A processing plant in the South East of South Australia boasts what is probably a world first in the olive industry. It is run by women.
Tatiara Olive Processing on the edge of Keith, which is the gateway to the State’s Limestone Coast, was initially set-up to service five major olivegrowers in the area; Tatiara Olive Grove, Pendleton Estate, Coralee Olives, Coonalpyn Olives and Longridge Olive Grove.
It has since gone beyond that and now also services other smaller olivegrowers which is why it recently added another processing line, both of which have a five-tonne per hour processing potential.
It has also expanded its olive oil storage capacity to 1.3 million litres to accommodate increased production from extra olivegrowers and projected harvest tonnage increases from surrounding groves.
These two aspects make it one of the largest, if not the largest, processor in South Australia.
However, what makes this processing plant equally remarkable is that in the past year, the manager and mainstay of the plant have been women.
The full-time manager, Natasha Girdler, has been with Tatiara for four years and is a trained processor. She is Tatiara’s third manager and 2008 is her second season in charge of the plant.
This is unusual, not because of any doubt that women can do it, but because to date both in Australia and in Europe, the home of the olive industry, processing has traditionally been a male domain.
In the olive industry traditionally women were involved in the picking but mechanisation of the harvesting made that role redundant.
But, not at the Tatiara plant where the processing manager, the office manager, the night shift manager, the receiving officer and three casual staff are all women.
This development reflects the difficulty in attracting male seasonal workers.
