Gulargambone ladies celebrate International Rural Women’s Day

The lunch was held at two eight two eight café over the course of two hours with young mothers arriving along with grandmothers and even great grandmothers in attendance.

On arrival ladies were greeted with a large cheese board and mingled until lunch was served. Battered fish fillets with a garden salad followed by white chocolate and baileys pannacotta topped with berries and shaved chocolate, served with coffee.

Due to short notice, a guest speaker was not secured so after the meal, the informal gathering was tasked with impromptu short answer questions set for each lady to speak from their personal perspectives. Very topical since COVID-19 relaxation of restrictions is the relocation of people into the regions and our area has enjoyed its share of newcomers.

One of our guests and visitor to Gulargambone; who at the time was caretaking the Gulargambone Caravan Park, was Liz Chauvier. She spoke to the topic of new arrivals to the regions and unequivocally urged - it is our responsibility to help assimilate new visitors into the social fabric of our communities.

She said “Lucky me being invited to the International Rural Women’s Day lunch at Gulargambone. From my perspective as a visitor, the ladies gathered at café 2828, displayed perfectly how to welcome a newcomer to their midst. I thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship and listening to the ladies’ thoughts on the topics provided. The diversity of ages and their easy camaraderie was impressive.

“Australian country hospitality has evolved over time to be a strong force for the community, and this lends itself to absorb the newcomer. The women take it upon themselves to organise and embrace the social life of their town.

“If only these wonderful Australian customs could become commonplace in all communities both city and country. Rural women are indeed the mortar that binds their community together”.

Further conversation on this topic arose when local farmer Pauline McIsaac discussed how newcomers would utilise the local library services, which presented an opportunity for library volunteers to invite them for coffee and a chat.

Café lessee Nicole Morris raised the matter of the Lions Club’s welcoming newcomers at the annual community barbeque. This barbeque; while not being well patronised by locals in the past, it was agreed this is indeed an opportunity we all need to embrace in order to meet and broaden the welcome into our community for these newcomers.

It was a lovely occasion with everyone agreeing we should have these gatherings more often. It just so happens that International Women’s Day arrives on March 8, 2023, so it is likely a similar gathering will be planned however, with a little more preparation than just five days’ notice.