Coast magazine spring 2017

DIGGING IN

Constructing the GP Circuit

RISING FROM THE RUINS

Rebuilding a life SPIRIT OF THE GAME Indigenous players soar SAVOUR THE FLAVOUR Fabulous food and wine THE GOOD LIFE Living well

Superbly located only 800 metres from the main street of Cowes and even closer to the beach, Seagrove is Phillip Island’s most sought after environmentally-sustainable address.

Master-planned by award-winning designers, Seagrove features over eight acres of landscaped parks, wetland habitat, underground services including gas and optic-fibre broadband, rich birdlife and regionally significant eucalypt woodland.

Select from a range of premium home sites including acre lots with mature trees. Titles are available now so you can start building your dream home straight away.

Spring is a time to wipe the slate clean ... a time for new beginnings.

There’s a long tradition for the ritual of spring cleaning. Historically, it’s been linked to the Persian New Year and the brilliantly-named “khooneh tekouni” which translates literally as ‘shaking the house’. It has also been linked to cleansing the house in preparation for the Jewish Passover. Whatever the origins, when the sunlight and warmth come back, it does inspire us to get the house clean and throw open the windows. Tidying up, hosing down and letting the fresh air come flowing back in doesn’t just have to be confined to buildings. Without getting too mixed up in my metaphors – physically, emotionally and spiritually, spring can be a time for new beginnings or a fresh start.

We can all take inspiration from Karen O’Neill Hams’ story of making a new start after heartbreaking loss. It also highlights the escalating rates of male suicide, particularly in rural communities. Mental and emotional health deserve as much attention as any physical ailment. There are so many aspects to living well, and our Good Life feature showcases some of the things that contribute to a healthy life. But in the end, for me the key is to always strive to be happy. Even in the darkest hour, there are moments of light. Seek those moments out and grab them with both hands.

This spring, let’s all make a pledge to seek out those things that bring us joy. In the spirit of grabbing my joy with both hands, I’ll soon be jumping on a plane to America. Music got me through some long, dark and lonely nights in recent years and I’m going to dance under the stars with Tom Petty at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate making it back into the light.

I hope this spring brings you new ways to live well. And let me know if you’ve done something special to help find your joy.

Live well, Eleanor

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Coast Magazine, PO Box 104, San Remo, Victoria 3925

PHONE: (03) 5956 6781, ADS : 0432 273 107

EMAIL: editorial@coastmagazine.net WEB: www.coastmagazine.net

PUBLISHER: Maria Reed MANAGING EDITOR: Eleanor McKay

SUB EDITOR: Anne Roussac-Hoyne WORDS: Christina Aitken, Katie Cincotta, Kelly McCarthy, Eleanor McKay, Sally O’Neill, Simone Short

PHOTOGRAPHY: Warren Reed, 0414 753 739

DESIGN: Staffan Hakansson PRINT MANAGER: Nigel Quirk

ADVERTISING: Robyn Kemp, 0432 273 107, ads@coastmagazine.net

ACCESS ALL AREAS 44

Two girls and a 200kg electric wheelchair tackle Japan. The amazing journey of Ash Jamieson and Amy Van’t Hof.

SWEET DREAMS 28

the moonlight and imagination rules.

DIGGING IN 86

Battling wind, rain, heat and a relentless deadline, Peter Blom shares the story of the race to construct the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

THE GOOD LIFE 36

Enjoy the good life with clean, green and healthy living.

Illustrator Sally Land has created a magical world where colours explode, stars twinkle in

SAVOUR THE FLAVOUR 91

RISING FROM THE RUINS 20

Karen O’Neill Hams’ life fell apart when her husband Michael committed suicide. Three years on, Karen and her sons are rebuilding their shattered world.

fifteen minutes of fame

Nadia Stefani brings Italian hospitality to her corner of South Gippsland, sharing her table with friends and strangers alike.

I was born in Italy and came to Australia when I was five. Back then the fathers would come out to find a job and somewhere to live, then the family would follow. We didn’t go to Bonegilla like most people did: Dad just came out and found a bush block with another Italian man in Nerrena. They cleared enough land to put in a Nissan hut. There was a bedroom each side and in the middle was a kitchen with a potbelly stove and somewhere to sit – and the families had half each. They were fun times, but it was hard. One time, Dad and ‘Uncle’ went fishing and caught some puffer fish. The next morning our neighbour came, saw the fish remains outside and the cats all dead. And he said, “Please tell me you didn’t eat these fish … ”Mum said, “Yes, we did… why?” Luckily we were all okay. Mum was a really good cook!

Frank and I have been married for 49 years and we’ve always lived here. Because Frank was the first to get married we got to build a house here. It was just a paddock with a house on it, with cypress trees down each side. Mum was a great gardener and every time she came she’d bring a couple of plants, and say “Pop this in …”. It’s lovely now because when I walk through I can see Mum everywhere. She passed away in 1989. She was very much like me: she was hospitable, and she loved cooking. She’d make a meal out of nothing.

We have fruit trees and we do our own jams. We’ve still got pigs and hens, so we always have our own fruit, eggs and meat. We make our own salami and wine – we’re pretty selfsufficient Northern Italians.

I love to cook, I love to have people over for meals and I love sharing what I make. Sometimes I see people down the street coming off the coach with their backpacks on. I’ll say, “So where are you off to?” and they say, “Well, we don’t know yet.” So I tell them, “Come home and sleep the night, and then you can think about where you’re going.”

Being a little bit friendly opens your horizons. Once two men came into the Fish Creek op shop when I was working there. They needed a cup of coffee, but our coffee shops were all closed. I could tell they were from Italy so I said in Italian, “You’re not Italian, are you?” And they said, “Si! Si!” So I took them up to the art gallery and we had a coffee there. They were just so impressed that a total stranger would do that. The Superbikes were on at Phillip Island that week, and as it turned out, one of the men was the General Manager of the Althea BMW racing team. He gave us complimentary passes to the pits at the Superbikes with all the important people. When we got to the race-track he said, “You see, Nadia? Look what happens when you give a stranger a cup of coffee!”

words as told to kelly mccarthy photo warren reed

On the Spectrum

Celebrate our local musicians and tune into Spectrum – a music television show produced right here in Gippsland and run totally by volunteers. On the first Sunday of each month, it features live performances and interviews filmed in front of a live studio audience. You can stream it live from the Spectrum website, or catch it on Ch 31. Stay down with the sounds and find out more on their Facebook page or at www.liveatspectrum.com.au

A tasty treat

The Annual Phillip Island Food & Wine Festival is back! Mark 24th November in your calendar and meet us down at the Cowes Town Square between 4pm – 9pm for a fabulous feast of food and wine from across Bass Coast and South Gippsland. This event gets better every year, so don’t miss out.

www.facebook.com/phillipislandfoodandwinefestival

Back to basics

Artisan, organic, free range, local, ethical … find all this and more at the Prom Coast Food Collective. Change the way you shop – order online and then pick up on the third Sunday of each month from the Blue Tree Honey Farm at Dumbalk. www.promcoastfoodcollective.com.au

BYO coffee cup

Australians use three billion takeaway cups every year. And most of them end up in landfill. Enjoy your coffee with a clear conscience at a Responsible Café, where you’ll get a discount for bringing in your own takeaway cup. To find the local cafés getting behind this great initiative, visit www.responsiblecafes.org

Capture a rainbow

A little girl and a dog can teach us all a thing or two about friendship, diversity and acceptance. This book might be aimed at children, but there’s a message here for every age. Reena’s Rainbow by Dee White. Illustrated by Tracie Grimwood. www.ekbooks.org

Pedal power

The 34th Great Victorian Bike Ride is heading our way. It kicks off at Tidal River on 25 November and 517kms later it finishes in Trafalgar. We can’t think of a better way to get inspired by Gippsland. www.greatvic.com.au

Good things come in 3s

Did you know that 60% of rubbish in household bins is actually organic waste? Reduce greenhouse gas and send less waste to landfill by sorting your rubbish into three bins (recycling, organics, landfill) as part of the new organics waste collection that starts this spring across Bass Coast. Helping the environment – it’s as easy as 1.2.3. www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/organics

2 2two coast people

Kelly and Steve Fuery have created a life of fun and love. Next, they will embark on building their dream house on five acres. They plan to be more self-sufficient and inspire their two boys to appreciate the environment and understand how fortunate they are to be a part of the Bass Coast community.

KELLY: I enjoyed a quiet country childhood in Skye. Dad, a mounted police officer and racehorse trainer, had me riding by age four. He was a tough-love teacher and I remember riding a pony that was about to ditch me, but I was more frightened of Dad who was shouting at me not to cry or get off! By age twelve I was up before school to ride the racehorses or drive the Datsun 1200 ute around our home track while he sat in the back leading a horse. I loved it all! Mum was always there for us, supporting Dad and doing those important things kids don’t notice. She passed away ten years ago aged sixty-four, and I’m grateful she got to know her two grandsons. I get my work ethic from Dad, but since having my own children, the respect and understanding I have for Mum grows. I get it now.

Four days before I turned twenty-one I received a letter telling me I was adopted. Dad hit the roof, while Mum burst into tears. It was a bit of a shock and I was initially mad at my birth mother for upsetting my parents. I chose to enquire about my adoption and at the appointment, the counsellor left the room and I copied my birth mother’s number from the file. That’s where a whole other story begins. But Mum and Dad are the people who raised me, and if Steve and I can do as good a job with our own boys, then we’re doing okay.

I moved to Phillip Island in 1998 and met Steve when I advertised for a housemate. I still remember listening to his words as

phone message and thinking: ‘Hmmm, nice voice’! We were instant friends; he even loved my five cats. Yes, he rescued me from becoming a cat spinster!

I went to the Sydney Olympics on my own and remember sitting in the stands wishing Steve was with me. I knew it was time to see if he felt the same way. Soon after I got back we were sitting on the couch and I started picking the cat fur off his jeans (thanks for the idea, cats) and that was it! He moved in in July, became my boyfriend in October and fiancé in the following April. We were walking on the beach and he spontaneously got down on one knee and said: ‘I can’t think of a reason not to ask you to marry me right now … ’ I was so surprised – I was wearing my crappiest old trackie pants – but of course I said yes!

That newspaper ad was the best eleven dollars I’ve ever spent. One anniversary, Steve gave me a copy of the paper it was printed in – he’s irreplaceable.

Steve is caring and generous: he’s my best friend. He makes all the good things in our lives extra good and is an amazing father to Rory and Liam. I love spending family time together and look forward to sharing new adventures and travelling the world.

STEVE: I was the youngest of four, and my father passed away when I was nine. I taught myself things that dads teach their boys, like bike mechanics and fixing engines. Seeing

two coast people

Mum and my sisters go through tough times gave me some perspective on the troubles people face, especially women.

We moved to Albury from Melbourne when I started high school. Living in the country, it seemed like everything was at our doorstep: skiing, sailing, trailbiking … That close-knit sense of community was a drawcard that Phillip Island dealt me and I moved there in 2000. The sharehouse I was in wasn’t working and a friend mentioned the newspaper ad and I left a message on Kelly’s phone.

The day I moved in she was wearing rabbit ears, and I remember thinking she’d be a great housemate. A few months in, I definitely felt an attraction. If my past experiences had taught me anything, it was that housemates like Kelly don’t come along often – and not to mess it up!

Proposing to Kelly on Angelina’s Beach in Ventnor was a highlight. It was such a beautiful sunset and the moon was rising … My blood pressure was as high as it’s ever been! We were married on the same spot, barefoot in the sand.

Working as a surf coach really gave me an appreciation for the ocean. After seeing plastic bags in the water, I was inspired to champion the cause, and got involved in a Clean

Ocean Foundation campaign to eradicate plastics and reduce rubbish. I was working at Island Surfboards then and they were right behind it. I soon found that changing the minds of major supermarkets needed a bigger groundswell than a few small communities could muster. Ten years later, I’m glad to finally see the ABC’s ‘War on Waste’ push this to become a reality.

Kelly has a wickedly mischievous sense of humour, which helps keep me from being too serious … and verbose. I’m now able to answer questions in ten words or less.

We complement each other really well and I would sum her up as ‘fun-loving’.

Kelly is my best friend and my soulmate. Every day, week, month, year seems to deepen our appreciation of each other’s strengths and differences. Excerpts from Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’ were read at our wedding, and the line about the pillars standing together but apart still rings true. We hope to give our boys a living example of respect, trust and love.

Latest news and products from your Coast retailers

On target

It wood be easy

Stockmans Ridge – sustainably sourced Australian Hardwood $79 pm. Carpet Court Phillip Island

Organics for Lily green and therapeutic test tube teas $8. Mookah Studios Gotta get me one of

Testing tea

Get roasted Peace house blend coffee. 200g $8.50. Beand

Historic coffee table book of 106 Field Battery gunners $38. Vietnam Veterans Museum

Say cheese Tasting Room Cheese platter. $25. Dirty Three Wines

Feel the power

The NEW power assist AMITI-E+ 2018. $3699. Crossover Cycles

One

kind

Child’s play Free childcare for members* @ Bass Coast YMCA’s. * conditions apply please check website

In the dough

Fish Creek Mount of Olives pizza with salami & red peppers. $18.00. Lucinda Estate

Natural beauty

Salus body cream 250ml $35

Round bristle brush $49.95

Natural sea sponge $24.95

Bamboo bath brush. $35. Tyde

of a

Vintage, retro and handmade goods

Wonthaggi Market

Out of the box

Grey Box Decking

$8.95+gst per LM.

TJ’s Timber

Go native Australian native – Crowea saligna. $12. Melaleuca Nursery

Nature -based getaway

Book online or phone the property. View rates and availability. Secure online bookings available. Properties are located in and around South Gippsland and on the way to the Prom...

Prom Coast Holiday Lodge | Waratah Bay

Elouera Cottage | Yanakie

Mt Singapore Villas | Yanakie

Tidal Dreaming Seaview Cottages | Yanakie Top of the Prom | Yanakie

Two Barrel Inn

SouthGippslandHwy

SELF CONTAINED

Abington Briars Cottage—Foster 0419 393 734

Benaway Cottages—Korumburra 5657 2268

Buln Buln Cabins—Yanakie 0427 339 268

Emerald Hills Cottage—Leongatha 5664 2414

Fish Creek Farmview Cottages 0427 636 376

Foxhill Farm—Foster 0419 573 377

Loves Lane Cottages—Mirboo North 5664 1212

Mt Singapore Villas—Yanakie 0423 299 721

Oaklane Retreat—Foster 5682 2797

Prom Coast Holiday Lodge—Waratah Bay 5684 1110

Prom Gate Getaway—Yanakie 5687 1156

The Nook—Leongatha 0437 221 493

Tidal Dreaming Seaview Cottages—Yanakie 0477 017 663

Top of the Prom—Yanakie 0407 804 055

Two Barrel Inn—Yanakie 0458 137 269

BED & BREAKFAST

Café Escargot Farmstay—Mirboo North 5668 1589

BEACH HOUSE

22 Acacia Street—Sandy Point

1800 889 966

Blakey’s Losman—Sandy Point 0429 822 602

Blue Oar Cottage—Port Welshpool 0427 812 203

By The Beach—Inverloch

0418 397 739

Elouera Cottage—Yanakie 5687 1239

Lanes Beach House—Walkerville 5663 2291

Promegranite Beach House—Yanakie promcountry@dcsi.net.au

Sandy Point Holiday House 0400 078 713

The Beachfront—Sandy Point 9890 2104

The Bothy—Sandy Point promcountry@dcsi.net.au

The Quirky—Sandy Point promcountry@dcsi.net.au

MOTEL & UNIT

My Place—Inverloch 0419 847 963

RESORT

Broadbeach Resort—Inverloch 5674 6290

Nooramunga Marine & Coastal Park

Strzelecki Hwy

Yanakie 5mins

Tidal River

Mirboo North 1hour Grand Ridge Road 1 hour

Tarra Bulga 11/2 hours Sandy Point 20mins

Walkerville 30mins

Waratah Bay 20mins Port Welshpool 45mins

Bunurong Coastal Reser ve & Marine Park

Cape Liptrap Lighthouse

Travel time by car to Wilsons Promontory is indicated next to the town.

AUSTRALIA

words katie cincotta photos warren reed

FROM THE Rising

What do you do when your life falls apart without warning? Karen O’Neill Hams fled for Hadrian’s Wall in England.

Oh yes, I am wise

But it’s wisdom born of pain

Yes, I’ve paid the price

But look how much I gained

If I have to, I can do anything

I am strong

I am invincible

I am woman

‘I Am Woman’, Helen Reddy

Built by the Roman army on the orders of Emperor Hadrian, 73 miles long from sea to sea, that undulating barrier of stones would serve as the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire for almost 300 years. What brought Karen to that wall was her husband’s death by his own hand. “My wonderful husband of 25 years, my partner since I was 15, died. He died from suicide. My heart breaks for those other women who I know walk the same unique grief path I do. Suicide grief is different – the word ‘suicide’ itself holds fear.”

On the day of Michael’s death, Karen knew there was something wrong. “With two growing sons playing football, >

we were never out of milk, and Michael took his job of keeping up the supply seriously.” But when she came home on that Monday there was no milk and Michael was nowhere to be found. She looked through the house, and then outside, noticing that the dogs were in their kennels. “The dogs hadn’t been for a walk, the car was there, and there was no milk. I just couldn’t figure out where the hell he would be. So we drove to the supermarket, then around to my cousin’s house.”

On the first day of a two-week holiday, Michael had hanged himself in his garage. Karen and eldest son Tom found him several hours later.

The timing becomes critical when you’re trying to understand how and why a man in the prime of his life, with so much love around him, would want to die. “I was with Michael till 8.30am. Our son’s longtime girlfriend was there until 10.30am, and our youngest son Will until noon.” The coroner’s reports show he died that afternoon. “It didn’t take long – in just a few hours he made the final decision, wrongly, to leave us and life,” says Karen.

In the aftermath of that loss, Karen knew she needed time alone. Michael, whose parents ran the old quarry in Korumburra, had a fascination for Roman ruins. He kept stones from the quarry, which he would often rearrange at their property. Hadrian’s Wall felt like a place where she could grieve privately and process his loss. She bought a one-way ticket to Manchester. “I was in ruins. I needed to find the rocks on that wall so that I could rebuild. I needed the silence.”

Walking the wall became a physical and mental release. “I was just in my own head, trying to figure out what had happened and how to move forward. I had been with Michael since I was 15.

“My man was an honourable, gorgeous gentleman who loved me from the day we met.”

