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“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” Our book reviewer, Annabel Lawson, sent this quote from writer Mason Cooley through to me when the Country Style team started planning our move to work from home. His words stayed in my mind as we worked on the magazine during isolation. I hope, in some small way, we can help you get through this time a little easier, by giving you “someplace to go” by taking you out into the country to meet the people on our pages. Start with Maggie MacKellar walking at dusk with her dogs before heading into the house to write her piece for us about motherhood. “In the quiet I’m aware of my solitude and the contrast to the busyness of these hours when the children were small. That time, the insane loud neediness of it, I thought would always define me...” I’m sure Maggie’s thoughts will resonate with many of you as they did with me when you read the result on page 16. I met Annabelle Kennedy selling her beautiful children’s clothes in Sydney’s Martin Place as part of the Buy From The Bush campaign last December and I’m delighted we have her story in this issue. “There are a lot of young farmers in our area and before we turned 30, we’d seen the worst drought in 100 years,” this determined young mum from outside of Nyngan in NSW told our writer Claire Mactaggart on page 20. The world has changed in the months since photographer Marnie Hawson spent the afternoon at Marian and Rob Wiltshire’s flower farm shooting our cover. The Tasmanian couple, who understandably decided to build their own house after having to move five times in six years, wanted to create a home with as small a footprint as possible. Today, their twins Elisabeth and Maggie can run around the orchard and pick posies in the cutting garden — something that seems particularly idyllic to many of us at the moment. Those of you living in isolated country areas will be able to give your city friends plenty of ideas on how to survive without regular trips to the shops. I know that our Queensland editor Claire, who is based on a cattle property in Central Queensland, can go for at least a month without a trip into town. In 2011, she was flooded in for seven weeks. “People don’t believe me when I tell them we were cut off for that long,” she told me with a laugh. I think I had better ring her right now as I’m sure Claire will have some good advice!
Victoria Carey
WRITE TO VICTORIA I always love receiving your letters, but now more than ever. Please email me at vcarey@bauer-media.com.au
PHOTOGRAPHY DAMIAN BENNETT STYLING LIZ KAVANAGH
Until next month,
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CONTRIBUTORS
in this i s s u e . . .
HOMEWARES OUT NOW
M I C H E L L E C R A W F O R D
This stylist, food writer and photographer went to Tasmania’s Oyster Cove for our story on Marian and Rob Wiltshire’s inspiring home, The Hut, on page 50.
Shop the Country Style range at madraslinkonline.com.au
As a youngster, Michelle lived in the NSW Riverina town of Wagga Wagga, the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia and spent several horse-mad years in the ACT. She now lives in Tasmania where she recently swapped a classic weatherboard in the Huon Valley for a “rundown, rambling pile — formerly an Edwardian bank” in the nearby village of Franklin. “We’re across the road from the river, so I spend a great deal of time messing about in boats.” Like many, Michelle has followed the Wiltshire’s journey on social media and jumped at the chance to work on this story. But, watch out, she may have some competition in a few years’ time: “Their twins Maggie and Elisabeth created their own little vignettes around the house, budding stylists in the making!”
Ever since Rochelle shot our story on Lynden Farm at Murchison (see page 42) this photographer has harboured dreams of relocating to this village in northern Victoria.
For this story, Rochelle took the opportunity to “slow it down and really connect with people and the surroundings” by staying overnight. “We chatted for hours into the night beside the fire, drinking wine and conjuring up a plan about how I could move to Murchison and we could buy the local pub and the shop next door. I still think about moving there.” While she now lives in Melbourne, Rochelle grew up at Wairarapa, one hour north-east of Wellington in New Zealand, an area she describes as: “Amazing farmland and good country folk, great wine and a lot of good rivers with great swimming holes.” But, given the choice, she heads for higher altitudes: “I have a love for mountains and snowboarding.”
8 COU NTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
WORDS TRACEY PLATT PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON, ROCHELLE EAGLE
R O C H E L L E E A G L E
“This is exactly the kind of childhood we wanted for our kids and the reason we moved here.�
M a y 2 02 0 | c o n t e n t s
42
88 COVER STORIES
34 Staying home: Beautiful houses 50 The slow life: Living on a beautiful flower 60 88
PHOTOGRAPHY BRIGID ARNOTT, ROCHELLE EAGLE, KARA ROSENLUND
94 108 122
farm in Tasmania Dreamy bedrooms A room of her own: The rise of the women’s shed movement Comfort food: In the kitchen with Julia Busuttil Nishimura Win $6000: Enter our Harvest Table Competition Book club ideas
HOMES
34 TIME HONOURED
42
50
PEOPLE
20 THE DRESSMAKER
Annabelle Kennedy founded a children’s wear label to help support her family’s farm near Nyngan in NSW through the drought.
MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL
DECORATING
60 REST AND RETREAT 65
30 MY COUNTRY CHILDHOOD
114
120
A collection of famous Australians reveal what they remember most vividly about their mums when they were growing up in the country. THE STYLE DIARIES Two mothers, each with three young children, living on the land share their favourite fashions labels, beauty products and the best advice they’ve received. MODERN CLASSICS How to choose a contemporary take on your mum’s favourite fragrance to spoil her this Mother’s Day.
An 1880s farmhouse in the Noosa hinterland proved to be the perfect home for a family who love to collect all things vintage. SOUTHERN BEAUTY On a Tasmanian flower farm a couple built a small, but perfectly formed house for themselves and their twin daughters. HOME COMING A historic homestead is coaxed back to life by an interior designer who always felt she belonged in the country.
Take inspiration from these bedrooms and create a calm and serene sanctuary where you can get away from it all. ON THE QUIET The latest releases in beds, cushions and bed linen.
BUILD
70 WORKING LIFE 84 88
We look at how the simple farm shed has inspired these beautiful contemporary buildings. OUT OF THE BOX Our guide on how to turn a shed in to a character-filled space to live in. A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN Once the domain of men, two women take us inside their sheds and explain why they love having an escape.
MAY 2020 COU NTRY ST Y LE 11
94 108 FRUITS OF THEIR LABOUR
Get your children to enter our Harvest Table competition, in association with Fisher & Paykel, for a chance to win $6000 worth of prizes.
122 BOOK CLUB
Country Style’s longtime book reviewer Annabel Lawson recommends some real page turners for you to read this month.
REGULAR READING
8 Contributors 14 Your Page: Readers’ emails and letters. 16 A Day in the Country: Maggie MacKellar reflects on 27 110 124 146
motherhood as her youngest prepares to finish school. A Month in the Country: Michael Reid on how The Country Interior exhibition brought people together. Regional Shopping Guide Collectables Country Squire: Rob Ingram on life in a small country town called Dunedoo.
SERVICES
126 DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR ! SUBSCRIBE TO
NEW BEGINNINGS In this extract from our new standalone magazine Country Guide, we talk to experts about what materials to use when rebuilding in bushfire-prone areas.
FOOD
94 HARVEST TIME 102
Country Style favourite Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s delicious recipes using freshly cracked nuts. FAMILY TIES A daughter shares her beloved late mamma’s ricotta torta recipe, which reminds her of her family’s proud Italian heritage.
HARVEST TABLE COMPETITION
104 INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE
Cookbook author Magdalena Roze on why she is teaching her two children to grow fresh fruit and vegetables as well as cook healthy meals.
OUR COVER
The cubby house on this flower farm in Oyster Cove, Tasmania, is the stuff childhood dreams are made of (page 50). PHOTOGRAPHY Marnie Hawson STYLING Michelle Crawford
ON THE COVER We visited Rob and Marian Wiltshire and their seven-year-old identical twin daughters, Elisabeth and Maggie, at their new home in the Channel region of Tasmania, near Hobart. They deliberately built a compact home knowing it suited them after living in five rental home in just six years. Also on our cover is a quote from Mason Cooley, which our book reviewer Annabel Lawson sent to us with her column (page 122). It seems especially apt when it is important that we must stay home.
PRIVACY NOTICE This issue of Country Style magazine is published by Bauer Media Pty Ltd (Bauer). Bauer may use and disclose your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, including to provide you with your requested products or services and to keep you informed of other Bauer publications, products, services and events. Our Privacy Policy is located at bauer-media.com.au/ privacy. It also sets out on how you can access or correct your personal information and lodge a complaint. Bauer may disclose your personal information offshore to its owners, joint venture partners, service providers and agents located throughout the world, including in New Zealand, USA, the Philippines and the European Union. In addition, this issue may contain Reader Offers, being offers, competitions or surveys. Reader Offers may require you to provide personal information to enter or to take part. Personal information collected for Reader Offers may be disclosed by us to service providers assisting Bauer in the conduct of the Reader Offer and to other organisations providing special prizes or offers that are part of the Reader Offer. An opt-out choice is provided with a Reader Offer. Unless you exercise that opt-out choice, personal information collected for Reader Offers may also be disclosed by us to other organisations for use by them to inform you about other products, services or events or to give to other organisations that may use this information for this purpose. If you require further information, please contact Bauer’s Privacy Officer either by email at privacyofficer@bauer-media.com.au or mail at Privacy Officer Bauer Media Pty Ltd, 54 Park Street, Sydney NSW 2000.
PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN
80 COUNTRY GUIDE
128 129 130 138
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YOUR PAGE
Meet Bertie who is never too far from his owner, renowned ceramicist and sculptor Ros Auld. We visited them at Ros’ property in Borenore, near Orange in NSW’s Central West, for our recent Art Issue. Positioned next to the stove in the studio, the 11-year-old Jack Russell keeps a close eye on the progress of Ros’ latest works. “Bertie’s appeal lies in his big personality,” she says. “He’s a real show off, especially around children.” Words @foodandwords Photography @brigidarnottphotography
An artwork titled Lure of the Pastures by @jennifer_riddle_ studio made everyone look twice when our annual Art Issue hit the stands. Is it is a painting or is it real? But Jennifer’s sweet little five-year-old Shetland sheepdog Emmy knows exactly what’s what as she spends lots of time in the studio. Photography @lisacohenphoto Styling @tamaramaynes
YOUR PAGE
READING OLD ISSUES OF COUNTRY STYLE GIVES ONE READER A SENSE OF CALM WHILE ANOTHER IS INSPIRED BY OUR ART ISSUE IN MARCH TO START DRAWING AGAIN.
THE SIMPLE THINGS I’m sitting at home in Brisbane’s north, amidst the eeriness of the coronavirus spread, and planning a new daily routine for myself. It makes me think of the small, simple things that bring joy to my life. I open the pages of any of my dozens of Country Style magazines and I feel a sudden sense of calm. I feel somewhat nurtured, a feeling of what community means, a greater love of our wide, vast land and an insight into the amazing country creators we have. I feel so inspired by the stories of bush heroes, country artists and fabulous food. I hope we can get through this together by embracing simple things. Helen Davis, Hendra, Queensland
HAPPY RETURN I have a confession to make. I haven’t read a Country Style magazine in a few years. As it happens, life changed and I became a single mother. My priorities shifted and my time for leisure became sparse. Then, while doing my weekly shop, I was completely struck by your March cover. I thought how I would love to visit the location on the cover, then when flicking through the magazine I realised it was a painting and not a photograph! And then, once I realised it was the Art Issue, I felt compelled to purchase it. I’ve always been a drawer, but have let it slide. As a florist, the article on
Colleen Southwell spoke to my heart and I was drawn to Jennifer Riddle’s story as I share her love for Tasmania. And I can’t forget to mention Emma Itzstein who has a great sense of style — and her artworks are dreamy. I have now been inspired to pick up a pencil once more and to make the things I love a priority, including reading Country Style regularly again. Thank you for the inspiration. Rebecca Tulloch, Spring Farm, NSW
WRITE NOW Sunday morning starts with my alarm clock barking. Rubi, my red stumpy tail cattle dog, knows it’s time for our morning walk. We walk carefully over the worn-out Lower Acacia Creek Bridge, that now has heavenly water streaming below. Once we are across, Rubi bolts ahead full throttle, ploughing through Paterson’s curse,
eager to catch a rabbit. The black Angus cattle from Acacia Downs watch me as I walk. Gradually, I can hear Rubi panting closer behind me. I halt in my tracks to take a deep breath; I’m filled with gratitude to be in such a beautiful place. My eyes squint while watching the sun peek through the gum trees. I scan the now green pasture and suddenly I see an old headstone standing on its own. I started thinking about life. What can I do today that I’ve always wanted to do? Write a story about life and the land. My intention is to write; today is the day to start because you never know when it could be your last. That afternoon the postman delivered my inspiration to continue writing, my favourite magazine: Country Style. Thank you, Victoria Carey and team. Sophie-Lee Butler, Lower Acacia Creek, NSW
Congratulations to everyone who had their letter published this month, you have won a Natio gift pack containing six products, worth over $100. For more information, visit natio.com.au Share your thoughts and experiences with us by writing to Country Style, PO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW, 1028, or emailing austcountrystyle@bauer-media. com.au. Please include your address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space and clarity.
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A DAY IN THE COUNTRY
A MOTHER’S LOVE WE ARE TUMBLING towards winter, the afternoons are short
and last light is a sharp golden blast that I miss if I get caught inside. I rush through evening jobs to steal a walk with the dogs and even though we hurry, the dark catches us and the grey of dusk sinks to a crisp black out of which skeletons of gums loom, marking my track home. I’ve lost the corgis, they are out there somewhere, but my labrador, Dusty, has stuck by me. We cross the flat and walk back to the house. In the quiet I’m aware of my solitude and the contrast to the busyness of these hours when the children were small. That time, the insane loud neediness of it, I thought would always define me, but now in the silence I scratch for what I feel and realise it’s the snag of loss. The house is still and quiet but The Farmer stoked the fire and filled the wood basket before he headed to the pub. The corgis haven’t turned up so I feed Dusty and come to my desk. It’s cold in here. I type with fingerless gloves, a beanie and even though the fire snaps behind my back I can still see my breath. I want to follow the trace of this thought. Becoming a mother is a sort of trauma, or it was for me. I was instantly transformed, a process that seemed to happen almost against my will. I gave birth and was changed. My self became something new. I became fierce with love and the need to protect. My desires became second to my daughter’s needs. If I wanted to write a book or climb a mountain or ride a horse, I had to steal from myself the time to do it. This identification became stronger with the death of my children’s father and not long after that my own mother. I’d lost the one who would accompany me and the one who had gone before. So many wonderful people stepped into
Maggie’s daughter Arkie puts the bridle on her horse Bobbie. 16 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
that vacuum over the years but still, once the door closed there was only me and — not unnaturally — my whole being orbited around the needs of those children. Please understand I was not a ‘good’ mother. I never had a spare change of clothes in my bag. I regularly forgot to think about dinner before dinnertime. I let them watch too much TV and not have a bath every night. I neglected to listen to them read (they read to each other) or enforce homework (one of them did it, one of them didn’t). When they were young I moved their birthdays to days that suited me. I took every shortcut available. Always my mind was on what I was writing rather than the intricacies of what had happened in the school ground. I mothered distracted. But with a little distance I see I also did so much. I did hear their heart’s desires and try to give them a shape. I drove them all over the country to championships knowing the importance was in the participation not in the result. Despite the fact I have always had my writing, I now see my identification as ‘mother’ has stained every part of me. And it is only here in the quiet hours, on the cusp of my youngest leaving school, that I am starting to search for the young woman who had such certainty about her future, her aspirations, her desires. I can hear the corgis banging on the back door. The fire sends a cascade of sparks onto the rug and Dusty is snoring under my desk. I sit with the peace. I’m 23 years into motherhood, my parenting tonight will be to send a text message to both of them. They are out there doing their thing, growing up and away. I will always be their mother, but now in the quiet is the time to pick up those threads of the young woman I was and start stitching a new story.
PHOTOGRAPHY MAGGIE MACKELLAR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY JO ADAMS
WITH HER YOUNGEST ABOUT TO LEAVE SCHOOL, MAGGIE MACKELLAR REFLECTS ON HER LIFE AS A MOTHER AND FINDING HERSELF AGAIN.
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Live Well.
WE CELEBRATE OUR 30TH BIRTHDAY WITH A NEW BOOK COUNTRY HOMES IN AUSTRALIA
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Editor-in-chief VICTORIA CAREY Creative director JO QUARMBY Deputy editor KYLIE IMESON Melbourne editor VIRGINIA IMHOFF Senior copy editor K ATE BARBER Art production/designer MATUS KUNDRAT Junior designer SOPHIE WILSON Stylists LISA BURDEN, NATALIE JOHNSON Homes group production editor TAMARAH PIENA AR Homes group coordinator MATILDA RINGROSE (02) 9282 8456 Regular contributors CLAIRE MACTAGGART (Queensland contributing editor) DIXIE ELLIOTT (Food) ROB INGRAM (Country Squire) ANNABEL LAWSON (Books) JOHN McPHEE (Collectables) CHRISTINE REID (Gardening) BARBARA SWEENEY (Flavours) JULIETTE WINTER (Health and Beauty)
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Available at all good bookshops. 18 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
We’ve made shopping easy with our brand new website! Visit us online or call the lovely ladies in our mail order department who are more than happy to help you. Our customers are always at the heart of everything we do and we will continue to be there with you. fellahamilton.com.au | FREECALL 1800 800 866 For Mother’s Day gift ideas see our website. GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE
Wishing all the mums a very Happy Mother’s Day from David, Sharon & Bella Hamilton
Annabelle Kennedy at home at Half Moon, a mixed farm north-west of Nyngan, NSW. 20 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
N Y NGA N NSW PEOPLE
TO SUPPORT HER FAMILY FARM THROUGH THE DROUGHT, ANNABELLE KENNEDY BEGAN A CHILDREN’S CLOTHING LABEL IN NYNGAN, NSW. WORDS CLA IR E M ACTAGGA RT PHOTOGRAPHY CLA NCY JOB
PEOPLE N Y NGA N NSW
“There are a lot of young farmers in our area and before we turned 30, we’d seen the worst drought in 100 years...”
THE KENNEDYS HAVE lived near Nyngan for three generations
and have experienced almost everything nature can throw at them. But when Duck Creek ceased to flow earlier this year as part of a drought mitigation project to extend supply, it was a first for this resilient farming family. While the dry creek bed that snakes through their property became a novel place for Dom and Annabelle Kennedy’s children to explore, it’s a sign of how dire things had become in this remote part of NSW about 550 kilometres north-west of Sydney. Dom and Annabelle and their three children Max, seven, Lola, three, and 18-month-old Florence live at Half Moon, a mixed farm 60 kilometres north-west of Nyngan that has been in drought for over three years. Together, the extended Kennedy family farm 16,000 hectares of land and usually grow wheat, barley and fava beans, as well as cattle and fat lambs on the rich black soil floodplains. However, to cope with the ongoing dry, the family completely destocked 200 head of cattle and reduced the 11,000 Dorper flock down to 5500 breeding ewes, hand feeding them for two years. But even in these tough times, there has been a silver lining. While the paddocks have been bare, Annabelle’s clothing business, Kennedy the Label, has been thriving. She launched in 2017 after struggling to find quality clothing for her own young family and now sells a collection of linen
22 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
pieces online. “I just couldn’t find those classic pieces that my mum bought for me as a child, without writing and imagery and with good quality fibres. And, when I did find them, they were really expensive,” Annabelle explains. During the planning process to create the brand, the 30-year-old encountered “plenty of ups and downs” before eventually finding the right manufacturer. Her early pieces were sold at Christmas pop-up shops in Nyngan and Dubbo, but after the release of her second summer collection online, sales began to climb. More recently, the successful Buy from the Bush social media campaign sent sales skyrocketing. “It is such a thrill to put pen to paper in my studio on our property and then have little girls and boys all over Australia and around the world wearing my designs,” she explains. “That blows my mind!” Annabelle packs each item in her studio at Half Moon and delivers them to the post office in Nyngan when she does the school run. Rather than being a barrier, her remote location has become part of the label’s story and she has discovered many customers are curious about their life on the land. “It must make us a little more relatable and I get a lot of feedback. So many people email and say: ‘I really hope you get rain.’ The personal contact is really important to me and the best part of it.”>
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Max, who is only seven, has a 100-kilometre round trip each day to go to school; a road sign near the Kennedy’s property; the family having a picnic in the dry creek bed — happily the creek filled again recently; Paris, an eight-year-old stock horse; the Half Moon shearing shed; Annabelle at home with Florence and Lola on the verandah. FACING PAGE Gums line Duck Creek, which runs through the property.
PEOPLE N Y NGA N NSW Dom and Max contemplate the dry creek bed — a first for this third generation family on the property. RIGHT A tinny lies in wait, ready to be used again once the creek fills.
Establishing the business and immersing herself in the local community has also helped Annabelle transition to country living. She grew up on the NSW South Coast at Bateman’s Bay and met Dom when they were both only 15 and going to boarding schools in Sydney. After school, Dom worked with Elders in Wagga Wagga while Annabelle pursued a career in performing arts, studying at the New York Film Academy and the University of California in Los Angeles. “I had wonderful opportunities but I learnt more than anything that it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. At 18 years old, I realised I’d rather be with my friends and Dom,” she explains. The couple married in 2012 , moved to Half Moon and Max was born the following year. “All of a sudden I was a 23-year-old girl in the middle of nowhere, 10 hours’ drive from my family with no friends and a newborn baby,” she recalls. “But we made a lot of lifelong friends through our local rugby club and mobile playgroup service.” The couple relish raising their young family in the bush. They spend time together doing sheep and cattle work and sharing smoko or having a bush barbecue with the rest of the Kennedy family.
