Flemingď?Šs NURSERIES
flemings.com.au
OCTOBER 2019 I AUSTRALIA COAST TO COAST
THE PLACE YOU COME HOME TO A Yass house gets a long-awaited makeover
ESCAPE THE EVERYDAY THE SHIP INN
Living in a Tasmanian fishing village
SEED FOR THOUGHT A YOUNG FAMILY’S GROWING BUSINESS
KITCHEN & BATHROOM SPECIAL
• Modern country • French rustic • The latest looks
ON THE WATERFRONT A trip up the Hawkesbury River
STYLE DIARIES REAL COUNTRY WOMEN’S FASHION SECRETS
Red available as a pre-order option only. See website for further details and stockists
THE BEAUTY OF CHOICE INTRODUCING THE CLASSIC COOKER AVAILABLE IN FOUR COLOURS
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A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
I once lived on the Hawkesbury River and it’s a time I look back on very fondly. It was there that I learnt about the importance of a good community. The people who I could rely on for anything, from picking me up from the public wharf because I’d just missed the last ferry home to helping me carry my baby and groceries up the hill — all things the lovely people of Dangar Island used to do for me when my son Harry was little. With those memories at the back of my mind, I asked photographer Michael Wee and writer Mark Mordue to spend a few days on the river, to capture a side of it that not everyone sees. Their story is on page 118 — and you can catch a glimpse of The Sun, the little ferry that I used to dread missing. People in your local community can also shape your life in other ways by giving you a push to start a new business for example. A conversation at the local butcher gave Guyra’s Fiona Smith the idea to produce pastured eggs. She had questioned why he sold cage eggs. “He said, ‘You do it then’ and so I said ‘I will!’” Fiona recalls on page 103. I’m sure everyone there at the time would be surprised to learn that the business inspired by the butcher’s idle remark is still going strong 10 years later.. I have just finished reading Patrice Newell’s latest book, Who’s Minding The Farm? In This Climate Emergency ($35, Viking). She bought Elmswood, her Upper Hunter Valley farm, in 1986 and has devoted herself to managing it in a sustainable way ever since. Again, the importance of community, and the people around you, shines through its pages. “I became a farmer with no prior experience and I learnt from everyone and everything; from numerous courses on soil and plants, and from all the people I’ve hired to work here. Every single day on the farm has been an education,” she writes. Read Patrice’s A Day in the Country on page 14. Enjoy the issue,
PHOTOGRAPHY DAMIAN BENNETT STYLING LIZ KAVANAGH
Victoria Carey
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CONTRIBUTORS
in this i s s u e . . .
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A B B Y P F A H L
She’s swapped the city for an office with paddock views, but Abby still gets her retail fix by finding the best regional shopping haunts for our monthly guide (page 113).
Abby grew up in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands, where her father ran a mature exotic tree nursery, which was “like being in a big forest”. After falling in love with a farmer, she quit her city job —“reluctantly at first” — to move to his family property in Bookham, NSW, admitting: “Farm life has challenged me in a good way, plus it allows me more time in nature.” Abby’s tips for shopping in an unfamiliar town? “As much as the internet is an amazing source, people are better! If I haven’t visited an area before, I’ll think of friends or family who live nearby, or buy a coffee or newspaper and politely ask for some local tips at the counter. Most people love to share their favourite spots and are really generous with their time.”
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Since moving to a large, semi-rural block in Bathurst on the NSW Central Tablelands, Tracey says she’s in awe of how anyone can maintain a sprawling, park-like garden like the one at Ledgworth. “At our place, we struggle to keep on top of the lawn and invested in two mobile mowers (aka sheep), but they prefer munching our apple and cherry trees instead!” Having spent three decades writing about everything from agriculture to food, Tracey says penning stories about people’s homes is a special privilege. “Your home is your sanctuary, so when home owners allow Country Style inside, they share snippets of their lives, as well as their decorating style, because the two are often indelibly intertwined.”
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY CAMILLA DUFFY PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN
Tracey had a serious bout of garden envy when writing about Katie and Michael Walker’s Ledgworth property near Yass, in the Southern Tablelands (page 52).
O c t o b e r 2 019 | c o n t e n t s
60
40 COVER STORIES
HOMES
18 Seed for thought: A young family’s growing business 40 The Ship Inn: Living in a Tasmanian fishing village 52 The place you come home to: A Yass house gets
40 ROOM AT THE INN
84
52
124 132
a long-awaited makeover Kitchen & bathroom special: Modern country, French rustic, the latest looks On the waterfront: A trip up the Hawkesbury River Style diaries: Real country women’s fashion secrets
PEOPLE
60
PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON, DEREK SWALWELL
18 NEW LEAF 103
How a young mum turned her love of nature and growing plants into a thriving business. OUR LIFE IN THE COUNTRY Farmers Derek and Fiona Smith have had to shift focus in response to the ongoing drought.
In search of a quieter life, Kerry and Alastair Houston moved their young family to a historic hotel on Tasmania’s north-west coast — and never looked back. WORTH THE WAIT After being in the same family for three generations, this sprawling home in the NSW Southern Tablelands has recently received a renovation. QUIET LIFE With its glass facade, natural stone and timber finishes and native plantings, Bluff House in the Mornington Peninsula is at one with its rugged surroundings.
GARDEN
75 IN THE GARDEN
Biodynamic farmer Charlie Arnott — our Country Style People award winner — shares his cooking secrets.
The latest gardening news and products, including pop-up pots, stylish tool belts and a nifty boot rack. ROMANCING THE STONE Polish-born sculptor Ashika Marek Ostapkowicz’s Victorian property is dotted with the impressive stone creations for which he’s become renowned.
MY COUNTRY CHILDHOOD
KITCHEN & BATHROOM SPECIAL
30TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
24 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
34 When author Angela Wales moved from Sydney’s
Bondi to the NSW town of Walcha, it was the start of a challenging, but happy chapter for her.
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84 HOME CENTRE
From starting from scratch to a few simple updates, take renovation cues from these stylish rooms.
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 9
FASHION AND BEAUTY
132 THE STYLE DIARIES
113
96
138
124
Flower farmer Sus Bush and seed business owner Michelle Brady reveal their wardrobe staples and essential beauty products. ADAPT AND SURVIVE From quandong to finger lime, Australian native ingredients are being used in skincare to help combat the harsh environmental factors we face on a daily basis.
REGULAR READING
6 Contributors 12 Your Page: Readers’ emails and letters 14 A Day in the Country: This month we hear 29 113 140 143 162
from Dr Patrice Newell A Month in the Country Regional Shopping Guide: The best shops in country towns Books Collectables Country Squire
SERVICES
118 SUBSCRIBE TO COUNTRY STYLE AND RECEIVE
92 HIDDEN TREASURE 94
A grandmother’s long-lost devil’s food cake recipe is now fortunately back on high rotation. FLAVOURS This month we serve up a gills-to-tail fish cookbook, bee-friendly honey, and a roadside stall worth visiting.
OUR COVER
This month we tour Ledgworth, the home of Katie and Michael Walker, with its park-like gardens and newly renovated rooms.
TRAVEL
96 ON THE MOVE: STANTHORPE Fresh local produce, acclaimed cellar doors and stunning National Parks await in the south-east Queensland town of Stanthorpe. 121 PARADISE FOUND Discover island-hopping of a different kind aboard a garden-themed cruise of the British Isles. 124 RIVER OF DREAMS Just an hour outside of Sydney, the Hawkesbury River offers a sense of serenity not easily found amid the hustle and bustle of city life.
PHOTOGRAPHY Lisa Cohen STYLING Beck Simon LOCATION Yass, New South Wales
ON THE COVER Being able to look out over the garden while cooking was Katie’s number one wish when creating her open-plan kitchen and dining space. Now she loves being in her light-filled kitchen, baking for family and friends. Cabinets by Gibbs Kitchens & Joinery. Dining table from Focus on Furniture and chairs from Provincial Home Living. For stockist details, see page 144.
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.
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PHOTOGRAPHY PEPPERMINT STUDIOS, PIP WILLIAMS, MICHAEL WEE
FOOD
144 145 146 154
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YOUR PAGE
“I like the eclectic feel,” says Georgie Leckie, the owner of this gorgeous home and the founder of @heatherlydesignbedheads. “The house is full of special pieces that have been collected over two generations, and have been edited and edited. The ‘decorated house’ look takes a long time to achieve.” Photography: @lisacohenphoto Styling @tess.newman.morris
Betty the beautiful basset hound warms up by the fire with one of her young owners, four-year-old Paddy Kaye, as Merino sheep graze in the background. The Kayes live at Ballakaye in Nowhere Creek, western Victoria, where Paddy’s mum Kirby @settlerandsons hosts workshops. Words @virginia_imhoff Photography @markroperphotography Styling @hannah.brady
YOUR PAGE
LOVE IS IN THE AIR FOR MANY OF OUR READERS, ONE HAS A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND ANOTHER IS DETERMINED TO KEEP HER CREATIVITY ALIVE.
TEST OF TIME You would think by now I’d be over it, with interest starting to dwindle after 30 years together. But the truth is I’m in love a little deeper with every passing month. I can’t begin to explain how thankful I am for having found your very first edition of Country Style sitting on a shelf in our little country town’s newsagency way back in 1989. It was a love story that was meant to be. I truly adore every issue. Every beautiful photo, every heartfelt story, every mouthwatering recipe. And, especially, every inspiring family and the gorgeous gardens inside their farming properties. Congratulations, Country Style, on your 30th anniversary. Thank you for the memories and the love you have given us so we can enjoy the country and all the splendour it has to offer — you are always inspirational. Barbara Newton, Oakville, NSW
Since his birth, I’ve been determined not to return to the miserable long hours I did in accounting, so I have decided to start a business that will utilise my creativity. Your magazine inspires me, recharges my creative batteries and always arrives just as I’m beginning to feel that juggling motherhood and a business might all be too hard. So many thanks from me for such a beautiful publication. Samantha Glasheen, Brisbane, Queensland
WINNER
GOLDEN CENTURY Having just received my latest issue of Country Style, I felt I should take the time to write and tell you how much pleasure your magazine has given me over the years. I have been a regular subscriber for more than 20 years, since I was introduced
to your magazine as a birthday gift from my son. I grew up in East Gippsland, Victoria, a dairy, fishing and grazing area, which has the picturesque Tambo River running through it. The stories you publish about country folk who make their living from the land are always interesting. I feel for so many of them who are affected by drought, bushfires, pests and floods. My garden and flowers have always given me great joy, and since I moved into an aged-care facility, your beautiful photo shoots have meant even more to me. My husband and I will shortly celebrate our 100th birthdays with our family. We feel very blessed to have had a wonderful life together. Congratulations on your 30 years. As always, I look forward to my next issue. Patricia Carroll, Glen Iris, Victoria
Congratulations C
WAITING GAME
H Happy Birthday to Patricia, who has won a Marc Newson by Noritake fine bone china dinnerware set, valued at $655, available from d department stores and top kitchenware retailers. d For more information, visit noritake.com.au F
Now that I have a subscription to your magazine, which I should have done years ago, I must admit to a love affair with my letterbox. Around the time of my next magazine delivery, I find myself checking the mailbox incessantly during the day. I’m a stay-at-home mum. I spent many years as an artist before retraining in accounting and then I had my son.
S Share your thoughts and experiences with us by writing to Country Style, PO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW, 1028, or emailing C austcountrystyle@bauer-media.com.au. Please include a your address and daytime telephone number. Letters may y be edited for reasons of space and clarity. b
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A DAY IN THE COUNTRY
EMPTY NEST IT SEEMS LIKE yesterday, but it was 2009: I’m at Mascot
international airport while our daughter, Aurora, 17, checks in for her flight to the UK. Or perhaps more accurately, her flight from Australia. She’s doing what more and more young people are doing, heading overseas to plan a future. In Aurora’s case it’s to check out the universities that have accepted her application, providing her HSC results are good enough. Travelling alone, she will couch-surf in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Durham and Edinburgh. Phillip and I are bereft as the queue moves inexorably forward. I start to cry. Not yet in wrenching sobs, but with tears that swell slowly and that I try to stifle. I should feel proud of her confidence — and I am — and I want to share her excitement, but the wound in my heart is so deep it’s hard not to think just about myself. Aurora checks in her tiny amount of luggage, gets her boarding pass, and the three of us sit in a coffee shop until it’s time to say a final farewell. The mood of that day resonated for months. I found some distraction in thinking deeply about the farm. Over the years, I’d had many conversations with friends about the moment when it dawns on them that their children may not want to stay on the farm and carry on the work. Even though I’ve never said — not to myself or to my daughter — that we’re building an asset at Elmswood to pass on, there has always been the hope that one day she’ll come back to live here and raise her own family. But in the 10 years since that first departure, Aurora has spent four years at The University of Edinburgh, several years in a demanding job in Sydney, and then she moved to Europe. This time with her partner, Susannah. So any succession planning involving her feels further away than ever. The farm manages without her. I’m told by friends that you should never focus on family succession plans while your offspring are under 30. That
Elmswood Farm in NSW’s Hunter Valley rises from river flats to mountainous ranges. 14 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
age may trigger a rethink and children sometimes come home to the farm. It’s been happening a little around here, as those who left realise they don’t enjoy the corporate world their university degree led them into, or they simply failed to get the right job. Back in 1987, when I swapped the city for the farm, I also switched careers, leaving my television job as host of Today. My partner, writer and radio host Phillip Adams, and I originally bought 1600 hectares, then another 1200 next door, then a few years later an adjacent 1200 hectares of wilderness. It would take some 15 years before I felt I could say with any confidence that I knew enough about farming to run our organic property, and to live up to my vow to protect the land. No official training is required in order to become a farmer. If you’re professionally nursing a human, you need a degree. If you’re nursing a calf or a crop, you can do it without any qualification at all. I became a farmer with no prior experience and I learnt from everyone and everything; from numerous courses on soil and plants, and from all the people I’ve hired to work here. Every single day on the farm has been an education. I didn’t always know precisely what to do but I knew what I wouldn’t do. I wouldn’t turbo-charge crops and pastures with manufactured synthetic fertilisers. I wouldn’t clear more land. I wouldn’t draw more water from our longsuffering creeks and rivers. I wouldn’t use poisons, nor would I adopt a bad and broken business model to bolster short-term profits. Although we needed mechanical tools, I wouldn’t automatically try to replace human workers with machines. Phillip and I wanted people to work on our farm. To share it with us. This is an edited e from Patrice’s latest book Who’s Minding The a m? In This Climate Emergency ($35, Viking), which is on sale now.
PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICE NEWELL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY GRANT MATTHEWS
FOR THOSE ON PROPERTIES, CHILDREN LEAVING HOME CAN RAISE THE QUESTION OF SUCCESSION, WRITES DR PATRICE NEWELL.
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Editor-in-chief VICTORIA CAREY Creative director JO QUARMBY Deputy editor KYLIE IMESON Melbourne editor VIRGINIA IMHOFF Art director ANDREA HEALY Copy editors MELODY LORD, CAROLYN PARFITT Art production/designer MATUS KUNDRAT Junior designer SOPHIE WILSON Stylists LISA BURDEN, NATALIE JOHNSON, SARAH MALONEY Homes group production editor TAMARAH PIENAAR Homes group coordinator SARA SLEEMAN (02) 9282 8456 Regular contributors CLAIRE MACTAGGART (Queensland contributing editor) DIXIE ELLIOTT (Food) ROB INGRAM (Country Squire) ANNABEL LAWSON (Books) JOHN McPHEE (Collectables) BARBARA SWEENEY (Flavours) JULIETTE WINTER (Health and Beauty) SAMANTHA VAN EGMOND (Writer)
A DV ERT ISI NG A N D PRODUCT ION
Commercial manager RHYL HEAVENER (02) 8114 9420 Homes commercial manager RHONDA MAUNDER (02) 9282 8687 Brand executive JENNIFER BURKE (02) 9288 9145 Advertising production manager KATE ORSBORN (02) 9282 8364 Victoria, SA and WA sales director JACLYN CLEMENTS (03) 9823 6341 Director of sales NSW KAREN HOLMES (02) 9282 8733 Victoria head of direct sales WILL JAMISON (03) 9823 6301 Queensland head of sales JUDY TAYLOR (07) 3101 6636 New Zealand inquiries +61 2 9282 8505 Sales manager, Directories NICK CARSON (02) 9282 8369 General manager, Production services IAN McHUTCHINSON Title controller and production planner SALLY JEFFERYS Advertising production controller DOMINIC ROY (02) 9282 8691 Creative director CLARE CATT (02) 8116 9341 Senior event manager CATE GAZAL (02) 8226 9342
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GENER AL EDITORIAL INQUIRIES
HOMEWARES OUT NOW Visit madraslinkonline.com.au to shop online or see page 144 for stockists.
PHOTOGRAPHY NIC GOSSAGE STYLING LISA BURDEN
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Telephone 136 116 Web magshop.com.au Post Magshop, GPO Box 5252, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia. Published by Bauer Media Pty Limited (ABN 053 273 546), 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. The trademark Country Style is the property of Bauer Media Pty Ltd © 2019. All rights reserved. Printed by Ovato, 8 Priddle Street, Warwick Farm, NSW 2170. National distribution by Gordon and Gotch Australia Pty Ltd. 1300 650 666. ISSN 0004-931X. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without written consent from the copyright holders. Bauer Media Pty Ltd does not accept responsibility for damage to or loss of freelance material submitted for publication. Allow several weeks for acceptance or return. For enquiries regarding subscriptions, call 136 116, Monday-Friday, 8am–6pm AEST, email magshop@ magshop.com.au or mail letters to: Country Style Reply Paid 3508, Sydney, NSW 2001, or subscribe online at magshop.com.au. Subscription rate*: Australia $79.99 (one year, 13 issues); NZ A$99.95 (one year, 13 issues); other countries A$189.95 (one year, 13 issues). All overseas subscriptions sent air speed. *Recommended price, trademark Country Style.
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PEOPLE MALENY QUEENSLAND Sow ’n Sow began with two seed varieties and has grown to include 26 as well as gift tags and handcrafted flower presses. FACING PAGE Five-year-old Bonnie and Freya, 20 months, enjoy life surrounded by nature in the Sunshine Coast’s hinterland.
A YOUNG MUM TENDS HER SEED GIFT BUSINESS, SOW ’N SOW, ON A FORMER AVOCADO FARM IN QUEENSLAND. WORDS SAMANTH A VAN EGMOND PHOTOGRAPHY M AR NIE HAWSON
18 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 19
PEOPLE MALENY QUEENSLAND
FROM THE WINDOW of Michelle Brady’s light-flooded studio,
sitting high in the Sunshine Coast’s hinterland, thriving plant life can be seen at every turn. Overlooking undulating greenery and bordered by beds of cosmos, snapdragons, sweet peas and nasturtiums, it is from this sunny workspace that Michelle runs her seed gifts business, Sow ’n Sow, offering beautifully packaged gift cards and seed packets. “My little garden is covered in flowers year-round,” says Michelle, whose home studio is located on the lush twohectare Maleny property she shares with her husband Nick Bishop, a sustainable building consultant, their daughters five-year-old Bonnie and Freya, 20 months, as well as their schnoodle Maude. An hour-and-a-half’s drive north of Brisbane, the rainforest surroundings were an opportune change for the couple, who had been living in Melbourne but were drawn north when their family grew to become three. “After Bonnie was born in 2014, we knew we wanted to put down roots in Queensland,” says Michelle, who first became acquainted with beautiful gardens while growing up in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Graceville. “Nick and I didn’t want to be in the city, and we’ve got lots of ties to the Sunshine
20 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
Coast with extended family.” She enjoys the strong sense of community there as well as its handy proximity to the coast. The couple had been searching for a property in the hinterland for several months when they came across the former avocado farm. With its pecan and macadamia trees, lychee grove, abundant fruit trees and “ridiculously fertile soil”, it ticked all the boxes. “We love growing our own produce, and here it’s just so easy to do that,” says Michelle, who saw the farm as an idyllic place to raise a young family while working from home. Sow ’n Sow was already a flourishing business when the couple moved — Michelle, 34, launched the brand in 2010 — so they immediately set about converting the old avocado packing shed into a suitable workspace. “Getting everything up and running was a priority,” says Michelle. She and Nick, 35, relined the walls, roof and flooring, and replaced the garage doors with sliding doors. Inside, potted herbs and cascading devil’s ivy now soak up the warm sunlight that streams into the north-facing studio. Michelle had always loved being close to nature; however, it was during a stint in London in her early 20s that she first discovered the joy of growing her own garden from seed. >
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Michelle rebranded her packaging using the designs of Melbourne-based illustrator Daniella Germain, who also draws Country Style’s On the Move maps; Maud, the family schnoodle; Sow ’n Sow’s products are made using environmentally friendly materials including 100 per cent recycled paper; Michelle and Nick on their property; Bonnie and some of the family’s chickens.
PEOPLE MALENY QUEENSLAND Michelle sources non-hybrid, open-pollinated seeds from Australian suppliers for her business.
“There would be these incredible flowers appearing through cracks in the concrete,” she says. “Seeing the daffodils come up after winter really made me feel that excitement of watching something grow.” Michelle was inspired to cultivate her own patch in her tiny North London courtyard, returning home with a new-found love of gardening and a burning desire to start her own business. “When Nick and I came back to Australia in 2008 and moved to Melbourne, I wanted to take control of my work hours, be my own boss and to somehow incorporate this with my love of plants,” says Michelle, whose background is in branding and advertising. “I enjoyed working in a corporate capacity, but I needed to do something creative.” Michelle began making gifts of seed packets for friends’ birthdays and felt a sense of satisfaction from giving something that grows. “I wasn’t sure whether the idea would thrive as a business,” she says. “But I decided to put all fear aside and just give it a go.” Launching Sow ’n Sow nine years ago with two varieties, basil and sunflower, Michelle sought stockists by attending
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trade shows and dropping samples into shops. “I knew nothing about the gifts and homewares industry and learnt everything along the way,” she says. After she teamed up with Melbourne-based illustrator Daniella Germain in 2012 to rebrand the packaging and add four new seed varieties, the range grew to include gift tags, handcrafted flower presses and more than 26 seed packet varieties. All orders are packed and sent out from the Maleny studio by Michelle and her assistant Jess, with the help of local seasonal workers during busy periods. Nick also works from home, allowing the couple to spend time with Bonnie and Freya. “The space and flexibility are perfect for us, and there’s always plenty of activity in the garden, which we all enjoy,” says Michelle, whose plot of natives, edibles and flowers is frequented by the family’s chickens and hive of bees. “With the rainfall and the soil we have here, there’s always something beautiful coming up,” she sa s. “It really is an inspiring place from which to work For more information, visit sownso
w w w. y a r r a t r a i l . c o m . a u
FO O D FOR THOUGHT
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURALIST AND BIODYNAMIC FARMER, CHARLIE ARNOTT, SHARES HIS FAMILY COOKING SECRETS. WORDS CLAIRE MACTAGGART PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLE
PRODUCING FOOD and sharing it with family and friends are
well-loved rituals for Boorowa, NSW, regenerative and biodynamic farmer, Charlie Arnott, and his wife, Angelica. Charlie began down the regenerative farming path over 15 years ago, which ultimately shifted his focus to soil health and high-quality food production, rather than growing commodities at Hanaminno, their 2143-hectare property. The Arnotts supply biodynamic meat, including Charlie Arnott Grass Fed Beef, plus lamb and pork, to butchers such as Victor Churchill and Shiralee Organic Meats. “The minute I took responsibility for growing food, that changed my decision making, and my goal became to grow the best food I possibly can. That meant for me the exclusion of chemicals, as I realised their use was, on the whole, detrimental to the health of the soil, and soil is everything,” says 46-year-old Charlie, who was the 2018 Bob Hawke Landcare Award recipient. When Charlie met Angelica, she was already well down the organic food path, and her beliefs around food and chemicals contributed to their decision to become biodynamic farmers. Her reverence for food was ingrained from an early age, thanks to her father’s Italian heritage. “My father had an innate ability to understand what was good for one when they had a malaise,” she says. “If I felt poorly, Dad would pop into the kitchen and concoct something for that condition.” Each weekend, the Arnotts have a bone broth bubbling on the stove for 36 hours, which was a staple for Angelica when she was growing up. At Hanaminno, they endeavour to maintain a vegetable garden and grow root vegetables, such as pumpkins, parsnips and carrots, in winter,
Celebrating
years of
PEOP LE AWAR D PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
24 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
and also maintain a supply of tomatoes, which are bottled for use year-round. “I brought my knowledge and heritage with me. Charlie bought the opportunity to grow our food and share it, and I’m so grateful for that,” Angelica says. At Hanaminno, there is often an influx of guests and workshop participants, curious about organic food production. “It’s like Q&A around the kitchen bench and that’s a really lovely thing,” she says. “When people leave, I always know they will try something new.” Angelica says she finds cooking very grounding. “I recently did a course with Mimi Thor and the wonder of doing that was she reminded me what a privilege it is to be able to cook for your family,” she adds. At Hanaminno, the Arnotts are working to restore the landscape with a view to “loving the grass more than the cattle”. They graze their Shorthorn cattle for shorter than usual intervals to allow the pasture to rest and regenerate. They also apply a natural compost, made on the farm with biodynamic principles, to the pasture to improve soil biology. Hundreds of thousands of trees have been established, with the help of a local Landcare group and Sydney-based Bushcare program. Charlie shares his knowledge and tools for biodynamic and regenerative farming on social media and YouTube videos, as well as workshops, and he is empowered to contribute to the ever-increasing interest in alternative ways to grow food. “Our biodynamic workshops include the benefits of healthy soil for growing food for human nutrition and wellbeing,” he says. “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity and responsibility to grow food for family, clients and friends.” > For more information, visit charliearnott.com.au
WINNER 30TH BIRTHDAY Cattle and sheep grazing. CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Grapes growing along the verandah of the house; the courtyard of the house, where the family often eats; daughter Lilla getting ready for a picnic; the house is an oasis in summer. CENTRE Charlie surveying one of the paddocks.FACING PAGE Charlie describes 2143-hectare Hanaminno near Boorowa, NSW, as his sanctuary.