Michael was a manager at Bass Coast Regional Health, a much-loved emergency department nurse, and a mentor and friend to many. He was the head trainer at Gippsland Power football team.

Karen says he was leading a full and very active life. There were scant signs he was depressed. She says what was obvious was his exhaustion – he often skipped sleep between long work shifts, and had endured a stressful few months caring for both his father-in-law and son at home.

Her deep, frank rawness lays bare the ongoing heartache. “Suicide is the avalanche of not talking, going in a direction that is wrong for you, lack of sleep, taking on too much, hearing too much noise,” she says.

I didn’t know how to pay a bill. I didn’t know how to walk into a room without him. I hadn’t been on my own since I was a girl.”

It’s hard to imagine Karen traipsing through the bitter cold of those ruins. She is movie-star beautiful, with a soft lyrical voice. For most of the two hours we spend talking in Inverloch’s new Dirty 3 Wines tasting-room, she is bright and bubbly. She seems happy and hopeful.

But unsurprisingly, when she’s trawling through the memories of Michael’s death, the shock of that unique grief brought on by suicide, and its insidious effect on the people left behind, she does break. She sobs, floating for a moment in that precious bubble that was her old life, but she eventually comes back again, forcing her pixie face upwards. This is a new life, a different life. But a beautiful journey nonetheless with a bucket-list of adventures ahead. “You have to find new ways to keep doing the old things. You can’t stay the same.”

When she found out their son Will had been selected by Essendon to play in the ANZAC Day match, Karen was overwhelmed with sadness that Michael would miss out on not just that special occasion, but every other part of their >

sons’ future lives. She walked around Inverloch in the rain for two hours, and looked up to see a man on a balcony who asked if she was ok. She began blubbering to the stranger about her husband’s death, and the difficulties of trying to adjust to being a widow in a small town, and he listened. “He said, ‘You’ll be ok: I’ll have a cup of tea with you’.”

So began the makings of a new relationship. “Patrick has been by my side since that day. It happened only six months after Michael died, but you just can’t predict when people will leave – or enter – your life.”

Three years after Michael’s death, his family is still trying to understand why he died. Therapy has helped. But there are questions they will never have the answers to. “In hindsight, I think Michael was trying to do too much. He’d finish night

“Every 41 seconds a family is affected in the same way as ours”

shift and go straight to a football match. Or he’d coach footy and then start a work shift. That was a pattern from early on, but I didn’t realise the damage it was doing.”

The Gippsland nurse was a high achiever with several nursing diplomas under his belt including Emergency, Oncology and Critical Care. One of the young nurses he worked with wrote in his sympathy card that the people with the biggest hearts hear the most noise. “Michael’s journey ended, for whatever reason. And I couldn’t stop it happening. Beyond Blue give you all the signs to look for, but they’re not always easy to detect. Michael worked in the hospital for five days before he died, and not one person picked up on anything, or said anything. It seemed like he was coping, which is why his death caught us completely unawares. He would have flat days, but I never really spotted it for what it probably was. Anxiety. Stress.”

Even someone like Michael, with a professional insight into mental health and access to services that could have helped him, couldn’t negotiate his depression. “Every 41 seconds a family is affected in the same way as ours,” says Karen.

In the wake of that horror, choices must be made. Michael’s paramedic friend Deb Rielly gave Karen this advice: “You can be a warrior or a victim – you choose.” Karen chose warrior. She went to the hairdresser’s the next morning and had her long blonde hair cut off. She put it in a box and gave it to the undertaker so that it could be buried with Michael. “I couldn’t be the Princess anymore without the King of the Castle.”

She bought an old house in Inverloch and began to tear it down from the inside. “I often took out my frustrations on those walls,” she says. One of the lasting effects for those left behind after suicide is wondering if you could have prevented it. “I wouldn’t have done anything differently. And hindsight doesn’t give you any peace. Michael was in a profession where he knew about all the drugs. If he wasn’t going to medicate or find help himself, there was nothing I could do.”

Karen has made a new home for herself, a physical manifestation of her decision to rebuild her shattered life. “The house is beautiful now. I’ve made it a comfortable haven for one person. I’ve got a chandelier in my walk-in robe, big showers, and a pizza oven.”

She still has short hair, works as a ‘peggy’ (responsible for maintaining the lunchroom) on the EJ Whitten Bridge, and has moved in with Patrick in Melbourne. She is looking forward to the day when she gets to bring grandchildren home from the beach to her little retreat in Inverloch, lovingly known as the ‘Piglet Shack’ … for the three little pigs (Hams) left behind.

“I want to show that we can survive and be happy again. My man was an honourable, gorgeous gentleman who loved me from the day we met. I am not going to undo all the good work we did raising our family and living our life by allowing one word – suicide – to define us.”

One symbol remains of her old life – a piece of furniture, her great-great-grandmother’s four-poster bed. It’s the bed her children were conceived in – the bed she, her sons and her now daughter-in-law Tara slept in together, holding onto each other, on the night that Michael took his life. “That bed holds the stories of the lives of my family – the love, joy, the security and comfort,” says Karen. Smiling, she recalls anecdotes of her great-aunts playing on the bed in the 1930s, or the time her young nieces pleaded with Michael to sleep on the couch so they could be princesses in the bed.

Here in the wine bar, the staff are readying to close up. Karen shows me a photograph of Michael, and then the lyrics to Helen Reddy’s song ‘I Am Woman’. Her strength is palpable. She won’t let this tragedy break her. “We wish we could change events, have our lovely family back, but we can’t. I am not running away from this. I am going to look people in the eye. I will not hide. I will live in my community and my boys will live wonderful lives. I will survive suicide.”

Lifeline Gippsland 131 114 www.llg.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 www.beyondblue.org.au MensLine Australia 1300 789 978 www.mensline.org.au

spring 2017

‘Vietnam and Back’

Lunch with Jim Archbold

13 October, 12pm

National Vietnam Veterans Museum

25 Veterans Dr, Newhaven

Contact: Sonia Hogg 5956 6400 www.vietnamvetsmuseum.org

Native Flower Show

14 – 15 October, 10am – 4pm

SGHAC Club Rooms

Leongatha Recreation Reserve Entry: Adults $4

Contact: 5664 2221

Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 20 – 22 October

Arts-Print Exhibition

Showcasing select Gippsland Printmakers

Until 2 October, 10am – 4pm

ArtSpace Wonthaggi, 1 Bent St

Contact: 5672 5767 www.artspacewonthaggi.com.au

Paintings by Robin Schubert

9 September – 18 November

Meet the artist, 9 September 10am – 2pm

The Goldsmiths Gallery

157 – 159 Marine Pde, San Remo

Contact: 5678 5788 www.thegoldsmithsgallery.com.au

Blumes Fashion Show

– Summer Collection

14 September at 2pm

Mountain View Leongatha Community Centre, 1 Dale Dr

Contact: 5612 4800 www.mountainviewleongatha.com.au

Sustainable House Day

17 September

The Cape, Sunlight Blvd, Cape Paterson www.sustainablehouseday.com

Larrikins & Legends with Dan Eddy

20 September, 7 – 8pm

Leongatha Library, 2 Smith St www.wgrlc.vic.gov.au

Meet your local farmer mini market

23 September, 10am

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Back Beach Rd, Cowes www.motogp.com.au

Victorian Open Garden Scheme

21 – 22 October, 10.30am – 4.30pm “Illabunda”, 808 Lees Rd, Venus Bay www.opengardensvictoria.org.au

Fairer World Bazaar

21 October, 9.30am – 1.30pm

Leongatha Uniting Church Hall, Peart St Contact: Johanna Haasjes – 5662 2494 albert60@sympac.com.au

Phillip Island Pro QS1000

27 October, 10am

Cape Woolamai Beach www.worldsur eague.com

Near and Far – paintings by Carole Foster

28 October, opening 2pm – 5pm

Mingara Gallery

242 Thompson Ave, Cowes Contact: 5952 3722 www.mingaragallery.com.au

5 Gardeners’ Gardens

28 – 29 October, 10am – 4pm

Tickets: $7 per garden, $30 for all five Contact: 9775 3301 www.mteliza.melbourneanglican.org.au

Powlett River Community Art Show

29 October, 11am 82 – 96 Daly St, Dalyston www.facebook.com/powlettriverartshow

Craft Market – Inverloch Rotary Club

7 November, 8am

Inverloch Community Centre 16 A’Beckett St

Contact: Colin 0458 419 966

Bass Coast Cycle Challenge & Family Festival

12 November, 8am A’Beckett St, Inverloch www.basscoastcyclechallenge.com

Phillip Island Jazz Festival 17 November, 6.45pm

Ramada Resort, 2128 Phillip Island Rd

Contact: Jill Boyce 0417 416 300 www.phillipislandjazzfestival.org.au

Mt Best Short Film Event 18 November, from 2pm

Mt Best Community Hall 5 Mt Best Tin Mine Rd, Toora North Contact: Tessy 0428 595 699

Phillip Island Food & Wine Festival 24 November, 4pm – 9pm Cowes Town Square & Cultural Centre Thompson Ave www.facebook.com/ phillipislandfoodandwinefestival

Queenscliff Music Festival 24 – 26 November Princess Park, Queenscliff www.qmf.net.au

Shearwater Festival 25 November, 9am

Corinella and District Community Centre, 48 Smythe St

Contact: Iain Ritchie 5678 0777

Australian Superbike Championship

6 October, 9am

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Back Beach Rd, Cowes www.asbk.com.au

Seniors Week information session from Seniors Rights Victoria

12 October, 11am (includes light lunch)

Mountain View Leongatha Community Centre, 1 Dale Dr

The KernART Prize

3 November, 10am

Kernot Hall, 1060 Loch-Kernot Rd

Grand opening 7 – 9pm Contact: Janice Orchard 0419 301 363 www.kernartprize.com

Newhaven Primary School Fete

4 November, 9am – 2pm

12 – 22 School Ave Contact: 5956 7326 www.facebook.com/newhavenfete

Fred Smith in Concert

5 November

National Vietnam Veterans Museum

Churchill Island Visitors Centre Register at www.parkrun.com.au SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

Contact: 5612 4800 www.mountainviewleongatha.com.au

25 Veterans Dr, Newhaven Contact: Sonia Hogg 5956 6400 www.vietnamvetsmuseum.org

Phillip Island Contact: Laura Brearley 0434 596 800 www.shearwaterfestival.com.au

Island Magic 25 November, 9am

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Back Beach Rd, Cowes Contact: Geoff Bull 9803 3633 www.piarc.com.au

REGULARS

Inverloch parkrun

7.50am – every Saturday Rotary Centenary Shelter Ramsay Blvd Register at www.parkrun.com.au

KOGO (Knit One Give One)

Knit with residents to help those in need

Every Thursday from 10am Mountain View Leongatha Community Centre, 1 Dale Dr

Contact: 5612 4800 www.mountainviewleongatha.com.au

Kongwak Market

Every Sunday, 10am – 3pm

Kongwak General Store and shed Contact: Jane 0417 142 478

Phillip Island parkrun

7.50am – every Saturday

words sally o’neill photos supplied

Sweet DREAMS

Once upon a time there was a magical world where colours exploded, stars twinkled in the moonlight, bunnies frolicked and imagination ruled. Welcome to SallyLand.

Sally Land is a self-proclaimed dreamer. Thankfully this trait is greatly esteemed in her chosen field of illustration. The young and inspired artist currently spends her days freelancing from her home studio and is a resident designer for Melbournebased label Erstwilder. She also has a rabbit named Junior.

“He comes when he’s called, sleeps on an old armchair and sits under my desk while I work. He’s a very unique little soul. I love him.” This happy gal’s life so far is like her art – whimsical, winding, and full of surprises.

Real and imagined bunnies hopped through her childhood wonderland of San Remo. “I was mad about rabbits very early on and absolutely adored Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit books. Since I was five I’ve always had at least one bunny in my life, and Beatrix Potter is still one of my favourite illustrators.”

Sally believes her creativity comes from her grandmother, as she spent contented and creative afternoons with her each day after school. “I’d scribble away happily while Nan painted

in her studio. She always had a sketchbook and pens waiting for me and definitely played a huge part in my love for art.”

Bike-rides along sandy shorelines, her nan’s gorgeous garden full of flowers and exploring the coast with her dad are also precious memories.

An only child, Sally was quite content with her own company and would spend hours drawing. Her mum and dad were “wonderfully encouraging”, with new art supplies always a much-appreciated birthday gift. The budding artist would encourage friends to draw alongside her or provide ideas and suggestions for her next piece. “I remember Mum asking me to design and draw the posters for the Scholastic book day at primary school. I took that job so seriously and I was very proud of my work,” she recalls with a smile.

There was a moment of confusion when, after moving to Melbourne, she found studying graphic design to be painfully boring. “I just wanted to draw! But I now have much respect >

for graphic designers,” she adds. One of her teachers noticed this preference and pointed her towards illustration. “Well, that was a game-changer. Now my job is literally asking lovely people what they’d like me to draw for them – and then drawing it. What a dream!”

… whimsical, winding, and full of surprises …

Despite describing a creative career as a potential “rollercoaster”, she firmly believes that everyone makes their own luck and that illustrators are some of the friendliest people she’s met. “I’ve always found that if I have a question, a fellowillustrator is happy to offer advice.” She values her friendships with colleagues Sharnee Taylor and Emma Leonard. There is no hidden meaning, secrets or signs in her works. “I just want to create beautiful images. I think it’s more interesting when the viewer gets to make their own story or find their own meanings. I really enjoy hearing why others are drawn to a certain artwork.”

Tragedy struck in 2012. She and her partner were preparing for the next chapter of their lives – a move to Melbourne to allow Sally to start her own business while he attended university. “He started to get sick and it got to the point where I took his car keys away and made him go and see a specialist.”

The diagnosis was cancer, and everything was put on hold while they travelled between home and hospital and focused on getting him better. “He was terribly sick, but his doctors and surgeon were wonderful, and he beat it.”

Turning adversity into opportunity, she used the time spent sitting in hospital waiting-rooms to create and plan a group exhibition with fellow-illustrator Emma (Leonard). “There is a story of a girl who folded 1,000 paper cranes in Japan so she could make one wish. I folded 1,000 origami bunnies so that I could make a wish for a myxomatosis vaccine. I’ve lost two bunnies to the virus and it breaks my heart that there’s no defence against it for pets. Maybe one day we’ll have one: I hope so.”

In another twist of fate, Sally once stumbled across a rabbit brooch in a quirky little shop in San Remo. She immediately started following the designer Erstwilder on Instagram. The stars aligned and the company contacted her to ask if she would like to illustrate for them. Multiple ranges later, her designs include ‘Happy Traveller’, ‘Pin Up Picnic’ and ‘Ocean

Vibes’ as well as holiday collections. She remains tight-lipped about the upcoming spring range. “Creating for Erstwilder is definitely a dream job. They are the best little team, and come up with such fun ideas for me to draw. I’m so proud to be working with them.”

With one solo exhibition completed, Sally is aiming for the stars. “I’ve been experimenting with my own style and pushing my artwork. I realised recently that a lot of my early sketchbooks had stars and space in them, and I’ve finally looped back to really focus on those themes again. In that sense I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

Her partner is about to finish university with great opportunities ahead. “I’m incredibly proud of him after all he went through. This next year is going to be exciting for us. I’m not sure where we’re going to end up or what we’ll be doing, but I’ll be sure to take my watercolours and a pencil or two along for the journey. Hopefully one day we’ll end up living back in the country again – you can see the stars better out there.”

The end.

sallylandillustration.com

words sally o’neill photos warren reed

Spirit OF THE GAME

Gippsland Eagles coach Bernie Wells couldn’t be happier that 2016 was the year of the underdog. After all, the Bulldogs won the AFL Grand Final, and more importantly, the Eagles soared to victory playing for their culture.

Bernie Wells has a dream. He would love to see each Indigenous football player noted as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in record books at footy clubs right across the country – and netballers too while he’s at it. He sees this simple act as a very powerful step towards reconciliation.

“If clubs can proudly say they have an Aboriginal player, it makes that player feel at home,” says Bernie as rain pelts against the window of the Kilcunda-Bass clubhouse while a training session continues outside. “Getting the fellas recognised would make life a little easier.”

Bernie speaks from experience. A ‘very proud Aboriginal person’, he’s played footy since he was eight, only recently hanging up his boots at the age of 55. His mother’s country is in the Northern Territory but he grew up on a farm in Jindivick, not far from the famed Jacksons Track. The well-known Mullet, Dow and Rose families are lifelong friends. “Growing up and being Aboriginal, we all looked out for one another. It was a bit sad, the way people spoke about you because of your skin colour. We copped a lot of that.”

His first footy team, Buln Buln, was beaten by 20 goals every week. “Our coach would buy us a cold drink and pie after each

game, regardless of the score.” He later went on to captain Buln Buln Thirds to their first premiership. In that winning era he also played with Gary Ablett Senior at Drouin. Now he radiates with pride for his sons and nephews who proudly carry on the tradition. They all found their home in football and two of his sons are members of the dream team that won three premierships in a row for Kilcunda-Bass Football Club. While he waits for the sporting world to change from the grass-roots up, Bernie has put his money where his mouth is and helped to recruit an exclusively Indigenous team to take part in the Murrun Dhelk State Carnival in Bendigo last year.

The Gippsland Eagles combined the talents of Gippsland-wide players in order to face Indigenous teams from across the state. Going in to the carnival, Bernie hoped they could finish in the top two or three. They lost their first game by four points and there was talk that favourites, the Fitzroy Stars, had flown a couple of players in from Western Australia. “We doubted ourselves. As we watched them play we thought they were really good and we couldn’t beat them. I also think they were quietly confident that they were going to roll us.” >

“It makes you so proud – you are playing for your culture more than anything.”

On the day of the final, the Eagles came out and kicked four goals straight in the first quarter. “Everyone got off to a flyer,” recalls Bernie. “You could start to see a bit of doubt in the other fellas.” Team spirit was super-charged as the skilful and fast Gippsland team-members hit their stride. “When we won, the crowd went absolutely mad. Everyone jumped the fence and ran out onto the ground – it was brilliant.”

Coming in as the underdogs, the boys rose and flew like eagles to win the tournament. Bernie attributes this to the magical bond created when Indigenous players come together. He believes that all-Indigenous games have a different feel to normal club football. “My sons say that it is totally different when Indigenous players compete together and show off their talent. It makes you so proud – you are playing for your culture more than anything.”