24 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
“I love the freedom it allows our children,” Annabelle says, explaining that Max now plays on the flying fox across Duck Creek that Dom and his brother built when they were boys. “It teaches them resilience; that even when times are tough there’s always a way forward.” Dom couldn’t agree more. “I appreciate the time we get to spend with our kids. I can take them out to work with me and it’s a great lifestyle for them to grow up with,” he says. Fortunately, since we visited, the Kennedys received over 200 millimetres of rain. With fodder crops in the ground and Duck Creek is flowing once more, there’s a sense of hope. It’s here that this young mum has found her purpose and community. “What makes living out here easy for me is being surrounded by awesome people. There are a lot of young farmers in our area and before we turned 30, we’d seen the worst drought in 100 years, as well as the birth of children and the loss of family members and frie Together, as a community, we have picked up the pi and I would choose to live here over anywhere else.” For more information, visit kennedythelabel.com.au or follow @kennedythelabel on Instagram. Read more about Annabelle in The Style Diaries on page 114.
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A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
This month we asked Michael Reid to look back at the opening of our first art exhibition, The Country Interior, that we held at his gallery in NSW’s Murrurundi. WORDS MICH A EL R EID PHOTOGRAPHY BR IGID A R NOTT
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MANY ARTISTS TRAVELLED from far and wide for the opening
of my Murrurundi gallery and Country Style’s collaborative exhibition, The Country Interior. On reflection, it was a much-needed exhibition opening. The prominent artist Denise Faulkner who had experienced a long, tense summer emailed me: “It was so nice to see you last weekend. What a lovely way to celebrate the last hurrah before the world turned even crazier. Strange to think it wasn’t that long ago that I had bags packed waiting by the door ready to flee at a moment’s notice due to fire threat and now it is advised to stock up for two weeks in case you are made to self isolate. What interesting times we live in.” It remains of consequence for significant exhibitions to have openings of some kind. Not so much for the collectors, but for the artists. An artist’s studio can be both an enchanting and a solitary place. Connecting artists with artists and the Country Style editor-in-chief, Victoria Carey, was overdue. It is near impossible to place an artist’s name to a face through their artwork. In a room of near 15 artists, most of whom had never met, it was fun to introduce talent to talent and put a face to a painting. So, I spent the afternoon doing the “have you met” introductions. That perfectly practical phrase of introduction in polite society reminds me of the time I was in the elevator at Christie’s London heading to the fourth floor, when in should step Sir Anthony Tennant, the chairman of Christie’s and Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales. Anthony, or as he was known to me, The Chairman, politely said: “Have you met Her Highness The Princess of Wales?” I looked at The Chairman with anything but a poker face thinking to myself…. of course, I haven’t … and I so wanted to say… “Yes
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while taking a two-way bet on the dogs at Dapto”… but said no I hadn’t and we shook hands and said howdy. Boys from Narrandera do not meet princesses in a lift, or ever, so the possibility of a prior meeting inherently implied in the phrase “have you met” always makes me laugh. The afternoon had a wonderfully collegiate atmosphere. Helped as these things are, by strong, consistent sales across the majority of artists. Sold out were the works of Denise Faulkner, Esther Eckley, Brooke Dalton, Anna Placidi, Laura White and Stacey Maloney McCall. Online collectors from Perth to Sydney and as far as New York in the U.S. of A. made purchases. And why? Experiencing a brutal drought, ferocious fires and a world pandemic, it is perhaps not since World War II that Australians have felt so strongly about the comforts of home. With The Country Interior, the artists made no apologies for their focus on beauty. None. For those who live in the harsh reality of this wide brown land, the artists individually and collectively asked us, through their work, to momentarily forgo the outside and focus on the restorative magic of bewitching roomscapes and still-life paintings. Sometimes in life you need more paintings of Matisse’s nasturtiums than you do Sidney Nolan drought paintings. Until the late March exhibition lockdown, a number of the artists, again traveling from far and wide, returned to view the exhibition, to bask in their adoring attending public and to revel in the success of their peers. It was good Corner of Boyd and Mayne streets, Murrurundi, Upper Hunter, NSW. For more information on artists and the next exhibition dates, telephone (o2) 6546 6767 or visit michaelreidmurrurundi.com.au
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Camilla Wylie, Stephanie Villiers, Michael Reid, Bridie Crowe and Sarina Duddy, outside the Big Brown Dog Kiosk; the path in the garden leading to the new gallery building designed by Scone-based architects Dods and Zuccon; artist Michelle Ball with Michael Wiener; Stacey Maloney McCall had three works in the exhibition; this sandstone building was built to house convicts before becoming Michael’s first exhibition space on the property. Today, it houses the café and shop featuring the work of local artisans and producers; our March issue featured many of the artists in the exhibition; Country Style editor-in-chief Victoria Carey with Michael Reid; the surrounding area is famous as the horse capital of Australia. FACING PAGE The Country Interior exhibition featured Denise Faulkner’s Sweet Nothings, Stef Tarasov’s Still Life with Artichokes, Andrea Huelin’s Still Life with Mango and Passionfruit and Brooke Dalton’s Mix and Match.
MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL
TO CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY, WE’RE SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON THE MUMS OF SOME WELL-KNOWN AUSTRALIANS INCLUDING AUTHORS, TELEVISION PRESENTERS, ENTREPRENEURS, A COOK AND A COMEDIAN.
MARION GRASBY Marion’s mother, Noi, taught her to cook and fostered a love of food. Marion Grasby of MasterChef fame, credits her mother, Noi, a professionally trained chef, with teaching her how to cook. Her deep love for food reaches back to early childhood experiences in Darwin, where Marion was born and where, as a young girl, she would help Noi prepare food to sell at the popular Parap Village Markets. Today, the mother and daughter still work together, with Noi the resident ‘quality assurance chef’ for Marion’s meal kit company Marion’s Kitchen. “Nothing gets past her tastebuds!” says Marion with a laugh. A few years after Marion relocated to Bangkok, Noi and Marion’s father, Charlie, also moved there. “They’re living about 500 metres down the road now, to my husband’s delight!” Marion says. “My parents met in Thailand — my day has worked in construction and project management for most of his life, and he was sent to Bangkok in the 1970s to work on the German embassy there. He’d been living in Darwin so, when the project ended, that’s where they moved. Mum had never been to Australia and had no idea where Darwin was. They arrived, and then I arrived! “In Darwin, my mum was very involved in the Thai and Asian community and a large part of that
was helping her friends with stalls at the Parap Village Markets and Rapid Creek Markets, both of which are still going strong today. I always wanted to come back and connect to Mum’s side and her culture. Running a business here has really been a dream come true.”
JANE EDMANSON Jane’s mother, Barbara, helped give her a lifelong gardening bug. In her early childhood, Gardening Australia presenter Jane Edmanson lived on her grandfather’s fruit farm outside Mildura in Victoria with her parents, Peter and Barbara, and brothers, John and Tony. Jane completed an arts degree and Diploma of Education and was posted to Dimboola Memorial Secondary College. By this time, her father had decided to become a farmer and the family moved to a fruit block in Mourquong on the NSW side of the Murray River. Peter grew citrus and avocados while Jane’s mother Barbara was a dedicated gardener, nurturing shade-giving trees and flowering plants around the house in the hot environment. On weekends and holidays, Jane often travelled from Dimboola to Mourquong to help. “Mum and Dad taught me all the reasons soil is important and because my father was a horticulturalist, he taught me the value of having good
soil and being a guardian of it, and my mum was a great gardener. All of their knowledge within the horticultural arena came onto me,” she says. “Mum had a simply wonderful garden. There’s beautiful soil up there but it’s like a desert as it’s very hot. She had a real skill growing roses with lots of David Austins and lovely perennial plants. Everyone who visited would say ‘I love that, and I love that’ and she would give them bits and pieces, dig up great clumps of plants, and she started many people’s gardenss that way.”
Rachael’s mum attended every sporting event. Seven-year-old Rachael poses with her mum after an athletics carnival. “I was lucky enough to win a lot of medals and trophies.”
PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING NICOLA SEVITT WORDS VIRGINIA IMHOFF, CLAIRE MACTAGGART, CATHERINE McCORMACK
NICOLE ALEXANDER Nicole’s mother, Marita, helped to foster her love of reading. One of four children, author Nicole Alexander still remembers her sense of wonder at Murki’s wide open spaces and vast, star-filled skies. “I know the phrase ‘big sky country’ is used over and over, but to be out in the bush when there’s a full moon… it’s an all-encompassing feeling of being surrounded by something greater than what you are,” she says. When Nicole was young, the property employed jackaroos, which kept her mum, Marita, busy cooking while she homeschooled the children at the kitchen table. A love of reading was passed down from her parents, as was the spark of an idea for each of Nicole’s novels. “The number of times I’ve been out driving with my father or sitting at smoko time with a coffee, and he shares a story from the past and it’s like, ‘Wow, I can use that.” After 123 years of family ownership, her parents sold some of their rural holdings and relocated to Moree. “I was born in Sydney — Mum was shopping in David Jones and suddenly I was on the way! We spent about five weeks in the city before my parents brought me home to Murki, in Boomi in north-west NSW, to the middle of a roaring drought. Outdoor activities
“Mum... would always say things like, ‘Don’t give up, you can do it! Try your hardest...” Rachael Finch, television presenter were a relief from being inside. We’d get our lessons from correspondence school in Sydney and Mum would teach us. There’s something about doing your schoolwork quickly so you can get back outside where the action is. “I think about all the elements people can be subjected to over their lifetime in rural Australia and that helps me formulate their character. Most of my characters are strong, resilient people because it’s just the way life is, I suppose. Mum says a woman can be too capable in the bush. I guess her words came to bear when I hurt my back and shoulder while working — but we choose to live this lifestyle and do this kind of work. I’ve learnt a lot and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Jane on Manly Beach at age seven with her siblings and mother, Barbara; Nicole at eight with her mother, Marita, and brothers John (left), aged 10, and Scott, six; a newborn Jane with her mother in 1950. FACING PAGE, FROM LEFT Marion with her mother, Noi, in Darwin, circa 1983; with her mum soon after moving to Papua New Guinea.
RACHAEL FINCH Rachael credits her mother with her sense of determination. Growing up in Townsville, Queensland, television presenter Rachael Finch started early when it came to sport and the great outdoors. Her mother recalls the future Miss Universe Australia as an infant, hurtling down an athletics track clad in just a nappy. “I try and balance everything with being a mum — shooting, flying and reporting,” Rachael says. “I also do some work on radio station Nova, which is really fun. I’m happy that I have so much variety and these beautiful opportunities — and I thank my mum and dad for their help and support, and for the belief in myself that I could do anything I want. “Mum was at every sporting event and everything that I did; she was at the end of the racetrack, on the side of every football field and at every competition. Her support was phenomenal and she would always say things like ‘Don’t give up, you can do it! Try your hardest; it doesn’t matter where you come.’ I got a sense of determination and never giving up from Mum that was fantastic. “When I was 15, my mum said: ‘There’s a modelling competition maybe you should enter.’ I said, ‘Mum, you’re kidding me, look at my legs!’ But I decided to enter, and was lucky enough to win the competition, and the modelling started from there.” >
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MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL
HOLLY RINGLAND Holly’s mother, Colleen, instilled a love of learning and reading. Author Holly Ringland discovered the power of plants as a small child, barefoot amid her family’s subtropical garden at Gladstone in Queensland. Her grandmother, Joan Corfield, lived in an old Queenslander with a fairy garden of roses and bell flowers alongside, protected from the scorching summer sun. “Whenever there was something wrong in the world, I would be directed to the fairy garden and Granny would hold my hand and have me look into the faces of flowers and plants,” Holly recalls. “I think she was bringing my
awareness to the fact that nature is bigger than we are and what goes on with our feelings and in our head.” She says that both her mother, Colleen Ringland, and grandmother instilled a love of reading and learning that saw Holly aspiring to be a writer from the age of three. “They both taught me that you cannot give up on home and with hard work something will give,” she says. “Some days I would show up and write for the people that believed in me, like my partner Sam, Granny and Mum who taught me not to squander it, to seize it and not give up. “I grew up between mum’s and Granny’s gardens in Gladstone until I was four in the early 1980s. Everyone lived on quote big plots — the classic Australian backyard — but Granny’s garden was another world altogether. She has an ancient mango tree as well as staghorn and bird’s nest ferns and grevillea. “My memories of that time oscillate between being in Granny’s garden and in Mum’s, where kookaburras and possums would come on the verandah and she would give them scraps. Mum often tells the story of the time she found me on the verandah wrestling a possum for scraps, with a kookaburra watching on! “Mum and Granny both read to me and Granny was constantly storytelling. Mum taught me to read by the time I was three.”
STEVE BAXTER Steve was inspired by his mum Sandra gaining a degree while raising kids. “Growing up in Emerald in Queensland was a lot of fun and we were always riding our bikes around town,” says tech entrepreneur and judge on Shark Tank Steve Baxter. “My recollections are of lots of fun times at the pool and Mum and Dad had this bribe that if we swam half the length of the pool we would get $5, which you can imagine back then was quite a princely amount. I’ve now realised that was so they could send us to the pool and not worry about us drowning. “We really enjoyed the community and Mum and Dad were in the local Lions club and involved in all sorts of community activities. There was an extraordinary amount of Lions social events — barbecues and fundraisers and fetes, which were always a lot of fun. “Our family values were honesty and hard work; Dad was a clerk in Queensland Rail and Mum was a homemaker. Mum did her senior studies while raising us and, in our early days back in Rockhampton she graduated, got her senior certificate and applied to university. She went on and got a degree in social work, then got a job — that definitely gives you an understanding of what hard work is.”
PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING NICOLA SEVITT WORDS CERI DAVID, VIRGINIA IMHOFF, CLAIRE MACTAGGART, CATHERINE McCORMACK
FROM LEFT A four-year-old Steve (left) with his family; Holly in 1982 on the infamous verandah where she once fought a possum for scraps her mum left out; Turia as a toddler cuddling up to her mother, author Celestine Vaite.
TURIA PITT Turia’s mother, author Celestine Vaite, gave her a small-town upbringing “I was eight years old when we moved from Sydney to Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast,” says athlete Turia Pitt. “We’d spent a few holidays down there. Dad had fallen in love with the surf there, so we moved out of the city and down the coast. “I think Mum, who came from Tahiti, felt instantly more at home with the pace of South Coast life. It was small-town living — not even the physical isolation from anything you would otherwise call civilisation could take away from the sensation of staring out across the glassy waters of the Pacific Ocean on a clear day.”
TOM GLEESON Tom’s thankful his mum, Annette, and dad, Phil, gave him a country childhood. “I learnt to drive the Land Rover when I was six, and I must have been seven or eight when I got a motorbike,” says comedian Tom Gleeson who grew up in Tambar Springs in NSW. “The muffler had snapped off, so it was really loud, but Mum liked that because she could still hear me even a couple of kilometres away. I liked difficult terrain, winding around various gullies. It made me feel like an adult, out on my own. “I’ve got two sisters and two brothers. Once, my mum and dad went into town to do some shopping, telling us not to get up to anything dangerous… So we build a flying fox from a windmill down to a tree. We found an old pulley and a rope that wasn’t quite long enough, so we had to attach another bit to reach the tree.
“The incline from the windmill to the tree was really quite steep, bordering on a free fall, and I went so fast that the pulley hit the knot and I flew off into the long grass. Even at that age, I knew that if it wasn’t for that knot, I’d have gone smack into the tree. Of course, I stood up and declared it a success. “We were taking turns and having one of the best days of our lives, but then that wasn’t good enough. So I got one of our pushbikes and tried to rig it up with two pulleys — one on the seat and one on the handlebars, because how good would it be to ride a bike off the windmill, and have it land on the ground like a flying bike? I’d just got my leg over the bike at the top of the windmill when our parents came home… I’ll never know if it would have worked. Mum says she feels like there were two lives on the farm: the one she thought we were having, and the one we were actually having. “These days, everyone thinks boarding school is like Harry Potter and Hogwarts, so it’s cool again, but back then it had a bad name. However, I was the second youngest, and the older three were already there, so if anything, I was gravitating towards them. I thought of it more like Scouts or pony camp — and after first term, my parents came to visit and I proudly announced to my mum that I hadn’t missed her once. “My memories of the farm are very fond, and I think some of that is because my parents sold up when I was 16 — they moved to Sydney to be closer to us at school — so I never had to face a lot of the harsh realities of rural life.”
IAN ‘MOLLY’ MELDRUM The music media personality’s mother taught him about music. “I absolutely adored my Grandma Geer. I was with her until she died when I was about 11 years old. My grandma said: ‘Just remember, son, that no-one is above you, but more important, no-one is below you. Treat everyone, every colour and race, the same.’ “I spent a lot of time with Grandma down in Orbost and Marlo, that beautiful place about 20 kilometres from Orbost. Mum loved opera and Gilbert and Sullivan, as did Grandma. They taught me so much about music. My mother enjoyed musicals, and later at Kyabram, we loved to go to Melbourne to see My Fair Lady a uth Pacific and all those shows.” CLOCKWISE, FROM BELOW Tom (standing in the centre) with his parents, Jim and Annette, and his siblings; a penchant for motorbikes began early for Tom; Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum goofing about.
“My mother enjoyed musicals... we loved to go to Melbourne to see My Fair Lady and South Pacific.”
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time honoured
FOR A FAMILY THAT LOVES TO COLLECT ALL THINGS VINTAGE, THIS 1880s QUEENSLAND FARMHOUSE PROVED TO BE THE PERFECT FIND. WORDS SA R A H PICK ETTE PHOTOGRAPHY K A R A ROSENLUND
POMONA QUEENSLA ND HOME
Asher, six, (top) and Koda, four, play in the treehouse while their three-year-old sister Luna stays closer to their parents Luke Bickley and Katie Robke. The Moreton Bay fig is about 150 years old and beautiful views of Amamoor State Forest can be seen in the distance. MAY 2020 COU NTRY ST Y LE 35
HOME POMONA QUEENSLA ND RIGHT Katie hangs the washing on a simple line rigged up by Luke. FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Lace curtains grace the home’s original timber-framed windows; Luke and Katie with their children, from left, Asher, Koda and Luna. The farm’s ginger grows in the paddocks beyond; the home’s exterior; in the kitchen are antique pieces including an 1840s hutch, an 1860s table and an 1800s meat safe used as saucepan storage. The oil painting is by an unknown artist.
KATIE ROBKE’S CHILDREN are forever running wild — and this
is something that pleases her no end. Growing up on a ginger farm 15 kilometres outside of Pomona, Queensland, gives Asher, six, Koda, four, and three-year-old Luna plenty of space to dig holes, play superheroes and screech about. “They’ll be outside until the sun sets or their stomachs rumble — or the mozzies get even hungrier than them,” says Katie with a smile. “This is exactly the kind of childhood we wanted for our kids and the reason we moved here.” Home for Katie, her partner Luke Bickley, both 34, and their children, is a charming 1880s worker’s cottage they moved into about 18 months ago. “I spotted it online and at that point the farmhouse had a raw-timber exterior,” says Katie. “It was all pretty primitive, but it was affordable and the kind of home we were after.” Now, with a long-term lease in place, the family has been given the owner’s blessing to treat the house as their own. But before they moved in, the farmhouse received an update: a lick of barn-red paint outside; the raw timber floors polished; and the wiring improved. Part of Katie’s reasoning for seeking out a property such as this one was that it aligned nicely with her passion for antique furniture and vintage items of all kinds. “A lot of the pieces in our home we owned before moving here — but they never quite worked as well as they could in our previous house,” says Katie. “Here, though, it’s as if they were meant to be. We have a tiny house but, amazingly, there seems to be a spot for everything.” Among her favourite pieces is an 1840s hutch she bought years ago that looks like it’s been in the kitchen forever. “It was important to us to create a sense of nostalgia in our home,” she says. “When we moved in we hung some light fittings throughout and removed two small wall cabinets that had been tacked on in the 1970s. Aside from that, we love the house’s charm and its quirks.” For Katie, there’s joy in the unsealed timber wall panels and the silky-oak window frames that enclose the original — and, incredibly, uncracked — stained-glass panes. And there’s so much to love about the house’s high ceilings and funny little rooms with too many doors — “it’s the opposite of open-plan,” she quips. When the owner of the house saw how good the cottage looked with Katie and Luke’s antique furniture in place he was impressed. “I think he can now see the possibilities,” says Katie. She now plans to work with the owner to restore an old barn behind the house so it can be a studio/workspace for Luke. He’s a cinematographer who specialises in underwater filming and she works in the business alongside >
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HOME POMONA QUEENSLA ND The children share a bedroom, with Koda’s bed (left) presided over by a tree poster from The Small Folk. To the right is Asher’s bed with bed linen from Adairs. FACING PAGE The treehouse made by Luke is painted the same colour as the cottage. “The boys pretty much live up there!” says Katie. For stockist details, see page 129.
