The Hobart Magazine March 2020

THE HOBART MAGAZINE

FREE

/ March 2020: ISSUE 13

I N D E P E N D E N T + LO C A L

Justin Kurzel F ro m H olly w ood to H o b art

What ’ s on in H obart

Ya r n i n g W i t h E x- c o p Dav id P l u mpton

March 2020

T r av e l G ipp s l and

Lo c a l L a d P eter G u t w ein

Wild Tasmanian Winters All the best wild winter adventures require the warmest, snuggliest Australian-made merino pieces, so we hunt tirelessly for the best sustainable winter wardrobe, homewares and gifts so you don’t need to. We choose carefully as we know how important it is to have just the right amount of snuggle, style and uniqueness for all life’s adventures, especially a wild Tasmanian winter.

Sign up to our newsletter online and get $20 OFF your first order when spending $100 or more in store or online.

Now OPEN Sundays 10.30am -3.30pm 166 Liverpool St Hobart (next door to Allgoods) TAS 7000 Ph: 03 6295 3748 IG @spottedquoll FB @thespottedquollstudio

www.thespottedquoll.com.au

Editorial Editor: Steph Williams Art Direction: Meng Koach Advertising James Marten advertise@thehobartmagazine.com.au Publisher Steph Williams Cover image: Jonathon Olley Circulation 32,000 copies are distributed each issue, with 27,000 delivered to homes and 5,000 to cafes and public places. Our reach is from Bridgewater down to Huonville and out to Dodges Ferry, on both sides of the river.

Publisher Information While all care has been taken, some information may have changed since publication. The Hobart Magazine regrets it can’t accept liabilities from errors or omissions contained in this magazine. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or amend all advertisements without explanation. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.

The views expressed in articles and advertisements are not endorsed by the editor or publishers. We welcome any questions or feedback, email editor@thehobartmagazine.com.au.

THIS MONTH:

W e lc o m e to

THE HOBART MAGAZINE I prefer to call March, ‘late summer’. Especially this year when it felt like summer kicked off quite late, if at all. Before long we’ll be stoking the fire, stoking the slow cooker and just getting into the swing of the cold. But not yet. Embrace these last moments of warmth.

This month we chatted with Hollywood film director Justin Kurzel who has just released his version of the Ned Kelly story, which was written right here in Hobart. We also yarn with ex-cop (Inspector no less) David Plumpton on his post-retirement life and take a trip to Gippsland to inject some funds post-bushfires and find another way, with Madame Saisons, to use up all the zucchini gracing our veggie gardens.

As always, let us know what you think of The Hobart Magazine. We want it to be the best it can be for you, our readers.

Cheers, Steph editor@thehobartmagazine.com.au

We’re sporting… sustainable Veja trainers

We’re eating… treats from the CWA and The Flower Room shops We’re drinking…

Aperol while the sun still shines

We’re listening to…

Lewis Capaldi on repeat 3

WHAT'S INSIDE...

03 Welcome 06 Local Lady 08 Local Lad 10 Hobart Happenings 14 Feature - David Plumpton 16 Forestry 18 Calendar 20 Cover Story - Justin Kurzel 24 Nutrition 26 Dining Out 28 Psychology 30 Travel Off The Island 32 History 34 Madame Saisons 35 Photos

Hike to Secret Falls on Mt. Wellington on the Myrtle Gully Track. Photo, Pierre Destribats

• When can I retire?

• How much will I need?

We answer these questions and more at our free regular monthly retirement seminars. We welcome existing clients as well as friends, family, and work colleagues.

Find out more at ivywealth.com.au or call 6245 7777.

Level 9, 39 Murray Street, Hobart.

• How much Age Pension will I get?

• Should I be worried about the share market?

Local lady

Freya Downie Interview Genevieve Morton

What do you love about where you live? My family and I love living near the beach at Blackmans Bay. We have a great view with good sunrises and sunsets. Being close to the beach allows us to swim and go for adventures on our jet skis.

What’s your favourite eatery?

Cultura is my family’s favourite place to go. It’s an Italian restaurant with friendly staff and great food. We go there for birthdays and any other achievements we want to celebrate. My siblings love the garlic pizza and Luke the owner always looks after us very well.

What’s the best thing about Hobart? The waterfront and Salamanca. It has a wide variety of souvenirs and great food at the Salamanca market. The wharf has good views of incoming boats.

Drink of choice and where do you head for it? Robbie Brown on Kingston Beach is a really nice place to go for drinks with friends. My favourite is their lemon lime bitters.

And the worst? Not having direct flights to international countries for holiday and work. As a keen travelling family unfortunately we have to go via another state to get out of Australia.

What do you never leave home without? I never leave home without my phone. Mainly so that mum and dad can contact me or I can contact them if I need to.

Sweet tooth Freya Downie is the creative young entrepreneur behind Freya’s Delights. When she’s not making her signature caramel sauce the 15 year-old is playing soccer or riding a jet ski.

Tell us a little about your work? I was inspired at the age of six to cook. It was something I loved to do and soon found I was pretty good at it! Growing up on a dairy farm in the Derwent Valley cooking was way easier than going and getting the cows in for Dad. After chats with Alistair Wise at Sweet Envy, he encouraged me to make Dulche de Leche - a thick caramel sauce used for adding to tarts, donuts or just licking right off the spoon.

The Freya’s Delights range is now stocked in various Hill St stores and cafes in the Derwent Valley.

6

Freya hanging out

When there’s nothing to do I…Watch the highlights of professional soccer games and analyse the players and teams.

They teach me a lot about how I can improve my performance in games.

Favourite Hobart secret?

Beronia Beach is a really private beach along from Kingston. It is a small walk off the road but it’s sheltered and really quiet.

Sometimes penguins come for a visit too.

What do you love doing outside work? I love playing soccer so when I’m not working I’m

training or kicking the ball against a wall. I also love spending time with my friends.

What’s your next business move? See what happens next and what opportunities arise. I’ll more than likely focus on more international sales.

What are you keen to do after school? Play football professionally.

I’m inspired by...Samantha Kerr, a female athlete who represents Australia with pride.

I’d like to travel to...England.

If I didn’t live in Hobart I’d live in...Italy, the food over there is unbelievable.

Quote to live by? If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. I live by this because I know that if I’m not willing to change something then my results will stay the same. ■

Local lad

Peter Gutwein Interview Stephanie Williams

Southerners can’t have all the fun. To celebrate our mag now available up north, the Local Lad is Launnie’s Peter Gutwein, Tassie’s new Premier.

What do you love about where you live? Our family is incredibly fortunate to live in the Tamar Valley where we have a beautiful little farm, a great view of the river, three dogs, two cats and two very well behaved miniature goats called Allan and Teddy.

What’s the best thing about Tassie? For me it’s very simply the place and people.

The diversity of landscapes from the East Coast to the West Coast and everything in between. Tasmanian residents are incredibly friendly and generous when others need a hand up.

And the worst? In the past, I don’t think we’ve set our sights and aspirations high enough. I think this is changing daily as we’re proving to the world that Tasmania has so much to offer.

I’m inspired by… My mum and dad (who sadly is no longer with us). They were immigrants who came to this country 50 years ago on the promise of a better life.

Through hard work my parents built a life for themselves and they worked night and day so that their children could have a better life.

Tell us a little about your work?

While my working life has 8

Park time for the Gutweins

always been busy, I think most would appreciate in recent times it has become much busier. I’m truly passionate about this State and it’s incumbent on me as Premier, along with my colleagues, to deliver for all Tasmanians by providing opportunities that will collectively improve their lives.