This bond of culture and belief in each other sees the players walking tall and, like a band of brothers, they can beat the odds and achieve goals like winning the state title. The Eagles are now hoping they can work their magic and defend their title this October.

Back home at Kilcunda-Bass, the Eagles players blend effortlessly back into the team. “The boys are a great asset: their skills are second to none. They all contribute and the team has got value from them. If you win three premierships in a row, that says something – a lot of teams never even win one.”

Bernie enjoyed the recent annual Indigenous match where, in a show of friendship and goodwill, all the Kilcunda-Bass players changed their jumpers for a day to acknowledge the proud heritage of their Indigenous team members. The jumper artwork, designed by local Aboriginal artist Steve Parker, featured each of the boys’ totems. “They walk a mile high when they’re wearing them,” says Bernie. “Coming together for one day and being proud of the culture we have left is such positive step.” Before the match there was magic in the air as the teams stood proudly, arms around each other, smoke from the Welcome to Country ceremony fires swirling around them. The spirits were on their side with Killy-Bass the victors of the match.

Now more of a mad-keen spectator and supporter, Bernie couldn’t be happier with the club and how its members have embraced his sons, nephews and other Indigenous players.

He is thankful to his ever-patient and supportive wife Sue and all the club volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

“This is an exceptional community organisation with a high representation of Aboriginal footballers. I can’t speak highly enough of the club.”

Retirement from the field has provided more time for Bernie to continue on his mission to have all Indigenous players acknowledged and to stamp out racism once and for all.

“There have been Indigenous players in comps for over sixty years who have not been recognised for their talents, or for how hard it is to fit in and not shake the tree.” He is convinced that one small acknowledgement in each week’s record book would be a giant leap forward in allowing players to be proud of their heritage and to share it with others.

“We want our players to dream of playing at AFL level. Everyone knows that Aboriginal people are very proud and we want to embrace this. We are trying to stamp out this racism thing and our contribution starts with grass-roots football.”

INDIGENOUS JEWELLERY & ART EXCHANGE

Featuring the Artworks of local Indigenous Artists & Creative Jewellers from around Australia

“Reconciliation is an ongoing journey and art is a significant way we can all come together.”

This exhibition is about bringing cultures together, respecting, connecting and exchanging ideas between differing artistic mediums and ideologies.

Bubbles & Beers – Meet the Artists Official opening 2pm

– Saturday 25th November 2017

Exhibition ends 31st January 2018

Gallery Hours: Mon to Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–2pm

Closed all Public Holidays and Sundays.

FOR YOU AND THE EARTH

good life THE

Come with us as we explore ways to be good to yourself and the earth. Sustainable building practices, organic products, ethical shopping, healthy lifestyles … the choices we make can improve life for us and the planet. A big part of living well is following your dreams and passions. As part of The Good Life, we’re excited to share the stories of some incredible locals doing just that – through surfing, travelling and painting. Get inspired.

Creative Heart

Since opening its doors in 2016, The Wonthaggi Market has created its own niche in the community.

When Antoinette Russo set up The Wonthaggi Market, it was always her dream to provide a showcase for local arts and crafts, as well as creating a space for true community collaboration.

With an eclectic range of vintage, retro, upcycled and handmade goods, plus a designated space that community groups can book for workshops and gatherings, Antoinette’s dream has most certainly come true.

“We’ve grown exponentially over the past twelve months,” says Antoinette. “We have over 50 stalls, which is twice as many as when we started. And excitingly we’ve been able to support a variety of new, locally-made products.”

The Market’s ethos is to support local wherever possible, particular those with a green or eco focus. “We like to stock products created right here in our community and we are very proud to represent our local craftspeople,” says Antoinette.

“For example, Elders Recipes’ range of bath products is natural, organic and eco-friendly. They source their ingredients sustainably and use environmentally friendly packaging.”

“Or Create It With Concrete’s beautiful, bespoke concrete indoor and outdoor tables. The tables range from coffee through to refectory size, and they also make kitchen benches and beautiful al fresco dining and cooking areas.”

As well, Antoinette is supporting the popular Who Gives A Crap toilet paper company, who donate fifty per cent of their profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world. “Normally you can only buy them in bulk, but we have individual rolls on sale which is popular with customers who only need smaller quantities.”

To accommodate its growing popularity, the market has also expanded its floor space, opening up a whole new area dedicated to furniture and the work of local artists. And a new garden provides a range of fresh plants and vegetables for sale.

The Wonthaggi Market provides a vital outlet for local craftspeople and artists. Its reputation for quality and creativity received a further boost recently when Antoinette and her team won the Business Innovation category of the 2017 Bass Coast Business Awards. Open daily from 9.30am – 4.30pm.

A MARKET WITH A HEART.

CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY SPACE, COLLABORATION, AND GREAT COFFEE.

17 KORUMBURRA RD, WONTHAGGI (OPPOSITE BUNNINGS) 0419 342 815

OPEN 7 DAYS 9.30AM – 4.30PM

We offer an extensive range of beauty services. We are passionate about delivering holistic treatments and personal care to create perfect harmony within the inner and outer self. Treatments are performed in a warm and friendly environment with a nurturing therapist that will ensure your visit is a relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Come on a journey to create a total sense of well-being.

Women in water

Women play critical roles in all aspects of water management at Westernport Water, where they are board directors, decision makers, managers, educators, technical experts and water stewards.

While equality for working women remains a passionately debated topic, Westernport Water is taking real steps to address gender imbalance in their workforce.

Lisa Caldwell, General Manager of Corporate and People, says women are invaluable to Westernport Water’s operations and occupy many roles which have been traditionally male dominated. “We have many role models at Westernport Water, who show other women what is possible.”

“Research shows that when an organisation better represents the community they serve, they perform better,” explains

Lisa. “Personally, I get great satisfaction from opening doors and inspiring other women to participate in professional development and take on new roles. Gender equality and participation in the water sector has not always been balanced, but times are changing. The perception that certain roles are either male or female capable is being challenged every day.”

Lisa says Westernport Water recognises the bene ts of diversity and the opportunities that come from creating an inclusive workforce. “We really value the business expertise, technical know-how, innovation, teamwork and collaborative

values that women leaders bring to the water industry and our coastal community.”

As part of their commitment to creating a balanced workforce, Westernport Water has developed a Diversity and Inclusion Plan and is actively working to increase the number of women in leadership and non-traditional roles. “We want our workforce to accurately re ect the community that we live and work in,” explains Lisa. “That includes having people from di erent backgrounds and cultures in our workforce and creating opportunities for people from a variety of backgrounds to participate in the industry.”

This commitment to diversity and inclusion also includes creating opportunities for those who identify as having a disability, members of the LGBTI community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Lisa is proud to be part of a team committed to change. “By challenging stereotypes, Westernport Water will remove traditional barriers to employment for people within our community and beyond.”

Meg is the Wastewater & Sustainability O cer and recycled water expert. Meg plays an integral role in ensuring the long term security of our water resources.

Julie is a Customer Service O cer and Meter Reader. Often the rst point of contact, Julie delivers rst class customer service and ensures accuracy of customer information.

Benita is the Environment and Product Performance Manager at Westernport Water. Her work contributes to the conservation and protection of water resources and to the wellbeing of the planet and our community.

Jess is the Operations and Maintenance Planner, Jess plays an important role in maintaining water and wastewater services for our community.

Lisa is the General Manager of Corporate and People, responsible for leading Westernport Water’s program of work to deliver a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

photos steve bourke

A ccess ll reas

For many people, planning an overseas trip can be daunting. You need to book the right flights, find suitable accommodation and figure out how to get from A to B. Now imagine the logistics when you rely on a 200kg electric wheelchair to get around.

While it may seem impossible, it certainly wasn’t going to stop Ash Jamieson from embarking on her trip of a lifetime. When Ash messaged her friend Amy Van’t Hof, saying “Yo, do you want to go to Japan?’, she meant it as a joke. With her Year 12 graduation looming, she was frustrated that her plans to travel with friends weren’t working out.

“We’d lightheartedly discussed travelling about six months beforehand, and I said I just didn’t think it was an option,” Amy says. “Ash wanted to vent because none of her friends would go travelling with her. So this time I said, ‘I’ll do it!’, and it worked out perfectly.”

The two girls had met around five years earlier when Amy, now an occupational therapist at the Bass Coast Specialist School in Wonthaggi, cared for Ash part-time. It wasn’t long before the two became close friends, almost like sisters. Growing up on the Peninsula, Ash was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy when she was nine. Her condition means that the more she uses her muscles, the weaker they become. “I don’t have a lot of muscle strength, so when it comes to lifting limbs, I’m not very strong.”

As a child, Ash used walking-frames and a manual wheelchair to get around, but having her spine fused in Year 7 means >

words simone short photos warren reed and supplied

she now relies on her electric wheelchair full-time. However, her disability has no impact on the 19-year-old’s independence – including her determination to travel the world.

“A lot of parents – and not just parents of kids with disabilities – bubble-wrap them, but I feel like my dad is sandpaper,” Ash jokes. “He’s like, ‘Go off into the world and be on your own’, and it’s been really great having him raise me like that. He’s always been so supportive, treated me as normal, and been as hard on me as he would on anyone else.”

Ash had dreamed of visiting Japan for over a decade. She developed a fascination for the country thanks to Gwen Stefani’s song Harajuku Girls, released when Ash was only five years old. Within a week of Ash’s valedictory, the two friends were on a plane to Japan.

Being able to travel with a friend who was also a qualified therapist was reassuring. “Amy’s really good under the pump,” says Ash. “I knew if I ever got stuck or ended up in hospital, Amy would be able to handle the situation.”

“Most people ask what my disability is before they ask my name”

Their first challenge came as early as boarding the plane. As Ash points out, aeroplanes are the only form of public transport where passengers can’t take their own wheelchair. With the cost of her electric wheelchair similar to that of a new small car, seeing it wheeled away was a nerve-racking experience. “I remember how many times we had to say to the person, ‘Do not adjust this wheelchair under any circumstances: just leave it as it is’,” Amy says. “Ash had to get in one of their transport wheelchairs that had no armrests and no footrests; it was pretty much a deckchair on wheels. It was shocking.”

In comparison with the somewhat uncomfortable 10-hour flight to Tokyo, the public transport in Japan was some of the best they’d seen. At train stations, staff members would be waiting for them with ramps to help Ash on and off the train, a service Amy says is non-existent in Australia.

Finding wheelchair-accessible rooms, however, wasn’t as easy. Ash wanted her experience to be as close as possible to backpacking, which meant booking accommodation on the run. This soon proved problematic. “The first place we stayed wasn’t a wheelchair-accessible hotel. Ash could get into the room, but all she could do was drive in far enough for the door to shut and she’d be stuck there until I could transfer her into bed,” Amy says. “After three days of doing that my back was buggered. We realised we really needed to get organised and book places that were wheelchair-accessible.”

Accessibility aside, Amy describes Ash as “bloody independent” and says she approached her adventures in

Japan like any other teenager let loose in the world for the first time. Ash not only came home with a tattoo (much to her father’s dismay), but ventured out solo numerous times during their trip. One night she made the one-hour train trip from Kyoto to Osaka City to see musician José González in concert. Another day was spent getting lost in the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove – all on her own.

Despite travelling together, the girls knew they’d need to spend time apart. “Personal care is very intimate, and we knew if we didn’t have space, we’d get sick of each other,” Ash says. Amy reassured me she was always keeping tabs on her younger friend, especially during her night out in Osaka. “I had my phone on me the entire time. I did not let it leave my sight, and told her to message me straight away if she had any troubles. But I wanted her to do it,” Amy says. “I think it gave her a lot of confidence.”

The trip provided highlights aplenty. The girls visited a dozen cities during their four-week journey, but both agree that >

“

Ash had dreamed of visiting Japan for over a decade.

experiencing snow in Yudanaka was a moment they’ll never forget. “That was the first time I’d ever seen snow,” Ash says. “I went outside in my pyjamas after breakfast and just sat in a pile of snow for a while. It was freezing, but it took a while for me to take in that it was cold, so I thought it was amazing. It was the happiest I’d ever felt.”

The duo shared stories from their trip, as well as advice about travelling for people with disabilities, through their Facebook page Crips and Giggles Abroad.

Now back in Australia and living on campus at the University of Melbourne, Ash is already dreaming of her future travels, and is even considering moving to Japan to teach English one day.

She says she’s recently added Romania and Bulgaria to her bucket-list. “I asked my dad what’s the deal with Romania, and he said he didn’t know, so that really influenced me, because he knows everything about everything,” Ash says. “Finally, there’s something I could know that he wouldn’t! I googled both countries and they’re really pretty, so I want to go. They’re probably super-inaccessible, but I like a challenge.”

During our conversation, Ash and Amy both raise the issue of inaccessibility. At one point, Ash turns down a suggestion to go for dessert at a nearby gelato place because of a step at the front door. “I black-ban anywhere that has a step,” Ash says. “I know there are laws that state that people have to build places that are accessible, but there are still places that don’t even have an accessible toilet or handrails. The idea of accessibility is very

broad; there are a lot of needs out there, but there are simple things that could be done to make a big difference.”

And for many people, the idea of Ash being able to leave home on her own, let alone travel the world, is difficult to comprehend. “I was out with a group of friends – some able-bodied and some disabled. These women looked at us and said to our able-bodied friends, ‘Wow, it’s so nice to see them out and about’. I guess they thought we were mentally incapable of understanding them,” Ash says. “There are people who say the wrong thing because they just don’t realize that it will be inappropriate, and there are other people who are too scared to ask anything at all and just make assumptions.”

Ash says it’s the unknown that scares people. “There are a few special people who think you’re pretty cool and ask your name. But most people ask what my disability is before they ask my name,” she says.

“I’m not a disabled person; I’m a person with a disability. There’s such a difference.”

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Sustainability =

and

Summer: Protect your home by creating seasonal shade with awnings and café blinds and reflect heat with metallic backed fabrics.

Winter: Allow in northern light to get thermal gain, insulate southern windows and at night to minimise loss through glass.

Invest: in sheer and block out curtains, blinds, shutters, carpets and rugs for thermal insulation.

words sally o’neill photos warren reed

Everywave COUNTS

A goofy footer surfing obsessive, Phillip Island’s Michelle Fincher is a true woman amongst surfer girls.

surfer profile

An accomplished competitor at both State and National level, this year, Michelle conquered G-Land for the third time and has just completed her one hundred and twentieth surf for the year. True. She keeps count of every outing in the little notebook she keeps in her handbag.

It’s surprising to learn that Michelle’s dad and Island surfing legend Dave never forced her to surf. In fact, she didn’t truly tackle a wave until her early twenties, preferring horses and the glamour of gymkhanas during her teens. But the ocean was always pounding in her blood, just outside the door of her family’s Kitty Miller Bay home. They moved to Phillip Island when Michelle was eight, but her memories stretch back to day trips with Dad in the old VW.

In the days before seatbelts and strict parental control, sixyear-old Michelle would beg Dave to take her with him. As he surfed, she’d while away the hours playing alone – either on the beach or in the car if it was too cold.

“You wouldn’t do it now,” she laughs. “One day we broke down and had to hitchhike. Someone stopped to pick us up and was horrified to see such a young child on the side of the road. Dad said he wouldn’t normally hitchhike with me, but he had to get home to his wife Chezza so she could drive us back to the car and tow it home!”

She got seriously into surfing after returning from a year travelling. “It just happened through watching Dave really, and seeing how much fun he had. And it was something we could do together, so I thought I’d have a go, too.”

She caught her first tentative waves at YCW, wading out and riding in on the white water on an eight-foot-six mal. She progressed to Cat Bay shorebreak and after that, Woolamai and wherever the surf was on. “Wherever Dave would go, I’d go.”

And it didn’t stop there: a slightly late-blooming but committed surfer was born. The talk at the kitchen table >

was now all waves. “Mum would ask us if we could talk about something else, but we’d just talk surf, surf, surf.”

It was a very special bond between father and daughter and, when nephew Walter came along, he fitted right in. “Dave and I did Bali trips together every year and went to quite a few Australian and State titles. When Walter came along we just did it together.”

Back in 1991 surfing was maledominated, prompting Michelle to rally the troops and start a women’s division at the Phillip Island Boardriders Club. “At the start, the guys said the women could just surf against the boys, but I suggested we have a women’s division and they agreed and it went over well.” It’s been going strong ever since.

crowding. And for the record she has never surfed Express: she feels it’s a little out of her league.

Michelle loves her job as a nurse in a Haemodialysis Unit: it suits her lifestyle and it would be safe to say that her patients enjoy her sunny, down-to-earth personality. Newly fifty, she has recently decided to take four months off to surf and travel.

… she categorically believes that Phillip Island has the best surf in the world.

This marked the start of years of successful competition. Michelle won the first two female Boardriders comps and then moved on to winning three over-28 State titles and five over-35 State titles, the most recent being this year on her home wave at Woolamai. She has also placed fourth in two Australian titles in the over-28 division. “Phillip Island is a great club with a great cadet and women’s division.”

Back to that notebook where Michelle has kept count of every surf for the past ten years. “I write the number and how many are left and right breaks and tally it up each month.” Results show it averages out to a surf every day-and-a-half and also that she surfs more on her backhand because most Phillip Island breaks are right-handers. “My tallies only change if I go to Indo – there are a lot of lefts there. Or, if Woolamai is working.”

Speaking of Woolamai, it’s one of her all-time favourite waves, along with a “secret spot” she won’t reveal due to fear of

“Be happy and do what you love,” she advises. “Since Dave died, I’ve realised that you shouldn’t wait too long to do the things you really value. Enjoy life while you still can.”

Surfing has always been her destiny.

“It’s my life – it’s as simple as that. It’s something I love and have to do. You never know where a wave is going to take you.” There is nowhere else in the world she would rather live, and she categorically believes that Phillip Island has the best surf in the world. “The only difference is that you have to get away over winter as it gets a little bit cold!”

It’s the healthy aspect of surfing and the mystery of not knowing what manoeuvres will be required or where a wave will take you, that keep her coming back for more. “It’s refreshing and a good form of exercise, although I see it as more of a passion. It keeps you healthy – and younger, too.”

If she had her time again, Michelle admits she’d start surfing a lot earlier, but she’s sure made up for any lost time. And, it keeps her close to Dave, her great inspiration and life mentor. Recently in Bali, the local boy at her regular accommodation said that her father is ‘up there watching her’. “I thought, ‘How gorgeous is that? The Indonesians have such great philosophies on life and death. It was so beautiful.”

