On Friday night, Motherland Founder & CEO Stephanie Trethewey was named 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania for her work supporting and connecting rural women.
Stephanie created Motherland in 2019 after struggling with post-natal depression and isolation when moving from Melbourne to a beef farm in the north of Tasmania. What started as a podcast quickly grew into much more. Over the last four years, she has worked to provide rural mothers with the support they need, and in 2021 she created Australia's first online mother's group program for rural mums, Motherland Village.
"I just keep thinking of all the rural mums on farms right now like me, who have struggled like I have," she said.
"Farming can be relentless … and motherhood is relentless so what Motherland has done is really reduce that social isolation because I couldn't find a platform that told the stories of women like me, rural mums on the land."
Stephanie was presented with the award in Hobart on Friday night and is in the running to be crowned Australian of the Year on January 25.