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A dress by Merri The Label hangs by Luna’s bed. CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT An antique pew provides the perfect perch on the home’s verandah; the bathroom has a steel and enamel clawfoot bath and an antique silky-oak cabinet repurposed for bathroom use; Asher and Koda push Luna along in a billycart made by Luke; the exterior of the cottage has been painted in Dulux Manor Red. FACING PAGE The washing line has been constructed from rope and recycled timber. For stockist details, see page 129.
POMONA QUEENSLA ND HOME
him. Because of the nature of Luke’s work, it was important that the family’s home be an easy drive to the coast. It also needed to be close to Noosa where Asher goes to school. There are three bedrooms in the house, with all the kids sharing one and another currently used as a home office. “We love that the owner could have painted them, but he’s kept the bedrooms dim and cosy,” says Katie. “They offer a bit of cool respite from the intensity of the Queensland sun.” The house paddock is about half a hectare and, while it’s dotted with glorious old fig trees, it’s mostly flat, making it perfect for all sorts of games. “We really felt like we’d hit the jackpot when we saw it,” says Katie. There are plans afoot for a rabbit-proof vegie patch — “we’ve marked out the spot and are just waiting for some cooler weather” — and dreams of a dam with ducks to bob about on it. In the meantime, there are plenty of other animals. “There’s an eagle with a wingspan of about one-and-a-half metres that soars above the house and spiders, snakes and mozzies — sometimes too many!” Luke and Katie, who grew up on the same Brisbane street, see much of their own childhoods reflected in their children’s lives today. “I think that’s what so many of us would like, isn’t it? The thing about having a very small house is that the kids have to play outside. We probably live in a bit of a bubble here and all I can say is I’m more than happy to do that Follow Katie on Instagram @mumma_robke Read more about Katie in The Style Diaries on page 114.
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HOME MURCHISON V ICTOR I A Julie, centre, with her daughters Alexandra, left, and Adelaide and horse Rascal. FACING PAGE The breezeway, with its brick walls and concrete floor, was a cool retreat in hot weather for the original owners. The chandelier is a vintage find and the dining table is made from timber salvaged from the breezeway roof. The ochre painting on the right is by Kimberley artist Nancy Nodea.
HOM E COM I NG
THIS HISTORIC HOMESTEAD ON THE GOULBURN RIVER HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE. W0RDS PENN Y CA R ROLL PHOTOGRAPHY ROCHELLE EAGLE
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CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT The kitchen island is made with timber from the shearing shed, the Barcelona stools are from Provincial Home Living and the oven is from Smeg; an armchair from Foxwood Design and a cushion from Abode Living in the living room. The stool and bench are from Marigold Interiors; Julie with Rusty. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP The shearing shed; a sofa from Foxwood Design and chair from HK Living in the breezeway. For stockist details, see page 129.
MURCHISON V ICTOR I A HOME
felt like her heart belonged in the country — and then one day she saw a sign that confirmed it. An avid horse rider and trainer, Julie was driving through Murchison in northern Victoria on her way to a competition when she spotted a small ‘for sale’ sign by the road. “I actually drove past, and something made me turn around — it was like a magnet had hold of me,” she recalls. “When I saw the house, she was in a pretty sad old state, but I literally gasped. I just thought, ‘It’s my dream house!’” The property on offer was the 28-hectare Lynden Farm, which had been owned by the same family since 1914. Its four-bedroom brick homestead was built in 1907, and there had been no structural or interior changes in more than a century. For interior designer and stylist Julie, it presented as both an enticing project and a healing opportunity. “After a family tragedy, it was a soothing balm to my soul a bit,” she explains. “And, had I not bought the house, I think it would have been pulled down, because farmers wanted the land and the house had no value to them. It was structurally very sound … She just needed a really good tidy up.” “Tidying up” Lynden Farm was a 12-month job that involved rewiring, re-plumbing and reroofing, removing walls to open the space, and unearthing the home’s hidden treasures, such as pine floorboards buried under linoleum and cedar ceilings covered with yellowing paint. Julie was intent on preserving as much of the home’s character as she could, repurposing skirting boards into new door arcs and enlisting local third-generation Italian plasterers to >
JULIE JOHNSON ALWAYS
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MURCHISON V ICTOR I A HOME Julie has filled the house with unique items, such as the coffee table, bench seat, and firewood box from Marigold Interiors and the miniature bull from Nyary. The sofa is from Provincial Home Living, the armchair and table on the left are from Foxwood Design, the lamp is custom made by Vince Turner and the throw is from General Merricks Wine Store. The artwork on the right, Wet Season, Dry Season is by Vanessa Russ and the piece on the left Muster at Newry, is by Alan Griffiths. For stockist details, see page 129.
HOME MURCHISON V ICTOR I A
CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE Cushion from Abode Living, tables from HK Living and a candle holder from Marigold Interiors in the sitting room; the bedhead and ladder are from Foxwood Design, the sheets are Sheridan, the throw is Country Road, the side table is from Perfect Pieces and the artwork (on table) is by Helen Wright; Kookaburra in the Sun by Turbo Brown hangs in the guestroom. The chair is from HK Living, the blanket is Country Road and the side table is from Marigold Interiors; hooks on the wall provide handy storage. FACING PAGE A view of the property. For stockist details, see page 129.
replicate the cornices. “I didn’t want it to look bright and shiny, I wanted to work with what was there,” she says. “It was a joyous project and it flowed really beautifully.” Although it had fallen into disrepair by the time Julie found it, Lynden Farm has a rich history. Its previous owners, the Hammond family, were merchants and farmers who milled timber and ran livestock on the property. “They were a successful country family and the house reflects that,” Julie says. “It’s probably the grandest house in the district.” It also has a matriarchal energy that’s prompted her to think of the homestead as inherently feminine. “To me, it feels like a very female house, even though it’s so big and strong. It just has this beautiful energy to it,” she explains. Fittingly, Lynden is now a nurturing refuge for Julie and her two adult daughters, Alexandra, 25, and Adelaide, 23. There’s also room for Julie’s quarter horses, Rascal and Rusty, and she’s learnt to farm the land, on which she agists cattle and cuts hay, as sustainably as possible. “I’m a city girl originally who has just always loved the country,” Julie explains. “I think it comes from holidays when I was a little girl. We used to spend a lot of time on the Peninsula but, come winter, we would go inland to the Eildon Dam and the Jamieson and Goulburn Rivers. And now I’m down the river in Murchison!” Julie’s love of the country was undoubtedly fanned by her love of horses. After first learning to ride as a child, she picked it up seriously again 15 years ago and now competes in reining, an American sport that she describes as “dressage at high speed”. Weekends are often spent at her club, the Goulburn Valley Reining Horse Association, in nearby Tatura. But she also relishes downtime at the farm, riding around the paddocks and soaking up the “uncomplicated” Goulburn River views. “As a design person I see the various colours of the land, which go from a beautiful gold, wheaty colour to little patches of green,” she says. “I always say it quietens your mind a little bit. You have a sense that you’re a very small part of the landscape.”
With the house complete, Julie is going to start on the shearing shed next. “It hasn’t been a working shed since the ’70s and the lanolin from the sheep has preserved all the timber. It’s like they’ve just downed tools and left!” she says. Julie plans to add a chapter to its history by opening the structure onto a large deck for entertaining. Its past has already been captured — timber from the shed, imprinted with stencils bearing the names and dates of the shearers who worked there, including one Beryl Clarke — was used to make the kitchen’s island bench. It’s where Julie and her daughters often gather to share meals and talk, addin their own stories to the rich, living patina of Lynden Farm. ABOUT THE HOUSE
• Julie envisioned a timeless look for the home,
combining English, American, and Scandinavian style, as seen in the the Shaker-style kitchen, the panelling in the breezeway and the custom timber shutters. She is the owner of interior design studio Foxwood Design, which is based on the Mornington Peninsula. Follow on Instagram @foxwood_design, 0417 553 371. Rikys & Moylan Builders worked with Julie and local tradespeople to restore the house and bring its utilities up to modern standards. (03) 5823 5044, rikysmoylan.com.au Julie shops for unique pieces at Merricks General Wine Store. 3460 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks, Victoria, (03) 5989 8088, mgwinestore.com.au The interior designer has a preference for white bed linen and simple soft furnishings and many are sourced from Sheridan, 1800 223 376, sheridan.com.au Much of the home’s furniture, including the coffee table and various cupboards and cabinets, was bought from Marigold Interiors. “They’re one-off pieces and they have a beautiful simplicity to them,” Julie says. 532 City Road, South Melbourne, Victoria, 0468 458 532, marigoldinteriors.com.au
• • • •
Julie’s love of the country was undoubtedly fanned by her love of horses.
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HOME OYSTER COV E TASM A NI A Chocolate lace flower (Daucus carota) is one of Marian’s favourites and has good repeat flowering and variations in colour. FACING PAGE Identical seven-year-old twins Elisabeth (left) and Maggie set up a flower shop in their orchard cubby, a mini version of The Hut, constructed using native musk (Olearia argophylla) while their German shepherd Claudia supervises.
SOU TH ER N BEAU T Y
ON A PATCH OF LAND IN SOUTHERN TASMANIAN, THIS FAMILY LIVES IN A PURPOSE-BUILT HOME SURROUNDED BY FLOWERS AND BUSHLAND. WORDS HILA RY BUR DEN PHOTOGRAPHY M A R NIE H AWSON ST YLING MICHELLE CR AW FOR D
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HOME OYSTER COV E TASM A NI A
INSPIRATION FOR HOUSE DESIGNS can come from many
places, but for southern Tasmanian couple Marian and Rob Wiltshire it was endless moving that made them realise how little space they really needed. Five rental properties in six years — each move forced by the owner selling up — gave the couple an understanding that, for them, the ultimate living area should be no more than four metres by four metres in size. “Anything bigger seemed cold and intimidating,” says Rob. When it came to designing their own home with as small a footprint as possible, Rob reached for inspiration in an American book he had on his bookshelf, 25 Houses under 1500 Square Feet, and one particular building, Teviot Springs Vineyard, that won several awards for the American architectural firm Turnbull Griffin Haesloop. The long, narrow structure, known in the United States as a ‘dogtrot’ house, features a central breezeway, with two parts of the house on either side. From those first drawings made in 2005, Marian and Rob called their future home, The Hut, further inspired by the heritage Huon Valley apple-picking huts found in the surrounding area, as well as their desire for a minimalist, understated dwelling. “I took a little while to get used to the idea of a long, narrow house,” explains Marian. The home is 27 metres long and four metres wide. “There’s not a lot of space, but we always knew we’d spend a lot of time outside.” It also took a while for the couple to find this north-facing block that is located on
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three-and-a-half hectares of pasture at Oyster Cove in the Channel region, 35 minutes from Hobart. Rob had already built a scale model of their future home out of balsa wood, right down to the silver, corrugated roof. As a self-taught designer, Rob also took inspiration from the historic Heemskerk Winery (now Jansz Tasmania Wine Room), built during the 1970s by his late father, vigneron pioneer Graham Wiltshire. “I didn’t realise it had been such a formative experience,” says Rob, “but The Hut roof had to be at an angle of 90 degrees — the same angle as the Heemskerk wine shed, built in the style of a Dutch barn. I also wanted the same board and batten cladding in Tasmanian celery top pine, which I eventually sourced from a sawmill in Geeveston — there are so few mills around now.” Marian adds: “We wanted to ground it in Tasmania using Tassie timbers.” The botanist couple, who met at the School of Plant Science at the University of Tasmania, started their build in 2011. On a sunny but cool midwinter’s day, the Wiltshire family is entertaining with the sliding glass doors open wide onto the terrace. Rob has baked a pear cake for the occasion and is making tea while their seven-year-old identical twins Elisabeth and Maggie have set up their own afternoon tea set on the living room floor. Instagram followers first met the twins in 2012 when they were born 26 weeks prematurely. “We were put through the ringer a lot and didn’t have the energy left >
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Rob tending the extensive white garden; the cutting garden has views of Oyster Cove; Rob and Marian Wiltshire with their twins Elisabeth (left) and Maggie; Japanese windflowers flourish; a view of the glasshouse and shed; Christmas lilies (Lilium longiflorum) in bloom; Marian checks on seedlings in the glasshouse; buckets of David Austin roses and flowering stems of amaranth in the mud room. FACING PAGE The house was designed to make the division between indoors and outdoors seamless with its generous terrace and breezeway entrance.
HOME OYSTER COV E TASM A NI A Maggie (left) and Elisabeth enjoying a quiet moment with Claudia. The living room window seat, commissioned from a local craftsman, is upholstered in Warwick Tate fabric in Storm. The furniture, all made from Tasmanian myrtle, includes a sideboard and small tables from Myer’s vintage Heritage furniture collection, crafted in the department store’s Melbourne factory in the 1950s. The Chinese silk rug originally belonged to Rob’s parents. For stockist details, see page 129.
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OYSTER COV E TASM A NI A HOME
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Freshly harvested ‘Moorpark’ apricots fill this urn from Koch & Co; ‘Goldmine’ nectarines almost ready to pick; the girls enjoy helping their mum. The kitchen cabinetry is celery top pine and made by local builder Greg Edwards and the kitchen stools are vintage T H Brown in blackwood. The table is a Hydro Tasmania boardroom table from Antiques Warehouse. On the wall is Spring by local artist Tom Samek; a garden-style rose; the cubby house in the orchard; Scabiosa in an unusual colour; the bed is made of Tasmanian oak, the side table is a Myer vintage Heritage piece and the vase is a vintage store find; beds of dahlias (left) and amaranth (right) in the flower field. FACING PAGE The twins enjoy the freedom of growing up on a property. Rob mows the paddock in the style of a vineyard, like his late vigneron father Graham Wiltshire once did. For stockist details, see page 129.
HOME OYSTER COV E TASM A NI A Marian designed the terraced, parterre cutting garden based on the work of English garden designer and television presenter Monty Don. In the summer months, fennel and euphorbia are in abundance, kept neat by clipped box hedge borders.
at the end of the day to deal with real people,” says Marian. “But a quick post on something in my day found a following online. We had a lot of online love from Insta at that time.” The Hut is designed around a custom-built window seat in Tasmanian myrtle. To offset the newness of the house, the interior is furnished in solid timber vintage pieces. It is a mid-century modern look: myrtle dressers made by Myer in the 1950s; a worse-for-wear Hydro Tasmania myrtle boardroom table, complete with coffee cup rings, picked up at Antiques Warehouse in Hobart; and Piper’s Truline Tasmanian blackwood chairs, designed and manufactured in Ulverstone, rescued from the tip and curbside recycling. Rob says Marian can spot a Piper’s Truline at 50 metres! “With these pieces, our new home already felt like a home because the furniture pre-dated us by 60 years,” says Marian. Rob is thankful for the years they had to consider their ideal dwelling. “We wanted light and airiness,” he says, “with views framed by windows and doors.” With less space and open-plan living, The Hut is fit for purpose, enabling family life to spill naturally outside, as well as bring the inside in — afternoon tea was interrupted by a fossicking quoll visible though a side window. Having twins in a compact living space has forced Marian and Rob to be more mindful of how much stuff they collect. “It helps us be minimalist because there’s not enough space to put it,” says Rob. “We wanted a simple house — and the girls do change that a bit — so for every one thing we buy, we have to throw one thing out.”
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Outside, Rob is in the middle of rotavating rows for a new flower field to supplement their existing established flower gardens, growing garden-style roses, dahlias, ranunculus, sweet peas and other perennials and annuals. This adds to the cutting garden, and orchard. Now that the twins are older, Marian has been able to pursue her passion for gardening and feed her dreams by establishing a small-scale flower farm on the property, growing sustainably grown flowers for florists and event designers in Tasmania. “The girls decided we were going to be flower farmers,” she says. They just started telling everyone, ‘Mummy is going to be a flower farmer.’” Marian explains the aim is to cut down the distance cut flowers have to travel, as well as the chemicals that have to go onto flowers when they come into Australia. “You want them to be safe for people to smell,” says Marian, “and not look like they just came out of a box.” While posting daily Instagram updates about The Hut flower farm, Marian says the twins now have a sense of ownership over the whole garden and think of it as their own. One of their favourite things to do — totally unprompted — is to pick a posy for their visitors. Meanwhile, for Rob, The Hut’s designer and in-house chef, a favourite aspect of the house is being in the kitchen, seeing his family present: the girls playing on the window seat; Claudia, their nine-year-old German shepherd, curled up on the rug; and Marian busy doing something she loves. Follow the farm on Instagram @thehutflowerfarm
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W EL L R EST ED
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pillow can also help with specific health requirements like pregnancy, allergies, night sweats or back and neck problems. Made with the ultimate craftsmanship and using quality materials, every Dentons pillow comes with a five year guarantee. For Dentons, functionality does not come at the expense of comfort — there’s something for every sleeper within their 22 exceptional pillow designs. Once you’ve had a Dentons, you’ll never sleep the same way again.
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2
DECOR ATING BEDROOMS Skylights flood this pretty space with light and the French doors open out to a beautiful flower garden. The Fyresdal day bed is from Ikea and the floral bed linen was bought at Pottery Barn. For stockist details, see page 129.
TURN YOUR BEDROOM INTO A SOOTHING SANCTUARY YOU’LL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE. WORDS PENN Y CA R ROLL
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GREEN ROOM
PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON STYLING BELLE HEMMING BRIGHT
Those who dare, win: it’s the lush green wall colour that gives this studio bedroom at Trentham wellness retreat Acre of Roses the X-factor. Drenched in Porter’s Paints Daintree and teamed with a crisp white trim, the room perfectly reflects the verdant garden just beyond its French doors. Second-hand furniture and a charming mix of florals add to the room’s cosy cottage vibe, the eclectic look tied together with a common thread of pea green. To echo the style in your own home, scour antique stores and markets for vintage paintings and weathered timber furniture, hunt for old-fashioned floral prints in your palette of choice, and team it all with bright white linen and freshly cut blooms from the garden. See more of Acre of Roses on page 88. >
DECOR ATING BEDROOMS Owner Amanda Shadforth says her bedroom has become the perfect place to retreat to when she needs some downtime. The Hawaiian bed is from Pacific Green and the Z1 light fitting is from Ay Illuminate. For stockist details, see page 129.
ALL IS CALM
PHOTOGRAPHY JULIE ADAMS STYLING KRISTIN RAWSON
Sometimes, it’s what you leave out that makes the biggest impact. This soothing bedroom, in the south Queensland home of Amanda Shadforth, founder of premium fashion busines Oracle Fox, is an ode to calming qualities of a restrained palette. Softly billowing sheer curtains, a painted concrete floor and fresh white bed linen set a serene stage, while a timber bed from Pacific Green and an oversized silk and bamboo pendant by Ay Illuminate bring warmth into what could be a clinical space. All white everything doesn’t mean you can’t have character — a modern artwork in an opulent gilt frame adds a wink of playfulness here. Lighten up, indeed. For more information, visit oraclefox.com >
White floors, walls, bed linen and billowing sheer curtains create a soothing sanctuary.
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DECOR ATING BEDROOMS Rich coloured bed linen adds to the feeling of warmth in this bedroom in Katie Robke’s home.
A small bedroom makes for a cosy place to cocoon. NESTING MODE
PHOTOGRAPHY KARA ROSENLUND
With its unsealed timber panelled walls, this bedroom is like a warm hug, just right for sleepy Sunday mornings. In a cosy cocoon like this, size doesn’t matter — in fact, a small space is an advantage. Just ask Katie Robke, who has embraced the “funny little rooms” of this 1880s farmhouse near Pomona in Queensland, saying they’re the perfect backdrop for her collection of antique and vintage furniture. Here, a rustic iron bed and a dark-stained set of drawers plays up the log-cabin atmosphere, while bed linen in rich, jewel tones double down on the comfort factor. Allowing the rich timber to take the spotlight, Katie has added little adornment: a painting leaning casually against the wall and posy of dried flowers is all this sweet bedroom needs. To see more of Katie’s home, turn to page 34.
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Society of Wanderers new range, Marmalade Skies. You can mix and match patterns and colours.
LAY YOUR HEAD A QUALITY PILLOW IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS A GOOD MATTRESS. DENTONS MEDI REST OFFERS THERAPEUTIC NECK SUPPORT FOR SIDE SLEEPERS. $130. (03) 9887 0001, DENTONS.COM.AU
SIDE ORDER
Is your bedside table cluttered? The Luxe bedside table has two handy drawers and a timeless design. $399. harveynorman.com.au
on the quiet
SOFT TOUCHES Beautifully patterned cushions give your bedroom personality. The Walter G cushion set in Musk, $395.20, features a Tappan cushion, a Java cushion and a Patola cushion. While Geo Pestamai throws in Grey and Black, $139 each, from Loom Towels add to the cosy feel. walter-g.com.au loomtowels.com
THROW IN SOME PRETTY CUSHIONS, BUT IT’S TIME TO INVEST IN LINEN SHEETS AND GOOD QUALITY MATTRESSES.
