By Lynn Whyatt – RRR Network Storyteller
When Barb Thompson first visited Geraldton, she fell in love with the ocean, the crayfish, but most of all, with the people. Years later, she would choose to make the magnificent Mid West her home, not because she had to relocate for work or family, but because she wanted to. “It’s always the people,” Barb reflects. “They’re the fabric of our community. Especially the women, who bring the vibrancy and resilience that keep these regions alive.”
Barb’s journey through regional WA has taken her from pumping petrol as a high schooler to managing the Kununurra Visitor Centre at just 18 as the youngest manager in Australia at the time, and a woman in a male-dominated industry. Thrown in the deep end, she ran the library, shire work, banking agencies, and community events, all while being part of a committee navigating the collapse of the cotton industry. “Living remotely, you become innovative because you have to be. Resilient, because you have no choice.”
That resilience followed her through tourism, mining, small business, and economic development roles. In Pannawonica, she found herself managing town services in a mining industry run almost entirely by men. On her first day, she nearly shut the mine down by unknowingly crossing union demarcation lines…if you want a job done, even one as small as unscrewing a door, you need to put in a word order: “Didn’t you know that?” – A baptism of fire that taught her the value of listening, respect, and negotiation. Those lessons would underpin her later advocacy for women in business and community leadership.
Always a connector, Barb helped establish Women Inspiring Better Business (WIBB), giving home-based entrepreneurs across the Mid West a face-to-face network when few existed. “So many women were creating amazing goods and services from their homes. They just needed the connections to grow.” Today, WIBB continues to thrive, with Barb proud to have handed over the reins to a strong board and structure. Her name and mobile may still be on the bottom of the sponsorship banner…some things take a little bit longer to get changed in the regions.
Her professional journey has also been shaped by mentors like Leonie Noble and by networks such as the National Rural Women’s Coalition. “The information gathered in our regions becomes a national voice. That’s where change happens; whether it’s education, health, or economic opportunity.”
Barb remains deeply concerned about barriers in education. Growing up as a farmer’s daughter, she watched siblings leave home at twelve for boarding school, missing out on family life, support, and the comforts of home. She has seen firsthand the literacy and numeracy struggles in her region, particularly for Aboriginal students, and knows how vital education is to creating life-changing opportunities. Yet she also celebrates progress, pointing to Geraldton’s University Centre and TAFE as critical steps forward in bridging educational gaps between region and metro.
Community service has always been her peace and joy, but Barb is learning to step back. After decades of boardrooms, committees, and advocacy, she is carving out space for her own health and reflection. On her rural property, she finds quiet moments with a book in the garden, red-tailed black cockatoos keeping her company.
When asked what message she would send to women across regional WA, her voice is steady: “Believe in yourself. Be brave. Break the rules. Be a disruptor. Have a go, because nothing happens without change.”
Barb Thompson’s story is one of courage, connection, and continual reinvention. Through her, we see the Mid West as magnificent, a region built on strong women who refuse to be anything less than brave.