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Clair O'Brien interviewed by Nikki Henningham in the Rural Women of the Year Award oral history project [sound recording]
Bib ID 4941865
Format AudioAudio
Author
O'Brien Clair, 1949-
 
Access Conditions Written permission required for research, personal copies and public use during the lifetime of the interviewee. 
Description 2010. 
3 sound files (ca. 250 min.) 
Series

Rural Women of the Year Award oral history project.

Summary

O’Brien speaks about growing up in a sugar growing region; her schooling; being a governess on a property in Mt Garnet (1967-68); Brisbane; meeting her husband; working as a sugar chemist; young people in remote communities; life on sugar cane farms; current land use and the environmental impact in sugar growing areas; her marriage; living on her husband’s family property Craig’s Pocket; the challenges of childbirth and raising children in a remote community; the radio as a lifeline; distance education; School of the Air; moving to the Northern Territory (1993); selling Craig’s Pocket; Carmor Plains; Community involvement in the NT; involvement with Landcare; move to Roper Valley District (2001); good relationships with local indigenous people; her children; winning the State award for the ABC Rural Woman of the Year Award (1996).

O’Brien talks about her concern for environmental issues; Ramsar Wetlands; volunteering; the need to make rural communities attractive to families and young people; the impact of locking up land in national parks; holistic land management theories; using Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOFers) as labour; pastoralism with a conservation focus; Kakadu National Park; the lack of support for rural women; her leadership experience with ICPA, CWA, Royal Flying Doctor, Australian Women in Agriculture; building networks; participating in the Australian Rural Leadership Program (2002-3); leadership; serving as deputy mayor of the Roper Gulf Shire; writing a weekly column for Rural Press; being nominated for the national award; Australian Women in Agriculture Conference in Darwin; differences between Country Women's Association and Australian Women in Agriculture; her daughter's experience of life on the land compared with hers; her concerns about domestic violence, youth suicide, support for men and aged care in remote rural communities.

Biography/History

Clair O'Brien was the State winner (for the Northern Territory) of the ABC Rural Woman of the Year Award in 1996. She is a pastoralist and community worker with a strong commitment to improving the lives of women and children in remote and isolated communities.

Notes

Recorded on 29 July 2010 in Darwin, N.T.

Digital master; National Library of Australia, Oral History and Folklore collection;

Index/Finding Aid Note Timed summary (10 p.) and uncorrected transcript (typescript, 161 leaves) 
Subjects O'Brien Clair, - 1949- - Interviews.  |  Rural women - Northern Territory - Interviews.  |  Farmers - Northern Territory - Interviews.
Occupation Graziers.
Other authors/contributors Henningham, Nicola, 1960-

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    Details Collect From
    ORAL TRC 6174/6
    Copy: Recording
    Petherick Reading Room (Oral History)
    ORAL TRC 6174/6 (transcript)
    Copy: Transcript
    Petherick Reading Room (Oral History)

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    Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains names and images of deceased people. All users of the catalogue should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.