QCWA Ruth magazine #40 - Spring 2022

BOOTS MADE FOR LIFE ON THE LAND The Blundstone #650.

@blundstoneworkau

BLUNDSTONE.COM.AU

Contents

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36 38 41 47 50 52 55

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56 58 60 62 68 72

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FEATURE Support, wherever you are FOOD Fabulous spring dishes Making veggies the hero Recipes with infused vinegar INSPIRING PEOPLE On the land, against all odds Building a legacy FASHION Going the extra mile Mixing fashion, art and Country HEALTH Keeping mentally well For the love of a cat ARTS & CRAFTS Rug up with these DIY projects HOUSE & GARDEN Tips for tablescaping The power of trees EVENTS Your spring events guide Flower tower stuns at festival TRAVEL Enjoy Cedar Creek Falls Recapture the ‘gap year’ Rome in 48 hours BOOKS Book reviews, novel excerpt and giveaway BUSINESS The hardest year A humorous look at workplace personalities HISTORY Soak up the history of tea towels QCWA & QUIZ President’s Blog QCWA News Test your knowledge

MAGAZINE MANAGER: Erika Brayshaw EDITOR: Jessica Kramer DESIGN: Mark Stansall and Jeff Brown EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: 07 4690 9425 ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: 07 4690 9370 SUBSCRIPTIONS: 1300 303 619

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Subscribe to QCWA Ruth magazine! $31.80 for 12 months (4 editions) $63.60 for 24 months (8 editions) Subscribe online — visit: iSubscribe.com.au/ruth-magazine-subscription

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PUBLISHED BY:

News Corp Australia, Level 1/5 Keefe St, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350 in conjunction with Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA), 11 Cleveland Street, Stones Corner, QLD 4120.

Ruth magazine is published by News Corp Australia. Those who make advertising placement and/or supply copy material or editorial submissions to Ruth magazine undertake to ensure that all such material does not infringe any copyright, trademark, defamation, libel, slander or title, breach of confidence, does not contain anything obscene or indecent, or does not infringe the trade practices act or other laws, regulation or statutes. Further to the abovementioned, these persons agree to indemnify the publisher and/or its agents against any investigations, claims or judgements. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.

Welcome!

I

t’s been one of those long winters, and I know I’m not the only one who is excited that spring is finally here. With this in mind, the Ruth team have been working hard to bring this warmer-weather edition of the magazine to you, from delicious recipes like the gorgeous Red Salad on page 16 and tablescaping for your next social get-together (page 47), to perfect reads for sunny afternoons on page 62 and a DIY rug feature (from page 41).

We’ve also got some truly inspirational people for you to meet. For our main feature, Ruth writer Hayley had a chat with the leading ladies of two important organisations that are offering the support and resources that rural mothers could

once only dream of. Changing the regional parenting game, these community endeavours are fostering a network of local rural parenting groups, in-person and telehealth consultations, online resources, and access to accredited health professionals, all in the name of access and equity.

Then, Jenna speaks to Kate Boshammer of Condamine, Queensland, about building a legacy in the face of unbearable loss. The founders of fundraising initiative Zara’s Day, Kate and husband Justin tragically lost their baby girl Zara from Pallister Killian Syndrome when she was barely seven months old. The family held a fundraising day for the Steve Waugh Foundation and RFDS in Zara’s honour, raising more than $150,000 in 2020, and have continued to do so in October and November each year since.

Finally, get to know one of the regional farmers who have been hit with everything Mother Nature could throw at them, and still not given up. Ellen Fawdon chats to Ruth magazine about resilience in farming, and the innovation that brought new life to the stone-fruit orchard near Stanthorpe.

It’s certainly a bumper edition with lots of great reads to sink your teeth into - enjoy!

Jess xx

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Family boarding with separate residential facilities for boys and girls

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LOOK WHAT WE FOUND Special finds to brighten your life and home this spring

QCWA news & events It’s the year of Queensland Country Women’s Association’s centenary!

Here’s just a taste of what’s to come across this special year September 14: Centenary Breakfast — Springvale Kupunn Branch, Dalby October 28 to November 2: QCWA Centenary Conference — Toowoomba October 29-30: Exhibition of Arts & Crafts — The Goods Shed, 3 Victoria St, Toowoomba City

qcwa.org.au

What is the QCWA? A conglomerate of incredible ladies, the Queensland Country Women’s Association was founded by Ruth Fairfax OBE (after whom this magazine is named) in 1922. So much more than a ladies’ chat and scones, the Association advocates and raises funds for vulnerable people, towns and important causes as well as providing a social outlet for members across the branches in regional areas, towns, and cities across the state.

Adding balance to your life Don’t worry, this isn’t yet another infomercial plugging the latest self-help book! But it is about moving your body - with balance boards. What is a balance board, you ask? In this case, a balance board is a gorgeous solid wood tool to help with core strength, coordination, and agility - it’s even great as a rehabilitation tool. For Aussie handcrafted business Gully Boards, this is a new range that includes boards for starters, pros and kids alike, and even a balance board simply to keep your feet moving while working at your desk. Each board is made by hand, and creator Mark makes a point of using recycled and sustainably sourced Aussie timber.

gullyboards.com.au

6 | Spring 2022

Fighting loneliness

Subscribe to… sleep?

Did you know that one in four older Australians identify as lonely? It’s been cited as affecting physical health, mental health and overall wellbeing, so a Brisbane-based community organisation has set its sights on bringing people together. Inclusee, as the organisation is called, provides a virtual community centre that is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm as well as clubs and interest groups around anything from learning to shop online to bingo, a men’s shed, trivia, and more.

There are subscriptions for virtually everything in life these days, but have you come across a subscription yet that purports to help you sleep? The Sleep Movement aims to help busy women get the best nights’ sleep with a monthly box full of self-care items to both pamper and relax - such as a silk pillowcase or eye mask, sleep journal, book, tea, bath salts, candle, tea, sprays, face washer, and more - and access to a live Zoom masterclass on healthy sleep practices like pilates, medication, beating burnout and more. The Ruth team can’t wait for the first box to arrive in the office!

inclusee.org.au

thesleepmovement.com.au

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Feature

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Support, Wherever you are The two Queensland organisations on a mission to improve rural child and family health services.

Words by Hayley Hinze Images by Jessica Howard Photography and Contributed

R

ural Child Health and Possums & Co are offering the support and resources rural mothers could once only dream of.

For the mothers and parents living in remote areas, these services are changing the regional parenting game.

While each offers their own unique approaches, these female-led organisations are fostering a rural network of local parenting groups, inperson and telehealth consultations, online resources and accredited health professionals. Why? It’s all in the name of access and equity.

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Feature

Rural Child Health

For an initiative that only began in January 2021, Rural Child Health is continuing to expand its services which have already made a big impact on rural Queensland families.

O

wner and maternal child health nurse Rebecca Bradshaw, built Rural Child Health from her experience not only as a nurse, but as a mother who raised her own children without the readily available services afforded to metropolitan-based families.

“I love that we live rurally and I love that we’ve brought our boys up rurally,” Rebecca says. “So many families choose this lifestyle, but it shouldn’t determine the level of care a family can access.”

Rebecca offers telehealth consultations to families and mothers in Queensland’s remote regions, and for many has become a sounding board, second opinion, support network and health professional all-in-one.

“There are so many people who are isolated and can’t access services,” she says.

“I encourage the use of local health services, but offer that option for families to have other caregivers. Because not every care provider is the right care provider for that family, so it’s important that they have options.

“Sometimes a second set of eyes or a second opinion is really important, but they don’t have that luxury when they live rurally.”

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Offering evidence-based and professional care to regional families, Rebecca runs what is Queensland’s first child health nurse-led online service.

“It’s all delivered by a rural health professional, from a rural location, for our rural families,” she says.

Through her work in this space, Rebecca was recently announced as the winner of the 2022 Queensland AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award — securing her spot as a finalist for the National Award program and a $15,000 bursary courtesy of Westpac.

With the additional funding and support, Rebecca has already boosted the accessibility and affordability of Rural Child Health, and extended her training to deliver the Circle of Security Parenting Program. This allows her to roll out parenting programs with no cost to the families she’s supporting.

“We know there’s a big disparity in our rural areas for those in different socioeconomic brackets, so I would like to close that accessibility gap from an affordability point of view,” she says.

“That’s where the $15,000 Westpac Bursary and the support from the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award has been

instrumental. It’s allowed me to offer the parenting program for free and a pilot program which I’m really excited about.”

As the Queensland recipient of the award, Rebecca is now one of seven state and territory finalists taking part in the national selection program. A winner and runner-up will be announced at a gala event in Canberra’s Parliament House later in September. Both will receive ongoing support from AgriFutures and up to an additional $20,000 Westpac bursary.

Rebecca says a nod at a national level would allow her to build capacity within the business, and further grow a comprehensive network of trusted health professionals to assist her clients.

“National recognition would let more people know we exist, and promote how they can access the service and how we can service them,” she says.

“One of my biggest hopes for the future of Rural Child Health is that anyone in Australia can access it from any location. My gold star that I’m really aiming for, is that everyone will be able to access it for free.”

Rebecca is also channelling her energy into the upcoming online toolbox for rural families, called Little Learnings Library.

This will combine expert resources from a range of health professionals.

“A lot of families don’t realise what services are available, so they don’t know what help they can even access,” Rebecca says. “(Little Learnings Library) will contain age-specific information, tip sheets, downloadables, videos on the emotional, social, physical and mental growth and development milestones for each age.”

Along with the existing telehealth services, this will give rural mothers the comprehensive support that Rebecca missed when she was a new mother.

“For me, living rurally with a baby was a whole other level of social, emotional and physical isolation,” she says.

“I had a real challenge settling into motherhood and living rurally because the services just weren’t there. The support that I needed just wasn’t available.

“So I have first-hand experience of what it’s like to go through that as a mum who can’t access services, but also as a mum who needed services that weren’t available locally either.”

Having begun her nursing career in the small town of Taroom, she was familiar with the high demand and low accessibility of nurse-led support.

“We had a rural child health nurse who would come and visit once a fortnight for three hours, and she was booked out every visit — the appointments were only 15 minutes long,” Rebecca says.

“So we had a huge boom of families in that small town and I remember thinking, there’s still so much more to do for these families.”

After completing her graduate certificate specialising in pediatrics, Rebecca was then able to help provide a host of services, which were never traditionally available in the small town.

“We then had a child health nurse there for a whole day every week, plus a new mums and bubs and parenting program which was pretty incredible,” she says.

With a shift of gears to the metropolitan world of child and family health, Rebecca was overwhelmed by not only the ease of access but the variety of services that were available.

“I landed a job in community and child health down on the Gold Coast, which was my dream job,” she says.

“We had our first case conference and I had an A4 page of notes of acronyms of services that I’d never even heard of, that I needed to look up to find out what they did.

“I thought, if I don’t know about these services and I work in the system, there’s no way for these other families to know. I just thought, our rural families don’t have access to any of this.”

Of all things, it was the pandemic that sparked the idea for Rural Child Health. Rebecca had returned to rural living, and chose to cancel her son’s four-year developmental check-up to avoid visiting the hospital.

“Most rural child health services are run in our hospitals,” she says.

“I thought, if I’m a mum who’s concerned about taking my child to a hospital in the middle of a pandemic, then I bet there’s a whole bunch of others who are quite hesitant to access the services as well.”

After a conversation with a friend and past colleague, Rebecca decided to bring permanent telehealth services to regional families.

“I now get to bring the child health professional into a family’s lounge room which is just amazing,” she says.

“Our rural mums are so incredibly resilient.

“They are amazing and as far as I’m concerned, are the wheels that keep the whole rural family turning on a daily basis. But no-one really tells them that they’re doing a great job.

“I think the best and most common feedback I get is mothers saying they feel empowered to parent with their own choices, and feel more confident in what they’re doing.”

Connect with Rural Child Health via: Website: www.ruralchildhealth.com.au Email: childhealthnurse@outlook.com Instagram: @rural_child_health Facebook: Rural Child Health The National Winner and Runner Up of the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award will be announced at the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Gala Dinner & National Announcement on Tuesday, September 6 2022 at the Great Hall, Parliament House in Canberra.

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Feature

Possums & Co During her 26 years as a general practitioner and researcher, Dr Pamela Douglas noticed the limited support available for new mothers and families in rural Australia.

“

It was clear in my practice that the perinatal period was a time of real distress for women,” Dr Pam says.

“It can be quite difficult to access resources in regional areas, with barriers of distance and accessibility even if you’re willing to drive long distances.”

Dr Pam specialises in lactation and the perinatal wellbeing of both mother and baby, and says rural families need complete support during the first 12 months of their baby’s life. “(As a GP), I could see huge amounts of conflicting advice that parents were receiving — advice that wasn’t evidencebased and resulted in unnecessary interventions.”

What ensued was Neuroprotective Developmental Care (NDC), which Dr Pam and the Possums & Co charity developed to offer a streamlined, accessible and evidence-based support system for new mothers.

Otherwise known as the Possums Programs, NDC was first delivered in 2011 and offers training for health professionals, resources for parents, plus local network and clinic support for rural families.

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Possums & Co grew its rural incentives in December 2021, after receiving the Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing grant by the Commonwealth Department of Health. This grant sparked the beginning of NDC Rural, which has seen Dr Pam and her team on a mission to make NDC an option for all parents, wherever they live.

First and foremost, the NDC Rural rollout gives health professionals free access to NDC accreditation training.

“We have something like 500 health professionals participating in our NDC accreditation pathway, and 2000 parents in our lovely Milk & Moon online hub.”

Thanks to the grant, eligible parents also get free access to resources at the Milk & Moon Babies website. This online resource complements in-person services, and forms what Dr Pam says is the wrap-around approach of NDC Rural.

“We tried to offer a wrap-around kind of support for rural and remote mothers or parents,” she says.

“Parents, especially women if they are the primary carer, need support in many different ways.

“This support will be from her health professional, online resources, social media groups, and even local group support.”

NDC was created to cover everything that goes on in an infant’s first 12 months of life.

“I started to develop evidence-based programs across the domains of breastfeeding, feed, sleep, cry and fuss problems, and how all of these interact to impact parent mood,” she says.

Not only streamlining information, NDC offers a unique approach that’s based on a baby’s cues.

“We know we get our best developmental trajectories and outcomes for babies when we’re able to respond to the baby’s communications or cues,” Dr Pam says.

Dr Pam says understanding and responding to cues is particularly important when it comes to sleep.

“There are systematic reviews showing that sleep training doesn’t decrease night waking frequency,” Dr Pam says.

She says these common sleep training practices incrementally delay responses to a baby’s cues, whereas NDC philosophies encourage experimentation and acknowledge that each baby is different.

“NDC is about how to support healthy and manageable sleep for both the baby and the parents.

“We’re really interested in empowering families to find their own ways through,” she says.

“So rather than being prescriptive and telling parents what their baby’s cues or communications might mean, we’re interested in supporting families to work out their relationship with their unique baby.”

The NDC approach allows space to explore but doesn’t leave families on their own. Besides being a convenient online hub, Milk & Moon Babies offers practical guidance for essential topics like sleep and breastfeeding.

“There’s been a lot of research in support of breastfeeding, but so little research on how to get that milk from your breast to the baby’s tummy — that is without nipple pain and without baby weight gain, fussing or trouble coming on to the breast,” Dr Pam says.

“There’s an incredible wealth of resources (at Milk & Moon Babies.com), like videos and workbooks, written communication and videos to listen to while you’re out walking with the baby.

“So those women in regional Australia who don’t have a local NDC professional, still have access to information and support.”

Beyond this period of government funding, the Possums & Co team hopes to expand its rural base of NDC health professionals and families.

“We’ll be working hard behind the scenes in our small but very dedicated team to bring NDC out to the world,” Dr Pam says.

“We want to see it as an option that parents can use to grow joy in the early times of their child’s life — and that’s our motto, growing joy and delight in early life.”

Connect with Possums & Co via: Website: www.possumsonline.com Email: education@possumsonline.com Instagram: @possumsonline Facebook: Possums & Co

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Another proud Australian.

For 5 generations Akubra has proudly been and still is Australian owned.

In true Australian style, even when times are tough, Akubra continues to support local community and Australia at large.

Akubra, a real Aussie icon, proudly flying our flag.

Akubra Hats, made in the true spirit of Australia. www.akubra.com.au

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Fabulous spring dishes

Spring is here and what better time to freshen up your menu with these fabulous recipes from Country Kitchens that are not only delicious but also healthy

Recipes & pictures by Country Kitchens

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Red Salad Serves: 6 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Fruit and veg: 2½ serve per portion Ingredients

2 large potatoes, cut into 2cm chunks 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 2cm chunks 2 carrots, diced 1 cup frozen peas 1 egg, hardboiled 1 cup plain yoghurt, reduced fat ½ cup of fresh dill, sprigs only, roughly chopped Freshly cracked pepper 225g can beetroot, sliced 3 shallots, finely sliced

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Method COMBINE potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan. Fill the saucepan with enough cold water to cover the contents with water.

BRING to a boil over high heat, then reduce to mediumlow and cook until potatoes are easily pierced, about 5 to 6 minutes.

ADD frozen peas in the last minute of cooking.

DRAIN potato, carrots and peas and cool to room temperature.

COOL and slice the hardboiled egg COMBINE the yoghurt, dill and pepper in a small bowl.

ADD the cooked veggies, shallots, beetroot and hardboiled egg into a large bowl.

STIR through the yoghurt dressing.

RECIPE COURTESY OF THE COUNTRY KITCHENS TEAM

Mediterranean Chicken Bowl Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes Fruit and veg: 2½ serve per portion Ingredients

1 zucchini, diced, 1cm 1 red capsicum, diced, 1cm 1 eggplant, diced, 1cm 3 tablespoons olive oil 300g chicken breast, diced, 1cm 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 medium onion, diced 1 cup pearl couscous ½ cup feta, reduced fat

Tzatziki ½ cucumber, finely chopped 1 cup natural yoghurt, reduced fat 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method PREHEAT oven to 180°C. ADD zucchini, capsicum and eggplant to large roasting pan and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Roast in oven for 20 minutes.