WELL RESTED Who better to ask for tips about what type of sheets are best than the owner of a bed linen label? “French flax linen is where it’s at for me,” says Briony Delves of Society of Wanderers (pictured left with her son Sebastien). “It breathes on warm nights, but most importantly it’s a delight to wash, dry and just throw back on the bed.” As a busy mother of two young children and a business owner, saving time and being kind to the environment are top of mind for Briony: “Linen is not only more sustainable; it will last five times as long, it’s more comfortable and doesn’t need to be ironed. Win!” And getting a good night’s sleep is paramount, so she recently bought a new King Koil mattress. To make your bedroom an inviting place, Briony suggests updating your bed linen. “I love how choosing any colour and pattern linen is a reasonably affordable way to transform your bedroom.” For more information about Society of Wanderers, visit societyofwanderers.com King Koil mattresses are available from Harvey Norman, visit harveynorman.com.au
MADE TO ORDER Have your bed made to your specifications using Domayne Customised Living. Take the Peony bed, for example, you can choose the fabric, bedhead height, legs and size. Here it is pictured above in Warwick Arlington fabric. From $3199 for a queen size. 1800 366 396, domayne.com.au
H A R V E Y
Once upon a d re a m
N O R M A N P R E S E N T S
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Key Features Each made-to-order Sealy Posturepedic® Exquisite™ mattress boasts Responsive Technology via ReST® Coils which give you three stages of personalised support. A Liquid Gel layer within the mattress provides pressure relief and durability, while the Reinforced Edge uses UniCased® XT to keep the perimeter of the mattress firm and stable.
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The SleepMaker® Arizona Deluxe Firm mattress (above) features a premium 5-Zone Micro Coil, creating ultimate support due to its higher density build. This is combined with Fusion Gel and Graphene, a proven comfort layer with pressure-relieving properties, plus temperature-regulating KulKote® to maintain an optimal body temperature. Arizona Deluxe mattresses are also treated with Ultra Fresh® to help protect against allergy and asthma triggers.
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BUILD SHEDS This flat-pack house is made from Japanese cedar and opens out onto a large deck.
WORKING LIFE
ONCE RELEGATED TO HOUSE TRACTORS AND TOOLS, THE SIMPLE FARM SHED IS NOW INSPIRING ARCHITECTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. WORDS KY LIE IMESON PRODUCER A NN DO
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Ready to go
With a large deck and sliding doors, this prefabricated building — called the Yō no Ie House or Plain House — seamlessly connects the indoors with the outdoors. The flat-pack, one-bedroom, one-bathroom house was designed by Japanese homewares company Muji. It comes with a conversation pit — the ideal spot to share a meal and enjoy some fresh air. The pale Japanese cedar walls and floors means it blends into its surroundings. Currently unavailable in Australia, we have our fingers crossed they can be purchased here soon but in the meantime it provides great inspiration. muji.com
BUILD SHEDS
PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM GIBSON
This simple, box-like cabin has a full kitchen and bathroom inside. BELOW, FROM LEFT Wooden stairs lead up to the bedroom; floor-length curtains match the timber tones. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP The brass kitchen runs along one wall; timber-framed glass sliding doors lead out to the verandah with glorious views.
Connected to nature
Located at Denison Rivulet near Bicheno on Tasmania’s beautiful East Coast are these cabins designed by Taylor & Hinds Architects. A modern take on the shacks so loved by Tasmanians, these buildings are a finely crafted and polished version of those original rough structures. For details on how to book, visit rentseastacks.com.au/sea-stacks-east-coast-tasmania. Taylor & Hinds Architects, 247 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania, (03) 6287 7024, taylorandhinds.com.au
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BUILD SHEDS The shed at Nulla Vale in Victoria is only a short walk from the main house and contains a solar battery, which stores power generated from the panels on the roof. FACING PAGE This writer’s shed blends in with the garden.
Built with specific purposes in mind, one half of this shed located on a 121.5-hectare property in Victoria’s Nulla Vale, an hour north of Melbourne, was kept open to store firewood and provide shelter for the owners’ dog. The other half is enclosed for keeping farm equipment and the solar battery secure. “The shed and house are entirely off-grid,” explains Antony Martin of MRTN Architects, who designed the shed. “The slope of the roof was determined to maximise solar orientation in winter when sunlight hours are less and the sun is at a lower angle in the sky than in summer.” A galvanised steel frame clad in heritage-grade galvanised corrugated steel ensures it will stand the test of time. MRTN Architects, 334 Victoria Street, Brunswick, Victoria, (03) 8548 4638, 0409 407 673, mrtn.com.au
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PHOTOGRAPHY PETER BENNETTS, SHANNON MCGRATH
Powerful design
Writer’s retreat
Located in the corner of the garden where two boundary fences meet, this shed is where the owner, a writer and children’s television producer, does her best work. Having decided against a study in her home, she hired Matt Gibson Architecture and Design to create a shed with desk space, natural light and a garden outlook. “It helps me mentally disengage from ‘home’… literally being in the garden, it gives me a genuine sense of peace, security and calmness that I cannot get in any other work environment,” she says. Camouflaged by vines, the brick shed blends into the garden, which was designed by Ben Scott Garden Design; the large window is the only thing that gives it away. Matt Gibson Architecture & Design, 29 Derby Street, Collingwood, Victoria, (03) 9419 6677, mattgibson.com.au Ben Scott Garden Design, 26 Liddiard Street, Hawthorn, Victoria, (03) 9819 6566, benscott.com.au
BUILD SHEDS
This striking hideaway on Bruny Island was built on top of underground water tanks. FROM TOP LEFT Large windows and sliding glass doors frame views. Storage for gas bottles and firewood screen the car; light-coloured timber walls, floors and ceiling create a cosy sense of enclosure; a ladder leads to the loft. The low dining table is the only freestanding piece of furniture on the ground level — everything else is built in.
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Bush hideaway
PHOTOGRAPHY ROB MAVER
Surrounded by dense gum forest, this one-bedroom cabin on Bruny Island in Tasmania is a place where the owner comes to get away from it all. It is completely off the grid: rainwater is collected, electricity is solar-powered, a wood-fire oven warms the hideaway and bottled gas runs the cooktop and hot water. Hugh Maguire of Maguire and Devine Architects says of the design, “Our brief was to design a building as a piece of furniture with everything needed built in. The only furniture allowed was a low table and mattress on the sleeping loft.� It also has bushfire-resistant timber and Zincalume metal cladding. Maguire and Devine Architects, 176 New Town Road, Hobart, Tasmania, (03) 6292 0911, 0438 312 558, maguiredevine.com.au
BUILD SHEDS Surrounded by dense bush, this cement and steel shed is an imposing structure. BOTTOM RIGHT The wheels on this work table means that it’s easy to reconfigure the space as needed. BOTTOM LEFT Ageing metal on the exterior adds a rustic touch and mirrors the natural colours of the area.
Hard act to follow
PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM GIBSON
Made from cement, metal and exposed timber beams, this imposing shed was designed by architects Room 11 and built by South East Building. A floor to ceiling sheet of glass breaks up the cement and provides natural light in the otherwise windowless workspace. Room 11, 358B Macquarie Street, South Hobart, Tasmania, (03) 6224 8642, room11.com.au South East Building, 0418 990 607, 0425 711 423, southeastbuilding.com.au
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BUILD
NEW BEGINNINGS LIVING IN THE COUNTRY ON LAND WITH ROOM TO MOVE IS STILL THE DREAM OF MANY, BUT AFTER THE FIRES WE NEED TO CHOOSE MATERIALS WISELY WHEN WE BUILD. WORDS STEPHANIE HOPE
PHOTOGRAPHY BRIGID ARNOTT
Many families dream of escaping Australia’s capital cities to live on beautiful properties like this one in the NSW Southern Highlands that we featured recently. MAY 2020 COUNTRY ST Y LE 81
A wall of Bowral bricks in Simmental Silver are left unpainted in this home. RIGHT Bowral bricks in Simmental Silver, pavers and concrete are fire retardant. FACING PAGE, FROM LEFT Bowral Bricks Bowral 50 in Blue laid in a herringbone pattern; Austral San Selmo Reclaimed bricks were used in this home to give it an old, lived in feel; all bricks are from Brickworks.
PETER RUPRECHT JOKINGLY refers to himself as a “typical
cocky male”. The home that he shares with wife Rosemary on the NSW Mid North Coast town of Rainbow Flat was relatively new at 11 years old, and the couple thought it highly unlikely that it would or could burn in the event of a bushfire. Sadly, the Hillville fire that ravaged the region in November last year proved them wrong. Peter recalls, “I was standing on the roof, merrily hosing it down, when we lost electricity and the pumps stopped working. I got down from the roof, and I guess that saved my life, because when the fire came, it was a wall of flame.” The house was lost and the couple, who live on the 65-hectare property with their son Strathmore, were left with just a few pieces of clothing. Their beloved belted Galloway cattle were “traumatised but alive” and Peter says, “the biggest loss for our family would have to be the photos”. And yet, he says they’re the lucky ones, because they have a roof over their heads — a shed on their property that they’ve converted into living quarters — and they have plans to rebuild. By the end of this year, Peter hopes the family will be back in a home very much like the one they lost. Bushfires have always been a part of the Australian landscape, and in response to tragedies like these, there now exist a set of risk-averse guidelines around building in fire-prone areas. Regulations vary depending on where
you live and your property’s Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating — this measure takes into account the local climate, slope of the land and its proximity to the bush, and determines the level of risk and compliance you need to work to. For example, homes that are rated BAL 12.5 (low-risk) can use certain types of fire-resistant timber decking, including blackbutt, spotted gum or red ironbark, while properties with a BAL FZ (flame zone) rating should stick to tiles or concrete. Many building guidelines revolve around reducing the threat of ember attack from nearby fires. Roofing, for instance, should be pitched with a slope either side and have minimal valleys (the V-shaped metal channels that run along the ‘folds’ of a roof) to avoid embers becoming trapped. Likewise, walls should be constructed from, and insulated with, non-flammable materials, with double brick the safest choice. “Bricks are made from clay and shale, and are fired at very high temperatures, so they’re a good non-combustible option,” says Brett Ward, general manager of international marketing for Brickworks Building Products. “Plus there are thousands of colour choices, so there’s no limit in the aesthetic you’re after.” Clay roof tiles and concrete masonry bricks have the same fire-resistant properties; steel and high-performance toughened window glass are other good choices. For gutters, consider installing non-combustible gutter guards and fire plugs; the plugs act as seals so gutters can
“...I guess that saved my life, because when the fire came, it was a wall of flame.”
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BUILD
Bowral Simmental Silver
PHOTOGRAPHY BLACK BEE STUDIO
Bowral Murray Grey
be filled with water in the event of a fire. And be sure to install LPG tanks away from buildings, in case they explode in the heat. Even better, take gas out of the equation with an off-the-gird power set-up. Using the recommended materials alone doesn’t guarantee your home’s survival should a fire come through. A combination of good design, careful construction and sensible maintenance are essential to producing a house that can withstand all that Mother Nature throws at it. For Peter and Rosemary, their decision to build with brick has proven to be a fortuitous one, thanks to a generous initiative launched by Brickworks in the wake of the recent fires. “For any bushfire victims who originally built their home out of our bricks or roof tiles, we will supply those bricks free of charge for the rebuild,” Brett explains. “And for those wanting to rebuild using our products, we are offering 50 per cent off the total cost of the materials.” “They’ve certainly pulled out all the stops and will be providing all of the bricks and tiles free of charge to help us rebuild,” says Peter. “It goes to show that there are some incredible people out there with a genuine concern for helping our regional areas come back from this.” Brett is hopeful that as those affected come to terms with their loss and start planning for the future, this number will grow into the hundreds. “We will honour any claims made in the next two years,” he says. “We want to make the process as smooth and easy as possible; this is our contribution to helping those affected get back on their feet.” For more information, visit brickworks.com.au
REBUILD OFFER
If your home was lost in the recent bushfires and you had built it with Austral Bricks, Brickworks will replace all the bricks, free of charge, including delivery. To take up this offer, bushfire victims should register online. At the time of print, 12 people had applied and the first load of bricks had already been delivered in the Shoalhaven area of NSW. Visit brickworks.com.au/bushfire-relief This is an extract from The Country Guide, $12.99, on sale Monday, April 27th.
Bowral St Pauls Cream
Bowral Brown
Bowral Gertrudis Brown
Bowral Hereford Bronze
Bowral Capitol Red
Bowral Embassy Red
Bowral Chillingham White
Bowral Blue
Bowral Brahman Granite
BUILD These simple, shed-like structures resemble shipping containers but are actually comfortable rooms at Blackbird, a popular place to stay in the hinterland near NSW’s Byron Bay.
OUT OF THE BOX
HOW TO TURN A SHED INTO A CHARACTER-FILLED HOME. WORDS PENN Y CA R ROLL PHOTOGRAPHY K R ISTA EPPELSTUN
WHETHER TUCKED AWAY at the bottom of a garden or
standing proudly in a paddock, sheds are a ubiquitous part of Australian life. But lately they’ve become more than just a basic structure for storage, garden tools or odd jobs. Sheds are getting a makeover as the perfect place for a spare room, a relaxing retreat, or even a second dwelling. Renovating an existing shed may be an option for some, but experts suggest that it’s easiest to build from the ground up, so you can take into account the extra requirements you’ll need for a comfortable living space, such as insulation, windows and ventilation. “Even the concrete slab has to be designed differently to allow for moisture barriers and strength,” explains Max Italiano, managing director of Action Sheds in Western Australia. If you keep the footprint small and the details simple, a shed home can be quite cost effective, adds architect Alexandra Ansari. Here, we’ll walk you through the steps to building a shed-style retreat in your own backyard. >
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BUILD
Planning
FROM TOP Salvaged hardwood beams and tin from an old banana packing shed on the property were used in the construction of the three Blackbird pavilions. Blackbird is surrounded by trees and greenery with beautiful views. Concrete floors extend from inside out to the balcony where it is inlaid with stones. FACING PAGE Walls lined in reinforcing mesh and simple furniture add to the shed-like feel of Blackbird.
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Take a moment to consider what the shed will be used for — now and in the future. For example, you may want a bedroom for a teenager, a self-contained studio to rent out on Airbnb, or it may need to fulfil multiple roles, such as an office and guestroom. “The most important thing is to really think about what you want to get out of it,” says Alexandra. “Do you need a kitchen, or could you get away with just having it as a room? Be really clear, because costs can be a lot higher if you want the full kit.” Location should also be a key consideration. James Hudson, owner and builder of Blackbird, a luxury bed and breakfast in the Byron Bay hinterland, says that his modern shed-style pavilions would have looked entirely different if they were built somewhere else. “I think the landscape and environment is always going to dictate the final product,” he shares. “I believe things like this have to come from the heart — I don’t think it’s a cut and paste situation.”
Design
An industrial designer by trade, James deliberately kept the layout of the three Blackbird pavilions simple — the minimal concrete boxes resemble shipping containers in shape and the slim interior space contains just a small kitchen nook, a bathroom and a combined living and bedroom area. “It all just comes down to what kind of things you need — and what you expect on holiday — and how to maximise it,” he explains. “I also wanted to ensure that when you’re inside, it feels like you’re the only people here, so when you’re in bed all you can see is sky from the high louvres to the left or right … and there are big glass doors in front of you which frame the view.” The small scale of a shed can allow you the freedom to experiment with styles and finishes, Alexandra notes. “You can go very minimalistic, or you could opt for a timber and corrugated iron combination, like a typical shed, and make the inside more special
— because it’s a small space it won’t immediately bust the budget,” she says. “Often it comes down to what your main house looks like — you would always link it back in some way so it doesn’t look too alien.”
What will it cost?
Your outlay for a custom-built shedstyle home will be dictated by your unique situation and vision for the project, says Alexandra. “It depends on so many factors, from general size, inclusions (kitchen, bathroom, joinery) to things like accessibility — can the builder drive a ute right up to the building site or does he have to hand deliver; can he get a bobcat on site or will he have to hand excavate?” If you have the appropriate skills to get on the tools you could slash costs, as labour is always the priciest aspect of a new build. “Custom building is expensive, as it is all done by physical labour; man hours equals cost,” Alexandra explains. Max says that opting for a steel shed-style home will save you dollars compared with a brick and tile structure. “We do shed comparisons compared to brick sheds for instance,
“... really think about what you want to get out of it. Do you need a kitchen, or could you get away with just having it as a room?” and you’d save 20 to 30 per cent, easy,” he says. The steel frame also offers far superior insulation qualities, he adds. Customising a kit shed might be worth exploring: Max says an 84 square metre steel shed ($24,000 off the shelf) dolled up with internal walls, insulation, a bathroom and kitchen will set you back between $85,000 to $100,000, depending on the finishes and fixtures you choose.
Materials
Hard-wearing materials that are fire resistant are ideal for a shed. Max says a matte, corrugated steel like Spandek laid horizontally “looks fantastic”, while a composite fibre cement cladding that mimics timber is a good option because it’s durable and won’t warp. At Blackbird, James used hardwood and tin salvaged from an old banana packing shed on his property to keep costs down and give the concrete sheeting-clad pavilions character. The reception and communal space is simply a customised off-the-shelf steel shed, with reinforcing mesh layered over foil-backed insulation bats inside to give it a “nesting” feel and use up excess materials. “I was trying to reduce my waste to an absolute minimum,” he explains. For flooring, Alexandra says it’s hard to go past concrete. “It has that utilitarian feel to it, and you can polish it up nicely or colour it,” she says. If you prefer a warmer feel underfoot, try floating floorboards over the slab. A corrugated tin roof is the natural choice, but Alexandra suggests going green: “A green roof or green walls can make the shed blend into your garden.” A living roof also provides natural insulation — just don’t skip the waterproofing layer For more information, visit ansariarchitects.com.au, blackbirdbyron.com.au and actionsheds.com.au FINISHING TOUCHES 1 Colorbond 762mm x 16mm XRW S-Rib corrugated steel roofing in Deep Ocean, $14.60 for a linear metre. 2 Royal Oak Floors concrete wall panel in Metal Grey, $95/m2 plus GST. 3 Royal Oak Floors concrete wall panel in Mineral Sands, $107/m2 plus GST. 4 James Hardie Smooth Scyon Axon fibre cement cladding in Monument, $119.50 for a panel, from Bunnings. 5 James Hardie Scyon Stria fibre cement cladding in Franklin River, $79.78 for a panel, from Bunnings. 6 Weathertex Natural Woodsman 150mm Vgroove Selflok hardwood in Brown, $52.59 for a panel, from Bunnings. 7 Lysaght 0.42mm Spandek Colorbond steel sheeting in Woodland Grey, $29.85/m2, from Bunnings. For stockist details, see page 129. 1
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WOMEN’S SHEDS Tamara Bowman’s shed is decorated with her work, like this random-weave basket made from weeping willow. FACING PAGE Tamara making string in the loading door of the old two-stand woolshed on her Mudgee property, Bowfield.
A RO OM OF ON E’S OW N
WHO SAID SHEDS WERE JUST FOR MEN? HERE WE ASK TWO WOMEN WHY THEY LOVE TO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO ESCAPE TO. WORDS PENN Y CA R ROLL
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PHOTOGRAPHY BRIGID ARNOTT
WOMEN’S SHEDS
TAMARA BOWMAN Weaver, Mudgee, NSW
IT’S DARK, DUSTY and freezing in winter, but it’s all
hers: the rustic woolshed on Tamara Bowman’s property near Mudgee, NSW, is a sweet retreat for this creative gardener-turned-weaver. The large, corrugated iron structure began its life as a two-stand woolshed, but it had been left idle for many years when Tamara, 55, and her family moved to the 68-hectare property, Bowfield, in 2013. “We thought it was a lovely space, so we wondered what we’d do with it,” she says. It wasn’t until the semi-retired garden designer took up weaving in 2015 that the old shed’s new purpose became clear. “With basketry there’s so many natural materials to dry, you seem to have stuff everywhere,” Tamara says. “I suddenly realised I had this incredible space! I’ve got a lovely old cast iron bath for soaking, I’ve got my steamer for steaming timber set up… For me, that’s an enormous privilege and indulgence.”
Aside from her own weaving projects and hosting workshops for the Mudgee Second Wednesday Weavers group, Tamara uses the shed to practise styling and flower arranging, a hobby that’s being put to good use at friends’ celebrations. “Whether it’s because I can store all my materials and see them and play with them, having that space has given me confidence,” she says. It’s also where she displays her many antique finds, such as the French wooden fruit crates that are now used to dry plant material from the garden. “It’s the perfect house, because I don’t have to clean it, but I can arrange it the way I want it,” she laughs. Even when she’s not using it, the shed is a reassuring daily sight for Tamara, who describes it as “something just for me” after being treated for breast cancer in 2014. “The shed is always in my life, whether I’m in it or in the garden,” she explains. “It’s incredibly comforting, because I know I can always retreat there.” See Tamara’s weaving work follow @bowfieldwoolshed or @mudgee2ndwednesdayweavers on Instagram.
“The shed is always in my life, whether I’m in it or in the garden.”
PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Garlic heads cut from the garden in an antique water filter Tamara bought at an auction. Raffia is hung from the wall to straighten the strands; watering cans decorate the 150-year-old slab timber stables, another treasured shed at Bowfield; Tamara Bowman; the driveway leading into Bowfield; the woolshed, viewed from the garden, is a comforting presence in Tamara’s life. FACING PAGE Tamara keeps materials, like these kniphofia (red hot poker) leaves, on display to inspire her work.
