Outback mobile millinery tour

Bill and Barbara Loughnan “Wolkara Station”, Brewarrina donating retired Akubras for the “not dead yet” fundraiser Photo: TWH

The Hats Off to the Outback mobile millinery tour has been rolling across the Far West, with milliner extraordinaire Waltraud Reiner bringing her unique skills to women in some of the most remote communities in the country.

Waltraud was in Bourke this week, sharing her skills with her hat-making students, but she says the workshops are far more than just constructing headwear. With tough times for many families living in the outback, the workshops are a chance for people to bond, share stories of triumph and heartbreak and build new friendships in what can sometimes be lonely places and difficult times.

Read more in the printed edition of the Western Herald.