Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue#21.2 March 2018 i Australian Country

In the hurly burly of getting each issue to press it’s easy to overlook the many hands that are involved in its production. We start with the fascinating people who let us disrupt their lives and homes with photo shoots and interviews. In this issue alone the AC team has travelled to the Arcadia Valley in central Queensland, Hamilton in Tasmania, the Coral Coast in WA, Bellingen on the mid-north coast of NSW, and Victoria’s Spa Country. We’ve also been to Mudgee for our travel story and once again, Bob and Wendy Lapointe generously allowed us to use their horse-training facility, Muskoka Farm, on the Hawkesbury River as a location for our fashion shoot. When we get all this material in, it then goes to our wonderful designer, Rachel Henderson,…

Andrea and Peter Ferrando never know who might knock on their front door. Their home has stood since 1883, built as a manse for the Central Congregational Church during the pioneering days of Ipswich. It has sheltered scores of people in its time, some who can’t help opening the rustic front gate to take a trip down memory lane. “We had a man who was in his 90s visit us, and he had lived in the home in the 1930s as a young boy,” says Andrea of one particularly memorable guest. “In fact, he and his family were the last to live in the building as a manse. His dad was a pastor and after his family left, the house was turned into flats.” The old man’s visit soon turned…

Apple galette Makes 1 x 22cm galette, or 7 x 9cm galettes This was one of the original items produced on the opening day of the bakery that had people immediately addicted. It has been off the menu for a while now, but when we offer it as a special, we make it in small and large rounds, to impress those special guests. 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry 200g crème pâtissière (recipe opposite) 2 Granny Smith apples 100g apricot jam (optional) To make one large galette, roll out the puff pastry to 5mm thick, then cut out a 22cm circle. For the smaller galettes, roll the pastry 3mm thick and use a 9cm plate to cut out 7 discs. Place the pastry on a baking tray lined with baking…

“The devil got into us,” is how Doug Neale describes the series of events that led to him and his partner, John Jones, deciding to uproot themselves from their home and garden in central Victoria to move to Hamilton, an hour’s drive north-west of Hobart. They’d developed three large gardens together in the past and shared a passion for colonial art and architecture. So, when a friend who had recently retired to Hobart told them that Prospect House, an 1820s and ’30s Georgian house, was on the market, they made the trek to have a look. The convict-built, locally quarried stone house came with a one-and-a-half acre garden, which was well established thanks to the passion of its previous owners, Helen and John Poynder, who had bought it in the…

MADE TO LAST VANESSA MURRAY, HARDIE GRANT TRAVEL, $59.99 In our disposable world, it’s refreshing to find this compendium of artisans, trades and projects that focuses on durable items made by hand by true craftspeople. Made to Last features 50 artisans from around the world and details their projects, tools and tricks of their trade. From leathersmiths and welders to woodworkers, globe makers and home distillers, this is a both a how-to manual as well as a tribute to what in many cases could be dying arts. CORNERSMITH SALADS & PICKLES ALEX ELLIOTT-HOWERY AND SABINE SPINDLER, MURDOCH BOOKS, $39.99 As co-founder of the Sydney cafe and picklery brand with a sustainable focus, Alex Elliott-Howery refers to herself as Mrs Cornersmith. Her partner in crime in this book is Cornersmith head…

Akubra ph: (02) 6562 6177, e: salesenquiries@akubra.com.au, w: akubra.com.au Antique Baths 162 Bungaree Rd, Pendle Hill NSW 2145. ph (02) 9896 0109, e: info@antiquebaths.com.au, w: antiquebaths.com.au Artesano de Espana ph: 0431 318 203, e: enquiries@artesano.com.au, w: artesano.com.au Birdsnest ph: 1300 696 378, w: birdsnest.com.au Canterbury Sink and Tap Co Unit 1, 34 Research Dr, Croydon South Vic 3136, ph: (03) 9761 4603, w: sinkandtap.com.au Chatterton Lacework 43 Beverage Dr, Tullarmarine Vic 3043, ph: (03) 93304466, e: info@chatterton.com.au, w: chatterton.com.au Cheminee ph: (02) 9564 2694, e: sales@cheminee.com.au, w: cheminee.com.au Colonial Castings 95-97 Market St, Smithfield NSW. ph: (02) 9604 8222, e: info@colonialcastings.com.au, w: colonialcastings.com.au Coomber Bros Jewellery 78 McDowell St, Roma Qld 4455. ph: (07) 4622 1145, e: sales@coomber bros.com.au, w: coomberbros.com.au Emu Wire Industries 21 w:Stanley Dr, Somerton Vic 3062.…