WINNER 30TH BIRTHDAY Charlie Arnott. BELOW The dining table at Hanaminno.
• Where possible, Charlie likes to cook outside on the barbecue with fire or gas, because, “that’s where the process of growing beef started, cooking outside over a fire”. • Charlie recommends letting meat rest to room temperature before it’s cooked. • For beef and lamb, he prefers the meat rare or medium-rare. For pork, he suggests it’s best cooked slowly. “I can’t go past homegrown pork, whether it’s shoulder or leg, cooked slowly to let the fat infuse with the meat, with its delicious, nutritious flavour,” Charlie says. “If you need to remove fat, do it after the meat is cooked. Meat is a reflection of the pasture and environment it grew up in.” • The Arnotts utilise the whole beast and like to be creative with different cuts. “Some of the organs, or the fifth quarter, are used to make various biodynamic preparations for the paddock,” he says.
ANGELICA’S SLOW-ROASTED BEEF IN A POT
This nutrient-rich stew is versatile: warming in winter with mashed potato or polenta, or a green salad during the warmer months. I use any meaty bones that I have on hand — shank, osso buco, leg or shoulder beef.
Brown the meat well and arrange in a cast-iron pot. Chop 2 brown onions into quarters, then peel and chop 3 large carrots into large chunks. Do the same with a large sweet potato and 5 Dutch cream potatoes. Next, generously sprinkle the meat with fresh herbs — thyme or rosemary — along with 2 bay leaves, 2 sheets of nori seaweed, a tin of organic chickpeas and 2 cups organic tomato passata. Add a good slug of red wine and 4 cups quality beef stock. Arrange the vegetables around the meat and season with salt and pepper. Pop the lid on and put it in the oven on a low temperature for 6 hours. Be intuitive with this recipe — it’s about using what’s on hand and addi flavour to suit your individual taste.
1
COUNTRY KITCHEN
2 3
Located on a rugged peninsula, this modern kitchen (left), by Paul Clarke of Studio2 Architects, was designed with relaxed entertaining in mind with stylish but practical appliances, all from Fisher & Paykel. 1 OB76SDEPX3 Pyrolytic Built-in Oven. 2 RS90A1 ActiveSmart Fridge French Door. 3 CG905DWACX1 Gas on Steel Cooktop. 1300 650 590, fisherpaykel.com/au
26 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON WILSON
CHARLIE’S MEAT PREPARATION TIPS
and selected boutiques
marcopolo.net.au
A MONT H IN T HE COUN T RY Horses graze in a paddock near Stanthorpe. To read about this town in south-west Queensland, turn to page 96.
PHOTOGRAPHY PIP WILLIAMS
Whether you want to see gardens, wonderful Indigenous art or to pick your own strawberries, you’ll find something to your taste in the country this month.
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A MONT H IN T HE COUNT RY
You can pick your own berries at Beerenberg strawberry farm in Hahndorf, South Australia. BELOW A dish at Rick Shores in Burleigh Heads, Queensland. FACING PAGE, FROM LEFT One of the Slab Huts at Saltbush Retreat in Longreach, Queensland; the gardens in Victoria’s Bickleigh Vale, designed by Edna Walling.
NSW
Wild Fest, October 4th–27th This annual festival aimed at providing opportunities to reconnect with nature has events spread across the Southern Highlands, Canberra and Shoalhaven regions. You can choose your own adventure — from glamping in bush luxe pop-up camps on the Wingecarribee River to pulling up a front-row seat as two-hatted chef Lennox Hastie prepares a five-course feast with fire and locally foraged produce. wildfest.com.au Battle on the Bidgee Stockman’s Challenge, October 11th–13th Head to the iconic town of Gundagai in south-west NSW to witness amazing displays of horsemanship at this annual weekend event. Held at the picturesque Gundagai Showgrounds on the banks of the Murrumbidgee, the event features some of the country’s top riders competing in everything from camp drafting and bareback obstacle courses to horseshoeing and whip cracking. Stay at one of the many motels in town or set up camp alongside Morleys Creek and swap stories with your neighbours around the campfire. 0400 236 098, battleonthebidgee.net
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ACT
Windows to the World, October 12th–20th Visit the bush capital and see the world. This month, some of Canberra’s embassies and high commissions will open their gates to allow visitors to experience their gardens, unique architecture, culture and food in a series of open days, performances and exhibits. Various venues. Bookings may be required. visitcanberra.com.au
book a table QUEENSLAND Rick Shores The location on the seafront at Burleigh
Heads is pretty spectacular. We’re talking front-row ocean seats, waves crashing only metres away from windows that frame the blue view. The sound of the waves plays in the background, a different tune for every forecast. Sunlight refracts off glass and metal, creating a sense of centre-stage theatricality — dining among the elements has never been more exciting. With the ocean raging outside, it’s no wonder that head chef James Brady’s menu has a strong seafood showing: Rick Shores’ fried bug roll with gem lettuce and chilli sauce has become a legend in its own lunchtime and justifiably so, the soft white milk bun yielding to hot, crunchy, deep-fried nuggets of bug meat. Along with the retro Chinese offering of crab sesame toast, it sets the tone for the Pan-Asian menu that skips lightly from Thailand to Malaysia, Japan and India. Yet somehow — could it be the view? — Rick Shores manages to remain quintessentially Australian. 43 Goodwin Terrace, Burleigh Heads, (07) 5630 6611, rickshores.com.au BA R BA R A SW EENEY
W E E K E N D AWAY QUEENSLAND Saltbush Retreat For an authentic outback
WORDS VIRGINIA IMHOFF, CLAIRE MACTAGGART, BARBARA SWEENEY PHOTOGRAPHY BRETT HORAN (BICKLEIGH VALE); HANNAH PUECHMARIN (SALTBUSH RETREAT)
stay, visit Saltbush Retreat in Longreach, which offers boutique accommodation in 44 self-contained cabins and lodges. The Homestead Stables reference an outback stable-hand’s accommodation, but with deluxe 4.5-star comfort, while the Slab Huts, crafted in the style of an early settler’s home, feature a canopied bed. Perfect for families, the one- and two-bedroom 3.5-star Outback Cabins have a private patio with garden views. Enjoy an e stroll to nearby Longreach attractions then wash off the day at the Outdoor Bath Terrace with a luxurious soak in a clawfoot bath. From $150 per night. 63-65 Ilfracombe Road, Longreach, (07) 4658 3811, saltbushretreat.com.au CLAIRE MACTAGGART
QUEENSLAND
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
VICTORIA
Granite Belt Art and Craft Trail, October 19th–20th and 26th–27th The devastating Girraween fires earlier this year, as well as the drought, propelled Rosy Chapman to bring the community together by showcasing the region’s creative talent with an Open Studios event held over these two weekends. Around 26 venues will participate, as well as 16 artists and nine creative collectives. Follow the self-drive trail map. 0411 586 695, southerndownsandgranitebelt.com.au
Renmark Rose Festival, October 18th–27th Participate in a range of events and attractions scattered across the towns of the Riverland. Enjoy open gardens, Renmark’s own famous town rose garden featuring more than 3500 roses, floral displays and a festival fair starring regional produce, all set against the beauty of the River Murray. Now in its 25th year, the festival is one of the region’s most popular. 0417 869 236, renmarkroses.com
Bickleigh Vale Open Garden, October 13th Edna Walling designed and created this enchanting village at Bickleigh Vale almost a century ago. English-style cottages sit gently within rambling gardens of mature trees, spring bulbs, and romantic stone walls and winding paths. Entry to eight Bickleigh Vale gardens $25. 10am–4.30pm. 1380 Bickleigh Vale Road, Mooroolbark, 0472 997 880, opengardensvictoria.org.au
Buderim Garden Festival, October 18th–20th This annual festival features six open gardens as well as a Spring Flower Show of cut flowers, floral arrangements, hanging baskets and bonsai plants. Entry is $15 for the weekend, which includes entry to the open gardens and Flower Show. Buderim Memorial Hall, corner of Main and Church Streets, 0448 714 561, buderimgardenclub.com
Experience a Taste of Beerenberg, October 5th 2019–May 3rd 2020 Visit this iconic strawberry farm to learn, relax and enjoy a generous grazing platter of local produce before heading to the strawberry fields to pick your own. Held on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month, with a minimum of four bookings required in order to proceed, you’ll receive a gift bag of Beerenberg delicacies. $65 per adult. 0419 811 924, beerenberg.com.au
Robin Boyd: Design Legend, until October 27th For the centenary celebrations of this most respected Australian architect and intellectual, Heide Museum of Modern Art is exhibiting his work with insights into the key design themes expressed in 10 of his most remarkable houses. Tuesday to Sunday 10am–5pm; tours Thursdays at 2pm. Admission $20, concession $15. 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen, (03) 9850 1500, heide.com.au
An artwork by Wawiriya Burton at the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory in Darwin.
winners this year will receive $80,000. Free entry. Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, 19 Conacher Street, The Gardens, Darwin, (08) 8999 8264, magnt.net.au/natsiaa
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
TASMANIA
Bloomin’ Tulips Festival, October 12th Held on the banks of the Inglis River at the north-west coastal town of Wynyard, this one-day festival will feature art, craft, local produce, entertainment, kids’ activities, a colour run and a 9pm fireworks display. It’s the highlight of a three-week program celebrating the spring flowering of tulips at Table Cape Tulip Farm, one of the largest tulip growers in the Southern Hemisphere. Take a farm tour so you can tiptoe through the tulips to your heart’s content and buy a potted bulb to take home. Gutteridge Gardens, Goldie Street, Wynyard, (03) 6443 8320, bloomintulips.com.au Seafarers’ Festival, October 27th Indulge in all things nautical at this family-focused event on Hobart’s Bellerive Boardwalk. To celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary there will be a focus on local food and beverage producers, as well as plenty of waterside entertainment. (03) 6217 9620, clarenceartsandevents.net
NORTHERN TERRITORY
36th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), until November 3rd Australia’s most prestigious Indigenous art awards exhibition celebrates the diversity and best of contemporary Indigenous art practice from around Australia. The exhibition attracts more than 65,000 visitors each year and the Telstra Art Award of $50,000 is awarded to the most outstanding work across all categories. Collectively the
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Ferguson Valley Open Garden Trail, October 19th–20th Visit six country gardens that range from traditional to eclectic in design, and some embracing organic principles, throughout the locality of Crooked Brook. Food vans will be available. Entry $5 with proceeds to charity. From 10am–4pm at various locations. 0447 266 885, fergusonvalleyopengardens.com.au
Strings Attached Festival, October 11th–13th Western Australia’s three-day guitar festival launches this October in Margaret River, celebrating stringed instruments with exhibitions and performances as well as masterclasses, workshops and panels with luthiers, artists and industry experts. Players, makers and general enthusiasts of all ages are welcome. To be held at various locations including the new Margaret River HEART (Hub of Entertainment, Arts and Regional Tourism), The River hotel and the Settlers Tavern. Passes start at and first releases have sold out stringsattachedfestival.com.a
f armers’ markets NSW
Blayney Farmers Market, October 20th Excitement is high in the NSW Central West as entrants in the Blayney Farmers’ Market annual Halloween pumpkin-carving competition are absorbed in last-minute preparations. (This town takes comps seriously; in December it’s gingerbread-house decorating.) Such activity is a distraction from the unremitting drought, which is currently making it difficult for the market to get hold of a wide range of locally grown vegetables. Never mind, The Potato Man is always in attendance, as is Mamma Bray’s Mushrooms, selling a variety of exotic mushrooms, and Martelli Orchards, with Pink Lady and Gala apples and pears. Locals know to grab a few of Mark Logan’s homemade sausage rolls from The Pitt and George Food Company stall for lunch. For even greater tasting pleasure, you could try slipping Hungry Bee’s raw honey, Dapper Chocolates, Bell River Estate’s Tawny fortified wine and Paling Yards Olive Grove’s fine oils into your shopping basket. 8.30am–12.30pm. Carrington Park, 71 Osman Street, Blayney, 0418 633 618, facebook.com/blayneyfarmersmarket
VICTORIA
Yarra Valley Regional Farmers’ Market, October 20th Thirteen years after Suzanne and James Halliday established Coldstream Hills winery, Suzanne set the wheels in motion to start a market in Victoria’s Yarra Valley in 1998. Hard-working volunteers have kept it going ever since, making it one of the longest running in the country. As one of Australia’s pre-eminent berry (and wine) growing regions, this is where to come for fresh-picked strawberries (the season starts mid-October), raspberries, silvanberries, cherries (from November) and blackberries. One of the berry growers, Kookaberry, also makes a vast range of jams and vinegars. More sweet treats can be found at Cathy Pignataro’s stall Nice & Sweet Baked Goods: her cannoli and doughnuts are motivation enough to get out of bed early. At Yarra Flats Bakery you might be lucky to get a still-warm baguette, while Belleview Farm sometimes has a royal f lush of eggs: duck, hen, goose and quail. 9am–2pm. The location, a heritage-listed barn at Yering Station winery, is incredibly picturesque. Melba Highway, Yarra Glen, (03) 9739 0122, yarravalleyfood. com.au BARBARA SWEENEY
EVENTS MAY CHANGE AND WE RECOMMEND CONTACTING ORGANISERS TO CONFIRM DETAILS AND ENSURE AVAILABILITY.
A MONT H IN T HE COUN T RY
Fella Hamilton are turning 50! To celebrate our anniversary we invite you to shop with us to go in the draw to win the trip of a lifetime! Simply make any purchase bet ween 26th August and 6th October to be in the running to win a Mediterannean cruise and flight package for two. This fabulous prize is made possible by:
Freecall 1800 800 866 for our new catalogue, mail order & enquiries. Shops located in VIC, NSW, SA, QLD, ACT & TAS Gift cards available. For full T’s and C’s see our website: www.fellahamilton.com.au
Competition entries open from Midnight 12:00am AEST 26/8/2019 and will close 11:59pm AEST 6/10/2019. Open to AUST residents 18+ who fulfil the entry/eligibility requirements. Major prize is a Crystal cruise valued at approx. $18000 (as at June 2019) plus a $5000 Executive Edge Travel voucher towards airfare to Europe. Runner up prizes are a $1000 or $500 Fella Hamilton gift card. Total prize pool is $24,500 (inc GST). Prize draw 4:00 PM AEST 7/10/2019 at Lvl 2, 11 York St Sydney NSW 2000. Winners notified via email within 2 days and published at fellahamilton.com.au 7/10/2019. Promoter is Hamilton Family Trust ABN 50 281 608 570. 306-308 Chesterville Road Moorabbin VIC 3189. Authorised under NSW Permit No. LTPS/19/36196, ACT Permit No. TP 19/03756 and SA Permit No. T19/1144. For full terms and conditions refer to fellahamilton.com.au
MY COUNTRY CHILDHOOD
AUTHOR ANGELA WALES MOVED TO WALCHA, NSW, WITH HER FAMILY FOR A BETTER LIFE, AND FOR HER AND HER SIBLINGS, IT CERTAINLY WAS. WORDS KY LIE IMESON
underestimate the benefits to children of having freedom and space to play, to create, the Australian Writers Guild, Angela Wales, invent, meet and deal with challenges on 71, moved from Bondi in Sydney to Walcha their own,” she says. “That kind of freedom in the Northern Tablelands of NSW when makes for healthier, happier children. she was five years old. Angela’s father, We did have some afflictions: I had quite Bob, was to take over a struggling sheep bad eczema and Katrina had asthma, but property from two of his brother-in-laws. we didn’t let these afflictions define us; we It was 1953 and wool prices were high so ignored them as much as we could, and there was the promise of a more comfortable just kept on playing.” life. It was also a way for Bob to escape the At 10 years old, Angela spent six months respiratory problems caused by his work living with her grandmother in Sydney before at his textile company. returning home to Walcha. She would later Angela, her parents and her two sisters, return to the city as a boarder at Rose Bay Katrina and Philomena, aged four and two Convent, now Kincoppal-Rose Bay, in 1960. respectively, packed their things into the family’s Austin Seven and off they went. ABOVE Angela with her mother, Joan, With her obvious talent for words, she was and sister, Katrina, on a trip to Sydney, accepted to study English and classics at Her twin brothers, Aidan and Robert, who two years after they moved to Walcha. the University of Sydney. A successful career were born prematurely, were left behind at with the Australian Writers Guild followed, before she moved the hospital in Sydney due to their ill health. to Los Angeles to take on the role of executive director at the But the reality of their new home was quite different Writers Guild Foundation, the educational and charitable to what her father had imagined — there was no running arm of the Writers Guild of America West. water, no electricity and no telephone. “I was surprised when I went to live in America and people When they were almost two years old, the twins were would call in a handyman for the simplest tasks, even to discharged from hospital and brought home to Walcha. change a light bulb,” she says. As a child she was taught that Angela remembers how the household chores “tripled if you couldn’t so something, you learn to do it. overnight” when her brothers arrived. “Having chores so Despite Angela’s parents optimism about moving to early, and learning how to do things, whether it be sweeping Walcha, life on the farm was hard. Low wool prices and the floor, darning socks, polishing shoes, knitting, cooking, a flood, the worst natural disaster Walcha has ever seen, making butter, and the myriad other things necessary to drove them off the land. They sold up and moved back to keeping the wheels turning in a self-sufficient household Sydney. As Angela writes in her book, “our six thousand such as we had, not only gave us all a sense of responsibility, acres had finally defeated them”. it made us all very competent. And with the competence “For us children our life at Walcha was a joy, a charmed comes self-confidence, resourcefulness, and the time, a time full of wonders The delight we took in its trees, willingness to tackle new things.” paddocks, animals and birds is embedded in our very bones… Yes, there were chores and responsibility, but Angela says We can all truly say that our childhoods were happy ones.” > she didn’t ever want to be anywhere else. “It’s difficult to AUTHOR AND FORMER executive director of
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CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Angela Wales in Sydney; her mum rowing the homemade Hispaniola on the dam at Walcha with twins Aidan and Robert (swimming) in 1959; Rose Bay in Sydney, near where Angela went to boarding school; sister Katrina and her poddy lamb in 1962; parents Joan and Bob see off friends from Sydney in 1961. CENTRE Angela clearing debris from the creek after heavy rain.
MY COUNTRY CHILDHOOD
CLOCKWISE, FROM FAR LEFT The dam was a favourite spot to play. From left: Katrina, Philomena (on a li-lo), Aidan, Angela, cousin Mark Austin and Robert in 1959; Joan with her five children in 1955; the five Wales children with Mark; Aidan, Robert and Bob with Cassius in 1956.
I was only five years old, but I remember the journey well. We stopped for the night at a hotel in Scone and I recall rising in the dark, the hotel’s rooster crowing out the back, and eating boiled eggs and toast at a table laid with a white tablecloth and hotel silver. We strapped our bags onto the luggage rack of the little Austin Seven as the sun came up and Katrina, Philomena and I tumbled into the back, with our dog Dizzy on the floor. The road passed the straggling towns of Murrurundi, Willow Tree, Quirindi and Wallabadah and finally there was Tamworth, sun-sleepy on its flat plain. I remember the car struggling up the Moonbi Hills, and Dad’s curt “stop asking that”, when we ventured to enquire if we were there yet. At the hamlet of Bendemeer we turned onto the much narrower Oxley Highway, and continued to climb. But here in a dip was Walcha Road — a railway station, general store, war memorial and a pub. “Oh, we’re here,” said Mum. But no, we were not. “Still another 11 miles to go,” said Dad. “They couldn’t get the railway up the steep hills, so they had to put the station here.” Walcha, when we reached it, was just another drowsy country town — two wide main streets that intersected in the town centre, with dust-covered cars and trucks parked at an angle to the pavement. A colonnade of shops on either side of the street included a couple of milk bars, banks, stock and station agents, and the library. Four pubs, two picture theatres, a post office and court house stood alone. After filling up on petrol, we drove up the Derby Street hill, turned right at the showground and out of town. We were soon churning dust from the dirt track. Fences, mailboxes, the occasional homestead set back from
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the road, a shearing shed here and there, sheep and cattle dotting the paddocks. On a distant hillside was a man on a horse with his dog, rounding up his flock. Past the Emu Creek, Bark Hut and Table Top turnoffs, through Winterbourne, up a hill, through a couple of gates and then… “There it is,” said Dad. A circle of tall pine trees, a sagging wire fence, a roof that had once been painted red. We were looking at a weather-beaten bungalow surrounded by a verandah, a cylindrical water tank at one end. There were weeds everywhere, a corrugated iron shed across the yard, more ramshackle buildings, one of which turned out to be the outhouse, door swinging off its hinges. Our mother said nothing. Uncle Alan and Aunt Beverley appeared to help us inside, picking their way around some rotting verandah floorboards. The front door opened straight into the living room, and from there we walked down a hallway past the main bedroom and a small bathroom to an enclosed back verandah and the kitchen with its large blackened fireplace. Everything, walls and floor, tilted a little downhill. All the doorways leading to the outside had flyscreen doors in addition to the wooden ones. The sound of the flyscreens squeaking and banging as we came and went was to become part of the background music of our lives, along with the sighing of the wind in the pine trees, the drawn-out lament of crows circling overhead, and the screeching of a passing flock of black cockatoos. We girls found chickens and a calf. There were trees to investigate, rusty machinery to climb, an old buggy up the hill. There were horses, too, one a dappled grey. “The Old Grey Mare,” said Dad. The name stuck. >
MY COUNTRY CHILDHOOD
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP The five Wales children dressed for town in the winter of 1959. Angela is far right; with some guests at the front gate in 1960; at the Walcha Show in 1959. From left: friend Andrew Fenwicke, Philomena, Aidan, Angela and Robert; back to school in 1961.
The shock to our mother must have been incalculable. Rotten floorboards. No running water. No telephone, no electricity. How, she must have thought, are we going to live here? None of us were old enough for school yet, but we were expected to pitch in with the daily tasks right from the beginning. In the mornings Katrina and I helped to clear the table after breakfast and wash up. Standing on wooden stools, we helped with the laundry and to hang clothes on the line. In the afternoon, we helped sort and fold it. Mum taught us how to weed the vegetable garden, and which greens to pick for dinner. Katrina was charged with bringing the cows Molly and Polly in from their paddock to the cow yard, uphill from the orchard. She locked the calves in a small covered pen so that they could not suckle overnight, leaving us the best of the milk for the morning. It was my job to sweep the kitchen floor. This was a task that needed to be performed several times a day, as was the carting of water from the tanks. We took it in turns to feed the chooks. Most afternoons the boys played in the dirt in the yard, making roads for their Matchbox and Dinky cars, throwing sticks for Dizzy, or racing each other back and forth to the gate. By late afternoon, it was time to peel potatoes and help prepare for dinner. We girls helped bathe the boys and get them into their pyjamas before dinner. This involved filling
the tin tub that we put in front of the fireplace with more water from the tanks. My mother added some hot water from the large black kettle that hung over the fire and then we sluiced the boys down with a flannel. We girls could wash ourselves, and we took it in turns with the same water. As the sun began to go down, we waited for the Old Grey Mare to appear over the top of the northern hillside, prancing her way sideways down to the flat and up the rise towards the house in her excitement, the sheep dogs nipping round her hooves. Dad would hang up her bridle, park the saddle on an old saw horse in the shed, rub the mare down and put her out to graze. When we heard his boots crunching on the gravel path near the back door, we rushed out to greet him, clinging to his trousers, which smelled of sweat and horse and soil. In the evenings, the kerosene lamps lit up the kitchen with a warm, flickering glow. After the washing up, my father might read us a story by the fire while my mother sewed. But quite soon Dad would say, ‘It’s Wee Willie Winkie time,’ and we were sent to brush our teeth a n to get into bed, the boys and Phil a first, and then Katrina and I. This is an edited extract from Barefoot in the Bindis: Memoir of a Bush Childhood ($30, Affirm Press) by Angela Wales, out now.
