RRR Rewind: The Story of RRR Network

Written for the RRR Newsletter | Edition 37, Spring 2006

The Network News has stood the test of time and continues to be the magazine of  choice for rural, remote and regional women of Western Australia.  Looking back on the launch of the RRR Network 10 years ago on the 12 August 1996 brings back colourful memories of that momentous occasion.

My vision started about the winter of 1994 and a submission for the support of the WA Rural Women’s network was sent to the then Deputy Premier Hendy Cowan. What followed was a state of endurance and I did not let up with constant phone calls to the minister’s advisors to keep the project alive and moving forward.

I looked for support from the then Department of Commerce and Trade and the Department of Agriculture. On reflection I wonder whether I should have just targeted one department as it was an extra challenge in seeking approval and support from two ministers. As agriculture encompasses the majority of the land in WA I could have taken that path, but my sight was set to include all women in the state to be part of the network.

It wasn’t until December 1995 that the Minister finally signed off on the project.

The Network was a 2 year Pilot Project and we had to prove we could produce a professional quality newsletter, and provide an increasing membership to show that the project was worth continued investment.

At the launch of RRR and the first meeting of the Reference Group I was probably the only one on that day who knew what the network was going to provide as there was varying levels of understanding. There were 12 women and one man on the first Reference Group and they came from all parts of WA across all ages, backgrounds and skills and this still applies today. I was pleased we had members who were not representing an organisation; they were there because they wanted to be and believed that is was worth being involved.

I could ‘see’ the magazine although then we called it a newsletter. I realized that until we had a publication out there, there was still a lot of work to be done. Initially I called it the rural women’s network but this was soon changed to the rural, remote and regional women’s network as many of the reference group members could not associate with the word rural deemed to be a southerner’s name that the women from the north of the state did not associate with.

There was also the call for an indigenous representative to be part of the reference group. Finding a member of the indigenous community has always been a challenge as many women who have been approached have said that it was a big responsibility for one person to represent so many women.

At that first meeting it was also decided to have our first edition printed and posted by November. We all like a deadline but that seemed an unreal possibility.  RRR didn’t have one name on the data base for the mailing list and not one story on file, but the first edition made it just before Christmas 1996.

Kate Daniels the Network’s first coordinator had just started on the job the day of the launch and she shared the same enthusiasm. I remember that Dowerin Field Day was only weeks away and a ‘flyer’ to promote the network was put together, and it was the initial way that we went out to try and muster up a data base of subscribers to receive this new magazine. The response was another indication that gave me confidence that we were on track, as the replies from that initial hand out came from all over the state. Wonderful women photocopied the flyer and it just was sent on and on and on. Thanks to all of you.

Kate also found while going through the budget details that there was a short fall by many many dollars. Already! and we were only weeks into the project. We did try unsuccessfully to seek sponsorship from big business in town and I was disappointed with the negative response as I thought I told a very convincing plausible story.

But in the real world I still believe that the RRR Network is one social responsibility that all sides of government can commit to financially.

It wasn’t until a year later that the Network finally decided on its very distinct logo. Curtin University School of Design students were asked to create our logo and Joanna Lamb designed that very familiar boab tree logo. It represents many things to many people. It has a feminine shape with outstretched arms, it could be a river with tributaries like those in the north, a tree with a network of branches or patchwork shapes that many rural women work with.

By the third edition the newsletter had grown, from 16 pages for our first edition, 20 for our second edition to the now standard of 24 pages, and it was about then that we started calling it a magazine. Within a year there were 1200 individual names on the mailing list, a print run of 6,000 copies and it was mailed to 735 agencies.

The Network felt it could provide another avenue of information through the internet and the ideas for a Web page were now being discussed at meetings. It was about this time that I felt my term as Chair was drawing to a close, but I was able to still stay involved by being a member of the Reference Group. I was relieved to hand over to Liz Guidera who had been on the team from the beginning and Liz bought enthusiasm, new ideas and she shared the same commitment and passion that I had.

10 years on and I still look forward every quarter to receiving my copies of the Network News. With a very hectic life style, the time I spend reading all those wonderful inspiring stories from women across this state I enjoy a sense of calm, connectedness and pride that RRR women also are participating in reading and writing for the magazine. I believe that the magazine is still relevant and very much needed today as it was 10 years ago. There is the need for us all to come together and share the patchwork of life and there are many many editions to be read ahead.

Congratulations to all the women and men who have been members of the Reference Group over the years, to all the Coordinators who have continued to produce a colourful, informative and professional publication. To all those who have contributed in whatever way to the magazine and to all of you who are loyal subscribers and readers of the RRR Network News. Lastly my thanks to the successive government departments who have shown the wisdom to continue funding the RRR network, without your financial support and faith we would not be able to celebrate this achievement.  Happy 10^th Birthday.