Australian Country#21.1 by Australian Country Magazine

COUNTRY AUSTRALIAN A USTRALIAN

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

YOUR C YOUR CONTEMPORARY ONTEMPORARY C COUNTRY OUNTRY L LIFESTYLE IFESTYLE M MAGAZINE AGAZINE

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contents

In this issue ... in each issue 6 8 12 102 136 140 142 144

Editor’s letter Diary notes Baker’s dozen Class act You beauty! Out and about Off the shelf Mailbag

profiles 14

Precision planning With equal measures of good luck and good management,

12 4

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a Victorian couple has built a bespoke country home from a modiﬁed kit design Artist in residence Paris and Los Angeles couldn’t compete with the laid-back loveliness of a Western Australian life for a globetrotting couple who live in a century-old cottage Living history Six generations of the Hunt family have called Ivybrook farm on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula home A forever home Souvenirs from stints in Asia and Africa blend with a cleverly curated collection of vintage ﬁnds to create a Queenslander oozing with personality and charm Pioneers in paradise Two generations of the Peart family have devoted themselves to turning what was once wasteland into a true Arcadia Bird’s eye view Photographer Nick Rains takes a journey across Australia and provides a fresh perspective on even the most familiar landscapes with his views from on high

86 Restoration story Rex Watson and Kate Pitt have devoted the past 15 years to turning Moira station into party central 100 Refresher course Cranberry-based drinks for summer

gardening 106 Sustainability showpiece But for a stroke of fate Doug Rawlinson would not be living on and cultivating his historic property at Goulburn in NSW

travel 68

A vision splendid The little Queensland town of Winton enjoys its time in the spotlight as the Hollywood of the outback during the annual Vision Splendid ﬁlm festival

product news 118 120 138 146

The ultimate Valentine’s gift guide The Australian-made gift guide Store strolling Stockists

contents

78 26 68

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106

Receive six issues of Australian Country magazine PLUS a copy of the Australian Country Gardens 2018 Diary and two bonus issues of Eat Well for $59.95. See page 104 for more details of this fantastic offer.

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EDITOR'S LETTER

One of the many privileges of editing Australian Country is that I get to travel all over the country meeting fascinating people who generously welcome us into their homes and lives. As regular readers know, I grew up in country Queensland and never for a minute take for granted the opportunity that this job affords me to keep one foot in the bush. Wherever the AC team travels we are always impressed by the resilience of people from rural and regional areas and their energy to constantly reinvent themselves and try new ways to keep their businesses viable. Quite frequently we find ourselves in communities that have a particular energy: the people behind the tiny, remote towns that won’t give up in the face of droughts, floods, fires and uncertain commodity markets. Winton in central-western Queensland is a classic case in point. Winton has refused to give up and looked to tourism to bring renewed vigour to town. One of the many strategies Winton employed to attract people and business was to capitalise on the spectacular surrounding landscape by attracting film-makers to the region. The local elders followed up a bold rebranding of Winton as the Hollywood of the outback with the Vision Splendid film festival and you can read about the fabulous time we had during that event in the story that begins on page 68. This reinvention of Winton is due in no small part to the tireless campaigning former mayor Butch Lenton dedicated to his hometown. Sadly Butch lost his battle with cancer just before we went to press. But I’m sure that the people of Winton won’t let his dreams die, and I’m confident we will be hearing about many more great initiatives coming from Winton in the coming years. I’m intrigued by the concept of “the little towns that could” and would love to hear from you if you think your town fills that bill and holds an event or has a strategy that should be celebrated in our magazine. I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very happy new year from all of us here at AC HQ. We love hearing from you and thank you for all your feedback and story suggestions. We look forward to bringing some of them in next issue, which goes on sale March 1. KIRSTY MCKENZIE, EDITOR kmckenzie@universalmagazines.com.au

helping out on this issue are ... TAMARA SIMONEAU WRITER & STYLIST Tamara is falling in love with her homeland again after almost a decade living in Canada where she worked in TV, running the prime-time program, Entertainment Tonight Canada. She’s produced live shows, been on the red carpet for the Academy Awards, and travelled the globe . These days, she’d like to say she’s living a quieter life as a writer, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, but with three young kids, it’s anything but.

JOHN DOWNS PHOTOGRAPHER Four generations of John Downs’ family have been photographers, starting with his great, great grandfather in Wales in 1868. John started as a staff photographer at London’s Natural History Museum and his varied career has seen him shoot everything from fluffy cushions in the studio to Formula 1 cars screaming around the track.

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Australian Country cover photography by KEN BRASS

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EVERY BIT EXTRAORDINARY

don't miss ...

DIARY NOTES

c omp i l e d by k i r s t y mc k e nz i e

Make a date to celebrate these high notes around the country. J A N 1 2 - 2 2 ( TAS )

MONA FOMA

Clockwise from below: Lee Kernaghan rocks at Tamworth; MOFO at Hobart’s MONA; Laneway Festivals tour Australia in February; White Spirit is on this year’s Perth International Arts Festival program.

A highlight on Tasmania’s summer calendar is the Museum of Old and New Art’s (MONA) Festival of Music and Art (FOMA) curated by Brian Ritchie, the bass guitarist for the Violent Femmes. FOMA brings a beguiling mixed bag of music and art to various locations around Launceston (Jan 12-14) and Hobart (Jan 15-22). From post-punk bands to avantgarde orchestras, inﬂatables, installations and performance art, MOFO sprawls unconventionally across the island state. Launceston highlights include Gotye joining the Ondioline Orchestra to pay homage to renowned French electronic composer Jean-Jacques Perrey and rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor from Canada providing the

live score for The Holy Body Dance Tattoo’s Monumental in Launceston. They’ll also perform live at MONA, playing tracks from their latest album, Luciferian Towers. MONA’s outdoor stage will feature the Violent Femmes joining forces with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Brian Jackson and the Southern Gospel Choir reinterpreting the songs of Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone. mofo.net.au

FE B 2 - 1 1 ( VA R I O U S STATES )

ST S JEROME’S L LANEWAY FESTIVALS The T annual Laneway Festival kicks o off its tour of venues around the c country in Adelaide on February 22. Then it’s the turn of the event’s h hometown of Melbourne on F February 3, Sydney on February 4B ib 4, Brisbane on February 10 and Fremantle on February 11. Laneway is all about showcasing new and revered seminal music from around the world so expect to hear some great sounds in quirky settings around the country. lanewayfestival.com

J A N 1 9 - 2 8 ( N SW )

TOYOTA TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL Cowboy hats and boots will be out in force as the 46th Toyota Country Music Festival rolls into Tamworth this year culminating in the Toyota Golden Guitar Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 27 at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre. Superstars including Kasey Chambers, Beccy Cole, James Blundell, The Wolfe Brothers, Buddy Goode, Brothers3 and ventriloquist Darren Carr will all be returning to Tamworth with huge shows throughout the festival. Also returning to Tamworth this year is the ever-popular Coyote Ugly Bar, and the Country Turns Pink Concert is slated for Sunday, January 21. Aleyce Simmonds with her band, The Spurs, and special guests Finnian Johnson and Paul Carey will also rock the Tamworth Hotel during the festival. tcmf.com.au

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FE B 9 – M A R 4 ( WA )

PERTH INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL Founded in 1953 by The University of Western Australia, the Perth International Arts Festival is the longest running international arts festival in Australia and Western Australia’s premier cultural event. Musical highlights of this year’s PIAF include UK hip-hop maestro Dizzee Rascal, American piano pop maverick Ben Folds, and Catalan maestro Jordi Savall and his extraordinary ensemble of early music specialists at the Perth Concert Hall. The Australian exclusive of White Spirit, in which Suﬁ music and mysticism collide with Tunisian street art, comes direct from war-torn Syria’s Umayyad Mosque. perthfestival.com.au

don't miss ... Finn and Josh Pyke. Riverboats also claims distinction as the only music festival in the country that offers sideshows on the paddlesteamer, Pride of the Murray, with intimate performances from Americana purveyors Tracy McNeil and the GoodLife, blues and soul aﬁcionados the Teskey Brothers and Melbourne’s raucous swing collective, Jazz Party. riverboatsmusic.com.au

FE B 1 5 - 1 8 ( WA ) Clockwise from below: Casey Chambers heads the Riverboats Festival; Boyup Brook Country Music Festival; WOMADelaide (pic by Tony Lewis); the National Folk Festival; Clarence Jazz Festival.

BOYUP BROOK COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL Now in its 33rd year, the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival transforms the usually sleepy town in WA’s southwest for a festive February weekend. This year’s talent lineup is headed by the McClymonts and also includes Travis Collings, Codee-Lee, Hussy Hicks and Graham Rodger. As well as non-stop music, the event includes a street carnival, markets, food stalls, country music awards, an art show, ute and truck muster and bush poetry recitals. countrymusicwa.com.au

FE B R U A RY 1 6 - 1 8 ( V I C / N SW )

RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL Set in a natural amphitheatre next the mighty Murray River, Riverboats Music Festival returns to the historic paddlesteamer port twin towns of Echuca and Moama with some of the most celebrated names in Australian music including Casey Chambers, Neil and Liam

FE B 1 8 - 2 5 ( TAS )

CLARENCE JAZZ FESTIVAL It’s summer time and the livin’ is easy when the Clarence Jazz Festival swings into action presenting the very best local and national jazz talents in various outdoor, riverside and historic locations on Hobart’s eastern foreshore. They include the intimate and unique atmosphere of a jazz lounge set in the 200-year-old Rosny Barn and free public concerts at the Bellerive Boardwalk overlooking the Kangaroo Bay marina. clarenceartsandevents.net/ events/clarence-jazz-festival

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MARCH 9-12 (SA)

WOMADelaide This iconic open-air festival set in Adelaide’s stunning Botanic Park, is an award-winning celebration of the very best of the world of music, arts and dance. Now in its 25th year, WOMADelaide 2018’s line-up includes UK producer and dub visionary Adrian Sherwood, sitar maestro Anoushka Shankar, Canada’s Le Vent du Nord, Balkan performers Violons Barbares and from north-east Arnhem Land, Yirrmal and the Miliyawutj. womadelaide.com.au

M A R 29 – A PR 2 ( ACT )

NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL With more than 200 international and national acts across the Easter weekend, Canberra’s awardwinning National Folk Festival is a ﬁve-day celebration of music, song and dance plus circus, spoken word and ﬁlm. It’s held in the village setting of Exhibition Park with roving entertainers, a street circus, special KidzFest zone, market stalls, food vans, themed bars and arts and craft activities for all. folkfestival.org.au Let us know about your forthcoming events by writing to us at Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670 or emailing kmckenzie @universalmagazines.com.au.

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Precision planning With equal measures of good luck and good management, Ian and Alicia Cooknell have built their dream home in rural Victoria. By Ki rst y McKenzi e, photogr a phy Ken Br a s s

OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from below: Bonnie received a deck extension to her caravan for her birthday; Bonnie and Ian enjoying the van; the Cooknell family home is a modified Kitome design.

Not very many two-year-olds receive a deck for their birthday. But for little Bonnie Cooknell the extension to her caravan cubby house was the realisation of her wildest dreams, particularly as it came with a slippery slide, a telescope and a steering wheel to make playing there even more imaginative. Mind you, by most accounts Bonnie is a lucky little girl. She lives with her parents, Alicia and Ian, on a hilltop acreage on Melbourne’s northern periphery. She has all the freedoms of country life, plenty of space to play, Ralph the dog and Isa Brown hens Sally, Kelly and Natalie to entertain her. She’ll have the good fortune of going to the small local primary school and the privilege of growing up in a strong community, all within commuting distance of Melbourne’s CBD. It’s not as though it all happened by accident. In many ways Alicia and Ian have been working towards this ever since they became high school sweethearts 12 years ago. “We’ve always had a plan,” Alicia explains. “We bought land together when we were 20 and built a house on it then moved in the following year, when we were also became engaged. We always planned to move to a more rural setting, but it took us a few years to ﬁnd the right place.” By the time they were ready to build on the 25-acre block, Ian, who is and electrician, and Alicia, who juggled studies in applied science and accounting with full-time retail jobs, were married and newly pregnant with Bonnie. Their

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY Alicia was able to buy the Early Settler light fitting at half price due to minor damage.