WALCHA This town at the south-eastern edge of the Northern Tablelands is 410 kilometres north-east of Sydney. It has a population of about 1500 and is known as “Pasture Wonderland” as the surrounding land is suited to sheep and cattle grazing. The Danggadi or Dunghutti people occupied the land 6000 years before European settlement. Walcha was declared a town in 1878 and is home to many heritage-listed colonial buildings — you can take a self-guided walking tour. The two-day Walcha Mountain Festival is an annual event celebrated in October, with the second day held at the Langford Homestead, an Edwardian Mansion built in 1903-4. The UNESCO World-Heritage Listed Oxley Wild River National Park is easily accessible from Walcha.
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PROMOT ION
Second
HOME
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Sixteen-year-old Eliza enjoys a balance between her family farm and urban life while at boarding school.
PRODUCED BY STORY
Balancing farm and city life has opened up the world to student Eliza Bahr. EXPANDING HORIZONS at boarding school is somewhat a family tradition for Year 10 student Eliza Bahr. Growing up in the town of Henty in southwestern NSW, she watched her two older brothers leave for boarding school while she continued to attend the local high school. At the time, she insisted that she wasn’t going to go to boarding school like her brothers. However, it was during Year 8 that Eliza began to feel restricted. “I felt like I wasn’t learning as much as I could,” she says. Eliza was motivated to make the move south to Melbourne to attend Methodist Ladies’ College, and moved into the boarding house with around a hundred other girls from all over Australia and internationally. “Even having a shared bedroom and sharing a bathroom is so different,” she says. “It felt a little weird at first, but it’s like I have a hundred sisters.” The Bahr family farms cereal and oilseed crops along with 3000 Merino ewes. It’s a stark contrast to the inner-eastern suburbs of Melbourne that Eliza now calls home during school term. With a busy street full of cafes, shops, public transport and a cinema just beyond the school gates, weekends are never boring – not to mention the boarding excursions and organised activities.
“It’s very different,” Eliza says of the lifestyles between the farm and school, “but I enjoy both environments equally!” While she enjoys going home for a break over the holidays, returning to school for the start of term means a lot of catch-ups with her ‘second family’. “I’ve created the closest friendships I’ve ever had and I know they’ll last forever,” she says. It’s natural to be apprehensive about moving out of home, but Eliza says the boarding staff and all the other students are incredibly supportive of each other. “Absolutely go for it, it’s such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she enthuses. “You’re given the chance to do everything you’ve wanted to. You can build such strong friendships, which helps a lot with the transition, and you learn about yourself. Boarding changes you completely. I’ve become more independent and I know how to look after myself. I definitely recommend it!”
“I’ve created the closest friendships I’ve ever had and I know they’ll last forever.” For more information, please visit mlc.vic.edu.au
HOME STA NLEY TASM A NI A
Kerry and Alastair Houston walking their border collie, Floss, on Godfreys Beach with their daughters Lucy and Bonnie. FACING PAGE A portrait of Alastair’s grandmother Rosemary Wathen, painted in the 1960s by Ulrica Burke, hangs in a room at the Ship Inn.
ROOM AT T H E I N N
KERRY AND ALASTAIR HOUSTON MOVED THEIR YOUNG FAMILY TO A HISTORIC HOTEL ON TASMANIA’S WILD NORTH-WEST COAST IN SEARCH OF A QUIETER LIFE. W0RDS V ICTOR I A CA R EY PHOTOGRAPHY M A R NIE H AWSON ST YLING LY NDA GA R DENER A ND BELLE HEMMING
40 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
HOME STA NLEY TASM A NI A
LUCY HOUSTON WALKS along the pebbly Tasmanian beach
with her younger sister Bonnie. Their border collie Floss trots steadily ahead, turning occasionally to check on the pair. Lucy is nine, the same age her father Alastair was when he went to Scotland’s Isle of Skye. “My great grandmother had her 100th birthday and we went over from Tasmania for the party. Her family had a beautiful house on the Isle of Skye called Talisker,” explains Alastair, whose mother Primula grew up holidaying on this Inner Hebrides island. “We stayed there for three months and I went to the local school. Going to a primary school with only 60 students and right on the loch was an amazing thing.” More than 30 years later, Lucy and her seven-year-old sister Bonnie go to a little village school with just 60 pupils,
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much like the Scottish one their father once attended. Clearly this childhood experience has been a lasting influence on the talented stonemason and landscaper, even prompting the 46-year-old and his wife Kerry to move their young family 400 kilometres north from Hobart to Stanley on Tasmania’s rugged north-west coast. For the little fishing village’s weather, as well as some distinctive landmarks such as the Nut, a volcanic rock formation jutting dramatically out to sea, evoked memories of the Isle of Skye for Alastair when the family stopped in Stanley on a road trip. “We first came here nearly five years ago. I remember driving in and seeing the town from the lookout. It reminded me of Portree on the Isle of Skye and I had this whole feeling of being back in Scotland. I felt very nostalgic for that time,” >
Alastair Houston’s happy childhood memories of the Isle of Skye in Scotland made him want to give his daughters a similar experience. CLOCKWISE, FROM RIGHT Bunk beds for the girls; Stanley is famous for its beautiful rugged landscape; guests are welcomed into the study, which leads into the Houstons’ kitchen; the family’s living room; the inn looks down to the harbour; Kerry found this portrait of a sea captain on eBay and today it hangs in the entrance hall. FACING PAGE The Ship Inn is nestled at the foot of the Nut, an ancient volcanic plug named MooNut-Re-Ker by the local Indigenous people.
HOME STA NLEY TASM A NI A
A wall of artworks in the family’s living room. From left, pheasant lithographs purchased in Paris by Alastair’s great aunt Diana Wathen; an old English oil painting of a boy with a dove is believed to date from 1700s (artist unknown); sanguine pencil sketches of Alastair’s great great uncle and aunt (1880 and 1886) by E.S. King; Manual Labourer (undated) by Bunty Houston, Alastair’s grandmother. OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 45
The view from Highfield House, a local historic site, towards the Nut, with Bass Strait beyond. CLOCKWISE, FROM RIGHT Kerry and Alastair with daughters Lucy and Bonnie; the girls love to walk their dog Floss after school; Wild Wave, one of the rooms on the top floor of the Ship Inn. The wallpaper is RaphaÍl Black from Sandberg Wallpaper and the bedhead is from The Upholstery House; the environment is pristine; the Ship Inn’s distinctive mustard exterior is a local landmark; Highfield is one of seven rooms at the Ship Inn, each with its own distinctive style. The Fine Art Cloud wallpaper is from Anewall. FACING PAGE Stanley is surrounded by rich farming land. For stockist details, see page 144.
STA NLEY TASM A NI A HOME
says Alastair. “So we kept coming back to Stanley for our holidays to stay in a little cottage. I felt like I was back in Scotland, but I could drive here!” Three years ago, the couple decided they needed a base in Stanley and bought a holiday house. Previously empty for two years, the 1892 cottage was renamed Little Talisker and became their first renovation project. What they didn’t know at the time was that it would be ideal preparation for a much bigger project on the horizon. “Being away from Hobart felt like a real escape, which we loved. But the thing we didn’t expect was that we would make so many friends so quickly and become part of the community,” says Kerry, who had been working as an HR manager for a large healthcare company in Hobart. “We really liked the people and kept thinking about how we could move up here permanently.” When the Bay View Guest House, only a few doors up from Little Talisker on Alexander Terrace, came onto the market in 2018, the pair decided to make their dream a reality. They bought the heritage-listed building, which had started life as the Shamrock Inn in 1849. Built by Michael Lyons, the grandfather of former Prime Minister Sir Joseph Lyons who was born in the weatherboard cottage next door, it has had several name changes over the years. Called the Ship Inn from 1854 to 1888, the decision was made to return to this
name as it reflected the days when it was a favourite with the sailors who would regularly stay in one of the 40 rooms. Alastair and Kerry embarked on restoring the distinctive two-storey weatherboard, which was saved from demolition in the early 1970s by sculptor Jon Eiseman, into luxury accommodation. It would also need to double as a home for their extended family that includes daughters April, 22, who is studying in Melbourne, 14-year-old Matilda, who is at school in Hobart, and Kerry’s parents Carole and Michael Ralston who now live in an apartment at one end of the building. The exercise was not without its challenges, especially as Alastair was still commuting to Hobart every second week. Luckily, that “will draw to an end later in the year as he finishes a huge stone cladding job,” says Kerry, 51, who ran the guesthouse while project managing the job with the builder — and living on site! “It was challenging not having a kitchen for 10 months. I managed to cook with a single plate induction cooktop and a temporary bench and sink, which got relocated about four times. Eventually it was out in the old billiard rooms, and the water drained into a bucket that needed constant emptying. In the mornings you could see your breath it was so cold. “But we adored our tradesmen, they have been brilliant — thank you Circular Head region for supplying the most talented, friendly and punctual tradesmen we have ever >
“We really liked the people and kept thinking about how we could move up here permanently.”
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Called the Ship Inn from 1854 to 1888, the decision was made to return to this name as it reflected the days when it was a favourite with the sailors who would regularly stay in one of the 40 rooms.
STA NLEY TASM A NI A HOME The Lyons Retreat room at the Ship Inn was named after the only Tasmanian-born prime minister Australia has had — Sir Joseph Lyons, who once lived in the cottage next door. The walls are painted in Haymes Paint Umbertone. For stockist details, see page 144.
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HOME STA NLEY TASM A NI A
dealt with. How many other people get their tradies bringing fresh fish or a whole cooked lobster over for them?” After creating a blank interior canvas, the next step was to furnish the rooms with pieces, many of them family heirlooms such as the paintings of Alastair’s grandmother Rosemary and mother Primula hanging in two of the suites. It was here that the expertise of Lynda Gardener and Belle Hemming, who worked with the couple on the project, came to the fore. Alastair’s request was simple: “Please have Mum somewhere — I don’t want her sitting in an attic, that wouldn’t be right. Now the room revolves around her portrait and I couldn’t be happier — they made it so beautiful.” But what is the best part about living in an historic inn in a village that looks like something out of a Thomas Hardy novel? “Feeling like we belong. The c nity here is so welcoming and have embraced ou ded family. People know our name,” says Kerry. Ship Inn, 16 Alexander Terrace, Stanley, Tasmania, 0439 749 140, shipinnstanley.com.au
ABOUT THE HOUSE
• The interiors are by Lynda Gardener and Belle
Hemming from Inside Story Studio who do residential and commercial work. 0416 032 111; 0413 689 006; insidestorystudio.com.au Haymes Paint was used in the majority of the rooms. Minimalist 1 was used in four suites while Umbertone was used in the reception room and entrance hall. The mustard exterior colour was custom mixed. Exterior trim is in Haymes Paint Barely There. haymespaint.com.au Kitchen and custom cabinetry throughout is by Alec Blacklow from Smithton Joinery. (03) 6452 1501. Local tradesmen worked on the Ship Inn, including builders Chris Armstrong, 0428 142781; and Rene Hansen, 0419 041 566. Electrician Pat Dwyer, 0419 0346 079. Bedheads are by Andy Hemming from The Upholstery House. 0413 689 006; theupholsteryhouse.com.au
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“How many other people get their tradies bringing fresh fish or a whole cooked lobster over for them?”
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Contour Dining Table & Gipsy Dining Chairs
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HOME YASS NSW Max the Jack Russell sits on the verandah on a bench from Provincial Home Living. The seat lifts up and Katie Walker stores gardening tools inside. The flower-filled basket is also from Provincial Home Living. FACING PAGE The home was built in 1915 in a classic Federation style. For stockist details, see page 144.
W O R T H T H E WA I T
A YASS HOMESTEAD GETS A LONG-AWAITED RENOVATION TO ALLOW VIEWS OF THE PARK-LIKE GARDEN. WORDS TRACEY PLATT PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN ST YLING BECK SIMON
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HOME YASS NSW
IT’S THE SPRAWLING park-like gardens at Ledgworth that
draw attention, even before the newly painted crisp white homestead comes into view. Despite the worst drought in decades, the garden is still a showpiece of Katie and Michael Walker’s 607-hectare property, located 10 minutes from Yass on the NSW Southern Tablelands. From the looming walls of a 100-year-old hedge and Boston ivy that creeps possessively over one corner of the house, to the majestic pin oaks and English elms that cast broad-reaching shadows over the lawn, it’s easy to see why their daughter Victoria plans to get married there in November, on the property her great-grandmother was given on her wedding day. But for 30 years it was a view Katie could never enjoy whenever she needed to cook. “The kitchen was enclosed so whenever I had to cook I just looked at four walls,” she explains. “It was built during a time when they would have had servants working in the kitchen and the family would be served in the formal dining room, but times have moved on… I would be in the kitchen by myself while the rest of the family was in the living room.” >
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The dining table (below) is from Focus on Furniture and the chairs are from Provincial Home Living. The two rugs are from Cadrys. Ingolf stools from IKEA. CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT baking in the light-filled kitchen; Katie and Michael Walker lived in the house for 30 years before renovating; Victoria will be married in the garden in November this year. FACING PAGE The sunroom has a Colada coffee table from Focus On Furniture and a sofa from Early Settler. The tapestry on the wall was found in Perros-Guirec, France. For stockist details, see page 144.
A pergola (below) covered in ornamental grapevine shades the main bedroom window. CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Katie and Max, who survived a snake bite that took three vials of antivenom to beat; a pedestal card table in the bay window of the formal sitting room; the rustic meat safe was picked up at a local antiques auction.
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HOME YASS NSW The name of the property, Ledgworth, is a combination of Ledgerton, where Michael’s grandfather Walter Walker grew up, and Ravensworth, where his grandmother Anne grew up.
That all changed five years ago when the couple completed a long-awaited renovation. They demolished the former fibro staff quarters built onto the back of the house, and created an open-place living space with a gourmet kitchen at its heart. They also added an office, filing room, guest bedroom, extra bathroom, an entrance area, and remodelled the original kitchen into a butler’s pantry, storage area and hallway. “When we first moved here we did a bit of painting and carpeting but that’s it,” Katie says. “Because the renovation wasn’t an easy job we waited until the kids had finished school before we took it on. I love cooking and now when I stand at the bench I can look out over the gardens. That’s all I ever really wanted.” While the intention was to make the home more modern in a functional sense, Katie says they were careful to retain the original character of the double-brick Federation home, which has soaring 3.6-metre ceilings. “It was a beautiful old home but it needed modernising,” Katie says. “We were lucky because our builder was a perfectionist. He had great ideas to make sure it didn’t look like a new renovation. He matched architectural details and helped us reuse original windows and doors wherever we could.” Katie also gives a nod to the home’s heritage by balancing darker antique furniture, such as the exquisitely carved pedestal card table set under the windows in the formal sitting room, against neutral colours and furnishings. “I like a neutral palette — kind of Hamptons with a twist. Because it’s an older house, you need things that won’t date,” she says. Ledgworth has been in the Walker family for three generations. The house was built in 1915 on land given to Michael’s grandmother by her parents when she married. But had you asked 22-year-old Katie (now 65) where she would raise her family, she admits the answer probably would have been the city. Growing up in the small village of Breeza (located on the Liverpool Plains about 45 kilometres from Gunnedah in northern NSW), she attended boarding school in Sydney and got a taste for metropolitan life. She was working as a personal assistant at Time magazine when she met Michael, now 71, who had worked on the family farm for four years before studying to become a solicitor. They married in 1976 and had their first daughter, Jessica, in 1981 in Sydney before moving back to Ledgworth in 1984. “Both Mike’s parents passed away within two years of each other. We received the homestead in the settlement so that meant moving back here,” Katie says. “Michael always wanted to move back to the country — he didn’t like being cooped up in an office — so I knew it was on the cards.” While adjusting to rural life with a toddler (soon joined by daughter Victoria in 1985 and son Alex in 1989) was not
without its challenges, Katie says she now couldn’t imagine it any other way. “I do remember it was very, very cold that first winter,” she says with a smile. “It took me a little while to adjust, but now I would never live back in the city. Country people are just more relaxed and they have time for each other. Yass is very generous; it’s a very giving community. It’s growing, too, and the dynamics are changing — there are more types of people here now.” These days, Michael continues to manage the property’s fine wool enterprise, while Katie remains actively involved in the Country Education Foundation of Australia and Yass Aged Care Foundation. The couple has also recently renovated a two-bedroom worker’s cottage on the property to operate as bed-and-breakfast-style accommodation. Naturally, gardening takes up a lot of time, much to the delight of Max the Jack Russell, who is always happy to keep Katie company as she tends plants, pulls weeds and clips hedges. “The garden has always been beautiful,” she says. “Michael’s mother loved it and it has always been well maintained. I have probably made it less formal and opened it up more. We pulled out 25 metres of the 100-year-old hedge so we could put in a pool and open up the view.” When they do relax, Katie’s favourite room is the sunroom, where a large open fire and a comfortable sofa and chairs beckon on cold afternoons. But there won’t be much time for that in the months ahead. For Victoria’s wedding guests a large marquee will be erected on the former tennis court. By November, the garden will be at its best, with roses, peonies and salvias in full bloom. But this time it won’t be the garden that commands all the attention — on this occasion that honour will go to the bride. Ledgworth Cottage will be available for holiday rentals from December 2019. To book, telephone (02) 6226 1933. ABOUT THE HOUSE The Walkers wanted to keep the jarrah hardwood floors in the original part of the house and were able to match it using timber sourced from Western Australia by Nash Timbers. (02) 9368 7303, nashtimbers.com.au Katie is a big fan of flat-woven kilim rugs, which add visual and thermal warmth to timber floors and are “very forgiving” as they don’t show dirt or spills. Find similar at the Persian Rug Co. (02) 9746 3600, persianrugs.com.au Anthony Glover of Gloverbuilt Projects completed their renovation and used all local trades. 0427 262 126. All the joinery in the home, including the kitchen cabinets, was completed by Gibbs Kitchens & Joinery in Yass, NSW. 11 Orion Street, (02) 6226 3616.
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HOME YASS NSW Max waits by the dining area on the wide covered verandah that wraps around the house. “He’s the most unfaithful dog you could ever know,” says Katie. “He loves everyone.”
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PAST IMPRESSIONS FOR A TIMELESS LOOK CHOOSE ANTIQUE-INSPIRED HOMEWARES. PRODUCED BY SARAH MALONEY
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1 Mahalia printed rug in Blue Multi, $484 (1.5m x 2.4m), from Pottery Barn. 2 Oplyse glass pendant, $89, from Early Settler. 3 Metal Farmhouse chair, $320, from Tara Dennis Store. 4 Hammered glass jug with silver spout, $85, from Tara Dennis Store. 5 Library decanter, $99, from Pottery Barn. 6 Large Tang glass vase with cane weave, $69, from Domayne. 7 Ladelle Breakfast Table stoneware dozen egg holder in White, $12, from House. 8 Soul timber side table in Black, $299, from RJ Living. 9 Kenzo Lloyd Loom 2.5-seater outdoor lounge sofa in Honey, $2800, from Cotswold InOut Furniture. 10 Ava cushion in Powder, $56, from Weave Home. 11 Bedleg timber candlesticks on stands, $185 a pair, from Water Tiger. 12 Timor wood trunk accent table, $599, from Pottery Barn. For stockist details, see page 144.
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Perrin & Rowe - Io Kitchen Tap • Oxford Decorative Grilles - Rectangular Woven • Armac Martin - Bournville Handles
QUIET LIFE A COUPLE HAVE BUILT A HOUSE ON VICTORIA’S MORNINGTON PENINSULA, TO GIVE THEIR SONS A COUNTRY CHILDHOOD . W0RDS VIRGINIA IMHOFF PHOTOGRAPHY DEREK SWALWELL
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FLINDERS VICTORIA HOME Lizzie Burns enjoys the sunshine with Lucky the labrador on the steps of the screened verandah. FACING PAGE The glass facade of Bluff House reflects the trees and skies, blending it into the landscape and allowing panoramic views.
HOME FLINDERS VICTORIA
AT THE SOUTHERN TIP of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula
where the rolling green hills meet the sea lies the village of Flinders. For many, this tranquil mix of coast and country is a great attraction, and that’s true for Lizzie Burns and her husband Wes, 44, who have built their home, Bluff House, on the outskirts of town. Cantilevered on the cliff edge, it turns its back on the rural idyll and openly embraces the sea. For the couple and their two sons, Elliot, eight, and Angus, six, Flinders is their wind-down place, somewhere to let their kids run free.“We just needed space for them,” says Lizzie, 43, who grew up in Ballarat. “It was always our plan to find a space out of the city to get a better quality of life.” When they started looking for land to build on three years ago, the southern Mornington Peninsula, approximately 75 minutes from Melbourne, was their first choice. Wes is in the medical profession, and Lizzie is a fashion designer currently preparing to launch her swimwear label, Rare Bird, later this year, as well as designing home interiors. “Wes grew up on the peninsula, and he wanted to be back down that way, in proximity to Melbourne,” she says, “whereas my parents had a house at Apollo Bay but the west coast was just a bit too far away from where we live.” In 2016 they found the unique site and started planning to build on a rocky bluff overlooking the wild southern Victorian coastline. The tall and sculptural forms of she-oaks clinging to the cliff edge frame the drama playing out below where the swells of Bass Strait collide with the calm waters of Western Port Bay. “We were super lucky >
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CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Walls are panelled in American oak, concealing shelving and storage areas for the television, books and other objects; floors throughout are natural stone Ceppo di Gre tiles; bed linen in the second master bedroom is Libeco Belgian Linen from Altamira, bedside lights from Austere Table Lights from Great Dane, No. B9 Le Corbusier chair in Golden Oak from Thonet; the house sits high on a bluff above the ocean; leather Continental sofas are from Swedese, cushions from Space Craft. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP Full height glass in the living areas enhances views over the ocean; oak panelling gives a warm glow. For stockist details, see page 144.
ABOUT THE HOUSE
• Rob Kennon of Rob Kennon Architects, Fitzroy, Victoria, designed Bluff House. (03) 9015 8621; robkennon.com “Our clients love watching the weather come and go,” Rob says. As well as “the feeling of being in the landscape but protected from it at the same time”. Robyn Barlow Landscape Architect designed the newly established native garden around the house. 0400 453 358; robynbarlow.com Ross Stapleton, from On the Rise Construction and a former boilermaker at Cape Schanck, built most of the house himself, including the cupboards. He also laid the stone. 0419 355 362. Floor tiles and benchtops are a natural stone from Italy called Ceppo di Gre, supplied by Lapege, Collingwood, Victoria. (03) 9419 8777; lapege.com.au
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FLINDERS VICTORIA HOME
The Ergofocus suspended fireplace from Oblica warms the open-plan space in winter. Dining table and benches from the Jardan Otto range, while kitchen lighting is an Archier Highline pendant. For stockist details, see page 144.