GIPPSLAND’S LEADING SUPPLIER OF Frames & Trusses

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Cape Paterson Rd, Wonthaggi, Selection Gallery next to Mitre10 Office: 5672 4890 Selections Gallery: 5672 0630

Monday – Friday: 8–4. info@capeviewbuildingproducts.com.au www.capeviewbuildingproducts.com.au See us on facebook

Take the plunge

If you’ve ever dreamt of relaxing in your backyard while the sun sparkles on the crystal-clear water of your swimming pool, Nigel Cox and Craig McManamny from Conquest Pools Mornington Peninsula, can help make that dream a reality.

Conquest Pools are leaders in the manufacture and installation of high quality fiberglass pools. They have created a unique range of fibreglass pools utilizing advanced marine technology, with a 25-year structural warranty on every pool they install.

Based on the Peninsula, Nigel and Craig bring an extra layer of expertise to the Conquest Pools experience, with extensive local knowledge as well as qualifications in building and landscaping. Customer service is at the forefront of their business ethos and they pride themselves on making the experience of purchasing and installing a pool a hassle-free and exciting process. “We want our clients to be happy from the start to the finish of a project,” says Nigel. “It is one of the most exciting purchases a family will make and we can install their pool with minimum stress.”

From the initial planning through to completion, Craig and Nigel help every step of the way. A true ‘one-stopshop’, between them they are licensed builders, landscape gardeners and electricians. And that combined experience ensures their clients receive the best advice on the total design of the pool and its surroundings.

“We can provide as little or as much assistance as you like with the pool installation process,” Craig explains. “We’re proud to install such high-quality pools and we have a huge range that will suit everyone’s taste and imagination.”

All Conquest Pools are built on flawless new moulds, with state-of-the-art laser precision. The pools are manufactured locally in Victoria and transported direct to site. They also offer revolutionary pool floor cleaning systems that are as close to as possible to maintenance free.

With summer just around the corner, now is the time to call Nigel for a free quote. “You can enjoy your new pool this summer,” promises Nigel. “We will have you swimming in amazingly quick time.”

Wild about wood

We’re passionate about timber. If you’re looking for rare and unique timber or building to a budget, we can fi nd what you need.

We stock: flooring, decking, screening, cladding, joinery timbers, slabs and posts in over 50 timber species. South Gippsland’s agent for Radial Timbers. Flooring installation, sanding and polishing using environmentally friendly, hard wearing, non yellowing water based products and deck sanding. Delivery all areas. Showroom open Mon–Fri 9am–3pm, all other times by appointment.

www.tjstimber.com.au 5952 3232 24 The Concourse Cowes

Cradle for e newborn, cot for baby, bed for child and bed for you. Brea e easy wi organic co on ma resses, sheets, qui s, pillows, blankets, garments and fabrics plus Australian hardwood furniture. All chemical ee and made in Sou Gippsland. Available online at organature.com.au

Secrets OF THE SEA

Seeing shapes in the wood of her childhood wardrobe or losing herself in a long, rambling beach walk are part of the creative journey for Rebecca Coulter.

words eleanor mckay photos warren reed and staffan hakansson

In the mezzanine studio of her South Gippsland home, Rebecca Coulter is excitedly discussing the work of Del Katherine Barton, one of her favourite artists. “When I look at her work, it’s just all too much. Too much colour. Too much detail. Too many genitals and birds and all this weird stuff, but it’s completely compelling and amazing. It’s the otherness that I love.”

Although artistically their work is poles apart, the beauty, intricacy and chaos of Barton’s paintings feel like a good entry point into Rebecca’s world. Like Barton, she juggles her artistic life around looking after her four children (aged six to twelve). Full of enthusiasm and energy, she laughs often and talks quickly, as if her mouth can’t keep pace with the ideas continually bubbling in her brain. The conversation regularly shoots off on random tangents, covering everything from artists who inspire her, to “wicked thunderstorms” in Darwin, her dislike of cooking and love of US alternative-rock legends Queens Of The Stone Age. Her energy is inspiring, as is her determination to carve out a creative space for herself around the demands of family life. “A lot of the time I feel the pull between mindsets. I’m here doing the dishes but I’m really thinking about what’s going on up there in the studio,” she says candidly.

Growing up on a farm in Mardan, the youngest of seven children, she studied art at school but dropped out of university after six months. “I started studying ceramics but I quickly realised that I should have been painting … and Melbourne just did not agree with me.” She abandoned formal training and headed to Queensland. But she never gave up on painting, working in hotels by night and painting during the day. Those years in the school of life included a chance meeting with her future husband. “I met Marty – who, funnily enough, also grew up in Mardan – when I came back home

Her energy is inspiring, as is her determination to carve out a creative space for herself around the demands of family life.

artist profile

to get my brother Al to help me buy a car, ” she recalls. After a stint in Darwin, the couple returned to Gippsland, married and started a family. Since then, Rebecca has carved a niche for herself with her coastal collections.

The pinks and blues of her canvases evoke a sense of a serene, otherworldly underwater realm light-years away from Rebecca’s frantic day-to-day world. Inspired by her love of the ocean, she mixes colour and forms to create surreal seascapes that are beautiful and intriguing.

The final form of each painting is part mystery and part design.

“I’ll choose the colours, but if I try to force something, it often just doesn’t work. The paintings lose their magic.” She applies the paint, searching for patterns and shapes. “I might slap it on for two hours … then all of a sudden I’ll get a glimmer of something and I’ll start to paint that shape in.” >

The peaceful exterior of the final work hides an often-complex creation process. “Under all my paintings are beautiful pieces of work that just didn’t fit with the overall direction, so they had to be painted over,” sighs Rebecca with a smile. “It’s hard to explain, but when it’s going well, it’s the best fun I can think of. Quite often, I’ll stand back when something is finished and think, ‘Where did that come from?’”

Although she has worked in oils and watercolours, these days she mainly paints in acrylics, a choice dictated in part by practical considerations. “Before I had children I used to paint in oils, but they’re smelly, toxic, too hard to clean up and they take too long to dry.”

In the past, she’d found acrylics difficult to work with on a large canvas as they dried too quickly.

and-fast plan about how things are going to happen.”

The peaceful exterior of the final work hides an oftencomplex creation process.

“As soon as my kids were older and I had pockets of time opening up again, I really wanted to get back into painting abstracts. I bought some acrylics with a longer open-time and an unlocking formula that you spray onto the dried surface, reactivating the paint so you can work on it again. Now I’m back doing big paintings, which is really good.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is her inspiration, which for the most part comes from nature, particularly the coastal landscape of Gippsland. “I love the way things replicate in nature,” explains Rebecca. “A lot of the forms you see underwater are similar to things you see everywhere else. Lettuce leaves and corals for example.” And the ocean is a constant muse. “I feel connected to something bigger when I’m at the beach, just like when I’m painting. I don’t necessarily mean it’s God, but there’s something – whatever it is – that’s more than you.”

She has a similar sense of wonder about the way her career has evolved. “I’ve always worked hard, but I’m learning that opportunities just come up … you don’t need to have a hard-

For instance, joining ETSY – the online marketplace –provided more than a sales outlet. “It gave me an audience and made me realise that there were people out there who liked what I was doing.” A chance meeting with The Designer Boys (best known as Gav and Warren from The Block) at a design showcase lead to her creating 24 works for their 2017 Collection. And her first exhibition – a group show at St Michael’s Gallery in the city – came about through a friendship formed at art markets. She now sells her artwork via her online store and successful pop-up shops at regular markets. “It’s a really great way to meet those people that love my work. That’s my community – the people who appreciate what I do.” She has created a range of panel prints specifically for markets, featuring feathers, marine shapes and seascape-inspired patterns. And her barnacle clusters, created from paper and then painted, have proved to be enormously popular. “They’re like little dishes. You can put your hair-ties in them, or your rings.” But abstracts remain her creative focus, and increasingly include commissioned work.

As for the future, Rebecca has an endless wish-list. “The trouble is I’ve always got so many ideas about things I’d like to make. Everything’s always building. I don’t think there’s any finishing line. God knows what I’ll be painting in twenty years. I have no idea. I just hope that I’m able to keep developing.”

Whatever the universe throws at her, she knows she will continue to paint. “For me, it’s the difference between a good life and simply existing.”

www.artistastyle.com.au

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BUILDING & DESIGN

BEACH HOUSE CONSTRUCTIONS

Your award-winning design and construct specialist. Accredited GreenSmart builders, our homes are designed to improve energy, resource and waste efficiency and create healthier homes. We provide a wide range of designs, quality materials and our exceptional team deliver outstanding service from start to finish. New display home in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula.

www.beachhouseconstructions. com.au or call 0425 512 999.

BUILDING & DESIGN

ECOLIV BUILDINGS

Ecoliv Sustainable Buildings are architecturally designed modular homes with inspiring, functional living spaces and a minimum 7-star energy rating. Our prefabricated modular homes provide a compact yet functional solution, flexible enough to suit your lifestyle and location.

www.ecoliv.com.au or call 5672 5196.

BEAUMONT CONCEPTS

Beaumont Concepts’ building designs are unique. Each individual design is carefully matched to your environment, desires and lifestyle. Your dream home will be healthy, comfortable, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, liveable, functional and stylish. Our designs capitalise on natural elements to reduce energy output, ensuring an environmentally-friendly home with the highest possible energy rating.

www.beaumontconcepts. com.au or call 5672 5196.

CAPEVIEW BUILDING PRODUCTS

Specialising in frames, trusses, windows and kitchens. Also supplying screens and wardrobes. Our range of durable windows and doors will add a stunning finish to your home along with our stylish designer kitchens. To reduce our carbon footprint, we use sustainably sourced timber, recycle 90% of our waste, run a paperless production line and a solar powered factory.

www.capeviewbuilding products.com.au or call 5672 4890.

ISLAND ENERGY

Your local solar specialists. We offer a range of renewable products and other energy related services. By using our energy-efficient products you could potentially save thousands of dollars in energy costs each year. We offer a large range of Solar products and provide installation and after-sales service. We also supply, install and maintain all types of air conditioning units.

www.islandenergy.com.au or call 1300 534 110.

STABILEARTH CONSTRUCTIONS

Green Living and ‘Passivhaus’ accredited Master Builder. Specialising in eco-sensitive residential builds in South Gippsland and Bass Coast, and contracting for rammed earth constructions throughout Victoria and interstate. Communication, transparency, workmanship and attention to detail ensure an enjoyable building process and a truly sustainable, highly efficient, durable and beautiful home. www.stabilearth.com.au or call 0429 841 057.

DB DESIGN

Darren Brown has over 20-years experience and is one of the region’s leading building design professionals. DB design removes confusion from the building, design and documentation process. With our extensive network of building professionals, consultants and builders, we provide clients with choice and flexibility throughout every stage of their building project, and offer a unique level of assistance. www.dbdesign.com.au or call 5672 1144 / 0418 379 301.

TJ’S TIMBER

A family owned and operated business with their showroom on Phillip Island. Environmentally conscious, they stock a large range of sustainably sourced and accredited new and recycled timbers as well as offer flooring installation, sanding and polishing, using top environmentally-friendly products. With an emphasis on quality, they cater for all budgets and deliver to South Gippsland, Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne.

www.tjstimber.com.au or call 5952 3232.

SECOND HAND, VINTAGE, RETRO AND COLLECTABLES

COFFEE PUMP CAFE: 9am – 5pm

FACTORY SEVEN: 9am – 5pm 7 days a week

120 McKenzie St, Wonthaggi (behind Voyage Gym) Enquiries: Marie 0448

GARDENS & OUTDOORS

CLOGEES

The perfect shoes for the garden, the all-new Clogees are waterproof, lightweight and comfortable. With a contoured inner sole and rubber pads on the sole for traction, Clogees are available in a range of colours, with a very attractive RRP of $29.95. Ladies sizes 6-11(US) and Mens sizes 8-13(US). On sale from select garden centres and hardware stores from mid-September. Call dpg Sales on 9708 2017.

CONQUEST POOLS MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Servicing the Mornington Peninsula, South and East regions of Melbourne and Gippsland. Conquest Pools is the largest manufacturer of fibreglass pools in Victoria. You can be sure the construction and installation of your pool is premium quality. Available in a fantastic range of colours, shapes and designs. All pools come with a 25-year structural warranty. www.conquestpools.com.au or call 0438 736 918.

FASHION, FOOD AND FURNITURE

FACTORY SEVEN

Twelve unique stalls of finely curated collectible and handmade pieces. Tucked in at the rear of 120 McKenzie Street in Wonthaggi, this is the go-to place for handmade, up-cycled, retro and vintage treasures. Find unique pieces for your home or snap up a fabulous outfit. Open every day 9am – 5pm including Coffee Pump Café. Factory7wonthaggi@gmail.com

ORGANATURE

A family owned business that manufactures and sells certified organic cotton manchester, mattresses, beds, baby goods, futons and clothing. Also sells toxic-free hardwood timber furniture. Environmentally friendly and perfect for anyone suffering from allergies or chemical sensitivity. All fabrics are made from GOTS certified organic cotton, grown by non-toxic methods and only using rain water. Guaranteed chemical free. www.organature.com or call 5678 5444.

THE COUNTRY GARDENER

Outstanding plant nursery with over 20-years experience. We pride ourselves on excellent service and quality plants with an extensive range of natives, ornamental, exotic plants and fruit trees, as well as stunning giftware and pots. Our staff are knowledgeable and friendly and offer great advice.

Open 7 days.

Call 5672 4866.

GRACE LANDSCAPES

Grace Landscapes create beautiful, functional and sustainable residential and commercial landscapes. Specialists in natural design, including native flora and fauna as well as lawns and outdoor living spaces, using the latest in design concepts and construction techniques and material. Their Cape Woolamai store includes living art, Bonsai, Terrariums and cacti.

www.heathgracelandscapes. com or call 0404 596 504.

SOUTH COAST FURNISHINGS

Quality furniture that lasts a lifetime. Think sustainably and consider the eco-footprint of the products you purchase. Our range of Australian-made sofas and beds are built to last and stand the test of time. Come in and talk to us about eco furnishing options, including our environmentally friendly floor coverings and great range of recycled or sustainable timber furniture.

www.southcoastfurnishings. com.au or call 5952 1488.

VIE A LA MAISON

Tired of chain-stores and generic brands? This locally owned business has an exciting and ever-changing range of unique homewares and gifts. Browse their selection of kitchen and homewares, including cushions, mirrors and crockery, candles, soaps, soft toys and jewellery, or treat yourself to a pashmina scarf or bag for that special occasion. Surround yourself with beautiful things and enrich your life.

Call 0427 683 401.

Putting the heart INTO CARE

When you’re unwell, you want to be treated by someone who is genuinely interested in your wellbeing.

Likewise, when it comes to looking after your elderly parents or relatives, you need to be certain that whoever is entrusted with their care has their best interests at heart.

Family values and strong community commitment are not just marketing phrases for the Medical & Aged Care Group. This family-owned business focuses on the wellbeing of their patients and aged-care residents. “We’re proud of the strong ties we have with our patients, residents and their families,” said Executive Chairman, Ian McPherson.

“We work closely with our staff and doctors and are always looking to establish connections based on mutual respect. Ultimately, our goal is to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients and residents.”

With medical clinics and aged care facilities operating in 28 locations across Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Latrobe

Trish Wilson – Managing Director, Medical Division, Ian McPherson – Executive Chairman, Cameron McPherson – Managing Director, Aged Care Division.

Valley and Bass Coast, the company is involved in a number of initiatives to strengthen their community connections.

“In the Latrobe Valley we are currently sponsoring two families to help their children through school,” explained Ian. “Long-term our plan is to establish a foundation to provide significant support to underprivileged families in the Latrobe Valley and ensure their children see their schooling through to Year 12.”

In another initiative, for the past nine years, the company has supported the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal. “This year, residents from one of our Aged Care Facilities collected donations for nine days at the Casey Central Shopping Centre,” said Ian. “All the residents are able to get involved and this really is one of their favourite annual events.” The funds raised this year helped to purchase specially designed sleeping bags for people experiencing crisis.

Across in Bass Coast, the Medical & Aged Care Group clinics have well established programmes covering men’s health and community skin checks.

Since 1995, Medical & Aged Care Group has had a proud history of community contribution and service. Their focus continues to be on their clients – providing quality medical and aged care, grounded in family values.

www.maacg.com.au

Medical & Aged Care Group

FASHION, FOOD AND FURNITURE

WONTHAGGI MARKET

Showcasing the creative heart of our community, with over 50 stall holders and a bustling café specialising in home-made comfort food and fabulous coffee. A thoughtful range of vintage, retro, upcycled, hand-made goods and curios for sale. Stocks locally made and environmentally sustainable goods as well as the new furniture area at the rear.

Open daily from 9.30am – 4.30pm. Call 0419 342 815.

HEALTH, HOBBIES AND FITNESS

COWES DENTAL SURGERY

A full range of oral health and general dental services, including: routine preventative treatment; gum care and maintenance; restorative and aesthetic fillings; root canal treatments; crown and bridge work; and instructions on oral hygiene. Reliable service in a friendly and happy environment. We bulk-bill Veterans Affairs patients and children on the Child Dental Benefit Scheme. EFTPOS and HICAPS facilities.

cowesdental@gmail.com or call 5952 2770.

HEALTH, HOBBIES AND FITNESS

NURTURE MASSAGE

Nurture is a unique gift and homewares store, situated in the heart of Inverloch, stocking throws, ceramics, scarves, women’s clothes, jewellery, baby clothes and accessories, kid’s toys, candles, skincare, leather bags and wallets. Nurture provides many therapeutic services, including relaxation and deep tissue massages, Shiatsu, naturopathy, physiotherapy, day spa treatments and facials. Shop in-store or book online.

www.nurturemassageinverloch. com.au or call 03 5674 3181.

MEDICAL & AGED CARE GROUP

We are a family owned company who proudly support our friendly team of doctors, nurses and staff in providing a safe, respectful, caring and peaceful environment for all patients. We’re committed to providing the best possible medical and aged care to our communities. Our focus is on each patient/resident achieving their optimum health outcome for themselves and their families. www.maacg.com.au

CROSSOVER CYCLES

We offer the best advice and best prices on all your biking needs, including sales, repairs and hire. We’re passionate about our bikes and only carry brands we support and believe in. Our bike sales include two-year free service and we stock a huge range of accessories and parts. Bike hire includes half, full, two and 3–5 day options.

www.crossovercycles.com.au or call 5672 2270.

