A WOMAN who walked more than 800 kilometres to follow in the footsteps of Gold Rush migrants is sharing her experience at a special International Women's Day event.
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It took Eaglehawk resident Dawn Kanost about two months to walk from Adelaide to Bendigo last year, after deciding to follow the route Chinese migrants took in the 1850s.
Ms Kanost will be speaking about her journey at the Bendigo Library on March 6.
"For me, it's a great opportunity to share with a broader group of people the walk experience," she said.
"Most people were captivated by what I did and they wanted a sense of experiencing the journey. They ask me questions to make it more real for them."
Ms Kanost started her solo trek in the Adelaide suburb of Forestville on March 12 last year.
She then travelled along the South Australian coastline, passing through Robe and the Coorong, before trekking through Victoria along the towns of Dunkeld, Ararat, Avoca, and Maldon.
She finished up in Bendigo on May 9.
Ms Kanost said she was happy to share her story ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.
"Most people had the feeling that it was a courageous and exciting adventure and challenge," she said. "But a very small percentage of people saw it as dangerous and crazy.
"That is where it leads to with International Women's Day. We still live in a world that describes how we live through male minds, bodies, and experiences. But of course that has been changing for sometime."
Ms Kanost learnt a lot throughout her two-month journey about the history of the migrants and the changes in the landscape.
She said she wanted to pass on those lessons in her talk.
"People are essentially good and we collectively have a lot of power," Ms Kanost said. "Australians are incredibly inventive and creative.
"When it comes to climate change, it is clear the climate is changing and we need to adapt and accept it.
"All of our actions have an impact. Every day we make many choices, whether conscious or unconscious, and those choices accumulate.
"We have the ability to be conscious of that and choose and change what we do."
Ms Kanost will be presenting her talk at the Bendigo Library on Friday, March 6 from 2pm to 3pm. She said more information about the free event could be found here.
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Tara Cosoleto
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