What’s your dream project to work on? It’s not one single project, however for me it would be to see the successful culmination of a range of projects that are currently underway.

Things such as continuing record investment in health, education and critical infrastructure projects including the Royal Hobart Hospital, the Midland Highway and the Launceston University Transformation Project. I’m excited by the role that Tasmania can play in the provision of clean, renewable energy not only for our own State but for the Nation. It will be a game changer.

What do you love doing outside work? Reading Lee Child novels (I know!) and running when I can.

Where’s your favourite eatery?

Given the amount of time I spend

away, there’s nothing better than a meal at home with my family.

Guilty pleasure? Chocolate, (any chocolate).

Favourite team? I love my footy and it’s no secret that I’ve been a long-time supporter of the West Coast Eagles, however I really enjoy getting to a local football game to watch either South Launceston or the Hillwood Football Clubs. I try not to miss the junior footy as my son plays with North Launceston.

If I didn’t live in Tassie I’d live... It’s very difficult to contemplate living anywhere else but Tasmania. I loved living in Ireland for several years but deepdown you always know where home is.

When there’s nothing to do, I...

When I have some spare time I like to go for a run and work on my fitness.

I’m reading… The Revised Estimates Report 2019-20.

Quote to live by? Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. ■

OPENING MARCH 2020

CROWNE PLAZA HOBART | AN IHG HOTEL A warm and contemporary haven in the heart of Hobart.

Relax in one of our 235 spacious guest rooms or suites with harbour and mountain views, savour local delicacies at core restaurant and bar, unwind on THE DECK or head up to AURA, Hobart’s first CBD rooftop restaurant and lounge bar, opening in May for a glass of sparkling as the sun sets over kunanyi.

A true Tasmanian experience.

OUR CHEF, JOHN INVITES YOU TO CONNECT WITH OUR LOCAL TASMANIAN PRODUCERS AS EACH DELICIOUS DISH TELLS THEIR UNIQUE STORY.

CROWNE PLAZA HOBART 110 LIVERPOOL STREET, HOBART, TAS, 7000 P: (03) 6213 4200 E: reservations.cphobart@ihg.com W: crowneplaza.com/hobart

HOBART HAPPENINGS Inclusive Swimming Tasmania

Do you know someone who might benefit from getting in the water? The Inclusive Swimming Tasmania pathway program of Swimming Tasmania and Special Olympics Australia, supports learn to swim teachers, clubs and centres in delivering swimming programs designed for people with a disability.

They identified a significant gap for people with disability to participate with qualified instructors who understand how to support them to their full capabilities. The Inclusive Swimming Tasmania Program runs for 6-8 weeks, each class is about $10 a week across Tasmania. There are three streams, starting with water confidence right through to getting ready for competition and the opportunity to participate in Special Olympics events. For more information, or to join the waiting list, please contact thomas.hancock@ swimming.org.au

Rosny Hill Top Hoods

With the approval by Clarence City Council of the hotel to sit atop Rosny Hill, does this mean all Hobart hill tops are now fair game? Will there be a resurrection of the hotel at The Springs on Mt Wellington, which can look out over a hotel at Mt Nelson or Tolman’s Hill? From all accounts this is one decision that’s set to be appealed, so watch this space.

10

No swimming really stinks…

On a recent trip to pretty Cornelian Bay, we got the message loud and clear not to head into the water. It’s crazy to think that a beautiful spot like that can’t be enjoyed, especially when you compare it to far busier waterways in the inner harbours of Sydney and Melbourne. We’re told sedimentation from stormwater pipes and historic contamination from industries upstream have polluted the Cornelian Bay area. As a result, the beach is not suitable for swimming.

On the Beach Watch website (derwentestuary.org.au) you can check if a beach is suitable for swimming before you chance it, monitored until the end of March. Blackmans Bay has had a continuous no swimming status and Beach Watch explain that the Kingborough Council has undertaken investigations and sampling there, “This has led to various cross connections and sewer leakage issues being rectified in the catchment area.”

Leaking sewers sound like they should be a priority too?

Cutting Grass

In what could be seen as great news for lazy gardeners

Look out, crap about.

everywhere, researchers from the British Ecological Society have found that mowing urban lawns less intensely increases biodiversity, saves money and reduces pests.

They pulled together North American and European studies from 2004 to 2019 to find compelling evidence that the more urban lawns are cut, including parks and roadsides, it has an increased negative effect on plant diversity and invertebrates. Even cutting back (pun intended!) a little can help increase pollinators, increase plant diversity and even help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the report found.

It also means saving on wear and tear on your mower and fuel costs. So next time you’re asked to cut the grass, take a breather. If you need hard evidence, check out Ecological and economic benefits of low-intensity urban lawn management, by C. Watson, et al, 2019.

“IT DELIVERS THE GOODS” NEW YORK TIMES

GROUP RATE AVAILABLE

HILARIOUS

&

SEXY!

How much FUN can you take?

Thu 12 – Sun 15 Mar Book now

theatreroyal.com.au (03) 6146 3300

HOBART HAPPENINGS THUMBS UP Great work by the Glenorchy City Council committing to upgrade the mountain bike park, with masterplan details released this month.

Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg saying out loud what many think about Trump, he’s “a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan.”

Check out www.pastagrannies. com where Vicky Bennison finds and films women who still make pasta by hand in Italy.

Well done to the UK for bringing forward the ban on petrol and diesel engines to 2035.

THUMBS DOWN Anti-protest laws, which could see people in Tassie jailed or fined up to $10,000, is the first step in a police state. We need to maintain our right to publicly question government and business.

The lack of clarity around the new Spirit of Tasmania delivery date. Let’s hurry up and build the boats!

Metro Tasmania for their shoddy public bus shelters in the Elizabeth Street interchange. One poor woman was significantly injured last month from a large roof lining sheet falling on her.

Winter is coming.

12

Dooloomai Bush Adventure Therapy Needs Support

Bush Adventure Therapy (BAT) combines adventure and the bush with different types of therapeutic practice. For nearly 30 years, Dooloomai has supported young people aged 12-18 who are at risk of disengagement from formal education, experiencing social problems, mental health concerns, or at risk of engagement with the justice system. They’ve also supported adults and young people with intellectual and/or physical difficulties, in out of home care, living with diabetes, at risk of disengaging from private school, and Aboriginal Men’s health. BAT can help people to re-engage with both themselves and others, to overcome personal hurdles.

Unfortunately, funding for BAT programs has been cut in Tasmania. Dooloomai is currently fee for service.

Tasmanian social service and community services sectors need options to support young people in need - we’re told in 2019 alone Dooloomai discussed programs with 7 schools, 4 NGOs and received enquiries from 11 families all desperately wanting BAT for the young people they care for, but were unable to attain funding. Few in the community would disagree that getting young people out bush with experienced facilitators is an ideal early intervention. Dooloomai raise

funds via grant applications and philanthropic donations.

They’ve set up a Go Fund Me page (gofundme.com search ‘Dooloomai’) to with the aim of raising $54,000 to buy tents and a vehicle to keep the program going. Visit their page if you can help!

Smash, crash, boom, bang!

Our editor Steph has released her first children’s book, Benny Bintruck, a fun story about a messy, noisy garbage truck who is just trying to do his job. Steph teamed up with illustrator Marcus Cutler, who brought Benny and his mates, the Bin Rats, to life. Know a kid who loves garbage trucks? You can nab them a copy at Fullers or Dymocks Hobart, or jump online at bennybintruck.com.

