Award to celebrate women of NSW

CUMNOCK is a dot on the map between Molong and Yeoval, but that didn't stop Christine Weston's scheme to regenerate the town with an influx of tree-changers.

Her plan - to rent out surplus farmhouses for $1 a week - attracted 20 new families, lifted the town's population to 295 and saved the primary school.

''We've managed to boost our enrolment numbers at the school, saved our bus run and the cafe-cum-newsagent has opened up again and is serving cappuccinos,'' she said yesterday.

Not only that, but 10 other towns around NSW and Victoria have followed the example to ensure that they remain viable.

Mrs Weston's efforts have earned her a place among 10 finalists in the NSW Woman of the Year award, announced today by the NSW Minister for Women, Jodi McKay. The winner will be announced on International Women's Day next Monday.

The award acknowledges outstanding contributions of women in NSW, Ms McKay said. ''It recognises women who have motivated other women, made a difference for women and girls in NSW, and demonstrated excellence and success in their field.''

Another finalist, Millie Ingram, is an elder from Wiradjuri country who has spent the past 50 years in the Redfern-Waterloo area. She works with elderly people to help them remain in their homes.

She is also seeking funding to set up a program directed at young Aboriginal women who have been in jail to try to reduce the recidivist rate.

''We need to work with them to get them settled, to restore their self-confidence and self-reliance so they can look after their children and stop them going back to prison,'' she said.

Self-confidence oozes from a fellow finalist, Wendy Fogarty. She works as a management consultant and serves on a range of boards in the Illawarra area, including the Corrimal Chamber of Commerce.

The other finalists are: Sister Alison Bush, an Aboriginal midwife; Cr Colleen Fuller, who has helped many young women in crisis in the Gunnedah community; Susan Lee, whose cleaning company offers family-friendly hours and above-award payments; Glenda MacPhail, who helped establish a resource centre for Aboriginal women at Maclean; Johanne Provins, a volunteer at Merrylands East Public School who helps girls with learning difficulties; Professor Janice Reid, vice-chancellor of the University of Western Sydney; and Pastor Julie Virtue, who was instrumental in establishing a safe house in Forbes for women escaping domestic violence or fighting addictions.

[Note - CHRISTINE Weston, the pioneer of a low-rent scheme to attract visitors and new residents to Cumnock in the Central West, has been named 2010 NSW Woman of the Year - http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/cumnocks-wonder-woman-wins-nsw-title/1770964.aspx ]

Source: www.smh.com.au/nsw/award-to-celebrate-women-of-nsw-20100228-pb6f.html