The main marquee which was the central hub for dining, entertainment and guest speakers. Picture by Michelle Porter.
Stand-up comedy, burlesque dancers and frank discussions about often taboo subjects like menopause, sex and relationships were all on the menu for the more than 300 women from around New Zealand who gathered for the inaugural Shepherdess Muster at Motu at the weekend.
The first-of-its kind festival focused on connecting rural women for a weekend of relaxation, learning and fun.
Festival director Kristy McGregor was thrilled to finally be at Motu after it was postponed last February due to Cyclone Gabrielle hitting the region the same week.
“It has gone extremely well and been very special. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive with most people saying it had exceeded their expectations,” Kristy said.
Comedian Michele A’Court got the weekend started on a high note with plenty of laughs at the op shop frocks-themed evening with band Shabang playing to a packed dance floor.
For the early risers, there was a morning farm walk, yoga or dance fitness on offer on Saturday , followed by keynote speakers Pania Te Paiho (of Wahine Toa Hunting) and sex and relationship therapist Jo Robertson.
This was followed by a variety of concurrent workshops including an introduction to stand-up comedy with A’Court and a burlesque dance lesson from Wellington’s Studio L’amour.
On Saturday night, there was a dinner catered by Flying Trestles with a bold and blooms dress theme.
With stunning floral arrangements by Kate Briant of Floraforms, the large marquee was full of colour and laughter as the audience enjoyed a burlesque show and live band.
Over the weekend, there were workshops with a business and cyclone recovery focus, including a business and entrepreneurship panel led by Rabobank’s Emma Higgins on Sunday morning.
There were also health and wellness workshops, beauty services, market stalls and an artsbreak area.
Kelly Spencer created a colourful mural featuring one of her trademark goddesses which was left as a gift for the students at Motu School and painter Lindy McLachlan created community canvases, artworks participants were invited to paint themselves on to.
One of Lindy’s paintings featured small figures of the Muster women standing on a field in the Motu valley surrounded by hills.
This painting was auctioned on Saturday night and the successful bidder was event committee member and Farming Women Tairāwhiti co-founder Sandra Matthews.
It had long been Sandra’s dream to bring an event like The Shepherdess Muster to Te Tairāwhiti after she saw a similar one in Australia called Channel Country Ladies Day which was started by Kristy McGregor.
Channel Country Ladies Day was created as a way of connecting outback women and has become a popular annual event.
“When I found out Kristy had moved to New Zealand, I contacted her and we began talking about the possibility of doing something similar here,” Sandra said.
“This has been about three-and-a-half years in the planning but I learned about the event in 2014 so it has evolved over a long time.”
It took considerable work and the assistance of a lot of sponsors to make the event happen.
“It makes it all worthwhile to see the happy faces, the buzz and the laughter and smiles of the women, and it’s so rewarding to see everyone having fun and learning new things.”
Kristy is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Shepherdess magazine which launched in 2020 just before Covid-19.
She is based in Horowhenua and her team work remotely from around the North and South Islands.
Kristy has a background in social sciences and agriculture and used to work as a governess on a massive cattle station in far western Queensland when she came up with the idea of an event for outback women.
With the help and support of the owner of the station she used her organisational skills to make the event happen there.
She moved to New Zealand in 2014 and has a vision to connect and cultivate vibrant rural communities.
The magazine was started as a way to connect, empower and inspire women across rural New Zealand by offering a place to tell people stories of rural communities.
The Shepherdess Muster was supported by local groups, Trust Tairāwhiti, Lottery Bay of Plenty/Gisborne Community grants, and national organisations from across the rural sector including The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust Rabobank, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Beef + Lamb NZ and the Rural Support Trust, Lotto and The Evergreen Foundation.