The Australian Women's Weekly May 2025

The month of May always reminds me of my mum, Deirdre, as it’s not only Mother’s Day, but also her birthday. I have fond childhood memories of making her breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, which included a special illustrated menu and scrambled eggs (made by my older sister) or Vegemite toast (made by little me!). Growing up in a big, blended, loving family, my siblings and I were also fortunate enough to have been raised and supported by other maternal figures at different stages in our lives. Mothering comes in all shapes and forms. And while I know the day can be hard for some, I was fascinated to learn in our story on page 62 that Mother’s Day was first officially celebrated in 1908 by Anna Jarvis to…

Letter of the month Chrissie Swan, I just read your column (What I’ve learnt about …Food memories, AWW, April) about making Spanish almond biscuits for your mum. It brought tears to my eyes as I remembered cooking with and for my mum. She was a wonderful cook, loved to eat and was always trying new things. She’s no longer with us but I think of her often. I’d love the recipe – when I make them, I’ll think of Mum. I read magazines from around the world. It makes you realise how connected we all are. Canada. Years of music Thinking of fond memories from my childhood, some of my favourite moments were spent watching The Sound of Music with ever-delightful Julie Andrews. After reading the behind-the-scenes stories and the…

Red CARPET Spotted at the premiere Naomi Watts wore spots to match her co-star, Bing the Great Dane, for the New York premiere of her new film, The Friend. “One of us has got to change!” she wrote on photos of her posing with her co-star. Also starring Bill Murray, The Friend is based on the 2018 bestselling Sigrid Nunez novel of the same name. Bing’s handlers said he was “pawsitively excited” about the film. Women we love Picture book win Nukgal Wurra artist and debut author Wanda Gibson, 79, has won the $100,000 Victorian Premier’s prize for children’s literature for Three Dresses, a book about her childhood. Swimmer steps up Former Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry, 41, from Zimbabwe, has been elected the International Olympic Committee’s first female president in…

CHINA Cop-bots on duty Police officers in Shanghai kept a close eye on the crowd at the Chinese F1 Grand Prix, aided by a humanoid robot and a robot dog. Both the human and canine robocops are produced by a Chinese robotics company. The UK Arty egg hunt underway Londoners are on the hunt for 123 unique eggs hidden around the city as part of The Big Egg Hunt. Artists and designers created the collection, including a diamond and emerald egg by luxury jeweller Chopard that sits at Royal Albert Hall. The hunt raises money for conservation charity Elephant Family. Japan A killer payday Japan has awarded a wrongly convicted man who was on death row for close to half a century 217 million yen ($2.3m). The 89-year-old was exonerated…

Anapela Polataivao is not only one of New Zealand’s great theatrical actors, she is a mother of three – Rocky, 23, Iuni-Katalaina, 20, and Hector-Jack, 18. Taking on the role of Mareta in the film Tinã drew on every part of her being, because Mareta, a high school choir teacher, loses her daughter in the Christchurch earthquake. For a role like this, Anapela tells The Weekly, “you draw on your own humanness. I’m Samoan, I’m a woman, a human being and a mother. I have one daughter who is like my best friend. So I’m going to get teary just thinking about going through all that.” And she wasn’t alone. “At the first table read, the narrator was sobbing, bless him. And then of course, by the end, we were…

Jasmin Link’s son, Luke, was born with mild hydrocephalus, meaning there was too much cerebrospinal fluid in his brain. Doctors warned this could lead to developmental delays, but equally “he could be perfectly fine, and at first he was. He was healthy, strong, all of that,” Jasmin tells The Weekly. At three months, Jasmin noticed Luke was hypersensitive to drafts and to sounds. He failed to meet a succession of milestones. At two-and-a-half, he was non-verbal and was diagnosed with level three autism. Jasmin was 25 and a proud Aboriginal, South Sea Islander woman. She had studied law and worked in the public sector, but left all that behind and became a stay-at-home mum and voluntary carer to Luke. “I wasn’t prepared for the chapter I was about to enter,”…