Celebrating 50 years of women at Tocal

In 2013 Darleen was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for exceptional and dedicated service as a Commanding Officer of the UNSW Regiment and her international efforts in the field of peace operations training and gender awareness education.

After attending Tocal, Darleen completed her Bachelor of Education and was appointed to secondary high schools in both the Hunter and South Coast regions for over 20 years. She held appointments including Agriculture and Science teacher, Head Teacher Teacher and Learning, and Deputy Principal.

Darleen continued serving with the Reserve in the Australian Army, however in 2008, she transferred to Full Time and has had vast and diverse experiences both in conflict and post conflict environments and in peacekeeping training centres. This has included operational deployments in the Middle East and conducting gap analysis, training, assessment and evaluation in Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Tonga, PNG, NZ, Canada, Germany, Chile, Uruguay, Sweden, Norway, China, Nepal, and Mongolia. She has exceptional operational, logistic, education and training technical skills and has been leading multinational teams to strengthen capacity and building of relationships and partners. She has extensive experience in the field of Gender, Women, Peace and Security including Conflict Related Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and Child Protection with respect to the military response.

Command positions include Commanding Officer of the New South Wales University Regiment, Commanding Officer/Chief Instructor ADF Joint Training, and Commanding Officer of the ADF Peace Operations Training Centre.

Darleen has postgraduate studies in Education, Leadership and Gender and has authored UN Specific Training Material and articles in professional journals. She has been selected as a keynote speaker at international forums in a variety of military and university institutions. She is married with three adult children and four grandchildren.

Margo Duncan graduated from Tocal College in 1974 - only two years after the first female students started at Tocal. Margo worked for a local stock and station agent and managed a property with husband Bruce. They went on to establish successful businesses in irrigation, drilling and blasting (mining and civil works) and in supplying explosive storage facilities. As an experienced Shotfirer, Margo was on the Board of Examiners for Shotfirers with the Department of Mineral Resources for a number of years. Nowdays, she now owns and manages a 2,500 acre beef cattle property on the Williams River in the Seaham area of the Lower Hunter.

Margo is passionate about supporting young people and careers in agriculture. She formerly held the role of Chair of the Tocal College Advisory Council and has been a long-term active member of the Tocal Ex-Students Association (now part of the Tocal Alumni community). She’s going to be on our panel of speakers with other accomplished female ex-students!

Jess Perry attended Tocal in 2015/16 where her passion for Agriculture started. After graduating with a Certificate III & IV in Agriculture and a Diploma in Agriculture, she transitioned into full-time work and also completed a Bachelor of Agriculture and Diploma of Business online, full-time through UNE. She has been lucky enough to work through a range of sectors in the industry including on mixed farming and broadacre properties, in grain research, and rural merchandise/ Agribusiness. Since leaving Tocal her goals have been to make a difference in the industry and allow young adults to have the same opportunities that were available to her. The importance of staying connected is a fundamental part of our industry and she believe the Tocal Alumni community has the power to create positive change and influence community members

Steph grew up near Tocal at Melville and attended high school in Maitland. She was a student at Tocal in 1993 and 1994, completing both the Certificate and Advanced Certificate in Agriculture. After leaving Tocal, Steph worked on farms and as a contractor from 1995 to 2004 at Stanhope, Cassilis, and Quirindi. She then moved from farming and contracting to become the store manager at Farmers Warehouse for seven years.

In 2011 Steph returned to Tocal as a lecturer, taking a lead role in skills training in the fulltime training program and coordinating off-campus placement for students on properties around Australia. Steph is a great mentor to students and is highly skilled in motorbikes, machinery operation, horse riding, fencing and the delivery of business units among other things.

Steph has had a significant impact on shaping the future workforce of agriculture and is instrumental in maintaining Tocal’s strong industry links and partnerships that ensure students have both the skills and experience they need to be highly effective and successful in industry.