Australian Country Magazine - June-July 2014

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26 Living historyFive generations of Manifolds have called Milangil home

36 Malden stationThe challenges of remote outback living make life interesting for the Sparrows

44 Design & detail A stylist, designer, and ski instructor opens the doors to her alpine home overlooking Lake Jindabyne

68 Larger than lifeSculptor Russell Sheridan reveals his supersized works of art

74 Landscape & legend Artist Allan Wolf-Tasker and wife Alla celebrate Victorias Spa Country

80 A long reinWe visit Olympic equestrian Mary Hanna at her stunning home on Victorias Bellarine Peninsula

106 Let there be light Were shedding light on the latest lamps, pendants and chandeliers to complement any home

74

112 Producer profi leThe Buxton Trout and Salmon Farm bounces back after the Black Saturday bushfi re devastation

Collecting54 The lamp genie

Gale Collins saw the light when she moved from Sydney to Lightning Ridge, and has been collecting a treasure trove of lamps ever since

gardening58 Coming up roses

Located in the rolling hilltops of Samford Valley, Rosevale garden oozes with romantic charm

66 Open gardens

in each issue 6 Editors letter 8 Diary notes 12 Bakers dozen 92 Raising the bar: Drinks100 Class act: Cooking schools102 Setting the scene128 Store Strolling142 O the shelf144 Mailbag146 Stockists

profiles14 Character study

Natalie Holts fabulous NSW tree change

12

4 australiancountry.net.au

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australiancountry.net.au 5

14

ContentS

94

travel118 Snowbound splendour

With powder perfect snow and ragged mountains aplenty, the Austrian ski region of Arlberg is heaven on earth

.country cooking94 Pick of the crop

Celebrating the humble carrot

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ALICE GRIFFINEDITORIAL ASSISTANTAlice enjoys long walks on the beach and sunsets. In her spare time, she continues to slave away at university, with a Bachelor of Media firmly in her sights. Her love of travel, clothes and all animals great and small, excluding leeches, makes her a perfect fit for the Australian Country team.

GREG DUCAN POWELLWRITERGreg has been writing about wine, drinks and food for more than a quarter of a century, much of that time as wine and drinks editor for Vogue Entertaining. Along the way he has penned 12 books, appeared on TV and worked on MasterChef Australia magazine. Currently he works as a chef, a wine consultant and writes the odd wine column when he can fit it in.

Editors letteR

and gardens. We meet Natalie Holt, a refugee from the Sydney rat race, who lives in the most divine cottage she and her stepdad have remodelled at Bangalow in the northern NSW hinterland. Statene Park, perched high on Victorias Bellarine Peninsula is on the other end of the spectrum, and the base from which equestrian Mary Hanna is launching her campaign for her fifth Olympic Games in 2016. Equally impressive is Milangil, the Victorian Western District home of the Manifold family and its stately homestead, which was built in 1913 as a wedding present. We spent an exhilarating afternoon with Western Australian sculptor Russell Sheridan and caught up with Daylesford artist Allan Wolf-Tasker, as he put the finishing touches to an exhibition to mark his 30th anniversary of living and working in the Victorian Spa Country with his wife, Alla, and daughter Larissa at their landmark boutique hotel and restaurant, the Lake House. As this issue goes to press, photographer Ken Brass and I have been on the road again, this time for a sweep through the Victorian

and NSW Alps, with a detour to wonderful Wee Jasper in the NSW Southern Tablelands on the way home. Those stories will appear in the next few issues, but I wanted to mention how much we appreciate the extraordinary generosity of the country folk who open their homes and share their stories with us. Of course, weve returned with an even longer list of places to visit and people to meet on future trips. A magazine is only ever as strong as its network of supporters and its hugely gratifying to meet as many of you as we can when were out and about. Meantime, feel free to drop us a line if you have stories youd like to see covered. We hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to seeing you in the next one, which goes on sale August 7.

Kirsty McKenzie, [email protected]

This magazine and all future

issues of Australian Country can be viewed digitally at zinio.com. Visit our website australiancountry.net.au

Plus, don't forget to check us out on

Facebook. Visit facebook.com/AustralianCountry to keep up with our news.

AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY COVER PHOTO BY ANASTASIA KARIOFYLLIDIS

ANASTASIA KARIOFYLLIDISPHOTOGRAPHERAnastasia is a lifestyle photographer who has been capturing images from interiors to still life, architecture, gardens, landscapes, food and travel for many years. She is based on the Sunshine Coast and recently illustrated New Vintage The Homemade Home (New Holland), with author and stylist, Tahn Scoon.

MERYL HANCOCKWRITERMeryl is predominantly interested in writing about the renewable and recyclable elements of architecture and design. From quirky collectables to energy-efficient straw bale houses, she admires any action that prolongs the planet and is inspired by the people who drive these processes.

helping out on this issue are ...

In this issue we are excited to present another fabulous crop of country profiles along with a good harvest of inspiration in the fields of decorating, cooking, travel

AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY

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Don't misS ...

make a date to celebrate these diverse events around the country. By Alice Gr if n

July 18 -27 (QLD)

Noosa Long Weekend Festival Queenslands nationally acclaimed Noosa Long Weekend Festival returns to the Sunshine Coast this year, in what is certain to be another cultural extravaganza of

music, dance, theatre, literature, visual arts, and of course, food. Featuring outstanding performances from world-class entertainers, and showcasing ground-breaking pieces and workshops from Australias finest writers, film-makers, chefs and even environmentalists, there is something for everyone at this regional community event. Indeed, the Noosa Long Weekend Festival has it all, and surrounded by the stunning scenery of beautiful beaches and national parks, one really couldnt ask for more. noosalongweekend.com

5 July2 1 S ept ember (NSW)

Life Interrupted Exhibition The State Library of NSW is releasing its rich collection of writings, photography and original materials including rare maps and artefacts to produce a major new exhibition, Life Interrupted, Personal Diaries from World War I. Offering a rare glimpse into the astonishing lives of Australian soldiers, prisoners-of-war, doctors, nurses and journalists, more than 1100 WWI diaries and letters are the focal point of this exhibition. sl.nsw.gov.au

July 2627 (QLD)

Childers Festival More than 40,000 people migrating to Childers, a humble town of just 2000, make the Childers Festival a show-stopper. And unfortunately for commuters, a highway-stopper as well, with swells of celebratory crowds forcing the closure of the mighty Bruce Highway. The festivities transform the quiet regional town into a hub of activity, with non-stop music and food seemingly the orders of the day. Delight in the delicacies of the Japanese, Thai, French and even Hungarian tables and enjoy myriad free cultural activities on offer as well. childersfestival.com.au

July 2627 (V I C )

Open House MelbourneIt is a rare occasion in which we celebrate the beauty of urban living, and thankfully, Open House Melbourne provides the ample opportunity to do just that. Showcasing the finest in architectural design in this cultured and colourful city, Open House will see more than 100

DIARY NOTES

stcecHa thTcc

OItupthco

June 28-July 1 3 (V i c )

Mary Poppins Festival Laying its claim as the birthplace of Mary Poppins author Pamela Travers, once a year the town of Maryborough comes alive to celebrate the worlds most famous nanny. Jam-packed with Mary Poppins-themed events including vintage workshops, art exhibitions, market days and tea-with-Mary tours, this two-week festival is colourful and fun, o ering a chance to discover Maryboroughs history from a unique Poppins perspective. Make some unusual friends as you walk around Maryborough, as a throng of Poppins characters will greet you at every twist and turn.marypoppinsfestival.com.au


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Don't misS ...