Convict Bricks Go AWOL

Rumour has it that convict bricks from old sewers around Salamanca have ended up in at the South Hobart Tip. On good authority we were told that convict bricks that had been formed into water pipes were being removed in Salamanca.

When asked where the bricks had gone to, the response was they were sent to the tip! They reportedly had the convict arrow markings on them. Asked if the heritage officer from the council got involved and the answer was no, the excavator just ripped them out. A few members of the general public

Share your ups and downs at editor@thehobartmagzine.com.au

took some bricks as a souvenir we’re told but the rest went to the tip. What a loss of an opportunity to create something really special that serves as a reminder of our heritage past.

A-MAZE-ING

Did you know each year Hagley farmer Rowan Clark creates a new crop maze and you can check it out? This year it’s a massive image of a native Tasmanian bee flying from her hive, which has been carved into a 5 hectare maize crop.

Rowan initially came up with the idea when trying to find ways to entertain his children and it now attracts around 5,000

Bee amazed

visitors each March. “Come with a drink bottle and suitable walking shoes and prepare yourself for a challenge!

There’s a mini maze for smaller children and a larger maze for the older visitors,” Rowan

shared. Last year the crop maze was an image of cyclist Richie Porte. Tickets are from $10 for kids and the maze is open every weekend in March, including the long weekend. Visit rupertswoodfarm.com.au

Tasmanian Theatre Company presents

Mudlark Theatre's

by Stephanie Briarwood

13

A yarn With...David Plumpton Words Stephanie Williams

A

life well served, as ex-copper David Plumpton reflects on his past work and new direction.

You retired as ‘Inspector Plumpton’ after a career of over forty years. Did you always want to be a copper? I never thought about being a copper until a mate told me he’d joined Tasmania Police. Another mate joined the Army at the same time so I thought I’d go with the Police and it worked out.

You spent much of your career investigating the suspected murder of Lucille Butterworth, which has never been solved.

Why wasn’t it taken seriously in the early days? Sadly, going back to those years, missing persons weren’t treated as seriously as they should have been. No one took control and directed any true investigation for the first week and the family were told she would come back.

“Flighty young girl, she “If will turn up” – those words burnt into the mind of Lucille’s dad and brother and proved to be totally wrong. Things have obviously changed but too late for the Butterworth family.

Do you think anyone will ever serve time over it now or is it too late? Heart hopes so, but brain tells me no, it’s too late.

What was your career highlight? And lowlight?

There’s many highlights. I travelled Europe, South East Asia as a Negotiator, worked 14

Dave and Jo Palmer

in Melbourne and Sydney as a Detective, worked with great people on major crimes, but in my last week with the police I received a card from Miriam who ran the flower van in the Mall, Margo who cleaned Wellington Arcade and Steve who was the

I had any skill as Detective itwas to talk to people” Council street sweeper for the mall and CBD. They wished me the best and let me know Steve would like to buy me a coffee.

Three days before I finished, Steve met me outside Speed Feed (cafe) and bought me a coffee.

He told me about his family and thanked me for “making them safe”. Now, I had many people say good words about me but from Steve, who I saw most days as he cleaned the streets, this was

very special and stays with me as a highlight. Lowlights – one losing a police colleague and mate to suicide and two, not being able to return Lucille to her family.

You now sit on the Parole Board. How does it feel to be evaluating prisoners on the way out rather than taking their case histories on the way in?

Total change, but a good change, working with people whose focus is still community safety means I can still offer something. Hopefully I add something to the process based on my experiences.

Over the years I imagine you’ve seen some pretty awful things.

What did/do you do to cope with that? This was hard as I have seen many awful things but they have never affected me deeply. I always realised that the

Feature “badness” hadn’t happened to me so others were far worse off. I was there to make sure the “why” and “how” was answered and if I did that well those who were really affected could have a small piece of closure or understanding.

I’m told you’re a pretty fit guy - has health and fitness always been a part of your life?

Ha, no. Only in the last few years before I retired did I focus on my physical health. In fact, two of Tasmania’s most “colourful identities” recommended Joey Edwards as a trainer if I wanted to get fit before I retired. That was the beginning and both mentally and physically it has proven one of the best things I have done for myself.

What do you do now you’ve retired? Haha, whatever I like. I do some contract work for Justice interviewing certain people for their Working With Vulnerable People registration card, with the parole board, involvement with the police museum and I conduct “true crime” walking tours of Hobart. Then I try and spend time with family and friends – my wife is a police officer and recently was promoted and transferred to Ulverstone so I regularly spend time on the North West Coast.

You’ve been involved with youth groups too. Can you share a little about that?

When I was the Inspector in Charge of Hobart, Helen Devenish, an evangelist, came in and said she was intending to walk the streets of Hobart preaching the gospel and helping disadvantaged youth.

She wanted the police to know so we didn’t think she was strange or up to no good. I thought she would end up in the river, or totally losing her mind, but would you believe she

is still going, looking after kids.

Those kids are the dysfunctional, disadvantaged youth who most people are very nervous of. Now, I’m not religious – Helen is working on that – but she’s been amazing. With her small support crew she’s regularly helping those kids most down on their luck and doing so with her own funds.

She’s done more for those kids than any other established religion, so I’ve helped out when I can.

As a copper in a town like Hobart, you’d get to know those on the other side of the law quite well. How did you navigate that? If I had any skill as Detective it was to talk to people – some people say that’s all I do! But that meant I’d build relationships with people, the good, the bad and occasionally, the evil. I still see and meet many people from all sides of life. In fact, I’m still contacted for advice on all kinds of matters – family issues, financial issues and various mistakes made by some of those I had dealings with. But I have to say I always maintained a mantra of “it’s business, not personal” when dealing with “clients”. Those “clients” mostly accepted that.

You now run walking tours of Hobart? Garney Pearce, ex ABC journalist, and I

conduct true crime walking tours of Hobart. We take paying “victims” on a two-hour walking tour around parts of Hobart highlighting particular crimes and personalities from the 1930’s to the present. While it touches on the tragic and the wicked, it also has its moments of flippancy and humour. All based on true events – and maybe with a few stories thrown in for good measure. In particular grandiose stories of my Detective skills… You can book a tour at truecrimetours.com.au.

What does downtime look like for you? The gym, coffee and spending time with my wife, family, grandchildren. I am a lucky man – not in finances but in life. At school I was, at best, a 3.5 who kept admiring the 10’s. Then I married one.

So, life for me is very good and downtime a pleasure. ■

On the beat Showing off the brass Enduciasinci odit

15

Forestry

Is Tourism Ready For More Forestry Wars?

Words Dr. Olivia Hasler

T

asmanian forests are special. They’re home to centuries-old trees, including the tallest flowering trees on the planet, and support unique native species. Yet not everyone agrees on how these forests should be managed.

The Tasmanian “forest wars” were a period of conflicts between conservationists and loggers that may soon be reignited. With the current moratorium end date quickly approaching in April, the State Government will soon have to decide whether or not to open Tasmanian forests up for logging. The decision will require the support of both Houses of Parliament. While the Government previously stated logging wouldn’t be allowed in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area or the Three Capes Track, the majority (356,000 hectares) of the onceprotected forest has been marked as “Future Potential Production Forest” (FPPF). While the debate surrounding FPPF has mostly been reported as the usual Liberal vs Greens or Greenie vs Development issue, it’s the Tasmanian tourism sector that’s most threatened by logging plans. Tourism relies on an area’s natural assets, and the demand for quiet, safe, and natural spaces for recreation and ecotourism is steadily increasing.

