Coast Magazine Summer 2016 – issue 41

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in this issue

Li fe ’s pi r o u e t t e A real sea change

so u n d WaV e s

Badloves frontman mak

ing music

m oV ie m ag ic

reen From Foster to the big sc ide Taste of Summer food gu n tio va no Building and Re Summer Attractions

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coastal

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 broadband, rich birdlife and regionally significant eucalypt woodland.

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

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“sets a new benchmark for sustainable

residential development�

Urban Development Institute of Australia Awards for Excellence

Freecall 1800 61 61 06

www.seagrove.com.au coast 3

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As we were putting the finishing touches to this edition, the world was rocked by a series of violent and inhuman events … attacks in Paris, bombings in Beirut, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Syria.

These terrible happenings made it hard to believe that “peace on earth and goodwill to all men” was more than a platitude on a Christmas card.

from the editor

They also made me very grateful to live in such a beautiful part of Victoria, in a peaceful and prosperous country. Like everyone who lives on or visits our coast, I’m reminded every day of the comfort to be found in pausing, even just for a moment, to take in these magnificent surroundings.

At Coast, we have the privilege of meeting people from across our region who open their hearts to us and share their stories. What struck me in this edition was the spirit of the people we talked to – people who changed their lives, battled illness, created art and travelled the world to help others.

It was a timely reminder that there are truly caring, motivated and good people all around us.

With the Christmas frenzy bearing down on us, it’s hard to find a quiet moment to reflect on the past twelve months and what the year ahead promises.

Perhaps the best Christmas gift we can offer this year is ourselves. When we give our time to help each other, the rewards are there for us all.

Happy holidays, Eleanor

the coast team publisher Maria Reed managing editor Eleanor McKay sub editor Anne Roussac-Hoyne words Katie Cincotta, Eleanor McKay, Sally O’Neill, Anne Roussac-Hoyne, Simone Short, Maria Reed photography Warren Reed coast photography - 0414 753 739 design Staffan Hakansson print manager Nigel Quirk advertising Robyn Kemp 0432 273 107 ads@coastmagazine.net Cover photo Steven Bourke

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Experience the Aspire difference ...

COVERING BASS COAST, SOUTH AND EAST GIPPSLAND. CUSTOM BUILT IN SOUTH/EAST MELBOURNE SUBURBS. Visit our Display Home at 179 Thompson Ave Cowes.

Opening hours: Sat/Sun 11am – 4pm Mon/Tues/Fri 10am – 3pm Or by appointment Karen Sherwood, Sales Consultant M 0411 774 699 coast 8

Aspiration to Reality.

At Aspire Designer Homes, we take the time to understand people and appreciate that the decision to build a home is not only one of the largest investment decisions you will make but an emotional one too. Your hopes and aspirations will come together as you work with our professional team to help design the look and feel of your home.

Choose from one of over 100 designs or custom design with one of our experienced team members.

karensherwood@aspiredesignerhomes.com www.aspiredesignerhomes.com.au Head Office Ph: 9785 5100 coast 9

contents

SEnSITIvE mAn 84 His quest to create a chemical-free life gave Peter Byl back his health and created a thriving business for the family.

lIFE’S PIrouETTE 22 What really happens when you pack your bags and move to the coast? Dainy Sawatzky and Robert O’Neill traded in their life in fashion and entertainment and found sanctuary and freedom by the ocean.

movIE mAGIC 32 The world of films and fashion was as distant as Los Angeles for Naomi Terblanche growing up in Foster, sewing outfits for her Barbie dolls.

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WE’rE All GoInG on A SummEr holIdAy 45 Don’t miss out on a thing this summer with our guide to the region’s best attractions.

ShuTTInG ThE doorS, oPEnInG ThE hEArT 40 Restaurateur Marty Thomas visited Cambodia and what he saw there changed his life. His hometown of Meeniyan has helped him raise more than $10,000 for an orphanage in Siem Reap.

contents

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Sound WAvES 118 Michael Spiby is no stranger to riding the crest of a wave, either during his time with chart-topping band The Badloves, or at his favourite break at Gunnamatta.

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15 Minutes of Fame

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2 Coast People

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Artist Profile

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Through Molly’s eyes

Brad Fankhauser

Tatia Weston and Jonathan Rea

Belinda Rogers

Molly Coulson-Bomm

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The Snake Catcher

184

Young & inspired

Neil Arnup

Jake Subov

TASTE oF SummEr 91

places

Let’s talk food! Everything you need to know about eating well by the coast.

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5 things we love about … beaches Lifestyle review

Cowes coastal lifestyle

rEGulArS 14

Coast Life

18

Latest products

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Events Calender

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Coast Events

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Dine out – Vela Nine

114 What’s cooking 154 Coast Style – beach kitchen

IT’S All ABouT ThE houSE 129 Get inspired about building, renovating and decorating your home with hints and insights from local builders, designers, businesses and suppliers.

166 Coast Style – Christmas 182 Coast Directory & Stockists 185 Fitness 186 A good read

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SUMMER EXHIBITIONS Every month see over 350 new contemporary paintings and sculptures across Manyung’s Sorrento and Mount Eliza galleries throughout Summer.

Operating seven days, Manyung Gallery Sorrento is located at the heart of the Southern Mornington Peninsula, while Manyung Gallery Mount Eliza operates at the Northern gateway and offers visitors the opportunity to explore 10 sub-galleries, sculpture gardens, courtyards and decks.

In addition to Manyung’s established gallery at 113A Ocean Beach Rd, [corner Darling Rd.], a new consulting space [by appointment], has been established upstairs, next door at 119 Ocean Beach Rd. Here clients will be able to view their art choices in a relaxed and discreet space.

Manyung Gallery Sorrento: 113A Ocean Beach Road | Mt. Eliza: 1408 Nepean Highway | Malvern: 8-10 Claremont Avenue View 150 artists online at www.manyunggallery.com.au For preview or purchase enquiries contact us on (03) 9787 2953 or email: staff@manyunggalley .com.au coast 12

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He’s been crowned the 2015 Grower of the Year, but for Drouin apple grower Brad Fankhauser, the real reward is working on the family farm and waking up each morning surrounded by beautiful apple trees. words as told to eleanor mckay photo warren reed

Our house is 100 per cent surrounded by apple trees.

Springtime is lovely. There’s nothing prettier than an orchard full of apple blossom, and the smell is incredible.

From the age of 13 or 14, I was pretty sure this was where I was going to end up. I’d work here during the holidays and after school, although I probably got in the way more than I helped!

Anyone can grow a good apple, but it takes skill to grow a lot of good apples. Climate and soil play a huge part, and it’s the way you manage the process that’s vital. It’s an absolutely ideal climate for apples here. Having some heat during the day enhances the flavour, and cool nights help them develop a good colour.

It’s pretty rewarding when you get to the end of the season and have a good yield of quality fruit. There’s a big sigh of relief once they’re in the cool-store. We can store about a thousand tonnes of apples on the farm. The cool-store has a controlled atmosphere – we bring the oxygen down to about three per cent and the temperature down to one degree, then we push the carbon dioxide up a little. Essentially this puts the apples to sleep. The technique has been around since Roman times, but nowadays we can be a lot more precise. Harvest generally runs from February to May, but if the apples are properly stored, they should be good all year round. If you buy

apples that aren’t crunchy, it usually means they haven’t been handled or displayed properly.

My favourite apple is the Alvina Gala, which we grow on our farm. At this time of the year, the Pink Lady is probably the best apple, and then around February, the new season galas will start hitting the shelves. In the next three to four years you’ll start seeing new varieties like Jazz, Envy and Smitten in shops. There’s nothing better than a cold, crisp apple. They need to be kept cool, so store your apples in the fridge, not the fruit bowl.

To be a champion grower you need to be open to new ideas, new techniques, and new technology. You have to actively participate in the industry. My personal philosophy is ‘get involved’. You never know where it will take you.

I like to think we’ve got our work/life ratio in balance. Dad always said to me that if we have to work six or seven days a week, we’re doing something wrong. At certain times of the year, like harvest, it might be necessary. But the rest of the year we try to be very civilised.

Gippsland is the best place in the world. Nice cold winters.

Nice hot summers. An hour from the beach, the snow and the city … it’s perfect, isn’t it?

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coast life

This ground-breaking documentary shows the impact humans are having on our oceans, and offers practical solutions. There really are simple steps we can all take in our own backyard that will make a huge difference, and this film is essential viewing for those of us who love the sea. www.facebook.com/ adropintheoceandocumentary

photo: Ian Lin

The filmmakers worked closely with the community-run Port Phillip Eco-Centre, whose volunteer groups work hard to protect our oceans and coast. If you’re based in the city and would like to get involved, visit www.ecocentre.com

Escape hut If pitching a tent isn’t for you, perhaps you need your own VanHut to escape to the great outdoors. This ultimate pre-fab creation is the brainchild of local builder and designer Colin Vanderstaay: a movable, simple, sustainable room that lets nature in. Perfect for a bush-block getaway or some backyard solitude. www.vanderstaay.com.au

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Get stuck in!

Who wants to waste time drinking bad wine? Make every drop a fine one this summer, with expert advice from Rob Geddes MW. The 33rd edition of Australian Wine Vintages includes more than 5000 wines and 350 wineries, with plenty of representatives from our coast. Perfect holiday reading. Santé! www.awv.com.au

Ice cream … surely one of humankind’s finest inventions.

And egg-free ice cream made from Gippsland milk is even finer. Prom Coast Ice Cream, oh how we love thee! Let us count the ways: Salted Caramel, Boysenberry Ripple, Blood Orange Sorbet, Passionfruit Coco Cream … just some of the awesome flavours available. Don’t take our word for it – grab a tub at selected outlets throughout Gippsland, Phillip Island, Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne. www.promcoasticecream.me

Kids go wild!

Worried about toddlers with too much screentime and not enough fresh air? Not on our coast … get your little ones back to nature with Nature Adventures Playgroup. Twice a month, these tiny explorers (and their parents) tackle local rock-pools, visit farms, tramp the heathlands and roam the local beaches. The fun and educational outings cater for the 0-5 age group. www.facebook.com/natureadventuresplaygroup

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Deb Watson

Adrian Johnson

Dark Matter and Friends Platter Glass. 37 cm

Weathered Dunes Harmers Haven Oil on canvas. Height 81 x 65 cm

John DiStefano

Mandy Gunn

Natural Edge Huon Pine Bowl 22.5 x 16 x 12 cm

Salt Lake – detail Acrylic, salt and the Simpson Desert sand on linen. 101 x 101 cm

Karen Sandon

Laurel Billington

Past Elders Watch – detail Pigment on Hahnemühle Digital Cotton Rag. 46 x 54cm

Patchy Roo Porcelain slip, underglaze and glaze. 8 cm

www.artspacewonthaggi.com.au | Phone: 03 5672 1415 | artspacenquiries@gmail.com Community Gallery | Supporting Regional Artists | Regular Exhibitions

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Dragi Jankovic

Werner Theinert

No. 5 Brace Square – detail Digital Inkjet Print on Aluminium. 120 x 120 cm

Little Red Teapot Stoneware. 25 x 30 cm

Dennis Leversha

Brace – detail Acrylic on Canvas. 115 x 140 cm

Ursula Theinert

Fernery 2 Diptych – detail Acrylic on Canvas. 100 x 120 cm

Kerry Spokes

Nautiluscape – detail iPhone Digital Collage. 72 x 73 cm

Karin Ellis

Hat, Necklace and Dress – detail Wearable copy of Medieval Gown and Hat. Recycled Mixed Medium.

ArtSpace W o n t h a g g i

7 McBride Avenue,Wonthaggi.

Open Thursday to Monday, 10.00am to 4.00pm or by appointment 0439 699 241

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Fighting ďŹ t this summer Monthly and weekly membership packages YMCA Bass Coast

Gotta get mee one of thes latest news and products from your Coast retailers

A touch of class Unique furniture & homewares Southern Bazaar

The dynamic duo Duo of Doughnuts Cape Kitchen $16

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In the right circles Frosted bar rings Gecko Studio Gallery $50 each

Put a sparkle in your eye Ring – white gold, aquamarine and diamonds Lacy Jewellery Studio & Gallery POA

Sizzling hot Webber Family Q (Q3200) Wonthaggi Home Appliances RRP $799 (LPG)

I should be so ducky Mosaics and classes with Heather Fahnle Duck $155 Mosaics by the Bay

The old and the beautiful Antiques, artifacts, décor and beads L&J Tuddin

Plump it up Gorgeous range of home furnishings RRP $25–$90 South Coast Furnishings

The coolest Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air Conditioner Coastal Refrigeration

Tantalise your taste buds Homemade cakes and treats Mega Bites Café

Even more unbreakable!

Toyota Hilux Wonthaggi Toyota

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two coast people

Current World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea married local girl Tatia Weston in 2012. Despite travelling the world for nine months a year, they have found their ‘homebase’ in each other…

Tatia: I grew up on Phillip Island and my earliest memory is of drawing on walls with Mum’s lipstick – I wanted to be creative even back then! I also loved playing in the rockpools at Smiths Beach, going for long walks with our dog, and jumping off the Cowes jetty after school on a hot day.

I thought I wanted to be an architect, but I wanted to travel more than anything, so the five-year degree put me off.

I ended up studying Creative Advertising at RMIT. My life changed overnight when the marketing manager of the Castrol Honda race team gave me his business card while I was waitressing during my summer uni break. I got the opportunity of a lifetime to work in a World Superbike race team and travel the world doing sponsorship and PR – aged only 19 and despite not having the faintest idea about bikes or racing at that point.

Jonathan and I met in 2007 when he was racing in the British Championship and I was freelancing on events. We were both on work duties but always had this magical attraction. It was a case of my head saying ‘no’ and my heart saying ‘yes’. Because I had worked within motorsport for so many years I had no intention of ending up with a rider. In fact I tried very hard NOT to end up with one. But you can’t help who you fall in love with, and fate kept pushing us together. words as told to sally o’neill photos supplied

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We eventually made our friendship into a relationship in 2009, got engaged in 2011 and then married in the Lake District, UK, in 2012. Our son Jake was born a year later.

We have a great understanding and respect for one another as individuals while also being a very strong family unit. I have a good understanding of the space Jonathan requires as an athlete and am happy to give him the support he needs.

Sometimes that means not being able to really talk to him for several days when he’s competing – but I know he always comes back to us (emotionally and physically) when he’s ready.

I’ve always thought Jonathan is one in a million, but now he’s proved that by being crowned the 2015 World Superbike Champion. Most sportsmen have to be quite selfish to achieve their ultimate goals, but Jonathan has this incredible way of being able to compartmentalise his life – transforming seamlessly from a superior, aggressive, competitive bike rider into an extremely caring, generous and loving husband and father.

I think living on an island always made me feel like I wanted to escape to explore what else was out there! From a very young age I wanted to experience what the world and other places had to offer – it was in my blood. I’ve been so lucky to have travelled the world with my career in motorsport and now following Jonathan’s racing.

Being a family on the road, we have to be super-organised.

Jonathan has 14 international races per season and we are fortunate enough to be able to travel as a family with the Isle of Man as our anchor point. We have a large motorhome which is our ‘home on wheels’ at European races. It’s tough travelling with kids, but we always appreciate the time together and I feel lucky that we can be part of Jonathan’s career.

I’ve always said you only get one life to enjoy, explore and do all the things you want to do. I never wanted a ‘normal’ life - I wanted to live without any regrets. Moving to different countries and being on the road for half the year are things which enhance our life and make it special. One day, however, Jonathan and I would like to have a homebase where we can finally have a dog and a veggie garden – then we’ll know that we’ve found our happy base.

Jonathan: I grew up in the countryside just outside Belfast in Northern Ireland and my earliest memories are of making dirt tracks on my mate’s farm and riding all day long. I also remember spending my weekends in a small motorhome with my mum and dad racing MX (motocross) across Britain.

[Jonathan won the British Championship when he was 10.]

I always dreamt of being a professional motocross rider, but the dream and the money (from my family) could only go so far, so I applied for and won a ‘Red Bull Rookies Program’ at 15 and

t wo

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this was the beginning of my road racing career. My parents always encouraged me to finish school, so I gained a trade in manufacturing engineering and I started out working for my uncle’s engineering firm and racing on weekends in the UK.

Championship as it is mine, and I have great peace in my racing knowing that Tarsh and Jake (and baby number two) support me 100 per cent. I have found a balance in my home life that has changed me for the better as a racer.

Travelling just became part of my job. I started going away on my own when I was around 15, so I had to establish a pretty wise travelling head at an early age. These days it’s just part of my everyday life.

Tarsh is independent, unselfish, caring and loving – the perfect combination of traits for the partner of a rider. She helps me out a lot in my career: we work as a team and support each other always. I like to think that when I’m not racing I help her out at home and with our son Jake. I like to cook, and enjoy being able to do things around the house to make her life easier.

Racing is a mix of highs and lows – there’s not a lot in between, and I’ve had my share of both. The low points were when I was injured and thought I wouldn’t be able to race anymore. The highs are winning races – like winning the World Championship in Spain. The highlight of this year, however, was winning my first race on Phillip Island, as this is a track that I love but whose podium I had never been on.

When I won the race I knew that this year was going to be something special …

I was fortunate enough to witness Tarsh in her professional life prior to us becoming partners. She is extremely capable and organised but has a caring and generous heart. I always thought she was ‘the one’, but it was a matter of timing on my part to ask her to marry me. It was the night before I was going in for a major operation; I had the ring and wanted her to know that no matter what happened in my career, she was the most important person in my life. She had stuck by me through some pretty hard times and was my rock.

When we are at races, I know she can cope and doesn’t ever need me to hold her hand. Being a mum on the road is tough, but she does it very well and doesn’t complain. Looking after Jake is way more challenging than riding at 300mph! To see him walk or hear him call me Daddy is the best feeling in the world.

My life philosophy is ‘don’t let adversity get you down’. Keep getting up and fighting for your dreams, whatever they may be. Work hard, play hard, be a good person and enjoy the moments along the way too.

Postscript: Tatia, Jonathan and Jake have now welcomed new baby Tyler Jon Rea to the family.

I’m just so grateful that the past year has been so rewarding not only for myself, but for my family. It’s as much their

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I felt a massive yearning to slow down, spend time with my young kids and be a ‘proper’ mum.

words katie cincotta photos warren reed

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life’s pirouette We’ve seen it on TV shows, but what really happens when you pack your bags and move to the coast?

For Dainy Sawatzky and Robert O’Neill, it means finding a community and room to breathe.

When she was 16 and auditioning for a place in The Australian Ballet, Dainy Sawatzky never imagined her life would take such a dramatic turn. The petite, doe-eyed beauty was dealt a cruel blow by the company’s doctor, who told her without reservation that she would never make it as a ballerina. “I was obsessed with ballet. It was my life. But if you don’t have the talent, the body shape, or the thick skin, you’re history … you have to have it all going for you.”

For most aspiring ballerinas, it is the emergence of hips or a bust that sidelines their career prospects. For Dainy, it was her feet, specifically the rotation of her legs. “My issue was that I didn’t have the turnout.” The doctor told Dainy if she continued to force her turnout from her feet and her knees, rather than her hips, she would be left an immobile arthritic by her 20s.

That was the first of several blips on the life path that would send Dainy’s plans into a pirouette.

Years later when she was doing a photo-shoot with a principal dancer, Vicky Attard, she was horrified to hear the star ballerina’s stories of a sordid and lonely life at the top. “I thought it was a catastrophe at the time, and then you look back and say, ‘Thank God I didn’t end up in that world’.”

The RMIT fashion graduate went on to build a successful career as the head designer for bridal couturier Mariana Hardwick, later launching her own line of dance-inspired clothing – Body. She and her actor husband Robert O’Neill revelled in their respective success until the birth of their two

children, when city life became a stressful juggling act. “I felt a massive yearning to slow down, spend time with my young kids and be a ‘proper’ mum. I felt overwhelmed, stressed, and not happy. At 6am we’d be taking the kids to childcare and you were always feeling like you never had time to be with them, so we decided to sell the business.”

The company that bought Body kept Dainy on as an employee, but when they became a victim of the GFC she found herself out of a job. By this time, Rob had rediscovered his love affair with the sea and had taken up paddle-boarding – the family trekking most weekends from bayside St Kilda to Kilcunda or Inverloch.

The wind was moving them seaward – the pull of the ocean, the wind whispering through towering trees, the quiet lull of a town not caught up by congestion or noise or pretention.

They drove to Inverloch and never went back. “Two weeks later we had signed a lease, cancelled the childcare, and packed the car. It was the most amazing feeling,” say the buoyant sea-changers. “I just wanted somewhere I could surf. Dainy wanted trees. Because mum had sung in the jazz festival at Inverloch for many years, she knew people. So one Thursday we got in the car and drove down just for a look.

And that afternoon we enrolled the kids in school and rented a property,” says Rob. Perhaps there was a tethering to this seaside town, a place that reminded Rob of his childhood in Cornwall. And where Dainy had the sense that she could simply breathe again >

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and Rob’s mother, Nana Patsie, could take her family into a protective fold.

Patsie shares a very special bond with her only child, her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren Scout and Ryder. As a ‘railway child’ – a real-life Paddington Bear – during World War II, four-year-old Patsie and her five siblings were shipped off to the country to escape the bombings in London. This government initiative cast children off at train stations with just a suitcase: they would wait there for someone to choose them and take them to a strange new home. She grew up to be a jazz singer in London, fell in love with a professional soccer player from Scotland, moved to Chicago and had a baby.

his life in a prison camp in Tatura.” For both Dainy and Rob, those incredible family life events have given them a rare perspective, and even as complete opposites, they don’t doubt they were drawn to each other as kindred spirits.

The couple crossed paths three times in their lives – first as teenage students at The National Theatre, years later at the building of Mariana Hardwick’s Bourke St store, and finally at a party in St Kilda. Like something out of a Hollywood romcom, Dainy recalls leaving the party early and heading home with her girlfriend in a taxi before doing an about-face.

…the quiet lull of a town not caught up by congestion or noise or pretention

When the couple split, Patsie moved back to the UK, but in the 60s single mothers were not permitted to rent houses, and Rob was sent to live with his aunt in the seaside village of Cornwall. He remembers climbing out of the window onto the roof and looking out across the rugged English coastline, and feeling a connection to the ocean.

“I got in the cab, looked at her and said, ‘There’s someone I’m supposed to meet at this party. I don’t know why, but I need to go back’.” Dainy returned, and within minutes a hand was extended in greeting. St Kilda bar-owner Robert O’Neill had spotted her across a crowded room. “I was reeking of desperation. And my first words to her were, ‘Haven’t I seen you in my local paper?” says Rob. “He was totally tall and dazzling and I was awestruck,” admits Dainy.

Dainy’s immigrant father also endured hardship as a German born in Israel into a religious cult called The Templars. “When the war broke out he was shipped to Australia and not allowed to go back home. He spent the first six years of

A few days later he called her and proved his worth as a prankster. “I said I was a 300-pound transvestite with one leg who needed a costume,” says Rob. “I had a few transvestite customers,” Dainy remembers, “so I couldn’t really dismiss him,

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but he said his performance focuses on his high kicks … and then I clicked.”

Rob has done some colourful work in his time, working as a DJ in London, and scoring the gig as the host of Countdown Revolution in 1990. “I remember meeting Molly Meldrum. His first question was ‘Do you love music?’ He gave me a Motley Crue album, and asked me for my opinion on it.” After the music show was axed, Rob went on to manage bands and nightclubs.

“And then I met Dainy …”

“Then his life started,” adds his wife.

“And then I had to grow up,” says Rob. “But I did get a skateboard for my 51st birthday,” he brags.

Having left behind the stress and pressure of life in the city, this young family has found sanctuary and freedom in Inverloch. “We have the best of everything here – the kinder, the school, the supermarket … there’s still a sense of community, and that really sets up the town. It’s easier to make friends – you connect more readily and I’ve never sensed that before. That was an unexpected bonus.”

Dainy laughs when she thinks back to the chaotic mess of her old life. “I used to be the mum sending the kids to Crazy Hair Day on the wrong day. Now the kids ride to school. There are no traffic lights. If they ever put any here, we’ll be very cranky.

Even if the kids are down the street on their own, I know there are people around who will look after them. It’s the feeling that your whole town is your little supportive cushion, like an extended family.”

Rob says the overall feeling of the sea-change is one of security. “It’s that feeling of safety that you don’t get in the city.

In our street we had people with substance-abuse problems and you had to be in eye-line of your kids all the time. There was dread. Here’s it’s so relaxed,” says Rob. The Hardiplank house they bought a year ago, with its grubby green carpet and rabbit warren of rooms, has been transformed from its ‘hideous’ past into a light, open haven.

“We looked for a place that had massive potential. The outlook was one of the selling points for us, and you can just see the water. The inlet beach is a five-minute walk away.” Two chickens, Chocky and Caramel, roam the back yard and come up to the back door for a sticky-beak. Dainy’s workroom is where she puts together her handcrafted cloth Lola With Love dolls, which look naturally beautiful without the hypersexualized look of a Bratz or a Barbie. “It started with making one for my daughter for Christmas. We got here and I thought, ‘I’m going to be a proper country mumma and make presents rather than buy them’.”

She admits her parents were insular people and she was becoming the same, but she made a conscious decision to reach out in the small town. “I was aware that I was so caught up in work that I found connecting with people very hard. But I did really want to change that part of my life, and it has taken time to learn how to do that. The first thing I did was join a craft group, and forced myself to go out and meet people.”

Now, there’s no talk of busy jobs and fancy cars. “We ask about each other, the wind, the swell, the surf. Nobody talks about what they do, what they own, and where they’re going. It’s a very relaxed vibe.” And what of a beloved fashion wardrobe born of decades in the business? “There’s no heels anymore.

I can do silver sneakers, but even that’s on the cusp.”

