Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #22.4 August/September 2019 i Australian Country

Ryan McDonald may have grown up in Brisbane, but his earliest childhood dreams involved living in the country. He had an uncle who worked on properties around the bush and as soon as he was old enough to be taken seriously, his school holiday of choice involved helping out with cattle work. Even when he went on to complete a building apprenticeship, his eyes remained firmly on the prize of one day owning his own farm. His wife, Rebecca, grew up in Texas, a small country town in south-east Queensland, and although she attended boarding school in Toowoomba and went on to study education at university in Brisbane, she always hankered for a return to her roots. So when Rebecca and Ryan teamed up while she was still at uni,…

The old adage that the bush gives you too much time to think rings true for fourth-generation grazier and esteemed pastoral-history novelist Nicole Alexander. Whenever she’s out at Murki, her family property, she finds herself mentally developing story concepts and shaping the spellbinding sagas that have become her signature since her first book, The Bark Cutters, was released in 2010. “I have always used cinematic visualisation when writing,” she says. “I believe a strong sense of place is needed to cement a reader in the author’s world. I have no doubt the attention to detail born of the managerial aspect of my rural life helps me write authentically both about the bush that I love and the emotional attachment that many of us feel towards our extraordinary landscape.” Nicole and…

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Bronte McShane may not have been born in the saddle, but she was still in nappies when her mother first introduced her to the delights of riding horseback. The 16-year-old year 11 student from Hobart’s Fahan School has grown up to become a passionate one-day eventer and travels all over Tasmania representing her school and Monmouth Pony Club in competitions. “I started riding when I was 18 months old,” she says. “My mother has always loved riding and so she encouraged me and my two brothers to take it up. They both stopped when they were about eight, but I have just grown keener with every year. I started pony club when I was six.” Bronte lives on her family’s sheep and crops farm near Oatlands, midway between Hobart and…

As Heather Cohen tells her story, she went to Tasmania to buy property and ended up with an 1885 cottage in her home town of Glen Innes in the NSW New England region. But then again, Heather has never been one to take the obvious route. “It was a lovely adventure,” she recalls. “I’d been talking about moving for years, but when I got there, I had an overwhelming sense that I’d feel locked on an island. I rang a real estate agent at home and told him I wanted to make an offer on a property I’d seen before I left. But who knows, I might never have realised that if I hadn’t made the trip.” Heather grew up in South Africa as one of three daughters to farmer…

J ELLIOT THROW Add a splash of luxe and a dash of contrast with the J Elliot soft, knitted, charcoal throw, $59.95. It features a ribbed profile with a plush reverse for a laid-back, versatile addition to the bedroom or living area. It’s perfect for winter mornings and cold nights, so hunker down and catch up on your favourite show wrapped up in this throw. As a bonus, it’s machine washable. catch.com.au FINE BALANCE EXCALIBUR QUILT COVER The Fine Balance range is designed to bring your space back to life this winter with finishes and textures that elevate and complement your existing homewares. The Excalibur quilt cover set, $39, with its mauve tones and elegant velvet finish, can change the entire feel of your space, at a fraction of the…

So the burning question is: how much paint does it take to create an oversized mural on a set of silos that’s 30 metres high and 40 metres wide? It varies, but Melbourne-based street artist Adnate went through 300 litres of house paint and 100 spray cans when he painted a mural on a silo at Sheep Hills in Victoria’s Wimmera Mallee region. The Sheep Hills project is part of Australia’s largest outdoor art gallery, called the Silo Art Trail, which stretches for 200 kilometres through western Victoria. It’s one of those inspired ideas, which started as a one-off project to beautify a tiny town and has grown into six huge works of art on a series of disused grain silos. The trail currently stretches from Patchewollock in the north…

Other entertainment included an equestrian event, the strongman competition run by Highland Muscle, natural stone putt, caber tossing, stone lifting and a not-so-traditional keg toss in which entrants threw five empty beer kegs over a 3.6-metre-high bar. Market stalls, a book sale and produce and food outlets also contributed to the festive spirit. Since the beginning of this year, Scots All Saints College has been experiencing a new era in education with the merger of two long-standing boarding schools in Bathurst, All Saints College and The Scots School. The College community aims to preserve the heritage and culture of both schools and enjoys welcoming new visitors to its campus. LET US KNOW ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING EVENT. EMAIL THE EDITOR, KIRSTY MCKENZIE, ON KMCKENZIE@UMCO.COM.AU…

CHRIS’S CREATIONS Stay warm this winter with one of Chris’s Creations’ handmade chenille ponchos. Varying in colour, texture and pattern, each poncho is original, due to all pieces being made from repurposed, reused or recycled materials chrisscreations.net SMITTEN MERINO The ivory cable-knit high-necked jumper, $269, is made from 100 per cent Merino wool. Like all Smitten Merino garments, it is natural, sustainable and environmentally friendly, and perfect for snuggling into on a chilly winter’s day. smittenmerino.com THE SOLEILO STORE Wrap yourself up with beautiful Merino wool knitwear by Visage NZ. Team the plum-coloured wrap with a textured sweater in gunmetal grey for a striking look that will take you from day to evening with effortless style. soleilo.com.au CLEMENTINE SLEEPWEAR Designed in Australia, Clementine Sleepwear offers a collection of pyjamas, nighties…

After 14 years living and working in the hustle and bustle of Asian cities, Taya and Steve Michalski returned to Australia determined for a change of pace. While they candidly admit they had no idea what that might have involved, the size of the shift became apparent when Steve came back from the school run one day and announced that son Oren’s school was in lockdown. It wasn’t that there’d been a bomb threat, a fire, or a rogue student running amok; in fact, it was a quintessentially Australian problem. Someone had spotted a red-bellied black snake in the school bagging area, so the students, all 69 of them from prep to year six, had to be relocated to an upstairs area until a snake catcher arrived to sort out…

If you think moving house is a tough gig, spare a thought for Clare Valley couple Kay and Walter Duncan, who moved not just contents, but an entire building and their commercial rose-growing business, when they relocated from Watervale to Sevenhill in 1999. Walter had grown up at Hughes Park, his family’s grand Clare property, which featured in Australian Country 22.3. For more than 20 years, he ran a commercial heritage rose garden on the farm. But Hughes Park and its large heritage stone homestead belonged to his family’s trust, so in the late 1990s, Kay and Walter decided to make way for the next generation and buy a place where they could establish a property of their own. “We found our new home relatively easily,” Kay recalls. “We were…

COOMBER BROS The Cattle & Horse Brand jewellery range by Coomber Bros captures the history of generations of rural Australia. The collection’s 13-piece range can be custom-made into any type of precious metal and incorporate diamonds or gemstones. coomberbros.com.au GLAM WRAP For that extra warmth and elegance right when you need it, the Glam Wrap Merino scarf is a wardrobe essential. It’s luxuriously soft, lightweight and can fold into its own protective travel pouch. glamwrap.com.au BELLE COULEUR Every woman needs at least one leather handbag as part of her daily outfit and what’s better than this stunning genuine cowhide leather shoulder bag. Available at Belle Couleur, it’s this season’s must-have statement piece. bellecouleur.com.au AKUBRA The Akubra Coolabah, $230, is a popular unisex-style hat with a tapered crown, dipped brim and…