenacity and strength. After defending her family’s farm during the devastating 2019/2020 bushfires, she faced unimaginable tragedy, losing her son Sam to suicide later that year.

How long have you been in Rural Australia?

 I grew up on a beef farm just over the NSW border and moved to the city for a short time when I finished school, but as I’m a country girl I couldn’t get out of the city fast enough.
 It was a fantastic experience for me though. I also help my community by volunteering with the local football/netball club, I’m the local subbranch of Holstein Australia, Alpine Valley Dairy, and Alpine Valley Community Leadership.

Elise 1

Can you share a moment or experience that highlights the strength and resilience you’ve shown as a woman in rural Australia, and how it has shaped your role in your community or on your farm?

I’ve always been involved on our farm, my main job is calf rearing. We were burnt out in the 2019/2020 bushfires that decimated our community, we stayed with our two boys and nephew to defend our home, cows, heifers, and everything else within our containment area. It was a very tough time for all in our community, but we all helped one another as much as we could. Later in 2020, we lost our 21 year old son Sam to suicide, the aftermath of the bushfires became very insignificant for us all. We have been very well supported by so many wonderful people and friends. I’m one of the founders of the Corryong Spirit event, a night for our community to come together to shine a light into the darkness of grief.


Any other important messages you may want to convey?

“I dream of never being called resilient again in my life. I’m exhausted by strength. I want support. I want softness. I want ease. I want to be amongst kin. Not patted on the back for how well I take a hit, or for how many!
Zandashe L’Orelia Brown

I like this because I’m not really resilient, I’m surviving and I think the word resilience is very overused.

To support farmers like Elise