Liz Walpole: Connection is Everything
Elizabeth Walpole lives on a farm at Whorouly, Victoria. Elizabeth has been heavily involved with Australia’s Women in Agriculture Network for many years.
When thinking about my involvement with computers, I recall that I was doing the farm books, which is something I inherited when I married. My husband didn’t want to do the books, so it was over to me. Somebody told us about a wonderful program that was on a computer called Agri master. So, we purchased a computer and the software.
I was interested in computers from the beginning and my husband, despite undertaking several computer courses, was never to be seen sitting in front of it! I really enjoyed working using the computer despite poor data connection in the early years. We installed a satellite dish on the roof, which really didn’t work very well and if you wanted to download something, well, you could be waiting for more than a few hours. Recently a digital tower was placed close to the farm. This changed everything and since then, I can get on my computer and download something almost immediately.
However, during COVID, I felt very isolated living here. My computer provided invaluable connection. I was introduced to Zoom – I’d never heard of Zoom, and I’d never heard of Webcams. It opened-up wonderful things to me because I could still be involved in meetings. I was secretary of a group that is involved with East Timor and even though we were not able to meet weekly, we’d meet every month on Zoom, and that was just wonderful to speak to a group of people in real time.
Also, I discovered that there are all sorts of things that you can do on Zoom. I did a medical course through the University of Tasmania. You might think why would I want to do that? My previous job was nursing, and I’ve always been interested in medical things. Over this time when we had COVID, I also joined a group to learn more about my family’s history. Genealogy was something I’d previously never been deeply involved with. I’ve also enjoyed being able to listen to lots of talks – podcasts from the Wheeler Centre, the State Library, The Australian Institute and of course from the Victorian Women’s Trust.
It was just wonderful during COVID to be able to contact family via Zoom that we otherwise couldn’t see. Now that we’re able to get out and about, there’s nothing better than being face to face with friends but having a reliable internet connection is a must for all country women! I have one particular friend who has only recently been introduced to the computer and I was able to help her too. I don’t know that she’s actually Zoomed, but she has certainly become more involved. She’s learned how to pay her accounts, and things like that, which has been helpful for her during the pandemic. I’m always encouraging my friends to spread their wings a bit. I do acknowledge that not everybody is as lucky as me to be able to have good data connection. Lots of people in the country still have significant problems with their internet connection.
Having reasonable computer skills has made such a difference to me during COVID and I’m continuing with it as I feel it’s so good for my mind not to get shut down in your own little world and it’s important to hear what other people are thinking.
Years ago, I recall country women attending computer classes in Wangaratta. Ten farming women got together and taught themselves how to use their computers. Now, that’s something that could happen now. I am so delighted that my journey has been a bit of an impetus for the Rural Women Online initiative. I have no doubt that this will provide a great boost for rural women in Victoria.