The Shine Awards are back—and that means we’re celebrating the incredible women making a difference across this sunburnt country of ours.
Since its inception in 2017, Shine has become Australia’s premier prize for recognising the achievements of rural women. Now in its 8th edition, this initiative by Harvey Norman and The Weekly Times will again showcase inspirational stories from around the nation—and that’s where you come in.
If you know a regional woman whose life experiences or achievements within the community deserve to be shared, we need you to nominate them today. Honours are up for grabs in seven categories—Grace, Courage, Passion, Belief, Spirit, Dedication and the under 30s Youth category—and we want you to tell us why that special person you know should be given a chance to win.
On behalf of Harvey Norman and The Weekly Times, we can’t wait to hear from you!
What happened in last year’s Shine Awards?
As nominations begin to roll in for the 2024 Shine Awards, we’re going to keep with tradition here at Harvey’s HQ and take a special look back at last year’s edition.
It was a year that was all about resilience.
The stories that came to light showed just how strong our regional and rural women are—bringing their communities together regardless of the challenges they faced.
In speaking about last year’s awards, Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page said, “The Shine Awards have been the unscripted platform for life in rural and regional towns Australia-wide.
“The diverse beauty and opportunity created by the vastness of Australia can equally isolate and emphasise the challenges faced by the women of Shine. The brilliance of both nominees and finalists is their ability to overcome the distances through entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, and a sense of community.
“The finalists of Shine 2023 have sought to improve access to quality education, employment, commercial markets, natural disaster support, as well as health and community services.”
News Corp Australia’s Community Ambassador and Herald & Weekly Times Chairman, Penny Fowler, said the joint initiative and partnership with Harvey Norman had shone a light on more than a thousand women and their stories since the awards began.
“The Shine Awards celebrate women who make a real difference to their communities and reflect our company’s belief in creating positive change through news, advocacy and storytelling,” Mrs Fowler said.
Who won the overall 2023 Shine Award?
The overall winner of the 2023 Shine Awards was Sharon Winsor—a proud Ngemba Weilwan woman from western NSW.
Sharon is the founder of Mudgee-based Indigiearth—an Aboriginal owned-and-run food and hospitality business. Through producing and supplying ethically sourced native foods to the wider community, Sharon and Indigiearth have been able to effectively connect people with Aboriginal culture. In turn, this has created a range of opportunities for Indigenous-owned nurseries and harvesters.
What’s even more remarkable about this special business is that Sharon built it up after a series of particularly traumatic personal experiences, including still birth, domestic violence, and a resulting depression.
Being able to create a culturally important business in the face of such personal adversity was a story that needed to be shared with the wider Australian community. And it’s one that led to Sharon being crowned the overall winner and Grace Award winner at the 2023 Shine Awards.
“To win an award of this nature has ignited the fire in my belly even more. It has given me more self-belief in myself and a bigger recognition of my brand and purpose. I am truly humbled and grateful.” –Sharon Winsor.
Who else won at the 2023 Shine Awards?
Courage Award: Lyndee Severin from Curtin Springs Station, NT
Lyndee is a cattle producer who runs a 400,000-hectare station alongside her husband in amongst the isolated stretch of land between Alice Springs and Uluru. It’s a part of the world that’s not for the fainthearted, as the pair have been dealt everything from droughts to fires.
Rather than shying away from the challenges, Lyndee showed great courage by leaning into it, diversifying the station into the tourism sector. Now, Curtin Springs offers food, accommodation, and more on-site tourism experiences—in addition to their cattle operations.
Belief Award: Josie Clarke from Kempsey
In 2021, Josie established Ability Agriculture—an online platform that aims to increase awareness, support, and opportunity for people with disabilities in the agriculture industry.
The impetus for creating such an essential service was born out of a tragic accident suffered by her dad when she was just 5 years old. A truck accident had rendered him paraplegic—and in the aftermath, the family sought advice and camaraderie from others with disabilities in the agriculture industry. Unfortunately, at the time, this was hard to find.
By establishing Ability Agriculture, those in similar circumstances now have a means to connect and a platform to represent them.
Passion Award: Claire Harrison from Bridgewater on Loddon, Vic
Claire’s passion is undeniable. Understanding just how important fitness is for wellbeing, she’s determined to help those in her beloved community stay active.
She’s created a number of events with that purpose in mind—from bringing back the King of the Mountain race at Wycheproof after a 35-year hiatus, to being one of the people involved in establishing Bridgewater’s Run for Resilience. She also runs Active Farmers fitness classes for those in the farming industry.
Spirit Award: Amanda Loy from Coleyville, QLD
On a trip to the US, Amanda was taken by the celebration of cowgirl culture.
Wanting to bring this enthusiasm to Australia, she created Cowgirls Gathering—a horse-skills event for women. Held at the Kilkivan Showgrounds, last year’s event drew over 700 people, as female riders came together to compete, have fun, and to support other women.
Dedication Award: Kathy Duff from South Burnett, QLD
Kathy Duff is the definition of dedicated.
Firstly, there’s her love and commitment to South Burnett—evident through the work she’s done as a local councillor over the last 20 years.
There’s also her dedication towards mental health advocacy—something that’s very personal for her, with her partner having passed away from suicide. After this occurred, Kathy made a very sizeable donation to build a Men’s Shed in her local community, with the aim of offering men a place to connect and share experiences with others in the region.
Youth Award: Annie Pumpa from Braidwood, NSW
In 2016, Annie’s family farm was sold. Devastating as it was for the then teenager, she didn’t let it stop her pursuing an incredible career in the agricultural industry.
Already, she has held the position of President of the Herefords Australia National Youth Committee, Chairwoman of the Angus Youth National Roundup, and executive committee member of the National All Breeds Junior Heifer Expo. That’s not to mention her work at ABS Global—a leading provider of beef genetics and reproduction services.
Annie’s hit some incredible heights—and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
Nominate now for the 2024 Shine Awards
Now’s the time to share the stories of the incredible regional and rural women you know!
Nominations close October 23—with finalists and winners to be announced in November. So, be quick, nominate today and let’s celebrate those making a difference—whatever it is they do.