HEAT another tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large frypan. Add chicken slices, half the garlic, cumin and oregano, stirring until chicken is cooked through. Remove from pan.

ADD remaining oil over medium heat in pan. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add in couscous and ½ cup of water. Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes until water is absorbed. Use fork to fluff up couscous.

SQUEEZE juice from cucumber with hands.

ADD yoghurt, splash of oil, lemon juice and remaining garlic in small bowl and mix through cucumber.

LAYER couscous, vegetables and chicken in bowl. Drizzle tzatziki dressing and garnish with feta.

Recipe courtesy of Lindsey Nash, Country Kitchens team

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Cauliflower Pasta Sauce Serves: 5 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Fruit and veg: 1 serve per portion Ingredients

1 cauliflower 1 tablespoon margarine ¼ cup milk, reduced fat Pepper to taste 150 g blue cheese (or to taste) 500 g pasta, prepared as per packet instructions

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Method STEAM cauliflower until soft and then mash.

HEAT a frying pan over medium heat and add mashed cauliflower.

ADD margarine and milk and stir until it forms a smooth consistency.

ADD pepper and blue cheese to taste.

MIX sauce through cooked pasta and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Lyn Kelly, Ipswich Branch

Lamb and Sweet Potato Patties Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes Fruit and veg: 2 serves per portion Ingredients

500g sweet potato, scrubbed clean and diced 5 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, diced finely 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced 1 tablespoon ginger, grated 2 teaspoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1 cup coriander, chopped 2 cups of lamb, cooked and shredded Pepper ½ cup plain flour for dusting Sweet chilli sauce to serve

Method BOIL sweet potato for 10 minutes. Mash with a fork and cool.

HEAT 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan and add onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes then add ginger. Cook for a further minute then remove from heat.

MIX sweet potato, onion mix, soy sauce, oyster sauce and coriander in a bowl then fold in the lamb.

DIVIDE mixture into 8 patties then dust each patty in flour.

HEAT half of the remaining olive oil in pan and fry patties in batches for 3-4 minutes each side.

SERVE with green salad and sweet chilli sauce.

Recipe courtesy of the Beverly Jones, Middle Ridge Branch

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Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes Fruit and veg: 2 serves per portion Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 2 onions, chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed ½ teaspoon ginger powder ½ teaspoon turmeric powder 2 teaspoon curry powder 1 cup dried red lentils 1 medium sweet potato, diced 1 bay leaf 4 ½ cups chicken stock, salt reduced Parsley or thyme, to serve Juice of 1 lemon

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Method HEAT oil in a saucepan on low/medium heat and sauté the onion, spices and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.

ADD the red lentils, sweet potato, bay leaf, and stock to the pot.

BRING to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentils have softened.

SPRINKLE with parsley or thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice to serve.

Recipe courtesy of Suzy Jarret, Hinkler Branch

Stuffed Eggplant Serves: 4 Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 90 minutes Fruit and veg: 5 serves per portion Ingredients

2 small eggplants, halved lengthways 2 teaspoons olive oil 4 large onions, diced 500g lean pork mince 1 tomato, peeled and chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped Black pepper, to taste 3 eggs ½ cup cheddar cheese, grated 4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into quarters 4 pieces pumpkin, diced 2 large tomatoes, diced 6 garlic cloves, crushed Mix of fresh chopped herbs (parsley, mint, oregano, basil) 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup water 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Method PREHEAT oven to 200°C. SCOOP out the flesh from each eggplant half, leaving a little around the inside to get a boat shape. Roughly chop the scooped flesh and set aside.

HEAT oil in a frypan over medium heat. Sauté half of the onions for 5 minutes until soft but not browned.

ADD the pork mince and stir for about 7 minutes or until mince has changed colour.

ADD chopped eggplant flesh, tomato, garlic and pepper, cooking until eggplant is soft. Switch off heat, add eggs and stir to combine. Leave to cool.

PLACE remaining onion, potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, garlic and herbs in a large baking dish. Drizzle with the oil and mix to coat.

MIX half the cheese with the mince mixture and stuff into the four eggplant pieces, placing each one in the prepared dish around the vegetables.

POUR the water down the sides and then spoon the tomato paste over vegetables and stuffed eggplant.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over dish.

COVER dish with foil and bake in oven for around 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender. Remove foil 20 minutes before finishing and add more water if too dry.

Recipe courtesy of Mary Vassallo, Seaforth Branch

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WANT TO BREAK FREE? ESCAPE TO POTTSVILLE BEACH MOTEL

Perfect for an affordable family holiday or a relaxing gataway for couples, the Pottsville Beach Motel will be your home away from home.

Our rooms range from Queen/Twin Room, to large self-contained family units that would suit up to 6 people Swimming Pool and BBQ Area also available for guest.

22 | Spring 2022

For bookings call (02) 6676 1107 or go online at www.pottsvillebeachmotel.com 30 Tweed Coast Road, Pottsville, NSW 2489

Country Kitchens makes veggies the heroes

D

iane Donaldson is a Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA) member at Herberton Branch in the Atherton Tablelands Division. She is also one of the dedicated team of Country Kitchens facilitators and now also, Division Convenor.

The QCWA’s Country Kitchens program is a health promotion program supporting communities across Queensland to adopt healthier lifestyle behaviours.

It is a partnership between the QCWA and Health and Wellbeing Queensland and the flagship program of the Association.

The Country Kitchens program supports QCWA volunteer Branch and Supporter members, who already have a wealth of cooking knowledge and skills, with training and support to help improve the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders, particularly those living in rural, regional and remote locations.

Joining the QCWA in 2017, Diane was inspired to become a Country Kitchens facilitator over a year ago.

“At a Division meeting one weekend at Forsayth Branch, Country Kitchens Health Promotion Team Leader, Katy Li, demonstrated a couple of Country Kitchens recipes, and I decided to sign up,” Diane said.

“I love cooking, and I cook everything from scratch, having done so for many years. I got involved with the Country Kitchens program to promote and raise awareness of the importance of consuming a healthy, balanced diet, and to show how easy it can be to make great tasting healthy meals at home.”

The Country Kitchens team of dietitians and nutritionists provide a training PATHway and assistance to QCWA members — Supporter members and Branch members — who volunteer to become facilitators of the program.

Country Kitchens facilitators deliver health promotion activities in their local communities and partner with organisations such as schools, local councils and a wide range of community groups.

A central part of the program is the creation of healthy recipes.

This is how the Country Kitchens program is improving food and nutrition literacy, and importantly, influencing behaviour change at a grass roots level.

“I have been involved in a range of Country Kitchens community activities and have recently completed my Level 5 facilitator training. I have assisted with a showcase at the Atherton Show for the past two years, and also helped deliver hands on nutrition workshops for Year 10 students at Malanda High School in conjunction with other facilitators,” Diane said.

If you or someone you know is keen to work with the QCWA Country Kitchens program, we are always looking to increase our volunteer workforce. To learn more about what we do, please get in touch with the team on 0417 539 663, or visit our website www.qcwacountrykitchens.com.au.

You can also join the QCWA: www.qcwa.org.au/join-us.

QUAMBI HOUSE 138 Cunningham Street, Dalby 07 4662 2628 OPEN FOR BREAKFAST & LUNCH

Trading hours Monday 7am – 3pm, Tues – Fri 7am – 5pm, Sat/Sun – 7am – 2pm

urbanpaddockcafe 2022 Spring

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Delicious flavoured vinegar recipes Apricot mignonette for oysters Ingredients 100ml Budburst Golden Apricot Infused Vinegar 3 small shallots or half a red onion 1tsp freshly ground pepper Pinch of salt Method CHOP the shallots/onion very finely COMBINE all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine SERVE alongside shucked oysters.

SPOON a dollop onto each oyster as you go SPRINKLE remaining cheese over dish.

COVER dish with foil and bake in oven for around 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender. Remove foil 20 minutes before finishing and add more water if too dry.

Makes enough for approximately 2 dozen oysters.

Simone’s summer spritz Method POUR 1 shot/measure of watermelon liqueur into a glass TOP with 1/3 rose or sparkling wine, and 1/3 soda FINISH with a capful of Budburst Golden Apricot Infused Vinegar

Plum quick-pickled onions Simple pickle recipe with no canning equipment or methods needed, great for sandwiches, tacos, salads and more. Just combine and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can add more sliced onion over time or when all eaten to make your pickling liquid go further.

Ingredients 2 large red onions, sliced very thinly 1/2 cup Budburst Black Plum Infused Vinegar 1/2 cup water (+ extra boiled water for blanching) 3 tbsp sugar or honey 1tsp peppercorns 1/2 tsp salt Method BLANCH onions under boiling water.

COMBINE all pickling liquid/brine ingredients in a bowl, stirring so that sugar and salt dissolve PLACE onion slices in a jar. Pour vinegar mixture over, and push onions down so all submerged.

COVER and leave to sit in fridge for at least 1 hour before enjoying.

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Inspiring People

On the land, against all odds After years of drought, flood, snow, and anything else Mother Nature could throw at them, you would be forgiven for thinking the Fawdon family would give up their farm - but they kicked back and are keeping on, keeping on Words by Jessica Kramer Images by Simone Jelley

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Inspiring People

“I

t was hard for everybody, not just us. It was absolutely horrendous,” Stantorpe farmer Ellen Fawdon recalls of the last drought.

“We’d sort of had enough - you know, lots of drought, lots of disasters, and you sort of roll with it, but at that stage I was always stressing about money; nothing was coming in.

“At that stage we were at a real low.”

It’s amazing, when you hear what Queenslanders who live on the land have been through in the last decade, that locals like Ellen can share their experiences with a smile on their face. It’s just one example of the resilience of our Aussie farmers.

“You have to be a real optimist, like ‘oh, next year will be better’,” Ellen says.

“Don’t think about the money, just keep going and don’t stress, fill your mind with other things.”

Ellen has spent a lot of her life on the land and around orchards. She grew up in a small town in Holland, and describes herself as someone who has always been a country girl.

When she was 18, her mother sold everything and moved to Israel with Ellen, Ellen’s sister and her then-boyfriend.

“I was there about three years and met a lot of lovely people,” Ellen recalls.

“One of my friends moved to Australia, and my sister and her boyfriend moved back to Holland after about a year. I was backwards and forwards from Holland over the three years, working in the orchards there, and then I decided to go and visit my friend in Australia.”

It was here that Ellen met her now-husband, Justin, and the two of them went around the country picking fruit for a couple of years from 1993. Four years later, Justin’s parents decided to buy a commercial orchard in Stanthorpe.

“You have to be a real optimist, like ‘oh, next year will be better’.”

Ellen Fawdon

26 | Spring 2022

“They’d had property and cattle stations in Western Australia,” Ellen says.

“They bought 21 hectares on the Southern Downs on the provision that Justin and I would work it, with the help of Justin’s mum. She’s been a big force of nature over the years; she’s done a lot of work too.”

Ellen and Justin raised their family on this farm, maintaining and harvesting the stone fruit trees and selling the produce at markets and Betros Brothers.

“We had 8000-10,000 trees back in around 2002 when my children were born and it was mostly just the two of us working the orchard,” Ellen recalls.

Around that time, she was pulling 60-hour weeks with three young children - and worked up to two weeks before the baby arrived when she was pregnant with the couple’s firstborn, Jade.

Unfortunately, this productive time was not to last. Drought and fires would have been enough to throw a spanner in the works of any farm, but there was more to come.

“In 2015 we had a massive snow storm in Stanthorpe and it took down all our netting and we couldn’t put it back up; it was just too much money. The orchard had suffered a lot from all the previous droughts - we lost a lot of trees.

“Then a couple of years ago, we’d started pulling out some of the trees and planted vegetables - so half vegetables and half fruit.

“But the vegetables used up all our water and we burned through it, and just when that happened the last big drought hit, so we were without water when the drought started.”

“The last two years (2018, 2019) we didn’t work at all. The orchard really suffered, we lost a lot of trees, the birds were coming in from the coast looking for food, so within the last week they’d come in and so there was no fruit left to pick.”

It was at this point that Ellen and Justin started looking at selling up the farm.

“We were deciding what to do, and I’ve always been into preserving, making wines; when I had goats I made my own cheese,” Ellen says.

“And I was playing around a little bit with what I could do with the fruit we had left in the orchard, and I said to Justin we have these beautiful varieties, we have a beautiful plum, the black amber, and the apricot, and those three were still in fairly good condition, so I said ‘don’t pull them out’ because it was just a waste - and it takes years to get those trees back to full production.

“I was experimenting with just making things with the fruit, and I was watching this little program from England and this lady was preserving her fruit in vinegar and selling it at

markets, and actually won an award for it - and I thought ‘that would be good’.”

An idea had budded, but it was still a while before it became a fully blossoming reality.

“At the time, we were doing a business plan for the bank, to change into essential oils - we were going to plant rose geranium, lavenders, rosemary, oregano, and we bought distilling equipment,” Ellen says.

“But the bank said ‘no, we want you to keep going the way you are’, which wasn’t making any money and we would have been bankrupt. But Justin’s father is in mining, and he found an investor who was willing to invest $300,000 into this venture and then we found Australian Vinegar, which is in our town.”

With the blessing of their investor and new ideas bubbling away, Budburst Australia and their fruit-infused vinegars were born. “[Australian Vinegar] helped - we pick all the fruit, we get all the vinegar in big vats to the farm, and then we put all the apricots into the vinegar and it sits there about 10 weeks, sometimes longer, and it brings this beautiful golden colour to the vinegar.

“Then we take it to Australian Vinegar and they take out all the pulp and bottle it for us.”

The resulting vinegar is a very versatile product, with Ellen using it in her own home for many things.

“You can drink it, you can use it for cooking; we ‘ve been making shrubs, lovely drinks, you can use it as salad dressings Justin even invented a new shrub while I’ve been away.”

These days, there are about 4000 trees left in the orchard as well as an enormous field of lavender that Ellen dries and sells, and the family have big plans for the coming years.

“We’re trying to get a distributor now, which has been slow because of Covid, but we’re doing bigger events and getting our vinegar into shops.

“It takes time to get a new brand out there, and it’s a learning curve,” she adds.

“It’s amazing the things you have to learn when you’re going from something you’ve been doing for 20 years; it’s a whole different ball-game and we’re learning on the run.”

“Next year we’re hoping to sell our lavender fresh and maybe use it in the vinegar, as well as rose petal vinegar. I’ve experimented with apricot and rose vinegar and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

“There’s always lots of different things on the go; you get creative and do more.

“Hopefully we’ll have an open farm in the next year or two and people can come and roll in the lavender and buy the vinegar on the farm.”

If you’re interested in trying some of Ellen and Justin’s vinegar yourself, bottles of the apricot and plum varieties are available on their website, www.budburstaustralia.com.au, and you can experiment with the included recipes on page 24.

2022 Spring

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Inspiring People

Building a legacy in the face of unbearable loss Word by Jenna Martin

W

Images contributed by Kate & Justin Boshammer

hen Kate and Justin Boshammer of Condamine found out they were expecting their second child, the pregnancy was a time of hope and joy, the natural next step in growing their family.

“We were so excited when we found out we were having a baby girl,” says Kate. “A little sister for our boy, Theo… we had dreams of this little farm girl, riding her pony and running across the paddock without a care in the world.”

There was nothing unusual about their daughter Zara’s birth in April 2020.

“She arrived calmly, at full term, naturally, and without intervention,” remembers Kate, “this beautiful, dark haired little girl weighing eight pounds, two ounces.”

But soon after she was born, it was clear that things weren’t right, that Zara and her family were in for the sort of experience no parent ever wishes for their child, an experience that would ask them to draw on all their courage and compassion. But one which would also — ultimately — leave

them with a new perspective, and a greater purpose in life.

Zara spent her first three weeks in the special care nursery at St Vincent’s in Toowoomba. After that, the blissful newborn bubble was replaced by months of weekly eight-hour round trips to Brisbane for different appointments, sometimes staying in hospital for weeks at a time.

Zara’s tiny body was suffering from a range of complications.

She had club feet, severe hearing loss, a soft cleft palate, obstructive sleep apnoea and a heart defect. But all of these things, her parents thought, could be managed. There were hearing aids and speech therapies and breathing devices and operations that could help their little girl live a normal life.

“We remained hopeful,” says Kate, “but as time went on, more and more things were revealed to us about what these things actually meant, and how they were tied together. We undertook genetic testing, and amazingly it came back clear.

But there was an unexplained missing link.”

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Connecting the dots Finally, Zara’s geneticist was able to make the connection: Zara had Pallister Killian Syndrome, an incredibly rare chromosomal condition which has no known cause and no cure. It is a multi-system mosaic condition, meaning it’s hard to detect as the cells that cause it aren’t present in all tissues.

It’s so rare, it’s thought there are only about 500 children with the condition worldwide. It’s genetic but it isn’t hereditary and to this day, Kate and Justin don’t know how or why she developed it.

“The diagnosis was completely gut-wrenching,” says Kate.

“The doctor explained how PKS means severe intellectual disability, developmental delays and endless medical complications… life expectancy varied, but there was a strong chance Zara would never talk, walk or be able to feed herself.”

The diagnosis was also bittersweet.

“It’s a relief that you finally have an answer to why she is suffering so… but when it’s not the answer you were hoping for, it’s just heartbreaking.”

With no other option but to keep going and “surrender” to their new normal, Kate and Justin drew on the kind of strength that only a parent can muster.

“We’d reached the point (when we got the diagnosis) where we simply loved Zara for who she was… all those dreams we had of our little farm girl with her pony, she may never have been able to do those things and that was OK. This was her life now, and it was to be ours.”

This new life with Zara meant a full-time oxygen tank and their daughter receiving food through a nasogastric tube.

“We had to learn all about the oxygen, and have tanks delivered,” Kate remembers.

