Hobart region tops the 2017 Innovative Tasmania Awards

Rachel Power of Mt Field, Hobart, winner of the 2017 Innovator of the Year

Van Diemen Luxury Craft win the 2017 Innovative Startup Award

The 2017 Innovative Tasmania Awards were presented yesterday and Hobart and region scooped the top two awards: Innovator of the Year AND Young Innovator of the Year.

Rachel Power is the winner of the 2017 Innovator of the Year award. Rachel owns Waterfalls Café & Gallery in Mt Field National Park. Her quirky, innovative PR and social media strategies have seen an explosion of visitation to Mt Field National Park, growth of almost 90% in under 4 years.

Rachel has extended her innovation to encompass her product designs launching Van Diemen Designs this year. Rachel and her family are also the innovation behind Mt Field Retreat, a $3.6M accommodation and conference centre that will transform Mt Field from a day trip to a destination.

Her innovative approach to employment has created opportunity for an entire community facing an unemployment rate double the national average. From a staff of 1, her team will be up to 30 strong this season.

Ryan Hartshorn, the innovator behind award-winning Hartshorn Distillery at Birch’s Bay, is the 2017 Young Innovator of the Year.

Ryan (32) achieved a world first in converting sheep whey, a waste by-product of cheese-making, into vodka. Ryan now uses 100% of his family cheese business’s whey. All milk varieties could similarly use their whey waste. This would result in millions of litres of whey, that is current wasted, being put to use. On top of this waste reduction, Ryan has also been able to create quality spirit from the whey.

This year Ryan has won Best Vodka in Australia at the world vodka awards in London. Ryan also won Australian Beverage of the Year at the Australian food and beverage industry awards.

In 2017 there were 9 awards in all. Other winners were:

• Innovative Start-Up Award, Van Diemen Luxury Craft (Legana)
• Innovative Product Award, Leakyfeed (Hobart)
• Innovative Service Award, Heritage Sailing (Hobart)
• Innovative Process Award Moore’s Hill Estate (Exeter)
• Innovative Community Award, Nils Network of Tasmania (Hobart)
• Innovative Learning Award, Ben Pangas Be (Gawler)
• Innovative Government Award, Dorset Council (Scottsdale).

Each winner receives a video vignette of their innovation which will be broadcast on Southern Cross News (value $4,500) plus a trophy, certificate and laurels.

Innovative Tasmania Awards, Director, Owen Tilbury, said that Tasmania should be very proud of the depth of innovative talent shown in the awards.

” This year’s winners are amazingly topical, addressing issues like Fake News (Leakyfeed), microcredits (NILS Tasmania), fine spirits from waste (Hartshorn) , an off-grid solar powered vineyard (Moore’s Hill) and community led action groups (Aminya at Scottsdale). Tasmanians are very creative and in every sphere of life we are making a real difference through innovative thinking. ” he said.

More details on the various entries at www./breath-of-fresh-air.com.au/innovative-tasmania-awards/.

• Innovator of the Year, Rachel Power
• Young Innovator of the Year, Ryan Hartshorn
• Innovative Start-Up Award, Andrew Fearman
• Innovative Product Award, Andy How
• Innovative Service Award, Julie Porter
• Innovative Process Award, Fiona Weller
• Innovative Community Award, Rick Tipping
• Innovative Learning Award, Ben Pangas
• Innovative Government Award, Tim Watson

• Northern Tasmania wins big in the 2017 Innovative Tasmania Awards

The 2017 Innovative Tasmania Awards were presented yesterday with northern Tasmania scooping the Innovative Startup, Innovative Process, Innovative Learning and the Innovative Government Awards

Van Diemen Luxury Craft won the Innovative Startup Award with their convertible superyacht tender (support boat). It features a moving roof and window combination that raises and lowers to cater for height limitations and weather conditions. The roof and windows can lower to minimize the vessel height within the tender bay of a superyacht, compared to alternative tenders with a fixed roof that require larger spaces. It can also convert between a sports boat and a limousine; the roof can be lifted and windows lowered to create an open boat, or the windows can be raised and roof lowered to create an enclosed limousine. Chosen for its unique design, a Van Diemen Sports Limousine was commissioned by a Sydney client to cater for VIP international guests.

Moore’s Hill Estate won the Innovative Process Award by building Tasmania’s first 100% off grid commercial winery enabling them to process grapes on site. The winery runs entirely on solar power using a 30kW array and 81kWh of battery storage. They use water collected from the roof and a closed loop system treats waste. Their sustainable approach has been applauded by customers and encouraged other Tasmanian wineries to investigate solar power. By independently generating power, they’ve overcome the threat of rising electricity prices and uncertain supply. The architecturally designed winery sits proudly in the landscape and their winery tours have added another dimension to their cellar door tourism experience. The project aligns with Tasmania’s clean & green image and has positively enhanced the Moore’s Hill brand.

Ben Pangas Be. won the Innovative Learning Award by offering professional development to Tasmania in a way that is not being done by anyone else. Bringing the most sophisticated coaching methodologies to regional communities, it is supporting the ‘people helping’ industries help their people grow. Using Vertical Coaching methodology, Ben has supplied hundreds of hours of coaching to leaders in people helping professions throughout Tasmania, enabling them to stay innovative, passionate and resilient. Vertical coaching goes beyond what we know to how we know, increasing perspectives and the quality of attention we bring to each context and ourselves. In doing so it recognises the capacity to navigate complexity and diversity with greater compassion and innovation as key to individual and business success into the emerging future.

Dorset Council won the Innovative Government Award by averting the impending closure of the Presbyterian Care operated Aminya aged care facility in Scottsdale, by negotiating and financially underwriting an arrangement with an alternative organisation- May Shaw and the State Government. The arrangement is innovative because it allows the State Government to exit a non-core service which incurs unsustainable operating losses, May Shaw doubles its scale in an industry where sustainability is dependent on scale, and for the community, the solution will result in the long-term sustainability of aged care and a $5 million redevelopment of the Aminya facility.

In 2017 there were 9 awards in all. Other winners were:

• Innovator of the Year, Rachel Power (Mt Field)
• Young Innovator of the Year, Ryan Hartshorn (Birch’s Bay)
• Innovative Product Award, Leakyfeed (Hobart)
• Innovative Service Award, Heritage Sailing (Hobart)
• Innovative Community Award, Nils Network of Tasmania (Hobart)

Each winner receives a video vignette of their innovation which will be broadcast on Southern Cross News (value $4,500) plus a trophy, certificate and laurels.

Innovative Tasmania Awards, Director, Owen Tilbury, said that Tasmania should be very proud of the depth of innovative talent shown in the awards.

” This year’s winners are amazingly topical, addressing issues like Fake News (Leakyfeed), community led action groups (Aminya at Scottsdale),fine spirits from waste (Hartshorn) , an off-grid solar powered vineyard (Moore’s Hill) and microcredits (NILS Tasmania),. Tasmanians are very creative and in every sphere of life we are making a real difference through innovative thinking. ” he said.

More details on the various entries at www./breath-of-fresh-air.com.au/innovative-tasmania-awards/ .
Owen Tilbury