The Loddon Shire’s Australia Day ambassador believes life is for living and having fun.
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Sally Browne made her name as a fashion designer and has built her own multi-million dollar business.
But she has also raised four children, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, founded Motherless Daughters Australia and worked with Finnish scientists to develop a heart rate monitor that measures and identifies stress.
On Australia Day she will speak in the tiny town of Jarklin and hopes to spread the hope, optimism and gratitude that comes with living in Australia.
“That's the message but you can’t be too serious. Life is for living and fun,” Ms Browne said.
“The Loddon Shire is an area I am familiar with. The children and I visited there with freinds and trekked the Loddon River with some Clydesdale horses that towed cabins. It was gorgeous.
“I’ll try to talk about the Australian attitudes like the ‘can-do’ attitudes, the spirit of compassion, and the great quality of mateship she said.
“More than that, I’ll tell my story. I’m not from a wealthy family, I worked in a factory and then started my own business. It’s about daring to dream and bloody going for it.”
I’m not from a wealthy family, I worked in a factory and then started my own business. It’s about daring to dream and bloody going for it.
In her late teens, Ms Browne learned to sew in a factory during the early 1970s and before becoming a fashion designer.
Since then she has won a host of awards for excellence in fashion design and for outstanding business leadership.
Ms Browne has been an Australia Day ambassador for more than 10 years.
“They asked me about 12 years ago and were trying to get a diverse mix of people from different industries, ages, backgrounds,” she said.
“Since then I have been to lots of different communities and there is always unique celebrations some in tiny places.
“One place was saving up for a picture of the queen because their last one had been stolen and Koo Wee Rup had a poet who made up a poem about the visiting ambassador.
“(But at each event) I think supporting communities is a really important message and very evident on Australia Day when go to events and see clubs working together. It’s wonderful to see.
“The epitome of being Australian is to give back a little.”
For more details on the Loddon Shire’s Australia Day events log on to www.loddon.vic.gov.au