Let us know about your forthcoming events by writing to us at Locked Bag 154,

North Ryde, NSW 1670 or emailing [email protected]

CLOCKWISEFROM ABOVE: A whale of a time at the Australian National Maritime Museums exhibition; participants

NowFeb 1 , 201 5 (NSW)

Beautiful Whale Exhibition Experience the splendour of natures underwater giants in all their glory, as the Australian National Maritime Museum introduces its latest life-sized photography exhibition, Beautiful Whale. Featuring the fi rst full-size images of humpback, minke and sperm whales from oceans across the globe, photographer Bryant Austin displays his impressive portfolio in a bid to promote the conservation message. These extraordinarily intimate and detailed shots come from unrelenting commitment, with Bryant often waiting hours in the high seas for the perfect close-up, armed with just his snorkel for company. It was defi nitely worth the wait however, and this one-of-a-kind exhibition is not to be missed. anmm.gov.au

buildings open their doors to an inquisitive public. Open House Melbourne not only features modern architectural designs, but also the most outstanding examples of skilful engineering and historic houses. If architecture doesnt take your fancy, Open House also hosts film screenings, talks and tours throughout the weekend. Perhaps the most exciting part of the weekend event remains Open House partner, Nite Arts installation of artworks projected onto iconic Melbourne spaces. openhousemelbourne.org

J uly 12 (NT )

Lasseters Camel Cup Temperamental, antisocial and wildly unpredictable camels are definitely not the type of animal youd normally associate with racing. Despite their shortcomings however, many brave folk gather each year to tear down the track on camels, and as youd expect, the result is literally laughable. The Lasseters Camel Cup is back again for another year with a jam-packed

program of camel races and rides, belly dancers, and Camel Cup challenges guaranteed to entertain the whole family. Look out for the Honeymoon Handicap, a highlight of the annual program, in which newlyweds on camels bound through obstacles to get to the finish line. camelcup.com.au

June 29 (WA)

Perth Upmarket Head to Perth Upmarket for some homespun fun. Showcasing the best original and handcrafted pieces

across Australia, Perth Upmarket brings together the most unusual and talented artists, designers and highly skilled crafters to create a one-of-a-kind event. From organic beauty products, to eclectic jewellery pieces and even the odd festive terrarium bauble, Perth

Upmarket will no doubt leave you pining for more market mayhem. But with the Upmarket festival held four times a year and an additional Wedding Upmarket now running, prayers can be answered. perthupmarket.com.au

J uly 26 (NT )

Australian Outback Marathon As the largest marathon in the Northern Territory, it is not just the flat course and diverse program that draws in the crowds. The Australian Outback Marathon course is set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). With a walk option as well as a six-kilometre fun run, this event is not just for professionals and offers loads of fun for the whole family. australianoutbackmarathon.com/

at the 2013 Australian Outback Marathon; handcrafted treasures are aplenty at Perth Upmarket; brave participants in the Camel Cup; Open House Melbourne showcases the best in architectural design.

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warm your insides: decorate your home and heart with

these pieces to make you smile. Compil ed by Alice Gr if n

5


4

1 Have You Met Miss Jones milk and sugar Set, $64, haveyoumetmissjones.com.au2 Mocka Teepee, $99.95, mocka.com.au

3 Have You Met Miss Jones dipped feathers in rose, $110, haveyoumetmissjones.com.au4 Schmooks Secret Garden

Storytale necklace, $64, schmooks.com.au5 Hunting for George Gnome container, $59, huntingforgeorge.com6 Bespoke Letterpress

I Sow Fancy You greeting card, $6.95, bespokepress.com.au 7 Citta Design Love-Heart coin purse, $39.90, shop.cittadesign.com.au

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Things we lovE


8 Citta Design flock socks, $14.90, shop.cittadesign.com.au9 Hunting For George Drop It Like Its Hot tea towel, $24, huntingforgeorge.com

10 May and Belle feather headdress print in peach, $32, mayandbelle.com.au11 Shelley Panton Village cookie jar, $49.95, shop.shelleypanton.com

12 Curtis & Clarke Pomander candle, $31.95, pacificaskincare.co.nz13 Urban Planters City planter kit, $30, urbanplanters.com.au

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OPPOSITE: Rustic furniture

and shabby soft furnishings touches

inform the mood on the enclosed veranda.

THIS PAGE:Natalies stepdad, Jeff, and his friend, Wayne,

joined forces to build the large deck.

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Character studyCharacter studynatalie holt first saw her dream home in three pieces on the back of a truck. with a bit of help from her friends and a lot of assistance from her stepfather, Jeff, shes achieved a wonderfully rustic rural retreat.By Tahn Scoo n, photogr aphy Anas tasi a K ar iof yl lidis

My place in the countrY

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Fourteen years ago, Natalie Holt was living in Sydney and had a successful career as the sales and marketing manager for Avon Australia. Then she chucked it all in for a tree change, migrating to the NSW North Coast. She was lucky enough to land on her feet fairly quickly career-wise and today is the sales manager for the iconic vintage-inspired bedding and clothing label, Lazybones.

The next part of her dream took a little longer to turn into a reality, she wanted to buy an old house, move it to the town of Bangalow, strip it back and create the home of her dreams from scratch. Very recently, with a lot of hard work, a good dollop of ingenuity and help from a loving family

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Natalie relaxes by working in the garden; she uses old gates as frames for climbing roses; a keen eye for quirky collectables informs her aesthetic; vintage finds and Lazybones touches create a great style.

member, thats exactly what she did. After buying a pretty little parcel of land in a cul-de-sac just a stones throw from Bangalows main street, Natalie found an old house, which was originally from Brisbane, and arranged to have it trucked up. It was funny, she recalls. I was driving to the local Farmers Markets very early one morning and I saw the house coming along the road in three pieces.

Once it arrived on-site, the removal company very carefully put it back together. Nat had the beginnings of her dream home. Though of course at this stage you had to use your imagination a little, she says. The reality was it was an empty shell with lino on most floors and each room painted a different colour.

However, Natalie had a vision and she wasnt daunted. As soon as the power and water were connected,



australiancountry.net.au 17 australian country 17

My country lifE



We lived with just a camp stove and a BBQ for the first six months. The fi rst priority was to make the bathroom and the main bedroom liveable.




she moved in. My stepdad, Jeff, also moved in, she says. We lived with just a camp stove and a BBQ for the first six months. The first priority was to make the bathroom and the main bedroom liveable. As I still needed to get up every day and go to work. Jeff slept in the spare room surrounded by power tools and paint tins.