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summer 2016

events guide dECEmBEr Christmas Exhibition 2015 Until 31 January The Goldsmith’s Gallery, Bridgeview Arcade, 157-159 Marine Pde, San Remo Contact: 5678 5788 www.goldsmithsgallery.com.au High Tea by the Sea Last Sunday every month Cape Kitchen, 1215 Phillip Island Rd, Newhaven Contact: 5956 7200 www.thecapekitchen.com.au Horror Show – group exhibition Undertow – Eloise Calandre Until 14 Feburary Gippsland Art Gallery, 64-66 Foster St, Sale Contact: 51423500 www.wellington.vic.gov.au Rites & Rituals – Aboriginal art & artefacts Until 28 February Gippsland Art Gallery, 64-66 Foster St, Sale Contact: 5142 3500 www.wellington.vic.gov.au Sculpture in the Vines @ Lucinda Estate Until 26 January Lucinda Estate Winery, 108 Parr St, Leongatha Contact: 0439 337 270 www.lucindaestate.com.au Summer Vibes Every Friday, Dec – Jan, from 6pm Churchill Island, 246 Samuel Amess Dr, Newhaven Contact: 59567834 www.penguins.org.au Waves Series Exhibition December – February Annette Spinks Art Studio & Gallery, 60 Dixon St, Inverloch Contact: 0418 555 222 www.annettespinks.com.au Benjamin Baillie & Anne Roussac-Hoyne December – February Fish Creek Hotel ArtSpaces Fish Creek Hotel, 1 Old Waratah Rd, Fish Creek Contact: 5683 2404 www.fishcreekhotel.com.au

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Christmas Party Cruise 11 December, 7.30pm Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au On the Beach Exhibition 11 December – 28 February Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Dunns Rd Mornington Contact: 5975 4395 www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au Inverloch Community Carols 11 December, 6pm The Glade, Inverloch Contact John Searle: 0423 709 295 Frocks – Suzie O’Shea (ceramic artist) 12 December – opening Mingara Gallery, 238-242 Phillip Island Rd, Cowes Contact: 5952 3722 www.mingaragallery.com.au Findings – Jan Learmonth & Mary Sullivan 13 December – 16 January, 10am-5pm Gecko Studio Gallery, 15 Falls Rd, Fish Creek Contact: 5683 2481 www.geckostudiogallery.com.au Cowes Community Christmas 15 December, 5pm Amphitheatre, The Esplanade Contact Craig: 0438 438 175 Cowes Fireworks Cruise 15 December, 8.15pm Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au San Remo celebrates Christmas 18 December, 5pm San Remo Foreshore Contact Michael Newton: 0402 653 315 Coffee Cupping 19 December BEANd Café, 4/157 Marine Pde, San Remo Contact: 0407 717 588 for bookings Emu Plains Market Cruise 19 December, 8.30am Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au Wonthaggi Community Carols 20 December, 6pm Apex Park, Wonthaggi Contact Brendan Smith: 0412 187 893 Christmas Craft for Kids 22-24 December, 8am-4pm The Gatha Foodstore, 5 McCartin St, Leongatha Contact: 5662 5700 Christmas Lunch – 5-course set menu 25 December Harry’s on the Esplanade, 17 The Esplanade, Cowes Contact: 5952 6226 www.harrysrestaurant.com.au

Christmas Day Lunch 25 December, 12-3pm RACV Inverloch Resort, 70 Cape PatersonInverloch Rd Contact: 5674 0000 www.racv.com.au/inverloch Island Style – supporting Grandparents & Carers 30 January, 10am-2pm YMCA Phillip Island Discovery Camp, Marlin St, Smiths Beach Contact: 5952 2811 www.basscoast.ycma.org.au Push Bike Ride 30 December, 11am-1pm Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Back Beach Rd Contact: 5952 9400 www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au Coronet Bay Fireworks 31 December, 6pm Coronet Bay foreshore Contact Chris Hutton: 5678 0738 Inverloch Fireworks 31 December, 9.30pm Inverloch Rec Reserve Contact Janine Temme: 5671 2278 New Year’s Eve Cruise 31 December, 8.30pm Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au New Year’s Eve – 4-course set menu 31 December Harry’s on the Esplanade, 17 The Esplanade, Cowes Contact: 5952 6226 www.harrysrestaurant.com.au New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball 31 December, 7.30pm RACV Inverloch Resort, 70 Cape PatersonInverloch Rd Contact: 5674 0000 www.racv.com.au/inverloch

JAnuAry Purple Hen Winery – music Fridays in January, 6-8pm 96 McFees Rd, Rhyll Contact: 5956 9244 ArtFusion Gallery Exhibits 1-31 January Inverloch Community Hub, 16 A’Beckett St Contact Marlene: 0439 368 538 Car Boot Sale 2 January Factory Seven, 120 McKenzie St, Wonthaggi Contact Jane: 0417 327637 Push Bike Ride 2 &12 January (11am-1pm), 5 &14 January (6-8pm) Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Back Beach Rd Contact: 5952 9400 www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au

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summer 2016

events guide

Australia Day BBQ 24 January, 12-3pm Trulli Woodfired Pizzeria, 93 Whitelaw St, Meeniyan Contact: 5664 7397 www.trullipizzeria.com.au Kilcunda Lobster Festival 24 January, 9am-4pm Kilcunda Foreshore Carpark Contact: 0400 065 253 www.kcda.org.au

FEBruAry

Cup Cake Decorating 7, 14 & 21 January, 8am-4pm The Gatha Foodstore, 5 McCartin St, Leongatha Contact: 5662 5700 www.facebook/thegathafoodstore Twilight Outdoor Cinema 8, 15 & 22 January The State Coal Mine, 19-37 Garden St, Wonthaggi Contact: 5672 3053 The Wild Collective – no ordinary market 8-10 January The Briars, Mt Martha Contact: 5974 3686 www.thewildcollective.com.au Kustom Nationals 9-10 January Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Back Beach Rd Contact: 5952 9400 www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au A Retrospective Exhibition by Ken Griffiths 14 January – 8 February, Thu-Mon 10am-4pm ArtSpace Wonthaggi, 7 McBride Ave Contact: 5672 1415 www.artspacewonthaggi.com.au Phillip Island Sufferfest Multi-Sports Festival 16 January Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Back Beach Rd Contact: 5952 9400 www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au Unify Festival 16-17 January Tarwin Lower www.unifygathering.com Transmitter – Kevin Mortensen 17 January – 20 February, 10am-5pm Gecko Studio Gallery, 15 Falls Rd, Fish Creek Contact: 5683 2481 www.geckostudiogallery.com.au International Island Classic 22-24 January Phillip Island Circuit, Back Beach Rd Contact: 5952 2710 www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au

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Red Hill Market Cruise 6 February, 8am Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au Susan Hall & John Mutsaers: First Joint Exhibition 11 February–7 March, Thu-Mon 10am-4pm ArtSpace Wonthaggi, 7 McBride Ave Contact: 5672 1415 www.artspacewonthaggi.com.au Emu Plains Market Cruise 20 February, 8.30am Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au Wilsons Prom Cruise 21&22 February, 9am Wildlife Coast Cruises Contact: 1300 763 739 www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au Summertime Swing 26 February, 7-10pm RACV Inverloch Resort, 70 Cape PatersonInverloch Rd Contact: 5674 0000 www.racv.com.au/inverloch Superbike World Championship 26-28 February Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Back Beach Rd Contact: 1300 728 007 www.worldsbk.com.au Sunday Lazy Graze – tapas & guitarist Andy Williams 28 February, 2-4pm Phillip Island RSL, 225 Thompson Ave, Cowes Contact: 5952 1004 www.pirsl.com.au

mArKETS Churchill Island Market Fourth Saturday every month, 8am-1pm Churchill Island, 246 Samuel Amess Dr, Newhaven Coal Creek Farmers’ Market Second Sunday every month, 8am12.30pm 12 Silkstone Rd, Korumburra Contact: 0459 629 000

Cowes Island Craft Market Second Saturday every month, 9am-2pm 102 Thompson Ave, Cowes Cowes Market on Chapel Fourth Saturday every month, 8.30am-2pm Chapel St, Cowes Cowes Night Market 12 December, 2, 16 January, 13 February, 5-9pm Jetty Triangle, Cowes Contact: 0419 560 293 Frankston Sunday Market Every Sunday, 8am-1pm Young St East car park, Frankston Grantville Market Fourth Sunday every month, 8am-2pm Grantville Rec Reserve, Bass Highway Contact: 5997 6221 Inverloch Community Farmers’ Market Last Sunday every month, 8am-1pm The Glade, The Esplanade, Inverloch Inverloch Farmers’ Market Third Sunday every month, 8am-1pm The Glade, The Esplanade, Inverloch Contact: 0439 364 760 Karingal Uniting Church Market Second Sunday every month, 8am -1pm Cnr Karingal Rd & Lindrum Rd, Frankston Kongwak Market Every Sunday (except 20 December) Kongwak General Store Contact: Jane 0417 327 637 Meeniyan Midweek Market 17 Dec, 21 Jan & 18 Feb Whitelaw St, Meeniyan Contact: Tracey 0402 995 063 www.meeniyan.org San Remo Cuppa & Chat Market Second Friday & Saturday every month, 9am – 1pm St Augustine’s Church, Marine Pde Contact: 5678 5386 Seaford Farmers’ Market Third Sunday every month, 8am-1pm Station St, Seaford Seaford Handmade Homemade Market Third Sunday every month, 10am-3pm Seaford Scout Hall Wells St Farmers’ Market Every Thursday 8am-1pm Wells St, Frankston Wonthaggi Make-it Bake-it Market Second Sunday every month, McBride Ave, Wonthaggi Contact: 0427 587104 Wonthaggi Rotary Market Second Sunday every month, 8am-1pm Murray St, Wonthaggi Contact: 5672 5204

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events guide c k o e ve nt f

s

Womadelaide The extraordinary John Grant is just one of a brilliant line-up for this year’s Womad Festival. Now based in Iceland, Grant’s stark, self-effacing lyrics plumb the dark shadowy corners of life, love and sex. As well as Womad’s usual array of acts from all corners of the globe (including Angelique Kidjo, Calexico, Savina Yannatou, Violet Femmes), renowned academic and environmentalist David Suzuki headlines their Planet Talks line-up, where some of the world’s great minds converse about our environment and sustainable relationship with the planet.

11–14 March Botanic Park, Adelaide www.womadelaide.com.au

The Fish Creek hotel ArtSpaces This brand-new art space opens on 6 December with an exhibition of graffitiinspired digital images by emerging local artist Benjamin Baillie and works in local ochre by Anne Roussac-Hoyne.

Runs throughout summer Fish Creek Hotel www.fishcreekhotel.com.au

Phillip Island nature Parks Community open day You can expect to see rangers, penguins, koalas, seals – and perhaps the occasional penguin-onesie – at this year’s Nature Parks Community Open Day. Free entry and activities are on offer for local residents … just remember to bring along a driver’s licence or rates notice to verify your address. The full program will be published in February.

6 March www.penguins.org.au

unify Things are going to get heavy in Tarwin Lower this January.

The Unify festival returns, showcasing punk, hardcore and metal acts from around the world. This boutique camping and music gathering in the pastures of South Gippsland features 17 acts from Australia, the US and the UK over two days – including San Remo’s hardcore metal masters The Weight Of Silence.

16 – 17 January Tarwin Meadows www.unifygathering.com

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ANNETTE SPINKS – ArT STudIo & gAllEry 60 Dixon Street Inverloch Enquiries and Commissions 0418 555 222 | Online Gallery | www.annettespinks.com.au

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Movie magic For most of us, Hollywood is a make-believe world that only comes to life on the big screen with buttered popcorn in one hand and a melting choc-top in the other.

For Naomi Terblanche, encountering world-famous actors in Oscar-winning films wasn’t limited to the cinema – it was, in fact, her day job.

words simone short photos warren reed

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The world of films and fashion started out as distant as Los Angeles itself for the born-and-bred Foster girl. As a child, she kept herself entertained with a miniature sewing machine, creating outfits for her Barbies … and that’s where she thought her career in fashion would end.

all!” Naomi laughs, with hints of that shy teenager peeking through two decades later. “But the opportunity came up and I applied.” Two weeks later, the aspiring seamstress got the call. “You’re in,” they said. “You’re the first one we want in our wardrobe department.”

“I never thought I was going to get into fashion; it wasn’t something I ever contemplated in high school,” says Naomi, who describes her teenage self as shy and somewhat insecure. “I was really good at tailoring and sewing, and drafting and making patterns, but I wasn’t great at designing, so I never thought fashion was going to be my career.”

Dedicated to her craft, Naomi’s confidence doesn’t falter when she tells you she was good at her job. Looking back, she thinks it was these attributes that sent her headfirst into Hollywood – or the Australian version of it. “I would just buckle down and do it. I was always taken along by the designers to see how things were being made, but I’d just stand in the background, take notes and do the work. I think that’s what basically got me into Fox; I could sew, and I could fix sewing equipment if I needed to.”

As a child, she kept herself entertained with a miniature sewing machine

Nonetheless, Naomi applied and was accepted into a fashion course in Geelong, where, as a student, she found herself backstage at runway shows for Morrissey and Edmiston, Cue and Witchery.

Following a work-experience stint at Channel 9, Naomi’s future in film still wasn’t obvious – despite the fact that it seemed to be written in the stars. “I simply didn’t contemplate it, even though everything was telling me that’s where I was going to end up,” Naomi says. “I thought I was going to have to draft patterns for the rest of my life!”

At 21 years old, Naomi moved to Sydney and had settled into a job for fashion retailer Portmans when she heard through a friend that the newly-constructed Fox Studios was recruiting.

“I didn’t think I would get in … because it’s Fox Studios after

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When she first arrived, Naomi worked on the Backlot, where visitors gain an insight into how films are made, and are entertained with street performances, which she created costumes for.

Then the Titanic Experience arrived at Fox. Labelled one of the best walk-through attractions of all time, it included hundreds of props from the blockbuster movie, all shipped to Sydney. Highlights were a 65-foot replica of the ill-fated ship, and the Renault car from Rose and Jack’s famous love scene – complete with Rose’s handprint on the back window.

With a flair for early 1900s fashion, Naomi was in charge of creating costumes for the attraction, eventually running >

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Naomi was in charge of creating costumes for the Titanic Experience, eventually running the whole wardrobe department

the whole wardrobe department; a job she describes as her “crowning moment”.

But the real magic was happening in a neighbouring studio, as Naomi was soon to discover. “It just so happened that when I was there, they were filming movies like Star Wars, Moulin Rouge, The Matrix and Mission Impossible,” Naomi says, casually listing some of the biggest blockbusters to grace our screens.

“Every now and then they’d say they were short someone for the day, so I’d stay back until 5 o’clock in the morning sewing – for example – hundreds of pantaloons for Moulin Rouge, or fixing a costume for one of the big stars.” Who they were for, Naomi says, she never knew. “I wouldn’t have a clue who I was sewing for,” she admits. “I’d watch the movie when it was finished and that’s when I’d go, ‘Oh, I remember that!’”

Did she ever focus on the fact that she was a part of something millions of people around the world would go on to watch? “Absolutely not!” she laughs.

“The craziness was that I’d sit down at the end of a production day on a table where Keanu Reeves was having a beer, and I’d barely realise it was him. Or I’d walk in the same gate that Ewan McGregor would ride through on his motorbike and say,‘How are you?’ He even got to know my name. None of that sunk into my head. It was just like talking to anyone else.

It’s not like today – I’ve run into the Hemsworth brothers down the street and gotten all gooey, but back then, to me, it was just a job.”

Naomi says the glitz and glamour of fashion and films wasn’t all it’s made out to be. “You didn’t want to make a mistake, because you were working with really expensive fabrics – but then at the end of production they’d just throw it all out! It’s not all precise, either. An outfit might look amazing from a

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distance, but in reality it’s probably gaffer-taped from the back, or glued or stapled on! Half the time it’s been ripped or torn and you just have to quickly fix it. I remember a fashion show where the crotches on men’s pants didn’t fit and we had to gaffer-tape them up the middle and just send them down the runway. I remember doing that on set too. It’s crazy stuff.”

If there’s one thing that was genuine, it was Naomi’s passion for her job. “As soon as you walked through the doors each day, it was like playing make-believe … like walking into a magical land. I loved getting up and going to work, even on my days off. And then one day it all just ended. I came in and they said: “We’re closing. That’s it. We’re done.”

Feeling a little lost, Naomi packed up her whole life and moved to London, where she combined working in fashion and hospitality with backpacking in Europe. On returning to Australia, she started her own children’s clothing line, which was sold in many European countries.

Her career in fashion, however, was put on hold when her son Aiden was born at only 24 weeks. Referring to him as her “million dollar baby”, Naomi says she gave up fashion to look after him and her daughter Madeline for the next four years.

Now settled back in South Gippsland, her love for sewing has come full circle, with Naomi getting back behind the machine and selling some of her creations in her Wonthaggi cafe, House of Blanche.

Having recently overcome depression, Naomi says sewing is her therapy. Raising two happy and healthy children and running her beautiful cafe, the world is truly her oyster. And you can tell she’s itching to embark on the next adventure.

“What I’d really love to do is have a big shed where people can come and create. That would be my ultimate dream.”

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Plan your ChAnGE oF PlAnS Mark Farmer understands that sometimes plans change. He also knows the importance of having someone to guide and advise you through life’s different phases.

Mark originally bought a holiday home in Inverloch so he could drive down to the coast and escape the pressures of his financial planning job with a leading bank. With each visit, it got harder to leave and soon he was fortunate enough to be able to transfer his work to Gippsland, before striking out on his own and establishing Mark Farmer Financial Solutions. With 20 years of experience in the financial industry, and being a Certified Financial Planner, he is uniquely placed to help people make the best decisions for their financial future.

“There is a lot of misunderstanding about what a financial planner does,” says Mark. “Ultimately it’s about helping people achieve their goals by taking as little risk as possible. A lot of people concentrate on returns, but it’s about strategies to protect and grow what you have to achieve those goals.”

Mark has clients all over Gippsland, as well as in Melbourne and interstate. “You don’t need to come into my office, I can come and see you. Our first meeting is at no cost so if you have an inkling that you could be doing something better, contact me to arrange a meeting. Doing nothing might be costing you money.”

So when do you need a financial planner?

There are ‘trigger events’ where it’s a good time to re-evaluate your situation, including getting a job, getting married or divorced, buying a home, having a baby or retiring. “It’s really important to look ahead as the future creeps up on you pretty fast. Most people don’t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan.”

Whether you’re a sea changer, a pre-retiree or someone keen to make the most of their superannuation, you will benefit from a good financial plan. “Most people don’t know what they don’t know,” says Mark. “I can help them identify what opportunities are out there and protect them from making wrong decisions.”

Another growing area is Aged Care accommodation. “This is a really complicated area. Privately run facilities can pretty much ask for whatever they want. I research options and negotiate bonds, to help my clients get the best deal.”

Mark says he’s able to give unbiased advice about products and services, as he has no commitment to any particular provider. “Trust is vital in this industry. I pride myself on service and my clients know that I am with them every step of the way.”

CASE STUDY Susan (not her real name) was 45 and unable to work, due to a prolonged illness, and living off her taxable savings/investments.

By applying to a superannuation trustee for pre-approval to be classified as ‘permanently incapacitated’, Susan was able to invest $540,000 into superannuation and then begin to draw a tax free income from it, fifteen years before she would ordinarily be allowed to access it.

This allowed her to still have investments that would grow over time, but importantly, avoid any future capital gains tax. As a result, Susan was able saving tens, and potentially even hundreds of thousands of dollars, into the future.

This advice may not be suitable to you because it contains general advice that has not been tailored to your personal circumstances. Please seek personal financial advice prior to acting on this information.

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Vintage – antique – unique Furniture and homewares we buy and sell quality brands including: FLER • TESSA • PARKER • TH BROWN • FEATHERSTON • DANISH DELUXE • MOLMIc + MORE

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They are the most gentle, beautiful people.

I just tried to share the love and give them an opportunity to have some fun.

words katie cincotta photos warren reed & supplied

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Shuttingopening the doors, the heart A visit to the ancient Cambodian city of Siem Reap turned out to be a life-changer for Meeniyan’s Marty Thomas.

Most restaurateurs would baulk at the idea of closing up shop for a whole month. Marty Thomas of Moos at Meeniyan didn’t think twice.

August was a quiet month for his colourful little corner café on Meeniyan’s main street, which has become an institution in South Gippsland. There was work to be done on the other side of the world. Soy lattes and smoked salmon salads would have to wait. Cambodia had stolen this chatty gay man’s heart and he felt its pull to return.

He remembers walking through Siem Reap and being completely overcome with emotion in this ancient city, the gateway to the fabulous ruins of Angkor Wat. The city’s smiling, curious children and the lush jungle belie the kingdom’s haunting past: suffering at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, a horrifying 20,000 mass graves unearthed, more than three million innocent Cambodians brutally executed or starved to death.

“Siem Reap just got me. It was so emotional. I remember crying as I walked along the river. I’ve travelled the world, I’ve been to India and South America, and I’ve never had that before… (sorry, now I’m tearing up). There was a real connection that I’ve never experienced before. There’s just something about it. I fell in love with the whole place.”

In his 47 years, having travelled widely across Europe and Asia, Marty’s policy has been to avoid visiting the same place twice. But this year, he made an exception. His calling was to a Cambodian orphanage, many of its children surrendered to the local monks by living parents who simply couldn’t care for them. “Less than half are actually orphans. What typically happens is that the kids get dumped at the pagoda, the monks’ temple, by parents who simply can’t afford to look after them. They may be drug-affected, or they might’ve been injured by landmines. It’s quite tragic, but when you meet the children they’re just adorable, and seemingly unaffected by their awful circumstances.”

The orphanage’s founder Leng describes their grass-roots NGO as a ‘Family Home’. Its official name is Opportunities of Development through Art (ODA), with people like Marty welcomed into the fold to volunteer their time, their love and their English skills over a month-long period.

The program was inspired by a personal and national tragedy. Leng was 10 years old during the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia in the late 70s. His mother and sister disappeared.

He witnessed his father being murdered by soldiers. His own survival was ensured by the aunt and uncle who raised him. >

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Now a father of four, Leng’s response to the continuing crisis of abandoned children was unconditional. “I must care for them.

This could have been my life, too. Someone must feed, educate and show them the way, like my aunt and uncle did for me.”

The 35 children in Leng’s care are among the nine per cent of children who receive a secondary education in Cambodia.

Most are forced into work to support the family by age nine or ten.

“I’ve never taught English in my life, so I was a bit nervous. I was working with teenagers and they were giggling. I also did some basic maths related to how we operate at the restaurant.”

Most of the young children in Siem Reap attend school over a 12-hour day, with free time between 3pm and 5pm, when many of them paint watercolours which ODA sells as part of its fundraising. Locals in and around Meeniyan raised over $10,000 for ODA, buying almost 30 paintings and ‘wish branches’ for clothes, tools, toys, sewing machines – even goats – on the Wishing Tree Marty set up at the front of his café.

He remembers walking through Siem Reap and being completely overcome with emotion…

It costs around US$50,000 a year to provide basic food, clothing and education for the orphans, with ODA also extending its hand to teach English to children in the surrounding villages. One local 21-year-old who was a student of the English school returned two years later to repay the kindness. “He is training in business management at university and comes six nights a week to teach the children English,” says Marty.

Marty found that one of the best ways for the children to pick up the language was through song. He took great pleasure in teaching them Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ and ‘It’s A Small World After All’.

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The kind-hearted restaurateur says it was wonderful to go back to Siem Reap and see that money in action. As well as providing many essentials, it allowed the children a trip to the cinema – a first for all of them – where they were in awe of the huge movie screen and even the escalator at the shopping mall.

Those four weeks spent with the ODA orphans has been life-changing for the Meeniyan legend – a chance to nurture beyond his two rescue dogs, springer spaniel Jazzy and

labrador-staffy cross Will. “It was an amazing experience. The kids are beautiful. They are so unaffected by the terrible time they had there during the Khmer Rouge regime. They have big smiles on their faces and they don’t have any ulterior motives.”

Life wasn’t quite that simple for Marty, the youngest child of six, a gay Anglican boy who grew up in the eastern suburb of Glen Iris. He went to Melbourne Grammar, skipped the pressure to become a ‘professional’ and studied hotel management before heading to Europe to find himself. “I wasn’t open about my sexuality until my 20s, when I went away and had a chance to explore myself.” Running nightclubs in London at a time when Boy George was out and proud gave Marty the incentive to come out. “In London you could be anything you want. Of course when I got home I had to tell everybody, and I was 30 by that stage.”

Marty says he’s been single since he moved to Meeniyan. “‘The only gay in the village’, except for Ant (his workmate and friend),” he laughs. The energetic trader has set up a Gay and Lesbian network in South Gippsland that meets each month at a different local restaurant. With 120 people on the database, Marty says the dinners have been a wonderful way of bringing strangers together to socialise.

He may be heading to Cuba next, but he still feels a longing to reconnect with those dear children who respected and adored him like a father. “‘Lovely Dad’ one boy called me.

But they were all equally gorgeous. They’re the most gentle, beautiful people. I just tried to share the love and give them an opportunity to have some fun.”

Marty plans to open an online shop to sell products from the village. “I’m looking forward to visiting the orphanage when I’m there on shopping trips,” he laughs. Moo Bear, a little travel bear that his mother sent to him while he was living in London, is Marty’s mascot. The bear now wears a hand-woven necklace made by kids in the orphanage. Marty regards this as a connection tying him to those ‘surrogate’ children.

He has no doubt he’ll return – maybe even retire some day in Siem Reap – and discover what lives these lost children have made for themselves because generous people stepped up to take them under their wing. “I can’t wait to see them all grow up. They’re dreaming big. Some of them want to be architects, engineers, doctors and nurses. There are even hospitality schools and restaurants training some of the street kids to be chefs.

That might be an opportunity for me when I go back.”

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Enjoy every moment this summer and make the most of all the coast has to offer. There are art galleries to visit, gourmet food tours to indulge in and music to dance to. Whether you want to ride the waves or a merry-go-round, this guide to all our summer attractions means you won’t miss a thing!

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Exceptional Phillip Island Area Tours Not your average tour company.

Get an insider’s view with personalised tour itineraries. www.ExceptionalPhillipIsland.com.au 0459 494 666.

Things to do,e places to se The best of summer fun by the coast

Island Surf Boards Get on board with a surf lesson – all ages, all abilities.

They guarantee they’ll get you standing. Enjoy the ride. www.islandsurfboards.com.au 5952 3443

Phillip Island Chocolate Factory The sweetest attraction – interactive tour, café and an amazing world of chocolate. www.phillipislandchocolatefactory.com.au 5956 6600

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit High octane fun. From Go-Karts to Superbikes, Push Bikes to Triathlons. www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au 5952 2710

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Serious Surf Stuff Get your kit on and hit the waves. Wetsuits and surfboards for hire.

5674 2540 Find on Facebook

Watkins Amusements A nightly carnival on Phillip Island.

All the family fun of the fair, on the edge of Cowes. www.islandsummercarnival.com

Without Pier Gallery Cool art exhibition @ Coolart in Somers: paintings, sculpture and glass. www.withoutpier.com.au 0419 541 892

mornington Peninsula regional Gallery On the Beach with acclaimed Australian artists and photographers.

Exhibition runs from December – February. www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au 5975 4395

Gooseneck Pottery One of the largest wood-fired kilns in Australia. Unique, hand thrown pottery. www.gooseneckpottery.com.au 5655 2405

Islantis The Islantis Surf Experience: the thrill, the history, the excitement. www.islantis.com.au 5956 7553

mingara Gallery Australian contemporary art: paintings, glass, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery and gift shop. www.mingaragallery.com.au 5952 3722

A maze’n Things Family fun. Stimulating entertainment – mini golf, illusions, maze and Skytrail. www.amazenthings.com.au 5952 2283

Summer of Soul The hot ticket for a soulful experience in Mossvale Park on 6 January. Visit Coast’s Facebook page for ticket giveaway! www.lyrebirdartscouncil.com.au

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Exceptional Touring

Bubbling with enthusiasm and energy, Kirsty & David Mawer are passionate about helping people enjoy all the food, art and natural beauty our coast has to offer.

Since opening its (bus) doors a year ago, Exceptional Phillip Island Area Tours has established a unique tour circuit for the discerning traveller. As well as nature walks, its tours include visits to farms, art studios, breweries, wineries, cafes and markets. “Our motto is ‘you’re not the average traveller … we’re not your average tour company’,” laughs Kirsty.

“Phillip Island might be best known for the penguins, but there are people doing amazing things here, and we help our guests discover these hidden gems.”

While they do offer a tour that includes the famous evening penguin parade, their emphasis isn’t on the usual circuit of attractions. Creativity is the focus of the Arts & Artisans tour, which gets you up close to award-winning local photographers, artists, chefs and craftsmen. “Our customers get a behind-the-scenes experience when they visit the studios and galleries,” explains Kirsty. “It’s a chance to visit these amazing workspaces and to talk to artists, sculptors and jewellery makers. We get such great feedback … people love hearing the human story behind the artwork.”

Adding to the unique experience, everyone receives a keepsake purchased from an artist, and is treated to a lunch of local and seasonal delicacies.

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For a gourmet travel experience, look no further than the Exceptional Regional Taste tour. While traversing some stunning country and coastline you are introduced to hidden ‘foodie-favourite’ gems and award-winning purveyors of fine food and produce. And of course you get to sample some of the best local produce and gourmet goods on offer, including cheese, boutique beers, liqueurs and wine.

For a total Island experience, guests can join the Destination Phillip Island tour that combines a scenic drive and gentle walking with up-close animal encounters and delicious food and beverages. This is the perfect tour if you’re after a real insight into the Phillip Island area and its locals. Learn all about the flora and fauna, the topography, the produce, the history – and future plans for this world-renowned Island.

This summer, come aboard one of Exceptional Tours’ airconditioned Mercedes mini-vans and discover a new side to Phillip Island and surrounds. You won’t be disappointed.

Catering for up to eleven guests including one wheelchair passenger, tours run every day. To find out about all the tours on offer, visit www.ExceptionalPhillipIsland.com.au or call 0459 494 666.

You are not the average traveller.

We are not the average tour company.

Phillip Island and Surrounds Boutique Tours We specialise in custom-made, unique touring experiences.

Off-the-track. Insightful. Original. Always engaging.

