inducted 2023 Service
Andrea Vallance's own ‘field of dreams’ began in Warrnambool. Life for the Beks family was centred around family, community, sport and volunteering. The family participated in fundraising for St Pius Church and playing volleyball. If her family has a legacy, says Andrea, it is a strong focus on giving back to the community.
At St Ann’s, Andrea was a keen, engaged student who enjoyed school and, inspired by some motivating educators, she decided to become a teacher. Acquiring her Bachelor of Education in 1983, Andrea’s first school was Lake Bolac College where she taught Woodwork and Art.
At the time, the teaching of Woodwork was almost exclusively the domain of male teachers, but her teachers at St Ann’s and Melbourne State College had instilled in her confidence and self-belief to break through the gender barrier and she thrived in a community of educators.
After Andrea met and married Bruce Vallance, she was teaching at Maryborough and they share-farmed a piggery in Bendigo. When their pork markets changed, despite having no dairy experience, they leased a dairy farm in Nullawarre and joined a progressive dairy discussion group who mentored them. Andrea discovered that when people are proud of what they do, they are happy to share their knowledge.
Andrea and Bruce purchased a dairy farm in Nirranda in 1995 and Andrea immersed herself in all aspects of the business whilst they raised three strong, independent children. The Vallances now milk 800 cows on a 286 hectare milking platform and are partners in two dairy equity partnerships.
Since 2008, Andrea has volunteered with the Nullawarre Community Emergency Response Team, (CERT). Members are trained as first responders and are equipped with an Ambulance Victoria vehicle. The team has responded to a range of incidents including car crashes, births, farm accidents, strokes and heart attacks.
Also a Timboon Ambulance Community Officer (ACO), Andrea supports paramedics, attends incidents and drives ambulances to hospitals. “It’s incredibly humbling,” says Andrea, “to be able to provide moral and physical support to someone who is going through potentially the worst day of their life.”
In 2020 Andrea was honoured with a Community Heart Award, not only for her volunteering but for her work as the Coordinator of the TAP - Timboon Agriculture Project.
Established in 2012, the TAP role requires blending her strengths as a teacher, team builder and agricultural advocate. The TAP has since evolved into an award winning collaboration between Timboon P-12 School and local community and industries.
The TAP was developed when the leadership of the school noticed a disconnect between the school and the community. Andrea and the team have since built a community of educators to inspire teachers, engage students and provide real-world, hands-on learning opportunities. In 10 years, over 566 people have helped educate students and provided PD to teachers There is immense value in introducing students to a wide range of passionate people who are experts at what they do to provide real world curriculum content whilst showcasing potential pathways and career opportunities. Andrea believes, “You can’t be what you don’t see”
Annually, a celebration of the P-12 cross curriculum TAP learning takes place at “TAP’s On!” with students presenting their findings to their peers, parents, industry mentors, community and visiting educators. A recent expo focused on volunteerism featuring the CFA, SES, Ambulance Victoria and Port Campbell Surf Lifesaving Club to demonstrate stepping up and giving back to the community.
The relevancy of the TAP curriculum was demonstrated after Year 5/6 students studied the fatal Ash Wednesday bushfires and CFA members detailed how to prepare fire safety plans as homework for families. When the St Patrick’s Day fires struck 3 months later, students put their fire plans into practice and stayed calm during the evacuations.
The TAP received recognition from: the Victorian Worksafe Awards, Resilient Australia Awards and were runners up in the Victorian Teaching Excellence Awards. TAP learnings are shared with industry and educators at conferences, workshops and contributes to government and industry policy.
James Merlino, former Deputy Premier and Education Minister, described the TAP as, “a best practice example of what can be achieved when you have strong partnerships between schools, industry and community.”
Whilst wearing these three hats as a farmer, ambulance volunteer and educator, Andrea recognises farm safety as a priority working with Dairy Australia and the Victorian Farmers Federation to provide resources and messaging to help keep farm families safe.
Andrea is Chair of the DemoDAIRY Foundation and serves on the Nurture Food and Fibre Committee and the Neil Porter Legacy Industry Sub-Committee.
Andrea firmly believes that it is “important to showcase and celebrate the myriad of opportunities and careers available paddock to plate right across our dynamic food and fibre region to help keep our communities vital and thriving”.