Between the two of them, walls were gap-filled and painted white, the floors were sanded and minor repairs attended to. We saved money by keeping things simple and thinking creatively but no compromise was made on the new back deck, Natalie recalls. I wanted a big deck, which is a big job for a 70-year-old man, but he called in his best friend, Wayne, to help, and they did an amazing job.

Wayne and Jeff also spent a full day installing an off-the-shelf IKEA kitchen, which saved Natalie an enormous amount of money. To put her own stamp on the room, she cleverly added a vintage mirror splashback and

CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: Natalie hand-painted the chequerboard design on the kitchen floor using sample paints; the gracious hostess; a vintage mirror splashback individualises an IKEA kitchen; herbs in hanging bags.



hand-painted a chequerboard design on the floor. I just marked out 40-cm squares and then painted them alternatively in red and white, she says. I used sample pots to save money.

The bathroom is also a great example of ingenious, thoughtful design. The homes original back door hides an affordable drop-in shower base and the original old shower screen. To create the mosaic floor tiles, Natalie cut the letters out of each tile and dropped them into the other tile. Jeff then simply applied grout.

The rest of the house is decorated in Natalies signature style; vintage lace tablecloths dress the windows, vintage throws and Lazybones quilts cover the beds and rooms are furnished with a gorgeous array of vintage pieces collected through the years. The base provides a relaxed, neutral backdrop, with walls in Dulux Fair Bianca and floors sanded but left unsealed. I didnt want glossy floors and seals always change the colour, Natalie says. I like the colour as it is. Im happy to live with the odd stain. The house was built in 1926 so it can grow old gracefully.

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE:An old trunk doubles duty as a coffee table; Natalie has spent most of her life collecting a fabulous array of vintage and collectable decorator items for the house.




CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: Soft accents in the bedroom; Natalie sanded back the floors but chose to leave them unsealed for a more rustic look; Lazybones quilts and vintage cushions are a natural fit with the 1920s-era house.

Once the interiors were sorted, Natalie, a very keen gardener, was dying to get outside. A bobcat was called in to create a terrace to accommodate both a flat lawn and a sizeable kitchen garden. Ive been collecting Victorian gates for years, she says. So I decided to use them to fence off the terrace, which was perfect as they also offer support for the climbing roses. Next I turned my attention to creating a potting shed. I knew Id need somewhere sheltered to propagate and pot but above all it needed to be whimsical, pretty and preferably recycled.

A trip to The Demolition Yard in Brisbanes Coorparoo provided a decent collection of old fencing and French doors from which Natalie created her dream potting shed fitted with an old cast iron kitchen sink found locally at the Lismore tip. The floors are cleverly decorated in mosaic tiles made by Nat from broken china. Theyre very hardy and can just be hosed off, but are much prettier than store- bought tiles, she observes.



An outdoor shower, complete with a generously sized vintage shower rose allows Natalie to cool off in the hotter months. Id rather be in the garden than anywhere, she adds. The housework can wait but not the garden.

Its a passion she shares with her three best girlfriends, all of whom spend nearly every weekend in their respective gardens. We try to catch up regularly to share seeds and swap cuttings and stories, Nat says. Every Sunday afternoon, I relax on my deck with a glass of wine and call one of the girls, and we text photos of our weekend disasters and successes to each other. Its a lovely way to finish the weekend and get ready for the working week ahead.


CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:

Vintage mirrors add charm and character;

its all about the details; vintage fabric

collection; the original back door has been

born again as a shower surround.


Burlesque sofa from Inner Space, three and two seat options, red top-grain leather only.

Eden sofas from The Cats Meow, three and two seat options, fabric as shown

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Heritage orderS


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Heritage orderS

five generations of the manifold family have called

milangil, in victorias western district, home.

By K ir st y McKenzie, photogr aphy Ken Br as s

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five generations of the manifold family have called

milangil, in victorias western district, home.

Living historyLiving historyLiving history



Some people receive toasters and tea cosies as wedding gifts, others are given vases and artworks of dubious merit that are stashed away in cupboards. But when John Manifold married Barbara Grey-Smith in 1913, his father, William, gave the newly weds the 9500-acre [3844-hectare] Milangil station at Camperdown and crowned it with a beautiful new homestead. With soaring 26-foot ceilings in the living room and elaborate wood-carved embellishments by celebrated cabinetmaker Robert Prenzel, the homestead would doubtless have been the talk of Victorias Western District when it was completed.

Unfortunately, the couple only enjoyed their gift for a short period as they went to England where John served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery of the British army and later in an anti-aircraft battery during World War I. Upon return to Australia after the war they only lived at Milangil until 1921 when Williams death meant John and Barbara had to return to live in the familys 1857 bluestone homestead at Purrumbete.

CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW:

The Manifold clan gathers at Milangil

(back row from left) Emily van Donk, with

her grandmother Sue, mother Libby,

aunts Amanda and Edwina and uncle

David, (middle) Jean with Harriet and

Imogen and (at front) Adam van Donk and

cousin Tom Manifold; a quiet moment on

the veranda; the homestead as it was

originally with no garden and servants quarters at the back.

Heritage orderS


australiancountry.net.au 29 29

Heritage orderS



After a short time staying at Purrumbete, the family took up residence at Milangil, which by this stage, had been wrapped in dustcovers for 30 years.



Heritage orderS

William Manifolds father, John, and uncles Thomas and Peter had discovered Lake Purrumbete in 1838 having traded Englands Cheshire countryside for first Van Diemans Land in 1831, and then the Port Phillip District in 1836. The family established themselves as stalwarts of the Camperdown community, and became staunch supporters of St Pauls Church of England, the Camperdown and District Hospital and Geelong Grammar School.

John and Barbara raised three sons, poet John Streeter, Christopher, and William, and daughter Marigold at Purrumbete and the homestead at Milangil was left vacant. Christopher was studying law at Cambridge when World War II broke out and followed his father into the military, where he had a distinguished career. Early in the war the young officer met Jean, when his regiment was stationed near her home town. The couple married in 1942 and remained based in the UK until 1946, when they and their young son, Roger, came

back to Australia. After a short time staying at Purrumbete, the family took up residence at Milangil, which by this stage, had been wrapped in dustcovers for 30 years. There they added sons Simon and Thomas to the family.

Milangil, from an Aboriginal word for water, is now reduced to 2000 acres, and two of Rogers children, Amanda and David, and Davids wife, Edwina, continue his legacy. David and Edwina and their three children, Tom, 8, Harriet, 5, and Imogen, 2, now live in the big homestead and Amanda lives in a cottage on the property. Between them they run Milangil and another property at Donald in the Wimmera 230 kilometres to the north. They grow wheat, barley, canola and hay as well as manage a flock of cross-bred prime lambs. The third of Roger and Sue Manifolds children, Libby, is married to Peter van Donk, owners of the dairy farm thats part of the Green Pastures collective, which was featured in Australian Country 17.4.