KEN BRASS PHOTOGRAPHER Ken has spent his entire career on the road in Australia and overseas as a journalist and photographer. He has been busy again this issue with shoots in Queensland, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania. He brings his inimitable enthusiasm and sense of humour to our autumn fashion shoot and beauty pages. MIRIAM VAN COOTEN HAIR & MAKE-UP ARTIST Miriam started in the make-up and hair industry 20 years ago in film and television and has worked on fashion pages for magazines across Europe and Australia. She has won many awards for bridal work and does many weddings the Sydney region. She teaches at one of Sydney’s elite make-up schools and tutors personal  makeup and hairstyling at her studio on Sydney’s northern beaches. Australian Country cover photography by ANASTASIA…

“I extended the farmhouse by adding a barn at the front. It was a brutal build and it took the best part of a year.” There’s a daybed at Susan Weil’s farmhouse that has travelled with her most of her adult life. She spotted the remodelled Indian bullock cart in a shop in Bellingen on the NSW mid-north coast as a 21-year-old on a road trip with friends. Then she paid what at time was an extravagant amount to buy it and ship it back to her home in Sydney. Whenever she’s moved, the daybed has been the piece of furniture that’s been first on the truck. Now, more than 25 years later, it’s come home to roost on the verandah of her farmhouse in the Bellingen hinterland. Susan was…

NEW YEAR’S TOGA TWIST The ancient Greeks and Romans knew how to have a good time and a group of revellers from Blackall in central-western Queensland took a leaf out of their book with a toga party to welcome in 2018. Organised by the Barcoo Pastoral Society, the night saw plenty of tablecloths and sheets put to good use, all created with thanks to Pinterest and Wikipedia “how to” tip sheets. The styling highlighted the work-shirt tan of plenty of the men who got into costume, much to the delight of the female attendees who used the chance to dress up to good effect. Around 80 partygoers from as far as Brisbane, Toowoomba, Longreach and Barcaldine joined Blackall locals in sipping Champagne and feasting in fine style, thanks to Marmaladies…

WINNING STREAK I wanted to let you know that Australian Country’s 2017 scholarship winner, Katrina Nash, has been awarded the 2018 JB Fairfax Award for Rural and Regional Journalism. As the winner of this prestigious award, Katrina will receive $10,000 cash plus internships at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, The Land newspaper and with the ABC’s Landline in Brisbane. In addition to this, Katrina will have a piece published in the RAS Times and will speak at the Rural Scholars & Showgirls presentation in the amphitheatre during the Royal Easter Show. Cecilia Logan, Royal Agricultural Society Foundation, Homebush NSW HAPPY COINCIDENCE Just two months ago I was standing in the street admiring the Rolleston house you featured in the September/October issue and now I get to see it on the…

Their land backs onto a 16-acre (6.5-hectare) rural conservation zone that leads into a golf course, so there is no chance that they will ever be built out. They say you have to travel to better appreciate what you have at home. For Victorian couple Max and Tania Irsic the adage proved true after an extended period travelling around Australia. “We’d lived in some amazing places including the Daintree and Airlie Beach,” Tania recalls. “But eventually we missed our family in Melbourne too much, so it just made sense to move closer to them.” As life-long nature lovers, they weren’t prepared to dive back into the full-on hurly burly of the city, so they settled on a property at Hepburn Springs in the heart of Victoria’s spa country. ”We used…

IN THE SAC This beautiful 100 per cent linen embroidered sheet set combines two different weights and textures of linen with a 4cm embroidered flange. The top sheet is a refined textured linen and is light as a feather. inthesac.com.au VANITONE Offering furniture that is moisture- and humidity-resistant with a durable two-pack lacquer finish, Vanitone manufactures vanity units that are crafted in Australia along with Scandinavian stone baths. vanitone.com.au RUSTICA HARDWARE Barn doors are one of the hottest decorating trends to come from USA. American-made Rustica Hardware is now available in Australia. The tracks are made to length and customised for your project. rusticahardware.com.au, ph 07 3245 6190 TEQUILA CORRALEJO Each Three Amigos tequila has a unique flavour and identity due to different ageing processes. However, they all are created…