30 | Spring 2022

“It was confronting to be living out here with a child with such complex needs. Any trips had to be carefully calculated to ensure we could fit enough small tanks in the car… Her nasal feeding tube would sometimes come out, and I became not only a mother, but a nurse, needing to know how to reinsert this into her stomach at any hour of the day or night and retape it to her tender little cheeks.”

While the life expectancy of kids with PKS varies, Kate and Justin were committed to making whatever time they had with Zara count.

“I remember relaxing afternoons with Zara and Theo in the garden, the three of us laying on the trampoline together,” says Kate.

“She was just so happy in the garden, a gentle breeze tickling her skin. She was the sweetest, most patient and resilient little girl, who endured so much, and without complaint. She just wanted simply to be with us.”

But it wasn’t long after returning home from another lengthy hospital stay that Zara became sick again. The family were airlifted to Brisbane via the Royal Flying Doctors Service for a second time, but tragically, Zara passed away the next day as a result of acute respiratory complications. She was almost seven months old.

“We didn’t know how long she’d be with us, but we could have never imagined she would leave so soon,” remembers Kate.

“Her short life was so medically hard, but we tried so hard to give her the best quality of life possible, and to help her know she was — and is — loved.”

Finding the strength to help others Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. For many, it’s a grief from which you cannot return. But for Kate and Justin, giving into that grief wasn’t an option — they needed to channel it into something worthwhile, something that would honour Zara’s brief but beautiful life.

“We decided to hold a fundraiser, Zara’s Day, in her honour,” says Kate.

“PKS was Zara’s diagnosis, but so many kids and families are living with and surviving these life-limiting conditions every day. Zara opened our eyes to this world of disability and allowed us to see a world beyond our own. She also allowed us to understand the true power of faith, hope and love.”

On the afternoon of her funeral, more than 200 friends and family gathered in Zara’s favourite spot in the family garden.

Combined with a GoFundMe page and an online auction, the event raised more than $150,000 for the Steve Waugh Foundation (supporting children with rare diseases and their families), the Royal Flying Doctors Service and their local hospital in Miles, for which they were able to purchase two lifesaving high-flow oxygen machines.

“It was a day of indescribable grief,” says Kate. “But it was also a day where we witnessed the power and love of our beautiful community. It was beyond what we could ever have imagined.”

For Kate, Justin and Theo, Zara’s Day — November 16, 2020 — was just the beginning, with the family continuing her legacy in the foundation that bears her name. Zara’s Day was held again in 2021 through an online auction and raffle, and has so far raised more than $240,000 for the two charities and earlier this year, Kate and Justin were humbled to have been awarded the RFDS Queensland Local Hero Award for their fundraising efforts.

They have made it their mission to make a difference to others living with rare diseases.

“It hasn’t been easy sharing our story,” admits Kate. “It is very hard to relive the trauma of what we went through with Zara and with her passing. But we are driven by a purpose to increase awareness of rare diseases and help families who are dealing with the unknown or the unthinkable.”

On a deeper level, they hope they may inspire others to live their lives with a little more hope and perspective.

“Zara changed how we live and how we see life,” Kate says.

“She helped us learn compassion and what unconditional love really is. It was because of her we learned to find joy in the moments, to focus on the present and let go of thinking about the future. For the rest of our lives we will carry her in our hearts, and will always try to honour her legacy and the lessons she taught us.”

Zara’s Day will raise funds again this year in October and November, coinciding with the second anniversary of Zara’s passing. Please visit www.zarasday.com.au and follow Zara’s Day on Facebook and Instagram to learn more.

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Fashion

Going the extra mile

I

n 1991, Lyle and Helen Kent and four of their children set out from south-east Queensland and travelled to the north-west of Australia. Having worked as a stockman during the 1960s in the Victoria River area of the Northern Territory, Lyle was fulfilling a dream to go to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. With some saddle making experience, he was also hoping to find saddle repair work on Kimberley cattle stations.

His hopes and dreams were fulfilled; there was plenty of repair work available and when they returned home to Stanthorpe, Lyle had repaired about one hundred stock saddles and spoken with the Kimberley stockmen who rode in them. He was convinced he could design and build low maintenance, light weight stock saddles, suitable for everyday stock work.

Truly, this was the beginning of the family business, Kent Saddlery.

For the next 30 years, Lyle and Helen spent six months of every year travelling through the Australian outback, visiting cattle stations, and selling Kent Saddles, handcrafted leather products and other work-related items. The remainder of each year was spent working from their Saddlery rock workshop on their Amiens property near Stanthorpe, where their six children also spent varying amounts of time learning leather-making skills.

In December of 2012, Kent Saddlery made the big shift from the original rock workshop and other sheds at Amiens, to the site on the New England Highway near Stanthorpe. A bigger shed meant increased space for saddle and product

manufacturing, where six full-time leather workers are currently employed, along with eight staff who are involved in the retail, administrative and dispatch areas.

Kent Saddlery is also actively involved with a Traineeship Program, which provides an opportunity for young people to achieve a Certificate III Accreditation in leather working.

The transfer of the business to the highway also provided the opportunity to open the Kent Saddlery Retail Store. Here Kent Saddlery invites visitors to experience their distinctive gallery style retail area, breathe deep and “smell the leather”.

Reminiscent of an old-time saddlery store, guests are encouraged to touch, feel, and examine Kent Saddlery’s beautifully handcrafted leather products.

These include Kent Saddlery’s own Heritage Collection of locally designed and handmade bags, handcrafted Kent saddles, horse related products, and an extensive range of handmade leather belts and other top-quality items.

Over the past 10 years Kent Saddlery has continued to grow, making the Granite Belt icon a family-friendly destination. The sights and sounds of the Comet Windmill and the Outback Mural combine with friendly chooks, animals, picnic tables and leather stamping to create a relaxing space the whole family can enjoy.

Authentically Australian handcrafted products

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since 1988 32 | Spring 2022

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Indigenous sisters mixing fashion, art and Country Words by Jenna Martin

Livestock

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Fashion

For sisters Cheryl, Juanita, Dale and Glenda, art and fashion run hand-in-hand with the land they live on.

34 | Spring 2022

D

escended from the Kalkatungu tribe, the sisters call the red dirt, spinifex-dotted land around Mount Isa home, and it’s a place that inspires their lives and their creativity. It’s also the place they turn to when designing clothes for their fashion label, Myrrdah, named after their great, great grandmother.

“We have been lucky enough to grow up on our traditional homelands,” says Glenda, “and today we still live here and are raising our children.”

Their clothes have a life first as artworks, painted and shared via Cungelella Art, a personal project of Glenda’s, who started the venture in 2019 as a way to share her culture through modern Aboriginal art. Her sisters soon joined her, relishing in the opportunity to create, paint and share their culture together. Their artwork is a unique, modern take on contemporary Aboriginal art, reflecting the landscape and colours of north-western Queensland: the ancient rock faces, ghost gums, burnt-red dirt and skies of pink, peach and orange.

From there, their creations are printed on to linen and silk and become beautiful, original pieces of wearable art. “When you purchase our pieces we are sharing our interpretation of this land with you, Kalkatungu desert country,” says Glenda.

Fostering inclusivity and sustainability

For the sisters, it’s not just about representing their land and their culture, but creating fashion that is sustainable and ethical.

“As First Nations People, being kind to the earth is important to us — we’re living on our homelands and teaching our children how to look after their land. So we only use ethically sourced fabrics, and natural fibres are very important to us.

We also make sure all our clothes are produced in Australia, so we’re supporting Australian producers and creators.”

Inclusivity is also hugely important. “Our collection contains staple pieces that accommodate different shapes and sizes,” says Glenda. It’s also heavily influenced by the feeling of sisterhood that informs everything they do. “We have shared clothes our whole lives,” says Glenda, “and even now as adults still do. So when it came to creating our label we wanted to create pieces that we could all wear at all different stages in our lives — old, young, pregnant, breastfeeding…”

Their sisterly bond was forged early. “Growing up, Mum and Dad moved around like gypsies,” says Glenda. “We were living in Katherine, in the Northern Territory at the time and we had to go to Cairns and dad said, ‘if we have to drive that far I ain’t driving back, we are moving there!’ So he packed the car and

the kids and we were moving to Cairns!” She says there was never enough time in one location to build friendships, so they relied on each other instead. “And now, as adults we are doing the same: we’re business friends, motherhood friends, creative friends, cuppa tea friends and many more. We can literally spend every hour of the day together and love it,” she says.

Women at the helm

When it came to starting their label, it was their mum who inspired them to take the leap. “We were motivated by our mother who told us we can do anything… If we ever said — while sitting around the table with a cup of tea — ‘Oh I wish we could do that!’, her reply would only ever be ‘You can do it yourself!’ But our mother isn’t just an amazing advocate for us, she is a great seamstress so she was always helping us out and showing us what artwork would look best on our linen fabric.”

The influence — and the strength — of women flows throughout all their designs, with all their pieces named after influential women in their lives, the women who have helped them become who they are today. “We come from a strong line of women that stood strong, raised families and raised even stronger women and men,” Glenda says. “The faces of our Aunties were our inspirations when it came to naming pieces… there’s the Margie top — named after Auntie Margie — and the Lizzy dress, named after Aunty Lizzy…”

Living On Country is an important part of their culture and their heritage, but Glenda admits that there are some challenges to designing and running a fashion label when you are remote. Add to that a pandemic and lockdowns and you have a particularly unique series of obstacles to achieving your dream. Not that Glenda and her sisters let that stop them.

“We pulled our first collection together from Mount Isa in the middle of Covid… We had to do it via zoom meetings and emails and sharing Pinterest pictures and mood boards with dressmakers in Melbourne. We couldn’t even touch our fabrics in person. Just waiting for a swatch of fabric to say yes or no could take up to two weeks, even with express postage!”

It makes it even more remarkable that with all those challenges they hit two career highs just this year — appearing in Australian Vogue magazine and then in May, they made the 2300km journey to Sydney for their first fashion collection as part of Australian Fashion Week.

“I just can’t believe how far we’ve come,” says Glenda, “and how fast… it feels surreal. Our collection is everything to us. It’s about our family, our home, our connection to Country and we are honoured to share that with you all.”

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Health

Keeping mentally well during tough times 8.6 million Australians, or two in five aged 16-85, have experienced a mental health disorder at some time in their life, while 4.2 million (or 21.4 per cent) had a 12-month battle with mental health.

Word by Kate Salemme

I

n 2020-21, 3.4 million Australians aged 16-85 saw a professional for their mental health, while two in five people aged 16-24 had a 12-month mental health disorder, an increase from one in four in 2007.

The alarming stats underline that mental health continues to be one of the biggest health challenges facing Australians.

A 12-month mental disorder is when a person who has experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life has sufficient symptoms of that disorder in the previous 12 months.

With many special occasions and days of celebration coming up, including Father’s Day, Christmas and other religious holidays, these times can trigger or heighten feelings of anxiety and depression.

“For many navigating such events can be stressful, overwhelming and even evoke feelings of fear, dread and it can have a significant impact on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing,” says Irene Gallagher, Head of Crisis Services, Knowledge and Quality at Lifeline Australia.

“There are many people who are grieving their loved ones, many people who are grieving their mums, their fathers, people can be disconnected from families, fractured families and people that don’t have great relationships with their family, so these traditional family event times can be really difficult for people.”

Irene says it’s critical to be aware of the challenges these occasions can pose to your mental health, as well as being proactive, that can help to manage their impact on your wellbeing.

“It’s about early planning. If you know that’s going to be a difficult time for you, you know you’re going to be triggered by all the visuals, make a plan for the day and how you’ll be able to structure it so it will be less triggering or overwhelming for you,” Irene says.

“Connect with people — if you’re feeling alone, connect with a family member, friend or a local group, catch up for a coffee with a friend. These are all things that can help people get through really difficult times. “(But) there are many people out there that don’t have support networks. If you don’t, I would encourage you to ring an organisation such as Lifeline for support. There is always someone there to talk to … they’re waiting to talk to you and

36 | Spring 2022

Images Contributed

support you.”

Alarmingly, one in six Australians aged 16-85 years reported they had experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviours in their life from December 2020 to July 2021.

In addition to depression and anxiety, feelings of loneliness can also be amplified during times of celebration.

In 2020-21, 15.5 per cent of people aged 16-85 years reported feeling lonely in the four weeks prior to the survey being conducted.

“We have a significant issue in this country with loneliness,” Irene says.

“The pandemic has added a layer of complexity to our lives … the disconnection from family is very prominent because of the pandemic. It can lead to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and particularly low mood and that can be the start of depression for many people.”

Exercise and other physical activity, a healthy diet and connecting with your support network, such as family, friends or those within your local community, are excellent ways to look after your mental health and wellbeing.

But there are other strategies you can implement to improve your mood if you’re feeling low or find yourself beginning to experience early signs of depression and anxiety.

Mindfulness, including meditation and gratitude practice, is a great strategy to implement to improve your mental health.

“Most of the time we’re in autopilot and our mind is running the show but when we become more self-aware and more mindful, then we get to choose if we stay with the inner critic or empower the inner coach,” says Jon Unal, psychotherapist and mindset coach.

“Our minds have a negativity bias, meaning we’re more likely to recognise things that are not working well in our lives … but there is so much good happening on this planet, there’s so much goodness happening in everyone’s life.

“So thinking about what is good in my life right now – it doesn’t have to be something big, it could be a roof over my head, a warm cup of coffee, a good friend to talk to.

“Each morning when you wake up, before you touch anything including your phone, think about: ‘What are five things that happened to me yesterday or this week that I’m grateful for?

“Start your day from a sense of positivity rather than negativity.”

Jon says being aware of and considering the questions we ask ourselves is extremely important when it comes to managing mental health.

“Your mind is like Google — whatever question you ask, you’ll get an answer … So the questions you’re asking is determining the way your mind is giving you the answers,” he says.

Improving your mental health and overall wellbeing could also be as simple as changing the mindset you’re going to bed with each night.

“Dr Wayne Dyer says the mind state you go to bed with is hugely important because you’ll be marinading in that state for the next eight hours,” says Jon. “How are you going to bed? Are you pissed off with what happened in your day? Can you slip it aside and focus on something that was good?”

Whether you or someone you know is experiencing mental health struggles, being aware of the warning signs both in ourselves and those around us is crucial.

“We need to keep an eye on each other and that goes beyond just family and friends”, says Irene.

“If people are feeling sad and their mood is quite low and that’s been for a period of two weeks or more, it’s time to seek professional help. “(But) even prior to seeking professional help, if people are feeling sad, lonely, isolated, if their mood is low, remember there is always someone to talk to. This is where Lifeline and other (organisations) provide great opportunities because while we say you’re never alone, many people are alone and may not have family to connect with, they may not have friends, so Lifeline can be that support network.” *All stats compiled by Lifeline Australia, taken from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey 2020-2021.

5 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING With psychotherapist and mindset coach Jon Unal 1. CONNECTION “Reach out and build a community/support network around you — it could be your family, friends, neighbours, your local community or giving back to your community.”

2. GET TO KNOW YOURSELF “When you’re aware of your mind chatter, we can start to talk to ourselves in a different way. Think about what your best friend or someone important in your life would tell you. Become your best friend and talk to yourself in that way.”

3. PRACTICE GRATITUDE “Start the day and end the day with a gratitude practice.

It doesn’t have to be anything big; it could be a roof over my head, a warm cup of coffee, a good friend to talk to.”

4. USE YOUR MIND ASK POSITIVE QUESTIONS “When you’re in a negative mood it’s easy to ask negative questions … learn to shift your mindset and ask positive questions. These can be: ‘How do I want to live my life today? How do I want to connect with people today? How can I bring joy to someone else’s life today?”

5. TAKE ACTION/PHYSICAL ACTIVITY “It can be as simple as going for a walk because action creates momentum, and the moment you start moving your body you’ll start feeling a different way.”

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Health

For the love of a cat It can be difficult to know what to do about a stray when it wanders onto your property.

Word by Bethany Roberts Images Bethany & Emily Roberts and Contributed

I

f you love cats like me, you’ll know they’re the tiger that sleeps in your bed. Soft and cuddly one minute, ruthlessly trying to chew your hand off the next.

A happy, healthy cat is a great pet and mouser if you have that problem. But sadly, there are many cats out there who don’t lead such lives. The number of stray cats in Australia is a bit scary. And sad too. There is an estimate of around 6000!

Cats become strays for a number of reasons. They might have gotten lost. Their owners could have moved away and left their pet behind. Whatever the reason, a stray cat really just needs someone to love it and take it in.

A few years ago, I think I was only twelve at the time, my dad started looking for a cat. We had just moved house and it seemed the perfect time. We had wanted one for a long time but being renters it’s much easier to just keep a dog. Anyway, he went through the internet and eventually found a kitten.

As you can imagine, my siblings and I were ecstatic. I’m one of six kids so just think of the noise level of six kids under the age of 14! We made a date of it and were soon eagerly anticipating the day we would get to bring our kitten home.

The day arrived and we went as a family to collect our new addition. Little did we know, our kitten had a rather sad beginning to life.

I remember the lady’s home being very autumnal. Like, fallen leaves over a wide driveway. Trees everywhere. Peacocks and other birds running around. And I think her house was brick, but this was five or so years ago so don’t quote me on it.

Dad went in to get our kitten and we all waited impatiently as he disappeared inside. We had been brainstorming names on the way up. I remember suggesting Max but mum had had a cat by that name years ago so we decided that wasn’t a good idea. Dad actually came up with the name that stuck: Elmo.

You know when you hear a name and it’s just right? Well, Elmo was like that. It stuck.

Finally, dad emerged from the house carrying a cardboard box that contained a beautiful little kitten. He got in the car thanking the lady and gave the box to Mum. Soon we were off again.

Dad told us the story Elmo’s original owner had shared

38 | Spring 2022

with him. Elmo was a black kitten. A precious little bundle but filled with fear. One day the lady had heard a meowing in her retaining wall. She called some people and together they searched until they found a tiny black kitten. No mother. No siblings.