MOSAICS BY THE BAY

Create a mosaic with guidance from Heather in a serene garden studio. Take time out from everyday life and let your creativity flow! Experience a day of art therapy listening to the waves washing on the shoreline and the sounds of the many birds that visit Heather’s garden. All-day workshops provide a complete introduction to mosaics and include a home-made lunch.

www.fahnle.com.au or call 0417 562 625.

REVIVE BEAUTY & SPA

We are passionate about holistic treatments and personal care that create perfect harmony between the inner and outer self. Our nurturing therapists and warm and friendly environment will ensure your visit is a relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Come on a journey to create total beauty and a sense of well-being. Ring to book your treatment or book online.

www.revivebeautytherapy. com.au or call 5672 3800.

THE WELLNESS MANOR

Enjoy a luxury relaxation retreat at our award-winning Day Spa. Catering for all your beauty and wellness needs, we offer cleansing mineral pools, a full range of massage and facial therapies, body and steam treatments and detox programs including colonic irrigation. We guarantee you will emerge relaxed and renewed. Our specially crafted retreat packages ensure you make the most out of taking time out for you.

www.thewellnessmanor.com or call 5956 8791.

We consider ourselves a country practice low in hype but with reliable services in a friendly and happy environment. Cowes Dental Surgery offers oral health and general dental care services including routine preventative treatment, instructions on oral hygiene, gum care and maintenance, restorative fillings, aesthetic fillings, uncomplicated root canal treatments and crown and bridge work. We bulk-bill Veterans Affairs patients and childen on the Child Dental Benefit Scheme. We have EFTPOS and HICAPS facilities.

Seriously cool, seriously comfy kids gear. Australian owned and designed | Inverloch With a passion for the region’s beautiful beaches and environment, Norte designs stylish gear to equip kids for the outdoors year-round. The Norte range features warm and durable play-proof jackets in a vibrant range of colours and styles. Norte also o ers vests, sun hats, beanies and a range of practical accessories for all seasons. Bass Coast Business of the Year and Best New Business 2017.

p: 0448 674 614

e: info@norte.com.au

w. www.norte.com.au

@norte_wear

@nortejackets

Professional, experienced staff – Relaxing environment – All aspects of hairdressing. All De Lorenzo products, plant based ingredients, 100% Australian, vegan certified, environmentally responsible.

a: shop 2, 15-16 The Esplanade, Cowes p: 5900 0811

INDIGENOUS & NATIVE PLANT FARM

‘Natives, because they’re beautiful’

Melaleuca Nursery

Melaleuca Nursery has been supplying quality indigenous & native plants to West & South Gippsland for over 30 years. Whether it’s a few plants for the backyard or thousands for a revegetation project, we provide excellent advice on what’s best for your area.

Open Monday to Saturday: 9am – 5pm. Trade enquiries welcome.

a: 50 Pearsalls Road, Inverloch Vic 3996 p: 5674 1014

e: info@gonativelandscapes.com

w: www.melaleucanursery.com

South Gippsland Therapy Centre

SGTC provides a broad selection of professional natural therapies. Thorough, personalised care for all aches, pains, injuries and ailments. Modalities available are: Myotherapy, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Pilates, Podiatry.

Emphasis is on a thorough treatment approach, always prioritising the cause of your symptoms, providing long term relief. Helping you to feel your very best.

a: 8 Peart St, Leongatha p: 5662 5225

e: admin@sgtc.com.au

w. www.sgtc.com.au

a: shop 4, 13–18 Vista Place, Cape Woolamai

p: 0414 753 739

e: photos@coastmagazine.net

www.warrenreedphotography.com.au Landscapes, advertising and editorial photography.

LOOKING ATTRACTIVE.

We want to get started on our next edition. Here’s the simple truth: More people read Coast than any other local magazine. And readers love our great photos and stories. If you’re looking for quality and style, talk to us about the best ad package for you.

Talk to Robyn about your ad or your promotional campaign on 0432 273 107 or email ads@coastmagazine.net

Edition 49 – Summer 2018

Ad booking deadline: 9/11 2017

On sale: 4/12 – 5/3 2018 5665 4255 info@mmcrc.catholic.edu.au www.mackillopleongatha.catholic.edu.au Horn St, Leongatha Mary MacKillop College South Gippsland

A focus ON THE CHILD

When Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary School opens its doors in 2018, it will be the realisation of a long-held dream to provide local families with the option of a Catholic education.

“For the last four years, establishing a school on Phillip Island has been a priority for the parish,” said Principal Catherine Blackford. “Over the years, local families had voiced their support for the idea and a demographic study showed a school could definitely be successful here.”

The new school has been named Our Lady Star of the Sea. “Families and young people in this community have a great connection to the sea. Mary is known as a guide and protector and there’s a long history of seafarers with a devotion to Our Lady. The name seemed a perfect fit in this community,” explained Catherine.

With support from the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Sale, located in Warragul, a dedicated Parish steering committee has finalised the plans for the school. Located on a seven-acre block on the Cowes-Rhyll Road, it will include general and outdoor learning areas, a school hall, chapel, oval and hardcourt area, as well as extensive wetlands, an orchard and vegetable garden. The design clearly reflects the

school’s educational philosophy promoting sustainability and stewardship for the natural environment.

School will start in a demountable building for the first term of 2018. And while there is more than the usual getting ready for the start of the new school year, Catherine is excited about the future. “We are in the perfect position to prepare a school for a child, rather than a child getting ready for school. Parents are already giving us feedback and ideas on the kind of programs they’d like their children to be able to access.”

“Our goal is to develop rounded human beings who grow into responsible global citizens,” explained Catherine. “While academic achievement is important, our focus is the whole child.”

Our Lady Star of the Sea is currently taking enrolments. Information nights for prospective parents and community members will be held in Term 4, 2017.

Please call our Principal Cathy Blackford on 5951 1700 to enquire or to make an appointment for enrolment to Our Lady Star of the Sea in 2018. All welcome. Coeducational, Foundation (prep) to Level Six, contemporary learning based around innovative, indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

Sometimes IT TAKES A VILLAGE

“Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.”

“So be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re o to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!”

– Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

Every child is precious, especially those faced with unique challenges such as intellectual disability, and Autism.

South Gippsland Specialist School in Leongatha has a precious motto – ‘Together We Grow’ under the logo of a tree’s umbrella of leaves, which is a beautiful metaphor for the work it does for children who need specialist learning.

Not just a dedicated school – a second family – that extends its branches of support to welcome students with special needs aged between 5–18. With big classrooms, a pool, multipurpose hall, fruit and vegetable garden, a chicken coop, and a café style kitchen, nobody is missing out on fun and learning.

Our unique kitchen has doors that can be opened up to the courtyard for celebrations, which makes for a wonderful al fresco experience in the fresh air of this beautiful part of Gippsland.

Personalized education programs around Literacy, Numeracy, Communication, Art, Science, P.E., Swimming, The Arts, ICT, Kitchen, Garden, Life Skills and Work Experience deliver a broad range of knowledge and skills.

Small class sizes, one teacher and support worker for each classroom, and social workers, speech pathologists and occupational therapists on hand give every student at South Gippsland Specialist School a chance to thrive.

Dr Seuss inspired us with his delightful spin on planning and success. “So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed).”

We also want children to experience success, to reach their full potential academically, socially and emotionally, to function independently and cooperatively within the school and to engage in local community programs and activities so they can feel like a valued part of the region.

It’s a framework based on respect, learning, safety, teamwork and social justice, which is how children grow to become empowered members of society. Our focus on social skills and building positive relationships goes beyond text book learning so that children have a caring and stimulating school environment to rely on.

As parents and guardians you are the family tree, and we are the outstretched branches, the open arms, ready to share the load and show your child the beauty and wonder of learning and friendship.

For a tour of the school, please call (03) 5662 4496 during o ce hours and let us show you our philosophy in action.

Our dedicated sta adopt a exible approach to teaching and learning bringing with them a variety of skills, interests and experiences to enhance programs. There is strong commitment to the development of the whole child and we are sensitive to individual student abilities and circumstances. Our supportive environment encourages students to be enthusiastic learners. Our broad curriculum aims to encourage our students to function independently and cooperatively within the school and local community maximising potential in all areas of development. Students are encouraged to reach their full potential in a safe learning environment that fosters positive community relationships. We pride ourselves on providing a caring, stimulating environment for all students and welcome you to visit our school at any time.

WE ARE NOW TAKING

ENROLMENTS FOR 2018.

Please call (03) 5662 4496 during office hours to arrange a tour of the school.

13 Horn Street, LEONGATHA 3953. Phone: (03) 5662 4496. Fax: 03 5662 5873. Email: south.gippsland.ss@edumail.vic.gov.au

Celebrating Bright Futures Together at Newhaven

Newhaven College is celebrating a significant milestone of its now fourteen year journey to build a new school.

The new Senior School and Art, Science and Technology Wing is on schedule for completion this year and preparations are in place to welcome Year 10-12 students to the Phillip Island Road Campus in 2018.

Originally purchased in 2004, the 82 acres that is now the Phillip Island Road

Campus has undergone a planned staged development to transform from farm land into the state-of-the-art independent school that we see today.

The original vision of Newhaven College’s founders to provide a comprehensive ecumenical education built on Christian values holds true to this day. This will continue in the future thanks to the leadership of the Board of Directors and College Principal, Gea Lovell, who dedicate countless hours to ensure Newhaven College is the best it can be.

One Choice from Prep to Year 12

Enrolments are invited for every year level. The main points of entry to the College are Prep and Year 7, however the demand for new enrolments at Year 7 has exceeded the number of available places in recent years.

The Junior School has two small classes at each year level which increases to four classes from Year 7 onwards, so enrolment at Prep is recommended to ensure a place for your child in Year 7 and beyond.

A limited number of places at various year levels are currently available for 2018.

Enrol Now for Prep 2019

The Prep Transition Program commences each October and builds confidence and independence to provide the best possible start for children entering Prep the following year. It is open to all children, not just those enrolled at Newhaven College.

A fun learning activity session each week explores different areas of the school and the children meet teachers and other children in an informal setting.

The sessions include Classroom Story Time, Perceptual Motor Program, Music, Drama, Young Artists, Little Builders, Love the Library, being special guests at a Junior School assembly, and concludes with an Orientation Day in December.

For enrolment enquiries, please contact Belinda Manning on 5956 7505 or visit www.newhavencol.vic.edu.au

82 acres of land at what is now known as our Phillip Island Road Campus was purchased for future development.

The Year 9 Environmental Centre opened in July with 108 students.

The oval was constructed and sown and Stage One of the Pavilion commenced. Prep to Year 6 relocated from Boys Home Road to the newly built Junior School.

A second storey was added to the Pavilion and the first multipurpose sport court was built.

Two extra rooms were added to the Junior School to allow for growth.

Year 5 to 8 students moved into the new purpose-built Middle School.

- The Trade Skills Centre and Food Technology Wing were completed.

- A second multipurpose court was built.

The Administration and Library wing opened in July.

Building of the new Senior School and the Specialist Art, Science and Technology wing commenced and will open in 2018.

A 243kW rooftop solar system was installed on three buildings that will save over 400 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The installation will be paid off over four years and will then generate income as power is exported to the grid.

VISIT NEWHAVEN COLLEGE

You are invited to visit Newhaven College to experience school life in action at a College Tour. The final tour for 2017 is at 9.30am on Thursday 19 October.

1770 Phillip Island Road, Phillip Island Ph: 5956 7505 www.newhavencol.vic.edu.au

Special approach, GREAT RESULTS

Since opening the doors in 2009, Bass Coast Specialist School has created a vibrant and caring environment for their students.

The purpose-built facility, located in the Bass Coast Shire Educational precinct close to the Wonthaggi town centre, o ers a range of opportunities for the students.

Principal Edith Gray is proud of the school’s multi-disciplinary framework, which o ers a unique, secure and supportive learning environment. “Our students are supported by teachers with Special Education quali cations and education support assistants. The school also has a comprehensive therapy team that includes speech pathologists, an occupational therapist, music therapist, physiotherapist and Welfare O cer.”

The school is committed to nurturing relationships and cultivating the values of success, respect, belonging and community. “Every student is seen as an individual,” says Edith. “Sta put together a learning plan to help each student develop the essential skills and knowledge they’ll need to live as a responsible citizen.”

Class sizes range between six to ten students, with a teacher and one or two assistants to help achieve the learning goals.

The school’s emphasis on partnerships between sta , families and the community has seen their students successfully participating in many community events. These include Young Leaders of Bass Coast, Gippsland Eisteddfod, Focus on Ability Short Film Competitions, Ten Pin Bowling, Soccer

and Basketball. Productive “buddy” programs also operate between Wonthaggi Secondary College, Newhaven College and Chisholm College.

The Bass Coast Specialist School community is committed to:

• Improving student learning

• Developing the full potential of each student

• Providing support to parents and caregivers

• Promoting programs that will develop knowledge, attitudes and skills that will enhance quality of life

• Working as a highly e ective team

The school currently has over 60 students who enjoy an extensive range of learning opportunities and experiences.

“The curriculum provides appropriate, challenging and engaging learning opportunities based on the new Victorian Curriculum,” says Edith. “It includes Art, PE, pet therapy, swimming, music, cooking and gardening – although the fees remain similar to mainstream schools.”

This special approach to education is producing some very special outcomes. “Our vision is to educate our students to be kind, be safe and to become lifelong learners.”

Phillip Island’s Grand Prix Circuit is considered one of the greatest motor racing tracks in the world. 4.445km. Oceanside. Twelve turns. Strong winds. With a straight that’s clocked a blistering 315.8kph. Motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi rates it as one of the fastest and most thrilling circuits on the calendar.

But unlike the Island’s other notable drawcard – the hoards of Little Penguins waddling their way onto the shores of Summerland Beach at dusk – Phillip Island’s Grand Prix Circuit was not a natural attraction.

The men who built it worked day and night, without electricity, or indeed official plans (after the engineering drawings were found not to match the build requirements). Construction team leader Peter Blom describes the conditions for the twenty men on that landmark build as ‘hostile’. “They suffered the cold, wet and muddy conditions brought by the southerlies as well as the dust and heat of the northerlies,” he writes in The Race before The Race, a book recounting the 15-month construction marathon.

“It felt like a war zone. Disorganised. Frantic. We were really up against it,” says the bearded larrikin. When engineer and promoter Bob Barnard was told the proposed drawings to reconstruct the 100 Miles Road Race course of 1928 couldn’t work, he cursed under his breath and asked Peter: “Can you built a racetrack without plans?”

Peter had been in the construction game for decades. He said that with the old track for guidance and a good ‘eye’, yes, it could be done. And so the roll of plans was tossed and the construction of the track’s foundation was left to the experts in the trenches. It’s a job Peter and his crew didn’t take lightly given the speeds and corners that riders would be encountering on race days.

Now retired in Cowes with his former teacher wife Lynette, the towering Dutch immigrant talks of that construction challenge in visceral detail. The original track was full of potholes and patches, layered with unstable ‘buckshot’ –seams of ironstone gravel that could not bear the weight of the excavation equipment needed to carve out the new track.

Neal McRae operated the Terex (a giant excavator that looks like a dinosaur) into the deep black of night. With the noise, the dust, and only floodlights fitted on the front of the machine, Peter says the task was completely disorienting. “This was no mean feat: the pitch-black conditions can cause visions and shapes to loom up at you; a world full of gremlins and hobyahs ready to pounce,” writes Peter.

words katie cincotta photos warren reed and supplied

Peter has Neal on speed-dial, and rings to ask him to recall the experience. In fact he’s still in contact with most of the crew. That’s the sentiment that shines through in both his book and his memories – the sense of camaraderie shared by those men digging in. “That is exactly why the story was written,” admits Peter. He might be unruly, and never short of a swear word, but he’s also emotional, romantic and loyal.

Back in his birth country of Holland, the eldest of five children, Peter began work at fourteen on a dragline – a complex excavator with a swinging boom – to support his ‘dirt poor’ family on the island of Texel. “I was quite good at what I did. I was a bloody hard worker, doing fourteen-hour days. I promised Mum I’d buy her a bike and a washing machine and I did. Sent the money back to her,” he says, his voice cracking at the memory. In his twenties, he made the move to a bigger island and migrated to Australia.

He might be unruly, and never short of a swear word, but he’s also emotional, romantic and loyal.

The setting for Peter’s meeting with his wife Lynette is a world away from a dirty construction site. It was on the stage, as part of an amateur theatre group in Portland, that the Dutch accordion player first set eyes on the blue-eyed 16-year-old. “But he had a Dutch girlfriend who was to become his wife. I just cast lascivious eyes at him,” laughs Lynette.

Peter married and had five children. Lynette left the town at seventeen for teachers’ college, endured two failed marriages, had a child of her own, moved to Queensland and eventually returned to Portland to teach. “I had a boy in my class called Arie Blom and I thought ‘I wonder if that’s Peter’s child’ – and it was.”

Peter’s daughter Natasha says Lynette was ‘so kind – she would buy us lunch every day.’ Peter admits that by this stage his marriage wasn’t going well. Now in their 30s, he and Lynette reconnected through the theatre group for >

a production of Showboat. Sharing a Drambuie whisky backstage in the change-rooms, the couple’s romance blossomed fifteen years after they’d first met.

How the couple came to be on Phillip Island reinforces the island’s reputation as a natural wonderland. As marine-life enthusiasts, they’d looked for somewhere in Victoria that was home to a large variety of ocean creatures – and Phillip Island was it.

Of course, between 1988 and 1989 when they were building the famous Grand Prix Circuit, there was no time for exploring rockpools at low tide. The pressure was on. The money was running out. The politics were vicious. Peter and his team had to ignore much of that to stay focused. Ultimately, the safety of the track and the tunnel underneath rested with the construction crew.

“It was a fiendishly difficult site to drain, but I created all the run-offs.

Holland. Of course fish and frogs and other critters were in the mud. Tasha jumped in to try and rescue them and she went straight under. Luckily her brother Robert grabbed her by the hair. She would have drowned, choked on mud.”

When the new Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit finally opened for its first race day on 9 April 1989, Peter was offered a corporate pass but declined. “I was so tired. I just watched the race on telly.” His wife Lynette says: “We were so proud, especially when Wayne Gardiner won. And it’s always wonderful to hear reports from riders that it’s the best track in the world.”

It felt like a war zone. Disorganised. Frantic.

The buckshot was like an underground river. We didn’t sleep for weeks. The only other job that has been as challenging for me was the harbour at King Island.”

