Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #23.6 November/December 2020 i Australian Country

By her own admission, Kate Owen has lost count of how many different careers she’s had. However, their common denominator has always been creative. The artist lives with her husband, Michael, and their teenaged sons, Ben and Sam, on Minnamurra, the HQ of their mixed-cropping and beef cattle farming operation near the tiny town of North Star, close to the NSW/Queensland border. Although she grew up near Moree on the farm her parents, Robert and Jennie Reardon, made the epicentre of their extensive Reardon Farms operation — which includes farms in the Goondiwindi, Mungindi and Moree districts — becoming a farmer never entered Kate’s mind. “I told Mick as much on one of our first dates,” Kate recalls. “I’m very happy to live in the bush and the amazing landscape…

Agile may be the buzz word of the post-pandemic world, but for the Munsie family of northern NSW, it’s just the way they’ve always been. Binna (Belinda) and Jaime Munsie have lived on Willunga, north of Warialda, all their married lives and now their adult children and their partners all have active roles in the diverse facets of farm life and business. Will and his wife, journalist Lauren Marer, live in a cottage on Willunga, while Sam and Emma Rose, and their son, Digby, whose story precedes this, live on adjoining Fairview. Marketing guru Kate lives with her husband, Nick Boshammer, on their Angus stud near Chinchilla in southern Queensland, but maintains a well-worn track across the border between the two properties as she promotes the award-winning accommodation venue the…

Blueberry farmer Kellie Potts likes to tell her kids that if she were to get a tattoo, it would be a tree with the equation 6CO2 + 6H2 O + (light energy) C6 H12 O6 + 6O2 written on the trunk. “Why not?” she says. “It’s the formula for photosynthesis, the source of all energy for life. I have to add that it’s highly unlikely I will ever follow through.” Kellie lives with her partner, Nigel McIvor, and children, Amy, aged 14, and Lachlan, 13, on a 27-acre (10-hectare) farm at Sandy Beach near Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid-north coast. In the mid-2000s, she and her brothers, Michael and John, were gifted shares in a property that had been in their family since their great-grandmother bought it during the…

COOMBER BROS JEWELLERS Coomber Bros Jewellers’ designers created this gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring by remodelling a client’s old rings. coomberbros.com.au HUNTINGTON LANE A vintage-inspired trunk, $1826, is turned into a functional chest by Huntington Lane. huntingtonlane.com.au BRONZE AND MARBLE GALLERY Bronze and Marble Gallery’s prancing horse, $600, stands 35cm tall on a marble base. bronzeandmarblegallery.com WE ARE KNITTERS The Edda Bag kits, $45, are a great DIY gift for people who love to crochet. weareknitters.com.au HUNTINGTON LANE Huntington Lane’s tufted ottoman, $1000, suits both contemporary and period settings. huntingtonlane.com.au STUDIO AUSTRALIA Studio Australia’s Kookaburra lamp, $360, is teamed with the Bush Banksia linen shade, $150. studioaustralia.net THE ORIGINAL LAMP SHOP The Original Lamp Shop’s beautiful cranberry with white overlay cut-pattern Sandwich glass lamp with a milk glass base was…

COOMBER BROS JEWELLERS Coomber Bros Jewellers are based in the Queensland regional centre of Roma, but you don’t have to visit in store. The designers are dab hands at operating remotely and interpreting clients’ wishes from sketches, emails and phone conversations. coomberbros.com.au SMITTEN MERINO A Smitten lightweight scarf, $129, adds a pop of colour in summer and can provide sun protection for your shoulders, or keep you warm at night. It’s available in every colour imaginable and made from pure Merino in Tasmania. smittenmerino.com STUDIO AUSTRALIA Studio Australia makes the highest-quality Australiana and ships free all across the country. The Laughing Kookaburra console lamp stands 37cm high and retails for $380. studioaustralia.net SUN POTS The Olives oil pourer is one of several pourer designs imported by Sun Pots. Available in…

Lighthouses are a curious contradiction: they symbolise hope and trust, but also solitude and hardship. These remote beacons have saved thousands of lives over the centuries and provided comfort to those on ships and on land, steadily blinking their lights across the ocean. In her new book, Guiding Lights, author Shona Riddell looks at the extraordinary lives of lighthouse women throughout history. The following extract gives a glimpse into the experience of what it is to be a contemporary caretaker of one of these historic sites through the eyes of Hannah Sutton, who spent six months with her partner, Grant, on the Australia’s southernmost island, the remote Maatsuyker Island. While most lighthouses are now automated, many still need caretakers. People eagerly sign up to live on islands or coastlines and…