HOME FLINDERS VICTORIA
LEFT Hay Palisade chairs are positioned for enjoying the view from the deck. BELOW A guest bedroom downstairs. “You wake up to the sunrise over Shoreham and watch the sun going down over the bay,” says Lizzie. For stockist details, see page 144.
to find that land, we were just so fortunate,” she says. From the start Lizzie and Wes envisioned a building that would integrate with this extraordinary natural environment. Lizzie, in particular, worked closely with Melbourne architect Rob Kennon. “I wanted something that was light, and that was nestled in the environment, and so the brief to the architect was to build something that didn’t impact too much on the land,” she says. The result is a deceptively simple form — virtually a glass, timber and steel pavilion that seems to float above the ground. This light-filled space contains the two main bedrooms and bathrooms — “we often have my in-laws come to stay” — and open living areas and a study. The partially embedded basement with the boys’ and guest bedrooms, laundry, bathroom and play area anchors it all to the ground. “Having the space underground is ideal, as you don’t get the sense of another storey at all,” Lizzie says. Inside, Lizzie has created a clean, uncluttered space that is easy to keep neat and tidy as people come and go. She tracked down the natural stone tiles for the floor and stone benchtops mined at a family-owned quarry in Italy via a Milan architectural firm on Instagram, and found a supplier in Melbourne. Meanwhile the walls are panelled in American oak, concealing the kitchen workstation and multiple storage areas. “Every wall has a purpose,” says Lizzie. “Behind the living room wall is shelving with a TV unit and all that stuff. And the kitchen cooking area closes off so you don’t have to look at that while you’re sitting at the dining table. It looks very simple, but everything is complicated.” Two verandahs with slatted folding panels that provide shelter in all kinds of weather open up to the newly established native garden designed by Melbourne garden designer Robyn Barlow. “It’s already starting to feel like a beautiful native garden,” says Lizzie. Below the house are new plantings of other natives, a swimming pool and steps down through wild coastal tea-tree and pittosporum to a tennis court shared with neighbours. Lizzie says she feels a sense of relief as soon as she walks into the house. “It’s an amazing house to live in,” she says. “We have access to the beach at the front of the block, where there’s a gate. We call it the ‘200-Step Walk’ to the beach. We have incredible views. We wake up to the sunrise over Shoreham and watch the sun going down over the bay. “For our family this house is highly beneficial. You take a deep breath, and within five minutes you feel transported to another world. For Elliot and Angus, it’s freedom — we feel we’ve given them the childhood that we had
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IN THE GARDEN
OUTDOOR STYLE Creating a private outdoor space within the built environment, the courtyard has an important role to play. Courtyard Living: Contemporary Houses of the Asia-Pacific, by Charmaine Chan, published by Thames & Hudson, $70, features projects from architects worldwide with a range of imaginative ways in which courtyards can enhance homes of all sizes.
in the garden
CLEVER IDEAS AND BEAUTIFUL BERRY ARE ON LAUREN CAMILLERI’S LIST THIS MONTH. Follow Lauren on Instagram @leaf_supply
These pop-up homes for plants are as pretty as they are practical. Inspired by origami, they feature two artworks by Daniella Germain and come flat-packed for easy posting. Pop-up pot, $16. sownsow.com.au. Read more about Sow n’ Sow on page 18.
ROLL CALL
Keep your garden tools to hand in style. Built to endure, this waxed canvas utility roll, $59, can accommodate up to seven gardening implements of varying sizes. A vintage-style leather belt with brass fittings keeps it securely fastened so your garden snips will never go astray. heaveninearth.com.au
GARDENS TO VISIT
Come for the doughnuts, stay for the gorgeous greenery. In its 30th year, the Berry Gardens Festival showcases eight beautiful gardens in and around this NSW South Coast town, from cottage gardens to vast rural landscapes. Berry Gardens Festival, 17th-20th October, Apex Park, Cnr Queen And Prince Alfred Streets, Berry, NSW. berrygardens.org.au/berry-gardens-festival/
RACK IT UP
Hang footwear upside down on this oak stand so damp and insects don’t collect inside. Creamore Mill boot rack, $179. botanex.com.au
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY LUISA BRIMBLE PHOTOGRAPHY BRETT BOARDMAN
PRETTY PERFECT
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ROMANCING THE STONE SCULPTOR ASHIKA MAREK OSTAPKOWICZ HAS CARVED OUT A CREATIVE LIFE WORKING WITH A MATERIAL TO LAST THE AGES. WORDS CHR ISTINE REID PHOTOGRAPHY M ARNIE H AWSON
YANDOIT VICTORIA GARDEN
One of the imposing works rising above the grassy surrounds on the artist’s property. FACING PAGE Ashika Ostapkowicz among his beloved rocks. His love of stone brought him to Australia and his reputation has spread since his first sell-out exhibition.
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GARDEN YANDOIT VICTORIA
SCULPTOR ASHIKA MAREK OSTAPKOWICZ had been on
a worldwide journey of discovery before settling in the gentle hills around Yandoit in central Victoria. His childhood home was in Poland; when he was 14, his family moved to live in western Canada; later he decided to emigrate to Australia, arriving in 1998. The search for stones and silence has been integral to his working life, and he found plenty of both here. Yandoit has to be a near-perfect Australian setting for this sculptor who creates large-scale pieces in stone. In the mid-19th century, this area of Victoria was settled by Swiss-Italians from the Ticino region of Switzerland, prospecting for gold, establishing dairy farms and vineyards, and building solid stone homes. Some of these houses still survive in the hills around Yandoit and look as if they have been moved from an Italian hill town. Before Ashika and his artist wife Padma moved to Yandoit three years ago, they lived at Carlsruhe, near the base of Mount Macedon. “We found it too noisy with trucks on the road and we were under one of the flight paths to Melbourne airport. We just wanted silence and we looked around for a long time; we even considered moving to Tasmania,” Ashika says. “We love sitting and watching nature. Here the birds range from tiny wrens to wedge-tailed eagles and we also love the way the cycles of seasonal change, from spring to summer, for example, are so dramatic in the country.” Ashika’s love of stone began in 1977 when he was 18. “I have a soft spot for hard stone,” he says. He was travelling alone in the tundra of Canada’s Yukon Territories. “I came across a monolith, half sunk in the permafrost, in the middle of nowhere. Someone unknown had carved it, paying
reverence to the power of nature. I will never forget that moment when standing in that vast silence I embraced a message in stone for the first time.” Two years later, while living with Athabascan Indians in the Yukon, he experimented with environmental sculpture. In the years that followed, Ashika spent months in the vast Canadian wilderness, learning how to kayak and ski, sleeping out in the open and looking at stones. “I was following my childhood dreams as I had read Jack London’s The Call of the Wild,” he says. (London’s classic story is set in the Yukon of the 1890s gold rush.) The work of Ashika’s Canadian years can be found in gallery collections in Montreal, Vancouver and New York. Love of stone brought him to Australia where he has discovered an entirely new range of stone with which to work. His first work space was in a monumental mason’s yard in suburban Melbourne. “It was tiny and exposed to the elements so I could only make small pieces,” he says. However after his first sell-out exhibition, Ashika’s profile grew incrementally, mostly by word of mouth. “There’s no pressure of deadlines; it has to be a thoughtful process with the client. Often there’s a journey involved to find just the right stone. Generally it has to be a specific stone for a specific environment. My clients realise a sculptor has to be flexible and you need time and freedom. I tell them it’s not a grocery order!” Ashika says with a smile. Sometimes an out-of-the-blue phone call results in a commission. Ashika describes a recent one. “This farmer from Malmsbury rings me to see if I can come and look at a stone. He says: ‘It’s in the middle of the paddock and I’m sick of running into this bloody stone with the tractor.’ When I >
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Ashika named this work Manifesto of Impermanence; he takes a break from drilling; Father, a water sculpture in basalt and granite in a copper tray; tools of the trade; commissions come from various sources, for various purposes, including memorials; drilling into hard rock. FACING PAGE Ashika discovered his love for stone when he was 18, travelling in Canada. Here he makes a selection from the rocks on his property. “I have a soft spot for hard stone,� he says.
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CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Somewhere in that rock is the perfect place to sit; here he has made a start in creating a seat; this one is more advanced; Ashika nestles into a finished seat — a perfect fit; another view of the finished work. FACING PAGE One of several works on the property that Ashika shares with his wife Padma, a painter. He says they love seeing the dramatic change of seasons there.
YANDOIT VICTORIA GARDEN
got there, I see it’s a huge basalt boulder with a lot of scars. But I had a good feeling about it. So the stone was moved from the paddock and the scars have been highlighted with gold leaf and copper. It looks beautiful — and it’s not back in the paddock!” Ashika’s work has been exhibited at various public venues, including Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney in 2000 and an Australian Contemporary Sculpture Survey in 2005, plus three installations at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens between 2016 and 2018. He is also represented in private family gardens and sculpture parks. Every now and then he likes to spend a few days searching for stone and particularly loves looking at the stones of the Grampians in western Victoria. “It’s good to make time to be reflective. The timelessness of the effect of rain and water on the rocks is very humbling,” he says. Ashika sees his work as a way of giving back to n what it has given to him. “It’s full circle; my journe stone has helped me to find peace and joy,” he says. For further information about Ashika and his wor il him at info@embraceart.com
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ADVERTORIAL
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Clockwise from left: The Classic Cooker (OR90SCG6B1) pairs beautifully with the 90cm Integrated Rangehood (HP90IDCHX2); the spacious cooktop features fve fne-tuned burners for precise, instant control; available in four colours to ft beautifully into your kitchen design. Red available as a pre-order option only. See website for further details and stockists.
KITCHEN & BATHROOM SPECIAL
HOME CENTRE
WORDS KYLIE IMESON AND LYN JUSTICE PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON
COME INSIDE BEAUTIFUL FAMILY KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS — THE HARDEST WORKING ROOMS IN THE HOUSE.
K ITCHEN DECOR ATING
ROOM WITH A VIEW
The spacious kitchen overlooking the beach at Tasmania’s Ship Inn is a far cry from a cramped galley kitchen. The main part of the original kitchen was outside the former pub’s old tap room, which was dank and dilapidated with rotten floorboards and just the one window looking towards the billiards room next door. Owners Kerry and Alistair Houston got heritage approval to knock through the metre-thick wall to incorporate this old disused space into their new kitchen area. “We wanted to retain as much of the feel of the room as possible, so the original stone walls are still visible and the sloped ceiling remains,” Kerry says. A skylight lets in much-needed light and the long kitchen island integrates the two spaces. “It was really important to get our two new windows built so we could see the beach from the kitchen,” Kerry says. These bi-fold windows will be thrown open in summer so they can eat outside on the patio, built by Alistair, or in the private rear courtyard. As the kitchen is one of the first rooms you see when you enter the apartment, Kerry wanted the fit-out to look “more like furniture and less like a modern kitchen” — which is why they wanted to hide the appliances and chose an integrated fridge and dishwasher. “The kitchen has been a game-changer,” says Kerry. > Read more about Kerry and Alistair’s home on page 40.
JOINERY Smithton Joinery (03) 6452 1501 BUILDERS Chris Armstrong, 0428 142781 and Rene Hansen, 0419 041 566 ELECTRICIAN Pat Dwyer Electrical, 0419 346 079 BENCHTOPS Celery top pine and Ceasarstone in Snow, 1300 119 199, caesarstone.com.au COOKER AND RANGEHOOD Falcon, 1300 449 131, prestigeappliances.com.au PAINT Comfort 6, Haymes Paint, 1800 033 431, haymespaint.com.au OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 85
DECOR ATING K ITCHEN JOINERY Plain English, +44 (0) 207 486 2674, plainenglishdesign.co.uk PAINT Lead 117, Dark Lead 118 and French Grey 113, Little Greene Paint and Paper, littlegreene.eu STOOLS Plain English, as before.
CLEAN LINES
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PLAIN ENGLISH
This elegant kitchen was designed with entertaining in mind. The family that lives here regularly has 20 people over for dinner, making the scullery essential. The main kitchen room is centred around an island bench, made of honed Carrara marble and pippy oak, where friends can gather for a chat and even help chop ingredients. Through the arched doorway is another room where dish-washing and cleaning up can be done out of sight of guests. Hard-wearing honed Absoluto granite was chosen for the benchtop. As part of a Georgian house, a sensitive fit-out was undertaken to work with and highlight the original features. So as not to distract from the high ceilings and ornate cornices, joinery stops midway up the wall. “We purposefully did not go any higher with the joinery in order not to distract from the grandness," says Anneka Schranz of Plain English who designed this kitchen. The Spitalfields range of cupboards were chosen as they blend seamlessly with the architectural features of the room, including the fireplace, which was retained to add a feeling of warmth and cosiness. > Plain English undertake projects in Australia.
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tough stuff Looking through to the scullery from the main kitchen room.
PRIMORDIA
Benchtops are arguably the hardest working part of a kitchen or laundry. Made from quartz, Caesarstone is tougher than granite and is chip and stain resistant. There are two new colours available (left and below). 1300 119 119, caesarstone.com.au
ONE AND ONLY KEEP IT SIMPLE! THIS ZIP HYDROTAP ALL-IN-ONE OFFERS EVERY WATER OPTION IN A SINGLE GOLDEN, CURVING UNIT. 1800 638 633, ZIPWATER.COM
EMPIRA WHITE
kitchen news NEW BENCHTOP SURFACES, AN ADAPTABLE DISHWASHER AND A RETRO FRIDGE ARE THE LATEST KITCHEN MUST-HAVES.
WARM HEART
Often described as the heart of the home, the kitchen evokes thoughts of a cosy space filled with delicious cooking smells. The dual fuel AGA Dual Control Three-oven Cooker in Dove provides warm, precise cooking and a traditional touch. (03) 9521 4965, agaaustralia.com.au
COLOUR WAYS DINNERWARE IN NEUTRAL SHADES LETS THE FOOD YOU’VE COOKED BE THE STAR. LE CREUSET’S SOFT IVORY COLOUR, MERGINGUE, INCLUDES PLATES, FROM $28, AND SALT AND PEPPER MILLS, $65 EACH. 1300 767 993, LECREUSET.COM.AU
EYE CATCHING
Make the fridge the centrepiece with Smeg’s new take on its iconic 1950s-style FAB28, $2990. With a 256-litre capacity, it has a multi-flow cooling system to ensure even temperature distribution to every compartment. There are three colours to choose from: Taupe (pictured), Ruby Red and Emerald Green. (02) 8667 4888, smeg.com.au
CLEAN UP If you have the whole family over or it’s just dinner for two, the Fisher & Paykel DD60DDFB9 Double DishDrawer, $2599, has two drawers, which can be used independently. So if you’ve used every pot and pan in the house, load up both drawers. If you only have a few plates and glasses, turn on just one drawer. 1300 650 590, f isherpaykel.com
FRENCH RUSTIC
“We often open the windows and I love seeing the white linen curtains floating around.”
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PHOTOGRAPHY MAREE HOMER/BAUERSYNDICATION
Ella Batterson could be the luckiest 16-year-old around. This calm, light-filled bathroom is all hers, when her brothers Kenyon, 20, and 12-year-old Liam, follow the rules and use the main bathroom upstairs. Ella’s mother, Virgine is French and has a highly tuned sense of style; she just seems to know what will work, which comes as no surprise when you learn she owns the fashion and homewares store, Mamapapa. Virgine saw no need for an architect or interior designer when she and her husband Scott renovated — it was just them. They chose a white colour pallette for the house, including the bathrooms. “I love white, naturals and any earthy colours,” says Virgine. “White makes me happy and keeps me calm and sane. It is my meditation. “In this bathroom I wanted simplicity. It gets great light during the day so I wanted to keep it minimal and breezy. We often open the windows and I love seeing the white linen curtains floating around,” says Virgine. With all this white, it would be easy to think that it could be difficult to keep clean but Virgine guarantees it is very easy and wasn’t expensive either. “I went everywhere to find a deep square sink and, believe it or not, I found this one at Ikea. I first saw it there in France and they had it here. I just love it!” The old painter’s table adds a rustic touch.> Mampapa, 11/20 Avalon Parade, Avalon Beach, NSW, 0403 948 823, mamapapa.com.au. >
BATHROOM DECOR ATING BASIN The Rockwell wall hung basin is similar and is available from The English Tapware Company, 1300 016 181, englishtapware.com.au CABINET The Silveran mirror cabinet is similar and is available from Ikea, ikea.com/au
DECOR ATING BATHROOM/LAUNDRY
IN THE WASH
Getting your towels dry can be a challenge, especially in winter. This wide metal Apollo Towel Rail, $100, makes the job easier and adds a rustic touch. In the laundry, ditch the unsightly packaging and store your washing powder in the Corinne Laundry Box, $40. Both from Provincial Home Living. (03) 9825 9400, provincialhomeliving.com.au
FLOWER POWER Bring the garden into your bathroom with Kohler’s Dutchmaster collection. The Blush Floral round basin, $1999, features peonies, dahlias, ranunculus, hydrangeas and a butterfly. 1800 564 537, kohler.com.au
latest looks
Virgine's laundry features "a very old and very heavy French sink. It weighs a tonne." The tap was custom-made to fit.
UPDATE YOUR BATHROOM AND LAUNDRY WITH PASTELS, FLORALS AND A HIGH-TECH WASHING MACHINE.
STEPPING OUT
back in time Basins and baths in pastel shades were must-haves in the 1950s. Taking inspiration from that era, The English Tapware Company has released the Water Monopoly Rockwell range in Powder Blue, Willow Green, Sherbet Yellow and Snowdrop White. We love the basin with stand, from $2150, and retroshaped bath. 1300 016 181, englishtapware.com.au
CLEAN UP The new Hoover DXOA385AH/1 8.5kg washing machine, $1499, can be controlled via the Hoover Wizard app on your smart phone or tablet, meaning you can choose a wash type, turn it on and check energy consumption while you’re on the go. 1300 694 583, www.hooverappliances.com.au 90 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
PHOTOGRAPHY MAREE HOMER/ BAUERSYNDICATION
Orange-based Pip Brett, a finalist in our 30th Birthday Awards, has joined forces with homewares company Sage x Clare to create this exclusive Nudie Rudie Bath Mat, $79. Made from 100 per cent cotton, it will add a bit of fun to your bathroom. jumbledonline.com
THE NEW KITCHEN ESSENTIAL All your drinking water needs, All-in-One beautifully designed system. Remove the need for multiple taps in your kitchen with a single, beautifully designed system that delivers boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered drinking water, as well as hot and cold unfiltered water for your sink. The Zip HydroTap All-in-One offers every water option you need from one multi-functional tap and a single intelligent compact under-bench system. That’s why the Zip HydroTap will be the one and only hydration solution for your kitchen. Discover more at zipwater.com
ZIP HYDROTAP | PURE TASTING | INSTANT | BOILING | CHILLED | SPARKLING
T H E W O R L D ’ S M O S T A D VA N C E D D R I N K I N G WAT E R S Y S T E M
hidden treasure
IT REMAINED OUT OF SIGHT FOR YEARS, BUT A CHERISHED GRANDMOTHER’S RECIPE BOOK IS NOW BACK IN SAFE HANDS.
SHEILA COBERN KNEW she had the perfect devil’s
food cake recipe — she just couldn’t get her hands on it. It was packed away somewhere in a book in a cupboard crammed with the flotsam and jetsam one accumulates after decades of living in a family home. “She was always telling me we have to clean out that cupboard but it was such a huge job and we never seemed to get to it,” explains Sheila’s granddaughter, Carine Miller, 38. So, when Sheila passed away and the family came to clean out her Chatswood home in Sydney’s north, Carine made it her mission to locate the recipe book. It took her all day but find it she did. Inside, she not only found her grandmother’s recipe for devil’s food cake, but many handwritten recipes from her greatgrandmother too. “The pages are brittle and falling apart and at the moment I’m keeping it together with rubber bands but I hope I can preserve it to hand down to my own two girls,” Carine says. She developed a special bond with her grandmother, who she affectionately called ‘Shnanny’, after living with her on and off during her 20s. “We had similar personalities and enjoyed the same things… she was
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pretty much my best friend, even though we were decades apart,” explains Carine. Sheila loved to go out for yum cha or coffee and cake. “We’d often go to the Queen Victoria Building for high tea,” Carine recalls. “We’d order devil’s food cake and she would compare it with the recipe in this book, but I think dealing with that cupboard was just too much for her.” Dining out was an indulgence Sheila allowed herself after what Carine believes was a hard upbringing. Born in Delegate in southern NSW in 1936, Sheila moved with her family to Sydney’s Paddington in its less salubrious days when she was about eight years old. She was the only child of her blacksmith father and seamstress mother for many years, then along came a brother just six months before Sheila and her husband’s own son was born. Sheila ended up raising her brother and looking after her ageing parents as well. Now that the recipe book has been freed from its confinement, Carine plans on making as many of its recipes as possible. And for special occasions, such as Sheila’s birthday, there can only be one way to celebrate: “I like to make a cake and sit down to have tea with my two girls and tell them all about her,” she says.
food preparation and recipe testing china squirrel
WORDS TRACEY PLATT PHOTOGRAPHY AND ST YLING CHINA SQUIRREL
HEIRLOOM RECIPE
DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE Serves 12 125g good quality dark chocolate, chopped 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda ¼ cup boiling water ½ cup buttermilk 125g butter, softened 1 cup caster sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1½ cups plain flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt
BUTTERCREAM 250g unsalted butter, softened 3 cups icing sugar mixture, sifted 1 tablespoon milk few drops vanilla essence
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base and sides of 2 x 20cm round cake pans. Melt chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over simmering water or in a microwave oven. Allow chocolate to cool at room temperature. Combine bicarbonate of soda and boiling water in a heatproof jug. Stir into buttermilk. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla essence and beat until combined. Sift flour and baking powder together 3 times. Stir in salt.
Using a large metal spoon, alternately fold in flour and buttermilk mixtures in two batches. Then fold in the cooled melted chocolate. Spoon mixture into prepared cake pans and spread tops evenly using the back of a wet spoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. To make buttercream, beat butter with an electric mixer for 10 minutes or until light and pale. Gradually add icing sugar and milk, beating until smooth and well combined. Add vanilla essence to taste. Beat to combine. Sandwich cakes together with about 1⁄3 cup of buttercream. Spread remaining buttercream on sides and top of cake, using a flat-bladed knife to cover smoothly. SHARE YOUR FAMILY FAVOURITES Do you have a recipe that has been passed down through generations? Send us your recipe, the story behind it and a photograph (preferably a copy or scan) of the relative who passed it on. Remember to include a daytime telephone number. Email Victoria Carey at vcarey@bauer-media.com.au or send a letter to Heirloom Recipe, Country Style, PO Box 4088, Sydney NSW, 1028.
HEIRLOOM COOKBOOK BAKING SPECIAL Celebration cakes Perfect sponges Danish honey cakes Nanna’s biscuits Date loaf
FAMILY RECIPES FOR A NEW GENERATION TO TREASURE
For more delicious family recipes, pick up a copy of the Country Style Heirloom Cookbook, $12.99. It’s available at supermarkets, newsagents and magshop.com.au
FLAVOURS
GONE CAMPING
GO FISH The Whole Fish Cookbook ($55, Hardie Grant Books) heralds an important change in how we think about fish. Chef Josh Niland is a sustainable seafood advocate who applies principles such as dry ageing and a gills-totail philosophy at the renowned Saint Peter restaurant and the Fish Butchery in Sydney’s Paddington.
f lavours
THIS MONTH, BARBARA SWEENEY DISCOVERS SUSTAINABLE FOODS AND WINERY ACCOMMODATION. Follow Barbara on Instagram @foodandwords
MEET THE PRODUCERS
Michael and Emma Burness, Goshen Country, Cape Paterson, Victoria The roadside honesty stall outside the apple and plum orchard Goshen Country is a Cape Paterson institution, so when Michael Burness’s parents bought the 4.5-hectare property in 2014, he helped out by harvesting fruit and keeping the stall stocked. The experience enticed Michael, who had no previous farming experience, and his wife Emma onto the gardening path and they’ve since planted a market garden and built a farm-gate shop. “It was a calculated leap of faith,” says Michael. “We had a vision and thankfully everything has gone to plan.” Locals drop in to buy vegetables picked that day, in-season fruit, and eggs collected from the 120 resident chooks. “Customers are really excited that we’re here, because there isn’t anywhere else nearby,” says Michael. “What we like the most is growing chemical-free food for our table.” 25 Wilsons Road, Cape Paterson, Victoria, 0430 421 248.
honey, honey Amber Drop Honey offers a bee rescue service on the NSW mid-north coast removing colonies that have set up in inconvenient spaces, like a wall cavity. They keep over 200 hives in native bush and on an organic macadamia orchard. $10.50 for 500g, or try the creamed honey infused with ginger, $13.50, which is lovely in chai tea. 0403 896 248; amberdrophoney. com.au
TO P 3 TA S T E S
THE SCENIC RIM QUEENSLAND Chef and food writer Brenda Fawden of Real Food School is an indefatigable advocate for food grown on Tamborine Mountain and the Scenic Rim in south-east Queensland. Her top tips include: • Avocados. “Our volcanic soil and microclimate means we grow the best avocados I’ve ever tasted. You can buy them at roadside honesty stalls from May until Christmas.” • Greens grown by Di Fyson at Charlwood Organic Farm, Fassifern Valley. “What can I say, they’re superb.” • “The place to be on Sunday, between 7am and noon, is The Green Shed at Tamborine Mountain, where local organic gardeners sell their excess fruit and veg. It’s an invaluable community venture.” realfoodschool.com.au
GOT A CRUSH Not all apple juice is created equal and deep in the Southern Forests region of Western Australia Newleaf Orchard press their own farm-grown apples to make pure sparkling juice. They also make an apple and quince blend. $4.99 for 330ml. newleaforchard.com.au 94 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
PHOTOGRAPHY JESSICA DISCIPIO, ROB PALMER
Naked Cubby Co’s stylish, lo-fi tents are set among the vines at Mount Majura Vineyard in the ACT. Overnight packages can include a guided wine tasting and a picnic hamper from Schmicnics (the picnic division of Canberra restaurant, The Boat House). Greet the morning with a brekkie hamper that includes Three Mills Bakery’s legendary croissants and toasty granola. Among the bare necessities is a small fridge to store your wine, and a kettle. From $260 per couple per night. 0438 284 422; nakedcubbycollective.com
ON T HE MOVE
STANTHORPE
EMBRACE THE COOL COMFORT OF QUEENSLAND’S SCENIC HIGH COUNTRY, WHERE SNOWFALLS AND VISITORS ARE WELCOME. WORDS CLAIRE MACTAGGART PHOTOGRAPHY PIP WILLIAMS ILLUSTRATION DANIELLA GERMAIN
WITH FOUR DISTINCT SEASONS, abundant local produce,
a choice of cellar doors and stunning National Parks, Stanthorpe has long been favoured as a weekend escape destination in south-east Queensland. In winter, visitors can relax beside a log fire with a glass of local shiraz and settle in as the temperature plummets (there’s an occasional snowfall to look forward to). Spring, however, yields a stunning display of apple blossoms. Located on the northern end of the New England Tablelands at an altitude of about 1000 metres, Stanthorpe is in the heart of the Granite Belt, Queensland’s leading wine region and a major centre for horticultural innovation. Stephanie Ingall grew up in Stanthorpe and then moved away for 23 years to work in the military and other government roles. The 42-year-old returned to the town of about 5500 people in 2014 and along with her business partner Christine Hood, 44, purchased Jamworks, a small jam-making business, from her parents. Stephanie and Christine, a chef, have since expanded the range and created a larder and café to showcase their products on a plate.
