Gorgi Coghlan turned up to the South West Dairy Ladies' Luncheon at Warrnambool in a bright outfit and with an even brighter smile.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Donning a stylish yellow pleated skirt and yellow-toned jumper to match, the first thing she said was: "I knew how cold it is here in Warrnambool, and I came from Ballarat!"
The Project co-host grew up in Warrnambool on a sheep farm and now lives on a farm in Ballarat with her family.
As guest speaker at the Wednesday event at Deakin University, Warrnambool, Gorgi hoped to use her time on stage to inspire and acknowledge the hard-working women in the dairy industry.
"It's a massive responsibility to do an event like this, because these women I'm talking to are independent, capable, strong, resilient women," she said.
"But like all of us trying to balance life, we all need a bit of a release from the everyday grind and I really love to share the strength of the sisterhood with one other and try and work together to work out, 'How can we actually make our lives a bit easier for ourselves, and a bit kinder for ourselves?'
"If I can ever play a part in that, if I can be someone who provides a laugh and provides some of the mistakes that I've learned along the way of what I would do differently, I think that's just a really wonderful way for women to bond.
Country women are very strong, but we sometimes tend to find it really difficult to ask for help. Vulnerability is particularly tough I believe for country women.
- Gorgi Coghlan
"Country women are very strong, but we sometimes tend to find it really difficult to ask for help. Vulnerability is particularly tough I believe for country women.
"If we can all be vulnerable together and talk about what we need we're stronger as a result'."
Gorgi has struck the perfect work-life balance, commuting from her family farm where she lives with her husband and daughter, Molly-Rose, whilst enjoying her various media roles.
"If I didn't have the farm and the mud and the manure and the beautiful groundedness of my farm, I really don't think I could do the job that I do," she said.
"I couldn't work well, sometimes on The Project we deal with some pretty heavy issues, the day that the Christchurch massacre broke that was a really awful day.
"To cover that, and see a lot stuff that we don't get to air to the public is hard. What the farm does for me is it keeps it real, it grounds me, it provides a connection to nature and it reminds you of the really beautiful, basic things in life.
"That's what I love about the country and that's what I love about coming back to Warrnambool. The sense of community here is so strong, the sense of camaraderie, particularly between dairy farmers, is remarkable.
"It's hard, it's a tough industry and I just love walking into a room like this and feeling the support and seeing how these women look after each other.
"That's why in a heartbeat I said 'Yes, I'm coming down to do this.'"
During her speech Gorgi reflected on her country childhood, having grown up in Warrnambool and on her grandfather's dairy farm in Terang.
She also spoke about the fun and 'not-so-glamorous' side of TV.
"I really want to talk about what defines success, and shatter the definition we often see when we look at Instagram every day and what we think success is," she said.
"I think we're all caught up in looking at everyone else's lives and how amazing they look, and we get really distracted from our lives and how great they actually are.
"Comparison is the death of joy."
She said her country roots have had a big impact on the person she is today.
"It's massive, one of the topics I will talk about is what my country childhood gave me and what it gave me now is a 43-year-old mother working on a national TV show.
"I love reflecting back on all the qualities and skills that living in the country gave me.
"I realise that I wouldn't be able to cope and wouldn't have had the roles that I have had on The Project and being able to front up without having that amazing country background."
When she is home at her farm in Ballarat she switches everything off.
"When I get home there's no news, no papers, I'm almost cocooned in my sanctuary and that restores me," she said.
In its tenth year, the luncheon aims to inspire women in the dairy industry, as well as providing an opportunity to get off-farm and enjoy some entertainment, food and laughter.
The event saw over 300 women from across the south-west attend.
WestVic Dairy's Chair, Simone Renyard is on the organising committee.
"Our vision is to give the ladies of the dairy industry a chance to have a day away from their farms and businesses, forget about all the issues in the world and have a day of fun, socialising and networking," she said.
"Women are the backbone on many farms, it is important to acknowledge and support them, as well as provide an opportunity for some time out to relax and rejuvenate.
The theme of the year was 'Jump into Spring' which gives women in the local industry something to look forward to, as Simone explained.
"It's all about coming out of winter, everybody gets a little bit over putting the gumboots and wet weather gear on. For the day we can get rid of all that, put on some colours, a bright dress and look forward to spring," she said.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.