Owner To Owner Podcast

Annabelle Hickson from Galah Magazine, a modern voice for regional Australia

Episode Summary

Annabele Hickson grew up in Sydney but now lives west of Tenterfield. Listen in to hear how she met a farmer, created a family, embraced regional living and started multiple businesses including Galah Magazine, as a modern voice from the bush.

Episode Notes

Annabelle Hickson www.annabellehickson.com is the founder of @Galahpress. Her new publication @GalahMagazine is a modern voice from the bush.

Annabelle is also a #pecanfarmer west of #tenterfield, an #author, a #podcaster. She maintains a rich and diversified portfolio of activities alongside her family life (a farmer husband and 3 lovely kids).

In this episode she talks about her transition out of Sydney, and we cover a lot of ground including;

growing up suburban Sydney, getting a dream job after uni and then working as a journalist for the Australian newspaper, thinking life was going to go down a much more urban track
falling in love with a farmer
loving life out here, one she never knew about before
creating your own opportunities, your own business and an empire
starting @GalahMagazine - a publication that spoke about #regionalAustralia through the lens of advantage
the historical voice from the bush, in a kind of post colonial sense, you know, the Bush was such an important part of our national psyche - built on the sheep's back you know everyone was a farmer, they knew a farmer, they had a connection with the bush.
how nowadays, that connection has really eroded, and, you know, we're one of the most urbanized countries in the world and I think it's something like 85% of us live within 50kms of the coasts,
how the Bush used to be so powerful and now it's much less powerful
the song of decline, the narrative of decline is something that we hear about a lot
being really surprised and delighted to find that when I moved out to regional Australia. It was not this sad place, it was vibrant and joyful and full of innovation.
why it's really important for us to tell these stories - to not always talk about drought, and lack of access to medical services, and lack of jobs because this life out here is also really rich
as you know it's not all light, there's a darkness too, but I think it's a more complex picture I guess then historical stereotypes have portrayed.
why living 80 kilometers out of town, and feeling quite separate from #townlife and being a real outsider, is probably good for making observations
what's happening in #Tenterfield - primarily an ag town, you know traditional grazing community but now there's lots of different people coming - opening Airbnb’s, new shopkeepers, new restauranters - there's a real mix of people coming into the community
how from her my point of view having this diverse makeup of people in the community is the key to the future of regional Australia. Having people that don't have skills that are just kind of ag-based, you know, we've got architects, restauranteurs, artists, and all of this that makes up the vibrant, diverse life that I want
#decentralization - has been this dream for so long but now it actually feels real, we have technology that allows that to happen. And then, with COVID we've sort of been forced into it and I actually think it's a really exciting time for regional Australia.
#treechange and the reasons behind it - significantly cheaper real estate prices - you can get a lot of bang for your buck
the #giftofcommunity - you know everyone's names, they know you, they care about you, even if you don't have the same political views, they will help you when you need it you know we had fires around here and everyone just helped everyone and that feeling of being seen and heard and cared for, I didn’t know what I was missing.
life before #treechange - pretty much hung with people who were very much like me in my Sydney life
why mixing with people who aren't all alike is good for humanity
feeling a lot more courageous here than I did in my city life. I don't think I ever would have thought I could start my own publication in Sydney because I was surrounded by amazing publications
feeling emboldened out here, and I think. I think in a way that's a reflection of the community being so much smaller and that awful voice of comparison, just isn't as loud and you can just kind of try more things
Emerging business opportunities in #communityregeneration #renewableenergy #smallscale #ecotourism #smallscalefood #smallscaleag #verticalintegration
why a lot of country towns that are way ahead of the politicians;
#Communityownedcompanies that have the aim of creating and generating enough renewable clean energy to power their own communities, and any profits that are made go back into the community.
@cleancowra in #centralwestNewSouthWales
@genienergy in #Narrabri #NorthwestNSW
Farming on one or two hectares and employing 10 People
@SueHewitt who went back from Melbourne to her family fig farm in South Australia. She went back and worked out how to build a premium food brand
#foodprovenance #industrialvoyeurism #foodtourism #farmtourism
How you can have direct access to city based customers these days through @Instagram and @buyfromthebush and bypass the traditional middlemen and redistribute those margins. I just think it's such an exciting time, keep the margins local.
Moving away from competitiveness into cooperation so that they can actually build something strong for the community
@GraceBrennan #buyfromthebush
@Donnahay - the doyen of Australian cookbooks and magazine publishing as a mentor.
@Jilliankirby from https://www.yourexchange.co/ #dubbo