In 1972, when 23 people paid $3 for lunch at the Pelican Restaurant in Fortitude Valley and listened to a veterinarian criticise the Queensland Government’s policy on restricting artificial insemination centres, the Rural Press Club of Queensland was born.
Almost half a century on, the Club’s events now attract hundreds of guests who still come to hear what’s happening in the bush and network with the people who matter in rural Australia.
While so many have voluntarily contributed countless hours to make the Rural Press Club the success it is today, past-president and Life Member Jane Milburn is one that we owe a debt of gratitude.
Part of a small group who resurrected the dormant Club in 2000, Jane dedicated the next eight years leading the Club into a progressive new era.
Under Jane’s stewardship as secretary, vice-president and president (2006-2008), the Club’s membership and financial base was strengthened, branding developed, and a website created which includes an automated booking system that was the envy of other clubs.
Jane was valued for her ‘can-do’ attitude, creative ideas, and her pizzazz which helped attract headline speakers, in turn raising the club’s profile. While her forte was the big picture, Jane was equally prepared to lead the behind-the-scenes hard grind necessary to make every function a success.
Due in part to her Rural Press Club contribution, Jane was selected for the prestigious Australian Rural Leadership Program in 2009 and awarded the Fairfax Agricultural Media scholarship.
Jane’s entrepreneurial approach led her to set up Textile Beat as a social-enterprise business in 2013 to build conversation around sustainable clothing culture and natural fibres. She is the author of Slow Clothing: finding meaning in what we wear, which was launched in Sydney by the ABC’s War on Waste presenter Craig Reucassel.
Her slow clothing philosophy brings together Jane’s skills, experience and values. She holds an agricultural science degree from The University of Queensland and began her career as an ABC rural reporter before working in newspapers, as a ministerial media advisor, and running public awareness campaigns for various rural and health groups.
This article first appeared in the Rural Press Club enews February 2019 NOTE: The photos above point to Jane’s current work: she always wears natural fibres, most ensembles she made herself and many have since been upcycled.