Innholdsfortegnelse for 18.7 September 2015 i Australian Country

Behind a simple door to an unobtrusive warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Mascot lurks a giant fairground masterfully disguised. Dance hall organs of unfathomable proportion sit poised to perform, Grecian busts grace dark corners, fairy lights wink and a raucous chorus of (How Much is) that Doggy in the Window? bursts from a spinning carousel. The rendition is bold and jaunty and conjures up memories of riding in circles, waving gaily at parents and onlookers, and not wanting to get off. The fun facilitator appears, waistcoated showman Craig Robson. “I collect three things — mechanical musical instruments, a bit of steam and a lot of dust,” he announces, a humble introduction to what is a grand-scale collection showcasing fine music production, musical arrangement, carving and engineering from the 1850s…

Aireys Inlet is a delightfully uncorrupted little seaside haven 90 minutes west around the coast from Melbourne and sits on one of Australia’s most iconic tourist attractions, the Great Ocean Road. The dominant landmark at Aireys Inlet is the Split Point Lighthouse, known locally as the White Queen. It still functions out on the point as a reminder of the days when shipwrecks were common and safety was not taken for granted. It also acts as an educator for coastal conservation. A guided tour to the top will have you look down on the lighthouse keepers’ cottages, which sit closer to the cliffs at the base of the lighthouse. When the cottages came up for lease a couple of years ago, Anna Kelly’s family couldn’t get there quick enough. For…

A coating of ice covers every single blade of the golden grass tussocks that eke out a living among shattered schist rock. The wind has a fierce penetrating bite. Grey clouds are flying across the sky. Their shadows are rushing, as in a time-lapse video, over the ridges, peaks and steep slopes of the Hawkdun Range. Even when the sun throws its fleeting spotlight onto you there is no warmth. And yet, being up here, exposed, vulnerable, and reluctant to move too far away from the warm Range Rover, is an invigorating experience. One that, in a sense, highlights what is waiting below the mountains: an old miner’s cottage built of local stone, hidden in a valley off a valley. A lupin-framed creek mumbling through knee-deep meadows. Soft warm light…

By her own reckoning, Rosemary Howe is on her third incarnation. Born and raised in the farming service centre of Cummins on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, her family moved to Adelaide to better the children’s educational opportunities. “I went into hairdressing straight out of school and worked at that for 20 years,” she explains. “During that time I also lived and worked in England where I met my former husband and had two sons. Then I returned to Australia and moved into interior design, which I have practised for the past 25 years. But now I am in transition again.” This time round, Rosemary has reinvented herself into yet another creative and people-based career as the proprietor of a B&B and café, Meller’s of Auburn, in the historic gateway village…

Although Roger and Toni Stent used to live on the Mornington Peninsula, one of Victoria’s more desirable addresses, they had little time to enjoy it. As the general manager of an international aviation company, Roger spent more time on a plane and in hotels than at home. Toni’s situation wasn’t much better as she worked in customer service management in Melbourne, where the hours were long and work usually followed her home at night. “We had a lovely home and, from the outside, it probably looked as though we had everything one could want,” Toni recalls. “But after years of being constantly under the pump, we both came to the realisation that there must be more to life than relentless work.” And so began a four-year search for an established…

THE MONARO COMMITTEE FOR CANCER RESEARCH’S FUNDRAISERS The community of the Monaro region in southern NSW was recently treated to a social whirl in the name of a good cause. An event billed as Australia’s highest high tea at Altitude 1260 Resort in the Crackenback Valley was the warm-up for Strictly Musical,three nights of musical entertainment and black-tie dinners. Organised by the team at the Monaro Committee for Cancer Research, Strictly Musicalfeatured six unique acts choreographed, designed, and performed by fearless volunteers. A total of 37 local first-time dancers took to the stage to perform iconic dance numbers from big-time productions including Grease, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Jersey Boys, Mamma Miaand Chicago. The crowd of 1300 across the three shows cheered the stars through their dancing debuts, and…