Last year, over 1.3 million people – not including those that arrived via cruise ships – visited Tasmania.

Tourism contributes approximately $3.2 billion or 10.3 percent to Tasmania’s Gross State Product and provides about 42,000 jobs in Tasmania; about 17.2 percent of

16

Tasmanian employment. This is higher than the national average and the highest in Australia. Since the moratorium began, the tourism industry here has only increased and strengthened.

On their way...

In contrast, the direct value of output by the Tasmanian forest industry at the point of sale of primary processed products was just $712 million in 2015-16.

According to the Department of State Growth, this figure rises to about $1.2 billion when flow on effects generated in other industries as a result of spending by the forest industry are considered, but there were only 3,076 direct jobs (and 2,651 indirect jobs) in the forest industry in 2017-2018. The Tasmanian Government helped subsidise the industry, providing the Tasmanian Timber Promotion Board with funding of $1 million over four years from 2017-2018.

The moratorium brought a peaceful close to Tasmania’s painful forestry wars. If the Government votes to open up the forest for logging it will not only risk beginning a new era of protests, but it will be voting against tourism. Tasmanian tourism will suffer from the inevitable negative headlines that will arise from the logging of the protected forests.

As climate change disrupts predictable weather patterns and contributes to deadly bushfires, Tasmanian forests are a critical carbon sink. A single hectare can store up to 1,800 tonnes of carbon – as much as that generated by 10 million kilometres of driving by a small-sized car. The amount of carbon drawn down by Tasmania’s

forests was substantial enough to offset Tasmania’s emissions, allowing Tasmania to be the first jurisdiction in Australia to achieve zero net emissions in 2016. The forests also help create the climate necessary to produce Tasmania’s world-class food, drinks, and hiking trails, contributing to the robust tourism sector of the island state.

According to Forestry Watch, an independent organisation of scientists and concerned citizens conducting surveys to measure conservation value of proposed logging coupes, five giant trees with diameters of over 5m are under threat of logging. Such trees have little economic value and are generally sold as pulp wood, but are immensely valuable to the ecosystem and for their high carbon storage potential.

It makes little sense to log Tasmanian forests. The trees are a critical asset as carbon stores, and necessary to keep the billiondollar tourism industry thriving.

If properly managed, tourism can sustainably grow year after year.

Forestry can’t. Once forests are released for logging and jobs are created to log them, the demand for more forest to be released will inevitably increase in order to maintain these newly created jobs.

This is only the beginning. The Tasmanian Government has to decide between tourism or forestry; to keep the peace or to restart the forestry wars. ■ Dr. Olivia Hasler is a doctor of green criminology and freelance writer in Hobart.

What's On In Hobart Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Kunanyi/Mt Wellington by Luke Tscharke

Taste of the Huon by Chris Phelps

2

AErciatemped quam re omn

3

Officius simus.

Oratur aut eum

10

The TSO presents the Australian Chamber Orchestra in concert at Federation Concert Hall, as part of the Brahmsiana Festival.

4

AErciatemped quam re

11

The 2020 RHH Research Foundation International Women’s Day Breakfast is on this morning from 6:30am.

16

Head to KIN: Creative Space in Kingston for Blue Monday with your BYO fabric to dye in the communal indigo vat from 10am - 1pm.

6

12

13

19

20

26

27

Join in at Chess Club Thursdays at the Kingston Library at 4pm, all chess abilities welcome, just turn up!

Do you have a business idea to explore?

Business South’s Entrepreneurship Facilitator Service info session is today.

Hobart’s Brian Ritchie performs alongside his bandmates from Violent Femmes at The Odeon tonight.

25

Tasmanian Theatre Company presents the Hobart Season of Mudlark Theatre's Caravan Boat Treehouse, starting tonight until the 28th.

18

5

Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousnessshifting film told by scientists, at Village Eastlands..

Get up close and personals with Effie in, Love Me Tinder. Or head to Variety of Gins at the Botanic Gardens.

Register to join thousands of schools across Australia to ride, walk, scoot and skate to school for Ride2School Day.

Australia plays New Zealand in a Gillette ODI cricket match at Blundstone Arena.

Check out the Aussies in their ‘99 World Cup retro kit.

Ditch the dishes and eat out at the Hobart Twilight Market tonight at Brooke Street Pier.

March Calendar

Further Afield Saturday

1

Sunday

American post-punk rockers Everclear hit the stage at The Odeon tonight.

Meet and greet tickets on sale too.

7

The AFLW North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos return to North Hobart Oval for their Round 5 clash against Adelaide today.

14

Rock on at the Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show. Enjoy displays and sales of gemstones, minerals, crystals and fossils alongside kid's activities.

21

Enjoy an active introduction to Bojutsu (or Japanese staff fighting) at the Bujinkan Tasmania Dojo on Macquarie Street.

28

The Hobart Geek Market is on today with geeky merch from your favourite fandoms at Youth Arc.

8

For 27 years A Taste of the Huon has been sharing the bounty of the Huon Valley, over 20,000 are expected to attend.

15

Good Life Permaculture and Hobart Brewing Co host US Fermentation expert Sandor Katz for a free Q&A session tonight.

22

Celebrate 150 years of the Hobart Town Hall’s spectacular pipe organ with a special concert with organist Thomas Heywood.

4 March Comedian Ross Noble delivers his new show Humournoid in Devonport tonight and Burnie tomorrow night.

22 March Motor along to the Devonport Motor Show today, north end of Victoria Parade from 9am. $15 for over 16’s, students free.

6 March Pop the franks on, time for footy! The AFL preseason game between Hawthorn and Melbourne is on today in Launceston.

23 March The Bicycle Motocross (BMX) Australia National Championships starts today in Launceston, with competitors from 5 years old to over 50.

7 March Celebrate the glory days of 50’s and 60’s racing at the Longford Motorama all weekend, with vintage vehicles and festival vibes.

8 March Le Tour de Flinders is on.

Compete in the 80km or 26km ride or the Mountain Biking Downhill Family Adventure.

9 March Get a head full of steam in Sheffield today at SteamFest.

Train rides, pioneering displays, kids activities and food stalls.

20 March The Twilight Balfour Burn run is on tonight fundraising for St Giles. The Forth Valley Blues Festival is also on.

28 March The 2020 Doll, Bear, Miniature & Craft Fair is on today the Country Club from 9am-4pm, with lots of cuteness on show.

29 March Josef Chromy Wines hosts Jazz on the Lawn - Karavana Flamenca today. It’s free, with food and wine (of course!) available.

30 March Get your racquet on and get back into it! Open Court Sessions at Tennis World Launceston, every Monday night.

Got an event coming up in Tassie?

Email us at editor@thehobartmagazine.com.au

19

Justin

Interview Stephanie Williams

Kurzel

F

rom Hollywood to Hobart and back again, film director Justin Kurzel works with some of the biggest names in the business. His latest film True History of the Kelly Gang, was written here.

When you and your wife, Tasmanian actor Essie Davis (Miss Fisher’s Mysteries, The Babadook, Game of Thrones) met you were a theatre designer.

I met her on a show we were doing for Belvoir Theatre in Sydney.

It was an Arthur Miller play, A View From the Bridge. We were pretty young. I must’ve been 20.