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from below: Alicia and Ian installed the IKEA kitchen in a weekend; peppermint green is a signature note; garage sale finds are repurposed; old and new meet in a dresser display.

goal was to have moved in before she was born, so they knew from the outset that they had their work cut out for them. But Alicia has a tenacious streak and decided that to reach their deadline she and Ian would owner-manage the construction themselves. “I knew that if I managed the schedule we could get the build done in time,” she says. “But ﬁrst I researched 15 kit home manufacturers before I decided on Kitome, because that was the only company that allowed us to customise the design. I was able to choose everything from the roof pitch and the ceiling height to the style of the bifold windows. Plus, as I was still working full time, I was able to do it all by email after hours and in my lunch breaks. I had this massive spreadsheet and I was very particular about the schedule. All the trades knew they had to comply with our timeline. In the end it took us 16 weeks from the ﬁrst dig to moving in.” Alicia estimates that project managing the build halved what it would have cost using a custom builder. “To start with builders charge a mark up on materials,” she explains. “I sourced all the materials at clearance prices. I mean everything from the lights and the door handles to the screws and the grouting. The other thing we did to ensure there were no hold-ups was move three shipping containers on-site and store all the materials in them before we

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from right: Alicia in her sewing room; she makes cushions under the Bonnie’s Farmhouse brand; a refurbished pew at the entry; the guest bedroom has views to the outdoors.

started. So the doors, the windows, the paint, the tapware and other fittings and fixtures were all on-site ready to go.” Always with a keen eye on the budget, Alicia scoured eBay and Gumtree for bargains and bought the IKEA kitchen at a time when there was a deal offering a $200 voucher for every $1000 spent. “That then gave us budget to buy more furniture,” she says. “It only took us a weekend to install the kitchen and it really wasn’t difficult to do.” The Cooknells were able to move in just two months before Bonnie was born, and Alicia admits that she didn’t get much decorating done in the first few months. “We went on holiday to the US and I kind of got my inspiration back,” she says. “I’ve always loved recycled homewares and I knew that was the way to achieve the kind of relaxed rustic vibe we wanted. I started Instagramming my progress more as a means of keeping myself motivated, which is how #bonniesfarmhouse came about.” What she hadn’t counted on was a whole bunch of followers — more than 10,000 at latest count — started charting her progress, providing encouragement, support and, as it turns out, an income stream. “I couldn’t find the kind of cushion covers I wanted so I bought some hessian drop cloth and made my own,” Alicia says. “People saw them on Instagram and started asking if I could make them

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from right: Bonnie bonds with a chook; Ian recovered the caravan floor with pallet timber; Bonnie's bedroom; there’s loads of space for play in the generous bedroom.

some. I make them to order and customise them by printing whatever they want on it. I’ve had orders ranging from initials for people getting married, goodwill messages and inspirational words to just plain ‘farm house’.” Having used the entire building and decorating process as a dummy run for a business, Alicia has also put a toe in the water as a project manager for other people who don’t have the time or organisational skills to make things go as smoothly. “I’m currently supervising a new home for my parents,” she says. “And I also have another project on the go. It’s a bit of a juggle as I also still work in retail a couple of days a week. But I work with Bonnie’s routine and make conference calls at night or when she is napping and I’m lucky that my parents help out when I have to go out to work.” In his spare time Ian has also diversiﬁed into making rustic furniture and chicken tractors from recycled pallet timber. “We get the pallets free from Bunnings and Ian is exceptionally handy at upcycling,” Alicia says. “He made a fabulous rustic ﬂoor and the deck for Bonnie’s caravan from the timber and he also upcycles timber cable reels to make tables. It really is just a matter of how you look at things and putting in a bit of effort to make it work. I must admit we had no idea how things would turn out when we started. But it’s been an amazing learning experience and a whole new direction for me. So we’ve really been incredibly lucky.”

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Bonnieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s breezy studio adjoins the home. Her works are for sale at storiesonthewall.com.au.

INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

Artist in residence Paris and Los Angeles couldn’t compete with the laid-back loveliness of a Western Australian life for globetrotting couple Paul and Bonnie Atlan, who have beautifully renovated a 110-year-old home. By Ta mar a Simone au, photogr a phy by Cl ai re McFerr an, st yling Angel a Lyon

Chance has been kind to Paul and Bonnie Atlan. It brought them together in the first place after Bonnie set off for Paris as a young American model in search of success in the City of Lights. She found it, and also added a dashing Parisian to her portfolio. “I was on the metro heading home from a modelling job,” Bonnie recalls. “Suddenly the train came to a halt and all the passengers frantically exited the underground seeking transport on buses or from passing cars. It was a strike, and I was left not knowing how I would get home to my little studio apartment. Buses were jammed and, too scared to ask for a ride, I stood helplessly until I spotted a red motorcycle that had stopped with a young man next to it wearing a red helmet, 50 metres from where I was standing. He was examining his bike and looked stranded too. I was drawn to him and just knew he would help me.” A language barrier stood between them, but their connection bore through it. Paul managed to get his bike started and drove Bonnie home. The next day they met in a cafe for their first date, where he gave her a French to English dictionary. “When he spoke to me in French I couldn’t understand a word,” Bonnie recalls. “I could imagine that he was saying, ‘You’re beautiful, I love you’.” Within months they were living together, and a few years on they welcomed the first of three children.

Right: The light-filled studio is a great space for creative energy. Above: The tools of Bonnie’s trade feature a bold colour palette.

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bonnie spotted an open house sign on a side road. She insisted that I make a U-turn, and suddenly we were in front of a broken picket fence with several huge gum trees.â&#x20AC;? 28

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

Years later, after stints living in France and California, where Paul worked for a luxury sportswear label and Bonnie indulged her passion for painting in vivid colour, the couple was on the cusp of relocating to Florida for better education opportunities for their now teenaged children. A conversation with friends diverted their path. “Our friends spoke of Perth, and it seemed like a great sea change,” Bonnie says. “So Paul and I came for a visit and within three days we were ﬁling applications for visas.” Paul opened a couple of stores for his clothing label and Bonnie found inspiration for her art in spades. They soon combined their talents and opened Stories On The Wall, a gallery and bespoke and recycled furniture space in the historic village of Guildford on the Swan River, where they were living at the time. But chance intervened again on a Sunday afternoon drive. They’d just renovated a cottage not far from their gallery, and had no intention of moving. “Bonnie spotted an open house sign on a side road,” Paul explains. “She insisted that I make a U-turn, and suddenly we were in front of a broken picket fence with several huge gum trees. There was a yard with a wooden house way back from the street. Bonnie and

Clockwise from right: Paul and Bonnie love to travel, but nothing beats coming home to Berry House and their pooch, Olive; the couple did extensive work in the garden, adding colourful flowers, trees and meandering pathways; a table setting for evening dining.

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

I looked at each other and we knew this would be our next house before even checking the house. It was 5pm and the selling agent was leaving. We told him we wanted to put an offer on the house after ﬁve minutes. He did not believe us. We signed the offer on the following day.” It’s exactly the kind of carpe diem move that typiﬁes their globetrotting life together. Their many years living abroad in homes of every size and form had taught them a thing or two about renovating. They’d transformed a neglected weatherboard house in Los Angeles, and breathed new life into an old stone home in a small village in the south of France. Tackling the rundown wooden house in Gooseberry Hill, an outer suburb of Perth, was just another page in their colourful journey. “The bigger the project and challenge, the more I love it,” Bonnie says. “We never hire decorators or architects. Ideas come to me as I walk through the houses that many say are hopeless, but I see the magic returning.” They named the home Berry House and relied on their creativity and ingenuity to make it their own.

Clockwise from right: Paul and Bonnie relished decorating the home themselves; after just five minutes viewing the property, the couple was ready to make an offer; stained glass windows were retrieved from salvage yards, or specially made by a local artist.

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

“As you walk through our home the stories unfold. It’s a voyage through our lives, where some of our favourite things have travelled the world with us.” “All rooms were done with salvaged original windows from boutiques or heritage homes,” Bonnie explains. “Stained glass windows were found in salvage yards, or made on the spot by the oldest stained glass artist in Perth.” At its heart is a bright and bold kitchen that’s ﬂooded with dappled light that ﬁlters through the windows from towering gums outside. “Bonnie picked the yellow kitchen after our visit to Monet’s house and garden in Giverny, where a yellow kitchen was very avant-garde for the time,” Paul says. Bonnie’s striking art adorns the walls, and treasures from their travels and life adventures are an intriguing insight into two lives well lived. “As you walk through our home the stories unfold,” Bonnie says. “It’s a voyage through our lives, where our favourite things have travelled the world with us. Memories are stored in large display cabinets, or scattered across long tiled pieces of furniture from India. Then there are my collections. I think everybody should have a collection. I have about four different ones. Some were started when I was just 18, and some more recently.”

Clockwise from left: Paul and Bonnie have grown their collections through the decades; a quiet reading corner; shots from Bonnie’s modelling days in New York, Chicago and Paris adorn the walls; striking works by Bonnie and other artists feature throughout the house.

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INSPIRED BY TRAVELS

Adjoining the house is Bonnie’s studio, where she busily creates with every spare moment. Both Paul and Bonnie also love getting their hands dirty in the garden. It was one of the ﬁrst things that appealed to them the day they spotted the home, long before they discovered it was once a happy playground for a young Heath Ledger, who would visit his aunt and uncle when they lived there. “Heath was often seen playing in the yard and using a stick to make noise to scare the snakes,” Paul says. “When we started the renovation we found a drawing of a red racing car on the wall signed Ledger. I still have the piece.” They met the star’s relatives at their gallery after they spotted a painting Bonnie had done of Berry House. “One day I saw this couple walking into the shop to buy that painting,” Paul says. “They told us that they lived in Berry House, it was very touching.” It’s clearly a home that’s stolen its fair share of hearts in its 110-year history, its current inhabitants very much included. “We love to travel but we love coming back to the house,” says Paul. “The feeling of Berry House is calmness, serenity and warmth.” 34

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Clockwise from left: The 110-year-old home evokes a sense of warmth and calm; the bright kitchen was chosen after a visit to Monet’s home in Giverny; from everyday utensils to the art on the walls, each item in Berry House has a story to tell; treasures and trinkets have travelled the world with the acquisitive couple.

MY COUNTRY LIFE

Living history Six generations of the Hunt family have called Ivybrook Farm on SAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fleurieu Peninsula home. By Kirst y McKenzi e, photogr aphy Ros s Willi a ms, st yling Br ont e Ca milleri

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MY COUNTRY LIFE

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MY COUNTRY LIFE

Clockwise from below: The Hunt family has owned the Maslin Beach property for six generations; the stone barn was added in 1898; an alpaca minds sheep near the vineyard.

If the walls could talk in the homestead at David and Cheryl Hunt’s Ivybrook Farm at South Australia’s Maslin Beach, they’d be telling tales that go back almost as far as the foundation of the colony. They’d doubtless recall the arrival of the Reverend Charles Hall, a congregational minister for the parish of Aldinga and how he moved into a two-bedroomed cottage with an underground cellar in 1851. He then set about extending the house with a second storey and an outdoor wash house and man’s room. It’s not known what the

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somewhat dour looking gentleman would have made of his neighbours, John Reynell and his former employee, Thomas Hardy, who had planted the ﬁrst grapes in the district in the 1840s and thus founded the now celebrated McLaren Vale wine region. They’d tell how the property passed to the cattle, sheep and cereal crop farming Valentine family, who in 1898 added a stone stable, which later became a shearing shed and is now a barn where receptions and functions are held. They’d tell how a fourbedroomed homestead was built alongside the original

MY COUNTRY LIFE cottage, providing added accommodation for Peter and Ruth Hunt when they took over the farm with their six children. They’d explain how the two dwellings became one when the Hunts wrapped a big protective verandah around them, and how the farm passed through the generations until David Hunt and his brothers took over the property as the fourth generation of the Hunt family to live there. Cheryl and David’s now adult children, Nick, Peter and Amanda, make up the ﬁfth generation and Nick’s daughter, Georgia, is the ﬁrst born for the sixth.

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MY COUNTRY LIFE These days the Hunt brothers and their families each have 40 acres of the original farm, as do their parents, Keith and Fay. While each family runs their property individually, they have all planted vines and Keith also keeps beehives on the four blocks. “My family came to Aldinga Beach from England in 1976,” Cheryl explains. “I was 11 at the time and it was a great lifestyle move for us. Eventually I married David and we moved to Ivybrook in 1983. David had worked both on and off the farm before we married and one of those jobs was at d’Arenberg

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MY COUNTRY LIFE winery, which is where he discovered his passion for wine.” It was almost inevitable, therefore, that David and Cheryl would plant their own vines. In the mid-’90s they planted ﬁve hectares of Shiraz and followed that up with a further three hectares of Shiraz. Some of this has recently been grafted to Touriga Nationale, a Portuguese red variety, and more recently, a hectare of Tempranillo and Mourvèdre has been added. “At ﬁrst we sold all our fruit to Hardys,” Cheryl says. “More recently, as we’ve moved towards biodynamic and organic principles, we’ve been selling to Wirra Wirra, because

“David had worked both on and off the farm before we married and one of those jobs was at d’Arenberg winery, which is where he discovered his passion for wine.”

Clockwise from this image: The stone stable has been restored as a boutique function centre; David and Cheryl with David’s parents Keith and Fay and their son, Nick; Keith keeps bees on the farms.

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MY COUNTRY LIFE

Clockwise from below: A local stonemason has restored the stables; local stone is great for temperature control for cellaring; milk urns and other relics add character; the stables is a small functions space.

their wine making philosophy is aligned with ours. Since 2008 we’ve kept back small amounts to make our own wine. Now our son, Nick, who has worked at other wineries and done several vintages overseas, has taken over as winemaker and we are in the process of building our cellar door.” Ever mindful of the need to diversify to shore up the business, the Hunts added a self-catering cottage that accommodates four in 2009. They are also in the process of converting the barn into a small wedding and function

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centre. “We were lucky to ﬁnd local stonemason Rick Wheatley to restore the building,” Cheryl says. “We’re also fortunate to have joined forces with Adelaide caterer Cindy Westphalen, of Cindy’s Classic Gourmet. Destination weddings are increasingly popular these days and McLaren Vale offers the great advantage of being less than a hour’s drive from Adelaide.” For those who choose to extend their stay in the region, there are many options. Wine tasting, of course,

They are also in the process of converting the barn into a small wedding and function centre and were lucky to ďŹ nd a local stonemason, Rick Wheatley, to restore the building.