The 90-metre access tunnel that runs under the starting line was taking longer than anticipated. After one of the drainage pumps ran out of fuel, the tunnel flooded and it was up to Peter to make it watertight. “When are you going to finish filling this #*%!! tunnel?” promoter Bob Barnard screamed at Peter. “It’s the worse example of over-engineering I’ve ever seen.”

“I said to him, ‘If you want a tunnel that collapses tomorrow, she’s yours, pal.’ He just shut up and walked off and let me do what I had to do. That tunnel would have collapsed without that backfilling. Yes, it took months. It had to be done carefully and thoroughly. But it’s still perfect: it’s never moved.”

The site wasn’t without its dangers. Peter recalls his daughter Natasha visiting on the day they were carving out a wall and depositing dirt into the dam. “You drive the mud out by weight transformation, which is a technique I learnt in

Peter says to be really good with machines you have to listen to them. Valentino Rossi is renowned for that very capacity –listening to the bike and trying to diagnose a problem, a skill which has earned him the nickname of The Doctor. “When I was up there on those 100-tonne machines, that was my zone. I aspired to nothing else,” recalls Peter.

Over Peter’s career, he worked on the Portland Marina, the Greensborough Bypass, and once made a comical four-day expedition from Kyneton on a road grader with a top speed of 36kph. But it’s the racetrack at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit that remains one of his toughest and most rewarding projects. That’s where he unearthed great friendships in a road gang that would lay the foundations for a magical arena of motorsport.

Grand Prix Construction Team:

Peter Blom, Robert Blom, Arie Blom, Daryl Purvis, Kristien Formosa, Jack Hobbs, John Jansson, Laurie Grayden, John Sunderland, Rodney Patton, Laurie Dixon, John Reid, David Murdoch, Neal McRae, Barry Huitema, Rod Spottiswood, Trevor Ryan, Peter De Zwart

Spring Exhibitions

Pamela Irving “Dreaming With Open Eyes”

To be Opened by Dr Julie Stephens Psychoanalyst, Author & Associate Professor of Sociology 10 – 28 September

Zoe Ellenberg & Miodrag Jankovic 1 – 26 October

Wendy Jagger & Amabile Dalfarra-Smith 29 October – 12 November

320 Bay Road Cheltenham

Telephone: 9583 7577

MontoSat 10-5pm Sun12-5pm

■ enquiries@withoutpier.com.au ■ www.withoutpier.com.au

See our website for details. www.vietnamvetsmuseum.org

Holographic Light & Sound Show

Audio visual devices

Aircraft, helicopters, Centurion Tank, vehicles

Images, dioramas

Pamela Irving - Hot Pink Tango 100 x 120cm Acrylic on Canvas

Life could be a Dream

Dream Island, off the coast of McLoughlins Beach in South Gippsland, is a dream for nesting and migratory birds.

The long thin island is only just separated from the mainland and, at low tide, foxes have swum across and wreaked havoc among nests.

According to WGCMA’s Water Program Coordinator, Tracey Jones, Dream Island is close to being just that for local and migratory shorebirds.

“Dream Island provides a near perfect home for shorebirds,” explained Tracey. “It’s hard to get to and tends not to be visited much by people. Many of these birds are notoriously shy and easy to spook and one, the Hooded Plover, is down to about 600 individuals left in Victoria.”

However the one threat that still remains is the fox.

Jonathan Stevenson, Ranger with Parks Victoria has worked baiting on Dream Island on and o for 20 years. “We know we can make Dream Island fox free,” said Jonathan. “It’s such a perfect habitat for shorebirds and if we can get rid of the risk of fox attack it could be even better.

“We believe there are only a couple of foxes left on Dream Island and we’re trying to get rid of them through baiting. It’s devastating to see fox prints near empty nests here because it’s such an important environment.”

Jonathan has been working with the Natural Resource Management Team from the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) to place baits along the length of the Island.

GLaWAC sta member, Corey Jack, said the team enjoyed

being part of the project. “It’s been great working with Parks Victoria to do the baiting,” explained Corey. “We use fat bikes to ride the length of the Island, checking the GPS coordinates and removing old baits and placing new ones.”

The Corner Inlet area provided a varied and abundant range of wildlife, bushfoods and medicines as well as a variety of coastal foods that were gathered to sustain the lifestyles of the traditional owners.

For more information about the Corner Inlet Connections project please visit www.wgcma.vic.gov.au.

This project is funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme through West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority’s Corner Inlet Connections project.

Savour THE FLAVOUR

Great flavours, fresh produce, incredible locations … there are so many wonderful places to eat, drink and enjoy this spring. And introducing The Grape Escape – highlighting outstanding wines from the region’s boutique wineries.

THE BLACK SHEEP CAFÉ & WINE BAR

8 Williams St, Inverloch Call 5674 2129

With a fine selection of international and regional wines, and Tapas themed dinners, this is the perfect spot to spend a relaxed and enjoyable evening. Over summer, come and relax on the deck or enjoy Friday night acoustic entertainment. The menu changes regularly, with a focus on local, seasonal produce. All day brunch menu from 10am. Dinner menu kicks off from 6pm. www.theblacksheepcafewinebar.com

THE CAPE KITCHEN

1215 Phillip Island Rd, Newhaven Call 5956 7200

The stunning view and an inventive menu make this a unique dining experience, focusing on local ingredients and fresh produce. Specialises in beautiful breakfasts and now open for lunch and outside dining there’s a menu to suit every taste and budget, plus an All-Victorian wine list and beer selection. The Cape Kitchen also hosts special events – ring or email them for details or to join their mailing list. www.thecapekitchen.com.au

CHILL BILL

17 Korumburra Rd, Wonthaggi Call 0414 172 504

You’ll feel like an old friend when you walk into this fabulous little café, attached to the Wonthaggi Market. Their revitalized menu includes slow cooked, hearty, nutritious meals (covering all dietary requirements) to eat in or take away.

Try their slow-roasted pork belly toastie or a delicious chicken and veggie home-baked pie. Also serving freshly made cold-pressed juice and Beand ‘peace blend’ coffee. Stay tuned for Salads for the Soul.

THE GILDED LILY STEAKHOUSE RESTAURANT

35 Victoria Rd, Loch Call 5659 4243

Nestled in the delightful village of Loch, this traditional period-style venue showcases excellent and varied Gippsland seasonal produce. The star of the menu is prime aged, grass fed Gippsland beef – including porterhouse, eye fillet, rib eye and scotch fillet. Each dish on their seasonal menu is crafted with care, showcasing ingredients that are locally farmed, caught, grown, house-baked, or cured. Their extensive wine list features carefully selected local, Australian and international wines. www.thegildedlily.com.au

GIPPSLAND MUSHROOMS

1880 Loch-Wonthaggi Rd, Ryanston Call 0409 433 057

Chris and Anne Marie are the owners of Gippsland Mushrooms. They supply IGA supermarket in San Remo and cafes and restaurants in the region. Fresh grown and delicious, their mushrooms include Champignon, Swiss Browns, Portobello and large flat field mushrooms. Open Mon-Fri for mushroom and compost sales, they also host group tours and information days on how mushrooms grow. And if you’re keen to grow your own, ask Chris about buying a mushroom block.

HARRY’S ON THE ESPLANADE

17 The Esplanade, Cowes Call 5952 6226

It’s worth a visit for the view alone. Harry’s has been newly renovated but the menu remains focused on local, natural and authentic produce. Seafood fresh off the boat and Island-grazed beef and lamb are specialties. Artisan breads, cakes and ice-creams are all made at the in-house bakery. Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Harry’s also offers “EzyMeals” –restaurant quality frozen meals for delivery or pick-up.

www.harrysrestaurant.com.au

Photo: Amélie

out

THE BLACK SHEEP

The Black Sheep Café and Wine Bar in Inverloch combines the relaxed atmosphere of a seaside get-away with the quality of city dining.

Since opening in 2015, owners David, Darlene and Rohan Liebelt have built a reputation for using seasonal local ingredients and showcasing the best Gippsland produce. And while they’re fiercely supportive of local farmers and producers, there is definitely an international flavour to the meals.

The Black Sheep’s tapas menu provides the perfect opportunity to try a range of dishes and flavours from Spain through to Asia. The tapas servings – more a tantalising taster than a traditional main meal – are designed for sharing so you get to taste a little of everything. The café also has a good selection of Gippsland wines by the glass or the bottle, so there’s something for every palate and budget.

Our first dish – Tempura Cauliflower – has a complex array of flavours. Flowerets fried in a spice blend infused with dried capers are served with a traditional tempura soy-based dipping sauce. There’s a suggestion of heat offset by the sweetness of the cauliflower and the salty zing of the sauce.

Next up was scallops served on a bed of chipotle mayonnaise, chorizo salsa and lotus crisps. This was a fantastic choice: combining different textures and flavours encapsulates the food philosophy of The Black Sheep. Tender scallops sit atop a smoky chorizo salsa made from sauteed red onion, smoked paprika and parsley oil, while the creamy mayonnaise sets off the strong, savoury salsa perfectly.

With its crunchy top and gloriously gooey interior, the brownie was delicious.

Between plates, we checked out the artwork and curios scattered around the café walls. The Black Sheep’s eclectic mix of furniture, textures and colours gives the place a casual, playful, yet stylish feel. Rustic packing boxes are repurposed to create a bespoke wine rack, while modern cement pendant lights sit comfortably alongside a distressed 60s sideboard. And while they’re serious about their food, the owners can’t resist a few sheep-inspired touches, like the chalk-board of sheep jokes or the black sheep ornaments perched on the bar.

Back at our table, even though there are plenty of vegetarian options available, we opted for three meat dishes: pork, lamb and chicken. The Pork Belly, coated with a delicious sweet

glaze, was simultaneously crisp, chewy and tender. The hot and salty Vietnamese chilli jam was a perfect accompaniment. I especially loved the contrasting mix of flavours and textures in this dish. It’s a winner.

In contrast, the Lamb Cutlets were a study in simplicity. The flavour of the award-winning local lamb was allowed to shine, with the cutlets lightly grilled, then topped with a black garlic gremolata. This mixture of garlic and herbs was sweet and moreish and the lamb was beautifully tender. Keeping things simple ensures the lamb is the focus of the dish and nothing detracts from the quality of the meat. >

words eleanor mckay photos warren reed

If you’re worried about a chilli overload, there’s nothing to fear from the Thai Green Chicken Curry. Tender chicken thighs are cooked in a mild and relatively sweet-flavoured house-made green curry paste blended with coconut milk. This is one of the most popular dishes on the menu and the flavours of the silkysauced curry are beautifully blended. It’s served with light, fragrant jasmine rice and roti bread. We were in tapas mode and shared the dish, but it is actually from the main meal menu, so you can keep it all to yourself totally without guilt!

Kahlua-infused cream was fabulous, the coffee-flavoured liqueur adding an extra dollop of decadence. Offsetting all this indulgence were ripe, sweet, fresh raspberries. Too often fruit garnish is all about colour rather than flavour, but these raspberries were perfect. This was a great example of how a commitment to the best quality ingredients does make an enormous difference to the overall enjoyment of a meal.

I especially loved the contrasting mix of flavours and textures …

Finally, we rounded out the night with a dessert plate – and what a finale it was. I normally don’t bother with dessert at home, so I do like to treat myself to something a little wickedly wonderful when I’m eating out. The Chocolate Brownie with Kahlua Cream did not disappoint. With its crunchy top and gloriously gooey interior, the brownie was delicious. And the

The Black Sheep is a firm favourite with locals and visitors and we can see why. As the temperature starts to rise, we can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than sitting around a table on the outside deck. This is one spring lamb you won’t want to miss.

The Black Sheep Café & Wine Bar is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. See their Facebook page or website for opening times and days.

Relaxed Dining.

The Black Sheep has raised the bar for Inverloch dining. Your choice of tapas, mains or tasting platters with fine regional wines and boutique beers. 8 Williams Street, Inverloch : 5674 2129 : blacksheepcafe@outlook.com : blacksheepcafewinebar.com

HICKSBOROUGH GENERAL STORE

184 White Rd, North Wonthaggi Call 5672 5441

A delightful retro façade houses a modern café that specialises in local produce. A great range of healthy salads and soups, deliciously indulgent muffins, burgers, fabulous cakes and exceptional coffee are just some of the items on the regularly updated menu. Friendly service, relaxed atmosphere and fresh local ingredients. Open Tuesday to Sunday for breakfast and lunch. All day brunch menu.

IGA SAN REMO

135 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5337

There is always an impressive array of specials at this newly renovated supermarket. But where the store really shines is in their incredible range of gourmet sauces, expansive cheese selection and hydroponic lettuces. They also stock a great range of local wines and products, from fresh vegetables to honey to snap-frozen fresh seafood.

KERNOT FOOD & WINE STORE

1075 Loch-Kernot Rd, Kernot Call 5678 8555

You always get a warm country welcome at this beautiful heritage store. Mouthwatering woodfired pizza, homemade pies and local produce are highlights of the menu, and there’s also a great local wine-list. The store regularly serves up a fabulous selection of live music. Open Friday and Saturday for dinner till late.

fresh local seafood – pick up or cooked fresh to order

The Co-op is the place to stock up on fresh local seafood including crayfish, gummy shark, snapper, flathead, duckfish and much more. Order some scrumptious fresh fish and chips for lunch or dinner, then enjoy your meal here or take away to eat at on the beach. Pelican Feeding takes place every day at noon.

KILCUNDA GENERAL STORE

3535 Bass Hwy, Kilcunda Call 5678 7390

This friendly café is famous for beautiful breakfasts, great coffee, delicious lunches and fabulous cakes. They only use free-range eggs and chickens, and all ingredients are locally-sourced where possible. Their pastries, sauces and chutneys are all made from scratch. The gift shop showcases sustainable, locally-produced items, and their own range of chutney, chilli jam and beetroot relish. Open 7 days from 7am.

KILCUNDA OCEAN VIEW HOTEL

3531 – 3533 Bass Hwy, Kilcunda Call 5678 7011

We like it fresh and local. We like it big and hearty. Chef Ivan Sanchez has added an extra layer to our bistro experience. His passion for cooking shines through in every meal and South American inspired dishes sit alongside favourites like Black Angus steak, chicken parma and fish and chips. You’ll always get the freshest ingredients and friendly service. No wonder we’ve been named one of the Top 20 Country pubs in Victoria. www.kilcundaoceanviewhotel.com.au

KOOROOMAN BLUEBERRIES

80 Smirls Rd, Leongatha North Call 5668 6294

Delicious organic blueberries, free of sprays or chemicals, grown right here in Gippsland. Get your Koorooman Blueberries at local farmers markets or direct from the farm-gate. Blueberry season might be over, but you can still enjoy the taste of summer with frozen blueberries available in 1kg packs. Sprinkle them on your breakfast, whip up a smoothie or add them to your favourite recipes.

MARIO’S AT SAN REMO

93 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5365

Mario Zinellu is practically an institution on the coast, and this fabulous bistro is the latest chapter in his food journey. Focusing on ‘food with heart’ with Continental influences, you can expect the same focus on flavour, freshness and local seafood. Come in and experience la dolce vita. All meals available takeaway.

THE PALMS

Cnr Chapel & Steele St, Cowes Call 5952 5858

This restaurant and cocktail bar in the Kaloha Comfort Resort in Cowes boasts a seasonal a la carte menu with an emphasis on local produce. With over 20 years’ experience, chef Tim Stephens’ passion for seafood is reflected in the menu. Dishes include vegetarian options and excellent local beef, so there’s something for all the family.

www.thepalmsphillipisland.com.au

PAUL THE PIEMAN

5 A’Beckett St, Inverloch Call 5674 1722

Much like the delicious breads they bake daily, Inverloch’s Paul the Pieman has given the bakery a thoroughly satisfying makeover. It’s the same friendly personal service with a mouth-watering range of bread, cakes and award-winning pies. Trends come and go with gourmet baking but Paul the Pieman has a reputation built on freshness and quality with loyal customers from the region, Melbourne and the Peninsula. Open 7 days fom 7am. www.paulthepieman.com

Waterfront Restaurant Phillip Island

1215 Phillip Island Road, Newhaven, Victoria 3925 hello@thecapekitchen.com.au T 03 5956 7200 thecapekitchen.com.au facebook/thecapekitchen @thecapekitchen thecapekitchen

Always on sale:

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Local and imported delicacies KGS mayonnaise, hummus, chutney and jams Gorgeous home and giftware items

Kilcunda General Store

Mon – Sat: 7am – 5pm Sun: 7am – 4pm 3535 Bass Highway, Kilcunda Ph: 5678 7390

RACV INVERLOCH

70 Cape Paterson Inverloch Rd Call 5674 0000

In a stunning location, with spectacular views across Anderson Inlet, this is the perfect place to enjoy a delicious meal with family or friends. Radius restaurant is the ideal setting for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and offers an impressive local wine selection. We also cater for special occasions and large group bookings. In Zenith Lounge, enjoy all day dining and daily happy hour, with live music on Fridays. There really is something for everyone at RACV. www.racv.com.au/inverloch

SAIGON MAGGIE

Shop 8/209-213 Settlement Rd, Cowes Call 5900 0795

Tucked away off the main drag, this tiny café is big on flavor. Specialising in traditional Vietnamese dishes including Pho, Tom-yum soup, spring rolls, wontons, BBQ pork skewers and rice noodle salads. A great range of stir fries and most dishes have beef, chicken, pork, seafood and vegetarian options. Also do take-away. Open from 11am – 8.30pm every day except Tuesday and until 9pm Friday and Saturday.

SAN REMO FISHERMAN’S CO-OP

170 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5206

San Remo Fisherman’s Co-op sources fresh seafood from its own fleet of fish and crayfish boats. Fresh seafood sales include live and cooked crayfish, gummy shark, flathead, prawns, oysters and more.

Enjoy the best fish and chips in town, either dining in, alfresco on the lawn or relaxing by the beach right next door. And don’t miss their free Pelican Feeding, on the beach every day at noon.

TRUMPET BAR

3/16 The Esplanade, Cowes Call 595 2 5770

Serving lunch and dinner with a menu that includes vegan, GF and vegetarian options, this is also a perfect spot for a quiet drink, a cheeky cocktail, or you can just pop in for a delicious coffee. It has a great outdoor area and can cater for group bookings and private functions. Presenting quality live music three to four nights a week. Friendly, intimate and great value for money.