What was the catalyst for changing to directing and how did you do that? I’d been working as a theatre designer and had a really great relationship with Benedict Andrews who was a big theatre director, back in the early 2000s. I was surrounded by actors so much that I really wanted to start directing them.

In theatre, you get to be in the rehearsal room for six, seven weeks so you get to understand actors a lot more. Then my brother wanted me to do some music clips for his band that had just started called The Mess Hall, a two piece band in the early 2000s. I gained confidence and started to do some interesting stuff with clips and then moved into directing.

Has storytelling always been a part of your life? Yeah, I think so. My mum’s an art teacher and my father was a meat inspector, he was a Polish immigrant. But I remember as a kid, our nights 20

were big, with lots of people around the table, me being under the table listening to all sorts of stories. I was fortunate in that my parents and grandparents took me to a lot of films. Films are really important to them. It was around that time too that ABC were doing Australian films on a Saturday night. So you’d get two or three films a night, like early Bruce Beresford and Peter Weir films and so forth at a really seminal age of nine or 10. That had a massive effect on me. I was definitely surrounded by an appreciation of storytelling.

Your first feature was Snowtown, for which you won the AACTA Award for best director. It’s so dark. Yeah!

How do you go to that place mentally to share the story the way that it needs to and then get on with your normal life?

It was pretty hardcore reading.

The research was pretty confronting. I had an in. I grew up in Gawler, really close to where the murders happened. To me it

wasn’t a film about serial killing, it was a film about a disaffected community and what happens when someone really dangerous comes into that community. And Snowtown was a cautionary tale to that. It’s very strange because it was an incredibly beautiful experience making it. A lot of the people in the film were non-actors.

They’d never acted before and I cast them off the streets or in pubs.

That’s amazing. Even though it was incredibly dark subject matter, I have quite fond memories of making it, apart from the few days there where it got a bit heavy. I just knew it was important. I was trying to do it in the right way.

That’s what got me through some of the more confronting elements of that story. It’s a very full-on film, but it needed to be.

Working with actors who had never acted before, how did you brief them on such a confronting topic? A lot of the people we cast knew a lot about the subject matter and what it was to be disaffected.

They could lean on a lot that was

COVER FEATURE

Toronto Film Festival

happening in their lives. In some sense it’s kind of easier. Whereas I think Dan, who played John Bunting the serial killer in it, he had a tougher time because that character was so foreign to him.

You recently released The True History of the Kelly Gang, based on Peter Carey’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel. How do you go into creating work that’s based on the story that people think they know so well?

The novel’s a provocation of mythology and legend, and how this 23-year-old bushranger became one of the most prominent historical Australian figures. I think Peter did that through writing from Ned Kelly’s point of view. The book and film is about having your history stolen. It’s saying be careful because you might end up on a beer mug, on a road sign, or as a 20 foot character on the side of the road. What really interested me was the idea of owning your own history and how that can be kind of sort of taken from you. It was a very liberated approach to a story that we all feel we know so much about. I don’t think I would’ve done it if it was just another straight Ned Kelly film. It was just so left field, and a really unique take on it. I’d been living in London with Essie for about

five years doing a couple of films, and just really homesick.

There was something about this book, and the voice of Ned that made me really excited about doing a film back here.

The cast is diverse and fascinating in itself. We’ve got George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Jack Charles, Tilly Lawless, and of course Essie.

How soon into a project like that does the casting start?

As soon as I read the book, there was something about Ellen Kelly that I saw in Ess. I’d really wanted to work with her and just hadn’t. And then Russell was really clear - I saw no-one else as Harry Power. So once Russell was keen it started to get a bit of momentum. George MacKay, we auditioned. He came in with a really beautiful audition that was very innocent yet you could see how he could evolve into the ironclad monster at the end.

Was it challenging to get Russell on board? I definitely went through a process here. I mean he doesn’t choose just anything.

And it wasn’t a quick email. He’s very considered in what he does and I definitely had to seduce him.

And how does that have an effect on things from a business point of view?

Having a name like that.

Or does it pile on the

pressure? It helps you get the money! Any actor with a profile allows your film to get finance much quicker. It’s always harder when you’re working with unknowns, or actors that are just on the rise. I mean George MacKay is a prime example.

When we worked with George, no-one outside the UK knew him very well. And now he’s starring in an award winning film (1917).

So it really does depend on timing, but Russell was a huge part of us being able to secure the finance.

And your latest project is Shantaram, which was very popular in the 2000s. How’s that project been for you? It’s good.

We just shot the first two episodes, so I was in Mumbai for the last three or four months. We were shooting in the slums of Mumbai, so that’s pretty incredible. It’s been amazing working in some very rural communities.

And how are alternative platforms like Netflix and Stan changing the industry?

Because that one was for Apple TV+, wasn’t it? It is. Well,

Pictures: STAN.

On set with Essie

COVER FEATURE massively. Studios are becoming less and less brave in the work that they choose. You definitely can feel in some of these streamers that they’re looking for those films that the studios used to make or that are really challenging and different pieces of work. It’s a very exciting time if you’re a filmmaker, writer or producer because these streaming companies are wanting really good content, and there’s a real appetite for it at the moment. It’s definitely changing the landscape. We had that with True History. Stan was incredibly supportive of the film and wanted to really get it out there.

And for a film like Ned, that has a particular bent to it, five, six years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to. In the old days, if your film went straight to streaming or video, it would be seen as a negative, but now it’s seen as something else.

How did you end up in Hobart? What was your first impression of Tassie? Wild and rugged and incredible and like, why the hell haven’t I been here before? When I first visited here 20 years ago real estate was really low, and everyone was leaving.

It’s been extraordinary seeing the transformation. Most recently, we came back to get our passports renewed, and we were looking at going back to London. Then the kids just suddenly started going to school here and started sailing and rock climbing, and had these incredible outdoor experiences, and surrounded by family. We suddenly went oh shit, this is a really amazing place to grow up. So we were here just to make True History, but we’ve really fallen in love with the place again. I’m trying to work out how we can have international careers and at the same time live in the best part of the world!

Directing Russell Crowe in True History

I’ve had writers come and spend three weeks writing here. We wrote True History of the Kelly Gang here.

It’s a very vibrant place and there’s something very special about it.

It still feels very connected to the mainland, to the rest of the world, even more so now. Our challenge is trying to have careers overseas and trying to give the girls a really solid sense of place and time here.

So maybe 10, 15 years ago that would be much more difficult. But definitely now it’s becoming a little

many cities. We understand just how unique and special Hobart is. And then when you start to see that they want to put high skyscrapers in the city and put bloody cable cars up the mountain, you think ‘how can we be so ignorant to how much that’s going to destroy what people love about this city’. I hope everyone fights to keep what’s so original and beautiful and unique about this city that makes people from the mainland and all over the world want to come and enjoy it.

Where do you like to head out for dinner, drinks and coffee?

We eat a lot at home.

I go to my local down in Bellerive, called the Three Little Ducks. Love Templo. And Boodle Beasley, we just go there and play board games.

Favourite Hobart secret?

Essie’s dad, artist George Davis, takes us to the Otago Bay ship wreck to fish. He has painted it many times and I love the shape of the wreck and how it reaches out of the water. Also Heart of Darkness is my favourite book so the fact it was author Joseph Conrad’s boat inspires my imagination.

And what are you working on next? We’re finishing off Shantaram and right now, I’m working with Richard Flanagan and Shaun Grant on a television series of his book, The Narrow Road. We’re developing that into a one-off series. ■

“The reason that people want to come here is because it’s not like the mainland.”