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MY COUNTRY LIFE

Clockwise from right: The dining room in the guest cottage; Nick Hunt has taken over as winemaker; crisp white in the bedroom; the kitchen bench doubles as an informal dining area.

heads the list, and many of the wineries also offer great dining experiences as well. “d’Arry’s Verandah is a great venue at d’Arenberg winery, as is The Kitchen Door at Penny’s Hill,” Cheryl says. “The Star of Greece at Port Willunga is an old favourite and the same people run the Victory Hotel at Sellicks Beach. But they are just a few of many, many options.” However, a trip to McLaren Vale also offers splendid beaches for swimming and surﬁng, hiking along the ridges of the Onkaparinga River National Park and kayaking on the river from Port Noarlunga. Special events, including the Harvest Festival in January, the Fleurieu Folk Festival in October, the Willunga Almond Festival in July and Leaconﬁeld Winery’s Days on the Green also attract vistors from interstate and overseas. “As I see it, we have the total package,” Cheryl says. “I think I just got incredibly lucky the day my family decided to leave England.

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on the quality of its product. Clients can choose from a huge selection of baths and basins, some dating back to the 19th Century, including the rare and unusual. Antique Baths have a wide range of clientele, ranging from families with small children that love to have toys while bathing, to celebrities and professional people, from Sydney to Perth, Darwin to Melbourne, and everywhere in between.

INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

A forever home Souvenirs from stints in Asia and Africa blend beautifully with a cleverly curated collection of preloved one-offs and upcycled cast-offs, To create a Queenslander oozing with personality and charm. By Ta mar a Simone au, photogr a phy by J ohn D owns

Peter Allen’s emotive anthem about this beloved land we call home is an apt theme for the life shared by Brisbane couple, Riza and Cam Taylor. “Together we have lived in Malaysia, Tanzania, India, Vietnam and Ethiopia,” says Riza, who was born and raised overseas where her father took on different roles for the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation. “Cam and I met in Hyderabad, India. I was visiting my family from boarding school in Canberra, and Cam was working with my Dad — scandalous! He was already well-liked by my younger siblings who were living in India with Mum and Dad. I remember Mum telling me he was coming over for dinner and saying he was really nice, to which I replied in the sass only a teenager can manage, ‘If you like him Mum, he’s probably an idiot’. She told me to go shower and put on something nice and the rest, as they say, is history.” After a short stint on the Gold Coast together when Riza was at university, they left Australia to follow Cam’s engineering assignments in what would end up being a decade-long expat adventure to the far reaches of Asia and Africa. But they realised it was time for the ships to come back to the shore shortly after their second child, Myla, was born in Hanoi, Vietnam. “It was one evening coming home on a Vespa scooter from a barbecue,” Riza recalls.

Clockwise from left: Riza can survey the city from the verandah; Riza, Cam and the children have come home to roost in Brisbane; the encircling verandahs protect the Queenslander from the elements.

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

Riza calls the back porch her ‘‘jungalow’’, and it’s become a favourite hangout on hot summer days.

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

“I was driving, Sam, our eldest, was three years old standing in front of me in the footwell. Cam was on the back with sixmonth-old Myla strapped to him in a Baby Bjorn and there were plastic bags ﬂapping from the handle bars. I turned my head and yelled to Cam, ‘do you think we’ve been here too long?’ It was the moment that started our conversation.” In 2007 they made the move, opting to return to Brisbane. “I had nesting pangs and wanted a forever home after moving so often,” says Riza. The found it in a 115-year-old Queenslander with its original ﬂoorplan intact, a huge backyard, and plenty of rustic ambience to fuel Riza’s passion for all things vintage. “It truly was everything I thought a dream home would look like — beautiful, accommodating, and homely,” Riza says. “Having a mango tree in your backyard in Queensland seemed too perfect. We had spent so long in apartments in Asia that I was dying for my kids to climb trees and run over grass.” Back on home soil, Riza started her own styling business, Villa St Interiors, to indulge her love of design, and the

Clockwise from opposite: The living room is a museum of intriguing pieces from near and far. Riza found the shell chandeliers in the Philippines, and sourced the art from second-hand shops and markets; a plush citrine sofa beckons in the media room; muslin drapes filter the light; Riza describes her decorating style as Vintage-Boho-Eclectic, a culmination of memory, extensive travels, influences and experiences.

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

family home is the canvas for her creativity. She’s infused a taste of the their travels, pairing those inﬂuences perfectly with second-hand pieces she sources from op shops, Gumtree, antique markets and even the footpath. They live under the old Queenslander until inspiration strikes and Riza upcycles them, giving them a second, or perhaps third or fourth life. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of buying what everyone is into because that’s what you see everywhere,” she says. “I try to look for particularly unusual or unique items, things that are beautiful to me in their colour, texture or structure. Great things can turn up anywhere, the secret is to always be looking. For me I can’t turn it on or off, it’s just how I’m wired. I’d like to think I can ﬁnd beauty in anything, and with the amount of things building up under our house I think Cam might agree that I do.” “We are opposites,” says Cam, who spends weekends turning Riza’s dreamed-up projects for their property into reality. “I am structured and organised and she is creative

Clockwise from opposite: The sun-filled kitchen oozes country ambience and the stove fits neatly into the original hearth; flowers by the butler’s sink; Riza’s foraged objects and art add splashes of colour; the vanity was once a discarded sideboard and Riza added twin sinks and tapware. Luxury Retreat towels from Domayne;

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

and carefree. It somehow works. I am pretty comfortable with the constant redecorating now.” His latest task was creating a European-style window box for flowers outside the kitchen window. Its pops of pastels rise whimsically above the farmhouse sink, against a backdrop of dense Murraya hedge that surrounds the grounds, encasing the family’s oasis in the city in vivid green. “I love that no one knows what’s going on behind our hedge,” Riza says. “We are close to the city, but from the inside we could be on acreage.” The couple’s three children have gorgeously styled bedrooms, filled with inherited pieces and quirky finds. Each treasure on the shelves tells a story, and vintage sheets from Riza’s grandmother are layered into the linen on the girls’ beds, perhaps inspiring dreams of days gone by. Riza even transformed a Kmart play kitchen with warm white paint, and custom handles. “If I’m going to do something, I’ll do it properly,” she says. The master bedroom is painted in low-sheen Dulux Orbit, exuding an old world elegance,

Clockwise from opposite: White above the picture rails, and Dulux Orbit below in the master bedroom. Luxe linens and cushions paired with a Zoey throw in navy from Domayne complete the look; Riza favours a colonial Asian vibe; Myla’s room features a cane bedhead painted silver; white upcycled furniture in Myla’s room.

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INSPIRED BY COUNTRY

complete with a cluster of vintage oil paintings, and a kimono a friend brought back from Japan brings Riza’s signature touch of Asia to the room. “I love that Asian colonial luxury feel, the elegance of the 1930s in the tropics,” she says. “I’m also very driven by unique pieces made with age-old quality, so I love buying vintage. In a world with so many mass-produced options, my style compass compels me to create rooms that are distinctive. To me, homes grow like people do. The most beautiful homes create a feeling, you want to be in them. And they tell you about who lives there and what is important to them. That cannot be manufactured.” No matter how far or how wide they’ve roamed, it’s clear this family has found their forever home, and stamped it with a style as timeless as its timber and tin facade. “We are so happy in our home and I think she knows it,” says Riza. “It’s our sanctuary, the city stops when the gate shuts.”

Above: The couple’s three children all have gorgeously styled bedrooms, filled with inherited pieces and quirky finds collected on travels. Vintage sheets from Riza’s grandmother are layered into the linen on the girls’ beds, perhaps inspiring dreams of days gone by. Right: Junie the black Labrador enjoys the morning sun in the hall.

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AUSTRALIAN

COUNTRY

Homes sies on real In every edition of Australian Country Homes you will see inspiring ideas from real Aussies so get rare rar are budgets who are creating wonderfully warm and inviting living environments. You will also glimpses into the lives of some of Australia’s renowned families and their lifestyles. Perusee the planss and self-made additions that create a welcoming country home.

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A COUNTRY SHOWPIECE

Pioneers in paradise Two generations of the Peart family have devoted themselves to turning what was regarded as wasteland into a true Arcadia. By Ki r s t y Mc K e nz i e , p h oto g r a p hy K e n Br a s s

A COUNTRY SHOWPIECE

Clockwise from right: The Outpost’s bathroom is a repurposed water tank; Rowan and a mate designed the retreat as a Boy’s Own getaway; the Outpost has great views of the Arcadia Valley; it may be off the grid, but no creature comforts have been sacrificed.

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As Rowan Peart sees it, back in the day everyone had cousins in the country and most likely visited them frequently. But with increasing urbanisation that is no longer the case, and the country-city divide is at risk of developing into a chasm. So Rowan and his wife, Maddie, and their extended family are doing what they can to bridge that gap from their home base on Sunnyholt station in the Arcadia Valley in Queensland’s central highlands. Sunnyholt has been owned by the Pearts since 1964 when Rowan’s father, Wally, and his brother, Robert, both drew blocks in a ballot designed to tame the “tiger country”, which was covered in brigalow scrub, had no permanent water and famously poor soil. “The Queensland premier at the time, Joh Bjelke Peterson, released 16 x 10,000-acre [4000-hectare] blocks for development,” Rowan explains. “The deal was that if you didn’t improve the land you had it taken off you. Whoever named the region Arcadia Valley must have had a real sense of irony, because it was barely viable for farming. Because it was so crook, no one from 500 miles [800 kilometres] around put their name in the hat and the blocks ended up going to people mainly from NSW. Dad and Robert were lucky enough to draw blocks within 10km of each other. They were also each given £75,000 in interest-free loans. Although initially they weren’t game to tell their parents how much debt they had taken on, it only took them about six months to work out that this colossal amount of money wasn’t even close to what they needed.” But the Pearts are made of strong stuff and Wally and Robert have been honing their business strategy for almost 60 years. They started out selling rabbit skins as kids, then migrated into share-farming on their father’s land at Armatree between Gilgandra and Gulargambone. In the early ’60s Wally took a life-changing detour to Canada, where he completed ﬁrst a course in agricultural engineering and then post-graduate studies in agricultural economics. It was an experience that would shape the approach to farming that he brought to Sunnyholt. With what at the time seemed a massive debt, the brothers moved onto their properties. They bought a crawler tractor for clearing the brigalow and, by always making sure theirs was the lowest quote, contracted out their services. Robert and his wife, Nytha, moved a caravan onto their property and parked it under a shelter — basically four posts with a tin roof — to make a home for their young family, while Wally, who at that stage was still single, lived in

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A COUNTRY SHOWPIECE

Clockwise from opposite: Holistic farming methods are central to the Pearts’ enterprise; the wetland dams are a haven for birdlife; the firepit is a great spot for enjoying the night sky spectacle.

a tent for two years. At the end of that time, however, they had cleared sufficient land to run stock and earned enough money to start buying cattle. As Wally recalls his pioneering phase, the thing he missed most was a bath. Having dug his ﬁrst dam, he pumped water from it to a tank on a stand. Then he fashioned a bathtub from a cutdown 44-gallon drum and presto, he was on his way to civilisation. The house was next on the to-do list. Having gained permission to dismantle an abandoned oil drilling rig that was on his land, Wally used this to make the framework for his dream home. He liked using local materials and his grandfather was a stonemason, so it wasn’t too much of a leap to make a stone and timber house, admittedly with help from a trained stonemason. By the time Wally met and married Helen, Sunnyholt boasted the relative luxury of the house overlooking one of several wetland dams on the property. When Rowan and his sister, Pauline, came along Wally was well into a side career in agripolitics, which saw him become the president of the Cattle Council of Australia, vice president of the National Farmers’ Federation, and a board member of many organisations including Landcare Australia, Greening Australia, the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation and the Great Paciﬁc Cattle Company. In 1989 he was awarded a CBE for services to the cattle industry. “I loved the hurly burly of politics and lobbying, but at heart I was always a farmer,” he says. “I’d learnt a lot about cattle management in Nebraska and was eager to put that into practice.” As Rowan takes up the story, Sunnyholt today is run on a hybrid of Wally’s approach to cattle breeding, holistic farming methods Rowan learned during a three-year course with Rural Consulting Services and knowledge gained from ecotourism studies in Africa. In summer it’s all about the cattle and their management and during the quieter times in the paddock in winter, the focus shifts to tourism and sharing their lifestyle with visitors to the property. Rowan and Maddie have opened several houses and workers’ huts on the property as self-catering accommodation and welcome visitors for anything from several nights to several weeks. The absolute jewel in the crown of their accommodation options is The Outpost, which Rowan candidly admits was born as a Boy’s Own getaway during his single days, when he and a mate sketched out their vision for a drinking shed on the back of a bar coaster. What they ended up with is a spectacularly located, off-the-grid stone hut perched in the foothills of the Arcadia Valley’s most predominant mountain, Castle Hill. The lights and fridge are run using solar 62

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A COUNTRY SHOWPIECE

Clockwise from right: Rowan, Maddie and their son, Hunter, at home; the Arcadia Valley is walled on either side by ranges; Rowan at the wheel of his repurposed Prado tour vehicle; it's a hard call whether sunrise or sunset delivers the better spectacle.

