On Wed 24th Sept '25, members heard the talk titled ‘Just a Mallee Girl’, where new member Fiona Hawley told us she was born in Robinvale with her dad saying ‘Where’s my farmer’ and her mum calling Fiona her miracle baby for the rest of her mum’s life!
From the sheep, cattle and cereal cropping farm at Narrung to Boundary Bend Primary School and then into Swan Hill as a teenager, Fiona began her working life as a check-out chick followed by her first full-time job at the Housing Commission. Fiona then worked for the Bendigo Building Society/Bank for about 10 years.
Married at 24, Fiona had her two children Sarah and Liam, while moving into real estate joining Wood & Co in Swan Hill. This very established local business had a Board of Honour onto which Fiona’s name was inscribed a matter of months before Fiona left Wood & Co just three days prior to launching her own real estate agency.
Fiona and her business partner's Ray White Swan Hill business grew in due course and became award-winning; she also mentored a younger Afghani staff member who now has his own agency. The wheel of life turned full circle when, after purchasing Wood & Co and its former proprietor coming to work for them, Fiona’s business became the largest real estate agency in Swan Hill. That same year Fiona’s business partnership came to an end and she again drew on personal development experiences and inner resources to navigate the next part of her life.
An opportunity to work at Ray White Romsey with a now former friend and colleague held great promise but Fiona’s trust was severely betrayed with the sudden closure of the office before she started, she then worked in the Ray White Sunbury office for a short period. The city was no place for a Mallee girl so Fiona headed for extended family and friendship networks in Ballarat where she now works at PRD Ballarat and has continued her lifelong involvement with community groups and committees by joining the Rotary Club of Wendouree Breakfast. Welcome aboard Fiona.
