Annie Wheeler

Annie Wheeler

Gippsland, Australia

Who am I in the world? Well, my first thought is ‘I am me’, unapologetically me. I’m a woman, a mother, a wife, a sister, a granddaughter, a friend. I am a woman who was raised by her grandparents and who took a long time to find my own identity within this world. I love adventure also, whether it’s playing imaginary games with my boys, planning holidays, doing adrenaline pumping activities. 

I’m also someone who is extremely passionate about children’s rights and safety, someone who feels big emotions and has a strong sense of fighting injustice. I am a fighter and I am strong. 

This question really made me think and reflect. Having gone through a pregnancy in a pandemic and then a birth, being on maternity leave in lockdowns, there were times when I thought I was losing myself and the uncontrollable controlled me. But, these times have also allowed me to grow, it’s allowed me to refocus and to ‘stop’ in time and enjoy (as I was a very fast paced woman who did not stop).  

What story do I next want to write for myself?

I have a very big sense to help. Many people describe me as a dreamer, which is true, but I’m planning on turning one dream into reality. I live on a farm and am lucky enough to have this space to play with. I am currently planning a huge veggie patch and orchid. With this produce, I plan on sharing it within my local community. I follow the ‘food is free’ movement and am passionate about people having access to good produce. Food is everything and unfortunately in our little community it is expensive and not accessible all of the time. My dream is to be able to grow enough produce to provide to families at our local child care centre and our local community house. Our community, like many others, is suffering from this pandemic. Money is not always there to buy good healthy food, and this in my opinion is not okay. My plan is to be able to grow our food and donate the rest. I joke with my hubby and boys that if our family is known for anything, it’ll be as the veggie family. I also think it’s a travesty that produce is so expensive in little towns. 

"What is the story that I want rewritten for women?"

Like many, equality.

But one specific story would be our legal system representing women who have suffered family violence. I would love to rewrite the system, how it fails so many women (and their children). How the system is completely reliant upon a woman, who is a victim of violence, to report, despite the system already knowing they’re at risk. I cannot fathom a system which places every onus upon a victim to report, a victim who experiences fear, abuse, violence, threats, to be the responsible person to report this. I would love to rewrite this and make this the system's responsibility to manage, monitor and execute