Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #25.5 October/November 2022 i Australian Country

As this issue goes to press, photographer Ken Brass and I have just returned from an amazing swoop through outback Queensland, travelling the the tracks of the dinosaurs that once roamed this country’s vast inland. We drove from Muttaburra to Winton, Hughenden and Richmond preparing a travel story for next issue, and also our next edition of Australian Country Road Trips, which will go on sale at the end of September. Along the way, we met some great people and experienced some wonderful country hospitality. We caught up with two generations of the Walker/Chandler family in the Barcaldine district of Queensland’s central west. First we visited artist Jayde Chandler and her husband, Ben, and their children on their property, Gregory Downs, where we saw how deeply connected Jayde is to…

MY COUNTRY RETREAT By day, Shelly Finch is a highly motivated rural sonographer, working in a private practice in the NSW regional city of Orange and recently completing a PhD focusing on vascular ultrasound. She’s a passionate advocate for providing high-level medical services to remote and rural areas, helped establish a consultancy for visiting vascular surgeons from Sydney and is deeply committed to providing the same level of care for her remote patients as city people experience. After hours, however, the creative side of the mother of three now-adult children unfurls as Shelly indulges her “other passions” for interior design, gardening, bush walking, mountain biking, singing and playing the piano. Shelly spent most of her childhood on a sheep and cattle farm at Larras Lee in the rolling hills of…

PLACES TO STAY • Hickory Moon, Oberon hickorymoon.com.au • The Red Hill Nest, Glanmire theredhillnest.com.au • Millthorpe Boutique Motel, Millthorpe millthorpemotel.com.au • Bishop’s Court Estate, Bathurst bishopscourtestate.com.au • Old Bakery Cottage, Millthorpe airbnb.com.au/rooms/52660167 WHERE TO EAT • Tonic, Millthorpe tonicmillthorpe.com.au • Slow Wine Co, Bathurst slowwineco.com.au • The Rockley Pub, Rockley therockleypub.com.au • Vine & Tap, Bathurst vineandtap.com.au • The Long Arm Farm Cafe, Oberon facebook.com/thelongarmfarm • Annie’s Ice Cream, Bathurst anniesicecream.com.au • Maalouf’s, Bathurst maaloufs.com.au WHAT TO DO • Mayfield Garden, Oberon mayfieldgarden.com.au • Detour Adventures, Bathurst detouradventures.com.au • Abercrombie House, Bathurst abercrombiehouse.com.au • Malachi-Gilmore Hall, Oberon malachigilmorehall.com.au • Bathurst Rail Museum, Bathurst museumsbathurst.com.au/bathurst-rail-museum • Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst bathurstart.com.au • Bathurst Grange Distillery, Brewongle bathurstgrange.com.au • Lowes Mount Truffière, Oberon lowesmounttruffles.com.au • The Olive Robin, Rockley theoliverobin.com.au…

BRICKBAT I’m writing to register my mother’s and my dismay at the inclusion of an article about private schooling in your latest magazine. We’ve always enjoyed reading about beautiful homes and gardens, interesting projects and art but the inclusion of private school articles does not reflect your usual approach. We are both public school teachers who value inclusive education and opportunity that is not reliant on wealth. I understand you can obtain revenue from schools wanting to advertise but please don’t let this seep into your editorial features. Alison Garrett and Nancy Garrett, by email ED’S NOTE: Thanks for your feedback. We are grateful to our advertisers for supporting us and in turn, we try to support them when possible. We have the highest respect for all teachers and aim celebrate…

ANASTASIA CASEY WRITER & EDITOR Having moved from Sydney to London four years ago, Anastasia’s passion is to see the world and tell the tales of the people she meets along the way. She has worked in publishing for 10 years as an editor, writer and sub-editor and until recently was working for News UK in London Bridge. BRONTE CAMILLERI STYLIST & LOCATION SCOUT Bronte’s career began in visual merchandising for major Australian retailers, including R. M. Williams, Myer and Cue. She has been a lecturer on the subject for the tertiary education system. She has worked as overall coordinator on a range of projects from small studio propping to major photo shoots for international corporations such as Nikon, Japan and ING. australiancountry.com.au facebook.com/AustralianCountry @australiancountrymag zimo.com pinterest.com/auscountiymag…

MOVING TO THE COUNTRY Todd Alexander and Jeff Ross thought they had it made when they traded corporate city lives for Block 8, a vineyard and olive orchard at Bedford in the Hunter Valley. Then they had the bright idea of building five guest villas on the property and they added an endless rotation of making beds and cleaning bathrooms to the already onerous workload of winemaking and producing olives. Regular readers might recall that Australian Country first caught up with Todd and Jeff slightly more than a year ago, when, after eight years building Block 8 into a hugely successful business, they called it a day. Feeling exhausted and as though they’d gone from the frying pan to the fire, they’d recently moved with their menagerie of rescue animals…

