The Australian Women's Weekly October 2025

There are moments in history when people always remember where they were. Cathy Freeman winning gold at the Sydney Olympics on September 25, 2000, was one of those moments. I was lucky enough to be a cadet reporter working in the stadium that night. Watching Cathy cross the finish line and become the first Aboriginal Australian to win an individual Olympic gold medal is a moment I will forever be grateful for witnessing live. The deafening roar of the crowd of 112,000 people who jumped to their feet in unison and the immediate collective euphoria still makes me smile. In that moment, Cathy brought the entire country together in celebration and reconciliation. Cathy epitomised everything Australia aimed for, while also encompassing the Olympics motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together. As Cathy…

Sophie Tedmanson EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR Tiffany Dunk CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joshua Beggs FEATURES News & Features Editor Samantha Trenoweth Senior Writer Genevieve Gannon HEALTH & BEAUTY Health & Beauty Editor Ashleigh Austen STYLE Style Director Mattie Cronan Market Editor Lilly Veitch TRAVEL Travel Editor & Chief Copy Editor Bernard O’Shea COPY Deputy Copy Editor Bronwyn Phillips Deputy Copy Editor Nicole Hickson Copy Editor Georgia Moore FOOD – WOMENSWEEKLYFOOD.COM.AU Food Director Frances Abdallaoui Food Digital Managing Editor Sarah McInerney Digital Content Producer Chanel Gellin DIGITAL – WOMENSWEEKLY.COM.AU Digital Editor Orlaith Costello  Senior Content Producer Tia Thomas  Social Content Producer Jessica Parker  Social Content Producer Elizabeth Wilson ART & PHOTOS  Shoot & Photo Director Jane Vincent  Senior Designer Madeleine Wright  Senior Designer Jennifer Mullins REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS  Alley Pascoe (Books), Amanda Blair (Columnist), Chrissie…

Letter of the month I’ve just read Lean on me and How I learned to stop and say g’day (AWW, September). These stories show us the very best of humanity and prove we can all be an asset to friends and strangers. I didn’t know the backstory of R U OK?, which my workplace supports each year. Gavin Larkin’s dedication and determination have saved many lives ... Ally Langdon is a superstar, a true model of how valuable friendship can be. To “open the gate” is another easy concept, but we must be aware, take a moment to care, talk and show someone we care enough to go out of our way to check in. Thank you for these two positive stories. Although woven with sadness and despair, the message…

Royal MILESTONE 75 years of service As she celebrates turning 75, Princess Anne is busy as ever, attending around 450 engagements last year. Given she began her life as a working royal in 1969, we estimate the Princess Royal has attended more than 20,000 events in an official capacity, even when accounting for time off for motherhood and competing in the 1976 Olympics. Women we love First in fashion Tiwi woman Clair Helen Parker has won the Fashion Designer Award at the 2025 National Indigenous Fashion Awards. NIFA praised Clair’s “stunning” pieces. Policing milestone As Australian Federal Police’s first female commissioner, Krissy Barrett has pledged the AFP will continue to keep Australians safe, protect the vulnerable and disrupt threats to national security. Prodigy player Ten-year-old chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has…

China A bookstore with a view has opened in the Cotton Sinkhole in China. This shop is perched on the edge of a cliff. The UK Flying objects The sky over Bristol was awash with colour as the 47th annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta took flight. The free spectacle is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, and features multiple mass ascents where over 100 hot air balloons take off together. The Philippines Rising tides Pugad Island in the Philippines is struggling with rising oceans. Residents say the effects of climate change have been worsened by coastal developments, which altered currents and forced the tide farther inland. Senegal Life lessons Senegal’s “school for husbands” has trained more than 300 men on women’s rights and health. The UN says it…

Legendary film critic David Stratton continued to watch a new movie every day, even as his health deteriorated, Margaret Pomeranz shared in a tribute she penned to her partner-in-cinema, following his death at age 85. “He never lost that absolute passion for cinema,” Margaret wrote in The Guardian. The death of the influential film lover and well-respected critic has prompted an outpouring of appreciation from movie makers and movie lovers. Oscar-winning filmmaker George Miller said, “I don’t think we can overstate his significance to cinema … He was really very critical to Australian movies.” UK-born David has said his obsession with film came from his grandmother, who started taking him to the cinema when he was just a toddler. Those excursions would spark a life of passion, curiosity, advocacy and…