BELOW:The living room has soaring double-height ceilings panelled with timber.OPPOSITE: The celebrated cabinetmaker, Robert Prenzel, came down from Melbourne to work on the intricately carved staircase, fireplaces and other details.



Our visit to Milangil coincided with an extended family gathering, which included lunch in the garden with David and Edwina and their children, Libby and two of her children, mother Sue and the matriach, 94-year-old Jean, known to all as Granny. It was a lovely opportunity for the family to reflect on their shared history and look back on the precious memories they have of growing up there, attending first the nearby Chocolyn village school (Chockie Grammar) then boarding school at Sunbury and Ballarat.

During lunch, Jean recounted how it took them months to get the Milangil homestead back to a habitable state when she and Christopher arrived in Australia after the war. When the drop sheets came off there were roots coming up through the drains in the bathrooms and the grass in the garden was as high as an adult. Under her direction, the servants quarters were removed and replaced with a much more practical sunroom.

My father-in-law was wonderful, Jean says. I dont think he really liked living at Purrumbete. He just wanted to see Milangil become the happy family home it was intended to be.

Still recovering from the shock of a routine that was more English than the English at Purrumbete, where young

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE:

Detail on the elaborately carved

staircase; the return of the staircase;

simplicity in a guest room; a beautiful bay window in the master

bedroom frames views of the paddocks.



Heritage orderS

My father-in-law was just wonderful. I dont think he really liked living at Purrumbete. He just wanted to see Milangil become the happy family home it was intended to be.



Roger was expected to have his meals in the nursery and be seen and not heard, Jean revelled in the opportunity of establishing family life at Milangil. It came with its own culture shocks as Jean, who had never seen a wood-burning stove in the UK, had first to learn to cook on the massive cast-iron, slow-combustion cooker.

But I wasnt homesick for a minute, she recalls. I had the worlds best husband and compared to post-war England this was paradise. We had access to food we hadnt seen for years with wartime rationing.

The current crop of Manifold offspring are probably too young to appreciate the significance of living at Milangil with its historic homestead and shearing shed, which was shifted to its present location in three pieces on bullock drays in the early 1900s. For them, privilege means not so much being part of the founding family of the district, but the freedom to ride ponies and motorbikes, to roam about the farm and play with their pets. The legacy of such a rich heritage is more about the simple pleasures that a country upbringing allows than having half the towns landmarks bearing your name. Its doubtless a tradition they will be proud to hand on to the next generation.

Heritage orderS

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The homestead

was completed as a wedding present in

1913; Tom and Harriet enjoy some pony time;

the property grows crops as well as lambs.

I had the worlds best husband and compared to post-war England this was paradise. We had access to food we hadnt seen for years with wartime rationing.


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droughts and flooding rains, flies, mosquitoes and snakes are the everyday reality of life on the farm in central-western queensland.By K ir st y McKenzie, photogr aphy Ken Br as s

Movement at the stationMovement at the station

Outback lifE

It takes a minute to realise that theres no irony intended when Kristy Sparrow says that in a good season she can be fl ooded in on her familys property for three months at a time. For Kristy and her husband, Alex, the swollen rivers that isolate Malden station near Alpha in central-western Queensland mean good rainfall, which in turn means good grass and healthy growth for their Droughtmaster cattle. The inconvenience of going 12 weeks without access to a supermarket, post o ce, hairdresser or any other of lifes modern conveniences and services pales into insignifi cance alongside the prospect of a good year ahead for the Sparrows and the cattle industry at large.

Yes, being stranded on our property with often only us and the children [12-year-old twins Madelyn and Tom] is challenging, Kristy allows. But it does give us time to focus on the children and their education, and continue doing something that we love that gives us a fantastic lifestyle.

Alex Sparrow is Alpha born and bred and recalls a time when his hometown, population around 400, was a bustling railway hub and service centre for the surrounding grazing community. Gradually during the past 30 to 40 years, that has dwindled as the larger town of Emerald 170 kilometres to the east flourished thanks to coal mining and more diverse rural industry opportunities. Now Alpha is earmarked for change with the opening up of the Galilee basin for thermal coal and coal seam gas mining.


ABOVE: Malden station is the

Sparrows home as well as their livelihood,

and they wouldnt have it any other way.

OPPOSITE: Tom and Maddy enjoy

horse riding with station workers Kat

and Brett Dixon.

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ABOVE: Kristys signature

style is a mix of contemporary soft

furnishings, neutral feminine pieces and family memorabilia.

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The interior is lovingly decorated with a mix of old and new accessories; Kristys online business makes accessories for princesses from ribbons and notions; a stack of old novels

Outback lifE

Kristy grew up on a sheep and cropping property in the NSW Riverina, trained in Melbourne as a kindergarten teacher and first came to western Queensland with the Remote Area Families Service. From bases at Charleville, Longreach and Emerald she travelled western Queensland running mobile playgroups and, along the way, learning all about the vicissitudes of life in the bush. She met Alex at a B&S (Bachelors and Spinsters ball) in Ilfracombe and the rest, as they say, is history. She and Alex were married in 2000 and theyve lived at Malden ever since.

When Tom and Maddy came along, Kristy was probably better qualified than most to supervise her childrens distance education, but she still lists it as one of the greatest challenges of her remote lifestyle. Its not fun being a mum and being a teacher, but many rural mothers dont have any choice, she says. I spent the first five years of my childrens education in the classroom beside the kitchen at home, but I wont pretend it was easy, or that I always

knew when to take off one hat and put on the other. There are so few staff on most stations these days that mothers find themselves not just teaching the children, but juggling the other responsibilities of running the farm and the household doing water runs, helping muster, keeping up with bookwork and supply orders, especially during times of drought when money is tight.

Compounding this situation is the lack of child care for isolated families, particularly in times of natural disaster. There are often up to 50 children from one service area on the waiting list for in-home care.

For the past three years Kristy and Alex have employed governesses to supervise the children and Kristy has stepped up her role both on- and off-farm as she has been heavily involved with the tourism committee for the Longreach School of Distance Education as well as an online mail order business called AnK Bowtique, which makes gorgeous accessories for princesses, everything from hair clips


australiancountry.net.au 39 australian country 39

Outback lifE



and ties to party dresses. Kristy admits the business can take up as much time as she allows, but she adds that she can control the flow of orders by the frequency with which she posts on Facebook. I like to think it will be a great diversion when the kids go to boarding school next year, she says. But the fact is, theres very little quiet time here at Malden. We are very social people and we make an effort to attend functions regularly. We try to ensure the children have access to experiences such as concerts, stage shows, sporting events, agricultural shows, and pony club.

That means lots of driving. Even a quick visit to Alpha is a 130-km round trip and to Emerald for groceries is an expensive and time-consuming five-and-a-half hour journey before they even hit the shops.

A shopping trip is always rushed as we try to fit everything in, Kristy says. There are haircuts and medical appointments to fit in as well as shopping for groceries and spare parts for machinery there always seems to be a huge

list. On top of that, in remote parts you always get hit for freight charges on goods and paying tradespeople for travel, so you become very adept at making do. Bush people are very resilient and will have a go at almost anything.

