Young Show’s Young Woman Winner Edwina Kelly at the Zone 6 Young Women’s Finals with her Aunty Elizabeth Fry.
25-year-old Edwina Kelly made Young proud after competing against 21 other talented young women in the Zone 6 Young Women’s finals in Eugowra on February 28.
Although she will not be representing Young in the finals at the Sydney Easter Show, she says this experience hasn’t dampened her fire in advocating for farmers across rural communities.
The February 28th event was packed with several things to do and see, all of which were planned to incorporate elements of the community, including a guided bus tour around the town.
“You could just tell there was such a big community involvement,” says Edwina.
“Cindy Herbett and her daughter, Lydia, did such an amazing job in organising everything.”
Representing the Riverina, Edwina says it was a lovely opportunity to see several familiar faces, including 2025 Sydney Royal AgShow’s NSW Young Woman winner (from Cootamundra), Cassandra Bush, and runner up Sophie Cargill from Dubbo.
Edwina, who originally hails from Canberra says the experience was incredibly valuable.
“The interview in the morning went really well, and we chatted for quite a while over several topics,” she says.
“We spoke about our personal goals and origin stories.”
Edwina grew up in Canberra but left after finishing school to live in Brisbane for six years. It is here that her love for agriculture grew.
“I worked in an online rural store,” she says.
“It was a great [initial] exposure to agriculture, but I had grown up around family friends who worked in farming.
“It sparked my interest from a young age.”
Conversation also moved to personal goals for each applicant before discussing the Show’s they represented.
According to Edwina, Eugowra’s community was one of the highlights, with several homes opened for the girls to get themselves ready for the event. Transport was also provided for several of the girls who stayed in Forbes.
Hosted in the Eugowra Community Centre, the Zone 6 Young Women’s Finals was the first major event the centre had housed since it’s completion.
More than 300 people were present on the night, including local member, Steph Cooke, the Young Show Society President and Edwina’s family and friends.
It was only after all of the applicants were invited onto the stage that Edwina said they began to feel the pressure, with several of the questions “tough and convoluted”.
“That’s where I crashed and burned,” she joked.
“Every girl had to ask for one of the questions again.
“Aside from that, it was still a lovely experience, and I learnt so much about Young, regional NSW and myself.
“It was really fun, and it was such a lovely community.”
Asked to discuss their personal profiles, workplaces and their own Show’s, Edwina always had a strong focus on agricultural work within their areas.
“It was great to get the hands-on experience, [because] farm advocacy and helping farmers out is my long-term goal,” she says.
Edwina works as a farmhand at Rosewood Pastoral in Young, and says she’s fallen in love with the work.
From city-girl to farmhand, she says it gave her a unique edge to the competition.
“It helped me relate from both sides,” she says.
“It’s not what most people expect, some people didn’t even know [I’d grown up in Canberra] until the night, but it gave me a fresh perspective that others who have lived in the region their whole lives might have missed.
“Overall people were pretty positive, and it was all really new and exciting.
“I threw myself in and gave it a crack.”
The Sydney Easter AgShow’s Young Women competition has been designed to support and celebrate young women within the agricultural field.
Although Edwina will not be continuing to Sydney, she says it’s lit a fire in her belly, and she plans to continue embedding herself within the community.
“The program is a great avenue to support girls,” she says.
“Following this, I will become an active member of the show society and encourage more people to come to regional communities.”
Girls as young as 18 participated in this year’s championships and Edwina says it was great to compete with women from all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life.
“There is a bit of an old-fashioned stigma surrounding the program, but I hope to change some minds by helping other girls in the future,” she says.
“The program pushes you into a leadership role and it is part of my mission to continue championing it.”
Outside of encouraging more women to step up into agricultural roles, Edwina says she also hopes to encourage more volunteers to join community-based organisations (such as the CWA and Hospital Aux).
“It’s time to bring up the next generation to take on the reigns,” she says.
“I will do that by leading by example.”
– Elizabeth Kovacs
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