Article by Ben Dickinson courtesy of Subiaco Post.
Wembley resident Tan Farquhar vividly remembers the violence that forced her family to abandon their farm in Zimbabwe.
Hers were among thousands of white families who were forcibly driven from their lands at the encouragement of dictator Robert Mugabe in the 2000s.
“Some of my memories in Zimbabwe are absolutely my favourite memories, but there are also some very daunting and scary memories,” Ms Farquhar said.
“[There were] violent farm invasions where my dad and I narrowly escaped.
“You’re forced to leave everything behind.
“You don’t take anything with you.” The inauspicious start to life has not deterred Ms Farquhar, who has built a successful career in the resources industry after emigrating to WA.
The 30-year-old Rio Tinto employee is a finalist in this year’s Women in Resources awards in the Outstanding Young Woman category.
She arrived in WA in her first year of high school, and lived with her mother in Bunbury because visa restrictions prevented them from living in a capital city.
“I kind of felt like I’d put my fears behind me, but at the same time I knew it was going to be challenging in a different kind of way,” she said.
“I didn’t know anyone other than my family in this huge country I now called home.” After finishing high school in Bunbury, Ms Farquhar became the first member of her family to attend a university UWA.
After four years in management consulting, she took a FIFO job at Rio Tinto where she worked on the Hope Downs project Rio co-owns with Dalkeith billionaire Gina Rinehart.
Now in a Perth-based position, she helps make sure Rio’s iron ore teams work smoothly.
“Being a young female certainly had its challenges,” she said.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy will host the Women in Resources awards ceremony on March 31.