VAUGHAN’S CAFÉ & DELI

Shop H, 10 A’Beckett St, Inverloch Call 5674 6877

A great place to enjoy a unique blend of coffee, enjoy a bite to eat or indulge in gourmet treats. Vaughan’s stocks a wide range of local and imported products, including gourmet cheeses, smallgoods, antipasto and a range of gluten-free options. All day brunch menu, including fresh juices, house-made cakes. A local wine list with catering also available. Open 6 days, 8am–4pm.

www.facebook.com/VaughansCafeDeli

YOUKI’S

Shop 1, 68 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 5952 6444

Authentic Japanese food with friendly service. Youki’s Ramen (egg noodle soup) is as good as Melbourne’s best and they also do fabulous vegetable Okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancake) and Tempura Udon Noodles. Fresh sushi, rice paper rolls, and a selection of hot food available for takeaway or dining in.

Open 7 days. Mon – Fri 10am – 4pm, Sat 10am – 8pm, Sun 10am – 3pm. Contact shop to book set menu or buffetstyle small group dinners.

What’s c king

Slow-roasted spring lamb with ras el hanout

Serves 6

Sometimes, simple dishes are the most delicious. This can cook away all afternoon and fill your home with comforting aromas. This is love on a platter.

1 x 2kg lamb shoulder, on the bone *

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 heaped teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons ras el hanout

2 red onions, sliced

½ bunch fresh thyme

250ml white wine

150ml red wine vinegar

1 garlic bulb, unpeeled and quartered

6 good quality anchovy fillets, in oil

3 lemons, rolled and then cut in half

Freshly cracked black pepper

To serve

½ cup natural almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

1 cup mint leaves, torn

Seeds from half a pomegranate

Harissa dressing

60ml olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 teaspoons harissa

Sea salt flakes and black pepper to season

Using a sharp knife, cut three or four slits diagonally across the lamb. Combine olive oil, salt and ras el hanout. Cover the lamb with the mixture, massaging well, including down into the slits. Cover and marinate in the fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 150°C. Take the lamb out of the fridge at least one hour before you start cooking so it’s as close to room temperature as possible. Select a frying pan large enough to hold the lamb shoulder and heat to medium-high. Brown the meat on all sides; it will take about 10 minutes to get a good colour all over. Meanwhile, place sliced onions and thyme in a large roasting dish and

when the lamb is browned, place it on top. Tip off any fat from the frying pan and place on a low heat. Pour in the wine and let it bubble and reduce for two minutes. Pour the warm wine over the lamb.

Pour the vinegar around the lamb and add garlic, anchovies and lemons. Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and cover tightly with foil. Bake on the middle shelf for four hours. Check every so often to ensure the onions aren’t burning and baste the lamb. Remove the foil after four hours and cook, uncovered, for the last 40 minutes. When ready, the meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Gently shred into large pieces and use the roasting juices to moisten the meat.

You could serve the lamb as it is and it would be lip-smackingly lovely. If you want to turn it into something very special, place on a platter and scatter with almonds, herbs and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with the harissa dressing and dot with marinated goat’s cheese or labne.

Harissa dressing: whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. Season with salt and pepper and allow to stand at room temperature for at least half an hour to let the flavours really develop. Give a light mix again just before serving.

*A whole shoulder is ideal for slow cooking, as it has plenty of connective tissue that needs time to break down but becomes super luscious and sticky once it does.

French inspired food and wine made by hand from the ground up.

Premium single vineyard cool climate wines by Pat & Kirsten Hardiker. French leaning menu by Michelin trained Chef Philippe Desrettes.

Open 11 – 5, 7 days. A la carte menu available for lunch. Dinner last Friday of the month. Available for corporate events and private celebrations. See website for more details.

p: (03) 5942 8380 m: 0438 518 506 e: wine@cannibalcreek.com.au www.cannibalcreek.com.au

260 Tynong North Rd, Tynong North West Gippsland 3813 Victoria Australia follow us:

NEW LOOK AND NEW MENU

Midweek Lunch – 2 share plates and a glass of wine or coffee – $25.

BASIA MILLE

2016 Pinot Grigio Di Clodiae $55

This delicious white Pinot, with a touch of Chardonnay, has big apple and pear fruit, fine acidity, a beautiful citrus nose and a green apple and lemon palate. It’s a white to be enjoyed and respected.

1 Taylor Court, Fish Creek (03) 5687 1453. www.basiamille.com.au

CANNIBAL CREEK VINEYARD

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc $35

94 rating, James Halliday AWC 2017. “… Barrel fermentation gives … a creamy textural weave, smokiness and impressive breath … passionfruit, galangal and verdant foliage … nish bursts with intensity of avour and tenacious length.”

260 Tynong North Rd, Tynong North (03) 5942 8380. www.cannibalcreek.com.au

DIRTY THREE WINES

2017 Dirty Three Riesling $33

Newly released Riesling – awesome for spring and summer drinking. Off-dry, meaning it starts sweet and finishes dry. Great on its own or with Asian-inspired cuisine.

64 Cashin St, Inverloch (03) 5606 8128. www.dirtythreewines.com.au

Welcome to our new tasting room in Inverloch. We love Pinot Noir and the three distinct “dirts” our vines are grown in. We strive to make wines with soul and harmony, that sing of the dirt in which they’re grown. Taste our wines in our new tasting room or sit down and sample some awesome local cheese or charcuterie.

LUCINDA ESTATE

2015 Premium Pinot Noir $30

Grown in red volcanic soils of South Gippsland, a wine with layers of flavours, perfumed red fruits on the nose and palate, sweet fruit, five spice and fine tannins.

108 Parr St. Leongatha 0417 337 270. www.lucindaestate.com.au

MORDIALLOC CELLAR DOOR

2016 Foxeys Hangout Pinot Noir $37*

PURPLE HEN VINEYARD & WINERY

2016 Pinot Noir $32

Medium to full-bodied Pinot from Merricks North on the Mornington Peninsula. Bright cherries on the nose, loads of red fruits with some oak and spice. Perfect with duck or game.

622 Main St, Mordialloc (03) 9580 6521. www.mordycellardoor.com.au

* Take away

Our Pinot Noirs have consistently won wine show medals and trophies. They are renowned for varietal clarity, lifted bouquet and supple tannins. This wine is consistent to that form.

96 McFees Rd, Rhyll (03) 5956 9244. www.purplehenwines.com.au

it’s all about the house spring

Aspire Designer Homes

Vista de Phillip Island

0417 379 510 | www.vistadephillipisland.com.au vistadephillipisland@protonmail.com | Unit 7 and 8, 12 Vista Drive, Cape Woolamai, Vic 3925

words eleanor mckay photos warren reed

Love in the

With the help of friends and family, Lynnie Healy and Phil Williams created a coastal retreat that really does have love inside the walls.

“Let me show you this,” says Lynnie, excitedly scrolling through photos on her phone. She finds the shot she’s looking for – a huge beam with a heart embedded in the texture of the wood. “I was so thrilled when I saw that,” smiled Lynnie. “It’s gorgeous. It had to be covered up, but I know that it’s there.” The beam is now encased in the walls of the kitchen, concealed like all hearts, but still a vital part of this home filled with life, love and family.

When Lynnie and Phil decided to build a home together, they approached Ashley Beaumont from Beaumont Concepts to create a design to suit their lifestyle. “We told Ashley what was important to us,” said Lynnie. “We wanted lots of light and we definitely wanted to make the most of our view.”

The elevated block in San Remo commands panoramic views across the bay from Cape Woolamai to Newhaven. For Ashley, the challenge was to find a balance between capturing the view and creating a sustainable building. “Coastal sites are always challenging,” explained Ashley. “The main reason people buy this kind of block is to capture the views, which are to the south. But you also need to get northern light into the main part of the house.”

The design evolved as Ashley devised ideas to capture as much northern light as possible, while working around the height restrictions of the site. The house has a skillion roof resembling the raised wings of a butterfly, with two planes that slant down towards each other. “A winged roof allowed us

lifestyle review walls

to have high windows for northern light, and it also provides space for north-facing solar panels.” On the south side, the upward slope created space for massive floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors, maximising the impact of the stunning ocean view.

The design incorporated a number of different elements to achieve the requisite six-star energy rating. All the southand west-facing glass was balanced out with northern windows, and the house includes a rammed earth wall that runs through the lounge room. The wall, framed by a huge wooden pylon from the Bunbury Wharf in WA, not only looks spectacular but provides a vital thermal mass for the home.

The design also nominated Weathertex cladding – a chemical-free, sustainable product well suited to coastal conditions – and double-glazed windows and sliding doors. “We suggested using powder-coated aluminium windows because timber exposed to these kinds of conditions requires a lot of maintenance,” explained Ashley. This matched well with Lynnie’s stipulation that the house should sit well in the environment. “I didn’t want the house to be intrusive,” explained Lynnie. “It had to blend with the coastal tones, the grey of the local tea trees, the stormy skies, the ocean.”

Another key consideration was the overall size of the home. “We didn’t want a big house, and because of our >

age, we didn’t want any stairs,” said Lynnie. She was also adamant that the house not have square, box-like rooms or long passageways. “It was definitely a challenge to avoid passageways,” admitted Ashley. “In the final design, all the space is usable and practical. There’s no wasted space and it’s a very functional, compact home.”

… the challenge was to find a balance between capturing the view and creating a sustainable building.

The house’s L-shaped design incorporates an east wing that houses three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an office space. The expansive kitchen, living and dining area makes up the entire west wing. The angled roof became an architectural feature internally, and helps to make the home feel much larger than its 18 squares. The house is surrounded by expansive decks in silvertop ash, a dense timber that lasts well in coastal conditions. The major deck faces south to capture the views, while the north-facing back deck provides a warm haven in winter and a spot to escape the frequent southeasterly winds.

With the design finalised, Lynnie and Phil enlisted their son-in-law to help them build the house. Again, their list of requirements was covered with creativity and flair. “From a health perspective, I knew I didn’t want carpets: I wanted floorboards,” said Lynnie. “I also didn’t want plaster ceilings.” They selected spotted gum timber for the floorboards and >

after researching online, the couple decided to use plywood panels on the ceiling. They are delighted with the result.

“The colour in the plywood matched the tones of the rammed earth, and I love that there are no two sheets that are the same.” The resulting look is both impressive and healthy, with timber and plywood all having a low VOC (volatile organic compound) rating, so they release fewer toxins into the air than other surfaces.

The kitchen features plywood cupboards with cut-out handles creating a streamlined retro look, and a stylish, low-maintenance, grey-green concrete kitchen bench. Plywood cupboards and concrete benches are also used in the bathrooms, matched with textured porcelain tiles to create spaces that feel simultaneously elegant and industrial. Recycled barn-doors on external tracking add another superb feature to the bathrooms.

With so much thought going into the design, it’s hardly surprising that the house radiates warmth and charm. The lounge/dining area is furnished with an eclectic mix of midcentury e-bay purchases including bamboo chairs and stools, a Nordic dining setting and a fully-operational vintage stereo cabinet. A large outdoor setting provides the perfect spot for a family dinner in summer, and wherever you sit, you can feast your eyes on the sparkling waters of Westernport or Bass Strait.

For Lynnie and Phil, the home fits perfectly with their lifestyle and the environment. It’s low-maintenance and great for entertaining their children and grand-children. And at any time of day, they get to drink in that incredible view. “I can’t bear to pull the blinds down,” admits Lynnie. “The kitchen blind always stays up. You can watch the sunset and you can see the lights across Cape Woolamai and the reflection on the water. You can watch the fishermen coming home from their day out at sea. It’s just beautiful.”

Designed by Beaumont Concepts www.beaumontconcepts.com.au Rammed earth wall by StabilEarth Constructions stabilearth.com.au

… panoramic views across the bay from Cape Woolamai to Newhaven.

coast style

DECORATING INSPIRATION FOR YOUR HOME

The environmental and economic benefits of LED lighting are well documented:

There are so many advantages to LED lighting, for you and the environment. And with a little creativity, it can really light up your life.

• a 70 per cent longer lifespan than conventional bulbs

• energy efficient with lower electricity running costs

• eco-friendly – free of toxic chemicals

• able to withstand rough conditions, including temperature extremes

• close to zero UV emissions

These days LEDs can add ‘looking great’ to their list of achievements. LEDs are being used to create incredible mood lighting, producing a dynamic control of colour and light.

Increasingly, interior designers are getting creative and adding LED to every room of the house. Some of our favourites include LED lit acrylic stairs, a tubular LED table and vertical LED strip lamps. And we love seeing

coloured LED used to light underneath benches, around splashbacks and shelving or to create a wash of colour on walls.

If you are looking for something a little more conventional, you can find LED in every imaginable configuration, from the regular recess downlights to Morroccan-inspired pendants or table lamps. An incredible range of colours makes it easy to tailor LED lights to your space, creating whatever mood or ambience you desire.

Or perhaps you’d like to get a little playful with decorative strand of fairy lights, a lamp made from LED-illuminated branches or a string of ping-pong ball lights.

Whatever your preference, it’s time to embrace LEDs, unleash your imagination and colour your world.

When you visit your local G.J. Gardner Homes office, we want you to feel like you’re already home. Every franchise is owned and operated by people with local knowledge, insights, expertise and advice. We know the local council and the best local tradies, because we work with them every day.

Building your new home with a local team you can get to know personally is surprisingly easy. Come in and visit us to find out more.

Give us a call or drop in for a chat today. Call 132 789 or visit gjgardner.com.au

Welcome Home.

ANCHOR BELLE HOLIDAY PARK

• Family Friendly

• 2 km from main township

• 100 metres from beach

• Powered & ensuite powered sites

• Large range of accommodation

• Indoor heated pool (From 22/9)

• Games room

• Recreation & conference room

• Toddler playground

• WIFI

• Jumping cushion

• Ball court

words eleanor mckay photos warren reed

THE Forever House

Perched on a clifftop looking out across Bass Strait, this beautiful house combines practicality with flair and imagination to create a stunning family home.

I arrive at Nadia and Sandy Ryan’s Sunderland Bay home and am immediately struck by two things: the seamless way the house integrates a mix of concrete, Alucobond cladding, glass, and natural timbers; and that astonishing view. Inside, I’m ushered upstairs past contrasting concrete and exposed brick into a light-filled living area framed on two sides by the ocean. With its white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows, there’s an undeniable wow factor. But every aspect of this house has been designed to reflect the taste and interests of the family.

After living in an old house for five years, Nadia and Sandy decided they needed a home that could accommodate their

lifestyle and growing family. “We felt all the elements of the weather in that old house,” laughs Nadia. “That experience gave us an insight into how to design this place. We get strong south-west winds here, so we wanted an L-shaped house to block the wind and create a protected space in the backyard.” The couple also wanted two storeys, with elevated ceilings to maximise the view from the top storey. As well as capitalising on that incredible view, the house had to complement their surfing lifestyle. “We wanted to be able to come home from the beach, shower outside, store the surfboards. I wanted a house that would be easy to keep tidy and free of sand.” >

lifestyle review

… they needed a home that could accommodate their lifestyle and growing family.

Armed with several years of research, Nadia took on the role of the project manager. “I knew what overall shape I wanted, and what rooms I wanted on which level: the team at Beaumont Concepts drew up the plans for us.” Beaumont Concepts’ expertise in environmentally-conscious design contributed a lot of practical and design features. Those included a raked ceiling allowing solar panels to be laid flat to the roof (an important consideration in a location often buffeted by strong winds), positioning windows to utilise the flow of fresh air and capture the view, and triangular-shaped balconies mirroring the shape of the block. Double-glazing on all the windows and doors boosted the house’s environmental credentials, while bi-fold and three-panel sliding doors created a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Nadia and Sandy have three children ranging in age from eighteen months to ten years, so the final design had to provide space and the capacity to adjust to a growing family. It incorporated four bedrooms and a study, three bathrooms, an upstairs living area, downstairs rumpus room, decks, balconies … and unsurprisingly, a surfboard storage room! Cleverly, the internal walls downstairs are not weight-bearing, so the two large bedrooms there can be reconfigured. “If we want, we can change those as the kids get older and need their separate spaces,” said Nadia. “We’re not moving. This is our ‘forever home’.”

Nadia approached the task of finding a builder with the same attention to detail that went into the design process. >

Builders of distinctive, designer homes.

TS Constructions create living spaces that are stunning, innovative and finished to perfection. Our aim is to work with owners and designers to develop and build exactly to your requirements.

03 5672 2466 admin@tsconstructions.com.au www.tsconstructions.com.au

tel: 03 5956 7415

28 boys home road, newhaven, phillip island. info@southcoastkitchens.com.au www.southcoastkitchens.com.au

When the building quotes came in, TS Constructions impressed from the start. “Their quote was detailed and broken down where I needed it, and they definitely came across as the most professional,” said Nadia. “And we had a good relationship with them from the first time we sat down with Tony through to meeting (site supervisor) Mal and the team of builders.”

Removing the old house was the slowest and most problematic part of the process, but subsequent progress was smooth and efficient. “The best thing about TS Constructions was that they’d contact me to discuss absolutely everything,” said Nadia. “They always offered advice and solutions to problems. All the materials they used were good quality, and all the tradesmen they bought onto the job were excellent. I really felt I could trust anything or anyone they recommended.”

… the master bedroom has stunning views across Bass Strait.

That quality shines through in every aspect of this truly beautiful yet functional home. Everywhere, small touches and well-thought-out details add to the aesthetics, such as the striking internal stairwell and stylish minimal light fittings. The bathrooms’ diamond-shaped basins set in floating vanities – custom-made by South Coast Kitchens, who also supplied the cabinetry in the kitchen, laundry, study and office – sit against contrasting floor-to-ceiling grey and white tiles. Downstairs, the polished concrete floor is fitted with a hydronic heating system, and the rumpus room opens onto the backyard, providing a perfect entertainment space. Upstairs, the polished rosewood floorboards provide warmth and contrast to the clean, white walls in the living area, while the master bedroom has stunning views across Bass Strait.

The heart of the house is undeniably the open-plan kitchen and living area which is framed by that spectacular view – “We love watching the sunsets from here” – and nothing in the space detracts from it. The sleek, minimal kitchen is complemented by a butler’s pantry, separated from the main kitchen by a two-way mirror. The pantry provides huge storage space and includes a work bench and sink. “I love it. The kitchen always looks clean because the workspace is behind that wall. When we entertain, I can get things ready and put everything in the pantry, so people come into a clean space.”

Eighteen months after moving in, Nadia says the family couldn’t be happier. “We’re always finding ourselves saying, ‘We can’t believe we live here’. We just love it so much.”