Join a tour or design your own

– be prepared for an exceptional experience

www.exceptionalphillipisland.com.au

tour@exceptionalphillipisland.com.au 0459 494 666 BOOK YOUR TOUR TODAY coast 49

– A virtual tour to the world’s most extreme continent

©Shutterstock

©Tamara Kulikova, Shutterstock

Antarctic Journey

Phillip Island’s newest attraction is as close as you can get to Antarctica, without actually being there. The Antarctic Journey at the Nobbies Centre on Phillip Island invites visitors to immerse themselves in a spectacular multimedia wildlife experience of interactive and sensory entertainment as they embark on a virtual journey to the world’s most extreme continent.

Opening in December 2015, the Antarctic Journey is set not only to enthral and captivate visitors, but also to make history, as it becomes the world’s first interactive Antarctic experience developed in partnership with WWF-Australia. As a joint venture between WWF and Phillip Island Nature Parks, the attraction showcases the wonderful world of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and highlights the need to work together to protect our natural world.

The Antarctic Journey comprises three distinct levels and features Phillip Island as the gateway to Antarctica on the first level. Although the island is almost 4,000km away from Antarctica, there are hints of the frozen continent all around.

The Southern Ocean’s violent weather drives wild swells against the island’s shores which are home to penguins and seals, and whales from Antarctica visit Phillip Island’s waters as they migrate north. These and many more interesting links between Phillip Island and Antarctica can be found in this first level, which offers free entry.

The second level is known as The Lab, and is jam packed with fun-filled hands on activities designed to both entertain and educate. Visitors will be able to ‘feel the freeze’ as they enter the Antarctic Chill Zone and experience the same sort of conditions as an Antarctic researcher. The Sound Lab and words & photos supplied

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Research Station offer a marvellous insight into the sights and sounds of Antarctic wildlife, complete with animal calls, microscopes and fascinating specimens.

Many important questions are posed in The Lab, such as: ‘What is more likely to sink – a bowling ball or a marble?’, ‘What is the Cocktail Party Effect?’ and ‘How does my thermal image compare to an Emperor penguin?’. The fascinating array of hands on activities answer all these questions and more, and ensure that the unique wildlife, the ongoing research activities, and the critically important conservation values of this remote continent come alive to make this a truly enjoyable learning adventure.

The final level is known as The Chamber, and is one of complete immersion in what can only be described as a stunning and breathtaking, state of the art multimedia experience. Visitors will find themselves enthralled by the audio visual spectacle which puts them right in the heart of the action, surrounded by creatures of the deep like whales, seals, sharks and more.

The interactive wildlife experience is bound to be a highlight of any visit, as visitors will see themselves on a giant screen, standing on an ice floe, patting a penguin or stroking a seal, all

©iStock ©Pro_Shutterstock

thanks to a cutting-edge sensory entertainment experience.

The augmented reality technology is world-class and really puts visitors right in the heart of the action, getting up close and personal with spectacular Antarctic wildlife.

As the first attraction in Australia to share the WWF brand, the Antarctic Journey promises to be a world-class addition to the much loved attractions of the Penguin Parade, Koala Conservation Centre, Churchill Island Heritage Farm and Wild Oceans EcoBoat tours, all operated by Phillip Island Nature Parks. With the stunning Antarctic landscape as the backdrop, and interactive wildlife experiences to enjoy, visitors will learn about the need for conservation of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and that by working together we can all play a part in protecting our natural world.

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organisations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. For decades WWF has worked to conserve the natural wonders of the Antarctic, and millions of whales, penguins and albatross that live there.

protected areas – the Heard and McDonald Island Marine Reserve, and the Macquarie Island Marine Reserve. WWF also helped secure a ban on mining under the Antarctic Treaty Environment Protocol, promote sustainable fisheries and substantially reduce illegal fishing across the Southern Ocean.

WWF-Australia’s current work in the Antarctic focuses on building a network of marine protected areas, new initiatives to protect wildlife such as whales and seabirds, securing sustainable fisheries management, and responding to the challenges of climate change.

Phillip Island Nature Parks is a not-for-profit organisation that prides itself on finding the balance between delivering quality ecotourism experiences and implementing worldrenowned conservation, social, environmental, research and education programs.

Visit www.penguins.org.au for more information and to book your tickets to the Antarctic Journey. Bundle and Save with a range of ticket options to create your own unique Phillip Island holiday.

Working in partnership, WWF helped establish the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and two of the world’s largest marine

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Home of Pannys Amazing World of Chocolate, a unique, interactive and educational celebration of all things chocolate.

° Daily hot curry lunch from 12 – 3pm ° Hot Chocolate made with real chocolate ° Choc dipped frozen bananas

Phillip Island Chocolate Factory, 930 Phillip Island Rd, Newhaven phone 5956 6600 web www.phillipislandchocolatefactory.com.au coast 52

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Creative heart Art and creativity is at the heart of any community, and ArtSpace Wonthaggi, a contemporary gallery in the centre of the town, showcases the artistic heart of the coast. ’Susan Hall & John Mutsaers’ First Joint Exhibition’ Susan creates work from many genres, painting with acrylics and oils, as well as charcoal, printmaking and sculpture. Her first solo exhibition was in 1980 and since then she has been frequently exhibited in local galleries. Recently, after completing her Master of Visual Arts at Monash University, she was invited to present her work at a symposium at Colorado University, USA. Living on the Bass Coast is the inspiration for her atmospheric work, which is held in many collections in Australia and overseas.

John Mutsaers, Susan Hall and Ken Griffiths.

Run by a passionate group of local artists, ArtSpace features the work of Gippsland’s finest artists in regular exhibitions across the year.

This summer, two exhibitions from three extraordinary local artists are the centrepiece of the Gallery’s program, starting with the work of Ken Griffiths in January 2016. Susan Hall and John Mutsaers have been exhibited across the globe and ArtSpace is proud to present their first-ever joint exhibition in February 2016.

In 2016 John celebrates his 30th year as a professional artist.

So far he has held 36 solo exhibitions including a successful London exhibition in 2006 and a group exhibition with Australian artists in Shanghai in 2008, selected by the Australian Trade Commission. He was also a semi finalist in the 2015 Doug Moran National Portrait prize. John paints, sculpts and writes poetry and much of his work has themes reflecting on human rights and social justice. His work is represented in public, corporate, and private collections around the world, including Holland, England, Ireland, USA, China, Canada and Australia.

Exhibition runs 11 February – 7 March 2016

‘A Retrospective Exhibition by Ken Griffiths’ Ken Griffiths is an extraordinary artist, entertaining, witty and extremely skilful. He says that he is entertaining himself but in so doing he certainly keeps his audience interested. Each piece has its own visual language and every piece is different.

A multi-linguist of the visual arts, his work will keep you fascinated from the moment you enter the gallery. Excellence in draughtsmanship, paint application, design and sensitivity for colour relationships are all factors that link together the most diverse exhibition you are ever likely to see by one artist.

Exhibition runs 14 January – 8 February 2016

Susan Hall, ‘Beach Sculpture Trio’ 2015 Acrylic on Canvas 76 x 102cm

Ken Griffiths, ‘Kathy’s Home Wonthaggi’ 2015 Oil on Acrylic 126 x 97cm

John Mutsaers, ‘Turkeys’ 2015 Oil on Canvas 91 x 91cm

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From surfboards, skate and wetsuits to clothing and swimwear, Serious Surf Stuff has everything you need.

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Surfing Academy The Newhaven College Surfing Academy is the first of its kind in any Victorian School. The Academy is open to all students.

It gives students the opportunity to: • increase knowledge, safety and skills in the ocean • gain employment in the surfing industry • strive for elite performance in surfing

Divided into three educational streams: 1 Providing experience, exposure and safety awareness of the ocean and environment 2 VCE VET (Vocational Education Training) Sport and Recreation Program, offering career pathways into the surfing and sports industries 3 High Performance Squad, professional coaching, intensive gym and after school training

Newhaven College boasts a strong surfing pedigree with a long history of state and national surfing champions: • Rip Curl Shield winners, Victorian Schools Team Title: 2006-2008, 2011 • Four times MR Shield winners, Australian Schools Pairs Title • 2011 Australian Schools Champion and World #3 Junior Nikki van Dijk • 2011 U/19 Victorian Champion Brock Jeffrey-Warren • 2013 ASP Junior World Champion Nikki van Dijk • 2013 Victorian & Australian U/16 Champion Joe van Dijk • 2013 Australian Schools Senior Pairs MR Shield Runners Up • 2014 ‘Girlsurf’ Team Winners • 2015 U/16 Victorian Champion Sophie Fletcher • 2015 U/19 Victorian Champion Joe van Dijk

Investment in the Program: Newhaven College has invested in resources and staffing to ensure the success and growth of the Academy. A dedicated room for lessons, meetings, specialised coaching and guest speakers has been set up to offer a unique learning opportunity for the students.

For enrolment enquiries telephone 5956 7505 or visit www.newhavencol.vic.edu.au

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Experience the thrill “It’s a hobby, sport, job, passion … it’s what I do with my mates … it’s my circle of life. What drives me is the feeling that surfing gives me – that total freedom.”

This quote from professional surfer Owen Wright could easily be describing a ‘day in the office’ for the team at Island Surfboards Surf School.

Regarded as one of the biggest and best in the country, Island Surfboards Surf School has been operating for over 20 years. During that time, the school’s enthusiastic and fully-qualified Surfing Australia coaches have helped thousands of people experience the thrill of surfing. In fact, they guarantee that one way or another, if you sign up for a lesson, they’ll get you standing up on a wave. “We cater for every level, from novices through to advanced,” explains Island Surfboards’ Bucky Hamer.

And people from all walks of life are keen to paddle out, either in a private tuition setting or a group lesson. “We’ve had school groups of up to 80 people, corporate groups, families on holidays … one guy brought his dog along for the lesson,” laughs Bucky. And even the MotoGP teams leave their bikes behind to hit the waves. “Every year it gets more popular with the riders … getting out on a board definitely takes them out of their comfort zone.”

All beginner surf lessons are held at Smiths Beach, while intermediate to advanced private lessons are held at the beach that has the best conditions on the day. “If you’re a surfer looking to improve your technique, you can take a massive leap forward if you have someone coaching you,” says Bucky.

As well as providing boards and wetsuits for lessons, Island Surfboards has a full range of new surfboards at its Cowes store, and its friendly staff provides advice on the best board for you. “As a general rule, beginners need bigger, ‘floatier’ boards,” explains Bucky. “The right board makes it easy to get waves, and therefore you’ll enjoy your surfing more.” With their surfboard factory located onsite, the team can custommake boards to any requirements.

This summer, let Island Surfboards help you find your feet and get out into the waves.

Island Surfboards also stocks an extensive range of clothing and surf supplies. www.islandsurfboards.com.au

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“These string like shadows upon water move all day Who am I but a wavering shape By a light I cannot see.” – Belinda Rogers It is a beautiful spring morning when I arrive to meet the artist at her studio in Montsalvat artists’ colony. Walking through grand old buildings and historic gardens, I step into her small, light-filled studio to discover an unexpected calm and serenity. This space is simple, yet beautiful. Woven tatami mat on the floor, a branch of weathered pine placed artistically on a translucent Japanese screen, a clay teapot, old wooden tray and the gentle scent of incense. Examining a book of poetry set on a bamboo stand, I hear a gentle voice by the doorway.

I greet the artist and realise the space is a perfect reflection of this poet and painter.

Following Belinda to a wisteria-filled courtyard so we can continue to talk, I notice a small tattoo on the nape of her neck. When I ask if the artistic strokes and characters are Japanese, she tells me it is a small poem by her favorite Japanese poet, Ryokan. “He was a Zen Buddhist monk who rejected the comforts of a well-established family to live out his life on a hilltop, with a bowl and blanket as his only worldly possessions. He would meditate every day, and relied on the inherent goodness of human nature to sustain him. One day he came back to his homeplace to find his bowl and blanket words maria reed photos warren reed

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taken, and he cried for the perpetrator. Not because of the theft, but because he could not give the person more. His poems are simple. They consist of just three lines, but they’re extraordinary. I’m not a religious person, but his poetry really resonates with me and inspires me in my work.”

A quiet and creative child, Belinda was always writing or drawing. “I would run away to little secret places in nature and observe the small miracles – like grasses, a stone or a flower.” One of her earliest memories is of sitting in very long grass and writing. “I’d write poems, or pages and pages of my observations – letters that weren’t addressed to anybody.

There was an amazing world in my mind, but it didn’t really allow for normal social interaction,” she laughs. “Being alone in nature always made me feel happy.”

She never saw herself as an artist, but chemistry had a part to play in setting the young artist on her path. “One day at school our chemistry teacher was away, and the art teacher came to fill in. He didn’t know anything about chemistry, so he told us to open our textbooks and go on from where we’d left off the lesson before. I was drawing, and became so engrossed in the picture I was making that I didn’t see him come up behind me. He said, ‘See me after class!’ I thought I was in trouble, but all he wanted was to ask me why I wasn’t in his art class! It had truly never occurred to me that I may be good at art.” >

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An artistic line runs through her family, and she describes her mum as having ‘a creative heart’. “She had five children, and taught me to observe the little things in life like the light and beauty in nature. She would leave me little notes and poems – her way of staying connected to me in a creative way.” When Belinda discovered art it made her realise there was a reason for the solitary times in her life. “My heart just opened at the possibility! It was like a portal into another world.”

At seventeen she was living on her own, and describes her work of that time as very dark. “I tried for two years to get into art school, but looking back now, I am so grateful that I wasn’t accepted. I would have been educated and channelled into a certain niche; and the Melbourne art scene just wasn’t me. Art is such a vibrant place to be. Sometimes I feel as if I don’t really belong, but it’s like I’ve been led here. I feel really lucky.”

Instead she decided to travel, and worked as a nanny in Ireland for several months. “I celebrated my 21st on St Patrick’s Day in Ireland – can you imagine? – a crazy town full of greenclad, Irish party folk.” It turned out to be a pivotal moment in the young artist’s life, as she met a man who introduced her to Qigong (which translates literally as life energy cultivation). “I was a bit suspicious initially, but then I read the Tao Te Ching* and it just resonated. In my heart it felt so right.” She fell deeply into the text and applied the philosophy to acupuncture, which she went on to study for five years.

“I was so immersed in my studies that I didn’t have much time to paint, but I would always carry around a little box of pastels and a notebook with me. I wouldn’t draw; I’d just put colours on the paper and mix them on the page with my fingers.” She would often lose the skin on her fingertips as a result of the repetitive rubbing – or would destroy the paper. “My fingers were blunt,” she laughs. “When I had the time and space to paint again, I opened up the oils and smelled them and I just couldn’t work in anything else.”

Her acupuncture practice took off and she devoted her energies to the care of others, only painting and writing poetry in her spare time. She continued to practise while she was pregnant, and took a break when her son Ochre was born. “Everything changed when I had my baby boy . . . thank goodness. You can break your heart with the love you feel for your child. It’s such a fragile, beautiful and important relationship.” She continued to write and draw between breastfeeding and sleep. “Ochre is eight now and he draws all the time. He is such a beautiful soul. Sometimes he’ll ask if he can paint with me, so he’ll put on my gloves (which are twice the size of his hands) and work with cloths on canvas with me.”

Her partner, a talented writer, completes this creative family.

Early on, Belinda was influenced by James Gleeson, and loved his use of texture. She reflects, “My first paintings were really thick, and I was struggling to achieve the effect I was after by adding more and more.” She would always paint wearing long skirts, and a mistake led to a beautiful discovery. “I brushed a little bit of paint back with my skirt, and I realised it wasn’t >

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Artfusion

Sculpture and Glass Studio Gallery Steel Sculpture Fused Glass www.artfusionstudioandgallery.com

Open Thur to Mon 10.30am – 5pm 9 Anderson Rise, Anderson, VIC

Andrew Kasper 0407 368 538 Marlene Abela 0439 368 538

U N D E R G R O U N D ADV E N T U R E .

Welcome to the new State Coal Mine Visitor Centre with cafe, theatrette and shop, the museum, heritage trail, historic buildings and sheltered BBQ area.

Opening hours 10am – 4.30pm daily. Underground tours run daily at 11.30am and 2.00pm, additional tours during holiday periods.

Garden Street, Wonthaggi | Phone 5672 3053 | www.statecoalmine.com.au

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what I was putting on that was making the painting work, but what I was taking off. So just like in life, I cut back (decluttered) and there it was on the canvas in front of me – a whole hidden universe of colours and tones! It was like a secret language I’d discovered.” Now she refuses to use brushes, and paints only with cloth. “It gives paintings a subtlety and seamlessness I can’t achieve with brushes. It also invites the viewer to move into the painting: it is pared back to draw you in.”

The self-taught, contemporary abstract artist has found her sanctuary, and has recently been honoured by the invitation to have a studio at Montsalvat. “It was just great timing. When I used to paint at home there were always so many distractions, but working at the studio here, I almost feel like a child again . . . I can just sit under a tree and paint.” She was also accepted into Manyung Gallery (Mt Eliza) last year. “I feel so lucky: the director really encourages me and gives all the opportunities and support an artist could hope for.”

She has just finished an exhibition at Montsalvat and scooped first prize in the Murrindindi Painting Awards. Currently working on her third edition of Flower of Three Dawn, a book

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of poetry and imagery, she hopes to leave a legacy that offers hope for all humanity. “If only I could show people that they don’t need to suffer, or that beyond suffering there is a beautiful and equal place. If I can convey that through my work then I hope people can suffer less.”

If you would like to see more of this extraordinary artist’s work, you can log on to www.thedreamingseed.com You can also visit her studio at Montsalvat, Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham, or view her paintings at Manyung Gallery, Sorrento, Malvern and Mt Eliza.

* Tao Te Ching – Is an important text to Chinese culture. Believed to be written by an old master, Lao Tzu, around 600BC, it is of great importance in Chinese philosophy and religion and literally translates to “The book of the way and its virtue.”

Anchor belle H o l i day pa rk

An ideal holiday destination only 90 mins drive from Melbourne. A friendly family park set amongst 2.5 hectares of bush, 100m to beach, just 2km from main shopping strip and restaurants, central to all attractions.

Our park features an indoor heated pool, complimentary Wi-Fi, free BBQs and camp kitchen, children’s playground, free PlayStation games, TV lounge and two well equipped laundries. Powered grassed sites and ensuite sites,

sheltered tent sites, modern clean facilities, dump point, boat storage area with boat ramp nearby.

All accommodation is non-smoking. Includes two fully self-contained two-storey, three bedroom luxury Townhouses with private courtyard & lock-up garages, two bedroom Deluxe Cabins, (linen on main bed).

All accommodation is air conditioned/heated and has flat screen TVs.

272 Church St, Cowes 3922 | Phone : +61 3 5952 2258 | Email: info@anchorbelle.com.au | www.anchorbelle.com.au

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On the Beach On the Beach considers the place of the beach within Australian life by bringing together paintings and photographs by some of Australia’s acclaimed Modernists with works by contemporary artists.

Guan Wei – Play on the beach #5 2011, synthetic polymer paint on canvas. Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria. Purchased by the Friends of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery with the assistance of The Robert Salzer Foundation, 2013

George Caddy– Alf Stanbrough supports Bonnie Nixon and Hazel Balmus with Wal Balmus on top, Jack Goldberg observes, 25 September 1938, gelatin silver photograph.

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Courtesy of Paul Caddy.

The exhibition considers the ways in which people relate to the beach, its place in understandings of national identity and its history as a contested site.

Mornington Peninsula figurative expressionist painter John Anderson. Come along and hear the artists speak and enjoy wine and nibbles in the Gallery.

On the Beach features works by Arthur Boyd, Gordon Bennett, Daniel Boyd, Max Dupain, Charles Meere, Tracey Moffatt, David Moore, Sidney Nolan, Polixeni Papapetrou, John Perceval, Scott Redford, Jeffrey Smart, Albert Tucker, Guan Wei and Anne Zahalka.

During summer, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery (MPRG) has a great line-up of school holidays activities for children of all ages. Drop in any time during the exhibition to contribute to our fabulous On the beach community creation.

MPRG is also running January school holiday workshops for 8–16 year olds and is hosting the National Gallery of Victoria kids on tour program. Children can enjoy activities for the Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei and Hermannsburg Potters exhibitions, 16–26 January. Visit: www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov. au/events to find out what is happening, when!

The exhibition also features a series of photographs by George Caddy showing the lost art of beachobatics. From 1936 to 1941 a group of acrobatic men and women from a gymnastic club would gather on Bondi Beach wearing the most daring costumes of the day, and form their suntanned bodies into complex human pyramids. As part of the exhibition, on 18 February, Paul Caddy will talk about how he discovered a box of his father’s photographs that have become legendary images.

On Sunday, 28 February three fascinating artists featured in On the Beach will join us for our After Noon series of artist talks, including award-winning painter and printmaker Terry Matassoni, renowned photographer Polixeni Papapetrou and

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A Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery exhibition 11 December 2015 – 28 February 2016 Civic Reserve, Dunns Road, Mornington Tuesday–Sunday 10am–5pm www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au

Leisure * PLeasure * ConfLiCt

11 DEC – 28 FEB includes iconic australian artworks

Jeffery Smart, Surfers Bondi, 1963 (detail), oil on board, Private Collection, Courtesy the Estate of Jeffrey Smart

www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au

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5things we love aBoUt BeaCheS

ClIFF-ToP vIEWS Okay: technically, standing on a cliff-top isn’t going to a beach, but it’s hard to beat those awe-inspiring views of the ocean. 71 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by ocean, and gazing out over these magnificent expanses of water can really calm the soul and put life into perspective.

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Surf For the keen surfer, there are waves to be found from the Mornington Peninsula right through to South Gippsland. Phillip Island’s National Surfing Reserve includes iconic breaks like Woolamai and Express Point, and with both north- and south-facing beaches, you can find a wave in most conditions. But wherever you paddle out, nothing matches the power of a wave or the thrill of riding your board surrounded by nature … that’s pure joy.

Bay beaches Why does diving into cool clear water make you feel so wonderful? Maybe it’s because our brains are 85 per cent water. Whatever the reason, for a quiet paddle on a hot day, you can’t beat floating on the gentle waves of one of our bay beaches.

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5things we love aBoUt BeaCheS

SunSETS Sitting on a beach watching the sunset might sound like a cliché, but trust us, it’s something you never get tired of. Witnessing a beautiful sunset truly is one of the best possible ways to end your day.

roCK PoolS The best science lesson ever isn’t even in the classroom. Rock pools aren’t just great for swimming in: they’re brimming with life, and give us a glimpse of the world hidden below the waves.

Fish, crabs, starfish, shells, sea-grass and sponges are just some of the delights waiting to be discovered. All you need is the right beach, a low tide and a hungry mind (plus some sunscreen).

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MINGARA GALLERY Exceptional and Affordable Art since 2002

242 Thompson Avenue Cowes 3922 Phillip Island Australia Phone 5952 3722 www.mingaragallery.com.au | noelle@mingaragallery.com.au

Paintings Jewellery Sculpture Creative Gifts coast 71

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ANNUAL CHRISTMAS EXHIBITION will be on display from 27/11 until 31/1.

Open: Monday to Friday 10am– 5pm, Saturday 10am– 2pm.

Open School Holidays: Mon to Fri 10am– 5pm, Sat 10am – 2pm Sun 10am – 3pm.

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Handmade, Well made, Australian made.

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Challenge your PErCEPTIonS

Sunshine or rain, every day is a fun day at A Maze‘N Things, and we guarantee a visit to this ‘a-mazing’ place will put a little magic into your holiday.

If you are looking for something a little different this summer, why not challenge your perceptions at this award-winning attraction? From mini-golf to the new (and thrilling) Skytrail, the incredible shrinking room to the giant maze, there are activities to test you mentally and physically.

When you need a break from the weather, the indoor activities at A Maze‘N Things could be just the ticket. Watch your friends grow smaller in the shrinking room, get lost in one of the mazes, brave the “Look Out” slide, or tackle activities to stretch your memory, perception and motor skills.

Or perhaps you’d prefer to dial up the thrill factor with the Skytrail – a ten-metre high adventure ropes course that will get your adrenalin pumping. Zig-zag through giant poles and platforms, negotiating a series of aerial challenges, all the while securely harnessed to an overhead track. Skytrail is the first of its kind in Victoria and is a fantastic family-friendly activity. As long as you are reasonably fit and over 140cm tall, you can buckle up and step out onto the ropes. Smaller children (120-140cm) keen to take the challenge just need to be accompanied by an adult (so get your climbing shoes ready, Mum and Dad!).

And when you need to stop and replenish, the Puzzle Café serves lunch as well as morning and afternoon tea – and

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there’s a fantastic selection of puzzles and brain-teasers on hand to keep everyone entertained.

A Maze’N Things is open 7 days a week from 10am, with SkyTrail open from 11am. SkyTrail bookings can be made at www.skytrail.com.au.

You can grab a sneak peak of all the attractions by visiting www.amazenthings.com.au

d e z a m a e b late your Relaxation Stimu

ROPE ADVENTU H R IG

E

H

PLUS A Maze’N Things - Melways ref: 532 B5 1805 Phillip Island Road, Cowes 3922 Victoria P: 03 5952 2283 E: maze@amazenthings.com.au W: www.amazenthings.com.au Google Earth: 38° 29’ 15.00” S, 145° 15’ 44.00” E A Maze’N Things OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK from 10am

SkyTrail OPEN EVERY WEEKEND AND 7 DAYS during the school holidays from 11am

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Handmade, wood fired stoneware and porcelain.

Visitors are welcome to inspect the kiln and studio and to purchase pieces from the recent firing.

Open 10:30am–5pm Weekends, public holidays & most weekdays (phone first weekdays). Cottage rental available.

60 Kardella-Fairbank Rd, Kardella (via Korumburra) Phone (03) 5655 2405 Email gooseneckpottery@dcsi.net.au Robert Barron

www.gooseneckpottery.com.au

Located at Rip cuRL phiLLip isLand 10 -12 phillip island tourist Road, newhaven 03 5956 7553 e: info@islantis.com.au www.islantis.com.au

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django gallery

Unique marine wildlife experiences and stunning coastal viewing.

Explore the waters around Phillip Island on-board the cruiser “Kasey Lee”.

Seal Watching Cruise Twilight Cruise Cape Woolamai Cruise Wilsons Prom Cruise Winter Whale Cruise

Open daily 9.00am – 5.30pm Rotunda jetty carpark 11-13 The Esplanade, Cowes p: 1300 763 739, 03 5952 3501 e: info@wildlifecoastcruises.com.au w: www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au

Established in 1998 overlooking the rolling hills of Mt Baw Baw, Ripplebrook Winery is an award winning vineyard. Growing and producing their wine on site, Ripplebrook Winery has a wonderful range of whites and reds on offer. Giuseppe’s opened in January 2015 and has created an atmosphere of casalingo, bringing family and friends together for an Italian festa. Giuseppe’s serves a delicious range of woodfired pizza. We also serve home made gnocchi, pasta, meat salads and more. Enjoy a glass of wine, woodfired pizza and outstanding views at Ripplebrook Winery. The perfect place to relax or hold your next function.

2755 Westernport Road Ripplebrook 3818 03 5627 6180 info@ripplebrookwinery.com.au www.ripplebrookwinery.com.au

Original Artwork & Limited Edition Prints Featuring Local Artists Glassworks Sculptures Jewellery Homewares Soft Furnishings & More ...

Opening Hours Fri & Mon 10am – 4pm Sat & Sun 10am–2pm Or by appointment – 0439 39 5060 3/154–156 Thompson Ave, Cowes p: 0439 395 060 e: jjcoastalmagic@gmail.com

Southern Trail Tours showcases the gems of South Gippsland.

We provide small group tours, visiting a range of destinations covering the wine, art and nature trails of the region. After 15 years of tourism experience at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park we have returned home to Gippsland, with an aim to ignite visitors’ passion for the district that will keep them coming back again and again. Join us on one of our fully customisable day tours and discover the beauty of this place we call home.

Mark and Nadia Wallace Sandy Point, South Gippsland phone: 03 5684 1028, mobile: 0487 338 133 bookings@southerntrailtours.com.au

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words sally o’neill photos molly coulson-bomm and supplied

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Through Molly’s eyes It took only half a year to forever change the way 20-year-old Molly Coulson-Bomm sees the world.

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I want to keep learning about photography so that I can share the way I see the world with others.