None of us know where he came from. Dad wondered if he had been abandoned because of the superstitions surrounding his colouring. I guess we’ll never really know. Thankfully the lady had a cat who had just had a litter of kittens. So, Elmo was adopted by the mother.

We took Elmo home and he was not pleased by anyone’s definition. Mum sat the box on the table and talked to him for a while but he just pressed back into his box and hissed.

In our house we have a lot of bits and pieces; knick-knacks and such all over the place and Elmo took refuge behind something of that sort once he escaped his box. It was an old spinning wheel that mum used.

We tried to talk to him but he was much too fearful and stubborn, more focused on finding a hiding place than listening. I think someone approached him and he mustn’t have been impressed because he ended up under one of my brothers’ beds. And he stayed there for a while.

My middle brother tried talking to him and stayed too. We all came and went throughout. Mum assured us Elmo would eventually settle in; he just needed some time. At last, that time came. My middle brother finally won him over. Elmo came out and it was clear my brother had earned the frightened kitten’s trust.

After that the rest of the family fell like dominoes. Dad took a little longer given Elmo only really saw him during the evening when he came home from work but he got there in the end.

Soon our kitten, who had started so sadly in this life, was stalking about our farm house like he was a king in a palace.

Elmo went from a wisp of a thing to a chubby tom cat often found lazing on the table or by the fire. Elmo became a part of the family and we have made some good memories with him.

One of the funnier happenings occurred on a dark, silent night.

My sisters and I were sleeping soundly in our beds when, for

some reason, I woke. Eyes drifting about and still full of sleep moved to the foot of the bed. Something black and formless moved in the dark. Silent as a wraith it crept over the railing.

My chest seized up, my mind blanked and I let out the loudest scream I was capable of.

Elmo shot off like a rocket and my little sister sat up and started to scream too, pounding her fist into the wall beside her. Our older sister sat up dazed and slightly confused. Our parents came to see what was going on and it all just sort of unfolded from there.

That story is fast becoming a family classic. Dear, oh dear.

Elmo was with us for a further two or three years. He would sleep on the couch with dad at night, take up the table during homeschooling, race up and down the house, sliding along the floors whenever mum bleached them. He was a part of the family and we thought he would for a long time.

It wasn’t to be.

One day my middle brother woke to find his bed covered with cat urine. I know, gross. We didn’t think too much of it, other than it wasn’t like Elmo. We just figured his litter needed cleaning. But then it started to happen regularly. Mum was washing my brother’s bed things almost every day from what I remember. We started to wonder if Elmo would need to be taken to the vet.

Then, on another morning, things took a turn for the worst.

It was like Elmo had no control over his own body. He kept urinating everywhere. He would go for a drink and miss the bowl completely. His balance was off.

Eventually dad and mum decided to take him to the vet. It’s thought he had a neurological problem but without tests and maybe surgery there was no way to know. The decision was made to have him put down.

That was one day that really sucked.

We didn’t get a cat for a while after that. And it might sound

silly but we all kept looking for him everywhere. We talked about it a fair bit too. Amazing isn’t it, how much we grow to love our pets?

Understand, I’m certainly no expert on the subject, but if you’re ever blessed enough to adopt a stray cat, whatever the age, here are some things I picked up from our experience with Elmo.

1) Make sure you put out food and water for the cat, but don’t force them to it. They’ll settle in when they’re ready.

2) When trying to establish trust, be kind, persistent and gentle, but don’t harass. Elmo came when he was ready.

And also remember, every cat is different. Some like attention, some don’t. You really only pick that up by getting to know your cat and not giving up on it.

On a slightly different note, if you have a stray cat hanging around your home and haven’t adopted it as such, the best advice I can give you is feed it and try setting a trap.

We have another black kitten hanging around the farm at the moment, believe it or not. We think it might be a girl but we’re not sure. On that basis we’ve dubbed her Lucy.

My little sister and I first discovered her in our barn. She was eating old eggs we think and hid under the bales when I saw her. We’ve never caught her, though we’ve tried a few times.

We just leave biscuits out for her and hope to someday get a possum trap so we can adopt her.

So, if you have a stray hanging around that’s pretty much all I can give you by way of advice. Just leave food and water out until it recognises your home as a food source than try setting a trap.

As far as pet cats go, we did end up getting more. Dad went on the net again. Praise the Lord, he found a pair of sibling kittens. A bundle of furry mischief and adorableness. We called them Ozzie and Allie. Now we have a king and a queen stalking our home.

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Art & Craft

Rug up Who knew these floor coverings could be so versatile? Whether you make a rug for your own home or a unique gift, here are four different techniques to get you started.

Word by Bethany Roberts, Trish Jackson and Jessica Kramer Images Contributed

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Art & Craft

Crochet hooks and islands at the bottom of the world

A

beautiful lady from a small country town tucked in amongst the hills of an island at the bottom of the world, taught three girls to crochet.

The countryside was rolling and romantic and the town was the typical Aussie village, eked out into the hills. The little church where the elderly lady resided was like one big family.

And in many cases quite literally was. The three girls were a trio from a large family of nine. Only eight of which lived on the island. They were newcomers. From the mainland and had only been in town a few weeks, months at best. Their first Sunday at church was a daunting one. They were welcomed with open arms although they were shy.

The lady and her husband soon came visiting and the beginnings of friendship started to emerge when she asked the three girls if they should like to learn crochet. The girls were craftier than anyone has a right to be and instantly jumped at the chance.

The first lesson was an interesting one. Their mother came along and there were measures of excitement and eagerness along with frustration and tears. But even so they came again.

And again and again for many days ahead.

THE HOW-TO’S OF CROCHET If you are interested in becoming a crocheter, here is a simple project that will give you the basic stitches and leave you with a lovely little mat at the end.

For this project you will need to know a few stitches. Chain, Treble and Double Crochet. You will also need really thick yarn, scissors and a large wool needle. And, of course, a crochet hook.

Chain: Doing a chain is the backbone for every crochet project. i’ve never come across one that didn’t have a chain. to do this all you do is make a slip knot with your yarn by wrapping the yarn around your fingers and pulling the loop through. Pull the loop taut and now you have the slip knot you slid on your crochet hook and pull tight around the hook. To complete a chain all you do is wrap the yarn around the hook and then pull it through the loop. Then repeat this till you have the desired length of chain.

Double Crochet: This stitch is a rather simple one though why it’s called double, i don’t know. To make it, all you do is insert your hook into a chain, wrap your yarn around the hook and then pull the loop though the chain. you now have two loops on the hook. Now wrap your yarn around again and pull that loop through the original two. There, now you have a dc.

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Treble: This is the final stitch for today. To do this stitch all you do is wrap your yarn around and insert into a chain. wrap your yarn around again and pull through. Now you should have three loops. Pull the loop closest to your hook through the middle loop and then wrap your yarn around the hook again and pull that loop through the final loop.

Now we’re just about ready to crochet. These are the abbreviations for the stitches. Just makes writing out the pattern easier. Chain= ch. Double Crochet = dc. Treble= tr.

CROCHET MAT PATTERN Make a chain of whatever length you like. It makes little difference. However big you would your mat to be.

Row 1. Ch 3, work a tr into 4th ch from hook. Tr to end of row and turn work.

Row2. Ch 3, work a tr in last tr of previous row. Tr to end.

Row 3. Repeat row 2 till work measures desired length.

See? dead easy BORDER Once your mat is the length you desire, finish off your piece by cutting the yarn and pulling out the loop so you have a single strand and no loop and then pulling taut.

To work a border, reattach a piece of yarn wherever you like around the edge of your mat by slipping your hook through the piece and pulling through a loop. Now just work dc all the way around the edge. Don’t worry if it’s not terribly tidy. That’s just a matter of practice.

Once you have completed your row you can work something called a shell stitch.

SHELL STITCH To work this stitch all you do is pick a stitch two stitches down from your hook and tr into that one stitch about 6 to 8 times then count out two stitches from the stitch you are currently using and insert your hook into that stitch. Draw through a loop and draw that same loop through the loop on your hook. Repeat this process all the way around the edge of the mat. And once you’re ready to finish it off, insert your hook into a stitch and draw a loop through both the work and the loop on your hook as before.

Traditional latch hook W

ho doesn’t love a fuzzy rug underfoot? While there are a couple of methods to create this type of floor covering, latch hook is probably the easiest and most cost-effective to set yourself up. All you’ll need is the latch hook itself - which you can find at craft and haberdashery stores for about $3-$9 depending on the brand - wool, and grid canvas that looks like an oversized Aida or tapestry canvas, but much stiffer. The canvas can be a little more difficult to find (I live in a regional city and only one store had stock at the time I was looking) but online stores often have a good selection that you won’t pay a premium for if you’re happy to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

This craft can be time-consuming, so I recommend starting with only a small rug as a beginner. I’m using a 50cm by 75cm piece of canvas for mine.

CREATING A PATTERN One of the fabulous things about latch hook is you are completely free to do what you like when it comes to a pattern. The canvas is a grid, so if you’re creating your own pattern you can use either grid paper, like i did, or draw up your own gridlines. Some people even use Excel spreadsheet cells to make their pattern digitally!

It’s up to you what design you’d like your finished rug to be - you can source patterns online (cross-stitch and tapestry patterns could even be adapted for a rug if you like) or grab some coloured pens and pencils and get to work.

I had five colours of wool that I wanted to use, and I knew I wanted an abstract pattern so I played around with the grid blocks until i found something i was happy with and was feasible.

PREPARING This part is a bit time-consuming, but fortunately it’s something you can do in front of the TV at night or when having a cuppa at home with family.

You’ll need to grab the wool you’re using and cut it up into small lengths for the latch hook. Most instructions recommend 2.5in lengths, but I found that a challenge to work with so mine are about 4in. This will simply mean that the pile of the finished rug is longer, or I’ll have to trim it down when it’s done like a little haircut!

Also, if your canvas doesn’t have grid lines already woven in, you may like to draw them on to make following a pattern a little easier on yourself. The lines will be covered by the finished rug, so don’t stress too much over what colour pen to use - a black permanent marker is fine.

length of the latch hook tool near the handle. You’ll want to make both ends of the wool together as evenly as possible.

Hold the wool in place on your latch hook, and slide the tool under one of the lines of your canvas. Make sure it’s one of the straight lines, not any of the twisted ones, and that the hook catches on the canvas.

Wrap both ends of the wool around and in the eye at the top of the tool and pull the hook towards yourself. As you pull the hook, the latch in the eye will close and trap the wool.

Keep pulling the hook towards yourself to create a half-hitch knot of wool around the canvas, and remove the hook. The knot will probably be loose at this stage; simply grab the ends of the wool and pull to tighten. You can wriggle the wool around at this time as well to ensure the ends are as even as possible, but don’t stress too much as you can trim them down if needed at the end.

And that’s it! Keep repeating those steps until you have covered the entire rug canvas.

FINISHING Once your rug is done, you can tidy up some straggly bits if need be - I use a sharp pair of clippers to do this as it gives me the best result of evenness. Once you’re happy with the pile of your rug, it’s time to do the backing.

You can get sturdy fabric from the upholstery section of your local craft and haberdashery store or use hessian, but unless you are planning on keeping your rug on a carpeted surface, I recommend getting non-slip backing for safety reasons.

The back of your canvas won’t be seen in the finished project, so you can use a hot glue gun or fabric glue to affix the backing to the canvas if you like, or use some sturdy thread and a needle to tack the two together.

And voila! Your completed fluffy rug.

MAKING THE RUG Now it’s time for the fun part - creating the actual rug.

Grab a piece of your cut wool and wrap it around the metal

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Art & Craft

Rug from old sheets T

Words and images by Trish Jackson

oday many of us are looking at ways to reuse, recycle and save money.

Craft is becoming trendy again, and being able to recycle while enjoying crafts is a bonus. From old sheets, we can make floor mats, placemats, coasters and trivets. These items wear well and are cost effective and washable. As an example, the floor rug pictured is a crochet spiral motif pattern that was made from old sheets according to a pattern in The Marshall Cavendish Complete Book of Needlecraft, published in 1978.

You can choose from two different crochet hooks: the traditional round handle, or the more modern hook with a flat handle. With a little time, you will find the flat handle much easier to use.

1. First, cut the hems off the sheet.

2. Fold the sheet in half.

3. Fold the sheet again leaving about five centimetres between the fold and the edge of the sheet.

4. Place a ruler across the edge above the fold. This action will help to remind you not to cut the material too far.

5. Using a rotary cutter and ruler, cut the sheet into strips one to three centimetres wide to the top of the fold. The width will depend on the thickness of the sheet.

6. Continue to cut in strips to the same width for the length of the sheet. Remember: Do not cut all the way to the top edge!

7. Now you can remove your ruler and return to your first strip.

8. Cut the top layer only all of the way through to the top edge.

9. Unfold the sheet and repeat the cut through to the edge at every second strip, alternating from the top to the bottom.

This will create one long strip out of the sheet.

10. Roll the strip into a ball as you go.

11. Now you have your ball, you are ready to knit or crochet your favourite pattern.

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44 | Winter 2022

Nifty rag rug techniques R

ag rugs are a fabulous way to use up those offcuts and unused fabrics you have lying around that you can’t quite bare to throw away but aren’t really good for much else.

Alternatively, you can also use old shirts, pants, jeans, and even old sheets like on the opposite page.

There are a couple of different techniques you can use to create your rag rug, but today we’re going to showcase two.

NO-SEW BRAID TECHNIQUE This is similar to the common braid-and-stitch together technique that a lot of people associate with rag rugs, only it removes the sewing by being a blend of sorts between weaving and braiding.

It’s also excellent exercise for your fingers and you’ll need to tie everything together really firmly as you go.

You can use a variety of different colours or keep your rug one block colour.

First, choose three strips of fabric of the same or similar length. You might find it easier to hem or overlock your strips of fabric before you start this project, if the fabric is the type to fray easily - there’s nothing worse than getting your half-made rug impossibly tangled with frayed threads!

Tie your three strips together with a knot at the top, and make sure your knot is super tight. This first knot is going to end up being the centre of your rug, so you’ll want it to be taut and as small as possible to avoid uncomfortable bumps.

To help you as you braid, you might like to pin the top of the strips to a surface or tape them down.

Start braiding these strips until you have enough braided cord to wind it around that centre knot. To build the rug, bring the strip of fabric that is right next to your coil under and through the closest loop in the centre.

Keep braiding for a few inches, then repeat the step to attach the newly braided piece to the centre coil rug. You’l want to turn your rug as you go and keep the braid down towards yourself, to avoid unevenness in the finished product.

Once you’ve run out of those strips of fabric, you can attach new strips by snipping a small slit in the end of each current strip that you’re using. Grab your three new pieces and thread them through these slits. Make a loop by bringing the tail of the new strip through the top and pull it tightly so there’s a small knot tying the two pieces together. Then you’re ready to continue braiding and attaching as before.

Once you have a round that is large enough to your satisfaction, weave the final fabric tails through the underside of your rug and tie them off.

If you find any loose bits or large gaps in your rug, you can stab stitch them with strong thread and a needle. And then you’re done!

FABRIC CORD TECHNIQUE There’s a few variations on this technique, but the overall idea is the same.

Grab a strip of whaever fabric you’re using, and fold it in half.

Then, twist it around itself to make a rope- or cord- like piece.

You’ll want to do this with all the fabric strips you use for this rug, regardless of the technique you use from here.

Making the rug coil is where there are differences in how you can go about this: • Use a wide zipzag stitch on a sewing machine and sew the cord into a flat coil, making sure to catch both sides of the cord together; • Wrap twine or sturdy thread around the cord, then sew the wrapped cord into a spiral shape or stack them to make a rectangular rug and continue until you have a sizable rug; or • Crochet the cord together, using it in place of a chain stitch foundation row. Single crochet or blanket stitch over the cord until the end of the length, then do two turning stitches before adding the next cord length on top and crocheting the two together.

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Art & Craft

What materials to use for your rug As versatile as the techniques for making a rug, there are many different materials you can use to create your floor covering VARIOUS WOOLS Ideally, the thicker yarn you use the better, since you’ll have a much thicker and lush pile to your finished rug. That being said, most wool can be used for a latch hook or crochet rug - spare offcuts from previous projects, feather yarn, chenille, and more.

T-shirts are wonderful as a type of fabric yarn when crocheting or using the fabric cord technique for a rag rug.

An added bonus is that t-shirting fabric doesn’t fray as easily when cut with the grain. If you’re really keen, you might even like to try using it in latch hook for a super funky look!

OLD CLOTHING T-shirts and jeans are some of the best textiles you can use for rugs, and there’s the bonus of knowing you’re recycling old goods too.

Cutting old jeans into strips are fabulous to use for a rag rug and look super stylish when used with the braided technique, plus the finished mat is extremely sturdy.

SHEETS AND TABLECLOTHS As Trish showed us on page 44, using old sheets is a wonderful way to upcycle and make your own rug. Tablecloths are another fabulous medium to use, and can often be purchased cheaply at op shops. If you’re keen to experiment, you could even get some towels and create a rag rug for the bathroom with them - the sky’s the limit!

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46 | Winter 2022

House & Garden

Bringing something special to the table Founder of an online tablewares store Mrs Tablescape, Carolyn Dorrian takes Ruth readers through creating the perfect Spring table setting

Word by Carolyn Dorrian Images Mrs Tablescape

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A

s we near the end of what seems to be a cold winter, with the days lengthening out, the temperature nudging gently upwards and spring bulbs beginning to appear, our thoughts turn to spending time with friends.

Instantly, my mind turns to a joyful atmosphere created by a spring tablescape. For me, this has been a very rewarding experience that has always given me long-lasting memories.

Setting a spring tablescape is a simple yet brilliant way to establish a theme for your social gatherings that creates a surreal aesthetic. These simple steps will help you through the process!

