The Shepherdess Muster is a not-for-profit event led by Shepherdess, a social enterprise with the mission of making rural folk feel connected through community building, storytelling, and events.
Our events are planned by a core project team with a local volunteer committee providing guidance and advice. Women from across the community, agriculture and Māori agribusiness sectors, and representatives from outside the region are all involved.
2026 Tokanui Event Committee Members
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Julie was born and raised in Tokanui, where much of her family – including her mum – still lives nearby. She and her husband Peter run a small-scale sheep and beef farm alongside their electrical business. A natural collaborator, Julie’s life is committees and working collaboratively. Her community involvement is extensive: she is a fourth-term councillor for Southland District Council, a trustee for Whakamana Te Waituna, the Gore & Districts Community Counselling Centre, and the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Trust. She also serves on the board of Citizens Advice Bureau Invercargill and is Treasurer of Catlins Coast Inc.
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Emma-Kate is a born-and-bred Southlander. She and her husband Adam run Rabbidge Shearing, a contracting business that shears 200,000 sheep each year on farms across Southland and Otago. Their work in the shearing industry enabled them to purchase a 250-hectare sheep and beef farm just outside Tokanui, where they are raising their four children. Always pitching in where a hand is needed, Emma-Kate is president of the local Tokanui playcentre, Toi Tois, runs a fortnightly music and movement group for preschoolers, serves as treasurer – as well as coach – of the Tokanui School Netball Committee, and - as you might have spotted from the Tokanui episode of the Shepherdess TV Series - plays bass guitar in a local band.
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Sandra is a mum, a dairy farmer, farm advisor, nursery woman and rural woman with a passion for people, the environment and her community. Together with her husband Shane, she runs a dairy farm in South Otago, where their children Charleigh and Ryan are living the rural dream on their bikes, motorbikes and horses. Sandra also nurtures her own native plant nursery —supplying seedlings for riparian planting and catchment group projects, helping farmers give back to the land. She loves getting things done – getting events off the ground and projects happening – and gets a real kick out of seeing communities connect and strengthen. As an On-Farm Advisor for the Ministry for Primary Industries in Otago, she works alongside farmers to strengthen sustainable and resilient practices. She has organised events such as the Women’s Enviro Series across Southland and Otago, and can’t wait to support Shepherdess in bringing the Muster to Tokanui – celebrating the connections and creativity of rural wāhine across Aotearoa.
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Zoë Paterson. Growing up in Roxburgh, where her mother’s side of the family has lived for six generations, Zoë has always felt connected to the land. Her early days were spent on the family farm, which included both orchards and sheep and beef — she remembers watching her dad shear sheep while she and her sister wielded a big broom in the woolshed. Now based in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Zoë freelances as a graphic designer. Previously the designer for Shepherdess magazine, she’s excited to rejoin the team for The Muster — to deepen connections and make new ones.
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Meet Muster Committee Member, Lesley Coppell. Lesley lives on a 350-hectare sheep and beef farm outside Eketāhuna, which she runs with her husband Nick. After twenty years in rural banking, she recently took on a new role with Beef + Lamb NZ as an Extension Manager for Central Hawke’s Bay, Tararua, and Wairarapa. Beyond work, Lesley is Chair of Wairarapa Rural Women’s Incorporated and founder of the Hinemoa Catchment Collective. Passionate about empowering wāhine o te whenua, and finds joy in connection, family, and community. Lesley has been involved in The Muster since the early days of planning in 2021.
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Sandra and her husband Ian farm sheep and beef on Te Kopae Station, a 536-hectare hill country property at Rere in the Tairāwhiti Gisborne region. Passionate about family, farming, and values-driven work, Sandra also runs a consultancy helping farmers build thriving businesses. She has recently been elected national President of Rural Women New Zealand and is also Chair of the Rural Communities Trust, as well as a trustee for Endometriosis New Zealand. In her community, she co-founded Farming Women Tairāwhiti, is a past Chair of the Beef + Lamb NZ Farmer Council for the Eastern North Island, and supports initiatives such as her local catchment group and the Tairāwhiti Rural Advisory Group. Sandra was instrumental in bringing the inaugural Muster to Tairāwhiti, having been involved in planning since 2020.