22

easier to kind of juggle.

What do you love and hate about Hobart? How the sea meets the mountain in Hobart is just unlike anything else. And you feel a community here, in all senses. The thing I hate is people in positions that can really change this city wanting to destroy what it’s naturally got going for it. The idea of putting a cable car up the mountain. The idea of building large multi-storey buildings in the middle of the city. It’s always astounded me how it’s taken for granted - the reason that people want to come here is because it’s not like the mainland. It doesn’t have highrises everywhere. It doesn’t have cable cars destroying the view of the mountains. It’s astonishing. Essie and I, we do travel a lot and see so

Our Residential Sales Team is growing “We’ve found our space.”

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Marc, Sam, Bec and Brad to join Jo and Marcus in Devine Property’s Residential Sales Team.

Jo Harris 0417 884 385 Sam Lester 0447 190 482

Brad Stephens 0437 106 151 Bec Owens 0439 623 194

119 Harrington Street, Hobart TAS 7000 p 03 6238 4800 e info@devineproperty.com.au devineproperty.com.au

Marc Lester 0438 369 798 Marcus Freebody 0409 973 632

Nutrition

Are you what you eat?

Words Benedict Freudenmann

Y

ou need nutrients to survive. They’re the building blocks of all matter within your body. However no other topic on earth seems to have as much controversy as nutrient intake (your diet). It’s complex, it’s messy and no one seems to have all the answers.

A nutrient deficiency is when the body is lacking in one or a group of nutrients. The major nutrient groups are macronutrients - carbohydrates, fats and protein; and micronutrients - our 13 vitamins, 16 different minerals and over 8000 pholyphenols. We immediately associate deficiencies with our diet and the food we eat, yet what we eat is only a small piece of the puzzle.

Choices, choices

selenium and vitamin C. Stress is one of the most potent causes of increased nutrient demand. When stressed, you burn through a range of amino acids (proteins), vitamins and minerals. Magnesium and water-soluble vitamins such as B vitamins can be quickly depleted.

You Are What You Metabolise Your body completes a complex series of chemical You Are What You Eat reactions which modify and adapt the nutrients What you put in your mouth will affect your to perform specific tasks. If you have a genetic nutritional status. If you eat a diet rich in vitamins, abnormality in your DNA, you might not be able to minerals and polyphenols, complete these tasks, “What you put in your mouth will leading to pseudo your body has the potential to function optimally. The deficiency where affect your nutritional status.” same applies in reverse. If your body can’t use you feed your body junk, your body only has the what it has. These genetic abnormalities are best potential to become junk. What distinguishes good investigated with a Nutrigenomic test. food from junk is that it’s REAL WHOLE food and not heavily processed!

You Are What You Excrete You eliminate waste via your digestive and urinary You Are What You Absorb systems, through skin and via lungs. When more The food you eat relies on your digestion to break is going out than coming in we see deficiencies. down and absorb nutrients into your body. Most For example, patients with kidney disease may nutrients are a series of small components chemically excrete more potassium, phosphate, calcium and bonded together. The bond holding them together bicarbonate. The most common cause is persistent must be broken to allow absorption into the body. long-term diarrhea, which leads to a massive loss For this we need a properly functioning digestive of nutrients. system - chewing, stomach acid, bile acid production, enzyme function, motility and even the bacteria Deficiencies can be at the root cause of any living in our gut. It’s possible to experience nutrient disease or condition because they’re required deficiencies even if you’re eating the right food. for all biological functions. Even psychological diseases such as depression and anxiety can be You Are What You Demand caused or worsened by nutrient deficiencies. Due Your demand for nutrients changes for many to the complexity of nutrient deficiency, seeking reasons, such as age and exercise. Elderly people the help of a health professional in the field is have higher requirements to maintain vitamin D always advisable. ■ levels and athletes need more electrolytes to combat dehydration. A bacterial or viral infection will Benedict is a clinical nutritionist who practices at www.learntonourish.com in Hobart. increase your demand on nutrients such as zinc, 24

nde

%I 100

nt

de pen

Advertisement

“My job is to represent and help the people of Clark which includes Hobart, Glenorchy and Taroona.

Feel free to get in touch to speak with me or one of my staff.�

Andrew Wilkie MP Independent Member for Clark www.andrewwilkie.org andrew.wilkie.mp@aph.gov.au Telephone 03 6234 5255 Authorised by Andrew Wilkie MP 188 Collins Street Hobart 7000

A day and boarding school for girls K-12, founded in 1892.

218 Macquarie Street Hobart + 61 3 6211 4911

Enrol today www.collegiate.tas.edu.au

DINING OUT

Changing The Guard at Franklin Words Stephanie Williams

T

here’s no doubt that chef Analiese Gregory has commanded the attention of the food world over the past few years, taking Franklin restaurant to the next level and becoming a poster girl of sorts for where food in Tassie is at right now.

Fine Tassie produce

I enjoyed dinner at Franklin a while back, and since learning of her leaving the head chef role for greener pastures (literally, buying a country property and sharing the spoils on Instagram), I thought it was time to check out the new team.

Chef Peter Cooksley has slotted into the head chef role, and we’re told he was most recently in charge of snacks at Lucinda and head chef at Embla in Melbourne before that. The night we pop in, I also spied Ali Currey - Vourmand in the kitchen, who was previously head chef at The Agrarian Kitchen.

Having eaten at Lucinda, Embla and The Agrarian Kitchen, I knew we were in for a good night.

It seems that wood-chopping and fire-tending has been added to the list of required skills for chef’s these days.

The Franklin menu (and kitchen) revolves around a 10-tonne wood-fired Scotch oven, ranging from ingredients that have been licked by the fire through to fully charred goodness. The dining room has an industrial feel, helped along by the fact it’s housed in an old mechanic’s workshop. We book a seat at the kitchen bar, which is always the coveted spot to me, being able to watch the chefs at work and see how the team dynamic operates as service heats up.

We’re given the option of choosing from the a la carte menu or handing ourselves over to the ‘feed me’ option ($90/head). Keen to try as much as we can, the feed me menu gets a run with us. The menu starts with Blackman Bay pacific oysters with mignonette, teeny (in a good way) herb and cheese fritters and finely chopped calamari with a punchy lemon dressing. Lamb tartare with paprika and potato chips is prepared in front of us by a young chef, under the watchful eye of Peter - it’s wonderful to see the skills being shared on the job.

26

At this point we watch as chef plates up a huge, splayed out and deep fried zucchini flower and then delight as it’s put down in front of us. Let’s face it, good batter is just a joy, and this batter is textbook so crunchy and golden brown. Next up our waitress shares a plate of warm sourdough with us and warns, ‘don’t eat all the bread, wait for the next course’. But of course, we do, so when a beautiful bowl of ricotta with oregano and jus vinaigrette comes out, we order more bread. We enjoy a whole flounder roasted in the fire and served with just blanched beetroot thinnings (the tops!) and a bowl of dressed leaves.

And then to dessert. The first of two desserts is an ice cream sandwich - two light pieces of flaky puff pastry bookending strawberry ice cream. It’s so simple and satisfying. The final dish of the menu is roasted blueberries with milk granita, which leaves us feeling fresh and light rather than bogged down by a massive degustation swirling in our stomachs.

Having eaten the menu of the old guard, and now the new, Franklin, it seems, is in good hands to be Tassie’s most highly awarded restaurant for some time to come. ■ Dining Out meals are always self-funded.