“It’s a lovely community and the kids I went to school with are now the farmers I buy my fruit from,” explains Stephanie. “Their parents were farmers too. We have longstanding relationships and we’ve bought from the same tomato grower for 30 years.” Stephanie and Christine started their venture with one other employee and now 22 people work at Jamworks Gourmet Foods Café and Larder. They currently offer 112 products, including jams, preserves and relishes. “About 90 per cent of the produce we use comes from this region. There are so many farmers here growing stone fruit, grapes and apples. Where possible, we support our local farmers and buy produce that would normally go to waste,” says Stephanie. On the weekends, she visits some of the 44 wineries in the region or heads off on a mountain bike trail at nearby Mount Marlay. “Stanthorpe has so much fantastic boutique accommodation to choose from as well as places to explore offering great food and recreation options,” she says. > For more information about Stanthorpe, visit southerndownsandgranitebelt.com.au
STANTHORPE MALENYQUEENSLAND QUEENSLAND ON ON THE THE MOVE MOV The Barrelroom Restaurant at Ballandean Estate Wines. FACING PAGE Quart Pot Creek, intersecting the town, has walking and cycling tracks and picnic areas.
MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE $275,000 MEDIAN RENTAL PRICE $275 per week BY THE NUMBERS The market ranges from $152,000 to $688,000 MARKET WATCH Norman Crisp of Crisp Real Estate Stanthorpe says the Granite Belt’s climate attracts people to the town, as well as the friendly and diverse community. The local National Parks, wineries, restaurants and cafés are also a drawcard, as is the town’s proximity to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
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One of the paths along Quart Pot Creek. RIGHT AND BELOW RIGHT A Stanthorpe home; the interior at Tobin Wines. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP RIGHT Tempranillo vines, Tobin Wines; St Jude’s Cellar Door and Bistro at Ballandean; Diamondvale Cottages offer luxury accommodation.
REASONS TO VISIT GIRRAWEEN NATIONAL PARK
Balancing granite boulders, such as the peaks of The Pyramid and Castle Rock as well as spectacular wildflower displays, make this park a popular camping and hiking destination. parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/girraween
STANTHORPE APPLE & GRAPE HARVEST FESTIVAL This biennial
THE ESSENTIALS
Stanthorpe is 218 kilometres (just over two hours’ drive) south-west of Brisbane via National Highway and 56 kilometres north of Tenterfield via New England Highway. Crisps Coaches runs bus services between Stanthorpe, Toowoomba, Warwick and Brisbane.
festival will be held from February 28th to March 8th, 2020, to celebrate the Granite Belt’s abundant produce. appleandgrape.org WINERIES Explore with a Granite Belt Wine Trail map and discover the ‘Strange Birds’ alternative varietal wines. granitebeltwinecountry.com.au
GRANITE BELT BICYCLE TOURS
Experience the wineries, fruit orchards and picturesque landscape with guided tours and bike hire options. granitebeltbicycles.com.au
REASONS TO STAY LOCAL PRODUCE Stanthorpe is
a major horticultural region producing apples, strawberries, figs, stone fruit and olives as well as lavender, cheese and wine. MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS Nearby Mount Marlay has scenic trails for all skill levels of mountain-biking enthusiasts. granitebeltwinecountry.com.au/listing/ mt-marlay-mountain-bike-trails and ridethegreatdivide.com.au >
98 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
STANTHORPE QUEENSLAND ON THE MOVE
Leeanne Gangemi THE BARRELROOM
Leeanne is the customer relations manager for Ballandean Estate.
OPPORTUNITY CALLS
Major industries of the Southern Downs region include agriculture (about 17 per cent of the workforce), manufacturing, health and aged care, transport, logistics and tourism. For business support: Southern Downs Regional Council investsoutherndowns.com.au; Stanthorpe and Granite Belt Chamber of Commerce stanthorpecoc.com.au; Granite Belt Wine Country tourism granitebeltwinecountry.com.au; Southern Downs and Granite Belt southerndownsandgranitebelt.com.au
QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF WINE TOURISM This wine tourism faculty,
part of the University of Southern Queensland, has a winery, vineyard and restaurant. It offers training in oenology, viticulture, tourism, hospitality and business. 22 Caves Road, (07) 4685 5050, qcwt.com.au
EAT
JAMWORKS GOURMET FOOD CAFÉ AND LARDER A large range of jams
and chutneys made with local produce are on offer here, such as Boozy Berries and Muscat Jam. 7 Townsend Road, Glen Aplin, (07) 4683 4171, jamworks.com.au BRINX DELI & CAFÉ Try the grazing platter of Granite Belt produce at this café in the centre of town. 18 Maryland Street, (07) 4681 3321. THE BARRELROOM Situated at Ballandean Estate, head here for relaxed dining featuring local ingredients. The mushroom soup is a favourite. 354 Sundown Road, Ballandean, (07) 4684 1326, barrelroomrestaurant.com
SUTTONS SHED CAFÉ Try their
famous pie, made with freshly picked apples, and stock up on cider, preserves and liqueur while you’re there. 10 Halloran Drive, Thulimbah, (07) 4685 2464, suttonsfarm.com.au
SHOP
PINK POPPIES This store offers
a large range of homewares, fashion and accessories as well as gifts and children’s wares. 149 High Street, (07) 4681 0909, pinkpoppies.com.au KENTS SADDLERY For a wide selection of handmade leather goods. 25798 New England Highway, (07) 4681 4220, kentsaddlery.com.au
WASHPOOL FARM SOAPERIE
Just 20 minutes south of Stanthorpe, this is the perfect place to stock up on handcrafted bath, body care and cleaning products made with ethically sourced ingredients. Washpool also offers soap-making workshops. 16 Bents Road, Ballandean, (07) 4684 1080, washpool.com.au
STANTHORPE QUEENSLAND ON THE MOVE CLOCKWISE, FROM FAR LEFT Logs for the fire in Queensland’s coldest town; Stanthorpe’s Big Thermometer is made of granite; the spectacular granite outcrops of Girraween National Park, south of Stanthorpe; one of 50 wine cellar doors in the region. FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The cellar door at Balancing Rock Wines; Stanthorpe is a significant apple-growing region; stock up at Washpool Farm Soaperie.
Stephanie Ingall JAMWORKS GOURMET FOOD CAFÉ AND LARDER
Stephanie grew up in Stanthorpe, left for 23 years, but returned to run Jamworks.
STAY
ALURE Couples-only luxury
accommodation in the Granite Belt with a choice of stylish villas and safari tents, just five minutes from Stanthorpe. 280 Mt Tully Road, (07) 4681 4476, alurestanthorpe.com.au BRIAR ROSE COTTAGES Three elegant cottages are available in town. 66 Wallangarra Road, 0427 327 344, briarrosecottages.com.au DIAMONDVALE COTTAGES Choose from the Lodge, Cottages or Pioneer Hut on the banks of Quart Pot Creek. 26 Diamondvale Road, (07) 4681 3367, diamondvalecottages.com.au RIDGEMILL ESTATE Eight studio cabins and the Winery Escape House accommodate up to 22 people, tucked within the vines. 218 Donges Road, (07) 4683 5211; ridgemillestate.com
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Stanthorpe has St Joseph’s School (Prep to Year 12), Stanthorpe State School and Stanthorpe State High School. The Stanthorpe district has an additional 11 schools. For new resident information, head to sdrc.qld.gov.au/ our-region/new-residents-information The Southern Downs Regional Council offers a New Residents Kit with incentives to shop locally and invest in the region. investsoutherndowns. com.au/new-residents-kit/ Granite Belt Informer is a comprehensive community and business listing: granitebeltinformer.com.au
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 101
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GUYRA NSW OUR LIFE IN THE COUN T RY
GROUND LEVEL
DEREK AND FIONA SMITH HAVE CHANGED THEIR FOCUS AS THEY FACE THE DROUGHT. WORDS CLAIRE MACTAGGART PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL WEE
Derek and Fiona Smith on their farm Kenilworth. They have scaled down their farm production due to the drought and now have 12 cattle and 2000 laying chickens. OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 103
OUR LIFE IN THE COUNT RY GUYRA NSW
GUYRA, ON THE NORTHERN tablelands of NSW, is desperately dry, unlike anything Derek and Fiona Smith have previously experienced on their 121-hectare farm Kenilworth just north-east of town. They have sold off their cattle, except for 12 head, which are now fed sprouted barley. Otherwise, all that remains on the basalt hills are 2000 Isa Brown laying hens that range freely through the paddocks and are fed with a pelleted ration and barley sprouts; they are guarded by three faithful maremma dogs. The Smiths are optimistic that once it rains, their paddocks will respond, given that the chickens contribute to the nutrient cycle by fertilising the paddocks. Sheltered in three mobile sheds, the chickens usually follow the cattle rotating through the pasture, scratching up manure and incorporating it into the soil, thereby reducing the parasite burden by destroying worm and insect larvae. “We try to work with nature and the laying hens follow four to 10 days behind the cattle. The aim is that any enterprise we take on must make a profit and work synergistically with the other enterprises to make them more profitable,” explains 59-year-old Derek who runs soil health workshops and has spent almost 20 years teaching horticulture and organic farming at TAFE in Armidale. “With a smaller property, we have always tried to do something more intensive with direct sales, such as potatoes and snow peas, at different times,” he adds. Fiona, 55, runs the egg business. The hens produce about 1200 eggs each day, which Fiona packs, selling 700 cartons
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a week of her Working with Nature Free Range to customers in Guyra and Armidale as well as to stores in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. “I really enjoy making a product that people appreciate,” she says. The eggs are produced on organic principles. “Eggs are the cheapest source of protein and vitamins. I’m really careful of what I feed the birds and we don’t use soy, canola or egg yolk colourant as some people have severe reactions because of those three things.” Fiona always kept a few hens for eggs while she and Derek raised their three children on the farm. Their eldest daughter Kate, now 30, lives in Armidale, a 40-minute drive away, while 29-year-old Adam is an engineer in South Australia and Justin, 25, is studying environmental science in Launceston. But it was the local butcher who first challenged Fiona to grow pastured eggs after she questioned why he sold “horrible, plastic, caged eggs”. “He said, ‘You do it then’ and so I said ‘I will!’” she recalls. The enterprise was a great fit with their holistic farm management. Over the past two decades Derek has been immersed in learning about regenerative agriculture after finding issues during his early farming days. “I discovered soil is my real passion and it drives everything,” he says. He runs soil balancing courses and consults growers, graziers and farmers all over Australia. “I get a lot of enjoyment helping others improve their production systems,” he says. For further information, visit workingwithnature.net.au
FIONA When I was a child we lived at Lidcombe and we had horses and lambs. After school my options were either to become a national dressage or eventing rider or go to Agricultural College to do horse management. I chose to go to Orange Agricultural College and that’s where I met Derek. I came up to Guyra for a holiday and stayed. I worked for 20 years off-farm in retail, administration and marketing as well as real estate, then 10 years ago we decided to start with the hens. I am an outdoors person and don’t like to be still. The chickens rely on you coming each day and they look forward to my visit and the dogs show their appreciation as well. Each day I get up early and pack eggs as from Monday to Thursday there are deliveries and trucks to load, filling orders as well as making customer calls. Friday is usually a local delivery morning, then I do bookwork for some other farmers. I love that I get can up and do what I want to do. The days are full but I am in control. When you work for other people it’s different; you are flat out and responsible, but you know you’ll get paid, whereas when you work for yourself you have to make every hour
count and provide good service so you do get paid. I’m always in contact with my customers to see what they need for the week and visit as often as I can. We plan to increase production and partner with other farmers and we are trialling that now. We have another family east of Guyra doing the production side of the egg business as well and we are grading and marketing. The Guyra community have been great supporters of our business through thick and thin and we sell 40 per cent of our eggs to Guyra and Armidale. Our children were quite active growing up and there were always vegetables to tend to, horses to ride and fences to repair. It instilled in them a work ethic and I think our children appreciate their rural upbringing now. I admire that Derek is self-taught; he went back to university and is very good at learning and teaching about his specialty in soils. Over his 30-odd years of training it’s quite incredible to see the changes. We used to have problems with weeds and low yields, but he found a way to understand the soil and what it needs to produce crops and pasture and regenerate without using chemicals. We’ve always been a partnership to produce food that’s nutritious and healthy. >
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Kenilworth was originally Derek’s grandfather’s farm; Derek feeds the property’s remaining cattle; Fiona with her layers; parched pastures; the house. FACING PAGE Fiona with Alberto, one of three trusty maremma dogs that guard the chickens.
OUR LIFE IN THE COUN T RY GUYRA NSW
“I really enjoy working with animals and growing crops,” says Derek, who has studied soil chemistry and now advises other farmers. He feeds the chickens sprouted barley plus a pelleted ration.
DEREK I grew up on another farm just 20 kilometres east of here, where we ran sheep and cattle and grew potatoes. I always wanted to work in agriculture so I went to Orange Agricultural College for two years to study farm management, then I came to Kenilworth and started running prime lambs and growing potatoes. Kenilworth was originally my grandfather’s and we’ve added another 40 hectares. Initially, we farmed how we’d been taught at ag college using conventional methods, but we had some little issues that became bigger as time went on that we couldn’t fix. Fiona and I started to question the advice we were given and over time I realised the origin of the issue was the soil. I tried to learn what was causing the problems and in the 1990s I discovered a book by Neal Kinsey called Hands-On Agronomy that seemed to gel and address the issues. Eventually, I had an opportunity to go to the US and do his soil management course
106 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
in 2003. Most of it was a matter of balancing soil chemistry to get biology and physics to work and I gained confidence over time. Fiona is very much on board with what I do with the soil. She gave up work to do the egg layers and runs that enterprise. We have our own roles and work well together — most of the time. Fiona’s energy is quite incredible; she applies herself and gets it done. She’s great with people and is involved with just about everything that happens in town. We live in a beautiful area and I really enjoy working with animals and growing crops. I spend less time doing day-to-day jobs on the farm as we’ve scaled down due to the drought; I do more work consulting. I work with a diverse range of producers, such as a banana farmer in north Queensland. His yields have increased significantly and wastage has been reduced by one third. I feel quite blessed. I work on a nice fa then I go away and work with others on farms and help them achieve their goals
PROMOT ION
SPR ING S A NCT UA RY Give your bedroom a fresh new look with beautiful, bespoke furniture from the My Design and Venus collections at Snooze.
PROMOT ION
NAT U R A L A PPE A L Embrace the beauty of the Australian landscape with bedroom furniture in raw timber tones. Complete the look with soft, natural bed linen and accessories that reflect your personal style.
PERFECT FOR YOU The My Design feature headboard is a great spot to keep and display treasured items. Visit a Snooze store and speak to the experts about how you can customise the built-in hutch-style shelf to include reading lights and/or a USB port, so your bed can be tailored to your needs.
“Your decor should speak to the natural environment: terracotta tones paired with neutral ceramics add warmth and character.� SAMANTHA AMORE, STYLIST FOR SNOOZE
Visit Snooze in-store or online at snooze.com.au to browse the Venus and My Design collections.
Drawing its inspiration from our rich colour palette, this style takes contemporary, bespoke furniture and gives it a distinctly Australian twist. There’s a refreshingly raw and unfussy feel to the My Design feature headboard, blanket box base and coordinating furniture. Expertly handcrafted here in Australia, the bespoke My Design range is constructed from feature-grade blackbutt veneer and can be customised in an array of stains and painted finishes.
GO WITH THE GRAIN Native timbers, with their unique grain and texture, are the perfect choice for anyone who wants to bring a touch of warmth into their bedroom. The My Design bedside table and matching tallboy in a Native tone stain are available in a variety of options.
SET THE SCENE Evoking our native flora, the Linen House ‘Kin’ queen quilt cover set features rich shades on a fresh background. Team it with a ‘Florida’ cushion in Pecan and a ‘Mikel’ throw in Grey, both from Linen House.
PROMOT ION
GEN T L E CH A R MS Transform your bedroom into a haven of relaxation with an upholstered headboard, floral bed linen and natural furniture that exudes a beautiful sense of calm.
OUTDOORS IN
Pairing natural furniture with light, casual fabrics is the key to bringing a soft freshness into your bedroom this spring. Expertly crafted in Australia from premium-quality Warwick fabrics, the Venus bed frame in a neutral fabric such as ‘Gyro Pumice’ is the perfect foundation for this look. The Venus bed, exclusive to Snooze, is also available in multiple headboard and base options (some with storage) plus an array of upholstery colours and textures to ensure you create a bedroom you’ll love coming home to. At Snooze, you can personalise your bed with studs, buttons or panelling.
Decorating your bedroom with natural timber furniture such as the My Design ‘Ellipse’ bedside table and tallboy will lighten it up for spring. These pieces are made from feature-grade blackbutt veneer in Native tone and are part of the new My Design collection. Exclusive to Snooze.
FLORAL FIX Be inspired by spring’s bounty and dress your bed in beautiful floral bed linen like the ‘Oregon Pine’ quilt cover set from Legend. Accessorise with light, neutral pieces, such as the ‘Shimo’ throw in Indigo and ‘Marant’ cushion in Ivory, both from Linen House.
“You want to create something that is beautiful but relaxed – anything over styled is going to date quickly.” VICTORIA CAREY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, COUNTRY STYLE
SOFT TOUCH A contemporary fabric headboard like the Venus standard square-stitched insert headboard is a breath of fresh air for your bedroom. Made with Warwick ‘Gyro Pumice’ fabric, it’s available as part of the Venus collection. Exclusive to Snooze.
Visit Snooze in-store or online at snooze.com.au to browse the Venus and My Design collections.
PROMOT ION
CR E AT ED BY YOU Personalise your bedroom furniture so it suits your needs with the customisable My Design and Venus collections at Snooze.
My Design ‘Ellipse’ bedside table in Native stain and Venus standard square-stitched insert headboard in Warwick ‘Gyro Pumice’ fabric.
My Design ‘Ellipse’ tallboy in Native stain.
My Design blanket box base finished with Warwick ‘Vegas Steel’ fabric.
STYLE NOTES 1. For a spring refresh, purchase a piece of art that will give you a pop of colour. It will instantly rejuvenate your space. 2. Spring is the perfect time to lighten up your living area by switching your cushion covers to linen or printed cotton. 3. Add life and interest to your bedroom with plants. The pairing of classic timber tones with indoor plants allows the beauty of each to shine.
Visit Snooze in-store or online at snooze.com.au to browse the Venus and My Design collections.
PRODUCED BY STORY
Expertly made in Australia from feature-grade blackbutt veneer, the bespoke bedroom furniture in the My Design collection at Snooze can be customised to suit you. Mix and match a variety of headboards and bases (some with storage). Embrace practicality with the My Design feature headboard, which has an built-in hutch-style shelf for storage that gives you the opportunity to showcase your favourite items. Available in a variety of stains and finishes, the My Design bedroom collection also includes various bedside, tallboy and chest furniture options to match your bed frame of choice.
SHOPPING GUIDE REGIONAL Stephanie Day of Paper Pear gallery outside her neighbour’s restaurant, Magpie’s Nest, Wagga Wagga in NSW, with paintings Faded Glory by Kerrie Jeffs (cat), Untitled by Margie Carlisle (sheep) and Pomegranates in China Bowl by Laura White (still life).
TOP OF T HE SHOPS IN THIS NEW REGULAR FEATURE, WE SCOUR THE COUNTRY TO FIND UNIQUE, MUST-VISIT STORES IN REGIONAL AREAS. WORDS ABBY PFAHL PHOTOGRAPHY PEPPER MINT STUDIOS
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 113
REGIONAL SHOPPING GUIDE
NSW
Paper Pear
Stephanie Day describes her gallery as “an eclectic collection of works by Australian painters and makers of beautiful things”. She says it’s tricky to keep artists’ pieces on the walls for long — paintings by gallery favourites including Catherine Stewart, Rowena Dean, Kate Gorman and Juju Roche get snapped up quickly. Stephanie is hands-on and very dedicated to curating her collections, often
spending time with artists in their studios and forming longstanding friendships. She tells us customers currently can’t get enough of Anna Blatman’s colourful canvases, Karin Dovel’s cheeky ceramic mugs and a great range of handmade cards. 9 Gurwood Street, Wagga Wagga, 0429 301 631, paperpear.com
The Herd
Built in 1972, this beautiful shopfront in Scone has previously housed a
restaurant, bank, bakery and bicycle store. In 2016, after a stylish and historically sensitive renovation, The Herd brought new life to the street corner. Owner Acey Firth has a passion for Australian fashion labels and natural fibres, stocking a chic edit of brands such as Viktoria & Woods, Binny, Hansen & Gretel and Nobody Denim. Visitors love the boutique experience, enjoying the change from busy malls and department stores, and locals know Acey stocks a great range of dresses for spring racing — whether it’s a country picnic race or Melbourne Cup day. “This season sees a return to bright colours and bold prints. The current love for animal prints will continue into summer with other trends like safari detailing, puff sleeves and pops of fluoro coming
PHOTOGRAPHY PEPPERMINT STUDIOS
Follow the Sun landscape painting by Suzie Riley and a selection of purses at Paper Pear. BELOW Australian designs on display at The Herd. Etching on the wall by Shirley Urquhart. FACING PAGE Flywheel is a stationery lover’s absolute delight.
through,” says Acey. There is a second Herd store in Tamworth, NSW. 101 Liverpool Street, Scone, (02) 6545 1946, theherdstore.com.au
TASMANIA Flywheel
Reconnect with the lost art of letter writing in this charming stationery shop and letterpress studio. Situated in the historic town of New Norfolk on the Derwent River, it sells unique cards, inks, pens, scissors, ribbons and even wax seals, all with a vintage or classic feel. Flywheel was created by the same family that owns The Drill Hall Emporium, and it’s easy to see their signature flair for detail. Stock up on writing paper for your desk or hone your calligraphy skills with practice pads and dip pens. We love the YStudio range of brass pens that improve with age, making them the perfect present. 42 High Street, New Norfolk, (03) 6261 1641, flywheel.net.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIA Moss and Wild
Thanks to Moss and Wild, the locals of Penola, in the renowned Coonawarra wine region, are spoilt for choice when it comes to stylish Australian brands. The hip, sunny store stocks an on-trend range of fashion including knitwear, jackets and sneakers, plus bright bohemian blankets and cushions from labels, including Kip&Co and Sage x Clare. Check out leather goods from The Horse and Penola-based Hide Leather, clever powder-coated steel lockers by Mustard and a great selection of indoor plants. 45A Church Street, Penola, 0435 676 826, mossandwild.com.au
NORTHERN TERRITORY The Top Saddlery and Bush Boutique
What began as a humble saddlery nearly 30 years ago, servicing the northern cattle industry, is now supplying country clothing, footwear, workwear, horse gear and an embroidery service to Australia’s
Rediscover the lost art of letter writing in this charming stationery and letterpress studio. Top End. Owners Julie and Geoff Newton bring a lifetime of knowledge to the shop, which attracts customers from near and far. Visitors to town love the store — they find brands and styles not available as readily in the southern states. “The regional areas of northern Australia are heavily influenced by some of the United States’ strongest country clothing brands. Ariat, Cinch, Wrangler and Cruel Girl feature, but the last few years have seen a resurgence of interest in new
Australian brands such as Ritemate and Ringers Western. Of course, iconic Australian brands including Thomas Cook, Akubra and Blundstone still remain popular with country people Australia-wide,” explains Julie. As summer approaches, choose from a wide range of Sunbody straw hats, plus colourful tops and shirts — all suitable for working in the extreme northern heat. 38 Katherine Terrace, Katherine, (08) 8972 3161, topsaddlery.com.au >
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REGIONAL SHOPPING GUIDE
By the Creek painting by Kate Owen, Girl Sideboard by Phil Bee Interiors, ceramics and glassware at Nutmeg Home. ABOVE RIGHT Vintage palm wall-hanging, vintage Japanese print and saucer chair with cushions at Dimboola Store.