YEAR-ROUND (QLD) Noosa Farmers’ Market Beautiful beaches, relaxed coastal vibes and a sunny climate draw visitors to Noosa year-round. Every Sunday the region’s fresh food reigns supreme at the Noosa Farmers’ Market. With divine coffee, marinades, freshly-baked bread, seafood and cheeses aplenty, Noosa Farmers’ Market gives visitors the chance to meet local producers and sample the distinctive flavours of the Sunshine Coast. noosafarmersmarket.com.au SEPT 2-20 (NSW) Daffodils at Rydal Spring has brought a bountiful crop of golden daffodils to the gardens of Rydal, a small country village nestled in the hills between Bathurst and Lithgow. Named after the English town where William Wordsworth, author of the famous poem, The Daffodils, lived, Rydal village celebrates the writer’s fervour for the flower, showcasing the yellow bulbs in a striking Australian bush setting.…

As the self-proclaimed child of backpacking hippies, Kirsty Ballentine-Turnbull says gypsy spirit is in her DNA. Born in London to a South African dad and an Australian mum, Kirsty spent her early years in a Kombi exploring the world with her intrepid parents. They eventually settled back in Perth when she was aged five, but wanderlust was never far from the surface, and the growing family was often on the road seeking new adventures. When she was 14, the Ballentines upped stakes and moved to Brisbane, where Kirsty completed her high schooling and went to uni. The peripatetic family moved on to Melbourne, but Kirsty flew in the face of tradition, and stayed in Brisbane to graduate and build a corporate career in learning and organisational development. “By the time…

With their collective extensive experience in marketing and advertising, it was hardly surprising that Bede and Mary Gibson sought to value add when they first opened their garden to the public in 2012. In what amounted to a tentative toe in the water, they invited four sculptors to exhibit. Encouraged by the sale of all the works, the Gibsons invited more sculptors the following year. When they open their garden this spring, more than 60 works by 15 different artists will be displayed in the three acres of formal garden they have created on Mica Grange, their property near Castlemaine in the Victorian Goldfields. Regular readers of Australian Countrywill remember Bede and Mary’s story from August last year; how their daughter and her then husband took over the 100-acre cattle…

As Stephanie Ferguson explains it, playing in a pipes and drums band is the musical equivalent of simultaneously patting your head and rubbing your stomach. The year 11 student from The Scots School in the NSW Central Tablelands city of Bathurst is her school’s drum major, leading a team of 21 snare, tenor and base drummers and performing with 16 pipers. Together, they walk, march and execute complex drill manoeuvres while playing their instruments from memory. “On top of all our music practice we have drill sessions once a fortnight,” Stephanie explains. “Good coordination helps, but there’s no way other than hard work to get playing and marching down pat. The size of the challenge multiplies when we join massed bands during tattoos and highland gatherings. Then there can be…

FOR THE NEXT ISSUE OF AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY WE’VE AGAIN TRAVELLED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO PUT TOGETHER A REMARKABLE CLUTCH OF STORIES ABOUT SOME AMAZING PEOPLE AND PLACES. IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA WE VISIT HISTORIC MACKERODE STATION AND AN EXTRAORDINARY GARDEN CREATED BY PARAPLEGIC DENNIS ROBERTS IN THE ADELAIDE HILLS. IN QUEENSLAND WE HEAD NORTH TO THE ATHERTON TABLELAND AND A WILDLIFE SANCTUARY AND B&B DEVISED BY GERMAN-BORN MARGIT CIANELLI, THEN TO BRISBANE WHERE HOROLOGIST ALAN HAZELTON GIVES US A TOUR OF HIS 500-STRONG CLOCK COLLECTION. THE WEATHER IS GETTING WARMER SO OUR FASHION FEATURE HEADS WATERSIDE AND OUR RECIPES CELEBRATE THE TROPICAL DELIGHTS OF BANANAS. OUR SERVICE FEATURE UNCOVERS THE INFINITE RICHES OF ACCESSORIES FOR THE BEDROOM AND SETTING THE SCENE GOES INTO PARTY MODE WITH LOADS OF INSPIRATION FOR…