48 | Winter 2022

1. SET THE AESTHETIC

The first step is to decide on the aesthetic or theme for your table. Rummage in your cupboards to find containers, fabrics, candles and accessories that you could use. The aim of the design is to create impact by leading the eye along the length of the table. A table runner is an ideal tool here, as it will give that focus down the table.

2. SELECT YOUR TABLEWARE

You can then get creative with your tableware. Use a variety of plates, cutlery, glassware, napkins and napkin holders — just make sure they are sympathetic to your choice of colour and theme. If you are someone who wants to incorporate a vintage, fine dining touch in your tableware, Mrs Tablescape’s Nostalgia collection is the creative experience for you.

3. INCORPORATE NATURE

Once you’ve laid your table settings, let your imagination run free with flowers and accessories to add that ‘wow’ factor. Be as creative as you wish with different containers and flowers.

Use different textures and heights on grasslands, vines from Mrs Tablescape’s Francis collection to create interest, but be conscious of not blocking the view across the table for your guests.

4. FINISHING TOUCHES

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Candles, tea lights and fairy lights are a wonderful way to add ambience. Place these intermittently down the length of your runner.

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House & Garden

They that sing and tell us stories Word by Bethany Roberts

T

here is so much about a tree that is beautiful. The way they stand sentient near our homes like gentle giants keeping watch. The sound of rustling leaves on a windy day, countless voices all singing a song not even the finest musician could hope to replicate.

They’re dressed much finer than the most beautiful queen.

Pale pinks and snowy white petals veil the graceful arms of dark branches in the spring. Cool greens of every shade turn the forests and woods into dark respites from the summer sun when the days turn blistering. When the air turns cools and those green leaves start to bleed with scarlet and molten gold, we know autumn is surely on the way. Even when the trees lose all their finery and seem to fall asleep with the rest of the wintery world, they still manage to hold a kind of ghostly beauty.

The Lord certainly knows how to make this earth a beautiful one, doesn’t He? Imagine you’re standing in a wood. All around are trees of every kind. It’s the middle of summer so the breeze is cool on your face. Imagine you’ve been walking in the heat of summer’s morning sun. Naturally you’ve worked up a bit of a

50 | Winter 2022

Images Contributed sweat. The soft cool air is a welcome relief and you stop by a large oak. You slide to the ground and lean your back against its trunk. As you sit there in its shade you close your eyes and listen to the tree.

It’s quite amazing how trees seem to talk to themselves.

Don’t you think they seem to whisper? If we could understand what they said I wonder what they would tell us. I like to think they sing to the Lord. And maybe they would tell us the stories of what they have witnessed in the hundreds of years from the day God planted them on this earth.

The Lord certainly didn’t just give trees the gift of beauty and aesthetic but also of purpose. Trees perform many important tasks. Essential ones even. It’s quite amazing.

Firstly they, along with many other plants, produce the oxygen we breathe and consume the carbon dioxide we breathe out. I’m not a scientist so I’m not entirely clear on the exact science of it but I think we’ve most all grown up learning that plants make our air. That in and of itself is incredible.

Trees also provide food for us in a variety of ways. We gather all kinds of fruits and seeds from them but not only that, they also help our soil — one of the fundamental things by which

Gentle giants, trees do so much for our world - from standing against erosion and wind to making our air breathable we survive. Again, I’m not a scientist so I can’t give you the specifics of it but the general gist goes something like this: If you plant the right kind of trees, they not only drop their leaves and fruit that wasn’t gathered, which then rot down and create a sort of compost for the ground, but they also help prevent soil erosion!

Soil erosion is caused by rain and wind in various forms. Rain hits the ground with enough momentum that it causes run-off and wind just blows soil away. Trees help with this problem and keep a farmer’s soil, or gardener’s soil, on the ground.

The root system of a tree can extend out a fair way and also reach deep into the ground. Tree roots help the soil by holding it there for starters, and also help with the drainage of the soil.

Roots also help to keep the soil from compacting and helps water soak into the soil and not flow over the ground’s surface and wash away.

Foliage also plays an important role in preventing soil erosion. Amazingly, trees actually catch a lot of rain water before it actually hits the ground. I’ve read in some places the average tree can actually intercept more than 1000 gallons of water in a year! How incredible is the Lord’s handiwork? The

water a tree catches is funnelled down the tree’s trunk and branches before finally soaking into the ground. This not only stops excessive rain washing the soil away but it also allows for the rain to actually be absorbed by the land as opposed to just being washed away.

Another way we can use trees to help spare the soil is to plant trees as windbreaks. By planting trees close enough together to effectively create a natural wall, wind can be minimised.

God certainly got creative and detailed when He made trees. My grandmother and I were out walking recently and as we followed the winding path through the park, I had a thought: Do you think the trees talk to each other? At first I could almost see it. All the trees of the park gathered around chatting and gossiping. But then I looked closer at the gentle giants. Gumtrees and birches all silent and still in the soft breeze of a winter’s afternoon. It seems more likely that the trees would be the quiet guardians of the park and the chattering birds in their branches would be the ones doing the gossiping. Don’t mind me, I think weird things.

Like the trees in the park that provided a social meeting place for the birds of the area, trees all over the world have the solemn duty of supplying homes, food and nesting for birds and all kinds of animals. You really don’t have to look far to find a tree doing just that.

So, trees give us air, food, help the ground, provide for the animals and I’ve scarcely scratched the surface of all God designed them for. We may not even know it all.

Another slightly more bizarre piece of information I picked up while researching this column was that some scientists are now of the mind that trees actually help with mental health.

Some say that spending time in nature can decrease levels of anxiety and depression! Isn’t that astounding! I know I keep saying stuff like that, but it really is.

I guess I better return you to your wood. We could keep talking about trees but we might be here forever. Trees just do so much and play such a large role in the natural world, I wonder that we don’t admire them more. God’s creation really is something to love.

Imagine you’re back in the cool wood. You’ve been there for a while now. The sun is starting to set, staining the sky a fiery shade of scarlet. Shards of light slice between the trunks and you have long since cooled off. You figure it’s time to set off home now. With a palm against its trunk you take a last look at your tree. In the evening breeze leaves flurry together and you listen to the tree as it whispers to you and you wonder if you spoke the secret language of trees what it would tell you.

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SPRING EVENTS 2022 September 2022 CARNIVAL OF FLOWERS September 1-30 Toowoomba A breathtaking month of flowers, flavours and sounds, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers takes over the Southern Queensland city of Toowoomba in the most beautiful of ways each September with a program of more than 60 unique events and experiences including award-winning parks, stunning private gardens, streets bursting with floral colour, internationally acclaimed musical acts, some of the best food and wine to be found in Queensland and a multitude of cultural and natural adventures.

1st

TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC September 1 Strathpine

Pack your teddies and picnic blankets and mark the start of spring with a Teddy Bears Picnic in Pine Rivers Park from 9am to 12pm. Get ready to sing, dance, listen to stories at a jam-packed morning of family friendly entertainment. Keep the little ones busy with live stage entertainment and kids craft activities and workshops. Mums and dads can browse the market stalls and grab a bite to eat from local food trucks.

There will be plenty of free activities, from an animal farm and pony rides to amusement rides and the teddy bear parade.

LAIDLEY SPRING FESTIVAL September 9-10 Laidley This year the Laidley Spring Festival is back bigger and better than ever! The festival is bringing back the much-loved favourites, plus some exciting new events and offerings. The program will include a range of events, activities, workshops, guest speakers, music and, of course, the street parade. The event will also feature a majestic Garden Party hosted at Laidley Golf Club, and an exciting addition from the Buy from the Bush QLD Markets with a variety of regional boutique stallholders.

QUILPIE AND DISTRICT SHOW September 9-10 Quilpie Looking for a fun-filled family weekend out? Look no further than the Quilpie and District Show. Friday night will see all the thrills and spills of the rodeo action as the toughest cowboys battle to stay on the eight seconds and take home the prize. Saturday morning the Show is in full swing with plenty to do for the whole family including stalls of all kinds, an all-day bar and canteen, a show pavilion, and great entertainment.

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BEDOURIE RACES AND RODEO September 10 Kepler Street, Bedourie Dress to impress in pink for Bedourie’s much anticipated Races and Rodeo. All in the name of breast cancer patient support, join hundreds as they flock trackside by day in their finest pink silks to back a winner crossing the pink finishing posts. By night the entertainment switches gears into rodeo mode with cowboys/cowgirls and their beasts on display, live music and a fun-flowing bar. Don’t forget to also carve time to enjoy the town sights including the restored historic Mud Hut, the dust storm sculpture on Herbert Street and the 22 person therapeutic spa with warm crystal-clear water immersing you from an artesian bore.

KITEFEST 2022 September 17-18 Redcliffe

17th - 18th

Redcliffe KiteFest features an entire weekend of non-stop fun and entertainment. Redcliffe KiteFest will transform Pelican Park, Clontarf into the ultimate family-friendly weekend with national and international kite displays, entertainment, live music, activities and workshops, market and food stalls, and so much more. Redcliffe KiteFest is renowned for delivering world-class kite displays and in 2022, will once again play host to professional kite flyers in the Kite Flying Arena.

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NATIVE BEES WORKSHOP September 23

Griffin This workshop will teach you the basics of keeping native stingless bees in hives. Stingless bees are Australia’s indigenous social bee. They are a native alternative to honey bees, but are harmless and well suited to community and school gardens. Presented by Tim Heard, an entomologist, long term stingless beekeeper and author of The Australian Native Bee Book (best seller and multi award winner). Tim has been keeping Australian native stingless bees since 1985, when he transferred his first hive from a cut-down tree into a wooden box. He now has over 500 hive’s obtained through rescuing threatened wild hives and splitting existing hives. It is recommended that you wear light coloured clothing and a net hat if you have one. This event is suitable for children and adults.

SPRING EVENTS 2022 QCWA CENTENARY BALL September 24 Lawnton

SPRING CHARITY GALA BALL October 15 Agnes Water

Celebrate with the QCWA Pine Rivers Branch and dance the night away to the music of ‘The Silver Comets’ Dance Band from 7pm to 11pm.

Complimentary drink, supper and lots of prizes. After 5pm/Evening Wear dress code. Entry by pre-purchased tickets only - tickets available by phoning 0402 227 631 or email qcwapinerivers@gmail.com

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OUTBACK FESTIVAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER September 23 & 24 Winton Queensland’s Outback town of Winton is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, with a special dinner under the stars and golden celebrations to commemorate this special date in the lead-up for the big event of the 2023 Outback Festival. In addition to the golden anniversary dinner under the stars will be entertainment, a Boulder Opal market in the main street and Bush Poets Breakfast Recovery.

October 2022 OKTOBERFEST BRISBANE October 7-9 and October 14-16 Brisbane Showgrounds For six huge Festival days across two weekends, Brisbane comes alive with an unparalleled celebration of all things German after a twoyear hiatus. More than 35,000 culture-seeking enthusiasts are expected to descend on the Brisbane Showgrounds, bringing together stein-raisers from across the country. Festival directors Kim and Boris Zoulek promise another jam-packed program featuring the brand new, home-grown Oktoberfest Brisbane Bavarian Oompah Band joining the line-up.

For the second year, the Agnes Water community have banded together to organise an impeccable evening, raising funds for local charity. The evening will feature live entertainment and door and raffle prizes, a three-course dinner at the 1770 Golf Course, and drinks package.

NOOSA TRIATHLON October 26-30 Noosa Heads Noosa Triathlon returns with a jam-packed five days of festival fun for everyone. The largest and most iconic triathlon in Australia and the biggest multisport festival in the southern hemisphere, the event attracts national and international competitors each year to Queensland’s stunning shores to tackle the world-class event. With rd th an irresistible mix of sport and entertainment coupled with sun, sea and surf in one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations, the Festival is a must-do for professional athletes, amateurs and social weekend warriors chasing the sun.

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HOW TO GROW A TEA GARDEN WORKSHOP October 29 Online Herbs are among some of the easiest and most attractive plants to th - th cultivate in the garden and herbal teas can actively th th improve our health and ease the symptoms of common conditions such as anxiety and digestive problems. In this highly practical session Casey Lister will introduce a variety of herbs you can grow to make delicious herbal teas at home regardless of your time, space or skills. The session is free for Grow It Local members, which is supported by the Moreton Bay Council. th th

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COOLANGATTA GOLD October 15-16 Coolangatta The Coolangatta Gold is one of the most challenging endurance races in surf sports. What began as the central theme for a motion picture more than 35 years ago, now commands a place on Australia’s annual calendar of prestigious sporting events. The Coolangatta Gold consists of a 21 kilometre Short Course run on Saturday and a 41.8 kilometre Long Course race and a Youth Challenge for competitors aged 10-16. The multi-disciplinary course combines swimming, running, board paddling and surf skiing.

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2022 Winter | 53

SPRING EVENTS 2022 November 2022 AIRLIE BEACH FESTIVAL OF MUSIC November 4-6 Airlie Beach The Airlie Beach Festival of Music is where live music meets the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland’s Whitsundays. Boasting jaw-dropping views from the main tent on the water’s edge at the Whitsunday th - th Sailing Club, this is no simple stage in a paddock. Fans get to watch big-name acts and also discover the STYLE MAGAZINE WOMEN IN FASHION best emerging talent from around the country sourced through the festival’s ‘Passport LONG LUNCH to Airlie’ national talent search, Australia’s largest live, November 18 GOMA South Brisbane original music initiative. With the program spread Women in Fashion is a brand new community throughout multiple venues across the entire town, network offering support, inspiration and recognition the atmosphere is electric. to leading individuals and businesses in the fashion industry. Join them for the Annual Long Lunch and JANE EYRE BY Awards at the QAGOMA Rooftop overlooking the CHARLOTTE BRONTE, beautiful cityscape of Brisbane. This is a unique th ADAPTED BY SHAKE & opportunity to meet inspirational Brisbane fashion STIR THEATRE CO professionals in a supportive environment. The day November 5 will include live music, a seated exclusive lunch as well Cairns Performing Arts as canapes and petit fours with coffee and tea, q&a Centre with fashion industry icons, and more.

Brontë’s gothic tale of a BOTANICAL SKINCARE spirited orphan in search of MAKING CLASS love, family and a sense of belonging, blazes the country November 18 Highvale Tired of using the same, in 2022. Witness one of the expensive skincare products? most iconic pieces of English Looking for something more literature retold in a faithful personalised and natural? Join yet fiercely original new Michelle See in Highvale and stage adaptation from the learn how to make beautiful, nationally-renowned shake botanical skincare products that & stir theatre co (Animal don’t break the bank. In this Farm, Dracula). Following a DIY workshop, you will learn childhood spent suffering how to make your own active at the hands of her cruel Aunt, Jane finds employment cosmeceuticals Vitamin C Serum, Botanical Active Night Cream at Thornfield Hall – the and an Active Facial Exfoliating impressive yet mysterious Scrub. You will be provided with home of Edward Rochester. all the ingredients and materials As Jane and Rochester become inexplicably drawn to th to design the ultimate beauty each other, the dark secrets locked within the walls of routine, scientifically proven Thornfield start to unravel, forcing Jane on a heartto be effective in anti-ageing, wrenching journey toward truth and freedom. This customised to your personal preferences. Enjoy a stunning new production, featuring original music, delicious high tea and a relaxing class with some likewritten by multi ARIA Award winner Sarah McLeod, minded people, and return home with your handmade will set a fire blazing in your soul. products as well as the skills and knowledge to make many more!

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Flower tower stuns at festival It took more than 100 people to achieve this incredible textile feat Word and image by Anglican Church Parish of Warwick

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he Warwick Jumpers and Jazz in July Festival is over for another year, but people are still talking about this installation: a cascade of handmade flowers covering the heritage-listed bell tower of local church St Mark’s.

Roughly 5500 people came in person to see the flower tower, which was a huge success for the creators, and many visitors returned at night to admire the craftsmanship involved and the logistical feat accomplished by sewing or zip-tying each flower, vine, leaf, or insect onto the netting - and then the accomplishment of hanging the artwork on the tower.

The project began in July 2021 with the idea sprouting from a similar project at a church in Barley, England, and the members of the St Mark’s Women’s Guild were keen to start work almost immediately.

The flowers and leaves were made from wool, felt or other material, sized from 15cm to 25cm and sewn, felted, knitted, or crocheted. Workshops took place from October last year

to create the pieces as thousands were required, and these became happy social occasions.

The husbands of the Guild ladies were on board to hang and secure the floral cascade, with a large black net purchased and the first trial sew starting in February this year.

In the end, a total of 2179 flowers, 555 leaves and 300m of vine were attached to the net, more than 100 people were involved, and contributions came from churches, craft groups and organisations as far as England’s Northampton to Innisfail in northern Queensland. Even the local fire bridge got involved when it came to carefully hanging the finished piece.

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2022 Winter | 55

Travel

Australia’s best (free) infinity pool Cedar Creek Falls is arguably one of Australia’s best hidden swimming spots. It’s hard to beat the waterfalls of North Queensland!

Words by Kirrily Schwarz Images by Tourism Queensland

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hile Airlie Beach may be best known as the gateway to the gorgeous Whitsunday National Park, it has some noteworthy surprises in store for those looking for some fresh water to rinse off the salt. One of them is Cedar Creek Falls, located 30km, or half an hour’s drive, inland.

That in itself is a gorgeous experience, because it lets you soak up the vivid green landscape with its endless cane fields.

Gang Gajang’s hit This is Australia springs to mind as we roll past the manicured gardens, picturesque cattle and forested hills of the northern Great Dividing Range.

Cedar Creek Falls is a well-known spot thanks to its photogenic cascade, which varies from a single roaring stream in the wet to two gentle silvery falls in the dry. There’s a deep emerald pool at the bottom with shallower edges that make it appealing for swimmers of all ages.

Whether you get the place to yourself or not depends on the day. On a recent public holiday weekend, there was a line of cars parked all the way up the hill. At a quick count, about 100 people were enjoying a dip — however, there’s plenty of room for everyone to spread out.

There’s even more space if you seize the day and embrace a little adventure.