Growing up in Yanakie, South Gippsland, Molly CoulsonBomm never really felt that she fitted in. Of course she loved the freedom of her childhood home – the endless days playing at the beach with her brothers, building cubbies and coming inside as darkness fell. But it was the taunts that began at kindergarten and continued through her school years that shaped her opinion.

Luckily the bold redhead bounces through life, relishing the chance to tackle adversity head-on using art as her medium.

“My mother was my inspiration. We were always drawing and painting together,” says Molly. “Once I went away for a few days, and I came home to find that my mother had painted and stencilled a floral design across my bedroom floor – I was in awe.”

Molly’s father, who died when she was 11, also had a large influence on her creativity. “We only had a short time together, but he was always there encouraging me to be creative and to be myself no matter how different I was. Having both my parents being so accepting of who I am truly helped me become the confident, outgoing person I am today, and I’m incredibly thankful for that.”

Molly, who describes herself as “quirky”, chose to complete her final years of high school at Swinburne in Melbourne – alone.

“I’d never really felt that I fitted in at Yanakie, and Melbourne just seemed a better fit for me,” she explains. “I was mature for my age and luckily I was allowed to spend those years living in university student accommodation.”

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Along with the dramatic transition from living at home in the country to being alone in a major city, Molly chose a difficult subject portfolio. “I was warned against tackling three folio subjects, but I felt capable of doing it.”

The fuel for her creative fire came from personal experience.

“Growing up I was always teased, and I wanted to turn that situation around.” She achieved her aim by choosing to put others in the vulnerable position that she had found herself in. “I took a series of nude shots that showed people’s real vulnerability, no matter how popular or beautiful they were.

When I was being bullied and not quite fitting in, I felt naked and vulnerable, but once you get past the shell, everyone is the same – I loved exploring that.”

This somewhat confrontational approach resonated, and her hard work and talent were rewarded with outstanding results. Her VCE photography portfolio was also nominated for exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.

After Year 12, Molly chose to take a gap year. She contacted Latitude Global Volunteering and departed for a six-month mission in Vanuatu. Molly and her group arrived in Port Vila for a week-long induction before she and her volunteer partner set off for their adventure in the remote village of Aligu. The village would act as their base: they would stay with the local teachers and their family and teach English at the school.

Her first impressions were dramatic. “We arrived in the middle of the night and were taken on the back of a ute up >

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the steepest mountain I had ever encountered, or probably ever will,” Molly explains. “On the way up, the truck tray fell out! There were only two trucks on the island and they were both in the same state of disrepair. We carried on and were dropped off on the mountaintop with all our bags and no light.” They managed to traverse down to the village, and fell into bed exhausted and disorientated.

“The next morning I woke up in the most beautiful place I had ever seen!” recalls Molly. “I thought I was in paradise. We washed in a clear freshwater stream that ran into the ocean only metres from where we lived. It was heaven.”

Molly felt no sense of culture shock in her new home and was instantly immersed in her routine of teaching English to children ranging from prep to grade five. “We attracted a lot of attention because I’m a redhead and my volunteer partner’s hair is very blonde. We were some of the first white people the islanders had seen – it was strange seeing little children crying at the sight of our white skin.”

… the bold redhead bounces through life, relishing the chance to tackle adversity head-on using art as her medium.

The simplicity of her new life captivated her. “One of my favourite moments was when my friend and I were just hanging out listening to our iPods. We started singing and dancing and the village kids gathered around and joined in.

Everyone was having a great time so I grabbed my camera to capture some images of these people who are always so happy.”

The real culture shock for Molly was coming home to Australia. “I was in shock just seeing people complaining about trivial things, when the villagers I had been living with had hardly any possessions, but were so happy.” Her six-month experience had changed her outlook. “I became more tolerant of others and also myself.”

Molly also became determined to forge a career in photography so that she can share issues close to her heart, such as the suffering of both animals and humans. “I have a tattoo of a camera on my arm now, so I am committed!” she laughs. “I would love to go to the Photographic Imaging College in Preston and learn film photography – there is nothing more amazing than seeing an image that you’ve taken appearing before your very eyes as you develop your own photos.”

Going back to Vanuatu is on Molly’s list of future plans, along with more travel and becoming a professional photographer. “I want to keep learning about photography so that I can share the way I see the world with others.” And the world would surely be a better place if more people could see through Molly’s eyes…

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123 Marine Parade, San Remo

Telephone 5678 5202

let the light that shines within you create the lifetime of your dreams ade`le basheer

Open: Monday–Friday 9am– 6pm Saturday 9am–12.30pm (extended hours in December & January)

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A sensitive

words katie cincotta photos warren reed

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man

Creating a chemical-free oasis in the rolling hills of South Gippsland gave Peter Byl a new lease on life.

The house is at the end of a dusty gravel road in Buffalo. It’s an absolute picture – a sweet high-roofed Victorian cottage in heritage colours of mahogany and mustard, framed by fruit trees and a side verandah with a swing. It’s beautiful, yes, but the most impressive aspect of this home and its lush acreage near the Tarwin River is that it is completely chemical-free.

That was the project Peter Byl set himself when he and his wife Maureen sought refuge here 18 years ago.

The towering Dutchman suffers from Multiple chemical sensitivity, which he thinks dates back to his time working in the textile industry and his exposure to toxic chemicals like formaldehyde. “Multiple chemical sensitivity is a slow destruction of the immune system by chemicals. Since World War 2 we’ve suffered increasing exposure to chemicals such as those found in traffic fumes, polyester garments and synthetic dyes. And more and more we’re being bombarded with formaldehyde for wet-proofing, and in glues and even food flavourings.”

Peter has no doubt that our world is becoming sicker because of our increased contact with the chemicals commonly used in manufacturing and food production, which he thinks explains the rising rates of auto immune disease such as ADHD and juvenile type 1 diabetes, and a society fraught with stress. “I am absolutely, totally convinced from the research that I’ve done that the poor lifestyle many people endure at the moment is largely due to the effect of chemicals.”

When the family lived in Belgrave, they were running their own bed-linen company, working with fabrics and products laden with toxins. Peter’s health was a mess. He describes the lethargic state as ‘a sinking feeling’. “There were times where I would just shut my office door and slump on my desk: I simply couldn’t move.”

The couple was forced to retreat from the world, avoiding simple pleasures like a night out at the movies. “He used to drag himself out of bed; he always looked grey; we didn’t >

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When Peter began the exercise of recreating their period cottage, he found he couldn’t even trust material safety data sheets, which he says are not accurate across the entire supply chain. He would ring companies and question the chemical composition of their products, which raised the ire of some manufacturers who thought him a troublemaker.

have a social life. In a nutshell, he wasn’t an easy person to live with,” says his wife.

Peter and Maureen met 44 years ago at a transistor radio parts company in Croydon. It was a second shot at love for both of them, and they now have six children and 13 grandchildren between them. They met on the social committee to plan a ball, and Peter admits for him the attraction was instant. “She walked through the door and it was absolute love at first sight.”

Together, they have realised that long-term love demands compromise, especially when one partner is battling chronic illness. “You do have to lower your standards. You can’t live in a perfect home and you can’t look perfect. Our chairs aren’t the world’s most comfortable, and they don’t look nice and plush, but new furniture is far too potent for Peter to cope with.”

Often when Maureen would return from the supermarket, Peter would have to disappear while she wiped down storage

They grow their own organic produce including apples, pears, plums, tomatoes and cucumbers. containers and opened packets. And she would have to change her clothes, on which traces of artificial perfumes still lingered.

After years of testing, an allergy specialist gave Peter a grim ultimatum – leave the textile industry or face an early death.

“I definitely didn’t want to die, so we closed the business. Lost a hell of a lot of money.” They retired to Safety Beach, to a new home not far from the coast, thinking the sea air would be a cure. Unfortunately the opposite was true. Peter got worse. A home built with concrete, plastic and chemical adhesives sent his immune system into a spin.

The former builder decided the only way to recover was to build his own safe haven.

“Because of my background in building, I know how many toxic chemicals there are in this world – lead in the paint, formaldehyde for weatherproofing, asbestos cement sheeting.”

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Now the only original parts of the home are some of the floors and studs.The rest Peter has shaped to fit his chemical-free requirements using hardwood timber, ceramic tiles, gypsum plaster, organic straw insulation, organic paint and furnishings made from untreated Australian hardwood, and organic cotton fabric. “A lot of people say they feel peace in this home, and that makes the difference.”

In their back shed, once an illegal hydroponic marijuana operation for a former AFL footballer, Organature was born.

The company produces certified organic cotton sheets, mattresses, clothing and hardwood beds made locally from Victorian Ash. Peter began importing, cutting and sewing the goods himself. Demand became so great that the couple now sells online and from a shop in San Remo.

He’s adamant that, in order to stop harming our bodies, society needs to change the way it builds and furnishes homes. “Houses built on solid concrete blocks, foil insulation in walls without any ventilation, evaporative coolers – the combination of these means that you’re living in a toxic >

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soup that can create mould which causes further health issues. Most people attempt to keep their houses clean, but if you use toxic chemicals to do that, you become part of a vicious cycle,” says Peter.

In their home, the Byls don’t use any perfumed products.

They clean with sodium bicarbonate and vinegar, and eat only organic food. They grow their own organic produce including apples, pears, plums, tomatoes and cucumbers, lining their plot with African marigolds and pyrethrum daisies to deter snails naturally.

have an organic bedroom, where your immune system can recover from what you’ve been exposed to during the day.”

The Byls never intended to come out of retirement to start a business, but they felt a calling to help others plagued by toxic overload. “Our very first grandchild was a SIDS baby at four months old,” says Maureen. “The baby’s mother was a smoker, and her mattress was secondhand.” Peter says it was a tragedy for the whole family, but it gave them the impetus to actively promote the importance of healthy living.

The former builder decided the only way to recover was to build his own safe haven.

It’s hard to believe Peter is 76. “But when I was 55 I looked about 80,” he says. He attributes his physical transformation – inside and out – to chemical-free living. No more year-round hay fever symptoms, mood swings, panic attacks, sore throats, rashes or fatigue. “Because of the changes I’ve made, which have entailed drawing away from as many chemicals as possible, my immune system has improved and I can function more normally.”

Often the clearest indicator of chemical sensitivity is a reaction in the supermarket, especially in the soap and laundry aisles, or in clothing shops and fabric stores. “It really helps if you

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Peter admits not everyone is convinced by his take on our chemically-sick world, but he says books like Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things, the story of two men who purposely exposed themselves to common chemicals over a period of two years, serves as a red flag in the industrial age.

“We need to keep talking about it, even if we tell a hundred people, and only one person listens.”

CREATE A BEAUTIFUL ChRIsTmAs

We believe there is nothing more important than friends and family so let us help you create a beautiful home for living. From Christmas lunch, dinner parties or outdoor entertaining, we have all you need to live a beautiful life.

Online Store | www.gippslandhomeliving.com.au

15 –17 Murray St Wonthaggi | 5672 4733

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One scoop is never enough.

Our products are proudly hand-made in South Gippsland using traditional methods in small batches.

Our ice cream is made with a simple egg-free base using fresh Gippsland milk: it’s light, but still dense, creamy and satisfying.

Our sorbet is bursting with real fruit flavour, it has a smooth and luscious texture. It’s refreshing on a warm day and the perfect palate cleanser.

Our coco-cream is a rich alternative to dairy ice cream. We use 100% pure coconut milk resulting in a silky smooth and delightfully creamy frozen treat that even dairy-fans love.

Throughout our range we offer dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan-friendly options.

Look for our products with their unique silver and black packaging. Available in single serve dixie cups and 500ml tubs. Also by the scoop at selected outlets.

find us on facebook

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For a full list of stockist see www.promcoasticecream.me

summer 2016

Taste of Summer

Let’s talk food. Whether you’re dining out or entertaining at home, Taste of Summer is a complete guide to eating well by the coast. Our region is exploding with new and fabulous foodie ventures: local wine and delicious desserts; farm grown fresh vegetables and fruit; gourmet products and cheese; fresh roasted coffee and organic tea; elegant restaurants and friendly bustling cafes … you’ll find food (and drinks) for every taste and budget.

Bon appetit!

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words eleanor mckay photos warren reed

dine out

Seaside

hoSpitaLitY

This summer, if you’re looking for the ideal spot to share a drink with friends, or somewhere for a relaxed meal with the family, drop into Vela Nine for a serious dose of seaside hospitality.

With wooden tables, polished floors, and vintage prints on the walls, Vela Nine manages to blend the warm, unaffected ambiance of a seaside tavern with the poise of an inner-city café. French doors opening onto a narrow courtyard dining area create a fluid line between indoors and out, adding to the beachy vibe of this bustling restaurant. And best of all, great food and good service haven’t been compromised in the quest for a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Summertime and tapas always feel like the perfect fit. I love being able to mix and share dishes on a warm summer night, and we decide to sample a few delights from Vela Nine’s tapas menu before ordering our mains. My friend opts for a plate of oysters, while I can’t go past the beetroot salad.

And we round out our order with a serve of potato and cauliflower croquettes.

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The oysters arrive, nestled on a bed of sea salt and topped with tomato and thyme vinaigrette. The tomato has just the right amount of chilli – providing a hint of heat – while the subtle flavour doesn’t overpower the oysters. Perfect.

The beetroot salad is a visual feast as well as a taste sensation.

The roasted beetroots are infused with mint and served with a combination of creamy Berrys Creek feta, fresh herbs, candied walnuts and yoghurt.

The croquettes, rolled in breadcrumbs, have a gentle hint of blue-vein cheese, which contrasts beautifully with the creamy mildness of the potato and cauliflower and the zing of the accompanying homemade chilli jam. They disappear in an instant. >

The oysters arrive, nestled on a bed of sea salt

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a genuine Thai curry paste made from scratch … served with papadums and basmati rice After our selection of tapas, we decide to sample the main dinner menu as well! My friend sticks with the seafood theme, ordering green curry steamed mussels, while I’m keen to try the new southern-fried chicken burger.

With a genuine Thai curry paste made from scratch, it’s not hard to see why this dish is a menu staple. Served with papadums and basmati rice, the curry is mild and fragrant … and incredibly tasty. Vela Nine sources all its seafood fresh from a local supplier, and as a result these are fabulous, succulent mussels. It’s a winning combination. While there is some heat in this dish, anyone who loves their curry scorching hot might want to ask for a little extra chilli on the side.

Heading to the other side of the globe in terms of flavour, my southern-fried chicken burger is pure Americana. The crispy-skinned chicken has a smoky flavour with a hint of heat and is served on a soft bun with lashings of creamy coleslaw and some tangy pickles. It’s a fantastic flavour and I can see why it’s one of the most popular items on the menu. But be warned … this is no light snack. The burger is enormous and is accompanied by a serve of chips with aioli.

The arrival of new chef Isaac Paurini has seen overhaul of the menu, and new dishes and flavours now sit alongside menu staples. Recently moved from Melbourne, Isaac is enjoying his seachange and is keen to hold onto a relaxed beachside vibe. Isaac and owner/chef Mycalie Hoggett, have gradually introduced new dishes and freshened up some of the old favourites. You’ll find flavours ranging from Thai to Middle Eastern to Spanish and beyond.

We round out our visit by indulging in a couple of slices of Vela Nine’s famous homemade cakes. The vanilla slice is legendary, and customers have been known to ring ahead to secure their slice, because it sells out in an instant. You are also able to pre-order an entire cake to take away.

The cake menu changes daily, so we wander up to the cabinet and select a flourless chocolate cake and a baked cheesecake.

They are both spectacular. The chocolate cake is moist, rich and dense with a thin outer layer that’s crisp and flaky. Dusted with icing sugar, it’s not too sweet and makes a classy end to a big meal. The baked cheesecake is equally impressive. Served with a dollop of cream, the golden filling sits on a biscuit base, and it’s rich, thick and tangy.

We love the versatility of this welcoming restaurant, with its focus on homemade and wholesome food. As well as offering a fabulous dinner menu, this is a place where you can enjoy a hearty breakfast, indulge in coffee and cake, or have a glass of great local wine with tapas. A visit to Vela Nine is a holiday essential.

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SummEr

where to eat GuIdE

Tapas

100 mile foodie

Aherns

100 mile foodie Cooking School & Tailored Catering is focused on sourcing local, sustainable and ethically raised food and wine. Owner Marlene Hoff, Chef, Hospitality Trainer and passionate foodie operates the cooking school and catering with her team in both the beautiful Mornington Peninsula and on the rugged South Gippsland coast.

Join us at one of our Masterclasses using the abundance of fresh, local produce sourced from the best the region has to offer. www.100milefoodie.com.au

29 Toora Rd, Foster Call 5682 2095

al fresco dining all homemade

dinners thursday – sunday, open 7 days breakfast + lunch, live music every sunday 2 – 5pm.

After 30 years in business, Paul Ahern understands what customers want. “They are looking for good quality, fresh produce.

They also want to be able to find some less common and exotic ingredients.”

Paul’s personal connection with local producers means you get the freshest, best selection of Gippsland fruit, vegetables and dairy. Their range of gourmet produce makes this store a foodies delight. www.aherns.com.au Find on Facebook

9 a’beckett street, inverloch 03 56 74 1188 info@velanine.com.au www.velanine.com.au

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Basia Mille

Brent Sinclair catering

The Cape KiTChen

1 Taylor Court, Fish Creek Call 5687 1453

146 McCartin St, Leongatha Call 0447 728 547

1215 Phillip Island Rd, Newhaven Call 5956 7200

This beautiful Tuscan property in the Tarwin Valley comprises five-star accommodation, a vineyard, olive grove and poet’s garden walk. Visit their cellar door and enjoy breathtaking views to the Prom, a selection of wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Shiraz), delicious platters of antipasto or local cheeses (including Berry’s Creek) and olive oil tasting.

The cellar is open weekend afternoons and public holidays. www.basiamille.com.au

We pride ourselves on delivering worldclass food at your special event. Whether it’s a private dinner at home, a cocktail party, wedding, gourmet bbq, corporate function or an afternoon tea, we provide personal attention and exceptional food. Using quality produce from local suppliers, we strive to create unique catering experiences.

Prepared with care and delivered with pride – talk to us about how we can help you deliver a memorable and delicious event.

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

Fun food for all ages.

And it tastes great too...

We love children and serve fresh, healthy sensational tasting food, all made in-house. Try our cakes, smoothies, sandwiches, salads and pasta – in the cafe or take-away. Great coffee, friendly service and plenty of toys for the kids to play with.

1 / 3 M C CA RT I N ST, L E O N G AT H A

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5 6 6 2 570 0

ChurChill island Café

The ChuTney Bar

Coffee ColleCtive

246 Samuel Ames Dr, Churchill Island Call 5956 7964

16A William St, Inverloch Call 5674 6999

50-52 McBride Ave, Wonthaggi Call 5672 4555

Enjoy the tranquillity and stunning water views at the Churchill Island Café, where rustic charm, local produce and quality service meet. The abundance of seasonal produce within Gippsland and our immediate community means our dedicated chef can truly bring the ‘paddock to your plate’. Whether it’s a casual lunch, a function or a wedding, Churchill Island Café will make your day a memorable one. www.penguins.org.au

This great little Indian restaurant has a curry to suit every taste, a fine selection of tandoori breads – and its Butter Chicken is justifiably famous! There’s also a fabulous selection of vegetarian meals. Eat in or take away. It’s a good idea to book, as the small room fills quickly.

“Melbourne quality coffee and balanced café style dining” - Restaurant Australia review (Tourism Australia). Contemporary and industrial styled café located in the heart of Wonthaggi, popular for outstanding 5 Senses coffee and sumptuous breakfast and lunch. Specialties include avocado and feta served with Inverloch free-range eggs and classic Cuban sandwich with slowcooked pulled pork and house pickles.

Daily specials featuring local produce.

Mon–Fri 7am – 3pm. Sat 7.30-2pm.

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Fish Creek

The Home of Award Winning Produce

Grassy Spur Olive Oil

Golden Creek Olive Oil

They took their oil to Los Angeles and won Gold!

Silver Medallist – Australian Olive Association 2014

Berrys Creek Cheese Waratah Hills Vineyard Gold Medal Winners – 2015 Gippsland Wine Show for 2014 Waratah Hills Pinot Noir

Grand Champion Dairy Product out of 1400 entries (Royal Qld Food and Wine Show)

Open 7 days. 25 Falls Rd, Fish Creek 03 5683 2226

Amber Creek Farm Gippsland Grown, Pasture Raised Pork

Fish Creek

GENERAL STORE coast 97

Connells Bakery

Deli on Bass

Fig & Olive

33-35 Murray St Wonthaggi Call 5672 1050 Wonthaggi or 5678 2133 Bass Service Centre Delicious fresh bread, trays of glistening slices and cakes, good coffee and friendly service is the Connells trademarks. You can start the day with their Big Breakfast Pie, or something sweeter. For lunch, there’s a great selection of fabulous pies, including the award-winning Miners Pie and platters of salad. Truly scrumptious.

Shop 6/1524 Bass Hwy, Grantville Call 5678 8288

115 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 5952 2655

We pride ourselves on stocking unique products from around the world. Our range includes meats, cheese, antipasto, dips, jams, relish, pasta, sauces and artisan sourdough breads. Drop in for a fresh ground coffee and a delicious continental roll. Fresh and affordable.

This relaxed and stylish restaurant specialises in wood-fired pizzas (also available to take-away). A delightful ambience, delicious modern Australian cuisine with Mediterranean influence, fresh produce and quality ingredients, set the scene of a really enjoyable meal. The relaxing bar area is great for casual drinks. Daily specials, tapas nights and gluten free options also complement the menu. Keep an ear out for live music over summer. www. Figandolive.com.au

Freshly Ground Peanut Butter Best Price Organics Bulk Dispense Wholefoods & Cleaning Friendly Staff Natural Cosmetics Large Nutritional Range Local Produce Personal Care Organic Sourdough and Speciality Bread

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Fish Creek General store 25 Falls Rd, Fish Creek Call 5683 2226 A genuine general store with a touch of class … and a stunning range of awardwinning products farmed and produced in Fish Creek. Pick up a Berrys Creek’s nationally and internationally awarded blue cheese or a bottle of Waratah Hills wine (available at cellar door). Stock your pantry with Golden Creek’s olive oil and dukkah, Grassy Spur olive oil and honey or pasture-raised, hormone free Amber Creek pork.

The GaTha FoodsTore

Gippsland MushrooMs

1/3 McCartin St, Leongatha Call 5662 5700

1880 Loch-Wonthaggi Rd, Ryanston Call 5678 3350

This family friendly café specialises in fresh, healthy food that tastes sensational, with eat-in or take-away options. All their dishes are made in-house, including an array of delicious salads, soups, pasta, curries, sandwiches and cakes, making this is a favourite with locals and visitors alike. Great coffee, friendly service and parents can relax while kids enjoy the food and craft activities.

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Chris Puyol and partner Anne Marie Chibber own and run Gippsland Mushroom Farm.

They supply IGA supermarkets in San Remo and Tarwin Lower, cafes and restaurants in the region and frequent the local Farmers Markets. Fresh grown and delicious, their mushroom include Champignon, Swiss Browns and Portobello. Open Mon-Fri for mushroom and compost sales, they also host group tours and information days on how mushrooms grow.

Freshest local seaFood on the Island Local fresh produce with seafood straight from the boat, Island grazed beef and lamb and in-house bakery.

Waterfront dining With panoramic bay vieWs 17 The Esplanade, Cowes Vic.

Ph (03) 5952 6226 www.harrysrestaurant.com.au

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Gusto Gelateria 9 Williams St, Inverloch Call 5674 6164 If you can’t visit Italy this year, then a trip to this fabulous gelateria might be the next best option. Their range of exquisite housemade gelato features the classics we know and love (chocolate, lemon, tiramisu…) plus some new combinations (we love the apple pie flavour). Also stocks a great range of desserts including gelato cakes, chocolate chip cookie gelato sandwiches and Italian doughnuts. Open from 12-9pm.

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Harry’s on tHe esplanade 17 The Esplanade, Cowes Call 5952 6226 It’s worth a visit for the view alone plus the menu uses 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, plus breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Harry’s also offers “EzyMeals” – restaurant quality frozen meals for delivery or pick-up. www.harrysrestaurant.com.au

LocaL produce at its best.

We offer an extensive range of fresh fruit and vegetables, local products, local and international cheese selection, on-site butchers, a fully stocked deli and bottle shop.

facebook.com/sanremosupermarket 135 Marine Pde, San Remo, VIC 3925. Phone: 5678 5337. Fax: 5678 5756.

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Himalayan Herbs 2/9 Beach Rd, Rhyll Call 5956 9511 A breath-taking waterfront location, this restaurant offers a range of Indian cuisine at affordable prices. A tandoori oven and exciting seasonal menu, regular dishes include tandoori chicken, green salads, fresh baked naan and roti bread, as well as a range of kormas, vindaloo and butter masala dishes, with plenty of vegetarian options.

Fully licensed. Take away and delivery menu including curry value packs. Available for private catering. www.himalayanherbs.com.au

House of BlancHe

IGA SAn Remo

Island Whole Foods

104 Graham St, Wonthaggi Call 0401 663 842

135 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5337

Shop 4/75 Chapel St, Cowes

There’s a touch of old-world-glamour to this gorgeous little café and the homemade cakes and biscuits are an absolute indulgence. You know there’s something special in the air when the regulars ring to reserve their Devonshire teas – those fresh scones just fly out the door. Beautifully prepared food, excellent coffee and a great range of teas … all served with a smile. www.houseofblanche.com.au.

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 local smoked salts. They also stock a great range of local wines and products, from fresh vegetables to honey to snapfrozen fresh seafood.

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This amazing new cafe and wholefoods store offers gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free and vegan options. It’s full of fabulously healthy and tasty things. Stop by and enjoy specialty coffee, handcrafted raw desserts, cold pressed organic juices, veggie burgers, salads, acai bowls and superfood smoothies, or stock up on organic pantry and household staples, raw protein powders, locally made mueslis plus more.

Follow on instagram @islandwholefoods or find on Facebook. www.islandwholefoods.com.au

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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, home-made 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 Thu – Sun 9am–8pm and Friday dinner till late.

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Kilcunda General Store 3535 Bass Hwy, Kilcunda Call 5678 7390 This quirky, friendly café is a local haunt and firm favourite for visitors. Renowned for beautiful breakfasts, delicious lunches and fabulous cakes, ingredients are fresh and locally-sourced where possible. As well as great food and coffee, there’s a gift shop packed with sustainable, locally-produced items, and you can pick up a jar of the store’s own range of jams, chutney and mayo.

Open 7 days from 7am.

Leongatha heaLth nutrition & WhoLefoods 21 McCartin St, Leongatha Call 5662 2290 This locally owned health emporium has been operating for 17 years and supplies fresh, certified organic fruit and vegetables.

They also stock a huge range of herbal supplements and healthy proteins with bulk wholefoods of all sizes available. They keep their customers healthy and happy with the healthiest products and excellent service.

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Lucinda EstatE

@ Luscious

108 Parr St, Leongatha Call 0417 337 270 – Andrew or 0439 337 270 – Lucinda

9 Commercial St, Korumburra Call 5658 1975

The soil of this boutique winery on the edge of Leongatha is ideal for producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, although the range also includes Syrah, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. This summer, owners Lucinda and Andrew Gromotka are also hosting sculpture exhibition, so you can combine art appreciation with your wine tasting.

Throughout January, open Mon-Thu 1-5pm, Fri-Sun 11am-5pm. www.lucindaestate.com.au

Manna GuM @ BroadBeach

Whether you’re looking for breakfast, lunch or just a coffee and cake, this relaxed and lovely café, with indoor and outdoor dining and fabulous daily specials is the perfect spot. Enjoy modern café style food with a unique twist. The cafe is BYO licensed so why not bring down a bottle of your favourite wine to enjoy with your meal. Also available for functions and catering.

5 Lindsey Cl, Inverloch Call 5674 1199 Superb home-made curries are a signature of this Asian-fusion restaurant set in the beautiful grounds at Broadbeach. Whether you come for a light lunch or an indulgent dinner, expect fresh food created with passion. Dine inside or under the stars on the balcony. Enjoy a cocktail or a glass from the extensive range of Australian wines.