Franklin Restaurant 30 Argyle Street, Hobart. franklinhobart.com.au

Hastings Caves

and Thermal Springs

Take a guided tour through the magical underground world of Hastings Caves.

Relax in the 28 degree mineral-rich water of the thermal pool, explore the easy walking trails, enjoy our café food or bring your own picnic.

For more information call 6298 3209 or visit www.parks.tas.gov.au

ST MARY’S COLLEGE

OPEN DAY

Thursday 2 April 2020 9.30am - 12.30pm

Tours departing reception regularly St Mary’s College invites prospective families to take a tour, speak with our students and staff, and see what we do during a regular day.

See us as we are.

164 Harrington Street, Hobart, Tasmania 7000 (03) 6108 2560 | enrol@smc.tas.edu.au www.smc.tas.edu.au

Psychology

Walk away from the crap that doesn’t serve you.

Words Annia Baron

T

hink of the most compassionate person you know. Bring to your mind their kindness, generosity, and caring nature. Picture their gentle, smiling face, willing to offer a helping hand at the drop of a hat.

compassion – for ourselves and others. It creates resentment that we hold onto for hours, days or even years! You exercise your Academic researcher and New body for physical strength and York Times best-seller Brené wellbeing, but without a strong Brown found that it’s not being no muscle, your good intentions selfless or benevolent that to create the life you say you makes the most compassionate want are likely to crumble. If you of people. It’s acting with can’t walk away because you Now, watch them pick up the courage to say no to things fear disappointing someone, how hat, tip it towards you with a and experiences that don’t likely are you to walk away from wink, and turn to keep walking align with personal values. The all the other stuff that doesn’t their path. They don’t need most compassionate people serve your best self – the sugar to explain. They trust in their were found to be those with hits, the fourth glass of wine when decisions and live their truth “boundaries of steel” (see you’re already pushing it, the with pride Netflix binge, the “This incessant need to people-please is overspending or and humility.

For them, the procrastination. robbing us of opportunities to live with being kind and compassion – for ourselves and others.” compassionate Strengthen your isn’t about no muscle. the need to please in fear of Vulnerability & Power with Train yourself to be the most disappointing people, it’s about Brené Brown and Russell compassionate person who has the courage to set and maintain Brand*). If that doesn’t sit boundaries of steel. Get familiar healthy boundaries – what to say comfortably with you, you’re with all that truly matters to “yes” to and what to say “no” not alone. We were raised with you and keep track of situations “Always be nice to others” and you found yourself caving in to “Don’t be rude, act politely” avoid disappointing others. which implied, “Strive to be agreeable”, as that was Act with kindness, keep particularly rewarded. helping people and embrace benevolence but for goodness Today, more than ever, we want sake, stop dishonouring your people to like us and know that needs. People-pleasing is what we’re easy to get along with. your younger self learned to do We seek approval and strive to but saying no to all that doesn’t be agreeable. Naturally, “yes” serve your growth is what your has become the default. We say future self is already applauding yes to everything and everyone, you for. even though deep down, we know it may be going against Annia Baron is a Clinical Psychologist and Mindset Coach our inner truth.

Exercise your ‘no’ muscle 28

to. And where are they walking?

Away from all the crap that doesn’t serve them.

This incessant need to people-please is robbing us of opportunities to live with

at ReMind Yourself in Hobart. remindyourself.com @anniabaron

*youtube.com/watch?v=SM1ckkGwqZI

CELEBRATING 5 YEARS AT ALBERT ROAD

TUESDAY TO FRIDAY 10AM - 5PM SATURDAY 11AM - 3PM

23-27 ALBERT ROAD MOONAH MOONAHARTSCENTRE.ORG.AU

Mkoach.com

TA5618044

Grining St, Off The Esplanade, Strahan TAS 7468 Phone: 1300 134 425 Email: enquiries@gatewaytothegordon.com.au

Travel off the island

Choose Your Own Adventure in Gippsland Words Gwen Luscombe Pictures Visit Victoria

90 Mile Beach

D

espite the recent fires, Victoria’s Gippsland region, just a threehour coastal drive from Melbourne, is welcoming visitors - especially if you’re after swathes of space, beautiful nature, and plenty of things to do, as active or as relaxed as you choose.

Home to one of the longest uninterrupted beaches in the world, 90 Mile Beach (it’s technically 94 miles or 151 kms) is a strip of pristine beach with no apartment blocks or rocky

headlands overshadowing it, just a clear stretch running from Port Albert to Lakes Entrance. It could be considered the area’s best asset, but it’d be short-sighted to think so when the region has so much to offer from hiking in the surrounding National Parks, to fishing and water activities, enjoying the arts and culture of the surrounding towns and digging in to some seriously tasty local fare.

Charming villages abound. Port Albert is a favourite stop for history buffs with its maritime

museum and quaint old houses, alongside recreational fishing. Art lovers and shoppers should make a bee-line for the tree lined streets of Maffra for cafes, boutique shops and galleries. Bairnsdale offers easy access to Raymond Island, a tiny island accessible only by boat, home to Victoria’s largest koala population. Jump on the ferry which leaves every hour from the Paynesville terminal on The Esplanade. The ten-minute trip is $13 return for cars but free if you’re on foot or bike, which is a good option when wandering and spotting the koalas sleeping in the treetops.

Lakes Entrance is a familyfriendly coastal town with beautiful beaches, waterfront cafes and plenty of spots for fishing and water sports. Lakes Entrance sits at the edge of Ninety Mile Beach where Gippsland Lakes and the ocean meet, providing the perfect spot to soak up sunshine.

Lakes Entrance 30

Active travellers can hit the Central Gippsland Rail Trail to

cycle or walk, and bushwalkers explore the cool-temperate rainforest of Tarra Bulga National Park, with its towering mountain ash, waterfalls and Corrigan’s Suspension Bridge above a gully of tree ferns.

Feeling ambitious? The Grand Strzelecki Walking Track (100km) connects magical Morwell and Tarra Bulga National Parks. While it has challenging parts, there are also easy walks within it for all fitness abilities. You’ll walk among dense rainforest and tall eucalypt forests, which is home to local wildlife including the South Gippsland koala.

You’ll find more than 50 wineries dotted around the area - start with breakfast at Vines on Avon in Maffra, soak up live music and sample 95-point

wines at Blue Gables before venturing to nearby Glenmaggie Wines and finish up with dinner at Toms Cap. But where to lay your head?

You’ll find plenty of camping and holiday park cabin options such as Paradise Valley Camping Ground in Glenmaggie. It’s petfriendly and with the Macalister River flowing through it, there’s plenty of opportunity to swim, take out a canoe or grab a fishing rod. Traditional hotels like the Quest Sale or RACV Inverloch are nearby and an abundance of quaint boutique hotels like the Bairnsdale Bed and Breakfast.

After something a little different?

Check in to a winery stay at Toms Cap Winery not far from Tarra Bulga National Park? No matter what your style or budget, you’re certain to find it here. ■

Port Albert Wharf Tarra Bulga Swinging Bridge

Raymond Island residents

Our services are developed from a property investor’s perspective, and our mission is to provide a level of service which is second to none.

Ruth Malcolm 0455 330 665 info@wolfproperty.com.au www.wolfproperty.com.au

HOBART HISTORY Melted bottles at Cascade

Day of impact. 1967 Words Peter Carey Pictures National Archives of Australia

D

evastating bushfires on mainland Australia strikes vivid memories to those of us who lived through the 1967 bushfires in Southern Tasmania when 62 lives and 1293 homes were lost.