In the rainforest on the right side of the waterfall is a discreet but well-formed path that winds its way up through the boulders to the top of the cascade. It only takes about 10 minutes to climb and it’s a great way to get a different perspective, because it’s higher than you might think.

The first vantage point is just above the two main streams falling into the pool.

However, if you continue a bit further, you can stand above the upper tier and immerse yourself in the bushland.

Even better, there are a couple of safe spots to enjoy your own private infinity pool.

There are a few things to note here. First, sandals or shoes (not thongs) are highly recommended, because it will protect your feet from abrasions and give you extra

grip. Second, it’s really exposed with no shade — and no-one wants to return looking like a lobster. Third, it’s definitely not safe to jump or dive from the top into the pool below.

However, if relaxing in the sun, enjoying a free natural back massage, breathing in lungfuls of natural rainforest air, and hanging out in a private freshwater oasis with your friends sounds appealing, this is 100 per cent the spot to be. You can gaze over the beautiful cedar trees that give the waterfall its name while keeping an eye out for native birds and colourful butterflies.

It’s also entirely possible to visit even if you’ve flown to the Whitsundays and don’t have a car.

Red Cat Adventures conducts tours from Airlie Beach to Cedar Creek Falls, where guides can tell you all about the region and help you get up and down from the top. There are a few options, including day trips and multi-day tours. However, it’s hard to go past its award-winning three-day package that includes waterfalls, sailing, and a ThunderCat tour to Whitehaven Beach.

There are lots of reasons to love Airlie Beach and the pristine beaches of the Whitsundays, but if you’re looking for a different way to experience this part of the world, don’t forget to look inland.

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Travel

Revisiting the gap year It’s time to stop putting off those long-held travel dreams and seize the day.

Words by Felicity Byrnes

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he time is now. What we’ve learnt from the past two years is that travel can’t be taken for granted — nothing activates us quite like it and its absence has catapulted dormant desires to the top of Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs.

Now taking a break is about creating and prioritising moments to reunite with family, saying “si” to a language course or getting the wheels spinning on that cross-country drive.

But once-in-a-lifetime travel adventures take time, and so 2023 is the Adult Gap Year (or months) when we make up for lost moments and head out for a long sip of soul juice. Here are some ways to fill your cup.

THE BIG HIKE Laura Waters didn’t choose to walk New Zealand’s 3000km Te Araroa Trail; it chose her, calling from the pages of a hiking magazine.

“I actually had no plans to do a long-distance hike, though for years I’d wanted to do a big adventure,” she reflects.

Previously, her longest hike had been the 65km Overland Track in Tasmania. On her life-changing hike, she determined nature acts like a tuning fork for the soul: “Walk in the wilds for any length of time and you start to forget the modern world, with all its dramas and pressures.”

The big kahuna of hikes is Nepal’s 1700km, 150-day Great Himalaya Trail, discovering isolated hamlets, 8000m mountains and few, if any, trekkers. The bonus, as Michelle Eckersley of World Expeditions highlights, “is that it goes to areas of Nepal that are otherwise unvisited”. “Our visit gives them a source of income that makes a huge difference to these people’s lives,” she says.

If hiking across countries is your jam, stride out on Spain’s Camino de Santiago, the rugged GR20 across Corsica, the

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Images Contributed Costa Rica Traverse between the Pacific and Caribbean coasts and the US’s 4270km Pacific Crest Trail or mountainous 3500km Appalachian Trail. Our favourite? The 150-day 900km Francigena Way from England’s Canterbury to Rome, or at least the week-long section in pasta-filled, vineyard-riddled Lazio.

DIG DEEP ON A CONSERVATION PROJECT Archaeologist and cultural heritage conservationist Karen McLeod is an excavation fiend and has taken time in her 30year career for gap months to dig and teach volunteers on excavation sites.

“There are digs happening all over the world requiring people and you don’t need qualifications,” she says.

In 2017, Karen led volunteers to examine the complex drainage system of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex, comparing results with a similar team in Peru to ascertain if both civilisation collapses were weather involved. In Paphos in Cyprus, she excavated a site, “and only a metre down we found a Roman road”. Archaeology bingo.

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DOES SHE SEE? “Many people feel, ‘Okay, I’ve travelled a lot and now want to have an experience where I’m actually doing something’.

And the draw? Unearthing something that was last seen and touched by an actual person 2000 years ago is an incredible feeling,” she says.

Northern summer digs range from weeks to months in duration. Many global excavations are driven by academics receiving minimal (if any) funding, so volunteers pay to attend, with board, food and training by an expert such as Karen included.

LEND A HAND The breadth of volunteering options is seemingly endless, but heed some advice. Amanda Kendle of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast suggests focusing on your expertise or local labour gaps.

“Wildlife conservation projects are often a safer bet — counting turtle eggs is something that anyone can do, with a huge impact. Building a school or painting a house might feel great, but you may be taking a job away from a local builder,” she says.

The overarching principle is figure out what’s really needed, and how you can contribute.

Marge Sacre is a former nurse unit manager at St Vincent’s Clinic and is now a retired volunteer who has travelled to disaster zones including Sumatra, Pakistan and the West Bank with the Red Cross.

“I chose the Red Cross because they are apolitical, helping anyone on a pure need basis and that appealed to me. Being so neutral, they get into a lot of places,” she says. Most Red Cross volunteers do several missions; some do it for years and get paid. But as Marge says of her experience, “It’s very much a team effort and all the jobs are vitally important to a successful outcome.”

If you’re hearing the call of the wild, Earthwatch connects volunteers with scientists conducting environmental research.

Current expeditions range from stemming the decline of Costa Rican sea turtles to studying feeding habits of Icelandic killer whales.

Closer to home, flipper to the Southern Great Barrier Reef from November to March to volunteer at the Mon Repos Conservation Park, near Bundaberg, supporting the largest loggerhead turtle-nesting site in the South Pacific ALL ON BOARD FOR THE BIG GAP LAP Don’t wait for the kids to leave home; take them with you.

That’s what Skye and Damian Heman have done, currently on a three-month “half lap” of Australia. At the start their mountainbred sons from Victoria’s Mount Beauty were snorkel shy, but they’ve graduated to deep ocean swimming with Ningaloo Reef whale sharks and scuba diving. Their parents are awed by “how much the kids have developed in their confidence and ability to push their boundaries”.

So what’s stopping you? Only trivial details like finances, time, logistics? Skye suggests quashing the overwhelm by

working out how much time you can commit and how far you want to travel.

They zeroed in on Western Australia, north of Perth, seizing the moment to decompress and explore with long-service leave and a career break. A clincher was “we had also talked about this idea with many people who did it themselves as kids, and said it was their most enduring childhood memory”.

Lee Atkinson, author of Ultimate Road Trips, says Australia also has a Top End yen, suggesting “fly into Darwin, hire a 4WD, drive to Broome across the Kimberley, where the gorges, rock art and waterfalls really are as amazing as all the photos you see. This is a place that really lives up to the hype.”

AND HER TOP TIP? “Just do it! Don’t put it off… You don’t have to fly overseas to be somewhere mind-alteringly different, because there is just so much variety — and uniqueness — to be found here.”

To work your way up to a gap lap, Lee says: “A lap of Tassie is a great place to start. You can see a lot in two weeks, but even if you had a month, you wouldn’t run out of things to see and do.”

An alternative not requiring a big 4WD, caravan or even a tent is the Outback Way, travelling from Cairns to Perth via Alice Springs, Kings Canyon and Uluru.

LIVE SOMEWHERE (ELSE) For many trapped during lockdowns, the desire to live somewhere else had space to bubble and boil. This was the case for Pia O’Connor, who felt an urgent need to reconnect her children with their Swedish heritage and support her elderly parents. The seven-month trip hit some initial teenager resistance.

“The kids were emotionally very conflicted for lots of reasons: school, friends, the ocean,” Pia says, and challenges included facilitating online school lessons and Australian time zone online meetings for her husband. “I had to look past the feelings of being the meanie, trusting it all would turn to an expansion of whatever is your comfort zone.”

Pia’s faith and instinct was rewarded tenfold. Highlights included the kids skating with her 82-year-old dad on frozen lakes in Stockholm, a 30,000km roadtrip across Europe and watching her children’s Nordic roots deepen.

The trip affected their children so profoundly that Lex O’Connor, after surfing in “ice waves” above the Arctic Circle, at France’s famed Hossegor and being towed into Portugal’s Nazaré, competed last month for Sweden at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in El Salvador.

But above all, Pia says, “Without a doubt now, we have shown the kids we can have the adventure of life itself together — share fun as well as challenges.”

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Travel

48 hours in Rome: The perfect two-day itinerary Rome wasn’t built in a day, but a lot of ground can be covered in two.

Words by Kerrie McCallum

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aving recently spent a whistlestop 48 hours in the Italian capital, I was amazed at how much you can still do, taste and see on a time (and budget) limit.

It was a case of eat, walk, pray — that my jeans didn’t burst from the plates of cacio e pepe (a moreish but minimalist Roman combination of pasta, Parmigiano and pepper). You can reach most of the landmarks on foot if you set out early, then relax and be satisfied at dinner that the only decision left as the sun sets is whether to order the Campari or Aperol Spritz.

DAY ONE I arrived in Rome at 8.30am on the new direct Qantas route from Perth. The flight departed Western Australia at 10.30pm, and took just over 15 hours, so the timing works well if you can manage to sleep after a late dinner (which includes a smart new Italian business-class menu designed by Neil Perry, with tiramisù for dessert). We awoke with espresso, and the pilot advised us to check the view as we flew over Jordan, Egypt and the Pyramids of Giza.

Fortunately, on the day we landed, Leonardo da VinciFiumicino Airport was a breeze to navigate. There were no entry restrictions, and due to the new partnership between Qantas and Rome’s airport, Australians can now scan passports electronically like UK and US citizens do, so we encountered no queues. We dropped our bags at the hotel, grabbed a map and headed out to explore.

Our hotel, the Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora on the famous Via Vittorio Veneto, was a 10-minute walk to the baroque Spanish Steps, among the most visited landmarks in Rome (beware the influencers).

From this central spot on the Piazza di Spagna, laneways

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Images Contributed

full of cafes and restaurants fan out into the city’s designer shopping district, The Tridente (trident). Its famed streets include Via Condotti, Via Borgognona, Via delle Carrozze and Via Frattina, known for gelato at Bar Frattina, and top lunch spots.

It’s an eight-minute walk from here to the jumbo-sized (and very busy) Trevi Fountain, or 13 minutes to the atmospheric Pantheon, one of the best-preserved buildings from ancient Rome and built around AD126-128. Lunch at the cosy but excellent Armando al Pantheon is highly recommended.

Tours are also a good way to escape the heat. And if you’re organised and book ahead, you can skip the queues. However, I enjoyed the freedom of roaming at my own pace, and was surprised at the distance I covered in one day.

Down a cobblestone lane from the Pantheon on the Campus Martius stands the Temple of Hadrian, dating back to around AD and dedicated to the great Roman Emperor Hadrian. Its remarkably intact columns front the Piazza di Pietra, a social spot to sit in the early evening, with charming enotecas serving sliced porchetta and prosecco as customers spill out onto the cobblestones.

After a light dinner, jet lag kicked in at 9pm and I hit the sack, but rooftop bars beckoned for the more energetic.

DAY TWO Breakfast on the rooftop terrace of the hotel, with tempting views over assorted domes, spires, churches, terracotta rooftops and gardens, was a lovely way to get our bearings.

The leafy expanse of the Villa Borghese, known as the “green lung” of Rome, unfurled beside our hotel to the ancient and intact original city walls.

With its many walking paths, abundance of iconic stone

pines, brilliant gallery and museum (stacked with Bernini sculptures) and villas dating back several centuries, it’s a nice spot for an early walk among the local joggers and dog walkers.

We caught an Uber (there are plenty of taxis, but my app still works in Italy) to the cluster of the Colosseum, Palatino and Roman Forum, next to the Circus Maximus, and didn’t stop walking for hours.

Everywhere you turn, there are ruins to absorb, and it’s mind-blowing to see modern life mingling with so many historic monuments. We walked all the way down Via dei Fori Imperiali, the famous central road, past the Forums of Trajan, Augustus and Nerva, the Colonna Traiana and Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, all the way to Piazza Navona, with its famous 17th-century Fiumi Fountain and obelisk spire. At the opposite end is a collection of streets with charming trattorias in which to catch your breath.

The old market of Campo de’ Fiori is also nearby, and the afternoon could include a visit across the Tiber to the formidable Castel Sant’Angelo (renamed in 590 after Pope Gregory the Great believed his vision of the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword above the structure signified the end to a great plague — which puts our pandemic in perspective) and the nearby Vatican City, its famous museum and Sistine Chapel. Pre-book to avoid queuing.

On the way back to the hotel, squeeze in a stop on Via Veneto at the Church of Saint Mary, also known as “the Bone Chapel”. Its eerie crypt is decorated with the bones of 4000 friars, including a chandelier — just don’t take photos in front of the overzealous guide if you want to walk out alive.

WHERE TO SHOP Via Condotti leading to the Spanish Steps spills over with luxury designers such as Gucci, Hermes, Ferragamo and more. Here you’ll find Bulgari’s flagship store, famous as the backdrop to the love affair of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

They filmed Cleopatra in Rome in 1965, and would visit the store through a secret entrance to escape the paparazzi.

Bulgari has converted ‘their’ room to hire for tours, proposals or other experiences (hint, hint).

Designer Collette Dinnigan, who lived in Rome, directed me to her favourite shop Chez Dede, a charming store on the stylish Via di Monserrato.

Other neighbouring gems include L’Archivo di Monserrato, with fashion, interiors and textiles, Origami Roma with handmade fabrics, and the stunning frescoes of the Santa Lucia del Gonfalone church with green doors.

NEED MORE? ADD TWO DAYS IN TUSCANY Looking for a side sojourn? You can reach Tuscany in under two hours from Rome by rail or car. My drive to the Val d’Orcia region was uneventful, and after passing through fields of sunflowers we arrived in the patchwork vineyards of Montepulciano.

It was cool and quiet compared to the capital, and after turning down a dirt road for five minutes, we reached the fairytale farm stay, Lupaia. Built in 1622 (it turns 400 this year), this estate offers 12 individually decorated villas or rooms, a relaxing infinity pool, established olive groves, a charming open country kitchen with cooking classes on offer, and a good value four-course set menu if you choose to eat in at night.

Everything is made or baked in house, and the neighbours include cheesemakers, vermouth distillers, vineyards and grain mills. It’s a food-lovers dream with informed staff, and a local chef who lives in the nearby village.

Lupaia has recently joined the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, and is a 15-minute drive from the mediaeval town of Montepulciano, and a great base to explore Siena, Firenze and more.

If you want an antidote to the bustling city, this place offers high romance, and elegant, understated luxury. It’s not for lovers of minimalism and sharp edges, but perfect for travellers who want to indulge in an authentic way.

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Books

SPRiNG READiNG Find a warm sunny spot in the garden and enjoy a great book Words by Debbie Phillips, Alyssa Welke and Jessica Kramer Images Contributed

The Mother

BY JANE CARO

Miriam Duffy thought she had it all: a fantastic career, loving husband, beautiful family. And it seems life is moving forward at a rapid pace until one afternoon, when it all comes crashing down around her feet.

Coping with the loss of her husband, she now has to confront a rebellious daughter Ally, who announces that she is marrying her true love. While Miriam is happy for her, hoping that it may settle her wild ways, there is something behind the marriage that has her concerned.

The reluctance of Ally to have her visit their home rings alarm bells; the birth of her grandchild does not change her distance between them.

Gathering Storms

BY KERRY MCGINNIS

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Gulf country’s monsoon season, this is a dramatic story of betrayal and forgiveness from bestselling author and Australia’s authentic voice of the land.

Penny Carter’s quiet life in Southbend, running a nursery with her ex father-in-law, is turned upside down when Lisa, the young daughter of her late husband, is unexpectedly deposited on her doorstep. The unwelcome houseguest stirs up more than just memories of Penny’s husband’s betrayal, when a cyclone leads to the discovery of a skeleton buried next to the town cemetery.

As the mystery around the unsettling discovery grows, Penny,

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Mothers have a sixth sense when it comes to problems watching from the sidelines. Miriam soon realises that Nick has a control over Ally that is not healthy nor safe.

Then out of the blue Ally and her children turn up on Miriam’s doorstep, revealing a frightening situation that no mother can bear to witness.

But it does not stop: he is watching, waiting to catch his family out, and the police can do nothing. Enough is enough, the truth is revealed with a mother who will do anything to save them, regardless of the consequences.

Bravo to author Jane Caro for your brilliant novel about coercive control and the domestic abuse that is rife in our communities.

The Mother is published by Allen & Unwin. Genre: Thriller. RRP $32.99.

supported by her enigmatic neighbour Flint, begins to question everything she thought she knew about her own childhood and her mother’s death.

Family secrets long thought buried come bubbling to the surface, as other shocking revelations see Penny and Lisa in an ultimate race for survival.

As a long-time fan of Australian dramas, Gathering Storms was a perfect addition to my collection.

Kerry McGinnis creates a complex and thrilling story that is sure to capture your attention.

The characters are relatable and enticing, with complex motivations.

Gathering Storms is published by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Australia. Genre: Fiction. RRP $32.99

A Little Spark

BY BARRY JONSBERG

Who would have thought a story aimed at primary schoolers would cause an adult to come to tears… that being said, with Barry Jonsberg’s excellent previous works like My Life as an Alphabet (adapted into Aussie film H is for Happiness) and Catch Me if I Fall, are we really surprised? It would seem Jonsberg has a talent for writing children’s fiction that can also be thought-provoking and enjoyed by adults.

Cate spends a weekend every fortnight with her father, after he and her mother divorced when she was six years old.

She doesn’t tell her mother or stepfather Sam about what they get up to on these

With Love from Wish & Co

BY MINNIE DARKE

It’s not every day you come across a novel that is set up around a gift store, and it’s this that sets With Love from Wish & Co aside from your typical heartwarming story about love.