Open Wed – Sun: Lunch from 11am, Dinner from 5.30pm. www.manna-gum.com.au

Venus Bay Treasures Cold Pressed Juice Bar and Smoothies Opening December! Check out our Facebook page.

facebook.com/venusbaytreaures

Plus Retail, Womens Clothing, Gifts, Jewellery, Coffee.

121 Jupiter Blvd, Venus Bay VIC

5663 7358

Juice exracted by press is the most nutritionally complete juice and may contain up to five times more vitamins, minerals and enzymes than juice extracted by any other method

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Art of Gelati There’s an art to homemade gelato, and Gusto Gelateria is a master-class in this delicious Italian treat.

Like pasta and the Leaning Tower, gelato is synonymous with Italy, and these days you can find your own little slice of Venice (or Florence, Milan, or Rome) in Inverloch, at the Gusto Gelateria counter.

And what a counter it is! There’s a dazzling array on display – on my last visit I counted 18 different flavours. These range from the customary – tiramisu, chocolate, lemon, strawberry – through to contemporary flavours like salted caramel or Gusto originals like the scrumptious apple pie. But that’s not all you’ll find. There’s always a delicious assortment of Italian treats – strawberry dessert cannoli; Italian doughnuts; vanilla, chocolate and peanut mini-bites; or the delectable stecco (Italian ice cream on a stick).

For owners Francesco and Rhia, bringing an authentic taste of Italy to Gippsland has become something of a mission.

Building on their success at Trulli Pizza in Meeniyan, the couple opened Gusto in February 2015 and have amassed a legion of loyal customers. “We love this area so much: we love the people,” says Rhia. “We wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”

The couple’s dual loves are on clear display at Gusto, where traditional Italian flavours sit alongside sorbets and fruit

gelati made with fresh local ingredients. And you can expect that range of flavours to explode over summer, with the arrival of new chef Luca (direct from Italy). “Luca has 10 years’ experience in patisserie and gelati, so he will greatly extend our range of products,” says Rhia.

Gusto’s incredible array of flavours can be enjoyed on the spot (in a cup or a cone) or you can select your favourite in litre or half-litre takeaway containers. And if you’re looking for a special dessert, they have fabulous gelati cakes (sponge cake trapped between two layers of delicious gelati) that can be made to order. All you have to do is nominate the flavour … collect your cake … and eat it!

Gusto Gelateria is open 7 days a week from November through until Easter. Eat in or take away. 9 Williams St, Inverloch. Find them on Facebook.

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MARIOS AT SAN REMO 93 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5365 Mario and Linda 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 at his brand new eatery. Open in time for summer, come in and experience la dolce vita this holiday season.

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Mcclelland Gallery café 390 McClelland Dr, Langwarrin Call 9789 1671 Ext 1 Overlooking a beautiful lake and a suite of spectacular sculptures, this is a relaxed and inspiring venue for a wedding celebration, Christmas function or other event for the summer months. Contact us to arrange a free tour and quote. Open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea with a seasonal menu and a delicious assortment of cakes with tea or coffee. Open Tue-Sun from 10am–4.30pm. www.mcclellandgallery.com

Gusto Gelateria, meaning ‘flavour’ and ‘taste’, was born out of a love for gelati! We make all our gelati and gelato based desserts in house, crafting our product into creamy goodness for you to enjoy!

Being from the Puglia region in Italy, we know good gelati and strive to bring our authentic product to you.

We create our product with natural ingredients to bring you a healthier alternative. You can also find gelato

Mega Bites Cafe 132 Graham St, Wonthaggi Call 5672 3344 Mega Bites is pleased to welcome chef Mary Smith. She brings with her a fresh new look to the menu by using local produce and house-made items. Come in and let your taste buds be tantalised.

cakes, doughnuts, gelato a stecco (think magnum) and other yummy treats in our freezers!

Pop in to satisfy your own craving, or take a litre home with you for the family. Whatever your desire, we’re here to please! Remember, Stressed is just Desserts spelled backward!

monday– friday: 2– 9pm, saturday– sunday: 12– 9pm.

9 williams st, inverloch, 5674 6164, made_in_inverloch@gustogelateria.com.au

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Mendl’s Coffee House

Milly & RoMeo’s

Moo’s at Meeniyan

242B Thompson Ave, Cowes

1 Koala Dr, Koonwarra Call 5664 2211

89 Whitelaw St, Meeniyan Call 5664 0010

We welcome you, family, friends and even dogs to our unique cooking school and bakery. We make, bake and produce all our food using local, seasonal and where possible, organic ingredients. Open for breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon tea, with very special high teas the third Saturday each month. Also at Churchill Island and Inverloch Farmers Markets. For extended opening hours during summer, please visit www.millyandromeos.com.au Find on Facebook

If you’re heading to The Prom, stop off and discover why the locals love this relaxed and friendly restaurant. Your host Marty Moo and his team of local chefs whip up a changing selection of dishes based on fresh, local produce, complemented by a fine assortment of Gippsland wines. Dine inside or relax under the umbrellas on the deck.

Open 8.30am-4.30pm Thu-Mon and dinners from 6pm Fri/Sat. www.moosatmeeniyan.com.au

Located next to Mingara Gallery, this stylish café located at the entrance to Cowes is a coffee conoisseur’s dream. Sourcing their coffee from iconic Fitzroy Roastery, Industry Beans, they offer a wide range of coffeemaking techniques to satisfy any coffee lover. Enjoy their espresso house blend or the weekly single origin option using Aeropress, Gold Mesh and Pour Over, but don’t miss the selection of delicious cakes and sandwiches. www.mendlscoffeehouse.com

Trulli Woodfire Pizzeria offers inside, al fresco and garden area dining. You can find antipasto plates, Pugliese char-grilled meat and beer and wine on tap in addition to our woodfire oven pizzas.

Our food menu is designed to be take away or dine in.

The Deli is stocked with homemade fare such as pasta, biscuits, fresh bread and an ever expanding gluten free range. Find a bit of info about South Gippsland in the information area while you stop in for a bite!

Three Function areas, both private and public available.

03 5664 7397

93 Whitelaw St, Meeniyan (Sth Gipps Hwy) rhia@trullipizzeria.com.au Hours: Wed-Fri: 4-late | Sat-Sun: 12-late (Closed Mon & Tues) www.trullipizzeria.com.au

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The Palms

Pelican View café

Penny Lane Café

Cnr Chapel & Steele St, Cowes Call 5952 5858

190 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5206

Shop 4, 22 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 0438 860 923

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. Chef Tim Stephens’ 20 years experience and 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

Situated at the San Remo Fishermen’s Co-op, this family-friendly restaurant serves fresh fish straight from the boat. Enjoy local cray fish cooked fresh to order, while taking in the spectacular view. Feast on fish and chips while sitting on the foreshore and watching the pelicans, or just drop by for a coffee. Open 7 days a week.

This little café is small in stature but big on taste. They’ve already built a reputation for their wonderful coffee and organic teas.

The all-day breakfast menu includes eggs poached, scrambled, fried or benedict - all free range of course – plus a fabulous ‘big breakfast’ with the lot. Try the mouthwatering selection of sandwiches, burgers and salads for lunch and there’s gluten free bread available.

Cellar door open on weekends 12noon to 5pm, antipasti, local cheeses and other delicious lunch plates and a Roman inspired poetry walk. A unique, unforgettable experience.

Basia Mille “one thousand passionate kisses.”

Visit our luxury apartments,vineyard and olive grove to experience great wine, local food, oils and Gippsland’s warmest hospitality. Play golf on our 9 hole course amongst the vineyard and the olive groves whilst overlooking the magical views of Wilsons Promontory and the islands of Bass Strait.

Basia Mille – A Tarwin Valley Icon: Beautiful, Bountiful, Brilliant.

At Waratah North, off Savages and Mathers Roads, at 1 Taylor Court, Fish Creek Weekend afternoons or by appointment on 5687 1453 or 0414 295 048. www.basiamille.com.au coast 107

PhilliP island ChoColate FaCtory CaFé 930 Phillip Island Rd, Newhaven Call 5956 6600 Newly renovated, this bright and airy café opens out onto an expansive deck and not surprisingly offers a great range of chocolate treats. Drawing on owner Panny’s Indian/ Malaysian heritage, the café also serves a variety of superb curries, and the satay wraps are legendary. Fully licensed, with an impressive range of local and Australian wines. Open 7 days from 10am. www.phillipislandchocolatefactory.com.au

PhilliP island Rsl

Porter rePublic

225-243 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 5952 1004

117 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5524

Famous for locally-grown, grass-fed beef and tasty parmas, the menu features high quality, affordable dishes with a focus on local produce. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, take your pick from a range of seafood, grills, salads and beautiful desserts. The kids are well catered for with their own menu and playroom. Bookings recommended during holiday periods. www.pirsl.com.au

A popular local hangout, this kid-friendly café has fabulous coffee and a great selection of blooming teas. The menu includes pulled pork quesadillas, pork and scallops, and a variety of different salads on display in the deli cabinet. There are plenty of sweet treats and fabulous home-baked muffins, as well as fresh smoothies and iced coffee. Lots of GF options available. Open 7 days from 6am.

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Where there are no strangers... only friends you’ve yet to meet

• WINE & BEER • MUSIC • DELICIOUS FOOD • LOCAL PRODUCE • WOODFIRED PIZZA • TAKE AWAY

Thurs & Sun 10am – 8pm. Fri & Sat 9am – 10pm featuring local musicians. Sun lunch 12 – 4pm.

1075 Loch-Kernot Rd, Kernot Phone: 5678 8555

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Prom Coast ICe Cream & sorbet Prom Coast ice creams, sorbets and cococreams are hand-made with fresh, natural ingredients. Their egg-free ice cream is made from Gippsland milk, the sorbets and coco-creams are dairy-free and include real fruit including luscious local berries.

All products are gluten-free excluding the iconic Redskin Lolly Ice Cream. Look for the distinctively packaged silver and black Dixie Cups and 500mls available at selected outlets throughout Gippsland, Phillip Island, Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne.

Stockist details visit www.promcoasticecream.me

PurPle Hen Winery

RACV InVeRloCh

96 McFees Rd, Rhyll Call 5956 9244

70 Cape Paterson Inverloch Rd, Inverloch Call 5674 0000

This award winning winery located on Phillip Island produces a variety of elegant wines, and is particularly well known for fine Pinot Noir and Shiraz. Their cellar door opens from 11am, 7 days a week during school holidays and over the summer. Please check their website for other opening times.

Purple Hen also provides a tasty black board menu to accompany your wine tasting. www.purplehenwines.com.au

Set in a stunning natural environment with breathtaking ocean views, this is a perfect location to enjoy beautiful meals showcasing fresh local produce. Enjoy fantastic house-made gourmet burgers and shakes or a relaxing beverage on the deck at The Kiosk. Drink in the view at Zenith Lounge or visit Radius Restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an a la carte menu and impressive local wine selection. www.racv.com.au/inverloch

We grow, make and bottle on Phillip Island Beautiful Cellar Door with stunning bay and farm views

Vineyard & Winery 96 McFees Road Rhyll Phillip Island Hours: 11am – 5:30pm 7 days a week in Summer & School Holidays Other times: 5 days a week (closed Tuesday & Wednesday) Ph: 5956 9244 www.purplehenwines.com.au

2015 Gippsland Wine Show Gold Medals – 2014 Pinot Noir, 2014 Shiraz, 2009 Late Disgorge Blanc de Blanc coast 109

The RusTy Windmill

Sherwood’S reStaurant

State Coal Mine Café

45 McCartin St, Leongatha Call 5662 5878

5 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 5952 3773

19-37 Garden St, Wonthaggi Call 5672 3053

This family owned café boasts a seasonal menu of homemade items, from free range and locally sourced ingredients, with loads of gluten free options. Come and enjoy a delicious cake (all made in-house) with an organic tea or their signature coffee blend.

Don’t leave without checking their gourmet pantry selection. Open Thu-Mon 8am-3pm for breakfast and lunch. Also available for catering and private functions.

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Enjoy elegant and casual dining just 100m from the Cowes foreshore. The daily dinner and lunch menus focus on fresh produce and beautiful seafood. With plenty of vegetarian, gluten free & dietary friendly options available. Also serving Phillip Island’s best seafood platter.

Private function room with beer garden also available.

Exploring coal mines is hungry work, so grab some light refreshments from the café (located in the Visitor Information Centre).

Delicious Devonshire tea, soups, salads and light meals such as lasagna are all on the menu, as are plenty of sweet treats. Group underground tours and catering packages are available. www.statecoalmine.com.au

www.sherwoodsrestaurant.com.au

Lone Pine Bistro at PhiLLiP isLand rsL – open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week – family friendly, gluten free options, senior’s menu, groups small and large.

Book online www.phillipislandrsl.com.au or 5952 1004.

Function rooms for all of life’s occasions at both venues – 19th Hole Bar & Function Facility at the Phillip Island Golf Club and ANZAC Room at the Phillip Island RSL. Enquiries: functions@pirsl.com.au or 5952 1004.

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For aLL oF LiFe’s occasions

Sweet Life Café

Three Aces cAfé

Tides of Rhyll

3 Bair St, Leongatha Call 0409 863 299

Shop 2/148 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 5952 6384

11a Beach Rd, Rhyll Call 5956 9230

Come in and enjoy the all-day breakfast and lunch menu, real fruit smoothies, milkshakes and protein shakes and strong, sweet coffee!

With cakes for every occasion (including edible printed cake toppers) plus a fantastic range of gelato, sorbet and gourmet chocolates. Family friendly with lots of GF menu options. Open Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri 10am–5.30pm, Sat–Sun 9am-5pm.

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The Three Aces is the perfect way to start the day. How about a Huevos Benedictos?

Poached eggs, chilli bean mash, avocado, chipotle and hollandaise on toasted Turkish.

Or perhaps a Strawberries & Cream Crepe is more your style? Balsamic strawberries, meringue crumble and ice cream on french style crepe. A great range of soups and sweet treats and a regular kids session on Thursday mornings, so there’s something for the whole family. Find on Facebook

Located on the waterfront at Rhyll, you can eat in or take-away and as the café is fully licensed you can also enjoy a beer or wine overlooking the water. No beach visit is complete without fish and chips and the Tides menu features a variety of fish and seafood and a good range of fresh salads.

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2/148 Thompson Ave, Cowes.

(03) 5952 6384 Open 7 Days a week 9:00AM - 4:00PM coast 111

Trulli Woodfire Pizzeria 93 Whitelaw St, Meeniyan Call 5664 7397 Delicious wood-fired pizzas are the house speciality, but don’t miss the antipasto plates, Italian-style grilled meats and pasta selection or their amazing deli range (including handmade sauces and pasta).

Hosts Francesco and Rhia give everyone a big family welcome and their food will transport you to the Italian countryside.

Dine inside, al fresco or in the garden. Open Wed – Fri from 4pm, weekends from 12pm. www.trullipizzeria.com.au

Vela NiNe

Venus Bay Treasures

9 A’Beckett St, Inverloch Call 5674 1188

1/121 Jupiter Boulevard, Venus Bay Call 5663 7358 or 0473 634 741

Situated in the heart of Inverloch, this café hums 7 days a week, producing fabulous breakfasts and lunches. On Friday and Saturday nights, they turn down the lights and serve up a beautiful selection of tapas and dinners. Free-range, organic and local produce all feature heavily on the menu, including Gippsland lamb and local wines. www.velanine.com.au

A Cold Press Juice Bar is a new edition to the Venus Bay Treasures store. Perfect for a summer treat – come in for a made-to-order fresh juice or healthy smoothie, a coffee or one of their mouthwatering homemade slices. Fresh and fabulous.

Mega Bites Cafe

A great cafe to catch up with friends

great coffee delicious house made food mouth-watering cakes friendly service relaxed atmosphere gluten free options dietary requirements catered for Open 7 days 8am-4pm 132 Graham St, Wonthaggi Phone: 5672 3344

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Westernport Hotel

Wild dog Winery

Youki’s

161 Marine Pde, San Remo Call 5678 5205 Overlooking the San Remo jetty, The Westernport Bistro offers stunning views, a relaxed atmosphere, friendly service and delicious and creative summer dishes.

From sumptuous steaks to exquisite salads, inspired classics to imaginative specials, The Westernport Bistro really has something for everyone. Delve into The Westernport experience this summer. Book Now! www.thewesternport.com.au

Warragul Korumburra Rd, Warragul Call 5623 2211

Shop 1, 68 Thompson Ave, Cowes Call 5952 6444

Recently voted the best restaurant in a winery, enjoy a seasonal menu featuring fresh local produce while relaxing on the deck overlooking the vineyard. Try a light lunch, a Gippsland cheese platter, or indulge in something more substantial from the main menu. Local beef and fresh seafood are specialties. And naturally, sample a glass from their extensive range, including sparkling, red, white and dessert wine. www.wilddogwinery.com

Now located on the main street in Cowes, this licensed restaurant offers authentic Japanese home-cooking with friendly service. Open 7 days (except Christmas Day) from 10am-7.30pm. Fresh sushi, rice paper rolls, and wide selection of hot food available for takeaway or dining in.

Summer @ LUCINDA ESTATE Gippsland produce inspired Pizza, topped with produce grown by artisan farmers of Gippsland. (Weekends and Wednesday to Monday during January)

Wines made from grapes grown, fermented and bottled on site, encapsulating the red volcanic soils and the climatic conditions of the vintage.

Ciders made with Gippsland Organic, Heritage & Cider apples & pears. Pressed on site.

Cheeses from our world class producers including, Berry’s Creek, Tarago River, Mafra Cheese & Prom Country cheeses.

During December & January stroll amongst the vines and admire the Sculpture Exhibition showcasing Gippsland premier sculptors and artists.

Open 11.30 – to 5pm Wednesday to Monday | 108 Parr St, Leongatha | inquiries@lucindaestate.com.au | 0417 337 270 or 0439 337 270

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What’s c

king 8. Place the wreath into the fridge to set for 2-3 hours.

9. Take the rocky road wreath out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

10. Place a chopping board over the top of the bundt tin and turn it over. Place the board down firmly and the rocky road wreath will come out.

11. If it’s a little stuck, rub your warm hands over the outside of the tin to loosen it from the edges. You can also gently use a knife to loosen it.

12. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave for 2 ½ minutes on 50% power (stirring every 30 seconds).

13. Drizzle the white chocolate over the top of the wreath in a zig-zag pattern.

14. Sprinkle over the crushed Clinkers.

15. Place a small blob of melted white chocolate onto the top of the wreath and ‘glue’ a Jaffa and 2 spearmint leaves (or chopped green lolly snakes) on.

16. Repeat with the remaining 5 Jaffas and spearmint leaves.

17. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Clinkers Rocky Road Wreath This simple Christmas dessert is an absolute showstopper.

It’s quick and easy to make – and is sure to be a winner on Christmas Day. Clinkers Rocky Road Wreath can double as a beautiful (and edible) centerpiece for your Christmas table.

Ingredients: • Butter (for greasing the bundt tin) • 180g mini marshmallows • 1 cup crushed peanuts • 1 cup desiccated coconut • ¾ cup halved Clinkers • ½ cup Peanut M&Ms • 750g dark chocolate melts • 100g white chocolate melts • 6 spearmint leaves, halved (alternatively you can use green lolly snakes cut into 2cm pieces) • 6 jaffas • ¼ cup crushed Clinkers

*Please note that the Jaffas will lose some of their colour after being placed in the fridge. If you want them to appear vibrantly red, simply ‘glue’ them on just before serving.

Healthy Banana & Berry Smoothie A lovely light and healthy smoothie that is perfect for breakfast on the run!

Ingredients: • ½ cup frozen mixed berries • 1 banana • ½ cup vanilla yoghurt • ½ cup apple juice • handful of ice Method: 1. Place all of the ingredients into a blender.

2. Mix together until smooth and creamy.

3. Serve.

*If your blender is unable to crush ice, simply add it in at the end.

Method: 1. Grease a 24cm bundt tin with butter (make sure to grease it really well so that the rocky road wreath comes out!).

2. Crush ¼ cup of Clinkers in a food processor and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, place the Peanut M&Ms, the halved Clinkers, mini marshmallows, coconut and crushed peanuts.

4. Mix until well combined.

5. Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave for 3 ½ minutes (or until just melted) on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds.

6. Pour the melted chocolate over the other ingredients and stir quickly.

7. Spoon the rocky road mixture into the prepared bundt tin and press down firmly (use the palm of your hand).

Lucy began her website ‘Bake Play Smile’ in 2013 and it has since grown into one of Australia’s most popular food blogs. Bake Play Smile is all about fun, food and happiness. Lucy is living the dream in our beautiful part of the world and loves to share family favourite recipes that are quick, simple and most importantly, delicious!

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Locally owned � Locally grown

Creating great cheese takes time and dedication ... just like great relationships. Paul Ahern’s personal connection with local producers guarantees the freshest, best selection.

Organic dairy farmers Paul and Carolyn Pangrazzi use their beautiful Gippsland milk to produce incredible cheeses, including brie, washed rind and camembert. Other great Gippsland cheeses from award winning Berrys Creek Cheese are also produced alongside the Pangrazzi’s at Fish Creek.

Fresh. Local. Quality.

Wholesale suppliers throughout South Gippsland

Phone. 5682 2095 29 Toora Road, Foster

contact@aherns.com.au

Follow us on Facebook

www.aherns.com.au coast 115

building stronger communities

Your Community Bank® has provided

Talking and learning

$1.09 million

“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt Our local Community Bank® branches have taken the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt to heart with a range of programmes aimed at supporting young people in Bass Coast.

Four separate programs, ranging from scholarships and engagement programs to learner driver support, as well as a $40,000 commitment to fit out the Bass Valley Children’s Centre, are focused on helping young people reach their full potential.

The Community Bank® has been involved in the successful L2P project for two years, helping 16 – 21 year olds who don’t have access to a supervisor driver or a vehicle to get their 120 hours of learner driver experience. To date, this project has helped 14 young people receive their licence.

A student re-engagement project at Wonthaggi Secondary School works to help students who have lost interest in education and have stopped coming to school. The project helps fund a Youth Re-engagement Officer, who works with individual students to find ways to help them reconnect with school and to pursue further education options.

Education has long been a focus for support by the Community Bank®. Since 2013, $5,000 University scholarships have helped local students follow their dream of tertiary education. Established for seven years, the Fred Borg Citizenship Award of $200 is presented to two outstanding students at each of the local primary schools to assist them in their final year.

in sponsorships

$717,000

in community grants

$354,000 in dividends

Over in Bass Valley, the Community Bank® branch joined forces with local, state and federal governments to help develop a Children’s Centre to provide Long Day Care, Casual, Before and After School care, Kindergarten, early intervention services and family support programs to the Waterline community.

Each of these projects are having a real impact on the lives of local young people, giving back to the community with tangible and positive results.

We offer a diverse range of products and services that can satisfy all our customers banking needs:

Make a dfference to your

• Everyday Banking Accounts • Home Loans • Personal Loans

• Business Banking • Superannuation • Financial Planning

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Grantville & District Community Bank Branch Shop 4, 1503 Bass Highway, Grantville Phone 5678 8773

San Remo & District Community Bank Branch 103a Marine Parade, San Remo Phone 5678 5833

• Credit Cards • Term Deposits • Insurance

Cowes Community Bank Branch Shop 1, 209-213 Settlement Road, Cowes Phone 5952 3383

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community. Drop into your nearest branch today.

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words eleanor mckay photos warren reed & supplied

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Sound Waves A ride on the Arthurs Seat chairlift sparked a Dromana love affair for musician Michael Spiby. And 16 years later, it’s still going strong.

With his blonde hair and laid-back smile, he could be any old-time surfer. And in fact Michael Spiby is no stranger to riding the crest of a wave, either during his time with chart-topping band The Badloves, or at his favourite break at Gunnamatta. Taking refuge in this beachside suburb has been a vital part of his quest to reconnect with nature and balance his creative energy.

“The Peninsula was my childhood holiday destination. My grandparents lived in Rosebud and we came down every chance we got,” says Michael. Dromana itself, however, was a curiosity, a place he never visited. A ride on the Arthurs Seat chairlift with his daughter Ella, back in 1999, changed all that.

“We were coming down the hill and spied a house for sale from the chair. We went and had a look and decided against it, but I thought, ‘this is a pretty kooky place’ … I could feel the energy of it.”

After looking at more than 40 properties, he stumbled upon an old beach shack and fell in love. Years after he bought the house, local indigenous people told him his home is on the female side of the mountain – the healing side. With all that was going on in his life at the time, it made perfect sense.

Although he is now contemplating a move to accommodate his family (“it was a perfect bachelor pad, but as a family facility? No!”), living by the ocean still provides a sanctuary.

“There is a strong arts community down here, but I don’t tap into it. My artistic community is in the city: that’s my factory floor. Here, I’m just doing what I love … wrestling my dog, being Dad. That’s what this place is to me.”

Growing up in the housing commission suburb of Reservoir, one of four boys, he says he was blessed with a happy family life. “It was gang-central in Reservoir in those days, but I didn’t see any of that action. My brothers and I had our own gang.” >

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I know how important the creative side is to me, and I’m an awful human being if I don’t deal with it.

It wasn’t the most likely spot to develop a love of surfing, but the family trekked to Rosebud at every opportunity. As a teenager, Michael didn’t know anyone else who surfed, but that didn’t stop him getting to the ocean. “I used to hitchhike from Reservoir with my board. I’d get on the train and come into town, then catch another train down to Geelong.” From there, he’d hitch to the coast and “camp in a rotten little tent and just surf. It was a long haul … I guess that’s what you do when you’re desperate.”

His connection with the ocean provided him with a physical outlet and a spiritual barometer. “There’s an element of surfing that is survival – especially on this coast. You can’t afford to

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be blasé about it. You have to match it physically. And that requires complete concentration. There are times when it seems like life or death … when a big set comes through, you’re caught inside and you know you’re going to be in trouble. Afterwards, when you get out, it’s full-on endorphins.

You’re high for hours.”

These days, he still thinks of himself as a surfer. “But if I have a look at my diary, I go: ‘no you’re not … you haven’t been in the water for a year now’. I’ve stopped surfing, because I just don’t get the time for family, music and getting into the water.” Despite that, he says it’s only by the coast that he feels truly normal. “You see the intrinsic value in stillness and water

and the connection of having to work out the tides – all that stuff is missing in the city existence. These are important fundamental things that we must tune into. Life’s so much richer when you do.”

Alongside surfing, the other mainstay in Michael’s life was music. He grew up in a musical home: his truck-driving father whistled and “sang like a bird. He had a very strong sense of melody, and was quite Bing Crosby-like in his singing.” Michael was walking home from school one day when he heard someone playing the piano in his street. “Dad had brought mum a new piano. It was the first time I knew that she was a pianist, so it was a shock to me to hear it being played. I’ve always had a really strong love of piano. I still do.”

Despite being surrounded by music, Michael didn’t initially consider it a career option. “I wanted to be an architect from when I was about 10. I drew houses and plans … I figured that’s what I’d do. I went to a trades-based high school and hated the whole experience so much that I didn’t pursue it.” Disenchantment drew him to music. “When I listened to music, it would transport me somewhere. I went into physical shutdown and just lost myself. And it was my sanctuary when things were strange.” Inspired by his guitar-playing oldest brother Ray, the young Michael went and brought himself the same guitar: “I really fell in love with his guitar, but I’m not sure on which level … I know I was fascinated by it sculpturally. I spent all my teens totally immersed in music.” The following decade was no different. “Through my entire 20s I was in my bedroom writing songs, and then I’d play them with whatever band I had going at the time. I wrote songs, interspersed with truck driving or swim teaching or working at the county court.”

It wasn’t until his 30s, when he joined Daryl Braithwaite’s band, that he started to make a living from music. For someone who’d never even been on an aeroplane, joining the tour opened his eyes to a whole new world, and it was an incredible opportunity. “I got a taste of what it was like to live on the road, travel, meet people, get in trouble … all the good things. While I was eternally grateful for the opportunity to be paid to travel and see places other than Reservoir, I eventually left, because I had a really, really tight concept of what I should do next.” Returning home, he wrote songs, put a band together, rehearsed, played shows and wrote more songs. That band eventually became The Badloves. Their debut album Get on Board went to the top of the charts and the band picked up three 1994 Aria Awards (Best Debut Album, Single and New Talent). The boys toured constantly across Australia and Europe and released a follow-up album the following year before dissolving in 1997.