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CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Sandy McKinley at work on her micro flower farm; the happy mix of florals and green walls are a nod to the shed’s intended use as a potting shed; Sandy says the shed’s natural light makes it ideal for painting and creative projects; Rob added a glass bell tower to the roof, which houses an old school bell; the enamel hand basin was an original feature of the old chook shed; guests are invited to harvest herbs from the potager garden. FACING PAGE Garden memorabilia and second-hand finds inject character into the space.
WOMEN’S SHEDS
SANDY MCKINLEY
Flower farmer, Trentham, Victoria
IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE that this bright studio on Sandy
PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON STYLING BELLE HEMMING BRIGHT
McKinley’s micro flower farm Acre of Roses in Trentham, Victoria, was once a dilapidated chicken shed. Now completely renovated and surrounded by a traditional French potager garden, it’s a luxurious and inviting spot to relax. The initial plan for the old chook house was to turn it into an office and potting shed for 57-year-old Sandy, and her husband Rob Roy, 60, to share with their gardener. “But every week that we renovated it, it became a more and more whimsical hideaway,” Sandy explains. That’s no doubt down to Rob, a builder, who took it on as a passion project and transformed it over 18 months, and stylist Belle Hemming Bright, who designed the interior and recommended the striking shade of green (Porter’s Paints Daintree) for its walls. Or, perhaps it’s the original details they’ve retained, like copper piping, stone flooring and an old concrete trough. But Sandy says that it’s the shed’s north-facing aspect, which allows sunlight to flood the space from morning to late afternoon, that makes it so special to her. “It goes back to my childhood holidays in Christchurch,” she explains. “My grandmother had a sunroom that was north-facing and overlooked the garden, and it was a place I used to hide away most days.” It’s this room that Sandy now mentally recalls when she meditates. “I feel very lucky that I’ve got a real space to go to, instead of having to virtually go back to that space,” she says. The Potting Shed, as it is now known, is one of two boutique accommodation offerings at Acre of Roses, but when it’s not hosting guests, Sandy loves to wander around the garden, or spend time reading or ng inside. “It’s a space that I find nurturing and saf think that’s important for getting some balance.” To book a stay at the Potting Shed at Acre of Roses, telephone 0405 032 566 or visit acreofroses.com.au
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FOOD WRITER JULIA BUSUTTIL NISHIMURA CREATES RECIPES FOR ONE OF AUTUMN’S MOST ANTICIPATED HARVESTS. RECIPES J U LI A BUSUTTIL NISHIM U R A PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN ST YLING LEE BLAYLOCK
JULI A BUSUTTIL NISHIMUR A COUNTRY COOK
Sicilian agrodolce fish (recipe page 99). FACING PAGE Cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura has fond memories of eating fresh almonds as a child. MAY 2020 COU NTRY ST Y LE 95
ONE OF THE PLEASURES of eating fresh nuts
is that satisfying ‘crack’ when you break open the shell — especially if the kernel remains intact. But for food writer and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura, sitting in her kitchen to shell a bowl of freshly harvested nuts also has the ability to transport her back to her childhood in South Australia. “One of my fondest memories as a child was going to the Willunga Almond Blossom Festival each year,” she says. “Seeing all the blossoms, which would soon carpet the ground, like snow, was pure magic. Later, we would return to the orchards and buy netted bags of whole almonds. I loved their furry exterior when they were fresh and can remember being in awe of what was inside once cracked.” The Willunga Almond Blossom Festival, now in its 51st year, is held in the last weekend in July to herald the arrival of the delicate flowers that are unperturbed by the fact it’s still winter (nut trees love cold winters and hot summers). But like other nut varieties, it’s not until late February and March that the nuts are ready to be harvested and begin appearing in local farmers’ markets around the country.
Julia says the superior quality of freshly harvested nuts is well worth the effort of tracking them down. “Fresh nuts have unparalleled flavour, they are usually sweeter and have a more pleasant texture. Nuts that have been sitting in packets for several months tend to be stale or taste bitter, which indicates they may be rancid. This is especially true for oily nuts, such as walnuts, pine nuts and pecans.” However, Julia says the nuts you gather in March can still be good in May if they are stored correctly. “Shelled nuts will last for around three months at room temperature,” she explains. “Keep them dry by storing them in airtight containers and away from strong-smelling foods such as onions and garlic, as nuts can easily absorb odours.” Drawing on her time spent working as a nanny in Italy in her early 20s, in this issue Julia shares some of her favourite seasonal recipes featuring walnuts, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts and an imposter, the pine nut, which is technically a seed. For more information about Julia’s latest recipes, visit julia-ostro.com >
“Fresh nuts have unparalleled flavour, they are usually sweeter and have a more pleasant texture.”
JULI A BUSUTTIL NISHIMUR A COUNTRY COOK
WORDS TRACEY PLATT
Zucchini, mozzarella & pistachio salad (recipe page 99).
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JULI A BUSUTTIL NISHIMUR A COUNTRY COOK FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Zucchini, mozzarella & pistachio salad; nuts are a go-to ingredient for Julia; Tortiglioni with creamy walnut sauce; freshly cracked walnuts have a sweet taste.
TORTIGLIONI WITH CREAMY WALNUT SAUCE
Serves 4 An ingenious sauce hailing from Liguria on Italy’s north-west coast, the walnuts are really the star of the dish. Buy them fresh and in season, and you are rewarded with sweet, creamy nuts that add the most wonderful texture and flavour. Usually made with milk, here I’ve used cream for a sauce that is a little more decadent. 400g tortiglioni, or pasta of your choice
ZUCCHINI, MOZZARELLA & PISTACHIO SALAD
Serves 4 Pistachios add a wonderful crunch to this raw zucchini salad, which is complemented by the creamy mozzarella, parmesan and lemony dressing. So quick to prepare, I make this vibrant salad at least once a week when zucchini are in season. 3 small zucchini (approximately 450g) small handful of mint leaves 40g toasted pistachios, roughly chopped 200g buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn finely grated parmesan, to serve
LEMONY DRESSING
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon, juiced, zested
Using a vegetable peeler, peel thin strips from zucchini, stopping when you reach seeds. Arrange zucchini strips on a serving plate with mint, pistachios and mozzarella. To make lemony dressing, whisk oil, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a small bowl and season to taste with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan to serve.
CREAMY WALNUT SAUCE
100g walnuts 60g slice day-old bread, crusts removed ⅓ cup pure cream 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped 3 sprigs of marjoram, leaves picked, plus extra to serve 70g parmesan, grated ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
To make creamy walnut sauce, place walnuts in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to soak for 10 minutes, then drain. Meanwhile, tear bread into another small bowl and cover with cream, allowing it to soak for 5 minutes or until soft. Process garlic, marjoram, softened walnuts and cream-soaked bread in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt. Add parmesan and olive oil and process until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook following packet instructions or until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup of pasta water. Stir pasta through sauce, adding reserved pasta water if too dry. Season to taste and serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled with extra marjoram leaves.
SICILIAN AGRODOLCE FISH
Serves 4 Agrodolce, meaning sweet and sour, is a wonderful condiment or sauce made with pantry staples that pairs extremely well with fish. While the exact ingredients used vary from region to region, my version is very simple and quick. Good quality pine nuts (which are technically a seed, not a nut) are essential here. If you can’t find any, substitute with almonds or walnuts. 4 x 250g rock ling fillets or firm white fish of your choice 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter fennel fronds, to serve
AGRODOLCE SAUCE
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 brown onion, peeled, halved, finely sliced pinch sea salt ½ cup red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon caster sugar 60g pine nuts, lightly toasted 2 tablespoons currants large handful of mint, roughly chopped
To make agrodolce sauce, warm olive oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add onion and a pinch of sea salt and gently cook, stirring occasionally, for 15–20 minutes or until soft and beginning to caramelise. Increase heat to medium and add vinegar, sugar, pine nuts and currants. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until most of liquid has evaporated. Stir through mint and season to taste (it should be a good balance of sweet and sour). Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Season fish on both sides with sea salt. Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over a high heat. Cook fish for 3 minutes each side or until just cooked through (thicker fillets will take longer to cook). Transfer fish to a serving plate and top with agrodolce sauce. Top with fennel fronds to serve. >
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Dark chocolate & hazelnut biscuits. Freeze half of the biscuit dough and save to bake later. FACING PAGE Almond lemon drizzle cake.
JULI A BUSUTTIL NISHIMUR A COUNTRY COOK
DARK CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT BISCUITS
Makes approximately 30 There is something magical about the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts — it reminds me of the Italian sweets I ate when I was younger. These biscuits are rich and chewy with a little hint of sea salt. If you don’t want to bake all the biscuits at once, freeze balls of dough on a tray, then transfer to a snap-lock bag and keep in the freezer until ready to bake. 250g unsalted butter, softened 125g caster sugar 125g brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1⅔ cups plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup hazelnut meal pinch of sea salt, plus extra for serving 150g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped 100g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, cream butter and both sugars in a large bowl until pale and very fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir through flour, baking powder, hazelnut meal and a pinch of sea salt until everything is well combined (being careful not to over-mix). Add dark chocolate and hazelnuts and stir
to combine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Line 4 large baking trays with baking paper. Place heaped tablespoons of dough onto prepared trays, allowing room for spreading. Bake for 12–14 minutes, swapping trays halfway through cooking, or until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely on trays before transferring to a wire rack (if you only have 1 or 2 trays, keep remaining dough in fridge while each batch is cooking, then repeat process once you have a free tray). Sprinkle with sea salt to serve.
ALMOND LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE
Serves 8–10 My ideal cake is a drizzle cake. Not too rich, textural from the almonds and bright and lemony with a perfectly smooth sheen of icing on top. It is the kind of cake that sits on the kitchen bench and is slowly devoured by passersby throughout an afternoon. The yoghurt and olive oil ensures the cake stays moist for days, if it lasts that long. ¾ cup caster sugar 3 eggs 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped 150g natural yoghurt
150ml olive oil 2 lemons, juiced, zested 60g polenta 100g ground almonds (see note) 1 cup self-raising flour toasted flaked almonds, to serve
LEMON ICING
1¼ cups pure icing sugar, sifted 1 lemon, juiced
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 21cm round cake tin, then line base and side with baking paper. Whisk sugar, eggs, vanilla seeds, yoghurt, oil, lemon juice and zest together in a large bowl until combined. Add polenta and ground almonds, mixing well, then sift in flour and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared cake tin. Bake for 45–50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. To make lemon icing, place icing sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in enough lemon juice to create a thick, pourable icing (you may not need all of juice, depending on size of your lemon). Drizzle icing over top of cake, sprinkle with flaked almonds and set aside to allow icing to harden. Serve. NOTE: I like to grind the almonds myself — the texture of coarse sand is nice for this cake. Alternatively, use store-bought ground almonds.
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family ties
BY SHARING THE FOOD OF HER HOMELAND, AN ITALIAN MAMMA ENSURED HER OWN LEGACY WOULD LIVE ON. WORDS TRACEY PLATT PHOTOGRAPHY AND ST YLING CHINA SQUIRREL
SHE MAY HAVE been living in Australia, but Immacolata
Circelli never went anywhere without Italian money in her wallet. “It was so we would never forget where we came from,” says her youngest daughter, Elena Burden. Not that forgetting was ever likely — every mealtime the family was transported back to the Italian village they had left in 1969 through the simple, traditional dishes Immacolata, who was called Mary by her family, brought to the table. “We had some kind of pasta every single day,” Elena, 59, explains. “It might have only been a small portion but it was always there.” Family and cooking were everything to Mary Fantetta who was born in 1921 in the village of San Bartolomeo in the Campania region of Italy. It was here she met Pasquale Circelli, an artisan bricklayer, and was married at just 16 years
ABOVE Elena Burden (nee Circelli) pictured on her first birthday
of age. After having three children they moved to Velletri, near Rome, and added three more to their brood. Eventually, convinced by his two oldest children who had already moved to Australia, Pasquale obtained a work sponsorship and the entire family made the trip to their new home. Elena says the family spared no time in embracing Australia. “We arrived on the Labour Day weekend and I went to school on the Tuesday,” she laughs. “Mum got a job cleaning at the school not long after, even though she didn’t speak a word of English. Looking back it was a brave thing to do. They weren’t young and they had to take out a loan to buy the tickets for us to travel out here.” Sundays were all about family when Mary’s children — and eventually grandchildren — gathered to enjoy her cooking. “She would make pasta from scratch
HEIR LOOM R ECIPE
and homemade bread,” explains Elena. “They would have ‘tomato day’ — even though I was always embarrassed about what the neighbours would think!” Mary’s ricotta cake (recipe below) was a prime example of her simple, frugal food and she often made her own fresh curds from milk that was excess or just beginning to turn. “Mum never wrote down her recipes so I have adapted this one over time to incorporate the berries or other fruits and I love the demerara sugar on top as I adore the crunchy sweet crust,” explains Elena, who has worked with her sisters to recreate many other family favourites. After a short illness, Mary passed away in 1989 and Pasquale followed five years later. “Mum has been gone a long time now but she is always present, especially through her cooking.”
MAMMA’S RICOTTA TORTA Serves 8–10
FOOD PREPARATION AND RECIPE TESTING CHINA SQUIRREL
2 cups plain flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda ½ teaspoon salt 125g butter, softened ¾ cup caster sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 500g good quality full-fat fresh ricotta 1 cup fruit (blueberries or raspberries) 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease and flour a deep, 24cm round cake tin. Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Stir in salt and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs,
1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until combined. With mixer on low speed, add one-third of flour mixture, then one-third of ricotta. Repeat until all flour and ricotta has been added (batter will be thick, do not over mix). Spoon half of batter into prepared tin and spread with back of a wet spoon. Arrange fruit evenly over batter. Spread remaining batter on top. Sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in centre of cake comes out clean and cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool in tin for at least 20–30 minutes before turning out onto serving platter. Serve on its own or with fresh cream or ice-cream.
“Mum never wrote down her recipes so I have adapted this one over time to incoporate the berries... ”
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HARVEST TABLE PEOPLE
INGR EDIENTS FOR LIFE
FOR MAGDALENA ROZE TEACHING HER TWO CHILDREN TO GROW FOOD AND COOK IS PART OF HER ROLE AS A MOTHER, AND SHE ENCOURAGES ALL KIDS TO GET INTO THE GARDEN. WORDS KY LIE IMESON PHOTOGRAPHY ROB PA LMER
GARDENING IS A FAMILY AFFAIR for cookbook
author, journalist and meteorologist Magdalena Roze. The 38-year-old enjoys nothing more than getting out in the vegetable garden at her home in Byron Bay, NSW, with her two children Archie, four, and two-year-old Charlie. “The kids love the vegie garden, it really is their happy place. They get involved and enjoy every aspect from setting it up with the digging of the dirt and planting seedlings, to watering, picking things for us and feeding the worms,” Magdalena says. “Sometimes I see Archie sitting in the middle of the vegie patch munching on something and it makes me so happy.” Food, cooking and devising recipes play an integral part of Magdalena and her partner Darren Robertson lives. Forty-three-year-old Darren is a chef and co-owner of Three Blue Ducks restaurants and having a kitchen garden was important right from the beginning of his career. “The very first kitchen garden with beehives and chickens was created many years ago at the Three Blue Ducks in Bronte as a way for customers to see where their food comes from,” Magdalena explains. “The vegetable gardens at the restaurant on The Farm in Byron Bay are much bigger and the farmers there provide a lot of the food that goes on the menu or in the produce store. We love seeing kids pick and eat things.” For all children, not just her own, she thinks it’s essential to learn to grow food. “When they’re older, it’s important that they can cook and prepare their own food that they source ethically, grow some of their own and be self-sufficient,” she says. “I feel like there’s a level of resilience we need in these uncertain times, and if you can feed yourself, that’s a good start.” So what’s new in her family’s vegetable garden where they grow herbs, capsicum, tomatoes, zucchini, beans, lettuce, rocket, strawberries, watermelon, a curry plant and some citrus trees? “Our latest project is a beehive,” she says. “Darren and Archie had to assemble and paint it, and now we’re going to plant some bee-friendly flowers to keep the bees happy.” > For more information on how to enter our Harvest Table competition with the kids in your family, turn to page 108.
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Magdalena Roze heads into the garden in Byron Bay, NSW, to pick some ingredients for dinner
MY GO-TO SPINACH AND CHEESE PIE
Serves 6 This is one of the first dishes I taught myself to cook, and it’s special to me because it’s my mother’s favourite. Whenever I offer to cook at Mum’s, she always asks for it! It’s easy to make and produces the most delicious golden, crunchy crust ad flavoursome filling. Spinach and kale are packed with iron, too, so it’s a great one for kids. You can just as easily use this filling to make filo triangles if you wish. 375g filo pastry, fresh or thawed 500g spinach, chopped 6 kale leaves, stems removed, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 250g feta 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 spring onions, finely sliced ¾ cup ricotta ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs zest of ½ lemon ¼ cup mint leaves, chopped ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped 2 eggs, beaten 100 g butter, melted 2 tablespoons sesame seeds lemon wedges, to serve
Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 20cm x 30cm baking dish or tray with
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olive oil. (Don’t worry if your tray is smaller, it just means that your filling will be a bit thicker.) Place the filo sheets on a work surface and cover with a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out. Place the spinach and kale in a steamer over a large saucepan of boiling water and steam for 1–2 minutes or until the leaves wilt (you may need to work in batches). Set aside in a colander to drain and cool. Once cool, press the spinach and kale against the colander to squeeze out the excess water then chop into smaller pieces. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion until soft and lightly golden. Set aside to cool. Place the feta in a large bowl and rub it between your fingers to create a coarse crumb. Add the cooled onion, garlic, spring onion, ricotta, nutmeg, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, mint and parsley and mix well. (I like to do this with my hands to get a nice even texture without over mixing.) Add the spinach and kale followed by the eggs and mix until well combined. Using a sharp knife, halve the sheets of filo pastry. Place two sheets on a work surface and brush the top one with melted butter. Top with another two sheets of filo and again brush with butter, continuing until around half of the filo pastry has been used. Don’t worry if some of the sheets tear a little as this won’t matter once they’re cooked. Now place the buttered sheets of filo in the tray, gently pressing them into the corners. Spoon the spinach and cheese mixture over the filo, spreading it out evenly. Butter the remaining filo sheets two sheets at a time and place them on top. Tuck in any overhanging pastry, then brush the top with butter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. If the pastry is browning too quickly, turn the heat down to 160°C and continue cooking for the remaining time. Allow the pie to cool for 10 minutes then serve with the lemon wedges.
PUMPKIN BREAD
Makes 1 loaf or 10-20 slices A great little loaf to bake on a rainy day. I particularly love it with avocado, feta and tomato, and the kids love it with ricotta and honey. The nuts and seeds are optional, but I love them for the crunchy texture, fibre and good fats they add to the bread. 3 cups grated raw pumpkin 3 eggs 1 tablespoon honey 2 tablespoons macadamia oil generous pinch of salt ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 cups almond meal ½ cup coconut flour 1 tablespoon lemon juice ⅔ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda ⅔ cup chopped pecans 4 tablespoons chia seeds 4 tablespoons sunflower seeds, plus extra for sprinkling 4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, plus extra for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 25cm loaf tin and line it with baking paper. Place the pumpkin, eggs, honey and oil in a large bowl and mix well. Stir through the salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix in the almond meal, coconut flour, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda. If the mixture feels too wet, add more coconut flour. Gently fold through the pecans and seeds. Spoon into the prepared tin and sprinkle the top with the extra seeds. Bake for 1–1½ hours or until a sk comes out clean. Allow to cool in th before turning out onto a wire rack.
This is an edited extract from Happy & Whole by Magdalena Roze published by Plum, $39.95.
PEOPLE HARVEST TABLE Pumpkin Bread. FACING PAGE My Go-to Spinach and Cheese Pie. Magdalena often makes this recipe for her mother.
F RU I TS OF T H E I R L A BOU R MAKE FRUIT THE STAR OF YOUR HARVEST TABLE ENTRY AND WIN UP TO $6000 IN PRIZES.
Everybody commonly refers to where they grow fresh produce in their backyard (or school playground) as the vegie garden, but fruit is often grown here as well, and can be part of our Harvest Table competition. Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are quite easy for children to grow. Or they might be lucky enough to have fig, stone fruit and apple trees or a grapevine growing in their garden, which can be made into delicious sweet treats for mum this Mother’s Day. We are running our Harvest Table competition and invite school-age children from all over Australia to show us what they can grow in the vegie patch. There are two great prizes to be won: 1. $5000 for the Best Class or School Harvest Table. 2. An iPad Air (16GB with wi-fi), valued at $1175, for the Best Student’s Journal on a vegetable garden (their own or their school’s).