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energy with a generator as backup, there’s a gas cooker, barbecue and fire pit for meals and a big verandah for taking in the sunsets and breathtaking night skies. The Pearts also offer station tours where the workings of the property are explained in as much detail as guests want to absorb as well as bird watching, swimming and canoeing on the wetland dams, bush walking and movie screenings in an outdoor cinema. Being a glass-half-full kind of guy, Rowan turned the potential disaster of a Prado rollover into a positive, by cutting it down to create his very own version of a safari vehicle for taking guests on his station tours. As Rowan gets behind the wheel to show Australian Country around, he explains that Sunnyholt’s cattle might look like liquorice allsorts, but are in fact, the product of decades of cross-breeding. “Let’s call them Wally’s Special Mix,” he says. “They developed from a mix of Shorthorn, Chianina, Sahiwal and Afrikaner cattle and have a high Brahman content so they stand up to drought well. They might look shotgun, but they are actually very thoroughly researched.” This mix, when combined with low-stress stock handling techniques and cell grazing, is proving a winning formula for the Pearts. “Instead of flogging a big paddock to death, we’ve broken the paddocks into much smaller parcels and we rotate the cattle through them,” Rowan says.”We do a grid grass assessment on foot every three weeks and the stock are so used to being moved around that we can shift them by calling them. It’s a vastly different system to having dogs and bikes moving cattle from one huge paddock to another, but it results in much healthier stock.” Rowan adds that they are in the process of converting the herd to organic certification, which means eliminating the use of chemicals on the property. “Our biggest problem is not droughts, floods, bushfires or wild dogs,” he adds. “It’s brigalow regrowth. If we were to walk away the brigalow would come back with vengeance, so we have to keep on top of it. Brigalow strangles everything that grows under it, so first and foremost I am a grass farmer, keeping pasture up for the stock. When Dad came here this was a wasteland, but now it’s viable country. When he arrived there were hardly any birds, and since he created the wetlands there are now more than 200 birds on our list. It goes without saying that we are really proud of what we have achieved here and that’s why we love to have visitors and show them around.”

“Our biggest problem is not droughts, floods, bushfires or wild dogs, it’s brigalow regrowth.”

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A COUNTRY SHOWPIECE

SIBLING REVELRY Now that Wally and Robert Peart have handed much of the day-to-day farm work over to the next generation, they are able to exercise their considerable creative skills. ROBERT After 40 years with his “head down and tail up” on his cattle station, Robert Peart says he relishes the freedom to indulge his passion for timber. “I’ve always been a hobbyist furniture maker, but life on the farm involved a lot of work,” he says. “Now that I’ve handed most of that over to my son, I’m free to indulge myself a little.” He adds that he is only interested in using timber from dead trees and harvests much of his material from the paddock. That might include brigalow, crows ash or ooline, but he also trades or buys rainforest timbers including greenheart, which is exceptionally durable, if not somewhat hard on his tools. While Robert says he does accept commissions, he likes to take his time, and usually ends up giving his work away. “I’m never short of inspiration,” he says. “I believe imagination grows from being exercised. Many men don’t have a retirement hobby, but I have the opposite problem of not having enough time left to create all the things I have in my head.”

Clockwise from left: Robert’s realm revolves around local timber harvested from dead trees in the paddock.

WALLY As Helen Peart observes, Wally’s engineering training has stood him in good stead as it allows him “to work things out”. So when he decided to enrol in a sculpture course at Toowoomba’s McGregor art school (now part of the University of Southern Queensland) he embraced the challenge when a tutor instructed them to think outside the box. “I always dabbled in creative pursuits and Helen is a talented artist,” he says. “We’ve had numerous exhibitions with a group of local artists known as Six Artists from Out of Nowhere and I made furniture to supplement income during droughts. But gradually I became more and more drawn to working with bronze and aluminium.’’ So when issued with the challenge, Wally looked to the Sunnyholt landscape for inspiration. What he found was an abandoned termite mound, which he turned into moulds for molten metal to create intricate and original works that look like coral formations. Wally, who insists he cannot draw, says he is always on the lookout for new materials and moulds and uses whatever he has to hand on the property. That might include repurposing agricultural equipment into a metal ﬁgure, creating an emu from chicken wire, or making monuments out of his favourite building material, rock. “Art is a great escape for the trials and tribulations of living on the land,” he says. “It’s the best way to shut off and relax.”

Clockwise from left: Wally’s world spans a life-long fascination with stone and metal sculptures that owe their existence to the labyrinthine structure of abandoned termite mounds.

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ESCAPE ROUTES

A Vision Splendid The Queensland town of Winton enjoys its time in the spotlight as the Hollywood of the outback. By Kirst y McKenzi e, photogr aphy Ken Br as s

Clockwise from opposite: The Royal Theatre is an open-air venue for night-time screenings (photo: by Maree Azzopardi); patrons love the canvas seats; Qantas sponsors a short film competion; Margaret left her mark on the main street; the festival offers a packed program of movies and social events.

It’s the opening night of the Vision Splendid Film Festival and the host town of Winton, 1350 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, has turned on a typical western Queensland winter welcome. In other words it’s as cold as charity in the Royal Open Air Theatre and the popcorn sellers are doing a roaring trade hiring out fleecy blankets to the patrons who are hunkering down in the canvas deck chairs for the screening of David Stratton: A Cinematic Life. David’s not there, but his partner in film of almost 30 years, Margaret Pomeranz is, along with actor Roy Billing, director Sally Aitkin, producer Bill Leimbach, a host of local dignitaries, visiting film buffs, and curious grey nomads from the caravan park across the road, who’ve been attracted by the action in the street. I come from this part of the world, so I’ve come prepared for the cloudless blue sky and benign mid-20-degree day to turn into a star-studded frosty night. But somehow in the

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juggle of overcoats, knee rugs and scarves I manage to lose an earring. Not just any earring, as it contains a threepence minted in my birth year. It’s worth even less than the value of the coin to anybody other than me, but it’s a sentimental loss. By the time I realise it’s missing, the opening night after party is in full swing in the beer garden of the nearby North Gregory Hotel. So I retrace my steps in the dark, and search the dirt floor of the cinema in vain. I find a few jaffas and the odd Fantale wrapper but no earring. Ah well, I reflect, that’s the last time I’ll be wearing them, and head back to the pub to join the revelry. In many ways Winton, population 900-ish, is the little town that could. The wool industry collapsed, the train stopped running, and the drought seems never ending. But Winton has refused to die and looked to tourism as its lifeline. The region has long attracted visitors for the surrounding opal fields and there are other subterranean riches in the form of dinosaur remains. The first discovery of a fossilised

ESCAPE ROUTES

Clockwise from above: Artistic director Greg Dolgopolov and festival regular, Jennifer Egan; the North Gregory Hotel; the North Gregory is a festival hub; paradise for film-makers; the open-air Royal Theatre; Margaret Pomeranz and Roy Billing were in town for Vision Splendid.

footprint in the shire was made in 1962, on Cork station. This led to the uncovering of the world’s only recorded dinosaur stampede, now known as the Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackway. Later revelations include what was then the largest dinosaur skeleton found in Australia, a 20-30 tonne sauropod, Savannasaurus elliottorum, nicknamed Elliot for local grazier David Elliot who discovered it while mustering sheep on his Belmont station in 1999 and its friends, more long-necked herbivore sauropods and meat-eating theropods of varying sizes and types. David and his wife, Judy, have been the driving force behind many digs and discoveries on their station and in 2002 they called a public meeting aimed at establishing a dinosaur museum at Winton. In 2006 Peter and Carol Britton, owners of Mt Landsborough Station near Winton, donated 1400 hectares of mesa, or jump-up country, to the not-forproﬁt group as a site for the museum, the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, which opened in 2009 and provides a fascinating introduction to the region’s prehistory. 70

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Winton also has a place in recent history books as the hometown of our unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda. A. B. (Banjo) Paterson was staying on nearby Dagworth station in 1895 when he wrote the lyrics and legend has it that its first public performance was in the lounge of the North Gregory Hotel. You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about the song and the ill-fated swagman when the Waltzing Matilda Centre, which was destroyed by fire in 2015, reopens later this year. Yet another claim to fame is as the birthplace of the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd, now better known as our national carrier. Qantas was registered as a company in Winton and its first board meeting was held in 1920 in the Winton Club. Although the main headquarters for the airline moved to the more geographically central town of Longreach 178km to the south-east, the town remains proud of the connection. Alongside all these reasons to linger longer in Winton is its reputation as the Hollywood of the Outback. The first

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ESCAPE ROUTES

The ﬁlm-makers came for the landscape, but stayed for the people, as Winton welcomed the cast and crew with open arms.

Clockwise from above: Winton offers rich pickings for dinosaur hunters; the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum; the landscape around Winton; sunsets are spectacular; a camel train heads out of town; publican Clive Kitchen has been very supportive of the festival.

big film crew strode into town in 2004 when the cast and crew of The Proposition, written by Nick Cave and directed by John Hillcoat was made there. The blood on the set of this menacing western tale of brutality and brotherly bonds may have been fake, but the sweat and tears were completely real as the predominantly northern hemisphere cast grappled with the 40-plus-degree heat of a Winton summer. Due to a series of hold-ups before filming the film’s makers were left with no option but to shoot in the wilds of the Bladensburg National Park in the extreme midsummer conditions. As Screen Queensland’s Production Incentives and Attraction Manager Gina Black, who worked on The Proposition explains, the makers “came for the landscape, but stayed for the people”. “Winton welcomed the cast and crew with open arms,” she says. “Nothing was too much trouble. And of course, as many of the locals were extras, they became very personally involved in the project.” Then in 2013 Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road starring Aaron 72

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Pederson as an indigenous cowboy detective investigating a murder in his hometown, was made in and around Winton. Following the Queensland premiere, which was held in the open air theatre, a group of locals hatched the idea of a film festival. The ring leaders included Winton’s fiercest advocate, mayor Butch Lenton, who sadly passed away as this issue was going to press. But the Vision Splendid Festival would not have gained traction if it weren’t for Clive Kitchen, owner of the North Gregory Hotel. His son-in-law just happens to be Greg Dolgopolov, a lecturer in film at the University of NSW, who became the festival’s creative director. The inaugural festival opened in 2014 with a screening of The Slim Dusty Movie. The following year Michael Caton came to town for the Queensland premiere of Last Cab to Darwin, and in 2016, director Ivan Sen and Aaron Pederson were back again for an opening night screening of Goldstone, which was filmed 170km up the road at Middleton, but again with huge support from Winton Council and the local community.

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ESCAPE ROUTES

These pages: The forbidding landscape of sandstone ridges and grassland plains around Winton makes a great setting for Australian westerns.

By the time the opening credits rolled on the 2017 festival with its theme of women in film, the program included more than 30 screenings across nine days, masterclasses with screen writers and producers, breakfasts with the stars and tours to the spectacular local locations. There was a day devoted to dog movies, one where the theme was utes and special screenings for kids. Eleven of the 34 movies were directed by women. There were also 60 film students in town, part of an important footnote to the program. They included film students from Griffith Uni, the UNSW, Brisbane’s Conservatorium of Music, animation students from the Beijing Film Institute, a contingent from the Film and Television Institute of India and one German film student. The students were among more than 2500 people who came to Winton just for the event, and festival publicist Krista Hauritz was able to report 144 per cent growth in ticketing and 100 per cent in terms of sponsors since the festival’s inception. It doesn’t take a degree in higher maths

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to work out the importance of this patronage to the town, its hotels, cafes and accommodation venues. Return visitors included Brisbane film buff Jennifer Egan, who came with a friend in 2014 and has been back every year since. “This year I brought 16 friends,” she says. “It’s a juggernaut, because everyone I encourage to come brings their friends the following year. Apart from the fact that it’s great to attend a festival that is solely focused on Australian film, it’s wonderful to meet locals and receive their hospitality. After a few days in town, you really begin to feel like one of them.” On Australian Country’s second day in town, we were sitting at a pavement table outside our by then regular haunt, the Musical Fence Cafe, when a posse of film students came out of a script meeting for Follow Me, their entry in the Qantas Short Film Competition. We found ourselves involved in a kerbside chat about the plot and several surprising twists and turns. The competition is deadly serious for these students, a chance for them to make their

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mark on a cut-throat environment and be seen by industry professionals. In the first part of the week they pitched their synopses to a jury of film-makers and festival executives, and the six best contenders were given the go ahead to make a film of five minutes or less, to be screened on the festival’s closing night. The various prizes up for grabs include $500 cash and a tablet computer for the best film winner, but it’s the prestige they are chasing and the reason they are giving the project a red hot go. It’s impossible not to get swept up in the enthusiasm for their short road movie, which incorporates a car crash and its consequences for their protagonist, who has been co-opted from her day job in the Winton tourist office. We make a date to join them on set the following day and turn up for a first-hand insight into the future of the film industry, with a female producer, director and cinematographer. As the festival director Mark Melrose explains, the short film competition is aimed at attracting the next australiancountry.net.au

ESCAPE ROUTES This page: Film students from Griffith University, the University of NSW, Brisbane’s Conservatorium of Music, India’s leading film school and China’s foremost animation institute came to Winton to produce Qantas Short Film Competition entries.

“The festival committee is determined to develop a post-production space in town so crews will stay longer and inject even more into the community.” festival director Mark Melrose explains. generation of film-makers to outback Queensland, hopefully bringing more crews to Winton when they are making their own features. “The festival committee is determined to develop a post-production space in town so crews will stay longer and inject even more into the community,” he adds. As it turns out, our adopted film crew is not successful on the closing night, but they’re satisfied to have given it their best shot and that Follow Me received an enthusiastic audience reception. However there is one happy ending. On our last night in town, I’m passing reception at the North Gregory and I’m inspired to ask if anyone has handed in my missing earring. Sure enough, I’m directed to the bar, where it has been sitting in a glass since opening night. That’s Winton for you. Honest and open as the outback sky. Where nothing is impossible, including finding everything from opals and dinosaurs to lost earrings and award-winning Australian movies. 76

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Australia from above

Bird's eye view Photographer Nick Rains takes a journey across Australia AND bringS A fresh perspective ON THE LANDSCAPE WITH VIEWS from on high.