SMITTEN MERINO All proceeds from the sale of Smitten Merino’s Tasmanian Devil, $250, made from the company’s wool off-cuts, go to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program to find a cure for the deadly facial tumour disease that threatens the species’ population. smittenmerino.com RFDS The Royal Flying Doctor Christmas cards, $10 for a pack of 10, are designed by Australian artist Rachael Flynn to reflect an Aussie Boxing Day celebration. rfdsvic.myshopify.com RFDS The Australian Wildflowers tea towel, $16, is made from a cotton and linen blend. rfdsvic.myshopify.com RFDS This 2021 wall calendar, $19, has amazing images of the Royal Flying Doctor crew in action. rfdsvic.myshopify.com RSPCA Support the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with the Animals in Song Christmas cards, $12.99 for a pack of 10.…

WATERFORD CRYSTAL Waterford Crystal’s Topaz Ice candles are available in Aras, Olann and Cluin, $129. waterfordcrystal.com.au WEDGWOOD Wedgwood’s Festive Spices with juniper and white heather candle, $49.95, delivers instant ambience. wedgwood.com.au DOORS OF BERRY The Doors of Berry rope wreaths come in large (40cm), $119.95, or small (20cm), $39.95. thedoorsofberry.com.au WEDGWOOD Wedgwood’s First Christmas Together 2020 ornament, $49.95. wedgwood.com.au IITTALA Iittala’s Christmas bird for 2020 is an elegant willow grouse, $499. iittala.com.au DOORS OF BERRY The Doors of Berry red berry wreath features wooden beads in three tones, $39.95 for small (20cm) and $99.95 for large (40cm). thedoorsofberry.com.au…

We appreciate your thoughts and in each issue one correspondent wins a prize. Simply email Kirsty at kmckenzie@umco.com.au or write to us at Australian Country, Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters before publication. Our favourite correspondent next issue will win a selection of the wonderful cookbooks we have received for review recently. Just send us your thoughts on the magazine and life in general to be in the running for this wonderful prize.…

As Emma Rose Munsie looks out from the homestead at Fairview — the NSW farm where she lives with her husband, Sam, and their toddler, Digby — the contrast with her childhood in Northumberland, northern England, couldn’t be more marked. Instead of the closely populated sheep farms of the Cheviot Hills, she’s surrounded by sprawling expanses of native grass and crops where cattle and sheep are fattened. The interior designer, who was accustomed to living 10 kilometres from the nearest village, now finds herself roughly an equidistant 100km from Moree to the south or Goondiwindi to the north, just over the Queensland border. “Having grown up on a farm back home makes it easier to understand and embrace farming life out here,” Emma Rose observes. “I always knew I would…

As Binna tells the story, the idea for a luxury retreat on Willunga came like a bolt from the blue when she and Jaime were travelling across Canada on the Rocky Mountaineer train. “Most of the passengers were from Vancouver or other cities,” Binna recalls. “Every time they saw a goat or a bird or any passing wildlife, they all got so excited. I guess it was my wake-up call that we have so much access to nature that we take for granted. I came home convinced that we needed to share what we have on Willunga. I knew that we had a spectacular location for an accommodation venue and after some research, I came up with the idea of a geodesic dome, which is a very strong and energyefficent…

Laura Dalrymple and Grant Hilliard are the first to admit they are unlikely people to be running a butchery. In 2006, Laura had a satisfying, if not demanding, job as a graphic designer and Grant was an aspiring filmmaker when they stumbled into a career change and opened a whole-animal butchery, Feather and Bone Providore, in Sydney’s inner west. Grant had been working as a sommelier at the landmark Bondi Beach restaurant Sean’s Panaroma, when it occurred to him that while grape variety, terroir, growing, harvesting and processing practices were considered paramount in winemaking, scant attention was given to these values in the meat industry. Surely, he reasoned, holistic management and regenerative farm practices should be as important to the food we eat as the wine we consume? The butchery…

Brisbane Grammar School Boarding accommodation is currently undergoing a $5 million redevelopment. In May this year, the School opened Griffith House – a dedicated house for 18 Middle School boarders in Years 5 to 8. Griffith House is a significant development that represents Brisbane Grammar School’s commitment to providing a contemporary boarding program. Quality accommodation complements the School’s Academic, Wellbeing and Cocurriculum programs. Boys have a private room that exists within a dorm, giving them both privacy and connectedness. The house is equipped with brand new bathrooms and showers. The common room facilities, with lounge and kitchenette, let the boys share a sense of community. Advanced plans are underway to renovate the senior boarding house to provide accommodation for 81 boys in Years 9 to 12. Harlin House will eventually…

For the next issue of Australian Country, we welcome the new year with a fresh assortment of features from all over rural and regional Australia. In South Australia, we visit artist Dzint Jurevicius and his wife, Ruth, who have a home and gallery on Hindmarsh Island at the mouth of the Murray River, and we also explore the historic Yallum Park at Penola, in the Coonawarra wine district. In Queensland, we cactch up with Mel Manley, one of the driving forces behind the Forget Me Not Foundation, which works to stop child trafficking into orphanages for financial gain, mainly in Nepal, India and Uganda. Her home and its splendid garden in the Sunshine Coast hinterland is a tranquil shelter from these difficult times. In NSW, we venture to Dennarque Estate,…