Other daily inconveniences include regular power outages, coping with unwelcome visitors such as flies, mosquitoes, snakes, and dirty and limited water supplies. The internet may have shrunk the world and made keeping in touch with far-flung family and friends easier, but lack of affordable downloads and frustratingly slow transmission speeds make grasping that particular carrot particularly elusive. Access to health care, particularly in times of emergency, is another constant concern.

When I first moved to the area we had a full-time doctor resident in Alpha, Kristy explains. Although I had to travel to Rockhampton (500km away) for the birth of the twins, I had all my pre-natal checks locally. Now we have no resident doctor, only visiting locums, which impacts


Kristy runs her online business,

AnK Bowtique, from an office in the

homestead; Tom and Maddy do their

schooling via Distance Ed; contemporary

accents in a sitting area; vintage vignettes

recall the stations extensive history.



Outback lifE

Its a great place to raise a family ... The wide open spaces allow them to dream big, the realities of living here make them very resilient.



on continuity of care. Its a three-hour drive to a GP and up to 12 hours to see a medical specialist, so long-term treatment, and help at times of accident or emergency, are particularly difficult. Fortunately we have the RFDS and the aerial ambulance and there have been advances in medical teleconferencing, but its always at the back of your mind.

Nonetheless Kristy says she and Alex wouldnt live anywhere else. Alex is 100 per cent committed to the cattle industry and I cant imagine him doing anything else, she says. This is a great place to raise a family. The kids have their pets and their own responsibilities. Maddy even runs a junior shop of AnK, so she is very mature in many ways. The freedom of the wide open spaces allows them to dream big, the realities of living here make them very resilient. It is less isolated than it once was, and fortunately air fares are cheaper now. I love getting away, but I love coming home too.

Outback lifE

The amazing bonds she has formed with neighbours, some of them hours away, and the get togethers they enjoy, are other benefits.

Community spirit is good, theres peace and quiet aplenty, fresh air, beautiful sunsets and starry night skies, she adds. The city-country divide is being bridged by organisations such as Baked Relief and city people are becoming more aware of what its like to live in a country area. Social media has increased the rural voice, and pages such as Ask a Farmer are really good at getting the message out.

Local communities support each other and come together when times are tough. Volunteers are the backbone of the bush. Some of the most generous, hardworking and knowledgeable people I know have rural backgrounds and Im proud to call them my friends.


Kristy decorates with a mix of local and online

purchases; Maddy runs a junior shop of AnK Bowtique from

her bedroom; Tom takes time out; the

Sparrows are deeply committed to their

land and cattle (Photo by Sally Cripps).


Unique collections of elegant bed linen, quilts, throws, curtains and other sophisticated textile accessories.

FOR STOCKISTS VISITwww.viviangrace.com.auor email [email protected]

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High country hideawaY

Diana McInness many lives as a stylist, graphic designer, ski instructor and avid collector inform her alpine home.

By Siob han OBr ien, photogr aphy Ste fanie Lee s

Design & detailDesign & detail



Blow-to-the-solar-plexus views pan over a luminous Lake Jindabyne and up to the Snowy Mountains range beyond. A mature, tree-fi lled garden is golden honeycomb in autumn and rose-scented in spring. Elegant European-inspired rooms fi lled with furs, antlers and old ski paraphernalia line the walls juxtaposed with a feminine oddity or arrangement of fl owers.

This is the home of Diana McInnes, business owner, mother and bon vivant. She has a distinct style that spills from what she wears, how she lives and what she sells in her much loved retail store. Design and Detail is located in the old shopping centre in East Jindabyne. It is set among cafs, restaurants and ski-hire outlets but it is a much more than your usual shopping fare. It is a way to live.

The store features a carefully chosen assortment of new and vintage items, some familiar, others more left of centre, Diana says. I sell everyday classics that will not date but will mellow and improve with age and are destined to become favourites. It is an ever-evolving collection and one that is always interesting.




CLOCKWISE FROM THIS IMAGE Dianas alpine home

overlooks Lake Jindabyne; a playful

pooch greets visitors.


Its in this eclectic and fascinating space that Diana spends much of her working week. Either that or she is on the road sourcing new and unusual finds for her business.

Most weekends I head to a local country clearance sale, she says. This is where I find some of my treasures for the shop. Not only do I love getting a bargain at the sales, but its such a great place to catch up with other like-minded hoarders and also sample the CWA ladies scones at the catering van. I have been known to come home looking like The Beverly Hillbillies with everything but Granny tied to the roof.

Diana moved permanently to Jindabyne in the late 90s after a taste of winter seasons as a ski instructor. For a few years she also pursued this line of work in North America, but soon grew weary of life lived out of a suitcase.

Ive lived many lives, she says, with a chuckle. Im a qualified graphic designer but I also worked as a ski

In the morning I watch the storms build up in the mountains and in the afternoon I watch the changing light show as the sun is setting.




CLOCKWISE FROM THIS IMAGE

Dianas aesthetic combines the old with

the new; one-of-a-kind pieces are discovered

in country markets and clearance sales; old

bottles are re-purposed as vases; vintage finds

add to the homes stylish ambience.



instructor, restaurateur, visual merchandiser, stylist and now business owner.

Design and Detail was opened in 2003 at a time when Diana was doing part-time interior styling and felt that she needed to expand her business to include a retail component. She also sought more stability as she is a single parent with two sons, now in their teens.

Like her business, her Snowy Mountains home has been an evolution over many years. The exterior is true Australian alpine style with organic materials such as timber, bush granite and glass featuring. Its a robust look that is characteristic of Australias snowy regions. And although it borrows much from its European cousins it is an utterly Australian aesthetic.

The interiors of Dianas home offer a different story. The look, often referred to as rough luxe, borrows from the industrial, Victorian, vintage and modern aesthetics.

It is a blend of the charmingly flawed alongside the elegantly pristine. And unlike the exteriors of Dianas home, there is a certain European quality here. Close your eyes for a moment and you could be in a swanky Swiss ski lodge.


CLOCKWISE FROM THIS IMAGEDianas cosy night-time retreat; a girl can never have too many boots; Diana describes her approach to interiors as rough-and-ready luxe.

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My home, and the way I have designed and selected elements for the interiors, is highly personal and is a true reflection of my personal quirks and eccentricities, Diana says. My favourite room is the lounge room. It is surrounded by all the things I love: timber, stone, glass, photos of my kids and a spectacular view of Lake Jindabyne and the mountains. In the morning I sit and watch the storms build up in the mountains and in the afternoon I watch the changing light show as the sun is setting over the mountains.

The garden that surrounds Dianas home is just as impressive. An orchard with a variety of fruit trees is towards the rear of the property, overlooking the lake. In close proximity is a formal garden complete with roses, while the entry of the home features cool-climate plants and a fish pond. The garden also features mature deciduous trees.

I moved here for the winters but actually I enjoy the summer and autumn more now, Diana says. For me, winter is business but the other seasons are when you catch up with friends and enjoy what the mountains have to offer. I love that I can see both the water and mountains from my house. They allow for a lot of soul searching.


CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: Diana collects

firewood; vintage ski poles add a rustic flair;

antique ice skates gain a new lease on

life; in her spare time Diana enjoys tending

her lakeside garden; another furry friend

makes acquaintances.


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Or online atwww.alpacaaustralia.com.au

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The lamp genieThe lamp geniea leap into the unknown, based on a recurrent dream, has thrown shafts of light onto lamp collector gale collins.

By Mer yl Hancoc k , photogr aphy Chr is Maliko ff

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In Lightning Ridge, scarcely a dot on the north-western New South Wales map, a bizarre set of circumstances prevails over the property known as the Black Queen. Theres more than a hint of the apocryphal, a whi of wizardry, and a sly rubbing of the lamp. To be precise, its not just one lamp there are 263 to attend to, some of which date back thousands of years.

I stole my husbands hobby because in 1990 Roger acquired three lamps and I found them incredibly beautiful, Gale Collins explains. Distraught that there appeared to be no one actively preserving these lamps for the future, she focused on the idea of creating a lamp museum. After endless study to refine her intent, she and Roger visited myriad antique shops around Australia to establish a network for building their collection.

At a similar time, while holidaying from their home in Sydney in 2004, Gale and Roger stopped off to visit the Black Queen of Lightning Ridge a homestead comprising 14,000 coloured glass bottles and startling stonemasonry handcrafted by Joan Andrews. As they approached the property, Gale recalls questioning the sanity of anyone capable of living in such a remote and harsh destination. That was before she stepped over the doorstep. She claims rather freakishly, that it was like walking into a dream shed dreamt 1000 times. I walked up to Joan and said it looks like were here to buy, she says. Roger totally went along with it so I gave up my design business in downtown Sydney and he took early retirement from his executive position at Qantas. It was a huge move but in retrospect, an inspirational one.

The parallels between the lives of Joan and Gale were strangely spooky and may have somehow cemented their connection. Joan began constructing the Black Queen at the age of 60 after a two-year recuperation from breast cancer. Gale was also diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 58

Collector profilE

and, like Joan, required a double mastectomy. They share the same birth date, their husbands share the same birth date the mirroring is endless.

Purchasing the Black Queen has afforded the Collinses the ultimate location for displaying their burgeoning lamp collection. Gale stages a three-act show with lamp illumination integral to the performance. Theres no photograph that can explain the three-dimensional wonder of lighting the lamps as we tell the story, she says. As some of the lamps are more than 2000 years old, its so breathtaking and beautiful. Gales trust is such that visitors are allowed to hold the lamps, as she derives pleasure in urging others to attune to the magic. The first lamps in history were fabricated from clay, with production sky-rocketing during the Bronze Age. Gales lamps span many epochs and she admits her biggest challenge is not to constantly purchase. Instead

CLOCKWISE FROM THIS IMAGE: A French lithophane lamp; Gale treasures a lamp once owned by US President Garfield; a dazzling Baccarat lamp.



Collector profilE

likes of her 18th-century lamp with multiple moving parts. When asked how her lamps make her feel, Gale says full

of joy and full of life. At the start of her Black Queen journey, she was told that light has the power to stimulate all the senses and she now considers herself a light custodian. Not surprisingly, her favourite time of day at Lightning Ridge is when darkness falls during the show, the million stars appear and the lamps are lit. Theres no music in her ceremonies, just wind chimes and what she describes as the beautiful quiet. I think Im a very good storyteller and when something rings true, it brings a silence, she says.

Her son once presented her with a plaque stating Destiny is not a matter of chance, its a matter of choice, which seems a fitting mantra. There are so many what ifs. Without Roger, there wouldve been no lamps and it would be impossible to run their current operation single-handedly. She considers herself very lucky. The Black Queen is one of those magical places you stumble upon once in a lifetime that remains connected to you forever, she says.

she has nurtured her powers of resistance and opts for quality. Were now in the wonderful position whereby if a special lamp turns up, we are contacted directly, she says. This means we gain access to the story of each lamp, which we document alongside the inventory. Joan also acts as chief photographer for the extensive archives.

Another challenge is maintenance, which is an ongoing issue given the age of some of her exhibits, but Gale has found lamp expert John Gannon to be a godsend. He recently fixed the snuffer on a lamp formerly owned by US President Garfield. Two or three lamps every year may have intricate mechanical issues so Gale relies on Camden-based master clockmaker Andrew Markerink, essential for the

CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: The intricate detailing of the Versace lamp astounds visitors; the Black Queen houses 263 lamps, yet this antique French lamp remains a favourite; Gale adjusts the glow on one of her treasured lamps.


Moorabool Antique Galleries

MOORABOOL ANTIQUE GALLERIES16-18 Ryrie Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220Ph: 03 52292970 Em: [email protected]

Web: www.moorabool.com

WEBTheres a large website to browse

through, and many exciting chang-es planned for the near future; make sure you join the Newsletter email list to stay up to date.

VISITMoorabool is an easy drive from

Melbourne, just 75km down the M1. You cant miss the two-story Historic premises on the edge of the city block, a short distance from the

Geelong Art Gallery.

Founded in 1958, Moorabool Antique Galleries is an unmissable destination for An-

tique lovers in Australia. With over 7,000 items in stock, theres sure to be something for everyone. In their large two-story Geelong premises, youll find Australias largest range of Antique Ceramics - plus lots more!

*Ancient Antiquities & Tribal Artifacts*Georgian & Victorian Furniture, Silver, Glass, Objets de vertu, Works of art*Victorian, Georgian, & earlier Furniture

The heart of Moorabool is the reference library; full of actual examples of pottery & porcelain from all periods & times, it is available as a

resource to interested collectors. Lectures & handling sessions take place in this academic

environment. Many pieces are the exam-ple of their kind, meaning unique, collected over a lifetime as teaching pieces. There are also 1500 books on ceramics & glass, a number that is added to continually as new publications become available. Moorabool has recently begun its own publi-cations, beginning with the fascinating story of a long-lost Australian potter, Isabella Clementina Ainslie. Theres a well illustrated catalogue published annually, full of fascinating items and the tales they tell. Moorabool can also be seen at the major Antique Fairs in Melbourne & Sydney. If any of this sounds of interest, Moorabool invites you to join their email Newsletter list: subscribe via the website for the latest events and news.

city block, a short distance from the Geelong Art Gallery.

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more than a decade ago, when leonie and terry kearney were forced out of their original much-loved cottage garden by developers, it was a mystery where theyd end up. By Mer yl Hancoc k , photogr aphy Anas tasi a K ar iof yl lidis

Coming up rosesComing up roses

On a rolling hilltop in the Samford Valley north of Brisbane, an old chimney and single hoop pine pierced the landscape. Driving past, Leonie Kearneys attention was captured, as if beckoned for a makeover. She had no idea the property was for sale, when coincidence struck. One day the real estate agent drove us up a driveway and I kept hitting Terry in the back seat of her car, she recalls. I realised this was the same place and that I wanted it desperately, but it needed a lot of work. Up at the weather-beaten homestead, there were no gardens to speak of yet Leonie thought the two enormous Moreton Bay fi gs, two hoop pines, a big silky oak and a mango tree were indicators that establishing gardens would be relatively easy. Knowledge passed on from her grandmother a proper English lady and gardening-savvy mother, plus many years of trial and error, compounded her profi le as The Rose Lady. If anyone could do it, Leonie could.