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Australia from above Below: The lush Coonawarra wine region around Penola in South Australia produces some of Australia's finest wine vintages, in particular exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is an extract from Aerial Australia by Nick Rains published by Explore Australia, $39.99, and available in stores nationally. The cover features a shot of the Adelaide River snaking across the Northern Territory landscape.

Below: The Lost City rock formations near Cape Crawford in eastern Northern Territory. The only way to visit some of these locations is by helicopter.

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A massive serpent is carved into the side of a rocky mesa near Betoota in western Queensland.

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Australia from above

Huge areas of Australia have been cleared for agriculture and from 10,000 metres you get a sense of the immense scale of these operations near Lake Liddelow in the Western Australian wheatbelt.

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Australia from above

Pink lakes are particularly easy to spot from the air. These two are from the Stirling Ranges in Western Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s south-west.

Below: In 1981 White Cliffs in NSW was the site of an early trial of solar power, a major benefit for remote outback communities. The opal-mining town has since been connected to the grid but the reflectors remain on display.

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Restoration story Rex Watson and Kate Pitt have spent the past 15 years turning their historic property into party central. By Ki rst y McKenzi e, photogr a phy Ken Br a s s

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from right: A sweeping driveway leads from the highway; Rex and Kate have created party central at Moira; the homestead bricks were fired on the property; building commenced in 1866;

There’s a sign in the kitchen at Moira station that reads: ‘Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Just take it and make it perfect’, which pretty much sums up the way Riverina water drilling contractor Rex Watson and his events director wife, Kate Pitt, approach every aspect of life on their property. The land upon which Moira sits is signiﬁcant in Australian geology, as the Cadell fault passes through the property, a seismic shift that started some 65,000 years ago and created a 12-15-metre high rift that runs from Deniliquin to 13 kilometres south of Echuca. The upheaval had major impact on the course of the Murray and other major rivers, and created the Moira and Barmah lakes and the surrounding red gum forests that are now protected by the Barmah National Park on the Victorian side and the Murray Valley National Park in NSW. Moira is also a signiﬁcant site for the traditional owners of the land, as there are ring trees, canoe scar trees, an ochre pit, ovens and middens on the property. Its

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from above: Ernie greets guests at Starry Nights; bedrooms in the boutique accommodation have retractable ceilings; the barn will become a museum for old farm equipment; claw-footed bath in the quarters capture views; a real deal record player.

European history began in 1842 when Henry Lewes and Charles Throsby settled the station. By 1848, the Moira Run boundaries were defined containing 100,000 acres (40,468 hectares) and carrying 3000 cattle and 4000 sheep. At various stages Moira homestead served as a Cobb & Co staging post and in 1850 inadvertently hosted bushranger Captain Melville, when he held the cook at gunpoint to make a meal for his gang, before they headed off with some of the station’s horses. In 1862, three-times Victorian premier, John O’Shannassy (later Sir John) bought the property as his country estate and four years later started work on the current 18-room homestead from bricks that were fired on site. In 1899 Moira passed to F.S. Faulkiner & Sons, who ran a Clydesdale horse stud as well as other grazing enterprises on the station. From 1910 to the 1960s it was owned by the Clark family and in the ensuing decades it had numerous owners, many of them absentee. As Rex tells the story, he first spotted the Moira 90

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homestead as a 17-year-old apprentice bore driller when he was travelling up from Maryborough in central Victoria to Deniliquin. “You couldn’t help but notice it as even from the road you could see it was an impressive cluster of buildings,” he recalls. “As well as the homestead there are also servants’ quarters, a station store, the bakery, and the barn, which began life as stables for 30 to 40 horses. In later years because no one was living there it gradually slipped into disrepair and people started pilfering bits of the buildings.” Rex adds that he has no doubt that the homestead would have been dismantled beyond salvation if he and Kate hadn’t bought the property in late 2003. What has followed has been an intense program of restoration, which includes the building of a boutique resort named Starry Nights, four luxuriously appointed self-contained apartments for visitors seeking the peace and quiet of the bush without having to sacriﬁce any creature comforts. The accommodation was constructed with bricks recycled from the station’s

Timber panelling on the floor and ceiling in the entrance hallway sets the scene for the opulent interiors.

A splendid vintage circus mural lines a hallway that links two sections of the sprawling homestead.

OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have so much here, that it just makes sense to share it, Rex and I do tend to collect things, so incorporating all our acquistions into our business was a good way of displaying them.â&#x20AC;?

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from above: The refurbished kitchen features a fabulous marble-topped island bench; Kate and her sister, Rickki, enjoy the family gathering; Kate describes her style as Boho meets Retro.

former shearer’s quarters, and is perched along the fault line, looking out to the wildlife haven of the forest wetlands that extend to the Murray River about three kilometres away. The kitchens are fully equipped for entertaining, there are generous decks with barbecues, big claw-footed bath tubs and twin-headed rainwater showers in the ensuites. The bedrooms come with retractable roofs, to provide the ultimate opportunity for enjoying the spectacular night skies. The quarters are part of Rex and Kate’s grand plan for Moira, which includes hosting destination weddings and bespoke events, turning the barn into a farm museum, restoring the former store to showcase local food and wine and even rebooting the old baker’s oven to deliver daily bread for their guests. “We have so much here, that it just makes sense to share it,” Kate says. “Rex and I do tend to collect things, so incorporating our acquisitions into our business was a good way of displaying them. My daughter, Carly, and I also have always dreamt about setting up

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a bespoke business together. We have been collecting beautiful frocks, couture wedding gowns and period costumes for years, so for anyone looking for something different for a function we now have enough gowns and accessories to outﬁt entire groups in every decade from WWI through to now.” It turns out that Rex and Kate are old hands at the hospitality game. For several years Rex and his brother and partner in Watson Drilling, David, ran a pub in Deniliquin, surely a true test of tolerance for your fellow humans. Kate has long been a staunch advocate for regional tourism and until she recently took a step back to concentrate on developing Moira, was the general manager of the Deni Ute Muster, an annual coming together of country music, utes and Aussie larrikinism. She was part of the community group that founded the Muster, which began life in 1999 as a self-help project for the district, which at the time was grappling with the combined impact of a crippling drought and poor commodity prices. The Muster has put

OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY The formal dining room is an opulent setting for entertaining and feasting.

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Clockwise from opposite: There’s an English-style bar where guests are welcome to enjoy drinks; big flowers and tapestries in the formal dining room; Kate is not afraid of colour; both Rex and Kate are inveterate collectors and the homestead is a great place to showcase their acquisitions.

Deniliquin on the map as the ute capital of Australia. The event now attracts around 20,000 visitors to the town and is run by an army of 1200 volunteers who do everything from marshalling the traffic to cleaning up the rubbish. Kate credits growing up in a close, fun-loving family that never let a milestone pass without a celebration as the genesis of her passion for events and entertaining. So in spite of the fact that she and Rex have been away for several weeks, a new kitchen has been installed, but not fully completed, in their absence, and while Australian Country photography is taking place, she decides to invite “a few family members” around for a homecoming celebration coupled with a christening of the new kitchen. The “few” turns out to be about 15 people around the table and a procession of others dropping by for a catchup, but Kate and Rex seem utterly unfazed by the chaos, perhaps even oblivious to its extent. It’s a joyous, at times rambunctious, gathering with huge

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platters of food being passed around, wine flowing, and people talking over each other as they vie to tell the best “true story”. As is the way when there hasn’t been a baby in the family for a while, everyone competes for cuddles with Kate and Rex’s granddaughter, Stella, who amazingly seems to enjoy being treated as some kind of human pass the parcel. If this is a casual family lunch, we can only wonder what Christmas is like. There is so much goodwill in the room you wonder if the walls can contain it. Indeed, it follows us out the door as we head back to the quarters, Kate thrusts containers of leftovers and wine in our hands. Rex emphasises that he’s a water drilling contractor not a farmer — his daughter, Josie, is in charge in the paddocks, where a menagerie of animals range freely. She is planning to breed boer goats, but there are also sheep, a few alpacas and Ernie the ostrich, who somehow managed to find his way onto the trailer when she and Rex went to buy chickens. There’s also a fledgling orchard, which in time will

OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

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OUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

provide visitors with a complete paddock-to-plate experience. Ironically Kate admits that she had no intention of ever living at Moira. “We had a lovely house in Deniliquin,” she says. “At ﬁrst we were weekend warriors, pretty much camping here. For 12 years we didn’t have a kitchen, just a trusty old St George cooker parked in the pantry and a barbecue. But then we thought: what’s the point of looking forward to the weekends when we could live here permanently, so we made the move.” She adds that they are fortunate that Moira has so many tiers to its story. “It has indigenous and farming history, bushrangers, booms and busts,” she says. “It’s where this region has grown up and we are grateful that it’s now our family home and we are in a position to share it and make it work as a business as well. Yes we have big dreams for Moira, but I know we have something special to showcase. I ﬁrmly believe that if you offer a real experience, it will work.” For more information visit moirastation.com.au.

Right: Kate and Rex’s grandaughter, Stella, has her own caravan cubby. Above: The extended Pitt and Watson families gather for a highspirited celebration, which is typical of Moira’s generous hospitality.

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SUMMER DRINKS

Refresher course Cool down on a hot day with these fabulously fresh drinks.

----Classic Monkey Mule

Makes 1

60ml Ocean SprayÂŽ Low Sugar Cranberry Juice Drink 45ml gin 15ml lime juice 3 dashes orange bitters Honey, to taste Spicy ginger beer (or diet spicy ginger beer), for topping up Mint sprig, to serve Add Low Sugar Cranberry Juice Drink, gin, lime juice, bitters and honey to a glass and stir. Top with spicy ginger beer, garnish with mint and serve cold.

----Lucky Tom Cocktail Makes 1

30ml Ocean SprayÂŽ Low Sugar Cranberry Juice Drink 20ml gin

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SUMMER DRINKS

either sparkling water or wine. Garnish with extra mint sprigs, if desired.

5ml apple cider vinegar Sparkling wine, to top up Lemon twist, to serve

----Cranberry Sangria

Add all ingredients except wine to a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into champagne ﬂute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with lemon twist.

Makes 6

1 litre Ocean Spray® Cranberry Classic™ Fruit Drink 750ml bottle red wine, chilled 4 tablespoons lime cordial 500ml sparkling water or lemonade Lime slices to garnish

----Cranberry Lime Spritzer Makes 1

3 sprigs fresh mint 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 100ml Ocean Spray® Cranberry Classic™ Fruit Drink Sparkling water or sparkling white wine, to serve Remove mint leaves from 2 stems; place in the

bottom of a tall glass. Add lime juice. Crush the mint leaves against the side and bottom of the container with the handle of a wooden spoon. Add ice. Pour in Cranberry Fruit Drink and top with

Mix together the Cranberry Fruit Drink and red wine in a large jug or punch bowl. Add the lime cordial. Gently stir in the water or lemonade just before serving. Garnish with lime slice. Tip: For added kick you could add two 50ml shots of brandy. australiancountry.net.au

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cooking schools

Brush up on your kitchen skills with a cook’s tour around the country. compiled by kirsty mckenzi e

KIRBY’S AT RICKETY GATE (WA) Until recently Jacqueline and Frederick Kirby ran an acclaimed restaurant at Rickety Gate Wines, a boutique winery and weekend cellar door in Denmark’s Scotsdale Valley. But now they have closed that business to concentrate on the catering and events side of their business. You can still enjoy the delights of Frederick’s menu however, as he shares his recipes and professional expertise with regular cooking classes in the former restaurant’s kitchen. Weekend cooking retreats, corporate workshops and private classes are also available. ricketygateestate.com.au

REAL FOOD COOKING CLASSES (NT) Expat Kiwis Stu Todd (a ﬁnalist in the 2011 MasterChef NZ) and nutritionist, health specialist and lifestyle coach Matt Straight have joined forces in Alice Springs to run cooking classes presenting affordable, achievable, nutritionally balanced recipes for entertaining. The classes are held in the food tech room at St Philip’s College and participants work in pairs to cook gourmet meals, which they then share. Watch out for the upcoming Valentine’s Day special and register quickly because this is a very popular class. realfoodcookingclasses.com

includes milling the grain, mashing in, pumping water, handling hot liquor and wort and lots of heating, cooling, measuring, timing, stirring, wielding the spurtle, as well as removing the spent grain, cleaning out the fermenters and brewhouse and lots of talk about beer. Most of the brewery’s beers take about a month to ferment and condition, so when it’s ready the team will send participants a complimentary six pack of your very own brew. brightbrewery.com.au

PICKLED SISTERS (VIC) Husband and wife team Stewart Gilchrist and Marion Hansford have been running their celbrated cafe at Cofield Wines at Wahgunyah in the Rutherglen wine region of north-eastern Victoria for more than a decade. They share their paddock-to-plate ethos with monthly cooking classes followed by lunch in the vineyard with wines introduced by winemaker Damien Cofield. Classes are seasonally focused and may concentrate on topics such as oranges and lemons or something fishy. Participants wanting to extend the experience can opt to glamp in permanently erected bell tents overlooking the vines. pickledsisters.com.au

BIOTA (NSW) LIFE’S A FEAST (QLD)

Clockwise from above: Real Food dessert; class at Kirby’s at Rickety Gate; Real Food in the NT; a paddle tasting at Bright Brewery; the pass at Pickled Sisters; barbecue class at Biota; Biota’s polytunnel inspires the menu; a Pickled Sisters platter; the business end of Bright Brewery; pasta making at Life’s a Feast; Flavours of Noosa with Life’s a Feast.