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COMPETITION HARVEST TABLE Baking cakes, biscuits and slices using fruit your children have grown is made easy with Fisher & Paykel’s Freestanding Dual Fuel Cooker (pictured). The large convection oven has a cool touch door for safety, twin fans, self-cleaning function and nine settings, including pastry bake. For more information, telephone 1300 650 590 or visit fisherpaykel.com/au
HOW TO ENTER For Best Class or School Harvest Table, send photographs of your Harvest Table with a description of how you created the table in 500 words or less. Please include the name of your school and class, contact name, address and telephone number. For Best Home Harvest Table Journal, send your journal (which includes photographs of your Harvest Table with a description of how you created the table in 500 words or less) with the adult’s and child’s name, address and telephone number. We will be unable to return all journals; photographs become the property of Bauer Media Australia Pty Ltd. Send entries to Country Style, Harvest Table Competition, PO Box 4088, NSW 2000. Entries close on November 2nd. Conditions apply, see bauer-media.com.au/competitions Commences February 27th, 2020. Ends 12AM AEST/AEDT on November 2nd, 2020. AU residents 18+. This
PHOTOGRAPHY NIC GOSSAGE STYLING KERRIE-ANN JONES
is a game of skill, not a game of chance. The Promoter is Bauer Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546) 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000.
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R EGIONAL SHOPPING GUIDE A display at Ecoco in Tasmania’s Launceston. FACING PAGE Ceramicist Melanie Eliades’ beautiful plates from Clay Beehive in Milawa, Victoria.
IN THIS TOGETHER
DURING THIS TIME WHEN WE MUST STAY AT HOME, JUMP ONLINE OR PICK UP THE PHONE TO SUPPORT THESE REGIONAL STORES. WORDS A BBY PFA HL
NEW SOUTH WALES The Beauty Room
The town of Warren, in New South Wales’ Central West, sits on the Macquarie River and services many of the surrounding wool, cotton, sheep, cattle and broadacre farms. While crippling drought has affected the area in recent years, The Beauty Room has been providing locals with welcome distraction when they need it. Laura Noonan describes her shop, opened in 2012, as a “fresh modern space, providing women with a place to meet and enjoy beauty and retail therapy”. The restored building boasts high ceilings, pure white walls, polished timber and concrete floors. Laura offers waxing, tinting and spray tanning, along with a colourful range of clothing, accessories, homewares and baby products. She admits bags and wallets are her weakness — there’s a stylish option to suit everyone, be it in leather or neoprene. And as if we needed an excuse, it’s great to support our rural communities in tough times, so if you’re not nearby you can shop from home via @thebeautyroomwarren’s Instagram page. 132 Dubbo Street, Warren, 0409 913 137, facebook.com.au/ thebeautyroomwarren
PHOTOGRAPHY ANJIE BLAIR PHOTOGRAPHY
The Studio
Not far from Warren is the little town of Trangie. It’s home to another amazing retail gem, one that multi-tasks as an open art studio and espresso bar. Named simply The Studio, the whitewashed space is light-filled and uncluttered, selling on-trend homewares in cool neutrals and earth colours. Owner Lottie McCutcheon brings a free-spirited approach to the space and her energy is catching. “We thrive off our relaxed vibe and
the local chit-chat of our customers catching up,” she says. “We always have something new going on — it’s not unusual to find someone painting in the middle of the store or doing yoga in our adjoining building. We love that anything goes and that we aren’t bound to the ‘normal’ rules of running a café.” She adds, “We have regular pop-up stores that join us and we absolutely love collaborating.” Lottie tells us people often stumble across the store and are surprised to find great food, Bills Beans coffee, her bohemian homewares and indoor plants in such a rural setting. Follow @thestudio_trangie on Instagram to find out about upcoming art exhibitions, in-store market days and the arrival of new brands. 14 Dandaloo Street, Trangie, thestudiotrangie.com.
NORTHERN TERRITORY Messa Living
Andrea Savvas has lived in Darwin for as long as she can remember. Her many years in the local retail scene, first selling footwear then interiors, has taught her one very important lesson: to stock a diverse range of products, especially when servicing a smaller market. Messa Living brings this mantra to life, with clothing, natural skincare, rugs, cushions, furniture, wall hangings, and an impressive variety of tableware on offer. It’s evident that Andrea really understands her clientele and is mindful that there are no major department stores in the city. She sources smart-yetmainstream homewares for her customers, by the likes of Salt & Pepper, Keepsake and Peter Lang, then merchandises them with unique products from local artisans. She believes in buying things she really loves (her style is minimal, slightly
“We always have something new going on — it’s not unusual to find someone painting in the middle of the store or doing yoga in our adjoining building.”
tropical), but is always happy to source one-off pieces at customers’ requests. Moved by a quote she read while on holiday in Rome with her family in 2015, ‘less house, more home’, it’s inspiring to see the way Andrea has reflected that sentiment in her business. You can browse Messa Living’s products online or via Instagram @messaliving. Shop T3, 56 Smith Street, Darwin, (08) 8941 3663, messa.com.au
QUEENSLAND The Linen Cupboard
Yamba-born Karena Wilson moved from Brisbane to Dirranbandi for the love of her life. She remembers the first time she drove down the main street of the tiny farming town, admitting a tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of such a change from city life. Fast-forward to one year later and she was taking a leap of faith on her recurring thought as to whether a retail store could possibly work in the area, as it had many years ago when the town was booming. Karena wanted to bring more convenience for locals. “No one wants to drive a two-hour return trip to buy a small present, a new set of sheets or a work shirt to replace the one that was torn on the fence the day prior,” she tells us. Eight years on and the shop is five >
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times its original size. Dirranbandi’s answer to a country department store, Karena tells us The Linen Cupboard has “everything from beautiful soft sheets by trusted brands such as Canningvale, to lovely linens for the kitchen, to classic storybooks you can curl up on the couch with and read to the kids”. She adds, “I’m still standing and I’m not going to let this drought get the best of me.” You can shop Karena’s collection, which includes wallets and bags by Status Anxiety and Elms & King, candles by Ecoya, quirky linen tablecloths from Kip & Co, hankerchiefs in Liberty prints, and warm woollens by Eb & Ive, in store or via her website. 34–36 Railway Street, Dirranbandi, 0438 402 478, thelinencupboard.com.au
Chase & Hide
Word of mouth is a powerful thing and we know it’s alive and well in our rural communities. Vynka Greenhalgh attributes the success of her studio Chase & Hide to this, saying it was Toowoomba locals who spread the love about her unique cow hide floor rugs. Once displayed over the fence at her sons’ primary school, with plenty of weekend market stalls to follow, Vynka now sells the rugs, artisan-designed bags, wallets and other leather travel goods (tanned without chemicals) via her website and from her private Art Deco studio. Humble about her reputation for excellent customer service and small-town business values, Vynka muses that “most people are just really drawn to the leather or have been sent along by a friend”. Follow @chase_and_hide on Instagram to catch her pop-up shops in Toowoomba’s Grand Central mall, make an appointment to visit the studio or shop online. Jellicoe Street, Toowoomba, 0439 667 255, chaseandhide.com.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIA Living by Design
Tim and Rebecca Bowring were still living in London when they bought Tim’s mother’s iconic Adelaide Hills business, Balhannah by Design, in
2015. Tim, then a merchant banker, and Bec, finance director at global retail-giant Top Shop, both knew they wanted to raise the bar in the Australian furniture scene. Having since moved home, they rebranded the shops as Living by Design and now operate five throughout South Australia, plus a booming online outlet. Tim tells us the huge range of furniture, homewares and fashion is curated to be beautiful yet affordable and is exclusively co-designed with partners, both here and in Europe, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Japan.
“Everything from beautiful soft sheets by trusted brands... to lovely linens for the kitchen, to classic storybooks you can curl up on the couch with and read to the kids... I’m still standing and I’m not going to let this drought get the best of me.” If Living by Design sounds familiar, it might be because you already follow @livingby_design on Instagram. Their inspirational feed depicts dreamy residences (think sprawling country houses, Hamptons homes and cool city dwellings) that are architectural but classic, with modern lifestyle elements making them extra covetable. You’ll find this timeless aesthetic reflected in Tim and Bec’s collection, so next time you’re imagining being curled up on that couch or entertaining on that fabulous outdoor table you can click through to the website, head into the flagship Adelaide Hills store or visit
the Norwood, Barossa, Victor Harbour or Port Elliot locations. 5/37 Onkaparinga Valley Road, Balhannah, (08) 8388 4213, livingbydesign.net.au
TASMANIA Ecoco
Tucked away in a heritage precinct of Launceston, Ecoco might be a little off the beaten track but it’s certainly no secret. The store comes highly recommended by interior lovers all over Australia and has a loyal Instagram following (@ecoco.com.au). Adored for its calming atmosphere, neutral-toned furniture, textured homewares and owner Di Loone’s authentic eclectic style, the shop is frequented by locals and is a destination in itself for visitors. Guests are even known to book a few nights at Di’s interior-designed accommodation upstairs, just so they can experience what’s below. Browse hardware by Society Inc, Annie Sloan chalk paint, slip-covered sofas, cushions, lamps, mirrors, and an exceptional array of framed and canvas prints. Di says her customers can’t get enough of her linen clothing and bedding (keep an eye out for luxurious Beduoin Societe bath and hand towels, landing soon) and in the cooler months, a cosy range of wool and cashmere. 51 Balfour Street, Launceston, (03) 6331 6440, ecoco.com.au
VICTORIA Clay Beehive
Milawa is a small rural town at the heart of Victoria’s renowned King Valley Wine and Milawa Gourmet Regions. It’s here that Melanie Eliades works, from a humble space she calls Clay Beehive Studio. She makes wonderfully textured ceramic plates, bowls, mugs and cups, with, she tells us, “the roller door open most days, no matter the weather, and with dogs as studio mates, plus a large selection of birdlife”. It’s clear Mel takes her inspiration from nature, namely the backdrop of majestic 100-year-old river red gums nearby. The studio is open by appointment where, depending on stock levels, you can pick
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Di Loone in her store Ecoco in Launceston Tasmania a; her stylish, products bring visitors from all over Australia; Living by Design, which has its main store e in the Adelaide Hills, stocks ks Coco Mojo cushions, Chasseur cast iron casserole pots and St Albans rugs and throws.
up platters in moody blacks, delicate white petal bowls, misshapen rustic side plates made with gritty clay in shades of cream and mottled greys, as well as her more colourful signature spotted pieces. Follow @claybeehive on Instagram for more, shop Mel’s range online or visit stockist 7th Pocket in Yackandanda. Milawa, claybeehive.com
Ink & Feathers If you’re visiting Warrnambool, at the end of Victoria’s glorious Great Ocean Road, you might be there to spot whales and enjoy the idyllic seaside location. We can highly recommend adding a quick trip to the heart of town to your itinerary, to seek out Ink & Feathers. Mother-daughter duo Sharron Elliott and Faith Bermingham stock a chic and vibrant collection of largely Australian giftware that contributes to the ‘art
of living’ — the ethos that informs their thoughtful buying. Shop hand-screen printed cushions by Bonnie and Neil, fun and funky Kip & Co textiles, travel goods by Byron Bay’s Wandering Folk, wall tiles by Jai Vasicek, Pottery for The Planet’s reusable coffee cups and cool decorative planters by Angus & Celeste. Follow @inkandfeathers on Instagram to see more. 90 Fairy Street, Warrnambool, (03) 5562 2770
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Frisky Deer Frisky Deer is the brainchild of former accountant and self-confessed serial renovator, Dee Donegan. Dee describes her shop and café as “a haven of handmade and vintage furniture, artwork, gifts and, more recently, clothing”. She and her husband Dayle expanded to a custom-built two-level space in coastal Mandurah last year,
having initially opened in 2015. Even with high ceilings and lovely big windows, Dee says “it feels warm because there are so many pieces made from elements of the earth, that are real and have a story”. Customers come for the Margaret River Roasting Co. coffee (served in handmade ceramic mugs with homemade cakes) and, more often than not, leave with a purchase from Dee’s playful on-trend range. “Some of our favourite artists are Kaz Morton Ceramics, Lumiere Art & Co., Sunday Lane and local WA creatives Laced with Kindness, Mae Button Ceramics and Lost & Found Art Co.,” she says. “We love Australian brands Robert Gordon, Jones and Co, Status Anxiety, Salus and Papaya, too.” You can follow @friskydeer_interiors on Instagram and shop online. The Observatory, 12 San Polo Vista, Mandurah, 0438 020 484, friskydeer.com.au
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FASHION MOTHER’S DAY SPECI A L Annabelle Kennedy on her mixed farming property near Nyngan, NSW. She is wearing a Chloe maxi dress by Australian label, Bohemian Traders, with an Akubra hat and R.M. Williams boots. FACING PAGE Katie Robke lives on a ginger farm near Noosa in Queensland. For stockist details, see page 129.
CREATIVES AND YOUNG MUMS ANNABELLE KENNEDY AND KATIE ROBKE TAKE TIME OUT OF THEIR VERY BUSY FAMILY LIVES TO TELL US THEIR FASHION SECRETS. PRODUCER NICOLA SEVITT PHOTOGRAPHY CLANCY JOB AND KARA ROSENLUND
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FASHION MOTHER’S DAY SPECI A L Katie has help hanging out the washing from Koda, four, Luna, three, and Asher, six. BELOW LEFT Asher carries Luna. BELOW RIGHT The children love to play together outside all day.
KATIE ROBKE MOTHER OF THREE, 34
What do you love about living in the country? The peace and quiet. The crisp air, misty mornings and vibrant sunsets. I feel free and at home in the country. How would you describe your style? Classic, simple with a side of Old World. I love clean lines, neutral tones and natural fibres. I always feel drawn to handmade pieces. Are you interested in fashion? Only as a way of expressing myself and feeling comfortable, not so much to follow any trends. Who are your style influences? Women of the late 1800s and early 1900s (think Little Women). The clothing styles, quality workmanship and colour palettes truly take my breath away and inspire me. What’s the best style advice you’ve ever received? Try not to be too distracted by fashion trends. This was pivotal for me in finding what I truly love. Style is such a personal thing. What works for one person, will not necessarily work or feel comfortable for the next. What are your wardrobe essentials? Sundresses, both midi and maxi. A few soft knit jumpers and cardigans to throw over them in the winter, and a pair of vintage Levi’s with some comfortable T-shirts for the school run. What are your favourite clothing labels? Ankoa, Opia, Yoli & Otis, Merri The Label and Fabrik. Where do you shop for clothing and accessories? Second-hand shops and my Australian online stores. I also try to buy from small local businesses. I really believe in quality over quantity. Do you have any favourite accessories? I take my Remote Projects canvas tote bag everywhere with me; it’s so sturdy and fits everything I need. How do you keep a balanced life? While the kids are at school and kindy we usually spend the day at home in the office editing and planning. Straight afterwards we always try to head to our favourite beach at Noosa to recharge and spend some quality time together away from the house. What are you reading? I was just gifted Individual, an interiors book by Jessica Bellef so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to that. What do you never leave home without? My Huskee reusable coffee cup. How do you usually spend Mother’s Day? My mum has a cabin on the side of a mountain in Tasmania so Luke and I always try to head down to coincide with our combined birthdays and Mother’s Day. Tasmania was special to me growing up, and we love to be able to experience it as a family. The kids really love it there.
PHOTOGRAPHY KARA ROSENLUND
Katie lives with her partner Luke Bickley on a ginger farm in the Noosa hinterland, Queensland, and both work in underwater cinematography.
Katie near her home at Pomona in the Noosa hinterland. She wears the Jane dress from Merri The Label. For stockist details, see page 129.
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KATIE CHOOSES TIMELESS, GOOD QUALITY PIECES TO LAST. 1 Everyday tote in Sea, $119, from Remote Projects. 2 Individual book by Jessica Bellef and published by Murdoch Books, $44.99, from Booktopia. 3 Bloom raffia hat, $129, from Lack of Color. 4 Beauty Renewal Probiotic Concentrate tonic, $44 for 500ml, from Imbibe Living. 5 Colony dress in Toffee, $349, from Magali Pascal. 6 Linen raglan sweater in Milk, $140, from Venroy. 7 Waffle throw in Pebble, $169, from Aura Home. 8 Huskee cups in Charcoal and Beige, $18 each, from Mint Eco Shop. 9 Los Cabos Carlito W boots in Brandy Smooth, $89.95, from Style Tread. 10 Fog Linen Work washed waffle throws in Natural, $236 each, from Yoli & Otis. For stockist details, see page 129.
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TAN AND WHITE MIX EFFORTLESSLY IN ANNABELLE’S STYLISH WARDROBE. 1 Chanel Coco Mademoiselle eau de parfum intense spray, $175 for 50ml, from Myer. 2 Warrego hat in sand, $220, from Akubra. 3 Leopard mini scarf in Blush, $32, from Sophie Store. 4 Tanja Moonlight dress in Off White, $289, from Cecilie Copenhagen. 5 Pia woven slides in Antique Tan, $199, from St Agni. 6 Flemington acrylic tumbler in Clear, $8, from Few & Far. 7 Face Hero face oil, $45 for 30ml, from Go-To. 8 Large Tigerlily candle, $45, from Frankie Gusti. 9 Adelaide boots in Cognac, $595, from R.M. Williams. 10 Basket in tan, $150, from The Good Gift Co. 11 Chloe Carlina round sunglasses in gold, $620, from Mode Sportif. For stockist details, see page 129.
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ANNABELLE KENNEDY
Annabelle looking out over a paddock on the family property, Duck Creek. CLOCKWISE, FROM BELOW RIGHT Eighteen-month-old Florence wearing the Emma & Georgina smock dress by Kennedy the Label, her mother’s design label; Paris the stock horse; Dom checks out the dry creek bed with Max, seven. FACING PAGE Annabelle describes her personal style as “relaxed and classic”. For stockist details, see page 129.
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PHOTOGRAPHY CLANCY JOB
Annabelle and her husband Dom live on Duck Creek, a property near Nyngan in NSW. They have three children: Max, seven, Lola, three, and 18-month-old Florence. What do you love about living in the country? Other than its stunning landscape and wide-open spaces for our children to grow up in, I mostly love the sense of community and the people who, especially during the hardest of times, go above and beyond for one another. Are you interested in fashion? I’ve been very interested in fashion since I was a child. It runs in my blood. My mum and late grandmother both love classic, timeless pieces and Australian designers. I love the way fashion speaks for a person, a mood or situation and the way it can make you feel. What’s the best style advice you’ve ever received? Spend well, buy less. Each year, I tend to look for a few investment pieces that make me feel good, as opposed to spending less to achieve a certain look. I don’t really care about trends. What are your wardrobe essentials? A good dress or two, that can take you from lunch to dinner. Well-cut linen pants and longer style shirts in neutral colours for everyday. What are your favourite clothing labels? I’m a huge fan of Australian designers; we have such an array of talent and quality at our doorstep. For something special I adore Lee Mathews and Zimmermann. For everyday, I love linen label Alessandra and Country Road. Do you have any favourite accessories? Having long hair, I do love a scrunchie in linen or leopard print, as well as a mini scarf by Sophie Store. I also wear them around my neck with a collared shirt or tie them to my handbag. What are your hair and beauty essentials? Anything oil based for both my skin and hair because of the dry and dusty conditions. I am loving the Go-To range. The Face Hero Oil is heavenly, is beautiful to sleep in and works wonders as a make-up base. Where do you shop locally? For homewares and accessories, Mink & Me in Coonamble, The Studio in Trangie, The Good Gift Co in Tamworth and Saddler & Co in Dubbo. We love to gather at our favourite local pubs, the Nevertire Hotel and Hermidale Hotel.
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HEALTH AND BEAUTY
MODERN CLASSICS
MASTER PERFUMER Jean-Paul Guerlain was completely
right when he said that “perfume is the most intense form of memory”. Of all the senses, smell is the most closely tied to our emotions. “We often remember fondly the scent that someone special in our life wears,” says Lisa Ianno, buyer for fragrances, beauty and cosmetics at Myer. “That’s what makes fragrance the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, it evokes fond memories while complementing new ones.” Chances are, your mum already has a favourite fragrance and, if you’re thinking of gifting her a perfume, it’s a useful indication of the fragrance family she is drawn to. Take Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum, an ever-popular 1920s soft floral designed to turn heads. “Chanel No.5 is Gabrielle Chanel’s magnum opus, and with good reason,” says Lisa. “It has a seductive depth and intensity that is still unique and continues to resonate 99 years on.” If you spy this couturier classic on mum’s dressing table, it signals she is drawn to floral aldehydes (organic compounds that are synthetically reproduced in a lab). Amouage Gold Woman is a modern floral aldehyde similar to Chanel No. 5; it has elegant notes of jasmine and rose, the warmth of vanilla and sandalwood, and sophisticated floral aldehyde notes that give it a smooth edge that grabs attention. Another floral classic is Jean Patou Joy Eau de Parfum Spray. Created by the French couturier in 1930 as an ode to luxury, it’s an explosion of roses and jasmine. A similar, but more modern floral is Lancôme Idôle Le Parfum Eau de Parfum with the same fruity hint of pear in its opening, rose at its heart, and musky dry down that exudes extravagance. If your mother is a fan of the hugely popular 1960s Cacharel Anais Anais L’Original Eau de Toilette, it indicates that she gravitates to fresh white florals with a soft, innocent edge. In all likelihood, she is bound to fall in love with the more recent Jo Malone London Waterlily Cologne, a white floral modernised with a twist of fresh orange blossom and jasmine sambac.