Learning to manage and nurture his own creativity has been a big learning curve for Michael. “I couldn’t even sing pie-night songs at my local footy club when I was growing up. I was just too nervous. The thought of it made me sick. Public speaking still terrifies me. It’s only through a song that I can feel safe to go on stage. If I’m in a song, I’m happy to be there.”

Agreeing to take on the teaching role at university meant he had to figure what drove him to write songs, to perform despite his shyness, and what keeps him getting back on stage. “It really hurt my head … I had to figure out a few home truths about myself, and about the creative process. A lot of ideas for songs are instant … they come in a rush. You don’t know why, and often I’m suspicious of them. I think they must be somebody else’s ideas. The constant nature of being fed inspiration is a process. I worked out if I don’t get onstage or record it and give it to other people … then it’s all useless and selfish.”

When I listened to music, it would transport me somewhere. I went into physical shutdown and just lost myself.

These days, Michael writes, records and performs with a new incarnation of The Badloves, as well as lecturing at the University of Tasmania. “The university gave me a free hand. I could teach from what I knew to be true. I try to impress upon my students that all the techniques and toolkits you’re taught and shown are about .07 per cent of the equation. They’re useless unless you’ve got some idea of how to manage creative energies.”

Understanding how to respect his muse, and finding a place where he could be in tune with the ocean, have brought him happiness and perspective. “I know how important the creative side is to me, and I’m an awful human being if I don’t deal with it. It’s nothing to do with career or success. If I totally, selfishly, immerse myself in music, when I come out of that, I’m as happy as Larry and useful as a human … then I can go and mow the lawn.”

Visit www.badloves.com.au for new music and upcoming shows from The Badloves.

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Flush with change Who would have thought that domestic sewage would bring together the farming industry, water corporations, researchers and RMIT University.

The organic matter from the sewage treatment process, commonly known as biosolids, has beneficial properties that can be used in agriculture, horticulture and even in cities and towns.

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While most people are familiar with the concept of recycling water, finding a way to put Phillip Island’s waste to good use required some creative thinking. A new partnership between Westernport Water, Bimbadeen Farm, Transpacific Industries and RMIT University is setting out to prove how effective biosolids can be in repairing salt affected soils.

While there are studies globally on biosolids reversing or stopping environmental damage, very little study has been done on Australian soil. As part of this partnership, Peter Matthews, an Honours student from RMIT University is investigating the effect of biosolids on salt-affected land

Westernport Water’s Managing Director, Peter Quigley said: “The partnership provided students with practical, on-ground experience and access to expert advice to enable them to complete their research.

RMIT honours student Peter Matthews said he was excited to be part of the project. “Using a local waste product to solve a local problem makes perfect sense. The project has also provided me with the opportunity to work with water authorities, waste management services and local producers which has been a great experience.”

Mr Quigley said that changes in community attitudes had opened the door to exploring new ways to efficiently and effectively use waste products. “The nutrient rich biosolids were traditionally stockpiled and destined for landfill; however, nowadays people have a greater understanding and acceptance of biosolids, which has led to a wider range of uses for this resource.

“Although some of the beneficial uses for biosolids include alternatives to composting, use in road base and power production, as far as I’m aware this project is the first in Gippsland to use it to restore salt affected soils,” said Mr Quigley.

Well-known Phillip Island Farmer, Bob Davie, began trialling biosolids on an unstocked portion of Bimbadeen farm in 2013 in an attempt to rejuvenate salt affected paddocks and increase productivity.

Bob has been very pleased with initial trials, experiencing better crop yields, improvements in soil quality and unprecedented growth rates. “We’re now able to grow crops on previously saline soils,” said Mr Davie.

“It’s hard to believe biosolids haven’t been trialled for reversing saline impact on soil in Gippsland before. With the amount of nutrients it contains, it’s such a valuable resource. The good thing about the Phillip Island biosolids is that it doesn’t contain significant heavy metals because there’s not much industry here,” said Mr Davie.

Bass Coast Landcare Coordinator, Joel Geoghegan, who works with farmers across Bass Coast to implement alternative land management strategies, said for farmers, “biosolids is a very attractive alternative to expensive fertilisers.”

words geoff russell photos warren reed on Phillip Island. Associate Professor Barry Meehan of RMIT University said: “Peter’s study will assess pasture growth, productivity, plant species and soil condition. The research and academic rigour is very important and has broader implications for soil remediation across Victoria and Australian coastal regions.”

This ongoing research and assessment partnership with RMIT has helped develop case studies on the local land. It is providing greater understanding of the potential for biosolids to reverse or stop damage to saline soils, and at the same time is supporting carbon farming.

Westernport Water is delighted to find a solution to the challenge of disposing of biosolids that also benefits local farmers. “Instead of thinking about it as waste requiring disposal, we’re now looking at it as a resource that can add value to our farming community and at the same time help us reduce our impact on the environment,” said Managing Director, Peter Quigley, The current trials are being managed through a Regional Environment Improvement Plan, approved by the Environmental Protection Authority in accordance with strict guidelines, to ensure the biosolids don’t adversely impact the environment.

Want to find out more about Biosolids?

Visit www.epa.vic.gov.au or www.westernportwater.com.au

WESTERNPORT WATER

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Catcher

Fish Creek local Neil Arnup has carved out an unlikely new career. Over the past nine years the affable farmer/gardener has caught and released hundreds of snakes from the properties of very grateful South Gippslanders.

words anne roussac-hoyne photos warren reed and supplied

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Morbid fear of snakes, experienced by a third of adults, is the most common reported phobia. And even those of us who aren’t actually phobic about snakes are usually very wary of them all the same. But talking to professional snake-catcher Neil Arnup in the comfy living-room of the hilltop stone farmhouse he shares with his wife Marge, I’m reassured that 99 per cent of the time the dreaded reptiles are not the threat we perceive them to be.

Now just how does a born-and-bred Stony Creek dairy farmer come to be South Gippsland’s go-to man when there’s a snake to be extracted from a shed, woodpile or … horrors … bathroom?

Although he is never scared when dealing with the reptiles, Neil’s immense respect for them is patently obvious.

Neil grew up with his three brothers on his parents’ dairy farm. He loved country life and played a lot of sport. “I was a bugger at school, though,” he laughs. “I got out as quick as I could, and worked on the farm.” After rewarding ten-year stints as dairy-farmer, ‘ragwort warrior’ with the Department of Environment and Primary Industry’s Vermin and Noxious Weeds Board, and curator at the Stony Creek Racing Club, Neil was enjoying working around his own place when Marge threw him a challenge.

“She said, this is all very well, but isn’t it time we had some cash flow happening again? She was right, of course,” Neil grins. “She wanted to know what I was going to do … I had no idea, but I told her, ‘it’ll be something I’ve never tried before!’” Not one to let the grass grow under her feet, Marge immediately reached for the local paper and pointed out an ad for a three-day snake-handling course in Bairnsdale. That was nine years ago.

These days Neil catches up to 50 snakes a year for concerned punters along the coast from Port Welshpool to Phillip Island and inland as far as Mirboo North, Poowong and Nyora. Six in one day is his record.

“The snakes are the easy part,” says Neil. “It’s the people I have to be careful about. Usually, if I can see the snake, I can catch it. But I often need help to keep an eye on multiple potential exit points, and some people are highly anxious or even traumatised by the time I get there. I make an assessment >

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of the caller over the phone, then when I meet them I figure out whether I can do my job effectively with them around.”

The time he removed four large tiger snakes in four days from the same woodpile is particularly memorable. “I got rid of one, but the woman rang me again the very next day. ‘How far away did you take that snake?’ she demanded. ‘Because it’s back!’ But next morning, there was a completely different specimen curled up in exactly the same spot. And it took a few more visits to round up all the offenders!”

of timber or rubbish that can attract mice and rats. Minimising any of these will discourage snakes from taking up residence on your property. “Ornamental ponds attract frogs and therefore snakes,” says Neil. “You should never let swallows’ nests to develop under the eaves of your house or on shed walls,” he adds. “These are magnets for snakes … I’ve seen young birds taken from nests that are two metres above the ground.”

Although he is never scared when dealing with the reptiles, Neil’s immense respect for them is patently obvious. And no, he has never been bitten. The clear message from this humble expert is that the three species of snakes encountered in our region – the tiger snake, copperhead and very occasional brown snake (he’s yet to see a red-bellied black here) – are very rarely aggressive unless provoked. “If you see a snake simply stand still, then just walk away. In general, snakes have no interest in attacking humans, or animals larger than themselves.”

The snakes are the easy part, says Neil.

It’s the people I have to be careful about.

Most unusual place he’s removed a snake from? “One was curled up in a toilet bowl, but it kept disappearing around the S-bend …” Another attracted local media coverage when it attached itself to the underside of a shopper’s vehicle in a supermarket carpark in Leongatha.

‘Catch and release’ is Neil’s modus operandi. While it is illegal for members of the general public to kill snakes, he is licensed to kill the animals as a last resort. “I’ve only had to destroy one or two over the years. I hate it when that’s the only solution.”

Fortunately, says Neil, the “only good snake is a dead snake” attitude once prevalent in the country is declining. “People who try to kill snakes can end up in dire straits,” he warns, recalling a would-be hero who put them both in danger when he attempted to dispatch the snake Neil had been called in to catch. On another occasion, he arrived to see a wellintentioned neighbour taking a shovel to a snake. The handle broke and the man fell over backwards, panic-stricken, with an angry reptile slithering towards him.

If you are concerned about snakes on your property, understanding a little more about them is important and Neil has plenty of good advice. “Many people don’t realise that snakes, being cold-blooded, need to come out into the sun to warm themselves so they can go about their business. A snake you see out in the open is either warming itself up, or travelling from one spot to another to find food, water or shelter.”

Snakes mainly eat smaller reptiles, rodents, frogs and nestling birds and seek out long grass or weeds, open sheds and heaps

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Neil says the internet and mobile phone have revolutionised his business. “People just google ‘snake-catcher’, make a quick call … and there I am,” he laughs. And hundreds of locals thank their lucky stars that he’s just a phone call away.

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For over 50 years Coldon Homes has been building quality coastal and country residences throughout Bass Coast and southern Gippsland. Our homes suit their landscape and your lifestyle. From two to five bedrooms, double and single storey, brick or modern claddings, there is a design perfect for every block or we can tailor the home to suit your exact requirements.

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Beaumont Concepts has won a range of industry awards since establishing in 2001 – most recently national recognition by NABD for the Silverleaves house. We provide innovative sustainable design and precision construction with high level customer service and personal involvement. Our sustainable designs capitalise on natural elements to reduce energy output, ensuring an environmentally-friendly home with the highest possible energy rating.

Showrooms: 179 Thompson Ave, Cowes or 48 Harnett Drive, Seaford.

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A family business operating since 1979, Geoff and Sandra Ashby are registered builders and designers who will work closely with you to help create and build a unique home. Choose a plan from our standard range or have a custom design tailored to your needs. We can also provide professional advice on colour selection, internal finishes and surfaces.

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What started as timely advice to a few close friends has blossomed into a thriving security business by the coast.

A keen beachgoer, Steve Braid spent most of his holiday time in Bass Coast, making frequent visits to the area since he was a young boy. He eventually moved to Kilcunda with his young family. Steve has worked in the private security industry since finishing his service with the Royal Australian Navy, and is now the managing director of Bass Coast Security, a local business offering the latest security innovations that improvements in modern technology allow.

Over the years Steve has frequently fielded concerns from friends about their holiday homes in Bass Coast. “People were telling me they were uneasy about leaving their houses unattended for weeks at a time,” explained Steve. “They felt particularly vulnerable to break-ins and were worried about their homes being damaged. I told them the most cost-effective way to protect their houses was a back-to-base alarm system.”

Steve volunteered to keep an eye on his friends’ properties where possible, and this neighbourly gesture soon grew into something more. As the requests for advice grew, Steve made the decision to move from being a Melbourne-based security consultant to cover Bass Coast and adjoining areas.

He established Bass Coast Security to provide high-quality security and equipment for the region. His loyal clients include owners of commercial buildings, businesses, private houses and holiday homes.

One holiday-home owner who contracted Bass Coast Security to protect his Inverloch property is typical of the growing band of Steve’s satisfied customers:

“I didn’t just want to know when someone broke into my house: I wanted to be able to see who it was,” he explained.

“Steve and his team organised a networked, high-definition camera system so I could view the property from my house or office in Melbourne. I can access it from a range of smart devices, which is important. The equipment in the house is unobtrusive and easy to operate, and Steve and his team were very professional. It gives our family peace of mind knowing that Bass Coast Security will come to check on the house if needed, and that we have a recorded image of any intruder as well.”

If you need advice on the best way to protect your property, contact Bass Coast Security, the most recognised security provider on the coast. Call 1300 47 47 48.

Support your local business and it will support you.

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Hotondo Homes has been building affordable homes since 1979. The family business is dedicated to quality, service and the local communities we work in. With over 90 designs to choose from, our designs are flexible, so you can easily turn the house into your dream home. With over 70 franchisees throughout Australia, Hotondo Homes is one of the country’s largest building networks.

Langford Jones Homes has been building quality affordable homes in Bass Coast, South Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula for over 40 years. The company has display homes in Surf Beach and Wonthaggi and specialises in coastal homes with a collection of over 100 designs.

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noTT ArChITECTurE

Look Sharp Inspections provides industry leading, independent home and commercial property evaluations, designed to save you time and money when buying or selling property. We are fully licensed, certified and insured to carry out inspections including Building and Termite inspections, Mould Identification, Asbestos and New Construction Quality Control reports. We can provide a full inspection report within 24 hours.

Metricon is Australia’s leading home builder and their homes showcase affordable, luxurious, stylish and spacious modern family living. Their local Gippsland team is committed to designing and building quality homes and offering the ultimate customer experience. With an extensive range of award winning single and double storey homes, Metricon aim to create homes where you can truly love where you live.

Designer of environmentally sustainable new houses and extensions. Houses full of natural light in rural and urban landscapes.

Principal architect Terence Nott has over 30 years experience in a wide range of projects state-wide. Consultations held locally in Bass Coast, South Gippsland or in central Melbourne.

The development of exciting designs and quality home construction is at the heart of the Graeme Alexander philosophy. Our homes are well constructed, look good and function properly. It’s been that way on the Mornington Peninsula for 30 years.

Quality and experience don’t just happen: Graeme Alexander Homes’ outstanding team of tradespeople construct homes in a reasonable time to exacting standards.

Call 5975 4561 www.gahomes.com.au

Call 0410 416 778 www.looksharpinspections.com.au

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Call 1300 Metricon www.metricon.com.au

Call 9489 8863 www.nottarchitecture.com.au

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One-of-a-kind. Your home. Our service.

You deserve individualised attention and the highest calibre workmanship.

We pride ourselves on delivering quality service, building great relationships and using the best local products and trades. Talk to us about how our experienced team can create your beautiful new home, extension or renovation.

117 Sandy Point Rd, Sandy Point VIC 3959 | T: 0428 598 237 | svuillermin@bigpond.com | www.sjvuillerminmasterbuilders.com.au

Coastal Refrigeration & Airconditioning we don’t just install, we look after you . . .

Servicing Phillip Island & surrounding areas

COMMERCIAL & DOMESTIC REFRIGERATION & AIRCONDITIONING Sales, installation & service of all major brands.

Rick North is a fully qualified refrigeration & airconditioning technician with over 20 years experience in the trade. Coastal Refrigeration and Airconditioning provide professional before and after sales services.

Shop 2/65A Back Beach Road, San Remo 5678 5190 After hours commercial breakdown coastalrefrigandaircon@bigpond.com www.coastalrefrigandaircon.com.au ARC Authorisation No: AU22840

www.mhiaa.com.au coast 133

Like a phoenix

It’s not hard to be impressed by this beautiful store, with its expansive range of goods and great little café.

But it’s the story behind the scenes that makes Henrietta’s in Leongatha a local treasure.

In May 2010, the store that Meg and Alan Steenholdt built into a thriving local business caught fire. For the couple and their staff, it was a devastating blow. “We both worked in the store, and had a staff of more than 20,” says Alan. “Then, overnight, we were all unemployed. We stood in the street and watched it burn.”

The couple had originally started a homewares store in Cowes before expanding to Inverloch and eventually setting up in Leongatha. Homewares and decorating was a passion for Meg, who had studied fine arts at university, and the stores reflected her artistic talents and interests. When they lost everything in the fire, it was time to reassess.

With no business and no income, new opportunities presented themselves. The couple began on new pathways …

Alan found a job in real estate and Meg in teaching.

But Leongatha was not ready to let go of Henrietta’s. “I guess the store had become an icon in the town, and there was a lot of local support for us to set up again,” explains Alan. Even so, the couple both continued to work in full-time jobs as they

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began the slow task of rebuilding. It’s taken relocation to three different venues, but finally, in a building right next door to the site of the original store, Henrietta’s is flourishing once more.

Circa 2015, Henrietta’s eclectic range includes gifts, women’s clothing, cookware and designer homewares. The store’s extensive kitchen section includes Essteele and Circulon cookware and KitchenAid appliances. Keen home decorators will find plenty to tempt them with items to decorate tabletops, couches and walls, including cushions and mirrors as well as clothing and jewellery from Melbourne brand Elk Accessories.

Busy shoppers can also treat themselves to a cup of Di Bella coffee, and lunch or a homemade cake or scone in the store café.

“The shop is an extension of what we like to do,” says Alan.

“Meg loves design, fashion and homewares. We love food and entertaining … it’s all there in the store.”

Relax, browse, coffee, lunch, brunch and decadent cakes.

HENRIETTAS C A F E & H O M E WA R E S

FanTaSTic range oF hoMewareS and greaT coFFee and Food.

Trading hours: 7.30 – 5.30 Monday – Friday | 8.30 – 2.00 Saturday 46 Bair St Leongatha 3953 | 03 5662 5856 | info@henriettas.com.au | henriettas.com.au coast 135

Opulent modern design

The Como 390 is the ultimate in family luxury.

The Hotondo Homes Oasis Range is luxurious, spacious and opulent. With higher ceilings, quality upgrades and top-of-the-line inclusions, these homes are the best of the best.

The Como 390 is one of the latest designs in the Oasis series.

With four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a double garage, the Como is an upmarket design and a true family home.

From the moment you walk through the front door, this spacious and open home flows beautifully. The open-plan living, dining and kitchen area runs effortlessly into the pantry, laundry, mud room and powder room, which are all connected, creating one unified utility space.

Boasting three separate living areas, so a family can easily relax and entertain simultaneously, the Como 390 has the added bonus of both an al fresco area and balcony for additional living space.

The stand out feature of this home is the spacious bedrooms that all include walk-in-robes for added luxury living. The master bedroom, separated from the rest of the bedrooms, is an amazing parents’ retreat, with two walk-in-robes, and an ensuite with a double vanity and shower. The bedroom opens onto a balcony to take advantage of local views.

The colours and materials used create a modern approach to a family home, while the square features accentuate the

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functional, yet large design. The distinctive facade with timber accents highlights the modern square design, where the roofline is invisible and the blend of textures and products produces a clean, sleek finish.

This sleek finish is continued through the home, particularly in the bathrooms. Floor-to-ceiling tiles and white basins create clean lines and a contemporary feel to the space.

From dark to light, the kitchen finishes off the home with beautiful whites and soft greys. With a massive pantry this is the perfect kitchen for those who love to cook.

The Como is not just another volume build. It’s an opulent design that emanates style and modern convenience. For more information on the Oasis range of homes, contact Hotondo Homes on 1800 677 156 or view the full range of designs at hotondo.com.au.

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it’S a LL aBoUt the hoUSe

BuIldInG & dESIGn

SJ vuIllErmIn mASTEr BuIldErS Named 2015 Residential Building of the Year (South East) at the Master Builders Regional Building Awards, our clients enjoy the benefits of an experienced building contractor, expert local knowledge and outstanding customer service. From renovations to new designs, we look after all domestic requirements and pride ourselves on supporting local trades and suppliers.

Competitively priced, we are Gippsland’s premier builders.

Call 0428 598 237 www.sjvuillerminmasterbuilders.com.au

TJ BuIldInG ConSulTAnTS

TS ConSTruCTIonS

TJ Building Consultants is a friendly, local building surveying & consultancy company coverings all aspects of building regulation for commercial and residential clients. We pool our extensive experience, networks and proven solutions to provide you with a service that will not tie you up in red tape, but deliver practical solutions. Our advanced approach ensures we stay ahead of the competition and mitigate your risks.

TS Constructions has shaped the built environment throughout southern Gippsland. From much-loved family homes through to workplaces, schools, hospitals and offices, people are constantly encountering the results of our labours.

ISO-certified to three international standards (Quality, Safety and Environment) and with extensive experience in environmental products and methods, TS Constructions guarantees you a high-quality, innovative and professional build.

Call 5674 6851 www.tjbc.com.au

Call 5672 2466 www.tsconstructions.com.au

InTErIor dECorATIon

hEPPEll CurTAInS

mooKAh STudIoS

For the past 20 years, Ann-Maree and Jenny have been decorating windows for clients across South Gippsland. They built up their business from a small at-home service and now operate from a delightful showroom in Watson Road, Leongatha. With their own workshop they can provide all your window covering needs from curtains to blinds, awnings and shutters as well as bedspreads and cushions.

A small independent handmade label offering a range of stylish, contemporary and eco-friendly homewares, textiles and accessories. We focus on fabrics predominantly inspired by nature and we love working with natural fibres such as hemp, linen and organic cotton. We work with our own hand screen-printed fabrics or use Australian designers who share our love of natural fibres and the environment.

Call 5662 4557

Call Nicole 0420 935 189 www.mookah.com.au

SouTh CoAST KITChEnS & ISlAnd roBES Servicing the local community for over 25 years, we focus on quality products and superior customer service. Providing competitive joinery for all budgets, domestic and commercial, our local, experienced tradesman use quality hardware with the latest machinery. We offer a one-on-one kitchen design service, plus wardrobe and storage solutions, including flat pack units. Visit our recently updated showroom located in Newhaven.

Call 5956 7415 www.southcoastkitchens.com.au

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Because all Villages are not the same…

A master built, luxury 2 bedroom villa for as little as $155,500* At Mountain View Leongatha boutique retirement community – that dream can be a reality!

A spacious community centre, 24 hour emergency call service, indoor heated swimming pool, bowling green and secure caravan and boat storage, are some of our fabulous features.

With fewer maintenance costs and no deferred management fee* – you’ll have more time and more money in your wallet too!

* via lease agreement

Freecall; 1300 306 255. www.mountainviewleongatha.com.au Open Monday to Saturday 10am til 4pm. 1 Dale Drive, Leongatha, VIC 3953

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Trees got you stumped?

Have you got issues with trees? Need help with the hard tasks in the garden? A call to Mojo Contracting might be the perfect solution.

Adam Bailey understands trees. It’s in his DNA. Since the 1920s, the Bailey family has been working with trees in the New South Wales Blue Mountains. When Adam moved to Phillip Island in 2000 and set up Mojo Contracting, he brought four generations of knowledge with him.

Given the family pedigree, it’s no empty boast to say that if you have an issue with a tree, Adam and his team are well equipped to handle the job. Their services include tree and stump removal, pruning, cabling and block-clearing.

Adam holds a Certificate 4 in Horticulture (Arboriculture) and can give you a full report on the health and status of your trees, as well as providing professional assessments and quotes. “A lot of our business comes from people who have a tree that’s grown too big for their back yard,” says Adam.

“Usually people know what they want done, but are unsure how to achieve it. I come in, assess the situation, including the future of the tree and property, and help them to make the best decision.”

Safety considerations and being time-poor are also big factors.

“Some of our older customers no longer feel able to climb

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up into trees, and many holiday-home owners don’t want to spend their precious weekends clearing up the yard.” Mojo Contracting can prune and trim trees and keep your place safe and tidy, as well as providing on-site wood splitting and chipper hire. Other services include trimming hedges, controlling weeds and green waste removal. And if you have any property-related tasks that are outside their area of expertise, Mojo’s strong local networks will ensure they can easily recommend an appropriate business or contractor .

“Trees and gardens made safe and put back in order…that’s what we do,” says Adam. “We pride ourselves on our customer service, so we’ll be in regular contact with you while your job is being completed. If you’re based in the city, we’ll even send you a photo once the work is done.”

This summer, let the experts help get your garden in order – then just sit back and enjoy it.

Mojo Contracting

Safe, timesaving tree work by qualified professionals. Let us do the hard work to help you enjoy your garden!

Adam Bailey, 4th Generation Tree Feller and Arborist, started Mojo Contracting in 2000. We service Phillip Island, San Remo and Bass Coast.

Large and Dangerous Tree Specialists Tree Removal Stump Removal Pruning Cabling Block Clearing Hedge Trimming Weed Control Fire Wood Supplies Mulch Supplies On Site Wood Splitting On Site Chipper Hire Green Waste Removal

Mojo Contracting | 272 Church St Cowes VIC 3922 Phone/Fax 03 5952 5542 | Mobile 0427 052 173 | adam@mojocontracting.com.au

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it’S a LL aBoUt the hoUSe

InTErIor dECorATIon

SouThErn BAZAAr Southern Bazaar’s signature store in McBride Ave Wonthaggi features a stylish range of new and vintage furniture. From designer retro pieces, including a great range of Tessa and Parker furniture, to new Australianmade Molmic lounges, you can find that special piece to make your home unique. Or visit the original warehouse in the Industrial Estate in Inverloch at 42 Cashin Street.

Call 0407 414 895 www.southernbazaar.com.au

ProPErTy & dEvEloPErS

ThE CAPE - CAPE PATErSon ECo vIllAGE

SEAGrovE ESTATE

Australia’s first truly sustainable residential project. Choose from one of ten house plans designed exclusively for The Cape, or design your own. Home sites are set amongst expansive open space including walking and cycling tracks, parks, bbq areas and a community garden, with easy access to safe swimming beach and onsite sporting facilities. Stage 1 now on sale.

Sustainable, coastal living by award-winning designers only 800 metres from the main street and even closer to the beach.

Enjoy eight acres of landscaped parks, an extensive wetland habitat, generouslyproportioned home sites (700m2+ on average) and abundant native bird life.

Elevated land with views of the bay and unique acre plus home sites surrounded by mature eucalypts are now available.

Call 0413 265 362 www.liveatthecape.com.au

Call 1800 61 61 06 www.seagrove.com.au

TImBEr, GArdEn & ouTdoorS

ISlAnd moWInG

moJo ConTrACTInG

TJ’S TImBEr

Relax … enjoy your holiday home and let the award-winning team at Island Mowing take care of the lawns and all your property needs. Here all year round with professional and friendly staff, using quality equipment, we contact you immediately if we ever see anything at all out of character at your property.

Established in 2000 by Adam Bailey, who holds a Cert 4 in Horticulture/Arboriculture, Mojo Contracting provide safe, time-saving tree work. Fully insured, we specialise in large and dangerous trees and working in confined spaces. Talk to us about green waste removal, chipper hire or wood splitting, as well as pruning, cabling, block clearing, hedge trimming and mulching services.

TJ’s Timber sell new and recycled timbers.

Their quality (new) timbers are sourced from responsibly-managed forests in Australia and overseas. Recycling timber is the environmentally friendliest form of timber production. TJ’s Timber can supply a great range of new and recycled feature posts and beams, solid timber flooring, decking, unique slabs, cladding, internal linings and screening.

Call 5952 5542 www.mojocontracting.com.au

Call 5952 3232 www.tjstimber.com.au

Call 5952 6662 www.islandmowing.com.au

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t h g i r The e advictime first

. State Wide Building Permit Approvals . Building Inspection Service . Building Surveying Consultancy . Building Performance Solutions . Fast Track Building Permit Service . Energy Efficiency Assessments . Commercial & Domestic Projects . Essential Safety Measures . Fire Engineering Solutions . Bushfire Assessments P.O Box 128, Inverloch Vic 3996 ph: 0408 142 061 | 5674 6851 email: info@tjbc.com.au web: www.tjbc.com.au

TJ BUILDING CONSULTANTS ACCESSIBLE | SUSTAINABLE | LIFESTYLE

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lifestyle review

Capturing ThE lIFESTylE

words: eleanor mckay photos: warren reed

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Five years ago, Rick and Sandra Colling moved from Beaconsfield to Phillip Island to find their ideal lifestyle.