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Classes at Life’s a Feast begin with tea or coffee on the verandah of Gail Rast’s Noosaville home overlooking a tropical garden and a national park beyond. Then groups of up to 10 move indoors for classes on a subjects that range from pasta making, barbecue and paleo cooking to the cuisines of Italy, Spain, Morocco and Indonesia. A feature class called Flavours of Noosa starts with a visit to the Noosa Farmers’ Market followed by a class focusing on produce bought from the stall holders. Private and team building classes are also available and Gail has an Air BnB room in her home for participants from further aﬁeld. lifesafeast.com.au

BREWER FOR A DAY (VIC) Brew a batch of Bright Brewery’s award-winning beer under the supervision of head brewer Richard Chamberlin. This hands-on experience for a maximum of four people

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Inspired by local dairy produce, livestock, vegetables and wild ingredients, Biota at Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands has developed an enviable reputation for its sustainable, imaginative menu. Now the team shares its tricks of the trade with workshops that begin with dinner at the restaurant on Thursday evening and an overnight stay in the rooms. After breakfast a maximum of 10 students participate in workshops on subjects ranging from natural bread baking, fermentation and vinegars to cocktail making, barbecues and an introduction to smoking. They also offer a garden experience that begins with planting seeds and harvesting produce from the restaurant’s polytunnel. biotadining.com Let us know about your forthcoming classes by writing to us at Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670 or emailing kmckenzie@ universalmagazines.com.au.

cooking schools

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GARDEN PROFILE

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GARDEN PROFILE

Sustainability showpiece But for a stroke of fate, Doug Rawlinson would not be living on his historic property on the outskirts of Goulburn. By Ki rst y McKenzi e, photogr a phy Ken Br a s s

Methodical is practically Doug Rawlinson’s middle name. So the irony of the fact that his life was framed by a ﬁve-second encounter is not lost on the former electronics technician turned nurseryman. As Doug tells his story, in the early 1950s his father was living in Cootamundra and desperately in need of work. An offer came up, but he had to go to Sydney to apply for it. “So he rode his pushbike the 400-odd kilometres,” Doug explains. “It took him a week, and when he eventually got to the agency, it just happened that he was standing in line beside Ernie Hyles, who was a prominent Canberra entrepreneur and grazier. As it turned out Ernie was looking for a manager for one of his properties and there on the spot he hired my dad. A few years later he asked Dad if he’d like to move to Goulburn where he had another property called Kentgrove. Which is how, from the ages of about four to 10, I came to be living on the property that 50 years later I ended up buying.” Kentgrove’s history goes back to the 1840s when the property was established as a fruit orchard, which at its peak had 30,000 trees. It had its own cannery and that building, along with a two-storey stone stable and the much-extended original house, survive to the present day. “At different times the homestead has been the residence of three of Goulburn’s mayors so the house became grander through the years,” Doug says. “The largest extension was in 1901, when the core of the house was wrapped in a brick envelope.” In 1930 Kentgrove was reinvented as a sheep station and the cannery building became the shearing shed. It was during this incarnation that the Rawlinson family moved to what was then a 3200-acre (1295-hectare) property and

Doug went to school in town. Upon graduation he studied electronics and for many years worked for manufacturing and broadcasting giant AWA. “I lived in a world of valves,” he says. “You have to be very methodical to work in electronics as you need to understand how every component ﬁts together. I learned how to build every part of a TV. It’s not just the wiring, it’s the plastic moulding, the woodwork, pressing out the metal, the electroplating … of course it’s highly mechanised these days, but I learned all the processes. When you

Clockwise from opposite: The garden looks to the Cookbundoon Ranges; Doug created a wildlife corridor beside the garden; Doug in his domain.

“At different times the Kentgrove homestead has been the residence of three of Goulburn’s mayors so the house became grander through the years.” australiancountry.net.au

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GARDEN PROFILE

work on a production line, you have to be good at timing and it turns out that I turned these skills to also being good at managing money. I just break things into segments and plug away until I reach my goal.” Doug returned to Goulburn and ran an electronics shop until 1981 when he decided to reinvent himself as a nurseryman. “I’d always loved plants and gardening, and I just decided that I wanted a change,” he recalls. “I started small, propagating my own plants and selling them from my backyard and gradually built up to a full-scale nursery in town. In a way I’m lucky not to be formally trained as I’m not held back by the constraints of standard horticultural teaching. I just learned by trial and error and broke it down into the areas I needed to master — soil, plants, water management and dealing with nature.” As Doug pretty quickly discovered, nature in Goulburn is a pretty formidable beast, with extremes of heat and cold, blistering winds and water shortages and restrictions. “Climate change is not just an abstract when you’re a gardener,” he observes. “It’s an everyday reality that impacts on all aspects. I’m involved with a local climate group and we’re concerned with lots of projects ranging from water management solar power generation.” So it was a given in 2006, when the opportunity came up to purchase his childhood home, that Doug jumped at the chance and set about re-establishing the garden as a standard-bearer for sustainability.

“By the time I came along, the property was reduced to 35 acres (14 hectares),” he says. “I joke that I am probably the Kentgrove owner who paid the most to get the least in terms of land. It may look like I live in a mansion, but in fact I live on the smell of an oily rag and I do most things on my own. I’m also pretty good at repurposing and recycling.” When Doug took over, the garden amounted to a bare paddock with 13 pear trees and one apricot tree surviving from the original orchard and a few trees, including a

Clockwise from above: Doug restored the garden surrounding the 1840s homestead; raised vegie beds; smell the roses; the Japanese section.

“Climate change is not just an abstract when you’re a gardener, it’s an everyday reality that impacts on all aspects.” australiancountry.net.au

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spindle bush and two towering pines, reminders of the first settlers. He has spent the past 11 years landscaping almost five acres of gardens, as well as creating a natural woodland on the property to provide a wildlife corridor and a home for vulnerable plants, animals and birds. Since his retirement in 2011, this has been a full-time labour of love and commitment to demonstrating climate-change remediation principles. First priority was to provide an adequate water supply, to combat both the searing summers and concurrent bushfire threats. To Kentgrove’s still operational original well, Doug has added a bore-fed one megalitre dam, a 100,000-litre tank and a 22,000-litre header tank. “I can fill the tank with petrol or electric pumps,” Doug says. “My ultimate aim is to have solar power for the dam and the house so we can get off the grid. To alleviate my concerns about fire there are about 23 taps dotted around the land, though of course they wouldn’t be enough if a raging fire came through. I also keep five cows as lawnmowers to keep the grass down.” The next major project was to establish a Victorian-era English kitchen garden on what was previously the tennis court. To protect it from the wind, he planted a green leylandi hedge that will be clipped to 40cm wide and two metres tall, and added shadecloth to protect against the summer sun, and, for the past three winters, heavy snowfalls. The garden now has somewhere between 80 to 100 different vegetables growing in seasonal rotation and about 40, mostly dwarf, fruit trees including apples, peaches,

nectarines, pears, cherries, nuts and a variety of citrus. There are also various berry and grape vines, herbs and ﬂowers to encourage bees. “There are also an experimental avocado and a grapefruit,” he says. “Like every gardener I have failures, but I don’t start out vast. I build a bed and see if it works and take it from there. What Doug terms his “second-latest folly” was the task of turning the former canning factory and shearing shed into a meeting and function centre with an

Clockwise from above: The kitchen garden; a rose climbing over the gate; a windmill adds a rustic touch; a shed for enjoying quiet contemplation.

“Like every gardener I have failures, but I don’t start out vast. I build a bed and see if it works and take it from there.” australiancountry.net.au

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Clockwise from above: The temperate rainforest room is in the former cannery; bridge to the teahouse; statuary in the Japanese garden.

undercover temperate rainforest room. “Everything in there is recycled,” he says. “I used the shearing shed ﬂoor to make the walkways and I created ponds and a couple of waterfalls to increase the humidity for growing rainforest plants. It’s great to see birds nesting in there and frogs and lizards enjoying the ecosystem.” The idea for Doug’s latest addition, the Japanese garden, came when he had 20 Japanese maples left after he closed

“I’ve built my interpretation of a teahouse, with six waterfalls, and added about 80 deciduous trees including lots of weeping cherries, which look amazing in spring.” 112

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the nursery. It just didn’t ﬁt with his waste-not philosophy to let them die, so he set to work creating an 800-square metre tribute to the Land of the Rising Sun. “I’ve built my interpretation of a teahouse, with six waterfalls, and added about 80 deciduous trees including lots of weeping cherries, which look amazing in spring,” he says. “Everything in a Japanese garden is there for a purpose. The stepping stones are close together to slow the visitor’s progress and remind you not to rush through life. Underground gutters from the teahouse drain into the pond, which of course is stocked with koi symbolising courage and strength in adversity”. Which could well be Doug’s motivating force. The truly remarkable thing about the garden is that the lion’s share of the work has been done on his own. “I did hire a back hoe for two days to help with the roads and build the pond, but the rest has been done by hand,” he says. “That includes clearing 17 cubic metres of sheep manure (he estimates about 10 tonnes) from under the shearing shed. But every bit of it went into the garden. I did have a setback when had an accident in 2012 pulling a sheep out of a dam for a neighbour. I injured both my rotator cuffs and they will never heal. But I’m not about to sit inside and watch TV for the rest of my life, so I’ve learnt to do everything close to my body. I open the garden to interested groups and it’s worth every bit of the effort to see the way they respond to seeing sustainability in action.” To arrange to visit Kentgrove email Doug on greenlife1@optusnet.com.au.

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valentine’s gift guide LEFT: Coomber Bros rings, POA. Who wouldn’t want to say “I do” with a stunning ring from Coomber Jewellers? Create an enduring masterpiece that is limited only by your imagination. coomberbros.com.au RIGHT: Roses are red, violets are blue, Melissa Allen Mood Essentials cost less than a dinner for two! So why not treat your Valentine with a different approach to fragrances that are a combination of perfume and 100 per cent natural essential oils developed to smell great and help a person feel great. Priced at $38 for 50ml. melissaallenmood essentials.com

For love alone

treat that special person in your life with an original gift. c omp i l e d by f i c o l l i n s

a classic silver minimalist dial. Making a further statement is the thin stripe of luminosity. So put yourself in the thick of the action with this Australian stand out, which has been designed and assembled with meticulous attention by hand in Brisbane. adinawatches.com.au

ABOVE: The fashionable vintage demeanour is more than a facade on this performance-bred Australian Adina Countrymaster sports watch, $349. Sublime-feeling soft leather exudes a tough yet sophisticated personality, a feel which is added to by

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BELOW: Kylie’s Professional Mineral Goddess range of cosmetics is the natural and professional Australian brand founded by Kylie

Eustace, three times finalist Australian Make-up Artist of the Year. Containing certified organic waxes and oils and high-pigment minerals, the dense bases provide exceptional coverage and longevity. Cruelty-free, vegan, and perfect for everyday and professional use. kylies.com.au

RIGHT: Uberkate’s Lovelines are solid nuggets of metal to include messages, names, longtitude and latitude, or a heart line. Lovelines are solid, dependable, unisex and can be engraved on both sides. Use the Your Script service to write your message or engrave an image. Priced from $195 for a silver nugget. uberkate.com.au

valentine’s gift guide BELOW: Spoil yourself or a loved one with the gift of natural, vegan, nut-free skincare. Raw Beauty skincare is formulated using wild-harvest and certified organic Australian native extracts and essential oils. The range has something for everyone, including a body wash, lotion, body butter, scrub, lip balm and saponified cleansing bar. Certified Cruelty Free.Prices start from just $4.95. rawbeautynaturally.com.au

RIGHT: Enjoy some organic cheeky goodness and get creative with a matching pair of New Zealand-made Colour Me Thunderpants. Made from organically grown cotton with just enough spandex to give them an outstandingly comfortable, soft, stretchy feel, they are available in sizes and styles for men and women. Priced at NZ$28 for women’s hipster or original, NZ$38 for men’s boxers. You can also buy a bag of four crayons for NZ$9.50. thunderpants.co.nz/ collections/colour-me

BELOW: Griffin + Row has created a naturally effective, five-step, simple, skincare system with Centess Complex, a cocktail of the purest plant extracts, known for their antioxidant and regenerative properties directly targeting the causes of skin ageing. Griffin + Row products, from $25, are developed by scientists and inspired by nature with hydration and balance at their core. Finally, a natural skincare range that truly works. griffinandrow.com

RIGHT: A unison of Australia’s world-renowned winemaking traditions and the most advanced alcohol removal technology, Edenvale’s sparking cuvée, $9.89, is perfect for celebrating life’s most special moments. shopedenvale.com.au

ABOVE: Jsala Soy Candles’ pure soy candles and goats’ milk products are handcrafted in Yarrambat Victoria. Unique glassware and exotic fragrances are the hallmarks of Jsala Soy products, priced from $11 for a small candle. jsalasoycandles.com.au

aussie gift guide

LEFT: Burbia tea towels, $24.95, are a funfilled showcase of Australia all the way from A to Z. Featuring our most iconic landmarks, places and favourites they make the perfect gift for friends and family, near or far. burbia.com.au/collections/tea-towels/ products/a-z-of-australia-tea-towel

Homemade Celebrate australia Day with this wonderful selection of locally made products. c omp i l e d by f i c o l l i n s

ABOVE: Eagle Woolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boots are 100 per cent Australian-made, priced from $129. Various sizes, colours and styles are available including ankle, mid-calf and knee-high styles, as well as lace-up, leather, cowhide and many more variations. eaglewools.com.au