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Christian Dior Miss Dior Eau de Toilette Originale is another fragrance that has captured many hearts since its launch in 1947. “Dior gave women a fragrance to celebrate femininity,” says Lisa. “It’s another incredible floral with the Centifolia rose still grown and harvested at Monsieur Dior’s family home in the French Hills near Grasse.” If your mum is drawn to this classic chypre floral, she’ll love the new Tom Ford Rose Prick Private Blend Eau De Parfum, which has a beautifully timeless rose heart reinvented for modern women with notes of pink pepper, turmeric and tonka bean. While florals dominate the bestseller list, there are exceptions, such as the 1953 launch of Éstee Lauder Youth Dew Eau de Parfum ($84 for 67ml). “It bucked the floral trend with strong oriental spicy notes,” says Lisa. Jo Malone London Vetiver & Golden Vanilla Cologne Intense is a modern oriental with warmth and simplicity — spicy cardamom, hints of fresh grapefruit, and a dash of sweet vanilla balance out the earthy vetiver notes. Even punchier than Youth Dew is the biggest statement scent of the ’70s, Yves Saint Laurent Opium Eau de Toilette. “This provocative fragrance leads with warm oriental amber and vanilla notes, evoking seductive images of the mysterious East,” explains Lisa. If mum gravitates towards orientals, it opens up the possibility of introducing some intriguing modern options. The Australian-made Goldfield and Banks Velvet Splendour has vintage-style oriental notes of sandalwood, patchouli, and tonka bean, while Byredo Rose Of No Man’s Land is a modern oriental that shares some typical Opium characteristics: peppery and fruity top notes that fold into a floral rose heart and a long-lasting white amber that lingers on skin. “Fragrances are innately intimate and personal with the powerful ability to conjure memories and associations,” says Lisa. “There’s always something quite lovely about someone asking what you’re wearing.”
PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING NICOLA SEVITT PRODUCTS STYLIST’S OWN
SPOIL YOUR MUM WITH A CONTEMPORARY TWIST ON HER FAVOURITE FRAGRANCE THIS MOTHER’S DAY, WRITES JULIETTE WINTER.
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP Jo Malone London Vetiver & Golden Vanilla Cologne Intense ($175 for 50ml), Byredo Rose Of No Man’s Land ($315 for 100ml). FACING PAGE, FROM LEFT Jean Patou Joy Eau de Parfum Spray ($165 for 50ml), Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum ($93.15 for 50ml), Lancôme Idôle Eau de Parfum ($130 for 50ml), Amouage Gold Woman ($459 for 100ml), Yves Saint Laurent Opium Eau de Toilette ($128 for 50ml), Christian Dior Miss Dior Eau de Toilette Originale ($135 for 50ml), Tom Ford Rose Prick Private Blend Eau De Parfum ($480 for 50ml), Cacharel Anais Anais L’Original Eau de Toilette ($75 for 30ml), Goldfield and Banks Velvet Splendour ($229 for 100ml), Jo Malone London Waterlily Cologne ($99 for 30ml). For stockist details, see page 129.
BOOKS
BOOK CLUB AS MASON COOLEY SAID, “READING GIVES US SOMEPLACE TO GO WHEN WE HAVE TO STAY WHERE WE ARE” AND NOW IS THE TIME TO PICK UP A GOOD BOOK. REVIEWS ANNABEL LAWSON
THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE Katherine Kovacic, Echo, $29.99 Fraud, theft and murder exists in the Melbourne art world. Even so, Kovacic’s amateur sleuth, Alex Clayton, did not expect to find two out of three in the first 24 hours when she was summoned to Victoria’s Western District to inspect and value a magnificent collection of pastoral paintings. Kovacic started out as a vet and moved on to art history. Her research looks at the human/ animal bond through the eyes of artists. Although rural art plays a big role in the plot of her new novel, the wolfhound Hogarth features on almost every page. Endearing though he is, maybe in the next Clayton mystery he could be less of a scene-stealer. Kovacic captures a combination of arrogance and bloody mindedness among the squattocracy, which is nevertheless beguiling. Harry, the Aboriginal estate manager, tells Clayton of sophisticated eel farming in the area, which dates back 3000 years and the failure of settlers to appreciate what they’d heedlessly destroyed. The plot centres on the death of a dynastic martinet and the disappearance of a von
Guerard masterpiece, precious not only as art but as footnote to an ugly aspect of early settlement. This is the third Clayton murder mystery. I now have the earlier two on order at the library.
LIFE IN A BOX Sarah Jane Adams, Murdoch Books, $39.99 The cover is a magnet. There she is, white haired and swaggering. Her coat in orange, gold and neon pink shouts at you. Her boots, bought in the mid-’90s, are to die for. Adams describes herself as an antique dealer, designer of jewellery, traveller and model. As I’m currently moving house and throwing all my stuff away (no room) I savoured each Adams oddity, usually exquisite, which she’s managed to hang on to. There are hundreds, presented in the form of a catalogue. She’s kept childhood souvenirs and finds from travels in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Turkey, Japan and the US. She quit a house fit for a queen in Sydney’s Enmore and let go a couple of lovely relationships. The strange combination of keeping and jettisoning casts a potent spell.
TRUGANINI Cassandra Pybus, Allen & Unwin, $32.99 Truganini, as many Australians already know, was a Nuenonne woman who lived on Bruny Island. When she died in 1876 she was the last of her clan in Tasmania and according to popular belief, the last full-blooded Aboriginal in Tasmania. Pybus had no idea that she was connected to her when the historian Lyndall Ryan made contact. Ryan’s research revealed that in 1829 Cassandra’s great-great-grandfather Richard Pybus, was granted the 1036 hectares that encompassed the Nuenonne’s traditional territory. His family would have encountered Truganini wandering among the forests that were once hers. The Mitchell Library had extensive diaries written by the missionary George Augustus Robinson. They were all but
WORDS ANNABEL LAWSON PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING NICOLA SEVITT
indecipherable because of Robinson’s handwriting, but Pybus hired a specialist in the field and thus the Truganini archive has been dramatically expanded. Robinson used Truganini as a translator, guide and negotiator. She dived for shellfish to feed Robinson’s team. In his opinion, he was a surrogate father. Whether Robinson was right about this is debatable because she escaped many times and each time was recaptured. Her value was unique and not only Robinson prized her. The whalers and the males of every tribe the missionary team visited immediately singled her out for attention which she repulsed only if the predator was violent. The Brits had destroyed options for harmonious coexistence. When the clans retaliated Governor George Arthur promised to make the island safe for settlers. Robinson became an agent for the British Government. He managed to corral all but a handful of Bruny’s inhabitants and exile them, mostly to Flinders Island. The description of one expedition shows Truganini’s significance. Truganini had contracted syphilis from whalers and as a result her legs were often swollen and painful. Nevertheless, she and two female friends made a raft and swam 29 people, one by one, across the icy river. They ferried the dogs and baggage too. After her exploits she suffered a severe fit. Says Pybus “the wonder is that the whole experience did not kill her”. The diaries of Jo Orton are the source for the scenes from 1841 when Truganini was arrested for accessory to the murder of two whalers. She was released. Robinson explained to the judge that women were innocent because they could not think for themselves. Pybus’ superb account has a place in every Australian home. The lonely figure we know from Thomas Bock’s excellent drawing in the British
Museum comes to life and from Robinson’s detailed text we see white people through her eyes.
THE CATCH Mick Herron, John Murray Press, $22.99 The Times called him “the greatest comic writer of spy fiction” and every Spring I look forward to a new novel about what happens to MI5 agents who stuff up, the so-called ‘slow horses’. Herron insists that he just makes it up as he goes along and has no inside knowledge of Britain’s intelligence service. The Catch features Prince Andrew up to no good. Apparently. But the media has fallen for cleverly constructed fake news and once it’s all nicely cleared up HM the Queen is clandestinely grateful to MI5. Just a nod and a wink of course, the facts implied rather than stated. However, the focus of the story is the efforts of the Milkman (MI5’s nursemaid to disgraced or merely exhausted agents) simply to survive when Lady Di, head of MI5, selects him as the fall guy in her fiendish plan. It’s a very short book with a very long aftertaste.
MR LOVERMAN Bernadine Evaristo, Hamish Hamilton, $32.99 In more than 20 years this is the first time I’ve reviewed a novel that isn’t brand new. The staff at my favourite bookshop said it was the perfect long flight read. So I read Evaristo’s bittersweet comedy slowly, leaning back at intervals to firm up new thoughts about a transformation throughout the UK and beyond, which is bad in terms of lost certainties but good because chauvinism — and Barry, Mr Loverman himself, thrums with it — eventually yields to truth. Two septuagenarian Antiguans living
in London’s now fashionable East End have been in love since their school days. Morris is ready to come out and issues an ultimatum. Barry has succeeded as a property developer and is very, very rich. He has a disappointed wife Carmel, a strongly feminist daughter and a younger daughter who dreams of fame on the London fashion scene. His adolescent grandson has issues. So there are others to consider. “It’s not the eighties” says Morris. No, the public couldn’t give a damn, but Carmel’s piety and hurt feelings will put a dent in Barry’s massive ego. There’s no dignity in delay. He must decide one way or another or be forever inauthentic.
GATHERING DARK Candice Fox, Bantam, $32.99 A new Fox thriller on the doorstep. Drop everything. Kettle on. Kill the phone. This one is the first in a new series. We meet Detective Jessica Sanchez of the Los Angeles Police Department. She’s a bit different from Fox’s Australian detectives. For a start she owns a $7 million homestead. Long story. The Fox signature trademark shows itself early on — characters you’d hate to be near. Yet on the printed page you first get to know them and then to understand that if we’re lucky enough not to be twitching in agony waiting for a fix or plunging our teeth into a stranger’s jugular vein it’s more likely to be due to where we were born than any virtue or considered choice. Blair, a paediatric surgeon, and Sneak, her almost rabid former cellmate, descend on Sanchez to beg for help. Sneak’s daughter has disappeared. You’d be forgiven for thinking that wherever she is she’s likely to be better off than in the vicinity of Sneak. However, the plot thickens.
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COLLECTABLES
AT THE MUSEUM DISCOVER UNUSUAL PIECES FOUND IN THE PERMANENT COLLECTIONS OF GALLERIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
$500
IN 1926, aged 40, Anne Dangar set off for Paris with
her fellow art student Grace Crowley. They studied with André Lhote, an early teacher of the principles of abstraction in painting. After a brief visit to Sydney, where she found the local artistic community unsympathetic, Dangar returned to France in 1930. Settling at Moly-Sabata, an artist commune established by Albert Gleizes just south of Lyon, she began to make pottery decorated with abstract designs. In 1939, she spent some time in Morocco working alongside local potters in Fez. The influence of Islamic design, in the shapes and decoration, can be seen in her later pots. Several boxes of pots sent back to Grace Crowley and her friends in Sydney in the 1930s are among the earliest examples of abstract design in Australian decorative arts. The sophistication of her modernist design was admired by her Australian friends but not a wider audience. In France, Dangar’s reputation as a potter is well established and her work can be found in several art museums. In Australia, the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, and the Shepparton Art Museum in Victoria, have fine examples of Dangar’s work. This cheese plate, made in about 1935, is an excellent example of Dangar’s abstract decoration. The slip trailed and painted browns and greens, are the fashionable colours of the period. Anne Dangar’s pottery is occasionally offered for sale at auction in Australia. Prices vary according to the object and its condition, but buyers have been lucky and paid as little as $1200 for a plate. Higher prices have been achieved more recently and in 2017 $5000 was paid for a plate dating from the 1930s. Anne Dangar’s cheese plate is currently included in A Finer Grain: Selected Works from the SAM Collection at Shepparton Art Museum until October 25, 2020. 70 Welsford Street, Shepparton, Victoria, (03) 5832 9861, sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
COLLECTABLES JOHN McPHEE VALUES A LOVELY PAIR OF JAPANESE VASES FOR A PATIENT READER. I WAS WONDERING if Mr McPhee could give me any information on the age and value of a pair of identical Japanese vases I have. I was offered $375 each for them by an antique dealer. They do not have any chips or cracks and with raised gold embellishments. I am happy to wait my turn and check my magazine every month. Thank you for your interest in my vases. Terri Mulholland, Newcastle, NSW This pair of vases were made at the Kinkozan pottery in Kyushu, the largest producer of Satsuma ware. From 1645 to 1927, the Kinkozan pottery produced a wide range of shapes with a variety of decoration, potted and painted by large number of individual craftspeople. From about 1875 to the close of the factory in 1927, the Kinkozan pottery exported huge amounts of its wares to Europe and the US. It was this over-production that saw the decline in quality, which gave Satsuma ware a poor reputation. These vases, dating from about 1910, were undoubtedly made with the foreign market in mind. Like the best Kinkozan pottery of the period, the painted and gilded decoration depicting cherry blossom is applied to a plain cream-coloured background. I would value your vases at $500 for the pair. John McPhee is an art historian who has worked in art museums for 30 years and was curator of Australian Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Australia.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
Anne Danger, Cheese Plate, circa 1935, Shepparton Art Museum, Shepparton, Victoria.
124 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
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FIELD GUIDE
FIELD GUIDE
LAID-BACK LOOK
GET COMFY
BRIGHT SIDE
Pair Yarra Trail’s pretty Waves Print shirt with some classic black jeans for an elegant, relaxed weekend look. yarratrail.com.au
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This long sleeve Tuck dress in black and white from Marco Polo is ideal as the weather cools, just add boots and tights. marcopolo.net.au
A beautiful Murano glass Italian watch from Ritzy Rocks makes a very special Mother’s Day present. ritzyrocks.com.au.
This Mia Fratino Favourite Scoop sweater in Blush is made from ethical and sustainable 100 per cent Mongolian cashmere. miafratino.com
BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY GUY BAILEY STYLING ANNA DELPRAT
BROWSE OUR ADVERTISERS’ PRODUCTS AND SERVIC CES.
STOCK ISTS
Work by Melanie Eliades at Clay Beehive, a studio in Milawa, Victoria. For our regional shopping guide, turn to page 110.
Sophie Store sophiestore.co.nz St Agni 4 Acacia Street, Byron Bay, NSW, (02) 6680 8747, st-agni.com Style Tread 1300 602 947, styletread.com.au The Good Gift Co 0428 057 056, thegood giftco.com.au The Small Folk 95 Main Road, Penguin, Tasmania, thesmallfolk.com.au Tom Ford 1800 061 326 Venroy (02) 9331 1123, venroy.com.au Warwick 1300 787 888, warwick.com.au Yoli & Otis yoliandotis.com Yves Saint Laurent 13 69 37, yslbeauty.com.au
stockists
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COUNTRY STYLE HOMEWARES NSW: Adore Homewares (02) 9446 7472 Avenue Luxe (02) 9489 6077 Billi and Gus (02) 9653 9845 Brentwood Interiors (02) 9871 5551, brentwoodinteriors.net.au Brush & Twine (02) 6655 9813 Cafe Graze (02) 6777 2409 Concept Homewares (02) 4982 0865 Champagne Lane (02) 6687 1616 Candleberries (02) 4464 3487 Cranberry & Fig (02) 9875 5555 Coasting Home (02) 6555 8838 Comur House (02) 6226 1411 Furnished In Glen (02) 6732 4386 Heart Of Home (02) 6687 1399 Heirloom On Victoria (02) 4322 9733 Honeysuckle Nurseries (02) 9487 3888, honeysucklegarden.com.au Humble Homewares 0423 843 773 Made On Earth (02) 9252 2322, madeonearth.com.au La Maison Castle Hill (02) 8851 7580 Little Polli and Blackbird 0478 127 101 Maddisonbea Home (02) 6672 2306 Magnolia Home and Gift (02) 4323 2400 Old Bank Gallery (02) 6742 3944 P&S Home Furnishings (02) 4365 1561 Precious Pieces (02) 6547 2016, preciouspiecesdenman.com.au Red Cedar Emporium (02) 6657 2920, redcedaremporium.com Sorrento (02) 9144 1799 Shack Yamba (02) 6646 399, shackyamba.com Stone & Co Vintage (02) 6546 6874 Swish Furniture & Homewares (02) 9913 1544, swishfurnitureandhomewares.com Taylor’s Of Maitland (02) 4934 2505 The Greyhound (02) 6792 1363 The Home Interior (02) 4984 4888, thehomeinterior.com.au The Lemon House 0417 248 359 Tigress Direct 1300 844 737, tigress.com.au Trouvé (02) 4365 5195 Umina Beach Flowers and Gifts (02) 4341 4771 Vast Interior (02) 6652 1111 Watermelon Home (02) 9949 5639 Whatever (02) 6372 6027, whatevermudgee.com. au Your Home Matters (02) 4822 7229 QUEENSLAND: Casa Noosa (07) 5447 3722, casanoosainteriors.com.au Eclectic Style (07) 5470 2946, eclecticstyle.com.au Emporium On James (07) 5520 3222 Galleria Interiors (07) 4444 4006 Highland Homewares (07) 4982 4905 House of Magnolia (07) 4984 1059 Ideas Cotton Tree 0407 218 551 Mount Isa Furniture and Bedding (07) 4743 0876, mountisafurniture. com.au My Country Escape (07) 5543 4042 Nest Homewares (07) 3878 4755 Perfect Decor perfectdecor.net.au Perfect Living (07) 3399 8335, perfectliving.com.au Robina In Focus (07) 5593 1556 Rococo Design (07) 5538 0830, rococodesign.com.au Saffron Noosa (07) 5449 9770, saffronnoosa.com.au The Alfresco Room (07) 5449 0290, thealfrescoroom.com.au The Bay Tree Homewares (07) 4038 3135 White Havana (07) 3359 8158, whitehavana. com.au SA: Best Wishes (08) 8379 9730 Canopy Home Fashion (08) 8384 2110 Canopy Interiors (08) 8725 4000 Get in 2 The Moose (08) 8298 2995 High Street Trading (08) 8536 8441 Loaves and Fishes Robe (08) 8768 2724 Living by Design livingbydesign.net.au One Rundle Trading Co (08) 8431 3033 Sassi Gift and Home Millicent (08) 8733 1222 The Miners Couch (08) 8825 1222, theminerscouch.com.au TASMANIA: Economy Warehouse (03) 6278 1119, economywarehouse.com.au Just For You Homewares (03) 6423 5540, justforyouhomewares.com.au The Importer theimporter.net.au Urban Wall (03) 6425 5468, urbanwall.com.au VICTORIA: Alpine Garden Supplies (03) 5779 1733, alpinegarden supplies.com.au Birch Living (03) 9482 1500 Gisborne Cottage Flowers (03) 5428 4199, gisbornecottageflowers.com.au Higheight Home and Living higheight. com.au Linen Room (03) 9481 8758 Maple Homewares (03) 9830 7809 Minimax minimax.com.au Mollisons mollisons.net.au Nextra Sunbury (03) 9744 1220, sunburynewsagency.com.au No Place Like Home 0409 140 624, no-place-like-home.myshopify.com Oliver Birch (03) 5444 1112, oliverbirch.com.au Poyntons Nursery (03) 9337 8111 Robertsons Furniture robertsonshorsham.com.au Southern Bazaar 0407 414 895, southernbazaar.com.au Supply and Demand supplyanddemand.com.au Thomas and Co (03) 9416 1063 Zest Living (03) 5352 4694 Warran Glen Garden Centre and Café (03) 9844 3027, warranglen.com.au Zest Living (03) 5352 4694, WA: East West Design (08) 9336 3944, eastwestdesign. com.au First Avenue (08) 9257 1660, firstavenue.net.au Furniture Barn (08) 9721 6144, furniturebarn.net.au Lloyds Of Margaret River (08) 9757 2074, shepgroup.net Luxe Gift & Décor (08) 9368 5631, luxegd.com.au Merchants Of Swanbourne (08) 9383 3493 Merchants On Mends St (08) 9474 1581 Panache Living (08) 6460 8299, panacheliving.com.au Simply Gifted (08) 9387 3698 The Cumquat Tree (08) 9339 0043, thecumquattree.com The Furniture Gallery (08) 9444 1332, thefurnituregallery.com.au
MAY 2020 COU NTRY ST Y LE 129
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COUNTRY EMPORIUM
THE
MO NTAU K L I G HT I N G C O.
The Montauk Lighting Co. brings the best of the world’s feature lighting to Australia, including collections by Ralph Lauren Home, Kelly Wearstler, AERIN, Thomas O’Brien and Kate Spade New York through Visual Comfort & Co. and Tigermoth Lighting from the UK. Let us help you find the perfect statement piece. Visit our website to browse the entire range.