Garden close-uP



Using the outlook from every window of her near 90-year-old farmhouse as her pivotal point, Leonie began formulating garden layouts and designs. The windows framed her romantic visions, and she essentially built up a series of Impressionist paintings in her head, each mirroring the informal style, the gentle flow, the focus on light, the watered-down hues and the thin brush strokes. I like to look out on something beautiful wherever I am in the house, even if Im making a bed, she says. I love the old-fashioned species, not only the roses, and their wonderful perfumes. I have cupboards full of magazines for ideas but plant choices usually pop into my head when Im working.

Husband Terry switches somewhere between Clark Kent and Superman. He digs holes, gathers rocks and logs with a bit of character and is chief lawnmower of the 15 acres (six hectares) of grass, which he claims is when hes his happiest. I gaze around the property from the mower and I work out what else will keep my wife working, he jests. He mows one day, picks up the next, owns a butcher shop in town and is a regular Country music DJ, on a local FM radio station. Every six weeks he visits a friend to gather 40 to 50 bags

Garden close-uP

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The Kearneys used the farmhouse as the focal point for the gardens design; Leonie is known for her feminine taste in flowers; the gardens design incorporated many spots to relax.



When you garden the way we do, you dont have a life. Luckily most of the time our property looks like a rainbow.



Garden close-uP

of horse manure to spread on the garden, but reveals the real secret to Leonies stunning success with plants, is her conversations with them. When you garden the way we do, you dont have a life, he says. Luckily, most of the time our property looks like a rainbow.

Leonie admits they dont take holidays, but feels theres a sense shes living one. I was a busy woman raising three boys, she says. When they grew up I thought, how fortunate to wake up in the morning and be free to spend my day in the garden. She doesnt like the heat, so prefers the cooler, southern side of the property where an incredibly long vista marked by a Taxodium cypress, stretches down to one of the dams. Its her top pick of all the views, her favourite masterpiece.

The Kearneys run some cattle to keep the grass down, but dont own a vegetable patch. I grow food for the soul, Leonie says. Wonderful farmers grow food for our bodies. With roughly two acres of garden, the challenges are all w related wind, water and weather. Water is pumped up from the dams on the property, for direct hosing. When

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Old treasures are re-purposed; Leonie spends much of her time working in the gardens small nursery; Rosevale opens its gates to visitors every Saturday. For details visit facebook.com/RosevaleHomestead



Garden close-uP

Queenslands climate is cruel, particularly in the middle of the day, Leonie retreats indoors to her pots and focuses on propagating her roses. I call my garden a country cottage garden as its flowery and pretty, she says. I dont like clipping plants and Im not a fan of hybridising so I try to repeat patterns because I like a bit of order. I dont like the gardens looking too wild, but sometimes its unavoidable because theyre so big. Leonie runs a small nursery that is open every Saturday, where she sells old-fashioned roses, perennials and tiny treasures all propagated on-site. Sometimes visitors contribute plants they think will suit her scheme.

Lizards tap on the door for food and families of blue wrens and finches flit about in hordes. In the early evening, the cricket chorus is deafening, and snakes hide near the quaint cottage on the dam, where the Kearneys grandson often hangs out with friends. All manner of life is welcome. Yet Leonie says her greatest achievement is all the lovely people she has the pleasure of sharing her garden with. If I couldnt have a garden I would fade away and become very despondent, she says. I need to find a tiny patch of dirt to call my own, to keep my sanity.

THIS IMAGE: Rosevale is set against the stunning backdrop of the Samford Valley.

BELOW: Revamping the

farmhouse came second to creating the garden of

the Kearneys dreams.


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SYDNEY REGIONA lake and colourfully planted watercourse feature at the front of Savannahs park-like garden of wide lawns and specimen trees beneath tall eucalypts. Formal areas and massed plantings of azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, perennials, natives and beds of roses, water gardens with brightly painted bridges and a vegie garden are other features of this fi ve-acre (two-hectare) garden.

Savannah, 51 Mid Dural Rd, Middle Dural.Open September 1214, 10am4.30pm, $8

COUNTRY NSWMoonya is an inspiring one-and-a-half acre terraced garden with a diverse collection of plants and wonderful views to Lake Hume and Table Top Mountain.

heres a quick sampler of some splendid gardens you can visit in the coming months. Compil ed by Jenn y Lar ge

Established European trees shelter formal and informal rooms featuring hedges, water features and bursts of colour across the seasons. Other features include a stunning crabapple orchard and rare white box gums.

Moonya, 33 Riversdale Rd, Table Top.Open August 1617, 10am4.30pm, $8

QUEENSLANDTallaringa is one of Tamborines most signifi cant gardens with a diverse variety of cooler climate plants thriving in the ranges behind the Gold Coast. Native rainforest leads to fl owering camellias and many varieties of magnolias on this 12-acre (fi ve-hectare) site. Deciduous trees include maples, liquidambars, ash, ginkgo, pistachio, prunus, dogwood, magnolia and

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Northern Territorys Survival of the Fittest cultivates the best of Australias native plants; the Savannah gardens in Sydneys north-western region; nestled in Gold Coast hinterland, Tallaringa features a range of cool-climate plants; Banongill hosts daffodils, hyacinths, bluebells and irises; Montrose boasts stunning water views.

GREAT AND SMALLGREAT AND SMALL

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Open gardenS

persimmon. There are also lovely water features and stunning panoramic views.

Tallaringa,268 Long Rd, North Tamborine.Open August 23, 10am4.30pm, $7

NORTHERN TERRITORYSurvival of the Fittest is a rural garden with a fascinating focus on Top End native plants, along with exotic specimens and tropical fruit trees. Many of the natives are unusual and rarely available, and were grown from seed collected by the owner on frequent trips around the Territory. The rare Burmese Queen of Flowering Trees (Amherstia nobilis), with its pendant blooms, could also be in fl ower during this open weekend. This fi ve-acre (two-hectare) garden thrives on tough treatment, minimal water and fertiliser.

Survival of the Fittest, 60 Barker Road, Howard Springs.Open August 2324, 10am4.30pm, $7

SOUTH AUSTRALIABurnleas attractive farm garden surrounding an old homestead is an excellent example of dryland plants surviving in a harsh location. A wide range of hardy young natives and exotics thriving on thin stony soil is a feature of this one-and-a-half acre garden. Remnants of the original garden include a carob tree and two Washingtonia palms.

Burnlea, 100 Burnlea Rd, Bletchley.Open September 2021, 10am4.30pm, $8

TASMANIAMontrose boasts an elegant country garden set on a steep site commanding spectacular views. Weeping Atlantic cedar, Kashmir cypress, copper beech, maples and other fi ne exotic trees shelter camellias, magnolias and fl owering beds planted for year-round interest. Bulbs and perennials add to the spring display. There are also a vegetable garden, citrus orchard and chicken run.