Project Team
Kristy McGregor
Festival Director
Kristy has led numerous community projects and events across both Australia and New Zealand. With a professional background in community engagement and policy, in 2012 she co-founded the Channel Country Ladies Day in Australia, on which The Shepherdess Muster is based. Since moving to Aotearoa in 2014 she has founded multiple events, including the Horowhenua Taste Trail working with local producers, and a community hall evening with live music.
Kristy is passionate about community engagement and working with communities to bring out positive narratives, and she believes events contribute to community change and vibrancy. Kristy is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Shepherdess magazine and Executive Producer of the new Shepherdess TV Series. Kristy lives on her partner's family dairy and beef farm in Horowhenua, with her partner and their children, Hartley, five, and Tully, three.
As Festival Director, Kristy is responsible for project management, managing funding relationships, and guiding the Project Team.
Arpége Taratoa-Rangikura
Programme Manager
Arpége (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rārua) is a multidisciplinary creative, storyteller and community builder. A proud neurodivergent, queer and Indigenous wahine, she brings her unique perspective to everything she does. With a postgraduate diploma in Māori Visual Arts, @__arpegejournals has moved through a range of creative roles – from curating at Tauranga Art Gallery to creative directing for Wakatū Incorporation’s publication Tangata Hekenga, Volume Two. She has worked on the Shepherdess TV series, and as a writer has contributed to Shepherdess magazine and The Nature Conservancy. She is also the voice behind Around the Table, Creative Bay of Plenty’s podcast.
Currently, she co-runs Hot Mess Co., a creative business in Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi Bay of Plenty aimed at couples, and is launching Hot Mess Together, a bold new event series for women. As Programme Manager for The Shepherdess Muster, Arpége leads the relationships with guest speakers, workshop presenters and artists. She also provides cultural guidance and fosters the relationships we have with mana whenua, marae, hapū and iwi.
Passionate about creating spaces for women to reconnect with themselves, Arpége blends creativity, community and a little chaos to spark meaningful connections. She is based in Mt Maunganui with her wife Knox, a tattoo artist, and her 7-year-old son, Waiariki-James.
Christina Halverson
Logistics Manager
Originally from Seattle, USA, Christina spent over ten years travelling across the USA working for some of the largest music and film festivals in the country — including the Sundance Film Festival in Utah — before moving to Aotearoa five and a half years ago. Christina’s background in logistical, vendor and venue management spans a wide variety of events for local communities, not-for-profits and the corporate sector. Christina lives with her husband on his family’s sheep and beef farm in the Waimata Valley, just outside Gisborne.
Christina is thrilled to be a part of the Shepherdess team and to help facilitate a memorable, inclusive experience at The Shepherdess Muster. As Logistics Manager, Christina manages all of the site logistics and supplier relationships — a feat when setting up in such rural and remote locations — as well as assisting with ticketing, and overseeing stallholders, wellness providers and volunteers.
Julia Brown
Partnerships Manager
With a background in event management, sponsorship and communications, Julia has spent twenty-plus years working in the not-for-profit sector; at Mary Potter Hospice, Blind and Low Vision NZ, and more recently as Marketing Manager at Garden Marlborough–Marlborough’s iconic four-day annual festival. Julia lives in Blenheim, with her wine-maker husband and twin girls, Alice and Isabelle and son James.
In her role as Partnerships Manager at Shepherdess, Julia manages all partner relationships across the magazine and The Shepherdess Muster event, and is the main point of contact for all sponsorship enquiries.
Gillian Swinton
Digital Content Manager
Gillian started with Shepherdess at the end of 2023, and is working from her lifestyle block in Central Otago. Over the past few years she has been busy not only working in marketing, but as a calf rearer, relief milker and veterinary technician. More recently, she has spent more time in her extensive garden and running her property as a B&B. While all these jobs vary hugely, Gillian sees them all connected as to living and working with the land and seasons. Born and bred in Scotland, she has called New Zealand home for thirteen years.
As Digital Content Manager, Gillian is responsible for curating social media content and managing the website and channels for The Shepherdess Muster.