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RIGHT: This luxurious Onkaparinga wool quilt, from $459.95, is made using premium quality Australian wool filling, providing the ultimate in warmth and superior comfort for year round use. Made in Australia with Australian machinewashable wool. Available in queen and king size. onkaparinga.com.au

australiancountry.net.au

aussie gift guide LEFT: 1803 is committed to the noseto-tail philosophy and a spirit of collaboration as the cpmpany handcrafts beautiful leather and antler products from farmed Australian red deer. Its heroes are the

Australian artisans who dare to keep rare old skills alive; their attention to detail in crafting each piece means the premium goods are released in small runs. The 1803 collection embraces authentic,

ruggedly handsome products that are completely traceable from the farm gate. 1803.com.au

friendly, AussieMite is available in 175g jars from independent grocers and major retailers for $3.45. aussiemite.com.au

LEFT: AussieMite is a yummy spread made from yeast extract that’s jam packed with the good stuff such as vitamins B and B12 and folic acid. Gluten-free and vegan

ABOVE: Australia’s favourite Akubra is the Cattleman, $185, a style in the tradition of the Australian stockman. It features a pinch crown and broad, dipping brim

ABOVE: Your heart is sure to race with the Adina Oceaneer sports watch, $499. The bold lines accentuate the 44mm case which features a vintage box crystal creating a bridge to the past, which is supported by the fine Arabic numerals, big date and subsecond hand. Of course the luxurious feeling of the solid bracelet rounds out what is sure to become a classic. As with all Adina products, this watch has been hand-made in the Brisbane workshop. adinawatches.com.au

ABOVE: Jsala Soy Candles’ pure soy candles and goats’ milk products are hand-crafted in Yarrambat Victoria. Unique glassware and exotic fragrances are the hallmarks of Jsala Soy products, priced from $11 for a small candle. jsalasoycandles.com.au

with eyelet vents, an 83mm brim and bound edge. akubra.com.au RIGHT: Sparkke’s What’s Planet B? New England Pale Ale is a tropical, juicy, hazy sessionable beer made by an award-winning brewer. Ten per cent of direct sales support climate

change education. $81 for a case of 24 330ml cans. sparkke.com/ shop/bevvies

This versatile lightweight Smitten Merino twisted shrug, $149, is a little bit poncho and a little bit pashmina ... perfect to throw over a dress or an elegant outfit in the evening, and great for travel as it is so light. Made from 100 per cent merino wool, it’s available in black, cream and soft grey. smittenmerino.com

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Embroidered Treasures of the Embroiderers’ Guild. By Dr Annette Collinge RRP: $36.99

The Embroiderers Guild was founded in 1906 and has in its collection embroideries from all over the world. These wonderful works, which somehow survived through the ages, could be said to be one of the most important group of embroideries assembled in one place. Stitched pieces and fragments were gathered together by early members of the Guild and inserted into portÁios that were circulated among members. Nature has always been a huge source of inspiration to embroiderers and this fantastic book showcases the Embroiders Guilds huge collection of embroidered Áowers through the ages.

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Chelsea Park Be transported back in time and share a unique Art Deco experience. When you arrive at Chelsea Park you soon appreciate why it is called “Hollywood in the Highlands”. This is a boutique bed and breakfast with a difference. Single night stays are welcome and the tariff will surprise. Guests ﬁnd it hard to leave and repeat bookings speak for themselves. Chelsea Park is close to all the magic that is “the Southern Highlands of NSW” it is “a world away” yet so close. Ask about Arcadia House a comfortable 5 bedroom home, ideal for family reunions or “girl’s weekends away”. Child friendly, with all you need to make your stay a pleasure Arcadia House is a place you can call “your home in the Highlands”.

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scene & heard

Out & about By Ki r s t y Mc K e nz i e

RASF Scholarship awards

Clockwise ffrom above: b The presentation was a great opportunity for the Australian Country team to meet our scholarship winner, Katrina Nash, and her parents, Eddie and Karen; winners, their families and scholarship donors mingled at the presentation events across NSW.

There were plenty of proud moments as the Royal Agricultural Society Foundation (RASF) hosted its rural scholarship presentations in a series of events at Armidale, Wagga Wagga and the Sydney Showground. Each year the RASF provides scholarships for country students to help them with their studies. There is no limit on the types of courses that qualify or the age of the students. They could be studying anything from physiotherapy, engineering, teaching, agricultural science, horticulture, medicine, nursing, wool classing and commerce â&#x20AC;Ś and almost everything in between. The scholars can be at university, TAFE or doing VET courses, studying on campus or online. However they all have one thing in common â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a desire to play an active part in the future of rural NSW. Since 2011 the RASF has awarded $1.7 million to 370 scholarship winners and the recent ceremony added 64 new recipients to the honour roll. The Sydney Showground event was a great opportunity to learn more about the students and the impact the scholarships have on their lives, allowing them to focus on study and work experience and help with the costs of living away from home. For the Australian Country team it was lovely to catch up with A o our very own scholarship winner, Katrina Nash, and m meet her parents, Karen and Eddie. Congratulations to all.

Let us know about your upcoming event. Email the Editor, Kirsty McKenzie on kmckenzie@universal magazines.com.au.

australiancountry.net.au

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in the shops

GILLY STEPHENSON

CANNARD HATS

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The Gilly Stephenson Food Safe Wax is a rich, soft wax perfect for a natural finish on a variety of raw timber/bamboo surfaces. Made from a blend of beeswax, EcoSoya and carnauba waxes, it penetrates deeply. gillystephenson.com

If you love being outdoors then a Cannard hat is the perfect protection. Certified UPF50, you can enjoy a day at the races or a day in the garden. Create a custom look from the huge range of hat styles and trims. cannardhats.com.au

The Anti-Ageing Face Cream from MooGoo is a natural moisturiser designed to improve sun-damaged skin. The base is made using olive squalene, which mimics the oil younger skin naturally produces. moogoo.com.au

store strolling Things we love that you are bound to want in your life. c omp i l e d by f i c o l l i n s

JSALA SOY CANDLES

WAM HOME DECOR

CANTERBURY SINK & TAP

With more than 45 fragrances to choose from, Jsala Soy Candles are hand produced and offer traditional as well as contemporary scents. The range extends to room sprays, diffusers and skin products. jsalasoycandles.com.au

New from WAM, these outdoor cushions are perfect for creating a tropical oasis vibe. Water repellent, UV treated, and colourfastness to sunlight means these cushions will keep their vibrant look. wamhomedecor.com.au

Canterbury Bath and Basin’s Aurelius bath brings classic style to your bathroom. This bath has an internal overflow, and is maintenancefree and durable. The Cian composite material holds heat in the bath. sinkandtap.com.au

Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2017

SANTO ALESSI

CHEMINEE PHILIPPE

Take your dining to the next level with Santo Alessi ceramic porcelain plates and bowls. Dishwasher-, microwave- and oven-safe the Santo Alessi range can be seen on MasterChef and Family Food Fight. santoalessi.com

Cheminee Philippe’s fireplaces are designed with flexibility in mind. Not only having the beauty of a double-sided view, this full cast iron fireplace has the versatility to work as a true slow combustion or open fireplace cheminee.com.au

The Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2017 is a textural and elegant wine renowned for its distinctive, mineral finish. It’s a perfect wine to serve well-chilled on a hot summer’s afternoon. yealands.co.nz/au

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in the shops

SHOP INSIDE

ARTESANO DE ESPANA

ROCKY POINT MULCHING

The Mirage Turkish beach towel by Bambury, $39.95, is a large, lightweight and quick-drying towel, made from Egyptian cotton. It features classic stripes and a natural knotted fringe along each end. shopinside.com.au

Whether presenting a paella or serving sumptuous Spanish tapas, Artesano de Espana offers authentic terracotta cookware and tableware, all produced in Spain. artesano.com.au

Creative Colours Mulches are created by recycling timber into environmentally friendly garden mulch. A simple, safe and cost-effective way to add a beautiful pop of colour to any garden or landscape. Available in natural, black, red and brown in 50-litre bags. rpmulching.com.au

COOMBER BROS JEWELLERS

AKUBRA

RB SELLARS

These custom cattle brand earrings are unique to Coomber Bros Jewellers. With their expertise, you can create a custom piece of cattle brand jewellery. Choose from belt buckles, necklaces, rings and earrings. coomberbros.com.au

The Akubra Traveller Hat is a softer pliable felt hat designed specifically for the adventurers among us. This hat has a unique memory that allows it to be manipulated back to shape if mistreated. It features a plaited bonded leather band and soft inner sweat band. Now available in a new colour — rust. akubra.com.au

RB Sellars’ workwear is designed to handle a hard day’s work outside without compromising on style or comfort. With a huge range to choose from, and generous size options there is something for everyone. rbsellars.com.au

SMITTEN MERINO

INNER SPACE FURNITURE

HOWARD PRODUCTS

These comfortable lightweight merino yoga pants, $229, are great for yoga or Pilates, as they are warm without weight, but are also so versatile and easy for everyday wear all year round. They are sure to be your new favourites and are proudly made in Tasmania. smittenmerino.com

The natural-edged Helsinki table, $2750, is made from the Australian-species hardwood, black wattle, plantation-grown in India. It measures 2400mm long, about 1100mm wide and has a 60mm thick top. The base is powder-coated steel. leuramall.com

Howard Cutting Board Oil is perfect for the initial oiling or seasoning of cutting boards and butcher’s blocks. It is made with clear, odourless, pure food-grade mineral oil and is 100 per cent safe for all food preparation surfaces. howardproducts.com.au

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you beauty

oten mineral Miriam van Co ct with powder compa k, $65, loc nb su l ra tu na com.au n. te oo nc va miriam

Natio Rosew ater Hydratio n moisture boos t day cream gel, $19.95, na tio.com.au

to m for feet Blister Bal afing, $13, ch e repair sho u lm.com.a blisterba

Summer days As the lazy, hazy, crazy days roll out donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to care for your skin and Hair. c omp i l e d by Ki r s t y Mc K e nz i e p h oto g r a p h y K e n B r a s s

Salt by Hendrix Flowers in Your Hair neroli spray, $16.95, saltbyhendrix.com

Paulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice Resis t moisture renewal oil booster, $52, paulaschoice.com .au

Scout Cosmetics avocado, sunflower and carrot rejuvenation oil, $39.95, scoutcosmetics.com

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screen SolarD SPF 50 sun with selective UVB filtering technology, .au $16.50, solar-d.com

Antipodes Reincarnation facial exfoliator for sensitive and sunburnt skin, $46, antipodesnature.com

Miriam van Cooten BB Cream with sunblo ck, $55, miriamvancooten .com.au

n I Have Calm Melissa Alle grance, ra 50ml sp y fra nmood le al sa $38, melis om essentials.c

De Lorenzo et Equili brium masque repairs dry and damaged hair, $24 .95, delorenzo.com.au

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just browsing

c omp i l e d by Ki r s t y Mc K e nz i e

HOMECAMP DORON & STEPHANIE FRANCIS, HARDIE GRANT TRAVEL, $59.99 We can’t keep our hands off this handsome tome, in particular the cover, which features a photograph of a tent on a beach with a cliff in the background and a spectacular night sky above. It’s cleverly embossed with a dotted pathway that just begs a ﬁnger trace and communicates the endless potential of the journeys and adventures that the everyday people proﬁled in the book have experienced. Homecamp is about the bold souls who have dared to do what others dream of: quit their jobs, packed up and moved to the bush, or

another country, or a beach far away from all that is familiar. In the process of reconnecting with nature they’ve found new meaning in life … and their stories will doubtless inspire many others to follow suit.

DEAR LINDY ALANA VALENTINE, NLA PUBLISHING, $39.99 When Azaria Chamberlain disappeared from a tent in the camping ground at Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it is now known, in 1980, it seemed everybody had an opinion on whether or not a dingo had taken the two-month-old. Her mother, Lindy, was convicted of murdering

her baby and served three years of a life sentence. But it was 32 years before a coroner found that Azaria was indeed taken and killed by a dingo. During this ordeal many people were moved to write to Lindy and the letters are stored in an extraordinary 199 archive boxes in the National Library of Australia. In 2013 playwright Alana Valentine was granted access to these letters to write the play, Letters to Lindy, which will tour Australia this year. She has also produced this book, which includes exerpts from some of these letters, interviews with Lindy, photographs of the Chamberlains and the actual letters. The author divided the letters into categories ranging from the poets, apologisers, believers and anonymous nasties to witnesses, iindigenous Australians, art and eccentrics. IIn doing so she has built a remarkable insight iinto the court case that divided, and obsessed, tthe nation.

EXPLORE AUSTRALIA BY CAMPER TRAILER

SPIRIT EDITED BY ANOUSKA JONES, EXISLE PUBLISHING, $29.99 With the sub-title A Book of Happiness for Horse Lovers, this charming picture book chronicles the remarkable bond between people and horses by providing a matching quote for each image. From people famous and not so, there are wise offerings to brighten any day. Spirit would make a great gift for anyone with a love of animals, but particularly for people with a passion for ponies. 142

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L LEE ATKINSON, H HARDIE GRANT TRAVEL, $39.99 V Veteran travel writer Lee Atkinson spent t best part of a year and drove 40,000 the kkilometres researching this book, which is tthe latest in Explore Australia’s catalogue. She ccovers 50 regions around the country, each with an accompanying map, and provides information on recommended base camps (annotated with symbols for their amenities) as well as local attractions and things to see and do. In the process Lee reviews more than 320 camper trailer sites, a mix of bush

a novel idea NOW LET’S DANCE KARINE LAMBERT, HACHETTE AUSTRALIA, $29.99 A morsel as delicious as the madeleine protagonist Mme Marguerite might enjoy with her afternoon tisane, Now Let’s Dance is the story of the unlikely liaison between two people in their twilight years. Marguerite has been in a stultifying marriage and when her husband dies, she realises that her life has been joyless. Algerian-born Marcel is from the other side of the tracks, has been happily married for decades to his childhood sweetheart, and is left bereft when she dies. They meet at a health retreat and sparks ﬂy. It’s a lovely story with a simple message: You’re never too old to ﬁnd happiness.

camping in national parks, free camp sites, station stays and caravan parks. She also included outback tracks and desert roads for those seeking 4WD adventure.

