Shepherdess Magazine is marking a significant milestone this month: five years printed and the launch of edition 21.
At a time when independent and traditional media is facing constant challenges, Shepherdess continues to increase its audience, recently expanding itself beyond printing with a television series and the Shepherdess Mustter event – with more exciting projects on the horizon.
Incalculable rural voices
When Shepherdess’s publisher and founder Kristy McGregor started to create a magazine against a scenario of magazine closures and an unprecedented national blockade in March 2020, it was a conviction for a magazine that celebrated the uncontrollable voices of Rural and Provincial Aotearoa.
Shepherdess has now documented twenty -seasons of rural life, capturing life on secondary roads and some of the most isolated communities across Motu.
“The pastor started at the kitchen table on the old farm on a family farm in Horowhenua. It helps you feel a little less alone.
More than a magazine
More than just one magazine, Shepherdess has promoted a community of readers who connect deeply with the real, related, and authentic stories it shares, adds McGregor.
“From the sincere reception we have received from our audience and community to the connections built between our rural and urban audiences, the pastor has become a space where stories are not told only, but resonate.
This commitment to the narrative expanded beyond the pages, with a television series giving life to these narratives and the shepherd replacement event creating an opportunity for personal connection.
Screen Premiere
Shepherdes debuted on the shepherdess The TV Series first season, a series of six-part documentaries, showing Sky Open in 2023-E recently showing Tasman at SBS Australia.
McGregor says: “To the series, we spent time in six rural communities for a week, with three women in each community.
Shepherdess Mustter is a three -day festival designed by Shepherdess and is delivered working in partnership with a local committee. The meeting celebrates rural life and gives women a place to connect, celebrate and create; escape the demands of family life; And to embrace ready-made experiences for use in a rural environment, and come home more resilient, enthusiastic-a stock of toolbox in the toolbox. The inaugural festival was held in Mōtū Te Tairāwhiti in February 2024 and will be held in Tokanui, Murihiku Southland, from March 6 to 8, 2026.
Run from the farm
The publication remains independent and is still run from a room on the old farm on the farm, but five years later, the team grew up to include fourteen women who work remotely on cooking tables and farm offices in Aotearoa. Shepherdess inadvertently positioned itself as a model for flexible work – proving what can be reached remotely.
McGregor says: “Now we have a juggling work team with Wāhine, life, intermittent internet life – our team’s life can be taken from the pages of our magazine.
Edition #21
The 21st edition of Shepherdess Magazine features Catherine Mulloly (Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, Ngāti Kahungunu), 35, on the cover – mother of two and female shear champion, who loved the tension from an early age and is cultivated in māwhiti, tairāwhiti.
“Catherine incorporates the humble, working and resilience of women in rural Aotearoa, where wool is synonymous.
“As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward with emotion and anticipation for what is to come.