Built by TS Constructions www.tsconstructions.com.au

Designed by Beaumont Concepts www.beaumontconcepts.com.au

Trades & suppliers:

South Coast Kitchens www.southcoastkitchens.com.au

TJ’s Timbers www.tjstimbers.com.au

South Coast Furnishings www.southcoastfurnishings.com.au

Plumbers Now www.plumbersnowcontracting.com.au

RESORT LIVING EVERY DAY. RETIRE IN SOUTH GIPPSLAND.

Experience the boutique retirement dream at Mountain View Leongatha

Be on a permanent holiday by joining our exclusive community.

Choice of 2 & 3 bedroom master built luxury homes with single or double garages.

A 24 hour emergency call service and secure caravan and boat storage for peace of mind.

Two financial options to suit your budget. Contact us for further information.

RESORT LIVING EVERY DAY

OPEN FOR INSPECTION from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday.

Ph: 1300 306 255

1 Dale Drive Leongatha VIC 3953 www.mountainviewleongatha.com.au

Master built luxury homes. Double Garages now available Community Centre completed and operational.

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL SERVICES

Plumbers

Secure. Safe. Peace of Mind.

WE SELLBOXES

Island Secure Storage

Easy car and truck access.

Wide range of unit sizes to suit all your needs. We stock all your packaging requirements. Access is 24/7.

On-site manager during business hours. All units have an individual alarm and the facility has security cameras inside and out. Storing with us will be a breeze.

mob: 0400 214 446

4 Industrial Way, Cowes VIC 3922

Our Libraries have a huge range of programs and events to suit all ages and interests running throughout Spring, including school holidays. Though free, most of our programs and events require you to book so please browse and book online at www.wgrlc.eventbrite.com.au

Drouin | Foster | Inverloch | Korumburra | Leongatha Mirboo North | Neerim South | Phillip Island | Poowong Warragul | Wonthaggi |

www.wgrlc.vic.gov.au PHONE: 5622 2849

As your local Member of Parliament I am keen to hear from the community and assist with any State Government matter.

Warm regards, Daniel Mulino

e: storage@islandsteel.com.au www.islandstorage.com.au

a: 1/23 James Street, Pakenham, VIC 3810 p: 5940 5010 f: 5940 5011 e: daniel.mulino@parliament.vic.gov.au daniel.mulino.1

A TREASURE TROVE OF PRE-LOVED, RETRO, VINTAGE & MORE...

Opens at 10 every Sunday in Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.

Main Street, KONGWAK, Victoria (only 10 minutes from Inverloch)

For more info call Jane on 0417 142 478

Recycled metal sculptures, garden sculptures, junk sculptures, unique furniture, fun metal animals, and lots of other stuff.

420 Main Jindivick Rd, Jindivick

Open 9am to 5pm every day 5628 5224

lcollins@dcsi.net.au www.lauriecollins.com.au

Island Shoes

134 Thompson Avenue, Cowes, Vic. 3922

Ph: 03 5952 2515

San Marco Wildflower Jewellery

Mind, Body & Spirit CD’s

Himalayan Salt Lamps

Black Ice Sunglasses

Erstwilder Brooches

Hats, Bags, Scarves

Japanese Incense

Silver Jewellery

Oracle Cards

Body Jewellery

Bric-a-Brac, Books

Nana May’s Skincare

Gemstones: Tumbled, Specimens & Jewellery

Bella Donna Harmony Balls

Clothing for Ladies, Men & Kids

Venezia Murano Glass Millefiori Jewellery

Brenna Kaia Ulla Seashore

Celebrate In Style

Specialising in clear span marquees and complete event hire, we can design a package that is perfectly suited to your style and budget. We aim to take the hassle out of your special occasion by providing the highest standard of equipment, unique products and styling and flawless service and delivery.

15 The Concourse, Cowes | 5952 1791 info@overthetopevents.com.au | www.overthetopevents.com.au

FREE ART ADVICE

–

directory

Artists & Galleries

ArtFusion Gallery 23

ArtSpace Wonthaggi 31

The Goldsmith’s Gallery 35

Laurie Collins Sculpture Garden

& Red Tree Gallery 132

Manyung Gallery 133

Mingara Gallery 25

Mosaics by the Bay 37

Without Pier Gallery 89

Automotive

Edney’s Leongatha 35

Wonthaggi Toyota & Holden 27

Builders & Designers

Aspire Designer Homes 117

Beach House Constructions 111

Beaumont Concepts 115

Coldon Homes 120

DB Design 51

Ecoliv 115

GJ Gardner Homes 119

Graeme Alexander Homes 128

Hotondo Homes 121

Langford Jones Homes 129

On Site Design 119

SJ Vuillermin Master Builders 128

Stabilearth 55

TS Constructions 125

Entertainment

Kongwak Market 132

Over the Top Events 133

Turn the Page 135

Fashion

dpg sales/Clogees 66

Island Shoes 132

Islantis 31

Main Street Revelations 132

Mookah Studios 23

Norte 76

Sketa 19

Tyde 140

Government & Schools

Bass Coast Specialist School 85

Brian Paynter MP 130

Daniel Mulino 131

Mary MacKillop Catholic College 77

Newhaven College 82

Our Lady Star of the Sea PS 79

South Gippsland Specialist School 81

West Gippsland Regional Library 131

West Gippsland CMA 90

Westernport Water 42

Green & Gardens

Clogees 66

Conquest Pools 59

The Country Gardener 67

Grace Landscapes 41

Melaleuca Nursery 76

Hair, Health & Beauty

Cowes Dental Clinic 75

Elements Hair Room 76

Nurture Massage 49

Medical & Aged Care Group 72

Revive Beauty & Spa 40

South Gippsland Therapy Centre 76

Wellness Manor 47

YMCA 136

Homewares & Furniture

Factory Seven 69

Mookah Studios 23

Organature San Remo 61

South Coast Furnishings 50

Southern Bazaar 25

Tyde 140

Vie a la Maison 65

The Wonthaggi Market 39

Jewellery

The Goldsmith’s Gallery 35

Lacy Jewellery Studio & Gallery 5

Professional Services

Brinnie T Design 130

Mark Farmer Financial Solutions 27

Warren Reed Photography 77

Property & Accommodation

Alex Scott Phillip Island 139

Amaroo Park 133

Anchor Belle 120

Mountain View Leongatha 127

RACV Inverloch 99

Seagrove Estate 2

Vista de Phillip Island 110

Wilsons Prom Holiday Accomm 16

Restaurants, Cafes & Food

Kilcunda Ocean View Hotel 100

Koorooman Blueberries 99

Lucinda Estate 103

Mario’s at San Remo 100

The Palms Restaurant & Bar 100

Paul the Pieman 100

RACV Inverloch 99

Relish Mama 104

Saigon Maggie 102

San Remo’s Fishermans Co-op 98

San Remo IGA 97

Trumpet Bar 103

Vaughan’s Cafe & Deli 92

Youki’s Japanese Takeaway 103

Tourism, Travel & Recreation

Crossover Cycles 71

Islantis Surf Experience 31 Phillip Island Chocolate Factory 8 Vietnam Vets Museum 89

Trades & Hardware

Capeview Building Products 57 Carpet Court Phillip Island 131 Coastal Refrigeration 110 Island Energy Solar 56 Island Secure Storage 131 Plumbers Now 130 South Coast Kitchens 125 TJ’s Timbers 60 Van Steensels Timbers 130

Wineries

Basia Mille 107

Cannibal Creek Vineyard 105 Dirty Three Wines 107

Lucinda Estate 103

Mordialloc Cellar Door 106 Purple Hen Wines 108

Stockists

Aspendale News

Store, Ventnor Balnarring Village News

General Store Baxter Newsagency, Frankston Beach St Newsagency, Frankston Benton Square Newsagency, Mornington Berwick Newsagency

Hampton Newsagency

Hastings Newsagency

Highett Newsagency

Inverloch BP

Inverloch Foodworks

Karingal Hub Newsagency, Frankston

Kilcunda General Store

Koonwarra Store

Koo Wee Rup Newsagency

Korumburra BP

Korumburra News

Kunyung Newsagency, Mt Eliza

Lang Lang Newsagency

Leongatha BP

Leongatha Newsagency

Longwarry Newsagency

Lonsdale News, Dandenong

Meeniyan Newsagent

Mentone Newsagency

Middle Brighton News

Mirboo North BP

Mornington News

Morwell Newsagency

Mt Eliza Newsagency

Mt Martha Newsagency

Narre Warren Newsagency

Narre Warren North News

Neerim South Newsagency

Newhaven Newsagency

Newsxpress Inverloch

North Brighton News

Orbost Newsagency

Pakenham Newsagency

Parkdale Newsagency

Pearcedale Newsagency

Rhyll General Store

Rosebud Newsagency

Rye Newsagency

San Remo - Freedom Fuels

San Remo IGA

San Remo Newsagency

Sandringham News

Sandy Point General Store

Scribes News & Tatts, Mornington

Seaford Newsagency

Seaview Newsagency, Beaumaris

Silverleaves General Store

Smiths Beach Store

Somerville News & Tatts

Sorrento News

Strzelecki News & Tatts, Mirboo Nth

Tarwin Lower Supermarket

Toora Newsagency

Tooradin Newsagency

Traralgon Newsagency

Tyabb Newsagency

Venus Bay Store

Warragul Newsagent

Warren Village Newagency, Mordialloc

Wilsons Prom - Tidal River Store

Wonthaggi BP

Wonthaggi Newsagent

Wonthaggi Ritchies IGA

Yanakie Store

NON-FICTION

MILES FRANKLIN AWARD 2017 FINALISTS

The nalists for this prestigious award are all rst-time nominees and each has their own distinctive voice.

“None of these novels draws on familiar tropes of Australian literature,” State Library of NSW Mitchell Librarian Richard Neville said on behalf of the judges. “Yet each brings a distinctive pitch of truth and insight into the Australian experience.”

THE FIVE FINALISTS 2017: AN ISOLATED INCIDENT by Emily Maguire

Explores two women, a murder and the media’s coverage of the death.

THE LAST DAYS OF AVA LANGDON by Mark O’Flynn

A misunderstood outsider who refuses to concede to societal expectations.

THEIR BRILLIANT CAREERS by Ryan O’Neill

A satire of 15 biographies of imagined Australian writers whose lives t in real literary history.

WAITING by Philip Salom

Odd couples who are both waiting for their lives to change.

EXTINCTIONS by Josephine Wilson

A novel which explores ageing, adoption, grief, remorse to rescue.

The Miles Franklin winner will be announced on 7 September.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE by Ben

Pobjie

This book celebrates Australians who made Australia great, as well as the ones who stopped Australia from being as great as it could have been. TV columnist, comedian and history bu Ben Pobjie recaps the history of Australia from its humble beginnings as a colonial outpost, providing an intimate sense of what it was like to be at our nation’s de ning events, and with the people who made them happen. Meet pioneers such as Charles Kingsford-Smith and Howard Florey; artists and entertainers such as Joan Sutherland and Peter Allen, who left an indelible imprint on our national psyche despite, in practical terms, doing nothing of real value; sporting heroes such as Cathy Freeman and Don Bradman, who, by being elite athletes, helped de ne every other Australian as just ordinary; the mavericks such as Chopper Read and Julian Assange, who crossed the line to show the rest of us where the line clearly was; the Lest we Forgetters such as Weary Dunlop and Albert Jacka; and the humanitarians who found fame by dedicating their lives to others, such as Fred Hollows and Tony Abbott. This is the book for any proud Australian seeking to learn more about the national heroes that make our own pathetic lives seem so insigni cant.

KIDS’ PICTURE BOOKS

child’s mind, he believes that it is never too early to introduce small children to big ideas. In these great fun books, babies (and grown-ups!) will learn all about black holes, gravitational waves and more. With a tongue-in-cheek approach that adults will love, this series is the perfect way to introduce basic concepts to even the youngest scientists. After all, it’s never too early to become a quantum physicist … General Relativity for Babies

Quantum Physics for Babies

Newtonian Physics for Babies

FICTION

It seems that some of our very serious political reporters have read the memo and decided it is time to write that ctional political thriller, and these are just two of those o erings.

THE TWENTIETH MAN by Tony

Jones

He was the only one left alive; now it was his turn to die. In September 1972, journalist Anna Rosen takes an early morning phone call from her boss at the ABC, telling her about two bombings in Sydney’s busy CBD. It’s the worst terrorist attack in the country’s history and Anna has no doubt which group is responsible for the carnage. Terrorism, politics and betrayals collide in this unputdownable, fast-paced thriller.

THE LIST by Michael Brissenden

This is a new series of board books o ering simple explanations of complex ideas for your future genius. These books are written by Chris Ferrie, a physicist, mathematician and father of three budding scientists. With the theory that it only takes a small spark to ignite a

Sidney Allen is part of the Australian Federal Police’s K block, a unit doing whatever it takes to stop terrorist attacks on home soil. But when young Muslim men on the Terror Watchlist start turning up dead, Sid and his partner, Haifa, have to work out what’s going on. Sectarian war? Drugs? Retribution? For Sid, there’s nothing unclear about a bullet to the head and a severed hand. Someone is sending a message. Iraq. Afghanistan. Australia. The threat is real.

ADRENALINE HIT – TEST YOUR LIMITS

High Intensity Training (HIT) is an exciting way to train and get great results in a short period of time.

Activities include a range of body weight exercises, and modern functional training equipment such as kettle bells, resistance bands and dead balls. Designed around short workouts of high intensity there are a number of reasons to give it a go:

1. Burn more fat in less time. Going from high-intensity to low-intensity activities, you give your anaerobic and aerobic tness system a work-out and burn more fat in less time than in longer endurance training.

2. Increase your metabolism. Working at a high level of intensity where you are struggling for breath, your metabolism works at a higher level and burns more calories – during and after the workout.

3. Two workouts in one. HIT combines strength training and a cardio work. Generally, classes are between 30 and 45 minutes, so you can get a great work out in a short time.

4. Keeps your blood sugar in check. Great for people who have Type II Diabetes or who are pre-diabetic, HIT works more e ectively than endurance training to manage blood sugar levels.

5. Strengthen your heart. Training in this way increases the work required by the heart, improving cardiovascular strength and capacity.

6. Tailored to you. It can be easily modi ed to allow you to work at a high intensity relative to your level of tness.

Adrenaline High Intensity Training (HIT) is coming to the YMCA in Bass Coast and Phillip Island. An innovative functional tness program designed to improve strength and conditioning in a focused, fun and social environment.

Adrenaline HIT™ focuses on functional movements in a small group setting – 10 to 15 participants working closely with a coach. The session covers techniques to move well then adds intensity, creating relevant real life results you can apply to everyday activities. Get on board the eight-week Adrenaline Challenge starting in October 2017. Set yourself up for success and a rocking, new functionally- t body!

With the Y, everyone can be healthier, happier and connected to their community, and help those who are not.

www.basscoast.ymca.org.au

young & inspired

Charles ‘Midnight’ Joma’s fighting spirit has taken him across the world and into the ring.

We moved from Dandenong to Wonthaggi in 2007 – before that I was in Egypt and Sudan. I’ve had some pretty big changes in my life.

My friend Kyle used to go to Wonthaggi Boxing Club. I gave him slack about it but he told me to come in one day. I did and enjoyed it. Two or three months later I came back, and I’ve stuck to it since. I was in Year 8 then and I’m now in Year 12.

It took me about a year and a half to get my first fight because I was short and fat. I had to drop weight and get good enough. I’ve had 23 fights now. My first fight was in Brunswick. It was tough but I had supporters there yelling out: they really help when you’re tired. Pushing through the whole nine minutes is a lot harder than it looks. After the first round you get tired and want to stop. When you’re tired, everything goes out the window. Fitness is a really big part of it. The fitter you are, the longer you can stay focused.

I train twice a day every day for about four weeks leading up to a fight. I wake up at four or five in the morning and either run or come in and train. After school, I come in at five thirty and train again. I watch my diet when I’m coming up to a fight and eat healthy food – not too much sugar, fat and all that. It’s hard sometimes, but I enjoy it. The atmosphere here is good, everyone’s friendly and the travelling is really fun. Scott, the coach, does a lot for us. He spends most of his

time and money on us fighters. It’s hard not to come in and train.

I won the Golden Gloves in Brisbane last year – a highlight for me. I also won the Victorian Youth State title, and I was runner-up in the Australian titles. There were three fights; I won the first two and lost the last. It was a really good experience. My last fight was open age and you have to sign a waiver to fight. My opponent was 23 years old. I won and Mum was happy, really proud. She’s supportive – my whole family is – but she doesn’t like watching me. My older brother comes along now as well. I have a big family with eight children, and I’m the second eldest. I try to set a good example.

There’s another young fighter – Devin Haney –in America at the moment. He’s 18 and has had about fifteen pro fights now. He inspires me because he’s close to my age. He’s already doing what he wants to do, so I don’t see why I can’t.

I’ll finish Year 12 and then focus on boxing. I’ll work Monday to Friday and train and turn pro when I’m 20 or 21. You can turn pro once you’re 18 but I want to get as many amateur fights as I can. It’s possible I’ll go to the Olympics and turn professional afterwards. And then I will go for world champion.

as told to christina aitken photo warren reed

where am I?

The early morning light on this coastline was spectacular. The black rocks sit between a carpet of green and the deep blue of the ocean. It’s unusual to get that kind of green cover right down to rocks. I love the combination of colours.

Coast photographer Warren Reed captured this stunning landscape while working on our latest edition.

Do you think you know where it might be? Why not drop us a line on Twitter or Facebook and tag your suggestions #coastwhereami @ourcoastmag

CoastMagazineAustralia

Don’t forget, limited edition images such as this can be viewed and purchased at warrenreedphotography.com.au

The Winter 2017 edition – Where Am I was taken at The Quarry at Cape Woolamai.

Melbourne (03) 9526 8611

Berwick (03) 9707 2000

Grantville (03) 5678 8433

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA Since

CLASSIC GOOD SERVICE

Alex Scott and Staff have embraced our regional communities for more than 130 years and we’re especially proud of building enduring relationships and contributing to the success of our region during this time. We’re part of supporting and enhancing individual, family and community success. This Spring we invite you to put your trust in our classic good service when it comes to all things related to real estate in our community.

Inverloch (03) 5674 1111

Korumburra (03) 5655 1133

Lang Lang (03) 5997 5599

Leongatha (03) 5662 0922

Pakenham (03) 5941 1111

Phillip Island (03) 5952 2633

Venus Bay (03) 5663 7111

Warragul (03) 5623 4744

Wonthaggi (03) 5672 1911