Nestled on a rise in the beautiful Seagrove Estate, Sandra and Rick’s two-storey GJ Gardner home radiates serenity with its clean lines, white walls and sense of airy openness.

“We had a holiday house in Cowes, and because we only lived about an hour away, we were coming to the Island most weekends,” says Sandra. “Originally our plan was to move here when we retired, but we both loved it, so Rick said, ‘Why wait?’”

However, the couple’s small holiday house wasn’t viable permanent accommodation. “At the start we were hesitant to build, because we’ve both done that before, and it can be stressful,” said Sandra. “Our original plan was to buy another house, but we had specific requirements and we couldn’t find anything suitable.”

The search then began for the right block to build on. “We wanted to be within 10 minutes of Cowes – just a nice walking distance. I walk into Cowes at least three or four times a week. We liked the fact that this block was on a hill, and we loved all the environmental considerations that come with Seagrove Estate.”

Having first met Gill Hardman and Garry Cox from GJ Gardner Homes socially, it made sense to talk with them once they made the decision to build. “We did look at a couple of other companies, but GJ Gardner Homes gives you the option of designing your own home, and working with Garry, Gill and the GJ Gardner team was so easy.” As the company is locally owned and operated, Sandra and Rick were dealing direct with the registered builder who was actually responsible for their new home from start to finish, which was an added reassurance.

Their two-storey home is based on one of GJ Gardner Homes’ designs, but with a few important modifications. “We had specific design needs,” said Sandra. “The house had to be dual living, as Rick’s mum was moving with us and we needed to create a fully self-contained area which would afford her a private and independent lifestyle.” The house also had to provide a practical living space for Rick and Sandra, and easily accommodate the needs of family visiting and friends. >

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With this in mind, a self-contained apartment – with kitchen, lounge, bedroom and ensuite – a laundry and guest bedrooms and bathroom is on the ground floor, while the second storey is Rick and Sandra’s domain. “Upstairs is the master bedroom with ensuite, plus the kitchen, lounge, dining area, and powder room,” said Sandra. Being able to access the back garden from upstairs via the breakfast deck off the lounge further reinforces the concept of the separate domains.

Making the most of the natural environment, particularly in terms of energy efficiency, was also a prime consideration. “We needed the house to fit the block and make the most of the sunshine,” said Sandra. “So the layout and design of the home were priorities. All the lounge room windows had to be north-facing.” The orientation of the house, those northfacing windows and an upgrade to maximum ceiling and wall insulation mean the lounge is warm and bathed in sunlight in winter months, but cool in summer. “For a house of its size it is incredibly energy-efficient, due to design and materials and the IpControl Home Automation System,” said Sandra.

The house sports a range of other environmentally-friendly features, including a water tank, solar hot water and insulation between the floors to help control noise and temperature in the house, all of which helped achieve a 6.2-star energy efficiency rating.

supervisor, along with the rest of the GJ Gardner team, was absolutely brilliant. They would call us if there were any issues or problems. It was really easy to have a conversation and resolve things. I think that probably made this build easier than our others. After this experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to build again.”

Sandra said that having different people on hand to help with specified tasks such as choosing colours or selecting tiles was another bonus that GJ Gardner Homes provided.

Rick’s experience as an electrician came into play with the impressive lighting selection. He also installed a truly jawdropping IpControl Home Automation System that allows the couple to control the lights, heated towel rails, television and alarm system, and monitor water tank levels, from a single wall-mounted colour touchscreen in the kitchen, or from their iPhones. Sandra can even use it to create her weekly shopping list!

After this experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to build again.

And energy wasn’t the only efficiency in this project. “The house took about eight months to build and the GJ Gardner team was incredibly professional,” said Sandra. “Our site

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This amazing house – stylish, energy-efficient and lowmaintenance – has delivered an ideal living arrangement for the family, justifying their decision to relocate. “Rick still commutes to work: he does a lot of travelling, but it doesn’t bother him one bit,” smiled Sandra. “He says it’s so nice when he comes across that bridge. He just loves the lifestyle here, the golf club, the community. We definitely haven’t regretted our decision.”

- Rough-sawn feature posts & beams - Solid timber flooring & decking - Lining & cladding - New & recycled timbers - Floor installation service - Floor sanding and polishing - Delivery all areas

Showroom Open Mon-Fri 9-3, all other times welcome by appointment.

24 The Concourse, Cowes

Phone: 5952 3232 www.tjstimber.com.au coast 147

Building a better environment

A trip to Ladakh in the Kashmir region of northern India changed the way Tad Hendry looked at the world, and sent him on a mission to create homes that work with the environment.

When I finished my apprenticeship I took off to explore the world, and spent a lot of time in Asia. I developed a fascination for regional architecture and the fact that certain things were done so differently in different countries. The people there really worked with the environment.

My ‘lightbulb’ moment was in Ladakh, which is about 3000 metres above sea level. The region is like a moonscape.

It hardly ever rains; it has really extreme temperature fluctuations; and people live inside for three months of the year. A French architect who’d visited the region about five years before me had added passive-solar principles to the local architecture (including trombe walls and southfacing windows) and transformed people’s lives. Ever since then, I’ve been passionate about energy-efficiency and sustainability in houses.

Back in Australia, I worked as a builder on passive-solar houses, showing people how they could make their homes more energy-efficient. Five years ago I started a business designing energy-efficient homes.

In 2005, I met Brendan Condon from The Cape. Here was a developer talking about pushing the boundaries on energyefficient housing, a design that creates networks to connect

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people, a community garden … it was music to my ears. I bought a block at The Cape and plan to start building next year.

Every house at The Cape has to have a 7.5-star energy rating.

We’ve got ours to 8.2 with elements like increased insulation, thermal-mass walls and cross-flow ventilation, double-glazed windows, solar panels, water storage and a design that works with the angles of the sun. It’s a modest-sized house and by downsizing the floor area, we’re able to put our money into renewable energy.

Everyone working on The Cape is passionate about making it the most sustainable project in Australia. The houses can install energy storage and reduce reliance on the grid. The combination of features increases comfort levels, and homes have much lower running costs than conventional homes. It’s set on a 40ha site, of which 50 per cent is open space. And 20 per cent of that open space will be a revegetated area. There will be onsite water and energy storage so it won’t be reliant on the grid. It’s a whole eco-system – in which houses are an integral element – overlooking one of Victoria’s best coastlines at Cape Paterson.

For more information, call 0413 265 362. www.liveatthecape.com.au

OCEAN VIEWS AND DIRECT BEACH ACCESS

LAND NOW SELLING FROM

$195,000

TITLED BLOCKS NOW SELLING DON’T WAIT!

The Cape at Cape Paterson Sustainable beachside living on your doorstep With ocean views and direct beach access – your future lifestyle at The Cape offers true sustainable living.

A S U S TA I N A B L E WAY T O L I V E A S U S TA I N A B L E WAY T O L I V E

Talk to us today about House & Land packages CALL LISA ROBERTS ON 0413 265 362

Design and build your own 7.5 star energy efficient home or choose one of our contemporary architectural designs already waiting for you to call home.

With a future sports precinct, community garden, cafe, barefoot bowls and dog park an active lifestyle by the beach is here for the taking.

Feel away from it all, but still be close to everything.

LIVEATTHECAPE.COM.AU coast 149

Structure and style

If you are building or renovating on the Peninsula, the team at Graeme Alexander Homes can help achieve your dreams.

This award-winning design and building company has been working on the Mornington Peninsula for twenty years, establishing a reputation for quality and service.

Graeme Alexander Homes’ ability to create new designs that maximise the site and accommodate the needs of its clients has earned it multiple awards, but its renovation of existing homes is equally impressive. A recent renovation project involved matching an existing extension and creating a new, functional and stylish home.

“The house consisted of an old holiday kit-home with a twostorey New England extension at the front,” explains Graeme.

“The owners loved the feel of the front extension and wanted us to renovate and extend that.”

The job included removing the old kit home, then creating an extension consisting of a dining walk-through into the family kitchen and scullery. This room opened up to a north-facing swimming pool. As well as a courtyard on the south side, a master bedroom with ensuite and private courtyard was added at the back and the original extension was modified to blend in with the new design.

“The home was designed to complement the original building finishes in beautiful white with a grey slate roof, complemented by natural rock and ironbark posts,” said Graeme. “This helped to create a contemporary home that still had the New England cottage feel that the owner loved.”

A vital part of creating the feel in a home is the choice of materials, both inside and out. Graeme Alexander Homes

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is now also able to offer its clients access to professional interior design services through its partnership with Smooch Fashion & Décor.

Run by Anita Alexander and her daughter Tenielle Clarke, Smooch caters for all aspects of interior décor, as well as stocking fashion, shoes and accessories. From early 2016, both companies will be located in Watt Road, Mornington, providing clients with easy access to design, building, interior consultants, décor and furnishings under one roof.

Smooch Fashion & Décor: 5906 5856 www.smoochfashion.com.au Graeme Alexander Homes: 5975 4561 www.gahomes.com.au

aspirations in design HIA member No. 520358

Graeme Alexander Homes P/L

Designing and building your dream home is a very personal and rewarding experience.

We encourage you to be as much a part of the journey as you wish.

Your involvement increases your enjoyment from the original design lines through to the construction and beyond - we are with you all the way.

Graeme Alexander Homes P/L 1 Albany Way, Mornington Vic 3931 P: 1300 301 055 I F: (03) 5976 4561 I www.gahomes.com.au

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Sustainable beauty Thinking sustainably about building doesn’t have to mean compromising on beauty. The new Beaumont Concepts Selection Studio can help you create a sustainable, innovative and stylish home, inside and out.

Beaumont Concepts has forged its reputation for award-winning custom-designed homes one unique, functional house at a time. Established in 2001, the company focuses on innovative sustainable design and precision construction, and works closely with its clients to help them create their dream homes.

This personal, hands-on approach has given the team at Beaumont a good understanding of what clients need and how important it is for a home to reflect the taste and lifestyle needs of its owners.

To complement its individual home designs, the company has launched the Beaumont Concepts Selection Studio as part of its commitment to delivering sustainably beautiful, innovative and timeless exteriors and interiors.

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Design consultant Esme Beaumont says a good design process is only possible when a designer takes the time to understand exactly what a client needs. “We work closely with you to develop a unique and personalised brief,” explains Esme. “Good design doesn’t just happen. We look at size, scale, proportion, colour, light and function at the same time, and will help you pick the best materials and colours to achieve your dream design. Having an experienced design professional can also eliminate costly mistakes.”

As well as reflecting individual tastes, a key aim of the Beaumont Concepts Selection Studio is to produce interior and exterior spaces that not only look good, but are great places to work and play in every day, using sustainablysourced and ethically-sourced products from local suppliers.

The Selections Studio includes a hand-picked range of exclusive, beautiful and stylish interior fixtures and fittings from quality local suppliers. “We source our range from local suppliers that have a vested interest in our community,” explains Esme. “This ensures that we have an exclusive and reliable service with a range of reasonably-priced and newlyreleased products.”

Even if you have plans from another architect or building designer, Beaumont Concepts Selection Studio can help you select materials and colours that reflect your personal tastes and complement your house design. They’ll also tailor the service to suit your needs, designs and budget. Best of all, this can all be done from one convenient location.

To find out more, visit www.beaumontconcepts.com.au or call 5672 5196.

F RO M THE MOUNTAINS TO THE S EA

CLASSIC GOOD SERVICE I N I NVERLOCH & DISTRIC T

OUR VENDORS AND PURCHASERS ARE DELIGHTED WITH OUR NEW MARKETING INITIATIVES. THEY PROVIDE A POINT OF DIFFERENCE AND GREAT RESULTS. People are demanding high quality marketing and our Inverloch office delivers with professional photos and floor plans as standard features whilst videos are providing an exciting extension to the experience (youtube/alexscottinverloch).

Ours is Property Management with a difference with brilliant service and communication, energy and personality. We offer years of combined experience and a wonderful blend of skills.

Now is a great time to sell or lease your property. Our Inverloch team welcomes your real estate enquiries.

Please call our Inverloch office on 5674 1111 or email invysales@alexscott.com.au or invyrentals@alexscott.com.au Inverloch Office 7 a’Beckett St, Inverloch

ALEXSCOTT.COM.AU/INVERLOCH

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coast style decorating inspiration for your Home

Bunting from pages of a vintage atlas picks up the water theme.

Everyone has old books lying around.

Use them to add height and colour… and a bit of nostalgia.

This painted white vintage sideboard with natural wood drawers is the feature piece of the display.

Bring the holidays into the kitchen with these simple tricks for creating a relaxed beachside feel.

Many family holiday-houses have an eclectic mix of furniture and furnishings. With just a little planning, stylist Martine Zajacek says you can make mix-and-match into a design feature.

things from any era. I’ve used some old books, vases and beach pebbles to decorate the sideboard.” Two small succulents planted into anodised cups – a staple of every family picnic in the 60s – add the finishing touch.

Martine was after a nostalgic “beachcomber feel” when she created this nook for a beachside kitchen. “I started with a vintage surfing photo, which set the theme.” Next she teamed a painted vintage wooden sideboard and an old wooden chair – “having natural timbers is a way to create a natural feel” – and she opted for blue hues, in keeping with the ocean theme.

If you’re considering a quick holiday-house makeover, Martine has some useful tips.

“You don’t have to decorate a whole room – just work on a corner or small section. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. If you have a piece that you love, match it with other items – lamps, artwork, or something you’ve picked up at the op shop. Keep it relaxed and informal so you can easily change or freshen up the look.”

Working towards a retro beachcomber vibe, Martine added blue vintage cushions to the chair and more blue to the sideboard. “A colour theme gives you a way of matching

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All items used in this display are from Factory Seven – 120 McKenzie St, Wonthaggi.

WINNER 2015 NABD AWARDS Residential New Homes $300–$500,000 Construction Cost

WINNER 2015 BDAV AWARDS Residential New Homes up to $500,000 Construction Cost Residential New Homes up to $300,000 Construction Cost

Multi Award Winning Building Designer of Contemporary Sustainable Homes.

www.beaumontconcepts.com.au 53 Graham St. Wonthaggi - Tel. (03) 5672 5196 | Level 2, 75 Chapel St. Cowes - Tel. (03) 5952 6868 coast 155

Knowing what to look for

If you are buying or building, don’t let poor workmanship, structural defects or pests turn your dream home into a nightmare.

For Kent Andersen of Look Sharp Inspections, providing people with peace of mind is one of the key parts of his job. “Basically, we are here to make sure you have all the information you need to make the right decisions,” said Kent. “Buying property or building a house is a major financial commitment and our job is to make sure our clients know exactly what they are paying for and exactly what they’re getting.”

As well as doing pre-purchase building inspections, Look Sharp can provide quality reports on new constructions through all stages of the building process. “We come and inspect a build at every stage – from base to frame, lock-up and final stages. Ensuring that the work is done properly from the start can save you from expensive repairs down the track or potentially hazardous living conditions.” The team also provides pest inspection services, as well as mould identification and asbestos reports.

With over 25 years’ experience, including his time as a registered builder, Kent is uniquely placed to monitor projects and provide thorough and expert advice. When Kate and Paul bought their house in Upper Beaconsfield, they said Look Sharp

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Inspections was “reliable, punctual, professional and thorough and made us feel confident in purchasing our new home.”

Trevor and Siobhan were looking at buying a holiday house in Cowes and felt a building and pest inspection was a must due to the age of the property. “We engaged Kent Andersen and were very impressed with his thorough report identifying current and potential issues, which assisted us with negotiating the purchase. We highly recommend Look Sharp Inspections.”

As well as providing a comprehensive list of issues or potential areas of concern, Kent and his team at Look Sharp Inspections will work with you to address the issues and are able to recommend trusted specialists to help find fast and effective solutions.

If you are in the market to build or buy property, give Kent a call for a fast, free, no-obligation quote.

www.looksharpinspections.com.au

Three golden rules when it comes to real estate:

Inspection Inspection Inspection Look Sharp Inspections provides Melbourne and South Gippsland with industry-leading independent home and commercial property evaluations, designed to save you time and money when it comes to selling or investing in property.

We are fully licensed, certified and insured to carry out a wide range of inspections across all aspects of

0410 416 778

buildings and property. Our aim is to provide you, as a buyer, seller, real estate agent or solicitor, with concise and comprehensive information that outlines any structural concerns or safety defects - major or minor.

You can then make arrangements to have these issues addressed, knowing that you have the best available information to help in your negotiations.

kent@looksharpinspections.com.au

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One of a kind

If you want a house that doesn’t look like the one next door, you need a builder with experience, craftsmanship and personalised service.

Since setting up his business in 1997, Dennis Piasente estimates he has built over 150 homes in the local area. And no two are the same. “We don’t mass produce anything,” said Dennis. “We like the challenge of working on new projects and fresh ideas.”

This family business doesn’t specialise in one style of building or any particular materials. In fact, Dennis prides his team on being able to build anything. “I would say flexibility is one of our biggest assets. We’ve built everything from a two-bedroom brick veneer house to million dollar plus homes. We always work closely with our clients to come up with the best approach. Sometimes the challenge can be a difficult design. Other times, it’s trying to deliver what the client wants for their budget.”

Regardless of your budget, building a home is a major investment and having great lines of communication is vital to ensure the process is as stress-free as possible. “We offer personal service,” assured Dennis. “When you ring up, you talk to me, the person who will be building your house.

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We’ve got runs on the board, so you know that we will get the job done. And I have built several houses for quite a few of my clients.” In an industry awash with stories of disastrous construction experiences, finding a builder you can trust is paramount and there is no great endorsement than repeat clients.

But the work itself speaks louder than any words. “You can drive around the local area and see the houses we’ve built for yourself,” said Dennis. “We are passionate about building beautiful homes. We can build from existing plans or ideas, or put you in touch with a local designer. Working closely with the designer and the client is the key to delivering a successful project.”

Dennis Piasente puts his heart into every house that he builds and the results are plain to see … remarkable homes, inside and out.

Remarkable homes Inside and out.

Build your home with someone who shares your vision and passion.

Get individual attention, exceptional craftsmanship and quality service. We have built over 150 houses and no two are the same.

We like the challenge of working on new projects and fresh ideas.

Build a house with heart, it’s what is inside that really counts.

Inverloch | Phone: 0412 608 152 | dennis.piasente@bigpond.com

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BASS CoAST SECurITy

CoASTAl rEFrIGErATIon Coastal Coastal Refrigeration Refrigeration & & Airconditioning Airconditioning

& AIrCondITIonInG We provide a range of security services across Gippsland, Bass Coast and greater Rick North and staff offer quality and Rick and North staff and offstaff quality offertoquality and and Melbourne and focus on delivering the Rick North reliability when itercomes air-conditioning reliability reliability when itwhen comes itsales, comes to air-conditioning to air-conditioning highest quality domestic and commercial and refrigeration service and repairs security products and services. Services and refrigeration and refrigeration sales, and repairs andtrade repairs – with fullysales, qualifiservice ed andservice accredited include alarms, CCTV cameras, access – with fully We areed a Mitsubishi heavy trade –technicians. with qualifi fullyed qualifi and accredited and accredited trade control and 24/7 security monitoring. Talk to technicians. industries dealer/service agent.

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Call 5678 Call5190 5678 5190 www.coastalrefrigandaircon.com.au www.coastalrefrigandaircon.com.au

95 Marine 95 Marine Parade, Parade, San Remo San Remo Phone: Phone: 03 5678 03 5678 5361 5361 Fax: 03 Fax: 5678 03 5678 5362 5362 Monday Monday – Friday – Friday 8am –8am 5pm) – 5pm) Saturday Saturday (8am (8am – 1pm) – 1pm) Nestled in the heart of Leongatha, Henrietta’s has been a part of the local community for over 10 years. With a large homewares department you will find a great range of gifts, decorations and cushions.

Their extensive cookware range is one of the biggest in the region and includes Essteele, Circulon and KitchenAid. Call 5662 5856 www.henriettas.com.au

WonThAGGI homE APPlIAnCES For all your electrical, kitchen and household needs: ovens, cooktops, range hoods, dishwashers, refrigeration and cookware, with an extensive range of leading brands including Miele, Smeg, Robinhood and Circulon. We specialise in air-conditioning, and cover entertainment with televisions, Webber BBQs and all your homeware and décor needs. Whatever your needs or budget, we will help you find the perfect appliances.

Call 5672 4733 www.gippslandhomeliving.com.au

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Let Shorelec Shorelec help allwith your Let Let Shorelec helpwith you help you allelectrical with yourall electrical your electrical needs.

With over 22 years experience, we we needs. needs.

With over With 22over years’ 22experience, years’ experience, we A have a proven track record. We can supply, have a have proven a proven track record. track record.

We canWe quote, can quote, an install and service air-conditioning systems supply supply and install andairconditioning install airconditioning (reverse(reverse (wall hung, ducted, cassette units), and to cycle, cooling cycle, cooling andgas ducted andelectric ducted split systems), split systems), also supply wood, and heating. te heating heating (wood, gas and electric) and electric) asand well as well We have a wide (wood, range ofgas commercial ar as supplying as appliances, supplying commercial commercial and domestic and domestic domestic trade electrical, data, st appliances. appliances.

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other everyday other everyday goods goods in store.in store.

Call 5678 5361 www.shorelec.com.au Call 5678 Call5361 5678or 5361 0438 or340 0438 947 340 947 www.shorelec.com.au www.shorelec.com.au

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ISLAND MOWING Your time at your Holiday Home is for relaxing, going to the beach and spending time with family and friends and certainly not for mowing the lawns!

So give Island Mowing a call and let them take care of your lawns and all your property needs and‌ we are here all year round with professional and friendly staff using quality equipment.

Lawn Mowing & Edging | Weed Spraying | Roof Gutter Cleaning | Window Cleaning www.islandmowing.com.au | info@islandmowing.com.au | 5952 6662 | 0417 393 256

ehouse builders designers custom homes

www.ehouse.net.au designing sustainable architecture since 1979 PO Box 1372, Narre Warren MDC, 3805 | Phone: 03 9707 2801 | Fax: 03 9707 2801 | Email: ashbrae@bigpond.com | www.ehouse.net.au

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Live off the grid – In style

Caring for the planet and reducing the environmental footprint of your home doesn’t mean living in a rustic cabin on a remote bush block. These days you can look after Mother Nature and indulge yourself at the same time.

Whether you live by the coast, in the country or in the inner city, it’s a challenge to build a home that’s kind to both the environment and your budget. Providing affordable, sustainable housing is a passion for Ashley and Esme Beaumont, and this has been the driving force behind Ecoliv’s modular homes. The company offers a suite of different 7-star energy-rated modules, and this year launched the newest edition to the range – a beautiful 8-star-rated one-bedroom home.

Designed to be fully off the grid, this stylish, compact home is assembled at the Ecoliv factory and arrives on site completely finished. All you need to do is connect the off-grid solar power system and water tanks, and move in.

While the house boasts some impressive environmental credentials, including solar-powered hot water, off-grid solarpower system and battery storage, biofuel fire, double-glazing, natural timber Weathertex cladding, carbon-neutral Ecocolour paint and recycled glass insulation, it’s the sleek industrial styling that you’ll notice when you walk inside. There’s a high-end luxe feel about everything from the tiles and cabinetry through to

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the engineered oak floors and ceilings. Pendant light-fittings, an integrated kitchen, and a laundry/pantry area filled with clever space-saving devices all add to a sense of modern elegance, while outside on the deck, a recycled steel pergola provides sun and wind protection and a vertical garden.

In keeping with its eco-credentials, the house is fitted with maximum star-rated and water-saving appliances, watersaving plumbing fittings, and an energy-consumption monitor providing instant feedback on how much electricity you are using.

And proving that this house is good for the budget as well as the environment, its principle of maximising energy use translates to a saving of more than four years of mortgage payments over a 25-year period.

Smart, sophisticated, functional and frugal, this truly is a house for the 21st century.

Currently on display in Wonthaggi, the new module will take up residence in February in City Square, Melbourne, as part of the New Joneses Project for the Sustainable Living Festival.

To find out more, visit www.ecoliv.com.au or call 5672 5196.

We strive for perfection

tel: 03 5956 7415

www.southcoastkitchens.com.au

28 boys home road, newhaven, phillip island. info@southcoastkitchens.com.au Domestic • Commercial • Wardrobes • Creative Storage • Wardrobe Sliding Doors • Toilet Petitions • Shop Fit Outs • Solid Timber Joinery

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Airborne and award winning A stunning house on the cliffs at Walkerville put SJ Vuillermin Master Builders in an-award winning position.

Steve Vuillermin was in his early 20s when he finished his apprenticeship and returned to South Gippsland to start his own business. Nearly 30 years later that business is still going strong, and Steve has just put through his tenth local apprentice. This family business specialises in building quality homes and has deep connections to the local community, including employing local staff and sub-contractors.

While SJ Vuillermin Master Builders prefer to concentrate on building rather than chasing accolades, this year they won Best Custom Home over $700k and Residential Builder of the Year (South East) at the prestigious Master Builders Association of Victoria’s Excellence in Building Awards.

on the water. Despite its breathtaking position, the dwelling itself is a relaxed and streamlined three-bedroom beach getaway. Stacked doors in the living area open out onto a large deck, taking full advantage of the vista. Made from timber, the house blends beautifully with the environment and has a six star energy rating, while stylish interior decorating, including a clever use of ocean blue, brings the sea right into the house.

“Steve has been building houses for over 25 years and this is the first time we’ve ever put in an award entry,” explains his wife Megan. “But the Walkerville house was so extraordinary that we thought, ‘Why not?’”

Its location on a cliff-face meant that Steve and his team built the house on steel pylons that penetrate 20 metres into the cliff. As well as stabilising the cliff face, the pylons create a sense of the building being airborne above the ocean. The house has sweeping views across to the west side of Wilsons Prom: standing in the lounge room, you feel as if you’re right

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Building a house can be nerve-wracking, so working with someone you trust is vital. “We know how important it is to have a great relationship with our team and our clients,” said Megan. “Steve is good at making people feel comfortable, and he has a good eye, so he can help people achieve what they want with the money they have.”

For genuine customer service, building expertise and exceptional local knowledge, the team at SJ Vuillermin Master Builders are one of the premier builders in Gippsland. They stand tall … just like that extraordinary house on the cliffs at Walkerville.

Mon – Fri 9.30 – 4.00 or by appointment 10 Watson Rd, Leongatha 3953 03 5662 4557 heppell@westnet.com.au

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coast style decorating inspiration for your Home

This Christmas, bring the beach to the table to create a beautifully festive feel.

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Stylist, graphic designer and Factory Seven stallholder Martine Zajacek says it’s not hard to create something special when you entertain. “For me, summer entertaining is about relaxing with friends and family,” she smiles. “At home or at your holiday house, you don’t need a big budget to put something fantastic together.”

Whether you are decorating a room or just putting together a table setting, Martine’s advice is to start with a main piece and build around it. Her retro Christmas setting started with a piece of driftwood – “The branch adds height to the table, and sand in a glass vase brings in the beach” – and set a relaxed coastal theme for the table. “I’ve decorated the driftwood with a garland made from an old green woollen blanket, but anything from daisy-chains made from your children’s artwork, strings of shells or some fairy lights would work really well.” In keeping with the green theme and in line with her personal philosophy that “every interior should have something living”, she added a succulent in an old metal jug to the table.

Martine suggests ramping up the glamour with some candles. “I’ve maintained the beach theme by putting sand in jars and then popping a candle in them. The candles can’t blow out, so it’s practical if you’re wanting to entertain in the garden or on the deck.”

Keep the feel relaxed and beachy by eschewing formal place-settings. “If you don’t have matching plates, use white as your base, teamed with one colour or a pattern,” advises Martine. “That way, you can mix modern with vintage. I like to stack the crockery and put cutlery in jugs so people can help themselves.”

Martine says anyone can put together a retro-inspired Christmas setting. “Utilise things you have at home, or that you can make, or pick up at an op-shop. Everything I used came from one of the Factory Seven stalls, so even if you’re not feeling all that crafty and inspired, come down here and you’re sure to find what you need.”

Factory Seven – 120 McKenzie St, Wonthaggi

Creating Quality Coastal Homes for more than 50 years.

