Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #22.5 October/November 2019 i Australian Country

Standing around their kitchen bench, Angus and Brooke Stockman playfully bicker about the number of pets the family has and whether their four children may renovate the family homestead in the future. They bounce off each other with laughter and finish each other’s sentences as only long-term couples do. Angus was born in Burra Hospital and his parents brought him home to the family farm — “and I’m still in the main homestead now,” he says. “So I’ve been here forever.” “Angus’s dad grew up in Burra,” Brooke continues. “He didn’t grow up in Burra, he grew up on a farm,” Angus takes over. Brooke starts again: “When Angus’s mum and dad got married ... sorry, Angus is shaking his head, so I’ll let him tell the story.” “It was…

EMU WIRE WOVEN-WIRE FENCES Emu Wire specialises in heritage woven-wire fencing made from the best-quality products available. Using 4mm One Steel Life Max wire, which is superior to traditional galvanised coating, these fences can transform the look of your home or garden. Emu Wire is available in three heights: 950mm, 1100mm and 1250mm. emuwire.com.au FORMBOSS BY GREENLINES STEEL GARDEN EDGING This versatile garden edging is suitable for footpaths, driveways, retaining walls, fire rings, planter beds, water tank bases, formwork and grass barriers. It’s available in three finishes, eight heights and three thicknesses. formboss.com.au ESCEA EF5000 OUTDOOR GAS FIREPLACE Bring the comfort of the indoors outside. With its quick and convenient heat, Escea’s EF5000 outdoor gas fireplace is just as perfect for an intimate night in as it is for entertaining…

It’s little wonder Jo and Kyffi n Thompson’s friends jokingly refer to their Adelaide Hills home as ‘‘the resort’’. Visitors to Aramoola arrive to a landscape filled with Australian native plants and a coach-lamp-lined driveway guides them to a quaint, vine-clad English cottage. When Jo and Kyffi n started their family, they lived in Stirling, near Aldgate, in the Hills. “It was a beautiful place and we renovated it,” Jo says. “But it was on a sloping block, which was always frustrating.” They navigated their young family across the treacherous entrance steps through the baby and toddler years but after Jo had a bad fall, they decided to move somewhere that was more level. After a long search, the couple found Moola, in Aldgate. “It was the middle of winter,…

There are more students at Adele Prosser’s boarding school than the entire population of her hometown of Corrigin, 235 kilometres south-east of Perth in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. The 17-year-old year 12 student at St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls in Perth says she has come a long way from the shy country girl who arrived at the beginning of year eight. St Hilda’s has more than 1200 students divided between the senior school in Mosman Park and the junior school in Chidley. Adele’s early childhood was spent on the family farm in the sheep and cropping district, where her father runs the farm after hours and on weekends away from his accounting business. She’s the oldest of three children, with sister Lauren in year 10 at St Hilda’s and…

We again embrace the wonderful diversity of the Australian countryside with stories from all over. We visit the Quinn family on Ilfradale, their sheep station in the lower Flinders Ranges of South Australia, and debut author Meg Bignell at home on her family’s dairy farm in southern Tasmania. We head to the western side of the NSW Blue Mountains to meet Robert and Helen Swinton to learn about their tree change from high density urban life in Sydney and to Emerald in central-western Queensland where Leah Stirton has traded her city life for a very different, but nonetheless busy, life in a country town with her husband, Brolga, and their twin daughters. In Victoria, we caught up with Sharon George in her stunningly located off-grid weekender at Briagolong in the…

HANDMADE ANDUZE URNS With handmade detailing on every urn, each one is individual. Available in a variety of sizes (up to 80cm) and traditional and contemporary colours, these rustic urns will suit any space. leforge.com.au EARTH ANGEL ROSES Earth Angel roses are exceptionally fragrant, old world-shaped flowers opening from dark pink buds. The colour evolves to a delicate pink and the blooms give off an intense fragrance of lemon and apple, growing to around 70cm tall with healthy dark-green foliage. treloarroses.com.au TANGLES ROSES These roses are very attractive in pots or small gardens. They’re a disease-free, low-growing bush, with large clusters of lilac blooms that flower late into the season. treloarroses.com.au WORM FEAST WORM FARM The Worm Feast in-ground worm farm is the perfect solution for time-poor families who want…

Challenging conditions make you a better gardener, according to Sophie Thomson, gardening consultant, author, columnist and presenter on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia program. “After all, 90 per cent of Australia has harsh, arid conditions,” she says. “So if you want to have a garden, you have to learn to work with a bit of adversity.” Sophie’s own garden surrounds Hamlyn Cottage, the 1847 Heritage-listed stone house she shares with her husband, Richard Elson, and five teenaged children. The three-acre property is on the “dry side” of the Adelaide Hills, which she estimates receives two inches (50 millimetres) less rain than the city. Sophie’s patch also experiences extremes of heat and cold that are more exaggerated with each passing year. “As our climate changes, the frosts are becoming more extreme,” she…

Approximately 60 horses competed in the six-race program, with a record prize pool of $77,500 plus bonuses including a $25,000 winners pool for the signature event, the Alpha Cup. Three powerhouse women — Kristy Sparrow, Leah Stirton and Juliet McConochie — coordinated, styled and marketed the HHH Partners Fashions on the Field competition and more than 200 entrants vied for honours in nine categories. The winners shared prizes worth more than $15,000. An inaugural Chandon Society marquee provided an Insta-worthy setting for 144 stylish patrons, along with plenty of bubbles to keep spirits soaring. The organisers say they couldn’t have done it without their sponsors, who included Bowyer Earthmoving, the extended Dillon family and Barcaldine Regional Council. The Queensland government Year of Outback tourism events program also assisted with a…