COTSWOLD INOUT FURNITURE Safi stands for timeless outdoor pleasure. The handwoven furniture gives your terrace a royal comfort and adapts naturally to each environment. The collection consists of a dining chair, a lounge chair, two lounge sofas, and two sunloungers, cotswoldfurniture.com.au OOGEE AUSTRALIA ooGee hats are lightweight and engineered to provide UPF50+ sun protection. The brand’s proprietary Flexibraid technology means ooGee hats will retain their original shape when squashed or packed away, oogee.com.au THE MUSEUM OF EVERYTHING Add a touch of Mediterranean elegance to your indoor or outdoor room setting with this black cast iron garden urn, $499. At 58cm wide x 48cm high, it can also double duty as a wide-necked vase. leforge.com.au SCULPT The Seguin Multivision 8000 fireplace is a dramatic addition to any space. Featuring two swinging…

Belle Couleur 197 Ryrie St, Geelong, Vic 3220 ph: 0417 913 192 e: melissa@bellecouleur.com.au w: bellecouleur.com.au Birdsnest ph: 1300 696 378 w: birdsnest.com.au Clementine Sleepwear ph: 1800 336 153 w: clementinesleepwear.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 3686 e: sales@cotswoldfurniture.com.au w: cotswoldfurniture.com.au Ecodownunder e: service@ecodownunder.com.au w: ecodownunder.com.au Emu Wire Industries 2/25 Encore Ave, Somerton Vic 3062 ph: (03) 9308 5599 e: sales@emuwire.com.au w: emuwire.com.au Glenview Products 3 Edenholme St, West Pymble NSW 2073 ph: 0411 732 950 e: sales@glenviewproducts.com.au w: glenviewproducts.com.au Jati Furniture e: sales@jati.com.au w: jati.com.au Kosmea Australia 71 Glen Osmond Rd, Eastwood SA 5063 e: enquiries@kosmea.com.au w: kosmea.com.au Le Forge Furniture & Decoration ph: 0468…

SEPTEMBER 30–OCTOBER 7 (NT) Kakadu Bird Week With more than a third of Australia’s bird species calling Kakadu home, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed national park is a bird lover’s paradise. Kakadu Bird Week features a packed itinerary for nature enthusiasts, including wetland cruises, bird watching expeditions, specialist lectures and Aboriginal bird experiences. parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/do/events/birdweek NOVEMBER 1–30 (NT) Darwin International Laksa Festival Celebrating the Top End’s love of laksa, the month-long Darwin International Laksa Festival will see local restaurants, eateries and market stalls serve up their best traditional and laksa-inspired creations, including crocodile laksa and laksa cob loaf. Laksa lovers vote for their favourite dishes and the People’s Choice award is announced on November 29. laksafestival.nt.gov.au OCTOBER 8 (QLD) Coucals Garden Orchid Workshop For information on all matters orchid, book a spot…

ON THE RIGHT TRACK -I’ve had whey thrown into my face during cheese-making so many times that I know it’s actually quite a tasty beverage by itself Turning sheep’s whey into alcohol doesn’t sound like your everyday activity, but Nicole Gilliver and her family aren’t your everyday folk. Together with brother, Ryan Hartshorn, mum, Diane Rae, and mum’s partner, Chris Young, Nicole makes cheeses, spirits and, in the clan’s most recent venture, skincare products. And the common — woolly — thread that runs throughout, apart from the family, of course? Sheep. “We have about 30 breeding stock here and we’ve got two other farms who milk for us, so between those, we milk about 900 sheep. It makes us the second-largest sheep dairy in the country,” Nicole explains. “Still, in…

MORE FISH, MORE VEG Tom Walton, Murdoch Books, $39,99 Res taurateur and chef Tom Walton is a big advocate of seasonal vegies and sustainable fish. This book is not just a great guide to incorporating more of both into your diet, but also a gentle guide for the nervous Nellies of the fish-cooking world. It opens with illustrated step-by-step pages on panfrying fillets for a crispy skin, searing, herb-crusting, bag cooking, poaching, roasting whole, char-grilling and barbecuing and crumbing. Then it presents seasonally divided recipes for a great range of ways to eat better and healthier. THE NEW RINGER Roland Breckwoldt, Allen & Unwin, $32.99 Roland Breckwoldt is a leading advisor on agriculture and the environment. But before that distinguished career, he was the child of German immigrants born in…