With choices ranging from two to five bedrooms, with double and single storey, brick or modern claddings – there is a design perfect for every lifestyle. Visit our new Sales Centre in Wonthaggi and discover the perfect design for Coastal & Country Living.

Gippsland Sales & Display Centre | Cape Paterson Rd (Next to Mitre 10) Wonthaggi.

Phone: 5672 1999. Open 7 days (closed public holidays). Mon–Fri: 8am-5pm Sat-Sun: 1pm–4pm.

Wonthaggi Sales Centre | 111 Graham Street, Wonthaggi.

Phone: 5672 5260. Open Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm. Sat 9am to 1pm.

Phillip Island Sales & Display Centre | 36 Phillip Island Tourist Rd, Newhaven.

Phone: 5956 7992. Open Thu to Mon & public holidays. 11am–4:30pm (Closed Tue & Wed).

Phillip Island Display Home | Whytesands Estate (Off Ventnor Rd), Cowes.

Phone: 0408 103 830. Open by appointment.

HOMEWARES

coldonhomes.com.au

FLOOR COVERINGS

vases – cushions – rugs

FURNITURE

carpet – vinyl – timber

WINDOW COVERINGS

interior – exterior – packages

BEDDING

interior – exterior – motorisation

mattresses – beds – manchester

155 Thompson Avenue, Cowes

|

Ph. 03 5952 1488

|

Fax. 03 5952 1348

|

www.southcoastfurnishings.com.au

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Seclusion IN Seagrove

“Surrounded by the scent of eucalypts, the sound of bird song and over an acre of absolute privacy.”

To the owners – and their German Shepherd Heidi – this garden is sanctuary.

Created on one of just a handful of acre-plus home sites in the Seagrove residential estate, the garden and contemporary home have been designed to complement one other.

The home wraps around and between a stand of large eucalypts, while from each window, artfully framed views of the garden and its stunning birdlife can be enjoyed.

The abundance of space around the home has provided a wonderful canvas, allowing the owners to express their creativity with organically-shaped garden beds, colourful flowers and mosaics of varyingly-textured foliage.

Strolling over wide lawns, surrounded by the scent of eucalypts, the sound of bird song and over an acre of absolute privacy, it’s hard to believe the centre of Cowes is so close.

Seagrove is just 800 metres from Thompson Avenue.

The beach is even closer.

Part of the reason for the prolific birdlife can be found in the mature eucalypt trees, which form part of a regionally-

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significant remnant eucalypt woodland. Naturally forming hollows of varying sizes create tailor-made homes for a diversity of birds including brilliantly-coloured Rosellas and Lorikeets.

Spring time transforms the garden into an avian nursery.

Young fledglings rest between their their first tentative flights while busy parents shuttle to and from nesting hollows. At other times of year, a Brown Goshawk takes advantage of one of the birdbaths.

Sixty different species of native birds have been identified at Seagrove, testament to the estate’s focus on environmental sustainability. Recognised in the Urban Development Institute of Australia Awards for Environmental Excellence, Seagrove has introduced a range of environmental firsts for the region, including energy-efficient street lighting, an underground gas network, rainwater tanks in every home, and an extensive wetland habitat with elevated boardwalks.

A strictly limited number of acre home sites are available for sale in Seagrove, priced from $432,900. For more information, visit www.seagrove.com.au or call 1800 61 61 06.

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The Islander

Luxury accommodaTIon

Luxury five bedroom holiday home, at exclusive Berry’s Beach. Breathtaking ocean and rural views.

Two large living areas, kitchen with stone bench tops, two bathrooms and a powder room, several outdoor entertaining areas and an amazing pool and spa.

For any bookings and enquiries feel free to contact Luke Phone: 0402 454 742 (from 7am – 7pm) coast 170

www.theislander.com.au

The property is within walking distance of beautiful Berry’s Beach and less than five minutes drive to the world famous penguin parade, Phillip Island race track and Phillip Island Winery, with the Island’s best restaurants within a 10 minute radius.

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Coastal Colour and Style

When Wayne and Sandra Mifsud decided to build a new home on Phillip Island, they found a builder to work with them to achieve their dream.

Although this was the couple’s third home, it was their first build and they were “quite apprehensive about the building process”. After extensive research, and impressed by the company’s large range of designs, the quality of its builds and its excellent service during the sales consulting process, they chose Langford Jones Homes. Working together, they were able to customise a design for a house that fully met their needs. Using state-of-the-art 3D drawing technology, Langford Jones Homes was able to show The Mifsuds exactly what the new home would look and feel like before it was built, which reassured them about the whole building process.

Wayne and Sandra were keen for the house façade to reflect the relaxed coastal feel of the area. Through their thirty-year relationship with Bluescope, Langford Jones Homes was able to offer feature COLORBOND® steel cladding, creating a unique design feature. “This provides a high-quality, stylish and durable product that is ideal for coastal houses,” explained Paul Langford-Jones. “Because we have such a fantastic relationship with Bluescope, we can really look after our clients. In fact, we

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include COLORBOND® steel roofing as standard, while most other builders will charge clients extra for its inclusion.”

Building in the area for over 40 years, the company is able to offer a high degree of local knowledge – and understand which designs will best suit a block. They also offer an excellent range of standard inclusions, such as timber flooring, doubleglazed windows, carpet in bedrooms, stone kitchen benchtops, merbau decking, yachting wire and composite cladding.

For Wayne and Sandra, the results speak for themselves.

“The finish and presentation of the home exceeded our expectations. Bringing together Langford Jones Homes’ family business ethics and experience with our ideas has resulted in a home that we are very proud of.”

If you’re thinking of building, drop into a Langford Jones Display Home and Showroom at 214-218 White Road, Wonthaggi or 77-79 Phillip Island Road, Surf Beach or visit www.langfordjoneshomes.com.au to view its extensive Coastal Design Collection and new Brick Collection.

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95 Marine Parade, San Remo Phone: 03 5678 5361 Fax: 03 5678 5362 Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm) Saturday (8am – 1pm)

Electrical Wholesalers Heating & Cooling Whitegoods Lighting Electrical Components Music Supplies

Everything and anything electrical

Windows Security Doors Shower Screens Balustrades Splashbacks Domestic Lock Smithing Key Cutting 2/221 Settlement Road, COWES. Tel: 5952 3555. Fax: 5952 3444. Email: sales@bettsysglass.com.au. Web: www.bettsysglass.com.au

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EXPERT ADVICE AND GOOD OLD-FASHIONED SERVICE. TIMBER

HARDWARE PAINTS HUGE RANGE OF WATER TANKS

TOOLS

DesigneD for living.

6 Blackwood Drive, Foster VIC 3960 Stylish brand new home with expansive views.

Only $389,000. Inspection a must!

3 bedroom house with contemporary design and colours.

Timber floored living room. Main with ensuite and walkin wardrobe. Tiled bathrooms and laundry. Stainless steel appliances, gas cooktop. Double garage. 6 star energy rating with solar hot water. Convenient location.

EST. 1965

Cnr. Bass Highway & Glen Forbes Rd, Grantville 03 5678 8552 421 Princess Hwy, Officer VIC 3809 03 5943 2371

Contact the owner directly: 0402 017 589 | 6blackwood@gmail.com

StabilEarth rammed earth constructions

South Gippsland’s rammed earth specialists.

Residential builds in the local area and contracting for rammed earth works throughout Victoria.

Sandy Point, South Gippsland, Vic.

mob: 0429 841 057

w: www.stabilearth.com.au e: owen@stabilearth.com.au

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Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring

Matt Crooks. Smiths Beach. Phillip Island. 0419 356 222 | 5952 3838 info@islandlandscaping.com.au www.islandlandscaping.com.au

(03) 5678 5777 0438 079 822

75–77 Phillip Island Rd, SAN REMO Lic no 08-U 24385

SHEDS, GARAGES, CARPORTS We supply and install all styles and sizes of sheds – from a garden shed to an airport hangar.

CUBBY HOUSES We supply and install a fantastic range of cubby houses

STEEL KIT HOMES You can check out our amazing range of steel kit homes at steelbuildingsautralia.com.au

Built to Last with 100% Australian Steel www.islandsheds.com.au

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A nursery that will surprise and delight every garden lover

•

Rare & unusual plants

•

Antique furniture

•

Garden tools

•

Garden wares

•

Unique pots

•

Landscape design consultancy available 1070 Jacksons Track, Jindivick. 10am–4pm Wed to Sun. Phone: 5628 5316 or 0417 056 110

www.jindivickcountrygardener.com.au

L&J TUDDIN restorations

Secure. Safe. Peace of Mind.

ANTIQUE & DECOR GALLERY ANTIQUES // ARTIFACTS // DECOR // BEADS

Island Secure Storage

Over 20 years experience. Private restoration available. Antiques to contemporary.

The Antique gallery is located between the Inverloch Motel and Inverloch Nursery.

Open Thurs–Sun 10am–4.30pm or by appointment.

RESTORED FURNITURE FROM EUROPE & CHINA

37 Powlett Street, Inverloch Tel/Fax (03) 5674 3982 Email ljrestore@live.com.au

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 e: storage@islandsteel.com.au

www.islandstorage.com.au

Eatery + Fudge + Micro coffee roastery

Enjoy fine wine by the glass or choose your favourite bottle to have with your BYO food, in the cosy wine lounge or al fresco soaking up the magic of Mordialloc.

Ask our staff for a tasting to help you choose the perfect wine to take home and enjoy.

Open 7 days 622 Main St, Mordialloc Call 9580 6521 www.mordycellardoor.com.au

7am – 4pm, 6 days (closed Wednesday) breakfast + lunch + coffee + sweets 4/157 Marine Pde, San Remo 0407 717 588 email: hello@beand.com.au http://beand.com.au coast 179

g estudio c kgallery o NEW & GENTLY USED QUALITY GOODS

‘Browsers Always Welcome’ Short Story ‘Hope in a Box’ Mind, Body & Spirit CD’s Himalayan Salt Lamps Erstwilder Brooches Japanese Incense Silver Jewellery Oracle Cards Body Jewellery Bric-a-brac, Books Hats, Bags, Scarves Black Ice Sunglasses Gemstones: Tumbled, Specimens & Jewellery Bella Donna Harmony Balls Clothing for Ladies, Men & Kids San Marco Wildflower Jewellery

31 MAIN STREET, FOSTER PH: 5682 1381 WEEKDAYS 10AM–5PM SAT 9.30AM–4PM SUN 10AM–4PM OPEN 7 DAYS 6 DAYS, CLOSED TUESDAYS FROM MAY – OCTOBER

www.mainstreetrevelations.com.au

monthly exhibitions of contemporary artwork | art materials | picture framing | jewellery | ceramics 15 Falls Road, Fish Creek Ph 03 5683 2481 opening times thurs-mon 10am-5pm

e: framing@geckostudiogallery.com.au w: geckostudiogallery.com.au Open everyday Mid Dec – End of Jan

Quality Framing at Competitive Prices.

The choice of local artists. We cover all your picture framing needs, with a huge selection of frames as well as professional and helpful advice.

G A L L E R Y W IT H LO C A L A RT W O R KS A N D F R A M E D P R I NT S

AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER BEACH UMBRELLAS, CHAIRS, LOUNGERS, BEACH SHADES, TENTS, COMMERCIAL MARKET UMBRELLAS AND MORE. HUGE RANGE GREAT COLOURS BEST QUALITY UNIQUE PRODUCTS

Shop K/10 A’Beckett St, Inverloch Ph: 5674 1333 Mob: 0409 809 855 framedinverloch@bigpond.com

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Great local stockists on the coast. Google: Beachkit stockists

or visit www.beachkit.com.au

Steele I Love Lilya Elka Shona Joy Finders Keepers

The Fifth Talulah Resort Zulu and Zephyr Damselfly Candles Solsana

Alias Mae Zoe Kratzmann Auguste the Label Imonni Melbourne Mossman

4pm - 9pm 9am - 2pm

Shop online at www.mikaandmax.com.au or visit us in store at 17B A’Beckett St, Inverloch 3996.

Contact us today on (03) 5674 3518 or email info@mikaandmax.com.au

A treASure trOVe OF pre-lOVed, retrO, VINtAGe & MOre...

Second Hand, Vintage, RetRo and collectableS

10am – 5pm Wednesday to Sunday Opens at 10 every Sunday in Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.

120 McKenzie St, Wonthaggi (behind Voyage gym) Enquiries: Jane 0417 142 478

Main Street, KONGWAK, Victoria

(only 10 minutes from Inverloch) For more info call Jane on 0417 142 478

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coast directory www.coastmagazine.net

directory Artists & Galleries

ArtFusion Gallery ArtSpace Wonthaggi Django Gallery Gecko Studio Gallery Goldsmith’s Gallery Gooseneck Pottery Iluka Studios Manyung Gallery Mingara Gallery Modern Art by Annette Mornington Peninsula Gallery Mosaics by the Bay Without Pier

Hair, Health & Beauty

63 16 77 180 73 76 183 12 71 31 67 183 73

Automotive Bass Caltex Service Station Edney’s Leongatha Wonthaggi Toyota & Holden

37 35 83

Builders & Designers Aspire Designer Homes 8 Beaumont Concepts 155 167 Coldon Homes Dennis Piasente 159 Ecoliv 128 eHouse 161 Graeme Alexander Homes 151 GJ Gardner 147 Hotondo 137 Langford Jones Homes 173 SJ Vuillermin Master Builders 133 StabilEarth 177 Metricon 4 Terence Nott Architecture 165 TS Constructions 143

Entertainment Craft Markets Australia Kongwak Market Summer of Soul Turn the Page

181 181 71 186

Fashion Island Surfboards 59 Mika & Max 181 Petite Collections 117 Sketa 27 Shan’s Lingerie & Leisure 44 Serious Surf Stuff 55

Government & Schools CFA 176 Newhaven College 57 Toorak College 87 West Gippsland Library 183 West Gippsland CMA 56 Westernport Water 122

Green & Gardens Island Landscape & Design Island Mowing Jindivick Country Gardener Melaleuca Nursery Mojo Contracting

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178 161 178 183 141

Beachside Hair & Beauty 81 35 Natural Medicine Centre 83 San Remo Pharmacy YMCA 185

Homewares & Furniture Beachkit 180 Factory Seven 181 Framed Inverloch 180 Henrietta’s 135 Heppell Curtains 165 179 L&J Tuddin Antique & Decor Main Street Revelations 180 Mookah Studios 87 29 Organature Southern Bazaar 39 167 South Coast Flooring Xtra South Coast Furnishings 167 Tyde 117 Wonthaggi Home Appliances 89

Jewellery Goldsmith’s Gallery 73 Hays 81 Lacy Jewellery Studio & Gallery 7

Professional Services Bass Coast Security 188 Bendigo Bank – SRDFS 116 Look Sharp Inspections 157 Mark Farmer Financial Solutions 38 Southern Business Women’s Network 127 TJ Building Consultants 143

Property & Accommodation Alex Scott Phillip Island 187 Alex Scott Inverloch 153 Anchor Belle 65 Banfields 127 Foster House, 6 Blackwood Dr 177 Heritage Bay 175 The Islander 170 Mountain View Leongatha 139 Seagrove Estate 2 The Cape - Eco Village 149 Woolamai House 187

Food, Cafes & Restaurants Aherns 115 @Luscious 103 Basia Mille 107 Beand 179 Brent Sinclair Catering 96 The Cape Kitchen 101 Churchill Island Cafe 97 The Chutney Bar 97 The Coffee Collective 97 37 Connell’s Bakery Deli on Bass 98 Fig & Olive 98 Fish Creek General Store 97 The Gatha Foodstore 96 Gippsland Mushrooms 99 Gusto Gelateria 105 Harry’s on the Esplanade 99

Himalayan Herbs House of Blanche 100 Mile Foodie Island Whole Foods Kernot Store Kilcunda General Store

100 101 95 101 108 102 Leongatha Health Food & Nutrition 98 103 Manna Gum Marios at San Remo 105 105 McClelland Gallery Cafe Mega Bites Cafe 112 Mendls Coffee House 106 106 Milly & Romeos Moo’s at Meeniyan 106 107 The Palms Pelican View Cafe 107 Penny Lane Cafe 107 110 Phillip Island RSL Porter Republic 108 90 Prom Coast Ice Cream RACV Inverloch 109 Rusty Windmill 110 100 San Remo IGA Sherwood’s Restaurant 110 Sweet Life Cafe 111 111 Three Aces Cafe Tides of Rhyll 111 Trulli Pizzeria 106 Vela Nine 95 Venus Bay Treasures 103 Westernport Hotel 113 Youki’s 113

Tourism & Travel A Maze’N Things Exceptional PI Area Tours Islantis Surf Experience Phillip Island Chocolate Factory Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island Nature Parks Southern Trail Tours State Coal Mine Vietnam Vets Museum Watkins Amusements Wildlife Coast Cruises

75 48 76 52 72 50 77 63 72 55 77

Trades & Hardware Bettsy’s Glass 174 Carpet Court 178 Coastal Refrigeration 133 Island Secure Storage 179 Just Stairs 177 New Wave Concrete 171 Phillip Island Sheds 178 Shorelec 174 South Coast Kitchens 163 TJs Timber 147 Van Steensels Timbers 177

Wineries Lucinda Estate Mordialloc Cellars Purple Hen Wines Ripple Brook Winery Wild Dog Winery

113 179 109 77 113

Stockists Anchorage Store, Ventnor Balnarring Newsagent Bass General Store Berwick Newsagency Caltex Bass Cape Woolamai Bottlo Corinella General Store Coronet Bay General Store Cowes IGA Cowes Mobil Cowes Newsagent Dalyston General Store Dumbalk Store Fish Creek General Store Fish Creek Newsagency Flinders General Store Foster Newsagent Grantville Newsagent Hastings Newsagency Inverloch Newsagent Inverloch Foodworks Kilcunda General Store Koonwarra Store Koo Wee Rup News Korumburra Newsagent Lang Lang News Leongatha Newsagent Meeniyan Newsagent Mirboo North Newsagent Mornington Newsagent Mt Eliza Newsagency Mt Martha Newsagent Newhaven Newsagency Pakenham Newsagency Pearcedale Newsagency Red Hill General Store Rhyll General Store Silverleaves General Store Smiths Beach Store Sandy Point General Store Sandringham News San Remo - Freedom Fuels San Remo IGA San Remo Newsagent Somerville Newsagency Tarwin Lower Supermarket Tooradin Newsagent Venus Bay Store Wilsons Prom - Tidal River Store Wonthaggi Newsagent Wonthaggi Ritchies IGA Yanakie Store

Water PLUS

coLoUr MakeS art.

David Taylor A.W.I F.V.A.S Watercolour class, Intermediate – advanced level Wednesday 3 Feb 2016 1pm – 3.30pm Diana Edwards Watercolour class, Beginners – intermediate level Thursday 4 Feb 2016 9.30am –12 noon

28 Settlement Rd, (P.O. Box 9097) Cowes 3922 All Enquiries: : 0427 947 889, 0418 565 796 e: davidktaylor@waterfront.net.au w: www.davidtaylorartist.com

Melaleuca Nursery INDIGENOUS & NATIVE PLANT FARM

‘Natives, because they’re beautiful’ 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.

ADDRESS: 50 Pearsalls Road, Inverloch Vic 3996 OPEN: Monday to Saturday: 9am – 5pm CONTACT: Phone: 03 5674 1014 | info@gonativelandscapes.com

www.melaleucanursery.com

We all have a story to tell.

Using mosaics is telling a story in small pieces.

Mosaic Classes with Heather Fahnle. All materials and lunch supplied.

C o M M i s s i o n s AvA i l A b l e

Heather

Fahnle

M O S A I C S B Y T H E B AY

www.fahnle.com.au | Mosaics By The Bay e: fahnle@iprimus.com.au | t: 0417 562 625

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young & inspired Going to his great-grandmother’s 100th birthday brought jewellery and a new sense of direction into Jake Zubov’s world.

I grew up in Ringwood with my mum and younger brother. I didn’t mind primary school, but when I got to high school, I thought it was a waste of time doing stuff that I didn’t care about.

As soon as I finished school, I moved out of home and rented a place with a friend and my girlfriend at the time. When we had to move out, I lived with my aunt in Brighton for about a year.

At my great-grandma’s 100th birthday party, Bronwyn from The Goldsmith’s Gallery in San Remo (who is my great-aunt) asked if I wanted to try jewellery-making. She knew I was looking for work, and she was looking for an apprentice.

I’d done a computer-aided design (CAD) course at TAFE. It was more a games design course, but that translates pretty easily to jewellery design. I moved to San Remo in October 2014 and began jewellery classes, and after six weeks, Bronwyn offered me a four-year jewellery apprenticeship at The Goldsmith’s Gallery.

Everything about jewellery-making is difficult, and that’s what I love about it! I’m always trying to figure out what technique to use and challenging myself to work above my current skill level. I like to try stuff I haven’t done. If something is too easy, I won’t enjoy doing it as much.

I love working with my hands, and the variety of stuff you are able to do is amazing. I think I’m pretty good at soldering – I picked that up a lot more easily than some of the other skills.

But I’m not that good at the finish … getting all the tiny little scratches out. You need a really good eye for that, which is a challenge, as I’m partially colour-blind. I applied to join the army a few years ago: I did all the tests and that’s when I found out … but I can work around it. Mostly I’ve worked with silver, but I like the red-pinkish tinge of rose gold.

words as told to eleanor mckay photo warren reed

Sometimes it feels like I spend two hours each day trying to find stuff on my workbench. I’ll be using a tool, put it down … and when I go to pick it up again – it’s gone! Apparently this happens to every jeweller, because we’ve got so many tools. I like to have specific spots for everything. Even though she’s so much more experienced, a lot of the time Bronwyn will ask me where things are because she knows I’ve memorised where everything goes. I’ve always been pretty organised. At TAFE, the teacher said I was the most organised person in the class.

I really admire Bronwyn. She’s shown me everything I know so far. I really like her style … she does a lot of free-form wirework as well as making to customers’ individual designs. She’s given me a lot of freedom and encouraged me to start designing my own jewellery.

Eventually I’d like to own my own business … maybe even The Goldsmith’s Gallery. But first, after I’ve finished my apprenticeship, I want to travel.

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fitness tips

Skate, rattle and roll!

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” ~ Plato The YMCA Bass Coast has been delivering entertainment to the local community under the banner of FReeZA for the past ten years. We are thrilled to receive funding to continue this fantastic program for the next three years.

Under a new banner - “Coast Productions YMCA FReeZA” – the YMCA will present even more music, skating, BMX and entertainment programs for young people in Bass Coast.

The funding (provided by the Department of Health & Human Services) allows the FReeZA Committees to run a range of events including skating, “battle of the bands” comps and dance parties. FReeZA also provides training opportunities for young musicians in sound engineering, event planning and performance.

Every FReeZA event is organized by young people for young people, is drug and alcohol free, and includes security and first aid.

Supported by a YMCA staff member, the young people on the FReeZA Committees come up with ideas for events and then put the whole thing together … booking the bands, organizing venues and choosing themes.

Over the past three years, 4000 young people have taken part in events hosted by YMCA Bass Coast FReeZA. Our popular Skate, Scoot and BMX competitions have give local skaters and riders the opportunity to perform in front of their peers. Our FReeZA committees have worked with other local groups to host successful events this year, including Wonthaggi VCAL students, a music-based workshop with Edge Youth in

Cowes and Newhaven College students’ end of school celebration - “Day on the Pines”.

Another successful FReeZA project put young people on the airwaves. Partnering with 3MFM community radio, the “Be Heard” program was a great opportunity for young people to gain experience in sound engineering, radio hosting, podcasting and music production.

If you’re between 12 and 25 years of age and want to get involved in planning and presenting youth events in Bass Coast, please talk to Fybian Chakaodza at the YMCA on 0400 999 796 or visit the Bass Coast FReeZA Facebook page.

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a good read FICTIon

non-FICTIon THE MOUNTAIN SHADOW

Award-winning Australian artist, Shaun Tan, brings the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm to life through a series of incredible clay sculptures

by Gregory David Roberts

THE SINGING BONES

by Shaun Tan Difficult to categorise, in this beautifully presented volume, the essence of seventy-five fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, is wonderfully evoked by Shaun Tan’s extraordinary sculptures.

Nameless princes, wicked stepsisters, greedy kings, honourable peasants and ruthless witches, tales of love, betrayal, adventure and magical transformation: all inspiration for this stunning gallery of sculptural works. Introduced by Grimm Tales author Philip Pullman and leading fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes, The Singing Bones breathes new life into some of the world’s most beloved fairy tales. ‘These little figures of clay, with their simplified features, their single attributes, are perfect realisations of the strangeness of the characters they represent.’

– Philip Pullman

Gregory’s epic novel, Shantaram, introduced millions of readers to a cast of unforgettable characters in the hidden heart of Bombay through Lin, an Australian fugitive, working as a passport forger for the Bombay mafia. In this long awaited sequel, Lin must find his way in a Bombay run by a different generation of mafia dons, playing by a different set of rules. It has been two years since the events in Shantaram, and Lin has lost two people he had come to love: his father figure, Khaderbhai, and his soul mate, Karla. Lin returns to a city that has changed too much and many of his old friends are long gone, the new mafia leaders have become increasingly violent and dangerous, and a fabled holy man challenges everything that Lin thought he’d learned about love and life. But Lin can’t leave the Island City: Karla, and a fatal promise, won’t let him go. A love story of hope, humour, and the philosophical quest for wisdom.

non-FICTIon SHELTER: HOW AUSTRALIANS LIVE

by Kara Rosenlund Driving down a dirt track one day photographer, stylist and adventurer Kara Rosenlund came across a beautiful but dilapidated farmhouse. Its lonely, worn loveliness kindled a passion in Kara to photograph and celebrate Australia’s authentic, intriguing rural homes and the people who live in them. She travelled the country, documenting raw and real interiors and landscapes and found shelter in beach shacks, grand homesteads, sheep stations and shipping containers, and in the welcome of strangers. This gorgeous book brings our history to life.

READING GIVES US SOMEPLACE WHEN WE

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SANDCASTLES: INTERIORS INSPIRED BY THE COAST

TO GO

Stay WHERE WE ARE

by Tim Neve In this beautifully illustrated and designed book, interiors stylist Tim Neve explores a selection of extraordinary homes. Five eclectic chapters feature many personal ‘sandcastles’ inspired by the coast: from the elegant, salt-bleached, driftwood neutrals of ‘Beachcomber’; to the faded sunshine yellows and retro lollipop zing of ‘Endless Summer’; or the rich peacock-coloured velvets and time-worn vintage collections of the ‘Bohemian’ home. Tim also offers a wealth of practical advice on how to create mood boards and colour palettes, and use statement pieces and found objects to create your own personal design style.

non-FICTIon ARCHITECTS’ HOUSES: TWENTY AUSTRALIAN HOMES

by Stephen Crafti Architects’ Houses offers an insight into how contemporary architects live in the homes they have designed for themselves and their family: from warehouses to apartments, from an entirely new build to a substantial renovation. In the absence of a ‘client’ and a formal brief, architects can be truly adventurous, exploring groundbreaking, unconventional ideas and materials in designing their own homes. In this lavishly photographed book, Crafti looks at the fascinating details of the process involved, as much as the end result. What were the challenges, hardships, the problems faced?

Did ideas have to be modified to suit the budget? Were there compromises along the way? What discoveries were made?

Architects’ Houses also explores the things that didn’t quite go to plan. Their insights and journeys will appeal to those looking for fresh ideas that go beyond the traditional offerings.

40a Thompson Ave, Cowes P: 03 5952 1444 E: lois.turnthepage@bigpond.com W: turnthepagebookshop.com.au P R O U D LY I N D E P E N D E N T

365 DAYS OF BEACHSIDE LIVING. LAND FROM $225,000

Absolute Waterfront Living

woolamaihouse.com.au

SALE OFFICE OS SATURDAPEN Y 1–3PM S

Grofam Court, Cape Woolamai

Contact Greg Price or Cameron Watters on 5952 5711 While best endeavours have been used to provide information in this publication that is true and accurate all entities accept no responsibility and disclaim all liability in respect to any errors or inaccuracies it may contain. Prospective purchasers should make their own inquiries to verify the information contained herein.

Proudly developed by

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