Rural Women’s Award 2011 Victorian winner
Victorian Rural Women Of The Year Announced
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An alpaca producer and agritourism business operator from Darnum in West Gippsland was named the winner of the 2011 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Women’s Award.
Angela Betheras was selected from a field of five finalists.
At an Award ceremony at Parliament House in March 2011, Minister for Agriculture & Food Security Peter Walsh said Ms Betheras's ambition to forge export markets in China to bring luxury alpaca fleece garments to the expanding middle class will continue to promote the leadership capacity of women in Gippsland.
“Angela has not only created a successful alpaca farm and associated tourism enterprise, she has also served her community tirelessly through her work as chair of the West Gippsland Gourmet Country Tourism Association and in her role as the first woman appointed to the committee of Lardner Park Events in its 47-year history,” Mr Walsh said.
A former international supply chain manager with Coles Myer, Ms Betheras established Nickelby Alpacas in 2004 and later transformed it into an integrated tourism enterprise, Nickelby at Darnum, comprising a retail store, photographic studio, olive grove and café.
Ms Betheras received a $10,000 bursary which she planned to to ban the alpaca fleece industry together to explore exporting into the Chinese market and cement the sustainability of the industry in Australia.
“My goal is to gather together other female textile artists who are also breeding alpacas, and to form a sort of co-op, to produce a range of garments and export those to China and capture that growing middle market" Ms Betheras said.
The 2011 runner-up was Jennifer Savage, an aquaculturist from St Germains in Northern Victoria.
Ms Savage established her enterprise, Savage Fish, and sees the economic and environmental benefit of farmers diversifying their practices to include fish farms.
As part of the Award, both Ms Betheras and Ms Savage were given the opportunity to attend the prestigious Australian Institute of Directors’ Course in Canberra.
2011 Victorian Rural Women's Award finalists