Marnie is the owner of the titular store, which offers a bespoke gift-buying service to her wealthy clients, such as Brian Charlesworth, her best customer.

It sounds like a fabulous idea… until one little mix-up causes a domino effect rippling through Marnie’s and Brian’s lives.

Marnie is wrapping an anniversary gift for Brian’s wife and a birthday present for his mistress, but she’s distracted in

weekends, but not because it might cause tension between her parents; rather, because Cate and her father create makebelieve worlds and scenarios, which light Cate’s creative spark as she writes stories.

But then something goes wrong on one of Cate and her dad’s adventures, Sam announces he’s been offered a job in London and so they’re moving to England, and before Cate knows it, she’s having to choose between parents.

It’s a timely and poignant story that is as relevant to the target audience of kids as it is to the adults who have experienced divorce first- or secondhand, and is a truly heartwarming tale.

A Little Spark is published by Allen & Unwin Children. Genre: Middle Grade. RRP $16.99

her work by the prospect of bidding for a historic shop front once owned by her grandfather — which has been her dream location for Wish & Co for years.

Unfortunately, this small yet uncharacteristic mistake means that Brian is soon fighting to save his marriage and Marnie is struggling to keep her dreams alive — and then another complication is added into the mix when she falls in love with Brian’s son!

With Love from Wish & Co is the perfect charming and delightful read to keep you company on a balmy spring afternoon.

With Love from Wish & Co is published by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Australia. Genre: Fiction.

RRP $32.99

The Whispering

BY VERONICA LANDO

Deliciously tense without being put-the-book-in-the-freezer scary, The Whispering is an astounding debut novel. Set in Far North Queensland on the fringes of the Daintree, Lando’s prose is so descriptive that the reader is transported to the rainforest - I’d almost say you can smell it! As someone who loves rainforests and greenery, this captured me immediately; and the book did not let go until the final page was turned.

An ex-Granite Creek resident, Callum never intended on returning to his hometown after the horrific accident that took his leg - and most memories

of the incident - about thirty years ago.

But when a local goes missing in the rainforest in a case eerily similar to other disappearances over the decades, Callum finds himself drawn back into the town and its secrets.

This is one of those stories that is challenging to properly describe without giving too much away. The plot twists and turns and gets into your head - much like the unsettling whispers the rainforest makes - and while several of the reveals are standard thriller fiction twists, there are still enough original turns to take the reader by surprise.

The Whispering is published by HarperCollins. Genre: Fiction/Crime thriller. RRP $32.99

2022 Spring | 63

Books

Demon’s Land

BY SARAH FERGUSON

A Remarkable Woman

BY JULES VAN MIL

Jules Van Mil is an author with a truly interesting background, and it shines through in her novel that follows a 26-year-old as she endeavours to follow both her head and her heart.

Avril Montdidier sails to Australia from Paris, where she worked at Dior, with only a suitcase and the dream of starting up her own fashion business. After personal circumstances force her to leave 1950s Melbourne, Avril finds herself on a cattle station in southern Queensland where she works as a governess.

There the independent and resourceful woman meets Tim, the eldest son of her employer and the heir to Monaghan Station, and falls in love. However, this leads to complications for Avril, as she both yearns to remain independent and Tim is engaged to someone else.

A classic love story with familiar yet historic settings, A Remarkable Woman is truly that — remarkable.

A Remarkable Woman is published by Macmillan.

Genre: Fiction. RRP $34.99

A poignant coming-of-age story by the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, Demon’s Land is the first instalment in the Southport series. It may be only little over 120 pages in length for the ebook version, but the novel packs a punch all the same, dealing with topics like self-harm, eating disorders, neglect, alcoholism, and more.

Despite the serious and at times confronting issues, the overall story is beautiful and thought-provoking. Some of the dialogue from the main three characters about finding ‘your truth’ can be clunky at times, but all the characters are likeable and fleshed out, which makes this easily forgivable. It will be interesting to see where the series leads next.

Demon’s Land is published by Serenity Press. Genre: Teens/Young Adult. RRP $12.95

Til Death, or a Little Light Maiming, Do Us Part

BY KATHY LETTE Gwen Riley is all loved up and already missing her handsome sporty husband Jason. He makes her life complete. How could she be so lucky in love?

A radio broadcast interrupts her daydream where there is news of a shark attack right at the beach where Jason goes scuba diving. Through tears, she drives to the scene only to have her worst fears confirmed: it is Jason’s flippers with a large bite taken out. She collapses into the arms of his buddies. Wailing like a banshee there is another almighty scream as a Harley Davidson roars up to the scene — Tish is also finding out her husband has died.

Tish and Gwen are shocked to find out that, yes, Jason has been lying to both women. He is not only a bigamist but also a con man who has cheated them out of their life savings. It seems it has all been invested in an overseas company in Egypt owned by a woman known as Skye.

The plans are set: they are going to Egypt to confront Skye and get their money back from the mongrel who took not only their love but also made them out to be fools.

Skye is everything they are not — while Gwen is meek and mild, Tish is bold and wild with a kick-butt attitude that Gwen is learning to embrace. Skye is

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blonde, beautiful with a healthy crystal lifestyle communicating with the Universe, however there is a flaw: Skye is wife number three who has also been fleeced of her money.

Just like the Three Musketeers, it is all for one and one for all as they hunt down their errant husband, learning about each other on the way and becoming friends with a common target.

Kathy Lette has once again written a laugh-out-loud comedy with the odd bit of swagger thrown in for good measure.

Just the novel for a relaxing afternoon, you will have a smile on your face the entire time — very funny indeed.

Til Death, or a Little Light Maiming, Do Us Part is published by Vintage Australia, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Genre: Fiction. RRP $32.99.

From Paris to Australia Enjoy an extract from the new novel A Remarkable Woman, then enter our competition to win one of three copies!

O

nce Avril had been shown the schoolhouse, a generoussized wooden hut with a low-slung veranda, Mrs Carmichael returned to the main house, leaving Avril to look around the homestead by herself. The large vegetable garden behind the kitchen teemed with winter crops that spread like a jewelled carpet in the late afternoon sun. Trellises groaned under the weight of the squash, surrounded by rows of leeks, cabbages, spinach and other greens. Hens pecked in the chicken pen that bordered the gardener’s shed. A short distance from the big house was a large bungalow with a high-pitched roof. Through the huge windows Avril could see the workings of an artist’s studio, a surprising yet delightful discovery.

Monaghan Station was a self-contained community, with myriad outbuildings, each one located according to practical or social considerations. Bob McIntyre was the station manager and the location of the house he lived in was an indication of the important position he held. Situated inside a fenced-off area with a well-maintained garden,

the front veranda had a commanding view of a tree-lined section of the Condamine River that snaked its way south.

Some distance away were the houses occupied by married couples and beyond that, further along the river, were the single men’s quarters. Jordy had also pointed out the direction of the shearing shed on the drive in and explained that it was two miles from the homestead, strategically placed to keep away the smell of sheep and the army of flies that accompanied them.

Beyond the mature trees and lawn that surrounded the homestead were numerous buildings and facilities, which were collectively referred to as ‘The Yard’. Sheds for equipment and machinery fanned out across the yard, along with a workshop, the tack room and stables – the heartbeat of the station – and a little further out, the stockyards. Avril watched from beside a wood pile as a couple of stockmen rode in, flanked by their panting dogs, unsaddled their horses and let them go in a small paddock behind the stables. Two little girls peeked out from behind a tree, pointed at Avril, then ran off giggling.

2022 Spring | 65

Books Avril was heading back to the house when Jordy drove up alongside her.

‘Hop in,’ he called out. ‘Got something to show you.’

He pulled up next to an enormous open-sided tin shed on the far side of the yard, just as the light was beginning to fade.

‘What are we looking at?’ asked Avril, as the only thing before them was a treeless flat paddock.

‘You’ll see. Shouldn’t be long now,’ he said. He’d no sooner checked his watch when a tiny dark speck appeared on the horizon. The blip grew closer and closer until a propeller aircraft came clearly into view.

‘Who’s flying the plane?’ said Avril.

‘Who do you think?’ Jordy smiled.

The dirt flew up in a cloud as the plane landed on the airstrip then slowly taxied in, coming to a stop inside the hangar.

‘That must feel incredible,’ said Avril, ‘sailing through the sky like that. Where has it flown from?’

‘Rockhampton. North. On the coast,’ said Jordy. ‘Come and say hello to Dad and meet my mother.’

Inside the hangar, Jordy kissed his mother and relieved her of a briefcase.

‘Avril, this is my mother, Anna,’ he said, leaving the two women to talk while he placed a wheel block behind the front tyre of the plane. Anna Meredith pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her strawberry-blonde hair and greeted Avril with a welcoming smile. She wore tailored navy pants and a fine knit sweater, as if she’d just stepped out of a catalogue for the finest in country women’s fashion.

‘We’re delighted you’re here,’ said Anna in a smooth and dignified voice. ‘We were caught short when the previous governess left so suddenly.’

‘Avril!’ Henry called as he climbed down from the plane, clutching a bulging folder, his coat draped over his arm.

‘Welcome to Monaghan. I trust Mrs Carmichael has shown you where everything is and has made you welcome?’

Want to read more?

Ruth magazine has three copies of A Remarkable Woman to give away, thanks to the publishers Macmillan Australia! Simply email rutheditorial @news.com.au with the subject heading ‘A Remarkable Woman giveaway’ and your name by Sunday, October 16, for your chance to win.

Winners will be selected randomly on Monday, October 19, and notified if chosen via return email requesting postal address.

For terms and conditions, email rutheditorial@news.com.au

66 | Spring 2022

Avril replied that Mrs Carmichael had been most welcoming and explained that she’d been exploring the area around the house, while Jordy hoisted his parents’ luggage onto the back of another ute.

‘Has Reece arrived?’ Henry asked Jordy.

‘Got here on Monday. He left yesterday with Tim, Bob and Col to bring in those heifers from Jadamare. Said they’d be back by Friday next week.’

‘Is Jadamare another property?’ asked Avril.

‘No,’ said Henry. ‘We name our larger paddocks here.

Jadamare’s a couple of days’ ride away. My other two sons and the station manager are moving some cattle, bringing them closer to home.’

‘We do the same thing in France with our cattle, but of course it doesn’t take a week to get there and back,’ Avril said, and Henry was pleased to find her just as amicable as when they’d met on the train.

‘Would you like a lift back to the house?’ said Anna. ‘You’re welcome to squash in with us.’

‘Thank you, but Jordy said he’d show me the shearing shed, before it gets too dark.’

‘Which reminds me, Dad,’ said Jordy. ‘I ran into Charlie Cassidy in Toowoomba this morning. Said to give you his best and that Stan would be bringing over a couple of mares.

What’s that about?’

Henry rested his elbow on the driver’s door as he started the engine. ‘I thought one of them might be suitable for you, Avril.

Both mares have been nicely schooled.’ He smiled. ‘One’s a bit more goey than the other, apparently. You can take your pick.

On Monaghan Station, everyone needs a reliable horse.’

This is an edited extract from A Remarkable Woman by Jules Van Mil, Macmillan Australia, RRP $34.99.

About the author

Jules Van Mil has led a truly creative life as a writer, teacher, fashion designer, artist and now author of A Remarkable Woman.

Born in Brisbane, Jules spent her childhood experiencing both city and rural life. With her great-grandfather and grandmother, a Queensland saddle maker and master tailoress respectively, and her father’s family hailing from Kingaroy, Jules believes her love of horses, wide open spaces and fashion was destined to be part of her DNA. Jules modelled as a teenager and then went on to study fashion design before working as a design assistant for a prominent womenswear label in the 1980s. She established, ran and eventually sold her own bridal couture business. Along the way, Jules completed a teaching degree, after which she taught fashion at a tertiary level before working as primary school teacher. Once her business was sold, Jules explored her love of fine arts by creating a studio on a farm she’d bought with her husband in the Southern Highlands. A regional lifestyle afforded Jules the time to ride her Appaloosa mare, grow olives and develop her painting talents which culminated in her first solo exhibition, titled Jodhpurs and Pearls, in Bowral in 2009.

While living at the farm, Jules also pursued her long-held love of writing and began travelling to Sydney to attend a series of writing courses with the Australian Writers’ Centre and Writing NSW. Her first work of fiction, a children’s novel called Gemma Riley and The Fashion Fiasco, was published by Pan Macmillan Australia in 2020.

Today, Jules lives in Sydney’s North Shore and continues to teach on a casual basis and runs fashion workshops. She is currently working on a new novel, a follow up to A Remarkable Woman. Follow Jules’ updates on her website julesvanmil.com/

2022 Spring | 67

Business

After Covid forced a life rethink, Olympic swimmer Giaan Rooney and husband Sam Levett packed up their city life and moved their family to a farm in northern NSW.

The hardest year

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G

Words by Lisa Mayoh Images by News Corp Australia

iaan Rooney is happier on the farm than she ever was in the pool.

It’s been 16 years since the Olympic Gold medallist retired from the sport she once loved — but she’s never looked back, and her life today is worlds apart from the strict regimen of monotony professional swimming turned her days into.

A year ago, she and husband Sam Levett, 38, along with their children Zander, 8, and Alexa, 5, and their rescue dachshund cross kelpie, Roy, moved from the Gold Coast to their macadamia farm in northern NSW about 30 minutes’ drive from Lismore, where no two days are the same.

And after the hardest 12 months of their lives due to Covid, devastating floods and dropping nut prices — the truth is, they would do it all over again. Because even in the worst of times, it’s home. Exactly as it should be.

“In terms of what we have gained, it’s been amazing — we just absolutely love it,” the swimming commentator and media personality says from her piece of paradise outside of Clunes, slowly drying out after their first dry spell since January.

“Personally I would like to have more time to help on the farm and less time away — but that shows you how much we love it.

“Also because I’m not a naturally glamorous person, I have to work at that side of it.

“I’m actually far more comfortable with dirt under my fingernails and a pair of old boots on — all of a sudden, it’s getting harder and harder to get to the glamorous Giaan.”

While the romantic notion of a tree or sea change has swept up city dwellers like Rooney, and those enamoured by the prospect of a slower life prompted by the pandemic — that new life has been anything but easy.

Wrapped up in border closures, lockdowns and homeschooling along with the rest of the country, the farm jobs never stopped — and then came the rain.

“We have had nearly 3000mm of rain since January — the normal yearly rainfall in our area is 1200mm — we had 1015mm in two days when the floods hit our closest town, Lismore, and it only really stopped eight days ago,” she said recently.

“The mud is next level, our farm workload has doubled if not tripled, our machinery needs cleaning every day, the harvesters get bogged and need pulling out every few rows and our de-husking equipment blocks constantly due to wet nuts.

“Keeping the grass mown is near impossible and all of our animals are on agistment on drier farms. The macadamia nut price is depressingly low.

“Many nut farmers in our area are putting a line through the season as they simply can’t get on to their farms to harvest their nuts — Sam just refuses to accept this reality, so ploughs on.

“So many friends and families in the area have lost their businesses, so many are suffering from anxiety due to the never ending rain and the number of people who will require extensive trauma counselling due to the flood events will be enormous.

“Sam and I are both very lucky that we are very positive people. We’re optimists — realists, but optimists — and I think that’s a really good mix in this environment.

“I think it speaks volumes to the fact that the year that we’ve been here, everyone will say across the industry, across the area, that this has been the hardest year these areas have ever had in recent times.

“So for us to have picked up our family life and moved here during that, and had the hardest year that this area has ever had — and that we still do not regret it for a second — shows not only how much we love this little community, but we know it can’t always be like this.

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Business “And if we can survive this, imagine how good the good times are going to be.”

The 39 year old’s big city childhood was far removed from Levett’s rural background — something they both wanted for their children.

So their 22ha macadamia farm — originally bought in December 2020 as a weekend holiday home — became their future. So much in fact, they bought next door — 56ha all together — and made the big move.

“I had no farming background whatsoever,” Rooney laughs.

“I was born in Brisbane, lived most of my life on the Gold Coast and then spent 13 years in Melbourne where I met Sam, who is a fifth generation cattle farmer and when we met he was a mustering helicopter pilot and had taken a job out of Katherine in the Northern Territory.

“I love learning about his world, and the more I get into it, the more I love it.

“We were looking for a weekend holiday house, but it had to be able to pay for itself.

“Sam’s got an online advertising agency for livestock, so we were looking for a cattle property within two hours of the Gold Coast so we could do weekends there — but we couldn’t afford the amount of land needed for a cattle property in the areas that we wanted to be in.

“And then we stumbled across this macadamia farm.

“And Sam, being Sam — nothing fazes him — he’s got such a strong sense of self.

“He’s not a risk taker, but he’s like … ‘well, what’s the worst that can happen? We don’t like it? It doesn’t work? How hard can maccas be, you know?’

“We spent the whole school holidays down here after we bought it in December 2020 and we fell in love with the area — we found our little community, with everything.

“So when the neighbouring property came up for sale — it was twice the size of ours with a proper setup, and we don’t even share a fence — we were like, do we do this?

“The kids loved it, we loved it — my little girl had a pony, my son had a four wheeler, and they were out and there was … space.

“And I fell in love with the space, the light, and all of that.

“So we made the full-time move on June 8 last year — and our lives have changed completely. I mean, I had an incredible childhood growing up in Queensland — you were always outside, and our curfew on the Gold Coast was when the streetlights came on to come inside for dinner.

“And Sam’s childhood on a working cattle farm was incredible.

“Now we feel like we’ve been able to give our kids the best of both worlds. We’re rural, but we’re not driving an hour and a half to our closest town, or anything like that.

“We’re not isolated, but we can’t see a neighbour. It’s the best of both worlds.”

A 15-minute, traffic-free drive away, there are 80 kids in the whole school, with nowhere for Zander and Lexi to fall through the academic cracks. Everyone knows everyone, and that’s the way Rooney likes it.