QUEENSLAND Goondiwindi’s go-to gift and homewares store is known for its stylish brands, including Kate Spade, Ruby Star Traders and French Country. Owner Anna Dawson sources one-off pieces and furniture too, along with original paintings and prints by local artist Kate Owen. Regional customers love Anna’s one-on-one styling advice — her wide range of products has something to suit townhouses and homesteads alike. Don’t miss the days when Anna restocks her collection of Anna Spiro’s fabric lampshades — they go quickly. 125 Marshall Street, Goondiwindi, (07) 4671 3138, instagram.com/nutmeghome
creation of John and Alex O’Halloran. The pair wanted to create a lifestyle combination store that gave buyers a visual experience. Enter and discover four separate but linked dining spaces, with varying moods, and shop as you go. On any given day, find regional produce and gourmet gifts in one room (we love Grounded Pleasures’ drinking chocolate range), then wander to find Salus skincare and olive oil soaps. Keep moving to browse a thoughtful collection of cookbooks, and finish with sculptural rope wall hangings and paintings. Follow @dimboolastore for more details, plus information on upcoming floral workshops. 86 Lloyd Street, Dimboola, (03) 5389 1404, instagram.com/dimboolastore
VICTORIA
Alex Muir Australia
Nutmeg Home
Dimboola Store
Hidden in the heart of western Victoria’s wheat-growing country is the newly opened Dimboola Store. Sister to Moss Grotto in Barwon Heads, the unique retail space and café is the
116 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
Step into Alex Muir’s world when you’re next in beautiful Kyneton. The interior designer creates hand-blocked fabrics and soft furnishings in Jaipur, India, and brings them home to her vibrant boutique. In blues, pinks and greens,
her printed quilts, cushions and bedheads have a timeless quality. Alex tells us her Indian cotton pyjamas sell out in a flash, and we can see why — they’re pretty enough for daytime wear. Here’s a tip from Alex for once you’ve stocked up: head next door to My Flippin’ Kitchen for a well-earned snack. 30 Piper Street, Kyneton, (03) 5422 2649, alexmuir.net.au
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Bob & Jim’s General Store
A testament to little communities supporting small business, Bob & Jim’s General Store has been trading in the seaside town of Esperance for 43 years. Now owned by Jim’s granddaughter, Anna Stewart, it has expanded from essential greengrocer to gourmet and giftware destination. “Having had a passion for all things food myself, I always struggled with the remoteness of Esperance and lack of supplies for more adventurous cooking,” she says. Shoppers now find an abundance of otherwise hard-to-find ingredients, artisanal giftware and local produce (Bread Local sourdough, The Lucky Chickens eggs, Esperance Honey, and Cambray Cheese). Those in the know flock in on Saturday mornings for fresh Papa Waffles. And don’t miss the bright Baba Tree baskets from Ghana and handmade Dog Boy knives. 73 Dempster Street, Esperance, (08) 9071 3993, bobandjims.com.au
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SWING INTO YO U R P E R F EC T NEXT EVENT
Australian PGA Championship Gold Coast | 19 – 22 Dec
QUEENSLAND.COM/EVENTS
CRUISING TRAVEL
Tresco Abbey Garden is blooming with botanical surprises.
PARADISE FOUND A CRUISE CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE BRITISH ISLES INCLUDES VISITS TO INSPIRING GARDENS. WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY CLAIRE MACTAGGART
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 121
TRAVEL CRUISING
I HAD A GARDENING epiphany somewhere along the middle
terrace of Tresco Abbey Garden in the Isles of Scilly, walking through drifts of protea, echium spires, towering eucalypts and Canary Island palms. It was day eight of our British Isles Discovery cruise and this magnificent subtropical garden off the Cornwall coast, built in the ruins of a Benedictine abbey, was an unexpected surprise. An exotic mix of species from Mediterranean climate zones in 80 countries around the world thrives here. Spotting many of the plants I grow in my own modest garden on a cattle property in central Queensland, I realised the importance of embracing what’s possible rather than yearning for things that don’t relish my environment. Here, on the other side of the world, as I descended Abbey Garden’s Neptune’s Steps, where succulents cascaded from the dry-stone wall, I gained a new appreciation of what I can aspire to (albeit on a small scale). The six-hectare sculptural, terraced garden — first planted in the 1830s — is regarded as one of the world’s most unique and diverse horticultural experiments. Only 45km from Land’s End in the United Kingdom’s south-west, it has the influence of the Gulf Stream, as well as windbreaks and a clever microclimate design to create a mild environment in which these warmth-loving plants can flourish, sheltered from the salty Atlantic gales. The 300-hectare private island was a short launch ride from our ship, the Columbus, and we were greeted by Tresco’s beekeeper Jilly Halliday, a former florist in London who recently moved to the island. “I thought nothing would coax me away from my existing bee life in the north of England, but visiting Tresco was one of those moments that takes your breath away,” she says. “It’s my dream job and I just couldn’t believe the forage. It took me back to my florist days at the Savoy and the abundance of tropical flowers I worked with.” Tresco is a world away from the cooler climes of the Isle of Skye’s Dunvegan Castle and Gardens that we visited three days earlier as we circumnavigated the UK. After exploring the pretty fishing village of Portree, we travelled by the craggy peaks of the Cuillins, through heather moorland and past lochs to the 13th-century castle. The highland fortress, occupied by the MacLeod clan for 800 years, has two hectares of formal gardens, including an elegant round garden, waterfalls and a serene walled garden with a Victorian glasshouse. The beauty of our 11-night cruise — aside from comfort and convenience — was that it provided access to many UK locations, such as the scenic Orkney and Hebrides Islands, and the opportunity to gain another perspective, away from the mainland attractions. For me, the gardens were a highlight, whether the postcard-perfect scenes on Guernsey Island or Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France, which we visited on a day excursion. But Tresco’s Abbey Garden is the one that my hts turn to as I work in my own garden, planting seeds pe. It’s a reminder to “grow where you’re planted”.
122 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Warm-climate daisies at Tresco Abbey Garden, which has been in the same family for five generations; dogs are welcome at Dunvegan Castle and Gardens; Tresco’s gardeners travel the world to collect new species to add to the collection; Jilly Halliday, Tresco’s beekeeper, says she’s found her “dream job”; Dunvegan dates back to the 1200s.
TRAVEL DETAILS Cruise and Maritime Voyages
Skye, + 44 (0) 147 052 1206,
This British independent cruise line
dunvegancastle.com
offers smaller, more intimate ships
Tresco Abbey Garden
with a large range of affordable cruise
This sub-tropical garden
options around the world, including
encompasses almost seven hectares
the 10-day British Isles Discovery.
and has thousands of species from
1300 307 934, cmvaustralia.com
Mediterranean climate zones around
Dunvegan Castle and Gardens
the world. Open daily 10am-4pm.
The oldest continuously occupied
Please note the garden is open
castle in Scotland features architecture
year-round; however the Garden
from 10 building periods, the 1200s
Visitor Centre and Café is closed
to the 1850s, and is surrounded by
in winter, from November–March.
formal gardens and woodland walks.
Tresco Island, Isles of Scilly,
Open daily from April to mid-October
+44 (0) 172 042 4108, tresco.co.uk/
10am–5.30pm. Dunvegan, Isle of
enjoying/abbey-garden
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R I V E R
OF
DR E A M S
DOWN BY THE HAWKESBURY, JUST AN HOUR FROM BUSTLING SYDNEY, THE RHYTHM
HAWKESBURY RIVER NSW JOURNEY The sparkling waters of the Hawkesbury River, which was named by Governor Phillip in 1789 after Baron Hawkesbury, who later became the Earl of Liverpool, England. The Darug people called it Deerubbun, meaning “long, wide waterway”.
OF DAILY LIFE GENTLY EBBS AND FLOWS. WORDS MARK MORDUE PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL WEE
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 125
JOURNEY HAWKESBURY RIVER NSW
THE SOUND OF BROOKLYN at night comes to me like an old
refrigerator humming in the distance. It must be a boat passing, as its presence softens and fades. A fishing hamlet couched on the Hawkesbury River, the town’s working rhythms evoke childhood memories of early mornings in shorts, heading down to nearby water with a hand-reel. It reminds me of babies, given a ticking clock to help them sleep, a sound that mimics a mother’s heartbeat. Soon enough, these rhythms enter my dreams and I swear I can feel the moon tide while I am sleeping. In the blue hour just before dawn, kookaburras call. I’m awake early and a new café is open. The owner has given up his riverboat business, ferrying cappuccinos out to where visitors moor their boats. Instead, he has set up here in town opposite The Anglers Rest Hotel. “It’s going to be alright,” he says brightly. “You’re my first customer today.” A good flat white, a crisp morning. I reckon he is right. Boats are already coming and going at the local marina. The ferry has been in and out. Early trains have taken commuters to Sydney and dropped their first tourists, who are happily pulling bags across the road on trolley wheels. Hawkesbury River station delivers them into the heart of Brooklyn and right beside its marina. You’re literally a four-minute walk from a whole other world. The Riverboat Postman — the last river postal service in the country — is preparing to pull out on a 40-kilometre delivery run from Brooklyn across to Dangar Island, up to Milson Island and Marlow Creek near Spencer, then back down. Dawn is breaking with a divine spread of rayed light over Dangar and back across the water to Brooklyn. Coming from the city, you feel a pang that says you’ve been forgetting something that matters — and maybe it would be a fine thing to live here. Onboard the Riverboat Postman we get an informal history of the river and places like Milson Island and Peat Island, as well as tried-and-true jokes from the skipper, Bill Gibson. Former rehabilitation buildings for World War I vets and recovering alcoholics have fallen into disrepair. But the serenity of these islands is soon to be harnessed for low-scale tourism and premium holiday stays.
As Captain Gibson speaks, a white-bellied sea eagle soars down and browses across the water. Time and tension dissolve beside us, absorbed into the river and rising green hills. He tells us sandstone from the Hawkesbury has been used for the Queen Victoria Building and Barangaroo Reserve in Sydney, as well as the Newcastle Post Office and colonial homes in Maitland. You appreciate how rich and flowing this place is, from the lime and sandstone of the landscape, to the river and its famed Sydney rock oysters. History is everywhere, from the World War I wreck of the HMAS Parramatta near Milsons Island, to the oyster shell middens of the indigenous Darug people, carbon-dated to at least 10,000 years old. The Darug call the Hawkesbury ‘Deerubbun’, meaning “long, wide waterway”. Places like Long Island are now protected areas, a precious natural habitat with Aboriginal etchings and cave paintings. Middens of shells, contents shucked and eaten, can be found everywhere along the river, a pastime so prolific it has changed the pH levels of nearby soil from acid to alkaline. Captain Gibson’s good humour is tested when I run back along the jetty at our specially prearranged drop-off point at the private jetty of Oxley Boatshed to signal frantically that I’ve left my bag onboard. The Riverboat Postman swings itself around and drops me my bag. He waves; the crowd onboard enjoys a laugh. Oxley Boatshed is a stunning example of Hawkesbury accommodation, taking its name from its owner, the Sydney art gallery curator Roslyn Oxley. Barn doors open to the river, which is perfect for diving into on a hot day, or you can just sit back and watch the sunset or moon. But before we get too settled in, we hear a boat approaching. It’s longtime Bar Point resident Jacqui Karu from Hawkesbury Bookings who is going to show us her Hawkesbury River. Visitors can also explore the river with a self-drive hire boat, armed with Jacqui’s detailed exploring notes. She’s a dab hand at the wheel of her ‘tinnie’, negotiating her way into small, secretive inlets like Pumpkin Point Creek. It’s all boat access here. Once on land, people transport what they need by wheelbarrow, motorbike and ride-on lawnmowers. >
Sydney Rock oysters grow on racks in the Hawkesbury. CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT The boatshed at La Riveraine offers a relaxing space right on the river; looking out of the La Riveraine boatshed door at the river; fresh local seafood paired with Hunter Valley wine at Estuary; Jimmy Buie, a local crab fisherman, with the day’s catch. FACING PAGE A public ferry plies the river between Dangar Island, Brooklyn and Little Wobby Beach, running approximately hourly during the day.
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 127
JOURNEY HAWKESBURY RIVER NSW Ian ‘Egg’ Johnson and Pete O’Sullivan harvest Sydney Rock oysters. CLOCKWISE, FROM RIGHT The Bar Point mail shed. Local mail is delivered by the Riverboat Postman, servicing boat-access-only communities, the last of its kind in Australia. The Postman also takes visitors on day trips while delivering the mail; the Hawkesbury River railway bridge is on the NSW Heritage List; The River Shack, a step up from ‘glamping’; Jacqui Karu from Hawkesbury Booking in her tinnie; the seafood from the Hawkesbury reflect the local environment in its flavour. FACING PAGE The river has a thriving commercial presence with fishing boats supplying fish to Lifeboat Seafood in Brooklyn.
The r iver is so a live t hat dolph i n s a nd sha rks a re s ome t i me s s e e n , e ve n t he o dd b aby wh a l e .
128 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
Designer houses along the river are matched by a building style that Jacqui wryly calls “early miscellaneous”, each home displaying the improvised colour palette and signature skills of its maker. These days many old boatsheds are being raised higher above the tide and renovated for waterfront stays: snug, romantic and uniquely restful getaways. “People have heard about the Hawkesbury but it’s not quite tangible,” says Jacqui. “Because there are so few roads here. Yet it’s the closest holiday destination to the Sydney CBD, closer than the south coast or the Blue Mountains. Come here, and you’re pulling in to this amazing wilderness space, all these magnificent National Parks. But you have to let go of your car, something which terrifies a lot of people.” Jacqui suggests either catching a ferry, hopping aboard the Riverboat Postman, or “get a taxi [boat] to whisk you, James Bond-style” to wherever you might like on the Hawkesbury. Just park your car at an ideal starting point like Brooklyn and a dream holiday can begin. Barely an hour out of Sydney by car or train, it also makes for an easy day trip. At the Hawkesbury River District Fishermen’s Co-op back in Brooklyn, I’ve been told, “the river is as clean as clean. Fine to swim in. As good as it has ever been for fishing and oysters.” Floating around up at Pumpkin Point Creek inlet, we notice a slight foamy quality to the surface. Jacqui rolls her eyes at us city slickers and assures us it’s good: “oil from the eucalypts”. The river is so alive that dolphins and sharks are sometimes seen, even the odd baby whale. As we rip along in Jacqui’s boat, a white trail of water parts behind us and closes again. The Hawkesbury emerges as a vast and welcoming place when, with a keen eye, Jacqui points out the base of a hill by the water, the piled shells of an Aboriginal midden. She tells us there are middens so big they indicate that large gatherings of people occurred. She envisages a scene from the past, the oysters fresh off a fire, “like lightly poached carpaccio, like a medium-rare steak”. Jacqui pulls up at the wharf for Peats Bite restaurant, one of the most well-appointed eating places in the Southern
Hemisphere. A panoramic Hawkesbury River vista is matched by fine dining in the open and, in our case, an excellent 2018 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling with some fresh prawns, mango salsa and lime aioli the chef has put together for us on spec, despite the venue being closed today, so we have a taste of their renowned long lunch. When it’s open, clusters of private boats pull up to the Peats Bite marina. Sea planes and helicopters also deliver customers. Maybe half a dozen times a year, Peats Bite will open the restaurant for weddings. Exclusive corporate events are more common, especially for the music industry. Peats Bite has seen entertainment celebrations for Richard Clapton, James Reyne and Glenn Shorrock, not to mention an end-of-tour birthday celebration for Billy Joel. It’s a “family-nurtured” business, as they say, and the intimacy brings an extra warmth and easy pride to the way Peats Bite is run by its owners, husband and wife team Geoff Milner and Tanya Miljoen. The venue was established by Tanya’s father Rod (a painting of him smoking a pipe dominates the bar) and his wife Tammy, a renowned Sydney singer in her day. Tanya tells me her mother will still perform a set on request. “She’s a show person. She always does a big finish with ‘I Still Call Australia Home’. She’s done that for 20 years, which is a bit patriotic,” Tanya says. Jacqui takes us back to her place, The River Shack. Clambering off onto another jetty, and just a brief hike uphill, we’re up in the trees, enjoying ourselves in a shack so well equipped with excellent kitchen and other comforts that it is more like first-rate ‘glamping’. Red wine, some freshly grilled mulloway and very comfortable beds put us soundly to sleep while the wind rustles the forest around us. Before we know it, dawn breaks and we are out again on the cool morning river aboard a large flat-bottomed boat with Pete and Deb O’Sullivan and their offsider Ian Johnson, known as Egg. It’s our chance to experience oyster farming firsthand. Egg tells us, “this is a fair dinkum river that reaches from the Blue Mountains all the way to here”. >
JOURNEY HAWKESBURY RIVER NSW Deb and Pete O’Sullivan with Ian ‘Egg’ Johnson on their oyster barge.
The three explain their working lives, driven entirely by the urgency of the tides and the moon’s demands. Egg leaves the boat and mounts a rack of oysters to loosen a gnarled piece of rope. Pete calls out, “Weighed yourself lately?” He’s fallen in himself: “phone, keys, everything, lost the lot!” They begin shucking oysters straight off the racks for us. The salty, copper taste is amazingly good. It is really special: the clean brown river at our feet, the smell of salt and the clear silver morning, the hills around us growing greener with the first glint of golden sun. We enjoy lunch back in Brooklyn at Lifeboat Seafood. It is next door to the Fisherman’s Co-op, which assures us how fresh the produce is. We sit on chairs designed by a retired sailor and local artist, Dave Thurston. Grilled flathead and hand-cut chips hit the spot. Our early morning start sends us off to bed early as well. Next morning we visit the Estuary Restaurant at Kangaroo Point for a last lunch overlooking the river. Owned by Ross ‘Rosco’ Martin and Suellen Warton, the white tablecloths, steel finishing and floor-to-ceiling windows give Estuary an exclusive and upmarket metropolitan edge. But Rosco’s charm and energy suggest he’s still a boy from the river at heart, and that this is what drives the restaurant. “There is nothing better than fresh oysters here,” he tells me. “The liquor inside them, that is the taste of the river in all its beauty. I grew up here sitting on oil drums eating my way through too many oysters. If you wanted a feed you had to learn to open them quick or they’d all be gone!” Rosco says they taste even better with a Hunter Valley semillon. “What grows together goes together,” he adds. “We’re trying to keep the whole thing as close to the Hawkesbury as possible.” Now it’s time to leave. We stop off at Pete and Deb’s oyster shed at Mooney Mooney. Irresistibly, we open our package as we drive back to Sydney, and eat a few. We can smell the river and taste it. It tastes so sweet it makes us want to turn around and never leave.
130 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
T HE FACTS GETTING THERE
people have been known to travel
CAR Take the M1 from Sydney to
hours for. Glen Warren and his team
Mooney Mooney, then double back
were listed in the top 10 restaurants
across the Peats Ferry Bridge, parallel
(People’s Choice) in the Australian
to the motorway. The 55-kilometre trip
Fish & Chips Awards. Open daily for
takes about an hour.
lunch. BYO. Dangar Road, Brooklyn,
TRAIN From Sydney’s Central Station,
(02) 9985 7510.
trains go to Hawkesbury River Station,
PEATS BITE A long lunch destination
Brooklyn. Trains run hourly and take an
accessed by boat, this restaurant
hour. From Newcastle, allow just under
offers transfers and accommodation
two hours. transportnsw.info
packages. Bookings essential. Sunny
BOAT The Riverboat Postman leaves
Corner, Hawkesbury River, bookings@
Brooklyn at 10am weekdays. Ferries run
peatsbite.com.au, peatsbite.com.au
between Brooklyn and Dangar Island every day. riverboatpostman .com.au,
WHERE TO STAY
brooklynferryservice.com.au. You can
HAWKESBURY BOOKINGS For
hire a tinnie or houseboat at Brooklyn
expert advice, contact Jacqui Karu
Marina. brooklynmarina.com.au
to book places to stay (including
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
the three Bar Point places listed below), boat travel and plan
ESTUARY This licensed restaurant
your river experience. Generally,
serves local seafood and also has
there is a minimum two-night stay.
a takeaway kiosk. Open Wednesday to
0401 308 888, hawkesburyriver.com
Sunday. Kangaroo Point, 1420 Pacific
LA RIVERAINE A riverside cottage
Highway, Brooklyn, (02) 9985 7881,
with a French flavour, heated plunge
estuaryrestaurant.com.au
pool, private jetty and canoe. Maximum
HAWKESBURY RIVER OYSTER SHED
two guests. Boat access only.
Deb and Pete O’Sullivan sell fresh local
OXLEY BOATSHED A rustic stay
oysters and prawns on Friday, Saturday
by the river with all the mod-cons,
and Sunday, 10am–5pm. 6 Kowan
private jetty and kayaks. Maximum
Street, Mooney Mooney, 0423 285 867,
four guests. Boat access only.
hawkesburyriveroystershed.com
THE RIVER SHACK An eyrie among
LIFEBOAT SEAFOOD A favourite
the trees, first-class ‘glamping’ with
meeting spot for locals, this is
a snug, fully equipped kitchen and
the place for fresh river mullet served
atmospheric surrounds. Maximum
with hand-cut chips — something
two guests. Boat access only.
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FASHION
Sus Bush with an armful of the roses she and her husband Derek grow. FACING PAGE Michelle Brady, with baby Freya on her hip, loves living in Maleny, Queensland.
GARDEN LOVERS MICHELLE BRADY AND SUS BUSH SHARE A LOVE OF INHERITED PIECES FROM FAMILY CONNECTIONS.
OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 133
PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON FACING PAGE, PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN STYLING BECK SIMON
SUS BUSH F L O W E R FA R M E R , 5 2
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP Beans, the dachshund, watches as Sus holds a chicken. Georgie, the golden retriever, on the porch; a Sara Cusack Cox artwork above a dried flower arrangement and nest.
How would you describe your style? I go for simple elegance and add a twist with jewellery, belts or a beautiful scarf or wrap. Are you interested in fashion? I have loved fashion ever since I was little and playing dress-ups with Mum’s deb dresses. I think I got it wrong a lot when I was younger but now there is no right or wrong. Who are your style influences? My grandmother and Audrey Hepburn are style icons for me. I am lucky to have a few items of clothing from my grandmother, which I wear often. What are your everyday essentials? A good pair of jeans, white shirt and shoes/boots with some sort of heel — I like a bit of elevation. Do you have favourite fashion labels? Megan Park — the work she puts into her clothes is phenomenal, plus she is such a lovely grounded person — and I also have a weakness for Danish designer Malene Birger. I still wear clothes from both these designers that I bought eons ago. What are your favourite accessories? Favourites are my Raymond Weil watch that Derek gave me for our 25-year anniversary and my Sybella Jewellery pieces, all piled on — gotta love a little bit of bling! What are your hair and beauty essentials? Jurlique — currently Herbal Recovery Antioxidant Face Oil, Balancing Day Care Cream and I never leave home without Jurlique Rose Hand Cream. For my hair I use Matrix Biolage R.A.W. Uplift Shampoo and Conditioner. What do you love about Bookham? The freedom, beauty and people. The country heightens your awareness, whether through adversity or just looking at something familiar and seeing it as if for the first time. Plus long lunches on the creek! Where do you shop locally? For homewares and accessories, Merchant Campbell in Yass; fruit and veg from Gino’s; Long Island Pantry for treats like smoked trout pâté and great jams and preserves; the bakery at The Sir George for pastries and bread. Where else do you shop? I buy my really good pieces from Pink Ink Boutique in Braddon, ACT. I like Muji for basics, such as t-shirts and shirts. What are you reading and listening to? Have just read The Man who Painted Roses by Antonia Ridge (she also wrote For Love of A Rose). Love listening to Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski podcasts. I never leave home without… Water — it is my daily mission to drink at least two litres a day. For more information, visit bushroses.com.au
PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN STYLING BECK SIMON PRODUCT SOURCING SARAH MALONEY
Sus Bush and her husband Derek share a passion for growing roses on their property Old Bogalara at Bookham near Yass in NSW.
FASHION Sus aranging foliage in her kitchen, which features striking black and white cabinetry.
