Close Knit Community
Written after the Girls Talking Ag (GTag) event in March 2024, this article – by participant Nikki Thompson about fellow workshop attendee Ree Price – appeared in the 19 July 2024 edition of the Maranoa Today.
This story really showcases the importance of both planning for the future and making the most of your skills and resources, but remaining open to new ideas and possibilities.
The below transcript of the article has been slightly altered to provide locational details and explanatory information, for those of our website readers outside of Queensland, Australia.
Close knit community
Today, many people would connect the name Ree Price with The Barn @ Mt Hope, one of the iconic places in our region (the Maranoa in Queensland) that is such a gift to locals and visitors alike.
In many ways, it is a culmination of Ree’s life journey so far.
Born in Chinchilla, 17-year-old Ree Graham came to the Wallumbilla region in 1981, after applying for a jillaroo position advertised in the Queensland Country Life (QCL). When the initial job that she had applied for was unsuitable, she began work for Marilyn Price, a young widow whose husband Wayne had recently died. Such a poignant tale to hear that it was through the death of his brother, that Leon Price was to meet his wife-to-be.
Ree’s recollection of Leon, who she met at a fishing competition, was “a long tall streak with amazing blue eyes”. Their first date was at the Roma Drive In and they were soon engaged and married. Leon’s parents lived on Mt Hope and their married life began there. Soon four children, Jessica, Ashleigh, Breanna and Brandon, arrived.
Leon’s mother Muriel was an inspiration for Ree. A keen seamstress, she moved to Toowoomba when she was 60 to run a Knit Wit store. Many younger readers may have no idea what that is, but I can speak with authority being a ‘certified Knit Wit’ myself! Before you jump to conclusions, it is about stretch sewing and the lessons assisted me, as a young mother back in the 1980s, with the necessary skills to sew a lot of our kids’ clothes.
As Muriel informed Ree: “You can’t be a Price and not sew.”
In 1990, Ree combined her sewing and entrepreneurial skills to start her own business Jabb Designs. The name came from the initials of their four children.
Ree and Muriel started selling her clothes at the local markets and were also involved with the fashion parade at Farmfest, with 11 children to model her garments. (Farmfest is a major agricultural field day, held at Kingsthorpe near Toowoomba, Queensland.)
As the business grew, Ree opened Jabb Cottage in Roma selling clothes, fabric and offering sewing lessons.
The business was open for nine years and it was a combination of the kids being away at boarding school, drought and Leon being too stretched at work that culminated in Ree selling the business and coming home to help.
Ree had always been involved in the Wallumbilla community when the kids were at school there. Her community profile, passion and skill made her an ideal person to stand for the local council. This was in the days before amalgamation, though when amalgamation did eventuate, Ree was nominated as the Bendemere representative on the interim council.
The amalgamation decision was one that local councils had argued against, but once it was legislated (by the Queensland Government), the need was then to find a middle ground and a way to make things work. With Leon Love as the capable CEO, the small interim council worked collaboratively and courageously together to both stand for their local ‘old shires’ and to work towards a successful amalgamation. Ree recalls she often felt like she was Switzerland, attempting to be neutral during arguments and discussions.
Ree had two terms on council in an endeavour to be part of embedding the transition process; in those years learning much about herself, community, working with change and the vital role that local government plays.
It was a time of great upheaval, as not only were the new council learning how to implement the practicalities of working with different inherited policies and procedures, but also dealing with three different major floods and the burgeoning coal seam gas (CSG) industry.
Ree often reflects with pride, the wonderful Five Leaf Bottletree image chosen as the Maranoa emblem that adorns the Maranoa Regional Council logo. Each leaf a reflection of the five separate shires that amalgamated – Roma, Bungil, Bendemere, Booringa and Waroo.
It was during her second term that portfolios were introduced, and Ree oversaw tourism and rural roads, that seeds were planted for what lay ahead in her personal journey. On a trip north of Adelaide, connected to the Australian Tourism Awards, which were later held in Roma, Ree visited the Smiling Samoyed Brewery. This was in the early days of craft brewing, but the concept of a Wallumbilla version of a place for food and connections was planted in Ree’s heart and mind.
Ree’s ideas were soon given life through a combination of family, a builder friend and access to lots of old timber from buildings in the region. As anyone who has been to The Barn can attest, what was created is a beautiful rustic space so suited to its location. ‘The Crown’ in The Barn being the old windmill decorated with fairy lights that stands as testament to a collaborative dream.
Over time, Ree and Leon’s children have married and most of them are still involved with Mt Hope. Thirteen grandchildren, between the ages of three and 13, have been welcome into the family over the years. The final part of the yarn I had with Ree was after she had been out with Leon and some of the grandkids helping with weaning.
Having been married young and with such a rich and full life, both Ree and Leon are now at the age when they are attempting to make some time for themselves and are in the throes of succession planning so they can step sideways. I loved that as a concept, rather than stepping away. As a young family, they had been unaware of what lay ahead for them, and consequently are keen that there is openness and transparency for their family moving forward.
As Ree so wisely said: “What used to be simple once is no longer, with so many levels and layers to process and decision making when working in business, in agriculture and especially when that includes the colocation of CSG and other resources.”
It takes a team to succeed, and it is ideal if that team can be working together in ways that they enjoy and to which they can bring their unique skills.
The Prices see the importance of planning beyond the next generation. Embedding multiple income streams, that come from the skills and passions of those involved is a wise way to implement that kind of plan. Each generation can bring differing skills, and together that can create a more resilient way forward.
Talking with Ree, I can sense that what lies ahead for Ree, Leon and the Price family is grounded in a solid history of deep connection with land and community. When I looked at the definition of the word hope, the archaic version felt to hold the energy I sensed embodied at Mt Hope– a feeling of trust.
I yearn for a future when trust is reinstated as of vital importance in all our interactions and talking with Ree reinforced the possibility of that in our region. Thanks Ree for your time, inspiration and action.