Celebrating rural life with Friends of the Alliance

  • Three children silhouetted at sunset
    Golden Girls by David Lee
  • Women weaving
    Galbaanbiyn Narraliyn Wakulda – Women Learning Together by Amber Galvin
  • An Escape Luke Waldie _____________________________________ An escape, a quiet night Away from the rush, the bustle Of the big city life We are indoctrinated to love An escape, it’s freeing light Cast off the devices of our prison Phones, watches, deadlines Tasting the forbidden fruit: freedom An escape, a tough fight Days of rain, mud, blood Soft hands grow hard Souls grow full, blossoming An escape, a bitter bite My youth, pulled away Pinned down School, university, concrete An escape, to know what’
    An Escape by Luke Waldie
  • Rural Placements I fondly recall practicing pharmacy during my uni placements at small retail pharmacies in the country. I remember that sense of community amongst the staff & patients. I fondly recall practicing pharmacy. There were reservoirs of opportunities to supplement course content at small retail pharmacies in the country. There were chances to flag polypharmacy & advise on drug treatments. I fondly recall practicing pharmacy. I once shadowed a vet at farm properties & even receivMichael Leach
    Rural Placements by Michael Leach

The National Rural Health Alliance (the Alliance) hosted  the 16th National Rural Health Conference in Brisbane on 2–4 August 2022. In conjunction with the Conference, Friends of the Alliance hosted the 2022 amateur photographic and poetry competition to celebrate and capture the magic of life in rural and remote Australia.

Finalists from each category were exhibited at the Conference and the winners were selected by the Conference delegates.

A stunning sunset silhouette of David Lee’s daughter and nieces visiting a local horse paddock was awarded first prize in the photographic competition. David is a public servant from Canberra and took the photo, titled Golden Girls, while bushwalking with the girls.

Second prize went to Amber Galvin, who works with a community organisation in Gloucester, New South Wales. Amber states ‘This photo represents the strong women of the Worimi and Biripi communities connecting to culture. This beautiful collaboration is from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women, working together on a weaving piece. The photo was taken halfway through our project and shows exactly what the group represents. The hands are significant, a sign of coming together, learning together, working together. Our finished artwork is called Galbaanbiyn Narraliyn Wakulda – Women Learning Together.’

First prize winner in the poetry competition was Luke Waldie with his piece An Escape. Luke is a medical student at the University of Queensland. His poem speaks of how the bush is an escape from a complicated modern city life. I’m sure a lot of people can identify with that.

Michael Leach’s poem Rural Placements won second prize. Michael is a senior lecturer at Monash Rural Health in Bendigo, Victoria, and his lovely poem reflects his time as a student practising pharmacy in the country during his uni placements.>

You can view all of the photo competition finalists and poetry competition finalists on the Alliance website.

About Friends of the Alliance

Friends is a network of individuals and organisations from across Australia that support the objectives of the Alliance. By joining Friends you will help the Alliance work towards its vision of healthy and sustainable rural, regional and remote communities.

Comment Count
0