Hilltops councillor Rita O’Connor and Harden Murrumburrah Express journalist Jody Potts have joined forces on a community project to honour the lives of country women.
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“The idea of this project is to present a collection of 100 stories about real women’s lives,” Cr O’Connor said.
“Everyone has a story to tell, and we are inviting every woman in the Hilltops to contribute a story – their story.
“We want to be able to celebrate every woman, from young to old, their hardships and their triumphs, what challenges they have faced and how living in the Hilltops has had an effect on their lives.”
The idea came about when Cr O’Connor organised an event for International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8.
“I asked everyone coming to write a short piece on their lives and on reading them, I realised how many stories there must be out there that have never been told,” Cr O’Connor said.
“This book will hopefully become a record of the wonderful women we have living in the Hilltops – a part of this region’s history.”
As a community project, there will be no payments involved.
If there are any profits from the sale of the book, they will be donated to a local charity.
“We are now calling for submissions for the book from ladies all over the Hilltops,” Cr O’Connor said.
Ideally, stories should be between 500 and 2000 words.
They should include a brief history of your family origins and photos.
The book will include a photo of each woman, that will be taken by talented local photographer, Keith Ward, and one other contributed photo that will relate to the story.
If you are unsure about writing your story, but would like to be included in the project, both Rita and Jody will be available to assist you.
“Ideally, we would like to have outlines of your stories by June 1 and the final stories submitted by June 29,” Cr O’Connor said.
“It is a tight schedule, but we know how busy people’s lives are and want the project to roll out quickly.”
To be included in this project, the ‘One Hundred Hearts of the Hilltops’, please contact Rita O’Connor on 0407 227 140; or Jody Potts on 0466 347 221.