So it was on February 7 1967, as a grade 3 student at Glenorchy Primary School, I witnessed a large wall of fire on the other side of Continental Road threatening the school and it wasn’t long before Principal Leo Fahey sent all the students home; surprisingly with no guarantee of a responsible adult to collect them as would be the protocol now.

Having arrived home and listening to emergency advice on the Astor transistor radio, it was abundantly obvious that this was no isolated incident.

My sister Lyn was a prefect at Cosgrove High School and was initially perplexed about the emerging panic. Lab technician Eddie Sauer was urging students to keep windows shut to minimise

smoke intrusion. Students believing that their own homes might be in danger, were desperately seeking permission from Principal Jack Pullen to leave.

My brother Bob, a driver in the 47th Transport Company of the army reserve, at just 19, was called away from his job in the Motor Registry and was soon off in his Mark 3 truck to join the emergency effort. He was not seen or heard from for several days.

My father George probably had the best reason to think he had a quintessential guardian angel watching over him that day. As a transport inspector, he had been working in the Channel district near Snug, one of the most heavily affected towns. He recalled how a burning tree falling behind his car solved his dilemma to either keep driving or turn back. He recalled how the smoke was so thick, blocking forward visibility, that he had to open the car door and use the white dividing line as his only, rather rudimentary, navigation aid.

He made it back but as a sworn special police constable (as Transport Inspectors were those days), it wasn’t long before he and his peers were commandeered by the Police Commissioner to assist.

His assignment was at Lower Sandy Bay preventing traffic

West Hobart

travelling further south. Right up to his passing in 1982, he never forgot the experience of grown men, trying to get to their families, in such desperate emotional states; the likes of which he hadn’t seen since his time in the Pacific during WW2; or a simple bottle of soft drink placed on the road surface bubbling up and spilling over under the immense surface heat.

Although the aftermath was typified by so many shared confronting anecdotes of the horror, we have learned a lot from that experience. We have gone from a more reactively managed firefighting infrastructure consisting of many small brigades with sometimes incompatible equipment, to a very professional proactive fire management service, with heightened scientific understanding of fire risk which now enhances the formulation of appropriately thought out contingency plans. It is a credit to many career and volunteer firefighters, and indeed all members of our emergency services, who so often put their lives on the line in times of crisis. ■

32

South Hobart

Benny Bintruck is a messy, noisy garbage truck just trying to do his job.

Newborns, Families M a te r ni t y, We d di n gs

A fun new children's book by Hobart author, Stephanie Williams. Available at selected book stores locally and online (includes shipping). www.bennybintruck.com I

@bennybintruck

25 years of

OPEN DAY Tours Wed 4th March 9am - 12pm | 3pm - 6pm Hobart & Glenorchy Campus

Open Week 30th March - 3rd April We offer over 100 subject choices, including access to award winning VET courses

For more information contact 6238 4333 or enrolments@gyc.tas.edu.au

JUST 35 MINS SOUTH OF HOBART IN THE BEAUTIFUL HUON VALLEY COUNTRY STYLE MENU OPEN 7 DAYS 9:30 – 5 Closed some public holidays

WWW.FRANKSCIDER.COM.AU 3328 HUON HWY FRANKLIN LARGE GROUPS WELCOME PH FOR BOOKINGS

6266 3828

madame saisons

Putting on the Fritts Words Sarah Ugazio

M

arch is a magical month when it comes to food. While technically Autumn, it really should be a special season unto itself and more aptly named “Late Summer”.

Colourful crops have been soaking up the sun through summer and now bulge with ripeness. Apricots, peaches, berries and tomatoes hang heavy with sweetness; flavoursome herbs are flourishing; and juicy melons lie in wait to reveal their vibrant inner flesh. It’s nature’s encore summer act – a final performance of bright colours and bursting flavours before many leaves fold away from sun to soil.

The plant kingdom is not alone in making the most of the last stretch of warmth before the inevitable seasonal hiatus shifts our gears from heat to hibernation.

Weekends beckon us to brunch and enjoy the outdoors, still pleasant for a picnic. While weekdays are ramping up, with kids back at school and the work year in full swing. This is no time to be toiling by the stove – we want it fresh (while we can) and we want it fast. However looking for fast creative ways to make the most seasonal fare can prove challenging at the best of times.

Salads and sides can be enhanced with the textural delight of crunchy cucumbers, asparagus, snow and sugar peas; while cooling mint or peppery nasturtium leaves can add pops of fresh flavour. But a truly fabulous way to exploit late summer fare is the humble fritter. Broadly defined as any fried batter concoction, heavily battered and deep-fried versions may get you a pant size up or intro to a cardiologist, but simple pan-fried options are a great healthy way to up your veg.

Flavour combinations are endless, with corn and/or zucchini being popular options on many café menus. However one shouldn’t be afraid to prepare these tasty patties at home and experiment with different ingredients. Grated or crumbled cheese will notch up both texture and flavour, while playing around with spices and herbs will help you nail your own perfect recipe.

Fritters can be enjoyed at brunch, lunch or as a quick mid week dinner. Even more amazing is they’re a great way to use up leftover vegetables AND are totally freezable up to 3 months once fried – simply reheat from frozen on a baking tray in a 100°C oven. ■

Herbed Zucchini Fritters with Feta Serves 4 (3 fritters each) INGREDIENTS 500g Zucchini (about two medium) trimmed 1 tsp Salt 1 large Egg, beaten 3 Spring onions, finely sliced 2 tbs Dill, chopped finely 1 tbs Mint, chopped finely 75g Goats feta, crumbled 1 clove Garlic, minced 60g Plain Flour ½ tsp Baking Powder ¼ tsp Cumin To Taste Tasmanian Sea Salt, cracked black pepper To Fry Olive oil or butter METHOD Preheat oven to 180°C. Grate the zucchini into a colander set over a bowl. Toss the salt gently through the zucchini and set aside for 15 mins, stirring occasionally (salting helps the zucchini to release its water).

Sift the flour with the baking powder and cumin. Firmly squeeze the remaining excess water out of the zucchini using your hands (try to get mix as dry as possible). Add egg, spring onions, herbs, feta, garlic, salt and pepper to the zucchini and stir through. Incorporate flour mix well into batter. Heat oil or butter in a heavy based pan and spoon a heaped tablespoons of the zucchini mix in to pan. Fry on each side until golden brown (approx 3 minutes each side).

Keep fritters resting on a wire rack in the oven until ready to serve. Serve with lemon wedges or tzatziki.

Follow Sarah at @madamesaisons 34

PHOTOS South sunsets at Mortimer Bay @my.sight.pictures

Russell Falls @yongi_olney

Dinner at Lythgo's Row @happyheasman

Franklin Square @droppetal Snowy summer day at Mt. Field @snapshottours

Denison Beach @digitalhippie67

GET FEATURED Tag #thehobartmag or @thehobartmagazine to be featured, or send your pics to editor@thehobartmagazine.com.au 35

Make your dream of owning an original artwork a reality

Sylvie McClay

Alice Howell

Gary Myers

Nigel Lazenby

Margaret Coombes

Hannah Blackmore

James McKay

Steve Howie

Please contact Carlene de Très with any enquiries. Phone: 0427 872 362

www.huonart.com.au huonart

Huon Art Gallery is at 41 Mary Street Cygnet Open 10:30 am until 3:30 pm Thursdays through to Mondays.