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4
5
simple elegance
SUS BELIEVES IN BUYING A FEW GOOD PIECES EACH YEAR. 1 Raymond Weil Toccata watch in Gold, $1595, from David Jones. 2 Delave linen fitted shirt in Pale Blue, $139, from Trenery. 3 White pearl hook earrings in Yellow Gold, $100, from Sybella Jewellery. 4 Wire thin bracelet with cubic zirconias in Yellow Gold, $280, from Sybella Jewellery. 5 Malene Birger floral satin Niella midi dress, $525, from Net-A-Porter. 6 Hard Country acrylic on canvas painting, $2750 (98cm x 168cm), from Sara Cusack Cox Art. 7 Velvet belt in Turtledove, $230, from Max Mara. 8. Matrix Biolage R.A.W. uplift shampoo, $32 for 325ml, from My Haircare & Beauty. 9 Herbal recovery antioxidant face oil, $69 for 50ml, from Jurlique. 10 Duo print georgette blouse in Botanic, $219, from Megan Park. 11 Slim jeans in Vintage Wash Denim, $129, from Trenery. For stockist details, see page 144.
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OCTOBER 2019 COU NTRY ST Y LE 135
FASHION
Michelle with baby Freya and Maude the schnoodle in their own piece of paradise at Maleny in Queensland.
1
MICHELLE BRADY
2
well-worn
MICHELLE LOVES OLD JEANS AND HAND-ME-DOWNS. 3 4
1 Marigold seeds, $10, and culinary flower seeds, $10, from Sow ’n Sow. 2 Waffle crew-neck shirt in Off White, $20, from Uniqlo. 3 Caddy linen cushion in Neutral and Navy, $89, from Domayne. 4 PQ Collection long-sleeve hi-low top in Navy, $65, from Birdsnest. 5 Brow & Lash Gel, $19, from The Body Shop. 6 Rosewater Hydration Moisture Boost day cream-gel, $20, from Natio. 7 Dr Marten 2976 Chelsea unisex boots in Black Smooth, $249, from The Iconic. 8 Serax Stoneware flower pots, from $18, from Father Rabbit. For stockist details, see page 144.
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136 COUNTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
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This busy mum of two runs her garden-inspired gift business, Sow ’n Sow, from an old avocado packing shed in Maleny, Queensland. How would you describe your style? Natural fabrics, interesting tailoring, well-worn favourites, hand-me-downs and op-shop finds. Luckily I have great sources via two stylish women — Nick’s mother, Robin Bishop, and his Aunt Louise. What are your everyday essentials? Navy jeans that I bought second-hand, my well-worn Dr Marten Ember boots and a loose linen T-shirt. Where do you shop? I rarely shop for clothing, aside from the occasional op-shop find, but I have found a few great staples at Uniqlo in the past year. Do you have favourite fashion labels? Not really, I like to keep everything random. But I admire some labels, such as Nico, who make practical, ethically produced underwear, and Magpie Goose, which features colourful designs created in remote communities by Aboriginal artists. What’s your favourite accessory? Just a broadbrimmed hat. I’m trying to wear one more often since being outside is where I’d rather be. What are your hair and beauty essentials? I’m a minimalist. I use a Natio moisturiser with SPF15 in the morning and The Body Shop Brow & Lash Gel to tame the wild eyebrow manes. Who’s on your playlist? I’ve always been drawn to strong alternative female singer-songwriters. My current favourites are New Zealand’s Aldous Harding and Gabriella Cohen from Queensland. What do you love about Maleny? Being surrounded by trees and rolling green hills. Living in a place where anything grows without effort feels really indulgent. Everyone has their own pocket of paradise here and it is astounding how dream-like the places we find ourselves hanging out can be. Where do you shop locally? Rosetta Books (you’ll find our seeds there!) for gifts, good coffee and a great range of books. Also Maple Street Co-op for gluten-free and ecologically friendly supplies. My five-year-old daughter Bonnie and I have weekly dates at Monica’s Cafe followed by a quick browse through the various Maple Street op shops. Who influenced your decorating style? I’m a product of my mother, Dawn, and grandfather, Bruce, who are both endearingly thrifty yet appreciate good craftmanship and quality. I never leave home without… My phone. It allows me to keep across work wherever I’m grateful for how technology allows this fr but I’m also wary of being a bit addicted to it. To learn more about Sow ’n Sow, e 18.
PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON PRODUCT SOURCING NATALIE JOHNSON
BUSINESS OWNER, 34
WHEREVER YOUR DAY TAKES YOU
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HEALTH AND BEAUTY
ADAP T AND SU RVIVE
JULIETTE WINTER REVEALS THE NATIVE AUSTRALIAN INGREDIENTS TAKING CENTRE STAGE IN ANTI-AGEING PRODUCTS. IT’S AN UNSETTLING idea that in Australia we age up to
20 times faster than our counterparts in the Northern Hemisphere. According to the Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Australian women see more severe signs of facial ageing much sooner — things like pigmentation and loss of volume. A lot of that damage is due to our harsh natural environment but, in an ironic kind of twist, Mother Nature also offers some nifty botanical solutions to reversing the skin ruin. Leading the way are adaptogens, the new buzzword in the wellness world. It’s an umbrella term for medicinal herbs and botanical extracts like hemp, mushrooms, and cannabidiol (CBD) that resist stressors of all kinds: physical, chemical and biological. “Adaptogens usually help regulate and get the body back to its baseline levels, supporting adrenal function and helping us to ‘adapt’ to stress,” says Ross Macdougald, founder of Biologi and a cosmetic chemist, who adds that research into this area is still in its infancy. “They do the same for skin — adaptogens help to create balance.” “Cannabidiol,which is the legal, non-psychoactive compound derived from cannabis, has become one of the most intriguing and notable compounds in the field of natural health,” explains Archana Pujary, senior formulation chemist at A’kin. “There have been some recent findings that suggest that CBD has the potential to decrease excessive sebum production as well as slowing down other triggers of acne. It’s also known to have anti-inflammatory effects, and thus it can help soothe rosacea or redness.” CBD is not to be confused with hemp seed oil; they come from the same plant, but have very different benefits. CBD comes from the flowers, leaves and stem of the hemp plant, while hemp oil is extracted from the seeds and contains no cannabinoids. “It’s a powerhouse multitasking ingredient,” says Gina Cook, national training manager at Ella Baché. “It is rich in vitamins A and E, and minerals such as potassium, magnesium and zinc, all of which are key to skin health. Unlike many other oils, hemp seed oil nourishes dry skin without sticking to it, so it won’t clog pores. It’s particularly great for mature, sore and dry skin as it is highly nourishing and moisturising.” Equally intriguing are mushrooms, a plant species with a long medicinal history in Asia that Western scientists are now eagerly scrutinising for their youth-enhancing
properties. “The number of mushroom species on the earth is estimated to be 140,000, but only around 10 per cent of mushroom species are known to Western science,” says Archana. Thanks to the thousands of fungi we have discovered, we already know that this species is excellent at scavenging free radicals and acting as a natural anti-inflammatory. “Shiitake mushroom, for example, encourages faster skin renewal and increases skin elasticity. It has also been studied for its anti-ageing activity to counteract droopiness on the face, neck and décolletage,” says Archana. Closer to home, Australian native ingredients such as Kakadu plum, finger lime and quandong are attracting international attention for their unique skin-rejuvenating properties that have largely developed as a result of the harsh environment they grow in. “The Australian landscape actually has more biodiversity than the Amazon!” says Ross. “Aborigines have long been tapping into the power of Australian natives, leveraging natural ingredients for health and skin benefits. Kakadu plum, for example, contains the world’s richest natural source of vitamin C, which our skin loves.” Quandong, a desert plant from the sandalwood family, is set to become another ‘it’ Aussie ingredient for its pigmentation-fighting potential. “It has potent natural levels of tryptophan, ferulic acid, rutin and chlorogenic acid,” says Ross. “Rutin and chlorogenic acid are critical to reducing redness and pigmentation while working in synergy with tryptophan and ferulic acid, which prevent further pigment from forming.” Probiotics are another growth area in anti-ageing skincare: these are the gut-friendly bacteria you might have seen on yoghurt and kefir labels, now firmly trending as a skincare ingredient. “Fermented ingredients help balance the microbiome of the skin, protect the skin barrier and also improve the luminosity and appearance of the skin,” says Archana. While there is much research still to be done, studies so far indicate that adaptogens have a positive effect on stress, including signs of skin trauma such as acne, psoriasis and eczema. Exactly how each specific adaptogenic extract differs from others is not yet fully understood, but one thing seems certain — these harmless botanicals have the potential to bring zen back to your skin.
“Kakadu plum, finger lime and quandong are attracting international attention for their unique skin-rejuvenating properties.”
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SKINCARE SOLUTIONS
Rejuvenate your skin with these natural beauties. Top shelf, from left Anna Mitsios, creator of Edible Beauty, says, “If you wouldn’t put it in your mouth, we won’t put it in our products”. Try their No 3 Exotic Goddess Ageless Serum ($74 for 30ml,) with Australian kakadu plum and white tea. Li’tya (meaning ‘of the earth’) use Indigenous herbal insights coupled with aromatherapy in their luxurious skincare range. Try Li’tya Kakadu Plum Vitality Cream Mask ($89 for 70ml). After discovering a prebiotic and probiotic diet helped with her gluten-intolerance symptoms, French pharmacist Marie Drago created her own skincare line, Gallinée. Try Gallinée Hydrating Face Cream ($69 for 30ml, from Mecca). Middle shelf, from left Soak your skin in vitamin C–rich Kakadu plum in the morning and quandong at night with the potent Australian-made Biologi Bqk Radiance Duo ($138 for 2 x 15ml).
Feeling stressed? Your skin probably is too, so treat it to a week-long beauty boost with these limited-edition Babor Hemp Rebel De-stress ampoules ($71 for 7 x 2ml) with hemp seed oil, aloe vera and cactus to calm and revitalise your skin. Working while you sleep, this probiotic-rich NIOD Voicemail Masque ($70 for 50ml, from Adore Beauty) revives dull, lifeless skin by strengthening healthy cell communication with plant stem cells and polyphenols from oregano leaves. Bottom shelf, from left Reduce redness and calm irritated skin with Origins Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Treatment Lotion ($52 for 200ml, from Mecca). Created by Dr Andrew Weil, reishi mushrooms are its key ingredient. Cleansing with oils can help keep your skin healthy, calm and hydrated, and this plant-based Ella Baché Botanical Cleansing Oil ($69 for 200ml) has been boosted with cold-pressed hemp seed oil from Byron Bay. For stockist details, see page 136.
BOOKS
BOOK CLUB COVERING SUBJECTS RANGING FROM OUR CHANGING EATING HABITS TO A POLITICAL THRILLER AND A GRIPPING CRIME NOVEL, ALL THIS MONTH’S PICKS ARE GREAT READS. REVIEWS ANNABEL LAWSON
THE GODMOTHER Hannelore Cayre, Black Inc, $28 As you can see from the photograph, this is a short novel. It won the European Crime Fiction Prize and delivers a narrator you will never forget. Patience Portefeux is a migrant living in Paris. Her Austrian mother, heartless monster that she was, purchased a Moroccan slave (yes, in Paris, in the 1970s) to look after the child, so Patience speaks Arabic fluently. Her parents smuggled drugs, weapons and people in and out of France and became rich; however, they had to hide their wealth to avoid suspicion. When Patience’s father died, the business and the proceeds vanished. Patience now has two daughters to support and an institutionalised mother. She earns a living translating tapped calls for the Paris police, but she needs more cash. One day she hears information about a drug deal that she decides to turn to her own advantage. Those childhood years learning from her fraudster father pay off. In no time, there’s 463 kilograms of ‘product’ in the basement and it’s hers. What happens next is unusual to say the least. Cayre’s a practising criminal lawyer at the French Court of Appeal and the detail is dazzling.
THE LAST VOYAGE OF MRS HENRY PARKER
Have Anyone Over Syndrome) ensues, and anyway, the signature salmon mousse becomes more trouble than it’s worth. The cruising life offers well-trained staff, selected for their patience and goodwill. They cook, they clean, they entertain. The clincher is the 24/7 medical service. Nell’s novel begins with a bewildered Evelyn Parker searching every corner of MV Golden Sunset for her husband Henry. It becomes increasingly obvious to the reader that Henry isn’t there. Has she had a stroke? Is she suffering from dementia? Is she in shock? We learn that Henry was the ship’s surgeon. When he retired the pair of them decided to stay on as guests. They’ve been at sea for 60 years. Evelyn is well-loved by staff. They shepherd her through the ship’s giddy schedule of delights which she knows so well that her deluded state is barely a problem. A kindly couple decide to keep an eye on her and she tells them her life story. Halfway through this enchanting novel I realised it wasn’t just for the over-50s. Different generations and cultures mesh together within the pop-up community that reforms every time the ship does a turnaround. On shore, Evelyn would almost certainly be relegated to an institution, yet the blend of expert management and plain decency aboard keeps her afloat. Spoiler alert: despite the melancholy title there’s a happy ending.
Joanna Nell, Hachette, $33
GRILLED
The ocean liner as a permanent home used to be the prerogative of the very rich; however, I know two couples who have done the sums and made it work for them. For the sake of younger readers, let me explain the attraction. There comes a time when one is too stiff to vacuum, mop, dust and scrub to an accepted standard. Chaos (Can’t
Garcés went out and talked with farmers, fast food chains, supermarket CEOs and laboratory scientists. She asked them how they operated and why and what they feared or were opposed to. Her aim was to be sure she knew the reality on the ground before factoring in any moral or prescriptive
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Leah Garcés, Bloomsbury Sigma, $30
perspectives. Her success in finding compromise gives us hope. The final chapter imagines a world 30 years hence when we look back with disgust on how, at the beginning of the millennium, we blithely inflicted torture and misery on animals and impossible competition on farmers. We may need to get used to paying $40 for a properly reared chicken. ‘Chicken nuggets’ will still be cheap but they’ll be made from peas with natural spices. (They will taste exactly like the chicken nuggets we eat today, which owe their flavour to spice alone.) Garcés’s approach is sane and reasonable and I’m confident that we can get used — as they already have in France — to paying a lot for respectably reared and delicious chickens, while saving money by eating plants and laboratory-grown alternatives.
FORTUNE Lenny Bartulin, Allen & Unwin, $30 It’s impossible to define this rambunctious novel by genre. The Napoleonic wars and Napoleon’s dealings with his discarded empress Josephine form a fulcrum. Beyond them, a network of characters — lovers, soldiers, convicts, and two memorable slaves — carom through events creating coincidences that ricochet into what we know from history books. The official version with which we’re familiar needs to be credible, but the truth, or rather Bartulin’s reconstruction, is a lot less coherent.
ON EATING MEAT Matthew Evans, Murdoch Books, $33 In April this year I ate a vegan ‘kindaburger’ at a fast-food restaurant. It didn’t taste like vegetables. It tasted meaty. Later that day, I read an account by Eric Bohl of the Missouri Farm
PHOTOGRAPHY KRISTINA SOLJO STYLING LISA BURDEN SANDPIPER COFFEE TABLE FROM GLOBEWEST; LARGE IRIS VASE FROM HAY DESIGN. FOR STOCKISTS SEE PAGE 136.
Bureau warning farmers throughout the state that science (and more directly Burger King) had produced an Impossible Whopper made from genetically modified yeast that was “indistinguishable from beef”. It oozes red juices. He sounded quite shattered. But not so fast. My vegan friend developed rickets; her legs became bowed like a jockey’s. Her doctor prescribed vitamin D and calcium and she was able to continue with her chosen regime. This predicted switch from animal farming and eating to plants must be managed carefully. Matthew Evans, chef and farmer, tackles iron and calcium deficiency along with scores of pros and cons in his predictably entertaining survey of the sources, uses and possible future of how we satisfy our need for protein. Let me offer a few quotes. On humanity: “Nobody seems to think that killing (mulching) about 16 million male chicks is a problem”. On forced feeding to fatten goose livers for foie gras: “I saw ... geese literally run up for the gavage”. On our compliance with cruel mass production of cheap meat: “Farmers don’t grow food you want to
eat. They grow food you’ll buy.” And, more comprehensively: “We can’t grow monoculture crops like soy, or wheat, on our land. We simply cannot produce the kilos of beans to replace the protein we get from meat. To subsist on this land ... we would really struggle to be vegan. But animals, especially grazing animals, can feed themselves on things we can’t eat and produce food we can eat”. He concludes that we need to change the way we eat both for the sake of the planet and for our health, but most of all for the sake of the animals involved. Not necessarily no meat, but meat less often and from an animal that has had a good life and died without fear or pain. It tastes better apparently, it costs more — quite a bit more — but it means we become better humans in the process.
BRUNY Heather Rose, Allen & Unwin, $33 Watching President Trump meet with President Xi in Beijing on June 29 this year, each flanked by ministers and diplomats who were clearly holding their collective breaths, I do wonder
how Rose dares to put out a novel as unequivocally disruptive as this one. The plot: our Government funds a $2 billion bridge built with Chinese steel and Chinese skilled labour. It links Tasmania’s mainland with Bruny Island across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Before completion, terrorists in a speedboat blow the bridge up. The international community lays blame at Iran’s door. The PM, John Coleman, summons his sister Astrid from the Middle East, where, as a conflict resolution specialist, she has been negotiating with DAESH. Reconstruction of the bridge begins. A Chinese labourer falls to his death and Coleman agrees to hush it up. What follows is a significant warning to the world, especially to the lucky few who live in remote and underpopulated places: you can’t hide forever so enjoy it while it lasts. In the final pages, Rose reveals a couple of good guys among the Chinese contingent, thus mitigating the scandal of what our chiefs and their chiefs have been plotting
COLLECTABLES
HISTORY
STYLE QUEEN
AN AUSTRALIAN FASHION ICON TURNS 50.
$150
THE FELLA HAMILTON fashion chain, named after its
$10 0
COLLECTABLES
JOHN McPHEE EVALUATES READERS’ PRECIOUS OBJECTS AND CURIOS. THIS CHAIR
has been in my home for decades. I am now downsizing and would like some information on its style and value. Is it Arts and Crafts or Art Deco? Leigh Healy, Perth, Western Australia Your unusual armchair has more in common with the Arts and Crafts Movement than Art Deco, but that does not mean it was made in the late 19th or early 20th century. In fact, the chair is very amateurishly constructed and has probably been made by someone interested in furniture-making as a hobby rather than a professional cabinetmaker. I wonder if there is any family history of someone who between 1900 and about 1935 undertook some furniture-making? As woodwork — most usually carving but also furniture-making — was a popular hobby for newly independent women, don’t discount the possibility of a female ancestor having made this chair. The timber is certainly oak, and probably Japanese oak, which was readily available in Australia. The stylised floral motif on the back splat is made with what might be fruit wood which was hard enough to be used in inlay work.
MY GRANDFATHER gave me this watch when I was born. It once belonged to my great-great-great grandmother Elizabeth Bligh. Her initials EB are engraved on the front of it. They were graziers in southern Victoria in the mid-1850s. Bronte Wilson, Tamworth, NSW
founder, is celebrating its 50th birthday. In 1969 it was unusual for a woman to start her own business, especially a woman in her 40s, but that did not stop Fella. After seeing a woman wearing a terry towelling turban in the sauna at her gym, she was inspired to start her own fashion line and sparked the terry towelling trend that swept Australia in the 1970s. Fella Hamilton, the woman, is now 93 years old and not involved in the day-to-day running of the business. That is left to her son David and daughter-in-law Sharon, but it doesn’t mean she has lost her eye for fashion.“I enjoy wearing new-season pieces from the Fella Hamilton collection and add beautiful scarves and my favourite jewellery to keep it as my own individual style,” she says. Her best piece of style advice? “Don’t be a fashion victim. Go with what is comfortable for you and your shape. Choose colours that make you look and feel good. Dress simply in good-quality, well-cut clothing.” To celebrate, Fella Hamilton has re-created those terry towelling turbans and will sell limited-edition 2019 versions for $29.95 each, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to Breast Cancer Network Australia. Thirty turbans will be donated to the same organisation. Fella was a pioneer for other women who were starting their own businesses and has continued to support Australian-made garments for 50 years. Fella Hamilton has 31 stores around Australia. Telephone 1800 800 866 or (03) 9556 8095 to find your nearest one or shop online at storefellahamilton.com.au
BELOW Fella wearing one of her terry towelling dresses, boarding a cruise in the 1970s. LEFT AND BELOW LEFT A dress and jumpsuit from the original terry towelling range.
Your watch case and mechanism was probably made in Switzerland in the late 19th century. It has the standing bear hallmark for Swiss silver. The other mark, 935, indicates that the silver standard is higher than that of sterling silver (925). Although shaped like a pocket watch with a large winder and ring allowing it to be suspended from a chain, it has lugs so it could be worn as a wristwatch. Its value depends on whether it is in good working order. 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. If you have a precious (or simply mysterious) object that puzzles you, send your inquiry, along with a colour print or high-resolution digital image, your suburb or town, and your daytime telephone number, to austcountrystyle@bauer-media.com.au. The photographs must be clear and show the whole object against a white background. Photographs will not be returned, even if they are not published.
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STOCKISTS
stockists
WHERE TO BUY PRODUCTS FROM THIS ISSUE. Adore Beauty adorebeauty.com.au Altamira (03) 5981 0499, altamira.com.au Anewall anewall.com Apaiser (03) 9421 5722, apaiser.com Archier (03) 9133 6547, archier.com.au Artedomus (03) 9429 0074, artedomus.com Ascraft Textiles (02) 9360 2311, ascraft.com.au Astra Walker (02) 8838 5100, astrawalker.com.au Babor 1800 139 139, au.babor.com Biologi biologi.com.au Birdsnest 1300 696 378, birdsnest.com.au Cadrys (02) 9328 6144, cadrys. com.au Cotswold InOut Furniture 1800 677 047, cotswoldfurniture. com.au Country Road 1800 801 911, countryroad.com.au David Jones 1800 354 663, davidjones.com Domayne domayne.com.au Domo (03) 9277 8888, domo.com.au Early Settler 1300 653 969, earlysettler.com.au Edible Beauty Australia ediblebeautyaustralia. com Ella Bache 1300 136 661, ellabache.com.au Father Rabbit fatherrabbit.com Focus on Furniture focusonfurniture.com.au Globewest (03) 9518 1600, globewest.com.au Great Dane (03) 9417 5599, greatdanefurniture.com Hay (02) 9538 0855, hayshop.com.au Haymes Paint haymespaint.com.au House 1300 136 936, house.com.au Ikea ikea.com/au/en Inside Story Studio insidestorystudio.com.au Jardan (03) 8581 4999, jardan.com.au Jurlique 1800 805 286, jurlique.com/au Li’tya litya.com Max Mara
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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 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 Highland Homes (07) 4982 4905 House of Magnolia (07) 4984 1059 Mount Isa Furniture and Bedding (07) 4743 0876; mountisafurniture.com.au 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 Saskia (07) 4151 1873 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: Barossa Nursery (08) 8562 2288; barossanursery.com.au 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 Kimberly James Furniture (08) 8293 8966; kimberlyjamesfurniture.com.au Loaves and Fishes (08) 8768 2724 Living by Design; livingbydesign.net.au One Rundle Trading Co (08) 8431 3033 The Miners Couch (08) 8825 1222; theminerscouch.com.au TASMANIA: The Importer; theimporter.net.au Your Habitat yourhabitat. com.au VICTORIA: Alpine Garden Supplies (03) 5779 1733; alpinegarden supplies.com.au Birch Living (03) 9482 1500 Bloom and Co (03) 9397 0022 Gisborne Cottage Flowers (03) 5428 4199; gisbornecottage flowers.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 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 Rivers Garden & Home (03) 9436 3220 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 WA: Hacienda (08) 9309 6006 Henry & Oliver (08) 9444 8838; henryandoliverco.com The Merchants of Swanbourne (08) 9383 3493 Pekho (08) 6219 5056; pekho.com Ellis & Co (08) 9751 2323 Dunsborough Hardware and Home Centre (08) 9755 3184; dunsboroughhardware.com.au First Avenue (08) 9257 1660; firstavenue.net.au House Proud Home Living (08) 9185 2563 Lloyds of Margaret River (08) 9757 2074
PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON
1800 413 900, au.maxmara.com Mecca 1800 007 844, mecca.com.au Megan Park (03) 9419 6472, meganpark.com.au My Haircare & Beauty (03) 9999 5902, myhaircare.com.au Natio natio.com.au Net-A-Porter net-a-porter.com/au Oblica (03) 9416 0400, oblica.com.au Pottery Barn 1800 232 914, potterybarn.com.au Provincial Home Living (03) 9825 9400, provincialhomeliving.com.au RJ Living 1300 492 098, rjliving.com.au Sandberg Wallpaper sandbergwallpaper.com Sara Cusack Cox Art saracusackcoxart. com Sow ’n Sow (07) 5435 2579, sownsow.com Space Craft (03) 9486 0010, spacecraftaustralia.com Swedese swedese.com Sybella Jewellery (02) 9363 1483, sybellajewellery.com Tara Dennis Store taradennisstore.com The Body Shop 1800 065 232, thebodyshop.com.au The Iconic theiconic.com.au The Upholstery House theupholsteryhouse.com.au Thonet (03) 9417 0077, thonet.com.au Trenery 1800 316 681, trenery.com.au Uniqlo uniqlo.com/au Water Tiger watertiger.com.au Weave Home 1300 787 888, weavehome.com.au
FIELD GUIDE
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BROWSE OUR ADVERTISERS’ PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
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Perrin & Rowe Mayan tap set combines beautiful styling with excellent quality and engineering. It comes in a variety of finishes. seaofwhite.com.au
Ilve’s HCB Cooktop Series HCB70C/S features their new and improved brass burners that supply even, instantaneous heat. ilve.com.au
Artist Dee Jackson paints beautiful watercolours. Why not commission a portrait that tells your own personal story? deejackson.com.au
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Two luxurious award-winning self-catering houses with magnificent views, await guests at Frenchman’s River in Tasmania. frenchmansriver.com.au
Over 900,000 tulips will be in bloom at the Tesselaar Tulip Festival, from 14th September to 13th October, in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges. tulipfestival.com.au
Experience Canberra’s National Zoo & Aquarium residents up close with a stay at the five-star Jamala Wildlife Lodge. jamala.com.au
CITY AND COUNTRY
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Sixteen-year-old Eliza enjoys a balance between her family farm and urban life at boarding school. Discover boarding at Melbourne’s MLC. mlc.vic.edu.au
Featuring a cushioned footbed and statement animal print, Ziera’s Arcadia espadrille is ideal for the warmer months. zierashoes.com
Cint in Orange, NSW, is home to a collection of pieces from Australian and overseas labels, including the Primness Dune dress. cint.com.au
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Proudly designed and made in Australia
Pure linen and cotton designs made for stylish women of all ages
Visit www.daronnenaturelle.com for more information and to shop our collection P: 07 3424 5641 E: sales@daronne.com
Diana Garth Artist Award Winning Sydney Based Artist
LANDSCAPES, MIXED MEDIA, SEASCAPES, ABSTRACTS & FLOWERS Email: paintings70@gmail.com www.dianagarth.com
Exclusive Country Style readers offer Originals Bar stool $550 per stool*
For all retail & trade enquiries contact the Australian distributor of ercol at temperaturedesign.com.au or on (61) 3 9419 1447 @temperaturedesign
A Melbourne brand putting a modern twist on the traditional gumboot, with enhanced comfort, durability and tested in sub-zero temperatures.
www.merrypeople.com @merrypeople
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*Originals Bar stool 650H in Natural or Black. Shipped in Australia. TD T&C apply– Offer ends 19 November, 2019
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Indi Dress
Luxurious superďŹ ne merino wool fashion Proudly made in Tasmania Call 03 6212 0197 for expert advice or shop online
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Australian made knitwear E: info@uimi.com.au | T: 03 9495 1746
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Luxurious Silk Pillowcases for a superior sleep.
www.cint.com.au
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Hand picked range of Australia and International Designers
AMANDA BROOKS ARTIST
Blue wrens and flowering gum 0417 071 336
info@artbybrooks.com.au www.ar tbybrooks.com.au
Authentic French styled market baskets for all your carrying needs.