SO FRENCH SO SWEET GABRIEL GATÉ, HARDIE GRANT BOOKS, $29.99 Chef and TV presenter Gabriel Gaté grew up in the Loire Valley of France, and although he has lived in Australia for 40 years, he heads back to his home country a couple of times a year. Little wonder then that this collection of pâtisserie, baked and other sweet treats is a cross-cultural mix. Gabriel may have trained in Michelin-starred restaurants, but he has spent the past 25 years focused on the domestic kitchen so the recipes are both reliable and easy to follow.

BOURKE STREET BAKERY ALL THINGS SWEET PAUL ALLAM & DAVID MCGUINNESS, MURDOCH BOOKS, $55 The authors are the bakers, chefs and coowners of Sydney’s Bourke Street Bakery empire, which now extends to 11 Australian stores and a New York outpost on the way. From cakes and pastries to pies, biscuits and sweet breads, this book is ﬁrmly aimed at sweet tooths. The recipes come with professional tips from a decade’s experience in the Bourke Street kitchens and the opening sections cover subjects including the best ingredients, tools and tricks.

WHIPBIRD ROBERT DREW, VIKING, $32.99 A reunion is being held at the new vineyard, Whipbird, to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the arrival in Australia of the Cleary family’s ancestor Conor. A family legend, Conor was at the Eureka Stockade. The Clearys’ Irishness has by now been diluted by descendants with hard-topronounce names from countries many couldn’t place. Some know each other, others don’t, some treasure lost loves while others are consumed by hatred. Some know that the teenaged Conor was, like an ancestor of Drew’s, at Eureka as an infantryman, to put the miners’ rebellion down and not as a rebel hero. Nothing is quite as it seems as the family saga unfolds via its members now gathered at Whipbird. Nothing is sacred: small-town bankers, nobbly-kneed former footballers, conservationists, sea and tree-changers, retirement, divorce, death, food fads, and disillusionment. Rarely has Australia been so exposed. Yet, in its no-prisoners ﬂow, this incisive, delicious, bitter, even surreal novel is this important satirical author’s funniest.

THE LAST AUSTRALIAN CHILDHOOD KEVIN MOLONEY, NEW HOLLAND PUBLISHERS, $29.99 In this delightful memoir, travel and lifestyle writer Kevin Moloney offers snapshots of growing up in suburban Melbourne in the 1960s and ’70s. Each chapter pinpoints a moment in time: Tuckshop Monday 1963 relives the treat of the bought lunch, and Not a Good Day 1969 traces in slow-motion detail the week of his father’s death. The vignettes build a portrait of a loving family life and the highs and lows of growing up.

OUTBACK LEGENDS EVAN MCHUGH, MICHAEL JOSEPH, $35 Journalist Evan McHugh has spent plenty of time on the road researching various titles including Outback Pioneers, Outback Stations and Outback Cop. In this title he shifts his focus to the unsung heroes, from RN June Andrew, who runs a health centre at Marree

in the middle of South Australia’s nowhere to Moree bookmaker Terry Picone, who travels at least 100,000 kilometres every year ﬁelding bush race meetings, and the women who attend the biannual Barkly Women’s Group. Along the way he consumes more roadhouse meat pies than are probably good for his health and paints a portrait of life in places where resourcefulness is mandatory for survival. australiancountry.net.au

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readers letters readers' letters

Win a Prize thanks for being in touch. we welcome your feedback. Pocket-sized paradise Last issue generated lots of helpful feedback from our readers. Below: Lots of love for the Ladhams’ bold and beautiful home.

I couldn’t resist writing to you regarding your wonderful magazine and in particular, the September/October issue. I love most of the homes you feature, but must confess I drooled over every page of Jodie & Andrew’s home. While this is a home a pensioner like me can only dream about, I wanted to say that with a little planning and working with a small budget it is possible to create an attractive environment. I am very happy with my small retirement unit. I revamped my courtyard, which I ﬁnished at the age of 86. I’ve created a delightful place for morning coffee or a glass of wine at night when the shrubs are lit with green ﬂoodlights. I bought the occasional tables very cheaply from the many op shops in Adelaide. My friend’s husband, Patrick, showed me how to renovate them using three types of sandpaper, two coats of priming paint followed by two coats of off-white paint. Patrick then put on crystal knobs

And the winners are ...

all this issue’s correspondents, who win copies of Wimmera by Mark Brandi and The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green from our friends at Hachette Australia.

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Thanks for being in touch. We welcome your feedback. We appreciate your thoughts and in each issue, one correspondent wins a prize. Simply email Kirsty at kmckenzie@ universalmagazines.com.au or write to us at Australian Country, Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters before publication. Our favourite correspondent next issue will win a fun and fabulous FUJIFILM instax Mini 9 camera valued at $99. Just tell us about your favourite story or feature to be in the running to win this wonderful prize.

which make them look quite elegant. My informal dining room suite was my best op shop buy. After selling my old one I ended up only spending $50 for an as new table and chairs. While my home is small, I wanted your readers to know that it is possible to create a little magic without spending a fortune. Pauline Carr, Old Reynella SA

Gift keeps giving If my sister got a surprise with my gift subscription to Australian Country, I certainly got an even bigger surprise when a parcel arrived for me this week. Thank you so much for the Aromatherapy Co gift box in black and gold and its contents. The Amber & Vanilla Musk candle and lotion are just beautiful and I look forward to using them. Gwenda Close, Young NSW

Visit South Australia As you know I am a big fan of Australian Country but I think it’s time we had a travel story on South Australia. I am enclosing some brochures on beautiful Willunga and the history courthouse where my grandfather as a young constable was stationed when the Star of Greece was shipwrecked at Port Willunga back in 1866. Patricia Barker, Port Willunga SA Ed’s note: Your part of the world is on our agenda, Patricia. I hope we see you soon.

don't miss ... AUSTRALIAN

YOUR CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Editor Kirsty McKenzie email kmckenzie@universalmagazines.com.au Design Rachel Henderson Contributors Bronte Camilleri, Angela Lyon, Tamara Simoneau Photography Ken Brass, John Downs, Claire McFerran, Nick Rains, Ross Williams Advertising NSW Fiona Collins mobile 0410 977 365 email fcollins@universalmagazines.com.au Advertising VICTORIA Angelos Tzovlas mobile 0433 567 071 email atzovlas@universalmagazines.com.au Advertising Production Co-ordinator Anna Cindric Advertising Art Director Martha Rubazewicz Publisher Janice Williams For Subscriptions and Mail Orders phone 1300 303 414 Circulation Enquiries to our Sydney Head Office (02) 9805 0399

Chairman/CEO Publisher Chief Financial Officer Associate Publisher Finance & Administration Manager Creative Director Editorial & Production Manager Marketing & Acquisitions Manager

Prema Perera Janice Williams Vicky Mahadeva Emma Perera James Perera Kate Podger Anastasia Casey Chelsea Peters

Australian Country Vol. 21.1 (No 125) is published by Universal Magazines, Unit 5, 6-8 Byfield Street, North Ryde NSW 2113. Phone: (02) 9805 0399, Fax: (02) 9805 0714. Melbourne office, Suite 4, Level 1, 150 Albert Road, South Melbourne Vic 3205. Phone (03) 9694 6444 Fax: (03) 9699 7890. Printed in Singapore by Times Printers, timesprinters.com. Distributed by Gordon and Gotch, Australia. Singapore — Car Kit Pte Ph 65 6 282 1960 magazines1source.com NZ Distributors: Needlecraft: (06) 356 4793, fax: (06) 355 4594, needlecraft.co.nz. Netlink, (09) 366 9966 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers. The publisher believes all the information supplied in this book to be correct at the time of printing. They are not, however, in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. Prices, addresses and phone numbers were, after investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, up to date at the time of printing, but the shifting sands of time may change them in some cases. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements which appear in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility must therefore be on the person, company or advertising agency submitting the advertisements for publication. While every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. * Recommended retail price

ISSN 1323-9708 Copyright © Universal Magazines MMXVIII ACN 003 026 944 universalmagazines.com.au Please pass on or recycle this magazine. This magazine is printed on paper produced in a mill that meets Environmental Management System ISO 9001.

WE ARE A MEMBER OF

WE KICK OFF NEXT ISSUE

with a gorgeous home in a former church manse in the historic Queensland city of Ipswich and then head inland to visit artist Bloss Hickson at her organic homestead on her cattle station in the Arcadia Valley. We meet Tania and Max Irsic, two travellers who have come home to roost at Hepburn Springs in Victoria’s spa country and then take a big detour to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France where expat Aussie Adi Bukman lives the dream in a 17th-century villa. In central NSW we profile the environmentallyfriendly Bellingen home and off-the-grid weekender of eco enthusiast Suzanne Weil. Our travel story takes us to Mudgee in the heart of NSW wine country and we’ve a great gift guide for Easter entertaining, with plenty of non-chocolate suggestions. The cooler months are fast approaching so our fashion feature looks to autumn and we’ve loads of decorating and gardening inspiration on every page. So be sure to join us for Australian Country 21.2, on sale March 1. australiancountry.net.au

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where to buy Clockwise from left: You can achieve the look with our product pages.

STOCKISTS & CONTACTS Akubra ph: (02) 6562 6177, e: salesenquiries@akubra.com.au, w: akubra.com.au Antique Baths 162 Bungaree Rd, Pendle Hill NSW 2145. ph (02) 9896 0109, e: info@antiquebaths.com.au, w: antiquebaths.com.au Artesano de Espana ph: 0431 318 203, e: enquiries@artesano.com.au, w: artesano.com.au Burbia Suite 5a Level 5, 2-12 Foveaux St, Surry Hills NSW 2010. ph: 0416 920 412 Cannard Hats 2107 Lake Moogerah Rd, Moogerah Qld 4309. ph: 0400 020 298, e: chris@cannardhats.com.au, w: cannardhats.com.au Canterbury Sink & Tap Company Unit 1, 34 Research Dr, Croydon South Vic 3136. ph: (03) 9761 4603, w: sinkandtap.com.au

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Chatterton Lacework 43 Beverage Dr, Tullarmarine Vic 3043. ph: (03) 9330 4466, e: info@chatterton.com.au, w: chatterton.com.au Cheminee ph: (02) 9564 2694, e: sales@cheminee.com.au, w: cheminee.com.au Colonial Castings 95-97 Market St, SmithďŹ eld NSW. ph: (02) 9604 8222, e: info@colonialcastings.com.au, w: colonialcastings.com.au Coomber Bros Jewellery 78 McDowell St, Roma Qld 4455. ph: (07) 4622 1145, e: sales@coomberbros.com.au, w: coomberbros.com.au Eagle Wools 229 Hampton Rd, South Fremantle WA 6162. ph: (08) 9336 2155, w:eaglewools.com.au Gilly Stephenson PO Box 279, Mundaring WA 6073. ph: (08) 9295 1973, e:info@gillystephenson.com, w:gilly stephenson.com

Harkaway Homes Cnr Princes Hwy & Station St, Officer Vic 3809. ph: (03) 5943 2388, e: steve@harkawayhomes.com.au, w: harkawayhomes.com.au Howard Products 33 Griffin Ave, Tamworth NSW 2340. ph: 1800 672 646, w: howardproducts.com.au Inner Space Furniture 144 The Mall, Leura NSW 2043. ph: (02) 4784 1143, w: leuramall.com Jack Crick Wares ph: 0415 869 651, e:piers@jackcrickwares.com.au, w:jackcrickwares.com.au Jsala Soy Candles ph: 0433 467 226, e:janine50@yahoo. com.au, w:jsalasoycandles.com.au Onkaparinga ph: (03) 8390 3333, e:info@onkaparinga.com.au, w: onkaparinga.com.au Pressed Tin Panels 22 Vale Rd, Bathurst NSW 2795. ph: (02) 6332 1738, w: pressedtinpanels.com Rocky Point Mulching 709 Stapylton-Jacobs Well Rd, Woongoolba Qld 4207. ph: (07) 5546 2470,

e: baled@rpmulching.com.au, w: rpmulching.com.au Shop Inside Homewares ph: (03) 9931 0160, e: support@shop inside.com.au, w: shopinside.com.au Smitten Merino PO Box 199, Battery Point TAS 7004. ph: (03) 6212 0197, e: admin@smittenmerino.com, w: smittenmerino.com Steel Brand 40-50 Mark Anthony Dr, Dandenong South Vic 3175. ph: 1300 762 219, e: arisit.sales@arisit.com, w: steelbrand.com.au The Patchwork Box ph: (02) 4861 2519, e: sales@patchworkbox.com.au, w: patchworkbox.com.au Vanitone ph: 0438 100 310, e: sales@vanitone.com.au, w: vanitone.com.au Yealands Estate Wines Ltd Cnr Seaview and Reserve Rds, Seddon Marlborough 7285 New Zealand. ph: +64 3 575 7618, w: yealands.co.nz

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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 ďŹ&#x201A;ying our ďŹ&#x201A;ag. Akubra Hats, made in the true spirit of Australia. www.akubra.com.au