Akubra ph: (02) 6562 6177 e: salesenquiries@akubra.com.au w: akubra.com.au Artprints Australia ph: (02) 9918 4468 w: printsdirect.com.au Belle Couleur Shop 67, 322 Coventry St, South Melbourne Market Vic 3205 ph: 0417 913 192 e: melissa@bellecouleur.com.au w: bellecouleur.com.au Birdsnest ph: 1300 696 378 w: birdsnest.com.au Bridestowe Lavender 296 Gillespies Rd, Nabowla Tas 7260 ph: (03) 6352 8182 e: info@bridestowelavender.com.au w: bridestowelavender.com.au Chelsea Park 589 Moss Vale Rd, Burradoo NSW 2576 ph: (02) 4861 7046 e: chelsea@netkey.com.au w: chelseaparkbnb.com Clementine Sleepwear ph: 1800 336 153 w: clementinesleepwear.com.au Colonial Castings 95-97 Market St, Smithfield NSW 2164 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@coomberbros.com.au w: coomberbros.com.au Cotswold InOut Furniture 29/69 O’Riordan St, Alexandria NSW 2015 ph: (02) 9906…

OCTOBER 27-29 (QLD) THE WARWICK RODEO The undisputed highlight of the APRA (Australian Professional Rodeo Association) calendar is the annual National Rodeo Finals and Warwick Gold Cup Campdraft, held in the Darling Downs regional centre of Warwick. As well as the chance to see horsemen and women at the top of their game in both rodeo and campdraft, there’s a packed program of live music, country cooking and a tradeshow alley for merchandise and wardrobe updates. warwickshowandrodeo.com.au NOW-END JAN 2020 (NSW) EDEN UNEARTHED Australia’s largest privately funded installation exhibition covers more than 40 works across 2.5 acres (one hectare) of the Sydney plant mecca that is Eden Gardens. The exhibition includes sculptural pieces, textile artworks and interactive sound installations, all capturing something exceptional and ephemeral about our environment and often…

Good seasons. Bad droughts. Farm accidents. Good succession planning. Bad inheritances. Community as solid as bush baking. Small towns riddled with gossip. In her time as a rural journalist, Maya Linnell has seen and reported on the impact of them all. And Maya has used this experience to great effect in Wildflower Ridge, her debut novel, which shines a light on a family of four country women struggling to come to terms with the decisions they have made in life. Maya lives with her husband, Jason, and children, Charlie, aged 11, Amelia, nine, and Elizabeth, seven, in the south-west Victorian seaside settlement of Narrawong at the end of the Great Ocean Road. In 2008, they moved to Portland for Jason’s work as an aircraft engineer, but since have owner-built a…

JAVA THREE-PIECE PACKAGE The Java three-piece al fresco setting is handwoven using water hyacinth on a rattan frame. It comes with two stylish, deep comfy Java seats and has a beautiful woven Java coffee table that also doubles as a foot rest. For extra durability, the cushion covers are made from water-repellent, colour-fast premium fabric, which is resistant to light, soil and stains.. ricefurniture.com.au SOOTY ISLA FREESTANDING SINGLE HAMMOCK Designed for solo lounging, this Isla hammock is built from the best marine components, kwila hardwood, powder-coated aluminium, high-performance Sunbrella fabrics and soft Dacron fibre padding. With UV-resistant nylon stitching, these hammocks are built to endure Aussie summers. thedesignhunter.com.au OVELA SEVEN-PIECE WICKER DINING TABLE AND CHAIRS This seven-piece wicker dining set, $479, adds a touch of class to any area with…

Ask people what they think of when you mention the Darling Downs and most likely they’ll respond with varying desciptions of rolling plains with paddocks patchworked with golden wheat, rust-hued barley and sorghum, green from vegetable and legume crops and pockets of black-soil land being fallowed. Indeed the Downs is prime agricultural land, these days supplemented by coal and gas mining, the vineyards of the Granite Belt and the tourists who come to enjoy its vast open spaces, fresh air, big skies and warm country hospitality. Historically, the region — named in 1827 for the then governor of NSW by explorer Alan Cunningham when he became the first European to travel inland from Brisbane and over the Great Dividing Range — was defined as the area north of the Condamine…

From a disaster igniting entrepreneurial inspiration to breathing new life into family heirlooms, there’s a lot of passion, creativity and talent within the four walls of Lisa Rickert’s beautiful abode. As the CEO and creative director of the family-owned paint brand, Jolie Home, as well as the co-founder and CEO of the historically inspired furniture retailer, Ave Home, Lisa is a fount of knowledge on all things interior decorating related. Australian Country caught up with the furniture design and home decor expert when she was recently in Sydney launching a beautiful new suite of paints, top coats, brushes and embellishment products for furniture, walls, cabinets, floors and accessories. The range is designed to help people revolutionise and transform their homes in creative and high-quality ways. The New Orleans native grew…

SMITTEN MERINO Made from 100 per cent Merino wool, the Holly dress in dandelion yellow will keep you cool as the weather heats up. It’s proudly Australian designed and made and available in a variety of colours. smittenmerino.com THOMAS COOK This beautiful scarf has a colourful hand-drawn design and is made from 100 per cent polyester. Being lightweight and measuring 70cm x 180cm, it’s the perfect addition to any outfit. thomascook.com.au EASYCRAFT Reflecting the classic look of shiplap timber cladding with a wide, square groove, easyLINE wall panelling fits well into almost any space, making it an ideal choice for a variety of designs. easycraft.com.au INNER SPACE FURNITURE This comfortable and elegantly designed Marbella living room set is available as a two- ($1395) or three-seater ($1595), oversized armchair and ottoman.…