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Pure Cotton Nightwear
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shop online, instore or at a stockist near you
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85 Comur Street, Yass NSW • 02 6226 1240 • shop@merchantcampbell.com
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Soft, superfine merino wraps in travel pouches – For wherever life takes her
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Ph 0408 819 007
Dee Jackson Australian artist, Dee Jackson, creates beautiful watercolour portraits. Commissions Welcome.
Originals by
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93 Memorial Drive Eumundi 4562 07 5442 8778 Info@pearlsforgirls.com.au
Dee Jackson T: 02 9416 2265 | M: 0439 986 452 E: deejackson@deejackson.com.au www.deejackson.com.au
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IRONING BOARD COVERS Great new range of colours and designs, new products all ready for Christmas
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Tea with a dash of inspiration QUALITY PYRAMID TEABAGS WITH INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES ON THE TAGS monji.com.au
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
ETHICAL, SUSTAINABLE & COLLECTABLE
www.suziehopedesigns.com
lovemerino.com.au
6*' %4'9'. )1$'.+0
Specialty Needlework Store Supplies and Workshops 02 9498 6831 THECREWELGOBELIN.COM.AU
The sequel to Jeannie Morgan’s RTK\G YKPPKPI Ƃ TUV PQXGN Absence of Manners is out now.
BOOKTOPIA.COM.AU
prgiblett@bigpond.com rosielloydgiblett 0418126242
rosielloyd-giblett.com
RITZYROCKS
Australian Designed & Handmade Jewellery Specialising in Venetian Glass. Express post & special gift on order.
www.ritzyrocks.com.au
COUNTRY EMPORIUM
ROSIE LLOYD-GIBLETT
0''&.'%4#(6
@judeaustralia 0413 960 031 ingridmansleyinteriordesign@gmail.com U N E A R T H E D H O M E WA R E S . C O M
Superior Quality Australian Made Knitwear. Shop online at judeaustralia.com
PJ MILLER
HOME OF BOWRAL BOXERS
Pure cotton boxer shorts nightshirts & sleepwear Pretty French Country summer nighties Sizes 8-24 www.bowralboxers.com.au Phone (02) 4862 2520
NEW SUMMER STOCK ONLINE NOW
NIKKI JEAN is an online clothing boutique.
Beautiful clothing for women through all ages and stages of life www.zephyrloungewear.com 1800 804 776 Zephyrloungewear
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
We have a passion for clothing and accessories and can’t wait to share it with you!
nikkijeanclothing.com
nikkijean_boutique
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HOME A ND GA RDEN EMPORIUM
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
HOME AND GARDEN 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 PLOG VWHHO JDOYDQLVHG DQG SRZGHU FRDWHG RU ZLWK D &RU 7HQ UXVWHG ƓQLVK
www.everedge.com.au
0488 010 203
Specialist supplier of bulbs and plants
Van Diemen Quality Bulbs Request a catalogue Ph: 1800 179 113 www.vdqbulbs.com.au
We grow the best roses in Australia Over 800 modern and old fashioned varieties
08 8739 3321 • www.wagnersrosenursery.com.au
H I G H M E A D OW C U S T O M G AT E S
DOG PORTRAITS Handmade ceramics from Spain
AUSTRALIAN HARDWOOD T I M B E R G AT E S M I C H A E L C O LV I N 0427 758 520 w w w . h i g h m e a d o w. c o m . a u Mention Country Style to receive 10% discount
A-F FULGENCE
www.affulgence.com.au
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
www.sunpots.com.au 02 4847 5052 info@sunpots.com.au
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Prestige Properties | New South Wales
Sweetwater Estate in the Hinterland • 2 Large Separate Dwellings • Magnificent Waterfall & Creek • Potential Income Opportunities • Numerous Fruit Trees 9
5.5
4
Price: $2,850,000
1 6 2 0 M A L E N Y S TA N L E Y R I V E R R D , M A L E N Y, Q L D Two spectacular homes on one 40-acre property. “Sweetwater” offers so many opportunities for the discerning buyer and has undergone a transformation to become one of the most sought-after locations on the range, in the popular Sunshine Coast hinterland.
FO
R
L SA
E
Contact: David Perez 0427 378 600 david@villarealestate.com.au
villarealestate.com.au
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
THE LITTLE COOKING SCHOOL 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.
THE OLD MANSE PENSHURST, VIC Tastefully renovated, historic blue stone house. Located between the Grampians and Great Ocean Road. Offers over $480,000 considered. 0417 444 573 email shoeconcepts@bigpond.com
0400 417 711 6 Henry Lawson Drive Mudgee www.littlecookingschoolmudgee.com.au
LUXU RY H O L ID AY H OME MANAG ER
KINGFISHER PAVILION JERVIS BAY, NSW
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.
Experience the ultimate holiday home or share yours with the world.
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
contemporaryhotels.com.au
0478 008 814 kingfisherpavilion@gmail.com www.kingfisherpavilion.com
NUNDLE, NSW
STANWELL PARK, NSW
OCEAN BLUE B&B
HARBOURSIDE APARTMENTS
Feel welcome year-round at Nundle, a charming town of 300 people in the beautiful Hills of Gold, 50km south-east of Tamworth. Relax in the peaceful environment, surrounded by sheep and cattle grazing properties, and forest and bushland covered hills forming part of the Great Dividing Range.
A unique home set in a coastal rainforest 50k from Sydney. Located just minutes from beaches, Grand Pacific Walk and Royal National Park. Experience an exclusive two-night weekend for up to six guests featuring contemporary music played on our grand piano.
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.
Nundle Visitor Information 02 6769 3026 NundleNSW #nundlensw www.nundle.com.au
0429 009 400 info@oceanbluebnb.com www.oceanbluebnb.com
NORTH SYDNEY, NSW
02 9963 4300 stay@harboursideaparments.com.au harbourside apartments www.harboursideapartments.com.au
NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT, NSW
LUXURY HERITAGE ACCOMMODATION IN THE HEART OF THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS Bibury is the perfect getaway for families, friends, wedding groups, golfers, executive meetings or any occasion where you need some relaxation in beautiful surrounds.
2 9 - 3 1 B U R R A D O O R OA D, BURRAD O O
FOR MORE IN FORMATION VISIT BIBURY.COM.AU, EMAIL INFO@BIBURY.COM.AU OR CALL US ON 0407 768 914
Historic (c.1837) cattle station offering luxury accommodation in the heart of Northern NSW. A rare private retreat with well-appointed accommodation options. A memorable experience for friends and family. 0439 791 923 enquiries@waterloo-station.com.au waterloocountryaccommodation www.waterloo-station.com.au
New South Wales | Queensland
WATERLOO STATION
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
VISIT NUNDLE
CHELSEA PARK BURRUDOO, NSW
Hollywood in the Highlands. Unique Bed and breakfast in an art deco mansion, three bedrooms all quite diff erent. For groups consider Arcadia House, fi ve bedroom self contained home.
02 4861 7046 www.arcadia-house.com www.chelseaparkbnb.com
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
Country Mile Escape is a rural getaway showcasing some of the best scenery, wineries and national parks the Gold Coast Hinterland has to offer, come and enjoy our private and spacious boutique self-contained studios on our 70 acre retreat.
0419 090 246
~ www.countrymileescape.com.au
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THE COTTAGE
MISSION BEACH HOLIDAYS
WINGS BAROSSA RETREAT
“The Cottage” at Conondale Station is perched high on an exclusive hill with breathtaking, uninterrupted views of the Conondale Valley. Conondale Station is one of the largest, privately owned, working cattle properties on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland, Australia. Located on the Mary River, it spans 930 hectares.
Luxury to budget homes and apartments situated between Townsville and Cairns. Where to stay... what to do... in our paradise.
Peace – Nature – Comfort A 2-storeyed, 3-bedroom country home, a 170-acre retreat that’s exclusively yours. Birdwatching/ Bushwalking on your doorstep. Extensive marked trails with abundant wildlife. A total experience – not just another B&B.
0488 682 074 www.conondalestation.com.au
(07) 4088 6699 www.missionbeachholidays.com.au
CONONDALE, QLD
MISSION BEACH, QLD
BAROSSA WINE REGION, SA
0414 88 55 45 wings_accommodation www.wingsretreat.com.au
Create a Masterpiece with Jacqueline Coates BLOOMS WORKSHOP DATES 2019
Learn all about acrylic paint. Includes art materials and catering. Transform your creative abilities.
Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania
MELBOURNE – Glen Iris
4 Day Painting Workshop $2350 pp Evening of Oct 1 then October 2-5, 2019 – Paint two midsize canvas in acrylics
SYDNEY – Willoughby
4 Day Painting Workshop $2350 pp Jan 9-12th 2019 plus evening of Jan 8 – Paint two midsize canvases in acrylics
BRISBANE – Metro Arts
Blooms 2 day plus one evening $1350 pp Dec 11 &12 9-5.30pm plus evening Dec 10 from 4pm till 8.30pm
BAROSSA VALLEY – SA
Perth – Midland Junction Art Centre 4 Day Blooms Workshop $2350 pp Evening Feb 28, 2020 from 5.30-9pm Then daily from Feb 29 to March 3 – Paint 2 large canvases in acrylics
HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND
4 Day Painting Workshop $2450pp Evening of Nov 25, then 26-29th inclusive daily
FRANCE - BLOOMS May 5-17, 2020 $7697pp package inc art supplies, catering French chef, accommodation & transfers to/from Paris
4 Day Painting Workshop $2350 pp Evening Nov 1 then Nov 2-5 inclusive daily
artscreativehub.com/workshops • Phone 0412 587 438 or 0429 100 929
“Glorious landscape, lovely people. Why would you go anywhere else? Four days are not enough”
Warm spring sun and vibrant flowers, our reward at the end of winter’s road. Restore your soul with beauty, luxury and serenity at Frenchman’s River.
www.frenchmansriver.com.au • Kate/Posie 0466 790 142 • book@frenchmansriver.com.au
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
@frenchmansrivercygnet
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 and restaurants or just relax at our cosy winter retreat. “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 @river.cottage.tasmania
RIVER COTTAGE TASMANIA Your place to unwind, relax and enjoy the tranquil river views & beyond - slap bang in the middle of profound natural beauty but only about 2 minutes from the coast. 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.
www.rivercottagetasmania.com.au
embrace spring
CAMBRIDGE, TAS
Tasmania
RIVERSDALE ESTATE
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
COAST HOUSE TASMANIA
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
with a Tasmanian gourmet indulgence
Experience Spring in Tasmania. Join us for one of our cooking classes or experience our rustic dining showcasing local produce and wines. Luxury guest house and unique cooking school just minutes from Launceston. www.redfeatherinn.com.au
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
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Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia
PETER RABBIT™ GARDEN
ROSEWHITE HOUSE BNB
KANANOOK HERITAGE HOUSE
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™.
Stylish three bedroom apartment providing spectacular views of surrounds and garden. Each bedroom has view and en-suite. Sleeps six to eight. Breakfast included.
Relax at tranquil Kananook’s circa 1880’s Executive Suite with glorious views over rolling green countryside or enjoy the Victorian period charm of the detached ‘Private Residence’ Apartment. This fine Country House has every new modern luxury for a world class contemporary getaway. Revitalise and reconnect.
CAMBRIDGE, TAS
OVENS VALLEY, VIC
0448 595 675 rosewhitehouse3737@gmail.com Rosewhite House BnB www.rosewhitehouse.com.au
03 6248 5555 Riversdale Estate, 222 Denholms Rd, Cambridge www.thepeterrabbitgarden.com.au
BAIRNSDALE, VIC
0400 33 55 46 www.kananookheritagehouse.com
THE WOODEN HOUSE AT 30 DELANY BRIGHT, VIC
Jam packed with treasured pieces and unique spaces all handmade by the owner, this three-bedroom two-bathroom home is certainly one of a kind. Located in the beautiful Alpine Valley’s townships of Bright, Big Sky Walkers Lane boasts 4 warm an inviting bedrooms, 4 well appointed bathrooms and plenty of space to spread out whilst enjoying your next escape to the country.
w w w. b i g s k y ret re at s . co m . a u 0 4 1 8 8 1 3 9 7 1 | re s e r va t i o n s @ 3 74 1 b o u t i q u e . c o m . a u
0418 813 971 reservations@3741boutique.com.au www.3741boutique.com.au
Hike the Kimberley
In 2020 – NEW 10 day tours – Get in quick • Walk with a day pack only and explore the Kimberley • Camping or accommodated tour options • Experienced guides • Thoughtfully planned itineraries
MOORE RIVER HOLIDAYS MOORE RIVER, WA
We specialise in small group bookings with family & friends. Great girlfriend getaways and rural retreats. We are located right on the banks of the Moore River with fabulous rural and river views from the 40 acre back yard. Just one hour north of Perth.
Contact us on (03) 5639 2615
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
www.parktrek.com.au
0419 909 167 mooreriverholidays rona@mooreriverholidays.com.au www.mooreriverholidays.com.au
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
Voted Top 52 Weekends Away in the nation in the Good Weekend October 2017.
Luxurious Accommodation in a Historic Homestead Situated on a Working Australian Farm in the Western District of Victoria. One hour from Geelong Great for Milestone celebrations, family and friends. Fully self contained homestead • 7BR with own bathrooms • 4 inviting fireplaces • Pool • Spa • Tennis Court • Fishing • Bike riding & much more.
Victoria | Escape & Explore
0458 507 655 • WWW.NARINGAL.COM.AU
Join In giro Tours on an intimate and unique 13 day tour of hidden Tuscany Golf & Tours are women’s travel specialists. They offer golf holidays for women, that are escorted by a female host or golf professional.
• Tour picturesque valleys, hilltop towns and the breathtaking Tuscan Archipelago
View their full schedule of Australian and international golf holidays online.
• Stay in luxurious villas and a medieval castle and revel in Florence’s Renaissance splendour
02 9956 3866 • WWW.GOLFANDTOURS.COM
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
• Indulge in gourmet produce and tastings of the famous local wines 7 – 19 JUNE 2020 Strictly limited to 12 participants
www.ingiro.com.au
Refer to website for all tour offerings
0418 418 288
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Discover the heart and soul of Puglia with with ITALIAN TOURS!
Slow down and experience the best of Puglia on these truly small group tours. 3-10 May 2020 | HIGHLIGHTS OF PUGLIA TOUR 11-24 May 2020 | PUGLIA - THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED TOUR
Book your 2020 tour now! 02 9358 4923 | ciao@italiantours.com.au | italiantours.com.au
Escape & Explore
HISTORY | NATURE
NINA’S PATHWAYS
CULTURE | INDULGENCE
My small group tours of stunning Sri Lanka encompass all that this beautiful green island has to offer. Join us for a lifetime of memories. Next adventure April 2020. 0419 213 327
| www.ninaspathways.com.au |
/ninaspathways
TANZANIA WOMEN’S SAFARI Small groups, max 12 spots Perfect mix of food, fun, adventures and culture Comfortable, hand-picked safari lodging Solo traveller friendly
FROM
$7,297
TO ADVERTISE CALL 02 9282 8369
Visit PatchAdventures.com.au today. Trips sell out fast!
DEPARTURES IN JUNE & JULY 2020
CHOOSE BETWEEN 10 TO 30 DAYS TOUR IN OCT/NOV
Persian Jewels 10 days - $5,570 Taste of Persia (FOOD TOUR) 12 days - $6,250 Persian Veils (WOMEN'S TOUR) 14 days -$6,560 Persian Discovery 16 days - $6,770 Persian Dreams (choose between a 19, 25 or 30-day tour
Italy – The Original Tour Depart: 7 March 2020 Return: 28 March 2020
WANTED! 10 Adventurous Women! Come with us to ITALY in 2020
For a FREE Info Pack contact your Kiwi/Iranian guide Mehdi
Tours For Independent Women is a company which caters to women who love to travel, yet have some independence.
1800 778 694 • hello@travelandtour.com.au
All inclusive 21 day tours • No early starts • Your own double room, always • No ‘one-night-stays’ • Time to see the sights – and do your own thing Small groups- no more than 10 • Private entrances, private travel • Local female guides • 2 meals each day included
www.travelandtour.com.au
www.toursforwomen.com.au • 0433 255 472 • penny.king@toursforwomen.com.au
2020 Tours
Spring and Autumn Private, guided tours of Poland’s food, culture, art & designs.
CUSTOMISABLE + COST EFFECTIVE WALKING TOURS
with Wayfarer Experiences
Our planned and tested self-guided walks allow you to experience the best trails in Europe at your own pace. We take care of the details, so you can focus on creating unforgettable memories. WAYFARER PROVIDE:
• Walking Maps • Sim card • Local contact
experiencepoland.net/tours 0405 336 240
info@experiencepoland.net
textiles Art Culture
• Accommodation • Daily breakfast • Luggage service
Escape & Explore
EXPERIENCE EUROPE ON FOOT
COUN TRY A ND COA STA L R ETR E ATS
Discover Persia
Take your first step. Visit wayfarerexperiences.com.au Call 1300 037881
Spain, Portugal & Morocco…
Worldwide Adventures 21 DAY VIETNAM & CAMBODIA INCLUDING HOI AN LANTERN FESTIVAL Departing 1 February 2020 $7999 per person twin share $9999 single room option Includes Return airfares ex Melbourne. (Other departure cities available upon request) Small Groups, Personal Service.
1300 885 255 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
WWW.HOMESTOLOVE.COM.AU/DIRECTORY
with the Iberian Specialists D Tailor Made Itineraries D Historic Accommodation D Expert Advice Ph: 03 9867 8833
www.ibertours.com.au
Get off the beaten track to be immersed in the natural and cultural experiences of our destinations. Join our fully supported walks, explore ancient cultures and exotic tastes. Enjoy wilderness, wildlife and exploring with a small group of like-minded women. We look forward to sharing our knowledge and expertise with you. Inspire your adventurous spirit. Call 1300 883 475
www.womensownadventure.com.au
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CUISINE DE DUDE
THE IMAGE OF A CERTAIN BLOKE STARING INTO HIS CAMP FIRE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME FOR ROB INGRAM. image of Frederick McCubbin’s great painting Down on His Luck, in which the pioneering bushie squats on a log and stares into his camp fire. In all of us — at some time in our lives — there’s been the suspicion that life is a bastard. And if ever you’ve identified with McCubbin’s bushie, you’d have been struck by the landscape at Hotel Dunedoo’s annual camp oven cook-off. There, in the beer garden beside the pub, more down on their haunches than down on their luck, contestants in the cook-off are staring into their camp fires. Most are men, confirming the long-held belief that men don’t mind cooking as long as danger is involved. Hotel Dunedoo publican Glenn and cook-off mother-hen Melissa have created an event that is now attracting cast-iron gourmets from across the state. Their quest is to find the Gordon Ramsay of damper, the Curtis Stone of stew, the Heston Blumenthal of ‘signature’ gastronomy… being whatever excites your imagination. Let’s set the scene here. The traditional chef uniform air of accelerating bonhomie as the day progresses. By is not compulsory. In fact, the favoured look features a judging time, appetites and bar sales are at an all-time high. beanie, scarf, shearer’s shirt and Ugg boots. The food, too, It’s an egalitarian pastime, this camp fire cooking, generally has a retro informality about it. Camp oven but the Tooraweenah contingent brings an air of cook-off attendees are more likely to encounter apricot professionalism to the event. They have racks and pans chicken than poulet de provençal. and griddles. They have grills and spits and smokers. There’s very little pretension about this level of dining. They have tripods and lid lifters and hotpot pliers. This is dude food and, by extension, the local contestants And they have a droll sense of humour. have become known as Dunedoods. The informality of “What’s the most important item?” I ask, looking over the event allows the stew category to also be known as the ‘road kill’ category. But ingredients WORK TENDING their array. STY THIR IT’S “The matches,” says the laconic are impressively creative. DAY… THE OF T MOS FOR FIRE A man from Tooraweenah. At the camp oven cook-off, the DOM WIS THE W KNO ALL WE AND And so to the awards presentation. beef marinade — which you might G ATIN YDR REH R ULA REG OF Tiny Lewis from Coonamble blitzed expect to contain black sauce or the damper field with his apple and cinnamon entry. The balsamic vinegar — is just as likely to contain Kentucky Rick Henderson All Stars won best stew with their apricot straight bourbon whiskey. And if the personalised recipe chicken — see, I told you — despite Fabian Boyd’s flavourcalls for just 400mls of bourbon from your 700ml bottle, bomb beef stew with herb dumplings and Sarah Farrow’s well, your day is only about to get better. Also, there’s beef and red wine version. Sarah enjoys cooking with wine none of the pretention of food and wine matching here. and, on this occasion, even put some in the dish. The best What better to drink with pork shoulder braised for five signature dish was won by Colette Gordon from hours in four bottles of Corona beer, than the remaining Tooraweenah with a delicious presentation of lamb shanks two bottles of Corona? and roasted vegetables. While camp fire cooking has links back to remote bush McCubbin’s Down on His Luck will never tug at my settings and cowboy trails, there’s a lot to be said for a heartstrings again. Forever more, I’ll imagine he’s staring cook-off venue just metres from a good country pub. It’s into the embers waiting to hoe into his bourbon beef thirsty work for most of the day… and we all know the stroganoff… with herb dumplings. wisdom of regular rehydrating. This inevitably leads to an
162 COU NTRY ST Y LE OCTOBER 2019
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL WEE BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY SAM McADAM-COOPER STYLING PHOEBE MCEVOY
MANY AUSTRALIANS have etched into their souls the iconic