Rustic, classic and timeless, the ‘Allegra’ Two-Tiered Chandelier by Ralph Lauren Home for Visual Comfort & Co.
montauklightingco.com @montauklightingco 0417 099 031
The finest down Quilts & Pillows in the world www.abodeliving.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
HOME A ND GA RDEN EMPORIUM
FLEXIBLE STEEL GARDEN EDGING WHICH BENDS TO VIRTUALLY ANY SHAPE FOR LAWNS, DRIVES, PATHS, FLOWER AND VEGETABLE BEDS. EverEdge® is easy to install (no extra pegs or joiners), suits all soil types and is available in a variety of colours and depths. EverEdge is made from 1.6 mm gauge mild steel galvanised and powder coated or with a Cor-Ten rusted finish.
www.everedge.com.au
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
0488 010 203
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COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
REL
Moroccan Haven For Sale on the Sunshine Coast
• Separat • Court r •O • Cou 3
D PR OP
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e Artists Studio acious Interiors ntertaining a ens and Pond 2
4
Price: Offers over $1,495,000
19 BROLGA LANE, DULONG QLD Set on 3+ acres of ‘Monet’ style gardens this artist retreat is a haven for anyone wanting peace and tranquillity. The wonderful home is exquisitely finished and offers fabulous indoor/outdoor entertaining, a separate artist studio, raised vegetable gardens and solar energy.
FOR SALE Glen Rule Estate
Contact: Linda Shore-Perez 0427 378 687 linda@villarealestate.com.au
villarealestate.com.au
•
Escape to the Countryside
• • • •
and the cool climate of the beautiful New England Tablelands in the Highland town of Glen Innes in NSW.
Prestige Properties | New South Wales
ISTE
• • • • •
• •
Large spacious Gentleman’s Residence c1903 on 6 private acres Three spacious reception rooms Country kitchen with Rayburn range Enormous veranda with outdoor kitchen. Elegant large formal dining and parlour rooms Air conditioners and 2 large wood burners. Multiple outbuilding complex Red Oaks, English Oak, Claret Ash, Liquid Amber, Elms, Atlantic Cedars Barn, Workshop, 4 stables + round yard Self-sufficiency – Solar hot water, 8.8kw solar power system, 32,000 litres rainwater, bore Spectacular property offering peace & privacy on the edge of town B&B possibilities
$1.69 million AUD
4
Please contact Rod Derrington on 0412 605 630 for more information or visit www.glenrule.com FOR SALE: BARRABOOL, VIC
Neuchatel C1861 (former Suisse Vineyard) 460 MERRAWARP ROAD, BARRABOOL Price: $1,350,000 to $1,450,000 3 1 1 This charming Barrabool sandstone residence provides a rare opportunity with over 150 years of history, character and individuality Originally built by pioneer Swiss vignerons, the property, on close to two acres, features a breathtaking wine cellar, original coach house and stables. Located approximately one hour from Melbourne and with easy access to the Surf Coast. Contact: Heidi Trempel 0414 522 325 Dale Whitford 0417 500 576
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
Stay
IN LUXURIOUS COMFORT AND UNIQUE STYLE
62 Byng Street Orange NSW 2800 P 02 5317 8200 | info@byngstreethotel.com.au
W W W. B Y N G S T R E E T H O T E L . C O M . A U
IRIS PROPERTY – FARCRY BLUE MOUNTAINS, NSW
2 Luxurious self-contained homes close to acclaimed cafes & vineyards in Mudgee NSW. Ideal for wedding groups, family get-togethers or weekend wine tasters. Cawarra Cottage c1866 has been lovingly restored with all original cedar period features throughout, yet also with all the modern conveniences. Haylock house is a fully renovated 1920’s Californian Bungalow tastefully furnished yet with a hint of old to complement this home away from home
Mention this advert to receive a discount on any mid-week stay. 27 & 29 Short Street Mudgee NSW 2850 | Ph: 0428 482 198 bookings@stayontheparkmudgee.com.au
Experience the fresh mountain air and views over the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Park, while enjoying Farcry’s totally private, 4.5 acres of beautiful cool climate garden and natural eucalyptus forest. Farcry accommodates 8 guests and is the perfect getaway. 02 4567 7254 bookings@irisproperty.com.au www.irisproperty.com.au
w w w.stayontheparkmudgee.com.au
JERVIS BAY, NSW
ECO RETREAT Each of the 4 luxury Villas at La Rocher Eco Retreat offers spectacular views of the world heritage Mount Warning/ Wollumbin and Border Ranges. Serenity, peace and tranquillity allows you to truly unwind and nourish your soul in this lush hinterland paradise, close to ancient rainforests and some of Australia’s best beaches. A comfortable 2-hour drive from Brisbane and just over 30 minutes from the Gold Coast airport.
Kingfisher Pavilion is a private suite at Bundarra Farm. Fronting Currambene Creek, which flows into Jervis Bay. Kangaroos and birdlife share the farm with cattle, horses, ducks and chickens. Featuring an outdoor spa, fire-pit and picnic table. The Kingfisher Pavilion is the ultimate luxury getaway.
gprocher@me.com • 7 Minto Place, Smiths Creek, NSW 2484 • 0402 272 727
www.larocher.com
New South Wales
KINGFISHER PAVILION
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
LOCATION + GRANDEUR + SPACIOUS + COMFORT
0478 008 814 kingfisherpavilion@gmail.com www.kingfisherpavilion.com
Visit Glen Innes Highlands for your next holiday experience!
Celtic Experiences
Despite the drought and recent bushfires impacting our surrounding National Parks and our community of Wytaliba, there are so many incredible experiences to make your next holiday epic! Support local businesses and enjoy high quality locally sourced, fresh produce and service with a smile at one of our many cafés or restaurants.
Australian Standing Stones
Try a Farm Stay for a true outback adventure or rent a castle for a romantic getaway. Explore the natural wonders surrounding town or wander along the historic main street with over 50 heritage buildings. Enjoy a range of premier events not to be missed, including the Australian Celtic Festival 30th April to 3rd May, among the Australian Standing Stones, a must-see attraction.
VISIT | LIVE | INVEST | SHOP | EVENTS
Where you'd rather be!
Aboriginal Culture & Experiences
Kings Plains Castle
Museums, Gallaries & Workshops
Murray Cod Fishing
GlenInnesHighlands.com #gleninneshighlands #visitherethisyear
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
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Relax in the Southern Highlands
Chelsea Park is Hollywood in the Highlands. A boutique bed and breakfast in an art deco mansion, with three unique bedrooms. Ideal for reunions or girl’s weekends away. Close to all the magic of the Southern Highlands.
Arcadia House is a country-style home located close to the heart of Bowral. Fully self contained accomodation for familes and groups close to all the attractions. Savour the lifestyle and relax in the Southern Highlands.
589 Moss Vale Road, Burrudoo NSW 2576 • 02 4861 7046
www.chelseaparkbnb.com
New South Wales
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
CHELSEA PARK & ARCADIA HOUSE
124 Old South Road, Bowral NSW 2576 • 02 4861 7046
www.arcadia-house.com
HARBOURSIDE APARTMENTS MUDGEE, NSW The little cooking school offers informal, relaxed cooking classes showcasing the best regional produce resulting in a delicious, leisurely lunch. Adjoining the school is a newly refurbished accommodation sleeping 8. Fully self-contained and stylishly appointed. Accommodation, dining and cooking class packages available. 0400 417 711 • 6 Henry Lawson Drive Mudgee www.littlecookingschoolmudgee.com.au
NORTH SYDNEY, NSW
Sydney’s absolute waterfront accommodation offers fully serviced and equipped studio, one and two bedroom apartments. Conveniently situated at McMahons Point Ferry Wharf Harbourside is the perfect Sydney base for business or pleasure. 02 9963 4300 stay@harboursideaparments.com.au harbourside apartments www.harboursideapartments.com.au
Explore our rich landscape and dramatic views. Discover a full spectrum of events and experiences, all year round.
orange360.com.au
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
SUNSHINE COAST HINTERLAND, QLD Located in a beautiful valley on 6 peaceful acres in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. This 3 bedroom ‘Get Away From The City’ Holiday House overlooks the Mary River. Only 20 minutes from the restaurants, art galleries and unique shopping in Maleny and 90 minutes from Brisbane Airport. cottagemaryriver www.maryrivercottage.com
Only one and half hours drive north of Brisbane, nestled amongst 20 acres of abundant Sunshine Coast Hinterland rainforest, this authentic haven from city life allows you time to experience and reconnect with nature.
07 5445 7650 • www.kondalilla.com
Learn to paint from home with Blooms Online!
Queensland | South Australia
MARY RIVER COTTAGE
There’s never been a better time to learn to paint from home. Become the artist you’ve always wanted to be! • No previous experience necessary whatsoever with my PROVEN Jacqueline Coates Blooms Painting Method, a system of painting anyone can apply to achieve beautiful results! • Discover there’s no need to be able to draw to be able to paint! • Become a colour mixing pro with every painting you add to your collection. • Learn how to handle the paint to gain control of stunning outcomes. Enjoy my HOW TO PAINT BLOOMS online 52 week painting program at the promo price $679 (save $100) and my Blooms Live Online One Day Workshop Pack $249 (worth $449). All of my online programs come with loads of invaluable support material, video access and Blooms Art Community Membership. No need to make the typical mistakes other newbie students make when you access my teaching! Accelerate your success! Hang out with likeminded others and be inspired by the new creative you! Art supplies startup packs available also. Learn from the go to artist of 30 years experience! See you in class online!
START YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY HERE! artscreativehub.com/workshops/paint-blooms-online/
artscreativehub.com/workshops/paint-blooms-online/ • Phone 0412 587 438
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
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COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
South Australia | Tasmania
BALLARA RETREAT
SHIP INN STANLEY
PETER RABBIT™ GARDEN
Experience the past, Explore the present, Discover a future. Beautiful heritage accommodation situated on Southern Yorke Peninsula. Surrounded by magnificent coastal scenery, it’s easy to find a beach all to yourself! Choose tailored art retreat packages, or just a relaxing few days away.
Fabulous day trip options to the Tarkine wilderness, Arthur River cruises, Boat Harbour beach and Rocky Cape national park. Walking distance to cafes, restaurants and beaches, with off-street parking, free wifi, gym, yoga studio and guest laundry.
Take an enchanting stroll through Peter Rabbit’s™ garden, the only one in Australia. Also see, Jemima Puddle-Duck™, Jeremy Fisher™, Benjamin Bunny™, Mr Todd™, Two Bad Mice™, Mrs.Tiggy-Winkle™ & Tailor of Gloucester™.
0439 749 140 hello@shipinnstanley.com.au shipinnstanley shipinnstanley.com.au
03 6248 5555 Riversdale Estate, 222 Denholms Rd, Cambridge www.thepeterrabbitgarden.com.au
WAROOKA, SA
0408 545 003 www.ballararetreat.com.au
STANLEY, TAS
CAMBRIDGE, TAS
RIVER COTTAGE TASMANIA HEYBRIDGE, TAS
Escape life’s hustle & bustle at our tranquil cottage by the river. Close to beautiful sandy beaches + cafes & a short drive to the popular tourist towns of Penguin & Burnie. We are approx. 1.5 hour drive to the iconic Cradle Mountain & approx. 50 minutes to the beautiful historic township of Stanley. 0478 437 700 rivercottagetasmania www.rivercottagetasmania.com.au
Relax, Explore and Indulge in Tasmania A luxurious 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom holiday home in the township of Cygnet in southern Tasmania. It is an ideal couples escape or for groups and families looking to explore Tasmania’s famous Huon Valley. Other features include a spa, full breakfast provisions, walking distance to local attraction and well-known cafes and restaurants.
cygnetretreat.com.au | info@cygnetretreat.com.au
COAST HOUSE TASMANIA
Treat yourself to a totally private, tranquil waterfront retreat yet just a few minutes to the village of Cygnet. Far away from city distractions. Visit galleries, wineries, restaurants or curl up by the log fire with a book from the shelves and provided wine. “We have been astounded by the beauty and tranquillity, superb accommodation and sublime location at Coast House”
www.coasthousetasmania.com | stay@coasthousetasmania.com | Tel: 0409 446 290
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
Frenchman’s River: Autumn’s bounty as the nights draw in. Eat, sleep, dream. Time to just be.
@frenchmansrivercygnet
www.frenchmansriver.com.au • Kate/Posie 0466 790 142 • book@frenchmansriver.com.au
Gracious and simple in design, blending beautifully with its tranquil surrounds. From the wrap-around verandah there are views to the south of the Hartz Mountains and the southwest wilderness, with the Sleeping Beauty mountain range visible to the north. E N J OY A S L I C E O F H E AV E N
T O B O O K YO U R N E X T S TAY
Tasmania
E X P E R I E N C E V I L L A T A L I A , t h e p r e m i e r l u x u r y a c c o m m o d a t i o n i n Ta s m a n i a ’ s u n i q u e a n d b e a u t i f u l H u o n Va l l e y – O n l y 5 0 m i n s s o u t h - w e s t o f H o b a r t .
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
“ Glorious landscape, lovely people. Why would you go anywhere else? Four days are not enough”
Discover the ultramarine evening light and the everchanging hues and reflections of sky and water can be admired. Various wineries and cheesemakers dot the region, and the cafes and galleries of Cygnet are just ten minutes away.
Experience relaxation, privacy, breathtaking vistas & amazing places to explore. w w w.v i l l a t a l i a . c o m . a u � s t a y @ v i l l a t a l i a . c o m . a u � 0 4 2 7 9 0 1 1 8 8 �
experience autumn with a Tasmanian gourmet foodie indulgence
Experience Autumn in Tasmania. Join us for one of our cooking classes or experience our rustic dining showcasing local produce and wines. Why not take a package to include accommodation, restaurant and free entry into our beautiful National Trust Properties nearby. Luxury guest house and unique cooking school just minutes from Launceston. www.redfeatherinn.com.au
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
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hellyersroaddistillery.com.au
A slice of ocean luxe in the heart of the village of Barwon Heads... Walk down the stairs and find yourself amongst the shops, cafes and river. 8009
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia
EXPERIENCE TASMANia, in spirit
A balcony overlooks vibrant Hitchcock Avenue. Relaxed interiors. Sleeps 5, 2 bathroom, 2 car, washer, dryer and a fully contained kitchen.
Bookings via: cerescoastal.com.au
@cerescoastal
10%
off direct bookings
RIVERSDALE ESTATE CAMBRIDGE, TAS
French provincial styled cottages on private country Estate, set amongst award winning vineyard and olive grove. 1 queen and 2 singles. Panoramic water views, rolling countryside, rambling walks & private beach. Families welcome! 03 6248 5666 | 0448 701 447 wendy@riversdaleestate.com.au 222 Denholms Rd, Cambridge www.riversdaleestate.com.au
Want to swim with whalesharks? Want to snorkel Ningaloo Reef? Stay with us, it’s private, relaxing and personal. Not suitable for children under 10. 0409 250 548 • ningaloobedandbreakfast@netspace.net.au
www.ningaloobedandbreakfast.com.au
Sandringham – Daylesford –
Sandringham Daylesford
3
3
Luxury fittings and interiors.
Sandringham Daylesford, a lovingly restored 1930’s cottage with a relaxed yet sumptuous offering. Replenish in style.
www.sandringhamdaylesford.com.au
ingrid bowen ACCOMPANIED ADVENTURES
Small group adventures for lovers of landscape and art, accompanied by Sydney artist Ingrid Bowen. 6 night tours in Central Australia, June & Sept 2020
www.ingridbowen.com.au @accompaniedadventures
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
Explore the real Spain, Portugal &Moro o
A travel agency specialising in walk travel Independent, tailored advice for the world’s best walking holidays. Advice on walking adventures and accredited travel agency services to pursue them.
Tailor made itineraries • Expert advice Heritage accommodation
P: 03 9819 2322 E: info@hawthorntravel.com.au W: hawthorntravel.com.au
www.walktraveladvisory.com 0484 683 429
1800 500 016 or 03 9867 8833 WWW.IBERTOURS.COM.AU
hawthorntravel
ENJOY EUROPE’S WINTER MAGIC 2 ESCORTED RAIL TOURS
CHRISTMAS MARKETS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC
NOVEMBER 30TH 2020 - 21 DAYS - $11,950pp
Swiss & Austrian Alps plus Europe’s 3 most romantic cities: Paris (New Year’s Eve), Venice & Prague
DECEMBER 28TH 2020 - 20 DAYS - $10,950pp Pre Tour White Christmas Week in a Swiss Alpine village Dec 21st – 7 days - $2,500 twin share
Add on White Christmas Week in a Swiss Alpine village Dec 21st – 7 days - $2,500 twin share
ESCAPE THE
AUSSIE
18 DAY CHRISTMAS MARKETS OF EUROPE Departing 14 December 2020 Priced from $13,779 twin share $15,579 single
SUMMER HEAT
Including Return Airfares ex Melbourne (other cities available upon request)
ALL STOPS 3 NIGHTS MINIMUM, 4 & 5 STAR HOTELS FIRST CLASS RAIL TRAVEL, FULL LUGGAGE HANDLING SIGHTSEEING, MANY MEALS, LOCAL SPECIALIST GUIDES AUSTRALIAN TOUR DIRECTOR, MR STAN KLAN, TOOWOOMBA
Small Groups, Personal Service
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ABN 75 325 010 987 ATAS # A12982 IATA # 96836610
w w w. s i s t e r h o o d w o m e n s t r a v e l . c o m . a u
HISTORY | NATURE
ALPS, GLACIER EXPRESS AND ROMANTIC CITIES
Phone: 0488 423 848
NINA’S PATHWAYS
Escape and Explore
Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Leipzig & Berlin. Day trips to Innsbruck, Nuremberg, Budapest & Dresden. A classical music performance or opera at each stop.
NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT FOR SOLO TRAVELLERS
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS CAPTIVATING VIEW
www.greattrainsofeurope.com.au
CULTURE | INDULGENCE
My small group tours of Sri Lanka are personal and flexible. Book now for a remarkable experience with Nina’s Pathways, and let us be your guide in this tropical paradise. 0419 213 327
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
| www.ninaspathways.com.au |
/ninaspathways
MAY 2020 COUNTRY ST Y LE 145
COUN TRY SQUIRE
GROWING PAINS
AFTER YEARS OF BATTLING TO KEEP HIS GARDEN GOING DURING DROUGHT AND THEN THE BUSHFIRES, ROB INGRAM REFLECTS ON THE EXPERIENCE. which caused me to scroll through my mental glossary. Curmudgeon, I thought to myself, might be a sporting fish prevalent in the Nitmiluk National Park. I’m sure I’ve heard fishermen setting out asking fishermen getting back, “Barramundi biting today?” only to be told, “Nah, but the curmudgeon are going crazy.” Then again it might be a migratory seabird. I vaguely recall David Attenborough sitting on a coastal outcrop watching curmudgeons returning from Siberia. So was I migratory or going crazy? I turned to the dictionary. It told me — in the nicest possible way — that a curmudgeon is a crusty, difficult, cantankerous — and usually old — man. “What was the curmudgeon remark about?” I casually enquired … feigning earlier indifference to being crusty, difficult and cantankerous. “That ABC report,” said The Chosen One, “… the one that referred to Mother Nature three times.” Okay, I must admit that references to Mother Nature tend to make me upgrade exasperation into apoplexy. I don’t play well with people who deny climate change. and biodynamics and how cows were such placid creatures But my intolerance also extends to those who think we because they meditated on the life-force energies released can rely on some old dame called Mother Nature. by herbage. So we, too, meditated on the life-force Mother Nature is some cornball personification that energies released by herbage and, in between, we planted focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature and watered and fertilised. by embodying it in the form of a mother figure. It’s an It has all gone now … thanks in no small part to Mother extension of the old good mother myth, despite the fact Nature. She cranked up summer temperatures to the mid-40s that in recent times her most obvious gifts have been around here and flash-fried anything that was growing. She heat, drought, dust and inferno. More like the cruel dried up the water resources necessary to deliver life-giving old stepmother myth from the world of fairy tales. nutrients to our plantings and, on days when bright sunshine When we established wasn’t burning the garden to a crisp, L MAKE YOU FEEL WIL IS “TH our garden we didn’t much thick layers of drought dust and FAILED NOT RE WE’ ... TER BET share the credit with Mother ERS bushfire smoke snuffed out any -LOV IRO ENV RE WE’ . ERS DEN GAR Nature. We knew damned chance of the vital process of ” TLY. SOF N DDE TRO E HAV O WH well that it was the result of photosynthesis occurring. our own hard toil. Building a garden out here in the prickle Mother Nature, in the meantime, has re-invented herself, belt ain’t easy. We dragged huge railway sleepers into and even created a totally new school of heroic prose for the position and covered the parched earth with layers of post-drought real estate essayist. And it seems all is not lost newspapers to smother the weeds. We built up layers of soil for the little house on the prairie with no garden. and straw and compost and sheep droppings and let it settle. I’ve just finished reading a compelling House For Sale Then we built it up again. advertisement that I found on the internet. “Landscaped We gathered rocks — the big heavy ones that bushrangers By Nature” it read. “Previous owners have trodden softly used to hide behind — and rolled them through the property on this pristine block. Minimal interference will delight to build raised rockery beds. Then we scanned the mail enviro-lovers. Co-exist with Nature.” order catalogues for the best deals in hernia support belts. “This will make you feel better,” I told The Chosen One. We enrolled in a further education course and diligently “We’re not failed gardeners. We’re enviro-lovers who have studied the principles and practice of organic farming trodden softly.”
146 COUNTRY ST Y LE MAY 2020
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLE BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY SAM McADAM-COOPER STYLING PHOEBE McEVOY
THE CHOSEN ONE called me a curmudgeon the other day,
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