Zander wants to drive every piece of machinery — he’s devastated when he’s not allowed to operate the tractor by himself, Rooney laughs. And Lexi, who just turned five, loves animals and being on the harvester with her dad — but she’s the girly-girl farmer in boots and a pretty dress.

“It’s truly ticked every box for the best childhood we could think to give our children,” Rooney says.

“For me, my job is very much working for the most part in cities, and talking and listening to people’s stories and having

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that very public life.

“And then I get to come home. And it’s so peaceful. I sit on the back deck and watch the sunset, and it’s restorative. For some people that’s jumping in the ocean — which I still love — but for me, seeing the greenery and the light that is here, and the peaceful nature of not seeing a neighbour … I feel like it’s my little sanctuary.

“And because I travel for work, time together as a family is not quantity of time, it’s quality.

“So when we’re together, we’re together.

“And when we’re doing jobs together, the kids are very much a part of those jobs.

“I love that they’re learning so many skills that aren’t necessarily taught in the classroom, but life skills they’re picking up organically along the way.

“Zander has almost taken on like a foreman role where he’s quite happy to put his helmet on, head off on his bike and go find Dad to be part of it when he comes home from school, which I love.

“And Lexi’s a very girly girl which is so interesting for me because I was a complete tomboy growing up … but here she is wanting to wear a dress and then put her farm boots on.

“They’ve both thrived in this environment, so we haven’t had a moment of regret.”

Despite battling mother nature as well as a pandemic, this life is forever — or at least until the kids grow up and decide what kind of life they want, and whether that would change their family direction.

“I think we’d all struggle now to move back to suburbia, and a big city,” Rooney says.

“I even think we’d probably struggle to move out of the area, actually.

“We will stay and work it as long as it works for us.

“I love being a primary producer, and I love that connection to the farming community of Australia.

“I’ve got such respect for farmers, Australia wide. They have the hardest job in the world, completely at the mercy of mother nature, who can be so cruel.

“Look at us, we’re in flood, and then there’s still half of the country that’s in drought. I mean, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.

“But I love being part of that community, and feeling like we’re contributing to it.”

Rooney’s career in the pool started when she was 11, training with the likes of Grant Hackett and Daniel Kowalski.

Making her international swimming debut for Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the 15 year old won a gold medal in the 100m backstroke and was part of Australia’s gold-medal winning 4×100m medley relay team.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics she won two silver medals as part of relays and, four years later, took home a gold medal in world record time in the women’s 4×100m medley relay.

Captaining the swimming team in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she won silver medals in the 100m backstroke and 50m backstroke. It was after that meet, it all changed. Swimming, for her, was over.

She was just 23, and at the top of her game. And while she loved racing — and winning — she hated training. So why waste time doing something you hate?

“I actually haven’t swum a lap since then either,” she says.

“I am so grateful for my career in swimming but, also, the day I retired I had no regrets.

“I was the best athlete that I had the capabilities of being.

“It’s not like I could have worked harder.

“It’s not like I could have raced better — there was nothing I could have done to have been any better than the athlete that I was.

“So I’m really content with my swimming career, and I walked away at the top of my game when I was ready — at my choosing.

“And that has allowed me to transition with no regrets into the next phase of my life. I’m happy just to leave it where it is and feel no need to revisit it. There’s nothing more that I can get out of swimming laps that I haven’t already got, so it’s a really healthy place to be. Because when you retire at 23, it’s the monotony of the training cycle that I knew I didn’t want to replicate in my life after swimming.

“And now, I’ve completely got no routine in my life.

“There are no two days that are the same … and that’s what I needed after the groundhog day experience of a swimming career.

“So I feel fortunate that I’ve had both sides.

“At the end of the day, you don’t get anything without hard work.

“But if you actually enjoy the work, then that’s part of the journey to happiness.

“And I don’t think happiness is a destination — it has got to be achieved in the sometimes mundane of everyday.

“But if you love what you do, then it’s not a job at all.”

MIRRA CHANA RESORT A HIDDEN GEM RIGHT ON MOOLOOLABA BEACH NO ROADS TO CROSS An Upmarket Complex of fifteen superbly appointed apartments and penthouses where you’ll enjoy peace, privacy and complete comfort.

Phone: 07 5478 3270 E: info@mirrachana.com 2022 Spring

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Business

Getting along Enjoy this humorous look at the recurring characters that appear in every workplace office Words by Frances Whiting

I have worked in a newspaper office of one kind or another for 25 years — give or take the odd ones spent having children or writing books.

This means I have witnessed just about every sort of office layout the human resource department has deemed optimal for productivity.

I have witnessed the individual cubicle, the “silo” years that meant we were grouped together according to our areas of expertise.

The silos were eventually disbanded for becoming too cliquey, and there was also a concern some people were running poker rings from them.

I’ve also experienced the much-hated “hot-desking” trend, which is the one where nobody has an actual, designated desk, but instead arrives at work and has to frantically try to find one that’s not taken, in a sort of sadistic office version of musical chairs.

And, just as I’ve witnessed every sort of workplace seating arrangement, I am very confident I have also been privy to every sort of office co-worker.

Here follows some of the recurring cast of characters I believe are to be found in every office.

THE KEEPER OF THE PHOTOCOPIER This is the only person in the building who knows exactly what to do in every error situation with this piece of office equipment. “Aah, an E4, that’ll be an inkjet cartridge malfunction.” This person will also let you know in no uncertain terms that paper jam is all your fault.

THE GOSSIP This person knows every single bit of juicy information that is going on in every single department. Often found in the kitchen, they begin every conversation by looking around, lowering their voice and saying, “Don’t tell anybody, but …”

This person also knows you are being made redundant before you do.

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Images Contributed

THE PARTY BOY/GIRL This person begins every email with, “Hey guys …” and is constantly trying to get Taco Tuesdays going. Lobbying for a ping pong table in the break room, this person will soon be leaving to work at Google.

THE CONFESSOR This person is always asking to meet you in the bathroom so they can whisper to you: “You know how I told Tony I’d worked all weekend on that research he asked for? I haven’t even started it, I went to the Gold Coast on a girls’ weekend and had sex with a barista.”

THE CAKE BAKER This person hates any sort of office conflict or confrontation whatsoever, and firmly believes every single problem in the world can be solved by a tray of homemade, chocolate brownies in a Tupperware container.

THE OFFICE GROUCH This person spends their entire day telling anyone who will listen how overworked, underpaid, better at everything than everyone else they (the Grouch) are, how this place was much better in their day, and how someone stole their sandwich from the fridge in 1992.

THE CHEERLEADER This person is relentlessly upbeat, no matter what. Smiles at everyone. Knows everybody’s children’s names. Sometimes brings flowers in to “brighten the place up”. The Office Grouch really, really hates this person.

THE LURKER This person watches you work from over your shoulder, standing behind your computer and asks what you are working on, even though they are looking right at it. This person is 100 per cent after your job.

History

Soak up the history of tea towels at State Library State Library of Queensland’s exhibition Queensland to a T looks beyond tea towels as mundane household items and recasts them as expressions of Queensland cultural life and identity.

Words by Jacinta Sutton

Images by State Library of Queensland

T

he workhorse of the kitchen, the humble tea towel is always there to wipe the suds, dry our hands and keep the flies off the scones.

Individually, they can bring back cosy childhood memories of mothers, aunties and grandmothers standing over a steaming saucepan, a loyal tea towel tucked into apron strings.

They can also bring back not-so-cosy recollections of copping a flick around the back of the legs as a reprimand for childhood misdemeanours.

Within the Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textile Collection of more than 1500 Queenslandthemed tea towels, our lens is wider, and patterns emerge that illustrate aspects of our collective memory and the aesthetics we have come to recognise as ‘Queenslandia’. The collection and its vivid stories span the 1950s to the 2000s. During this time Queensland experienced rapid changes in population growth, tourism, politics, industry and consumerism.

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History

This large-scale collection is the only one of its kind held by an Australian cultural institution. When viewed in multiplicity, the tea towels reveal recurring narratives of our familiar histories, heritage and identities, while concealing others. Capturing a distinctly Queensland spirit, the collection depicts various iconic places, events, landmarks, experiences, anniversaries and associations.

Tea Towel 1 Tea Towel 2 TEA TOWEL 1: Produced by Cairns-based company Reef Productions, this gradient hand-printed tea towel shows the cycle of harvesting sugar, including a diagram of the process from cane tippler to storage bin. Local merchants would buy textile stock and have their location added to the print, in this case ‘Greetings from Mission Beach’.

Sugar Industry, item no. 92, Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection, State Library of Queensland.

TEA TOWEL 2: This design by Eve Roy for Summit Souvenirs promotes ‘The Sunshine and North Coast of Queensland’ with a carefree woman in a bikini holding a beachball, overlaid on a map of the coastline from Caloundra to Yeppoon. Roy strategically used local agricultural yields to map the regions, from strawberries near the Sunshine Coast to bananas and sugarcane in the north. Previously called the Near North Coast, the Sunshine Coast was officially named in November 1966.

The Sunshine and North Coast of Queensland, item no. 1443, Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection, State Library of Queensland.

TEA TOWEL 3: The brightly coloured pictorial maps of Queensland designed by souvenir artists define and mediate our sense and memory of place. This circa 1950s tea towel by Checkerboy Productions used stylised features of each area to characterise the geographical diversity and identity of Queensland, bordered with pseudo-Indigenous motifs.

The Sunshine State, item no. 3, Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection, State Library of Queensland.

TEA TOWEL 4: Designed by Leonard R. Cook for Summit Souvenirs, this linen tea towel both promotes and commemorates the 1974

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Tea Towel 3

Rockhampton Agricultural Show and the regional town’s status as the beef capital of Australia. What Rocky kid wouldn’t love the imagery of cheerful cartoon animals and carnival rides as they were helping dry the dishes after tea?

74th Rockhampton Show, item no. 337, Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection, State Library of Queensland.

TEA TOWEL 5: Barcaldine local Mick Morrison designed this linen tea towel printed by Action Graphics, featuring the Ballad of 1891 and the Tree of Knowledge as a tribute to one of the more significant events in Australia’s political history. The shearers’ strike of 1891 played an important role in the events which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party.

Barcaldine, item no. 893, Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.

TEA TOWEL 6: Produced as fundraising merchandise, this Royal Flying Doctor Service linen tea towel is printed in blue and black with a central logo of the RFDS surrounded by descriptive illustrations of their services. These are juxtaposed, somewhat incongruously, with stylised Indigenous motifs of kangaroos, goannas and fish. The narrative imagery serves as a reminder of the crucial services the RFDS has provided since their first pilot took off from Cloncurry in 1928.

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, item no. 46.

Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection, State Library of Queensland.

Tea Towel 4

Tea Towel 5

Tea Towel 6

Q

ueensland’s two main tourist destinations and enduring sources of inspiration, with the Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef, are strongly represented in the collection.

Well represented by tourism and by pastoral, agricultural and mining themes are the Darling Downs region, Far North Queensland and the Sunshine Coast. Western and Central Queensland are characterised to a lesser extent by major centres and with more bespoke designs. The Torres Strait Islands are moderately represented by both place and traditional art.

Souvenir tea towels can be both a kitchen constant and storytellers of time and place. Unmatched in practicality, lightweight, easy to pack, affordable to buy and send, they are the perfect souvenir to bring your travel memories home with you. We’ve grown into adults with our favourite tea towels, those we always reach for first, and those we keep folded in the drawer as accidental collectors.

Retired Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art curator and researcher Glenn R. Cooke amassed this unique collection over two decades, scouring the market for textiles that featured the sunshine state. Donated to State Library in two batches, in 2012 and 2016, the collection comprises 1540 items — the majority of which are tea towels with tablecloths, scarves, handkerchiefs, aprons and wall hangings included.

Glenn R. Cooke with a Reef Productions tea towel featuring Mount Isa iconography.

Image by Judy Yeh, 2002.

Glenn R. Cooke is a Queensland art and social historian, and former Research Curator, Queensland Heritage, at the Queensland Art Gallery where he retired after 32 years, being appointed the first Curator of Decorative Arts in 1981. Based in Brisbane, he is a frequent contributor to Australian Garden History and is producing the Olley Project, an illustrated database of Olley’s oeuvre sponsored by the Margaret Olley Art Trust.

Special thanks to the QCWA Archives for their assistance in researching the QCWA tea towels in this collection.

Queensland to a T exhibition: our stories told through tea towels

August 6, 2022 to January 22, 2023 Open daily 10am–5pm | Free entry slq Gallery, level 2 | State Library of Queensland, Cultural Centre, South Bank slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on | #slqteatowels

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QCWA STATE PRESIDENT’S BLOG

QCWA 100 hundred years on.

In 1922 Ruth Fairfax, our founding member, wrote the following in her address to all women in Queensland.

I feel in writing this address, which I want to be very helpful, I am writing to women of Queensland in the past, present and future and I want it to be to every woman, for the Association stands to all points throughout Queensland.

It is indeed an Association for us all to be proud of, bringing happiness to many lives.

One hundred years on the words are just as relevant today as they were one hundred years ago.

As an association our purpose is to help women deal with social isolation. In the beginning - 1922 and those early years - it was for those in rural and remote areas and still remains that way. Now in 2022, it is evident that those who reside in city areas feel socially isolated too - though it is hard to understand

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with hundreds of people out and about daily, that women for different reasons should feel socially isolated. QCWA branches should be a welcoming hub in every community across the state, a place women can go be made welcome and be made to feel safe and accepted.

What an exciting time of year we are undergoing; our Centenary is well underway with celebrations across the state, and congratulations must go to the organising Centenary Team Christine and Marina who have enthused members around the state to be involved in a sconversation involving branches and local businesses, showing that our association can bring together, through friendship, those in rural, remote and urban areas.

Sheila Campbell State President

QCWA News On Thursday, August 11, QCWA celebrated 100 years, and our state’s capital got in on the celebration.

Words by Emmy-Clare Rule As women of the CWA have lit up the lives of generations of Queenslanders, Brisbane City lit up significant public spaces in the iconic blue and white in August.

For 100 years the women of the QCWA have supported and connected women throughout every phase of life, in good times and bad. They have provided opportunities for women around education, health and community. Having earned trust and respect over decades of action, QCWA continues to advocate for change and improvement in all areas that affect the health, safety and well-being of Queensland families in the city, regions and in the bush.

To shine the light on a century of achievements, the Story, Victoria and Breakfast Creek Bridges turned blue and white.

The 15 giant marbles in Reddacliff Place also glowed cobalt blue as did the Tropical Dome in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.

The ornate wall of the Wickham Terrace Car park was also illuminated in the QCWA colours.

Banners were also flown from Monday, August 8, to Sunday, August 21, at Rokeby Terrace Taringa, Mains Road (outbound) Sunnybank and Turbot Street, Brisbane City to remind us that the CWA has been active in Queensland since 1922 during wars, floods, droughts, fires and pandemics.

Take a moment to ponder the network of women it has created – that reaches into cities and towns across our vast state – and what the CWA has done for our state for a century and the potential it has to do more in the next 100 years and beyond.

QCWA Heritage House Ipswich team creating a ‘sconversation’ collage Words by Emmy-Clare Rule and Christine King A ‘sconversation’: a simple way to use the humble scone to start a conversation.

For over 100 years, the QCWA women have been connecting, collaborating, and creating a social impact in their communities. One hundred years is an incredibly special birthday for the Association, and one that touches a great many Queenslanders. Most people have a grandmother, mother, sister, or friend who has been a member. Many more Queenslanders have benefitted from special programs, projects, donations, care, provision of community halls and advocacy to government for changes that improve lives for women and their families.

As part of the birthday celebrations, QCWA members and branches across the state hold scone days on and around August 11 each year.

As this year marks a special milestone for the Association, ladies were invited to take a photo and send it with details to the QCWA Centenary team.

These photos will be compiled into a collage of photos of Queenslanders in ‘sconversation’, which will become a permanent artwork and a reminder of the reach of QCWA. Keep your eye out on QCWA’s social media for the finished collage!

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G N Q I U R IZ P S 1 10 2 11 3 12 4 13 5 14 6 15 7 16 8 17 9 18

by Jessica Kramer

The term “break the ice” was coined by William Shakespeare in which play?

“Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal.

It was a long march from cadets,” are lyrics from which song?

What is the term for the minimum number of moves (20) required to solve the Rubik’s Cube puzzle?

How old was Emma Gosbell when she became the Queensland Mother of the Year in 2013? (a) 18 (b) 38 (c) 58?

Which two people have won a Nobel Prize and an Oscar?

Oprah Winfrey was born to an unmarried teenage mother in which Mississippi city in 1954 (a) Everest (b) Kilimanjaro (c) Kosciusko?

Which day did Princess Diana describe as “the worst day of my life”?

A 5.3 metre statue of which pope was labelled “a sin” by an art critic when it was unveiled in Rome in 2011?

Zagorski was a former name of which Australian politician?

Beginning with “g”, which musical term means “slow and solemn”?

Ghana previously had the same name as which Queensland city?

The name of which animal is derived from the Greek for “tribe of hairy women”?

What is the term for a work of art, usually a panel painting, divided into three sections?

Which 2013 movie told of Walt Disney persuading PL Travers to sell the screen rights to her novels?

In the 2009 movie The Blind Side, who played a football mum who takes a homeless AfricanAmerican teenager to live with her family?

Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Snow Queen, inspired which hit movie?

Born in 2011, Vincent and Josephine are the twin children of which Tasmanian-born princess?

Who was the last monarch of Scotland as a separate kingdom?

ANSWERS

1. The Taming of the Shrew. 2. God’s Number. 3. Bob Dylan, George Bernard Shaw. 4. Her wedding day. 5. Pauline Hanson.

6. Gold Coast. 7. Triptych. 8. Sandra Bullock. 9. Princess Mary of Denmark. 10. I Was Only 19. 11. (a) 18. 12. (c) Kosciusko.

13. Pope John Paul II. 14. Grave. 15. Gorilla. 16. Saving Mr Banks. 17. Frozen. 18. Queen Anne.

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