Montrose, 1 Main Rd, Lanena.Open October 45, 10am4.30pm, $8

VICTORIAThe magnifi cent historic garden, partly designed by William Guilfoyle, Banongill features a vast lawn sweeping down to Mount Emu Creek with its famous spring display of millions of da odils naturalised along the banks. Thousands more da odils, Spanish hyacinths, bluebells, iris and jonquils bloom in bluestone terraces. Spring blossom, carpets of hellebores, beautiful mature trees, and a rose garden framed by clipped hornbeams are features of this 12-acre (fi ve-hectare) site. There will be wine and beer tastings, tours of the historic shearing shed at 12pm and 3pm both days and talks on the gardens history at 11am and 2pm both days.

Banongill, Banongill Rd, Skipton.Open September 67, 10am4.30pm, $12

WESTERN AUSTRALIASwallow Valley is a well-designed peaceful one-and-a-half acre garden commanding stunning long views of the countryside and coast. Carefully selected waterwise plants provide screening, protection and food for native birds. Delightful perfumed plants include port wine magnolias and gardenias. A handsome wisteria wreathes the veranda.

Swallow Valley, 646 Henty Rd, Burekup.Open September 2021, 10am4.30pm, $8

For details of other garden openings,

consult Open Gardens Australia or visit

opengarden.org.au

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Artist profilE

Larger than lifeLarger than life Burning bulls, generous hospitality and a good measure of creative chaos are all grist to the mill for sculptor Russell Sheridan. By K ir st y McKenzie, photogr aphy Ken Br as s

Sculptor Russell Sheridans very specifi c instructions for fi nding his home at Dardanup in WAs south-west reveal more about his character than we initially realise. Come via Barrecas winery, he says. They make the best Shiraz in the state and its only $8 a bottle. After a day in the company of Russell, his artist wife, Linda Skrolys, and assorted friends, its clear that this kind of tip-o is typical of this thoughtful and generous bon vivant, who lives life at full tilt.

Russell enjoys something of local legend status in the region, not just for the many public sculptures he has added to the local landscape, but also as the creator of the burning bull, which is the highlight of Dardanups annual Bull and Barrel Festival, a true country event with foot and goat races,

pony rides, a talent quest, local produce awards and of course, a massive timber sculpture, which is sacrificed to a big bonfire during the closing ceremony.

Every year for the past decade Russell and a team of offsiders have built the towering effigy, which then has to be transported to town on the back of a truck as an offering to the gods for another productive year on the local fruit, wine, beef and dairy farms.

As it turns out, Australian Countrys visit just happens to coincide with the day Russell and his French backpacker assistant, Roman Maral, have decided to marry the completed bull together. Russell backs and fills his mini forklift manoeuvring first the lower leg portion of the bull out of the workshop and then the top storey. As the bulls upper body dangles precariously in the air and the


UNUUntil sold, Russells sculptures are kept at

his Dardanup property in WAs south-west;

dogs feature in Russells recent works; the

sculptures incorporate found objects and old

farm machinery.

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Artist profilE



Artist profilE

front section of the forklift lifts off the ground, its apparent that he is stretching the capacity of his equipment to the max. As a concession to OH&S, Roman is sent indoors to put shoes on for the operation. He emerges wearing thongs and jumps up on the sculpture to help guide the two sections together. Witnessing the event is alternately terrifying and exhilarating as gradually the sculpture comes together and reaches its full five-and-a-half-metre stature. Local builder and sculptor Rob Gardiner turns up to lend a hand and discuss logistics for the eight-metre-high rainbow that will complete the burning bull and theres a drop or two of port (from Barrecas, of course) to celebrate the afternoons accomplishments.

Russell grew up in Bunbury and he and Linda have lived on their Dardanup property for 25 years and owned it for the past 20. Linda was born in the WA wheatbelt town of

Merredin and grew up in Esperance before studying visual art at Edith Cowan University in Perth. Her work delves into her own personal experience of migrants isolated from their heritage and she and Russell exhibit locally, in Perth and in an annual studio showing at their home. Gradually, theyve extended the house and adjacent studio and workshop and tamed the grounds, which are a perfect backdrop for Russells completed sculptures and works in progress. He and Linda have planted thousands of trees along the creek that winds past the bottom of their property and they are working on a series of garden rooms that will finally make it their ideal stroll garden. In the evenings we walk each other, like you would walk the dog, he explains. Thats when we make plans and work out what area we should tackle next.

A graduate of Perths prestigious Claremont School of Art, Russells work is self-supporting, though he


Assembling the bull sculpture requires

some heavy lifting; Russell, his wife, Linda,

local builder Rob and French backpacker

Roman celebrate the sculptures completion;

social commentary is embedded in Russells

work; ceramics, shaped wood and

even scraps of farm machinery are used to create the sculptures.



Artist profilE



Artist profilE

has occasionally taught to combat troughs between commissions. I dont mind students, he says. Its just bureaucracy I dont like.

Through media ranging from bronze and chain-saw shaped wood to ceramics and objects as diverse as old farm machinery and eBay finds, Russell explores societys ills and deficiencies and uses anti-heroes to express his concerns. Hes recently been working in resins, which have the advantage of being lightweight and durable and can be embedded with metallic powders for colour and patina. Theres a strong larrikin streak to his work, as there is indeed to his personality, which is both exceedingly generous and distinguished by a strong social conscience.

Dogs are a recent metaphor. I picked on dogs for my last exhibition, he explains. Because when I pick on people they dont like it. Art is like literature. It shouldnt

have to be pretty and puerile to be successful. But at the same time I have to recognise that if I smack people in the face with my work, Ill starve.

Russell adds that he is grateful for his public art commissions, which are numerous in the Bunbury, Donnybrook and Margaret River region. But naturally I prefer private collectors, he says. They are generally lovely people who look after your work and display it in its best light.

Were very lucky, he adds, as he casts an arm over the vegie garden, which is planted with every conceivable consumable from artichokes to zucchini. Every now and again life whacks you over the head, but then you recover and you get a reasonable commission and fingers crossed, youre back on track again. Ive got a good life, good food, good grog and a great wife. I dont have a Porsche, but then again, I dont need one.


This playful pooch statue is from Russells latest

collection; Russell with a favourite

piece at the entrance to his

property; a striking skater in motion.


CARPET: BRAMANTE, COLOUR: TIERRA

PureCrafted with a unique blend of Alpaca wool.

Using 100% undyed fibre; as nature intended.

velieris.com

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Artist in residencE

British Air Force telephonist, who had married during the war. On their return to Australia, Allans father worked first as a house painter and later as a firefighter. He recalls his mother as a Renaissance woman who could turn her hand to anything from cake decorating to making clothes. Theirs was a hospitable family, something which struck a chord when he first met Alla, whose Russian migr family also had a strong food culture.

As a youth, Allan was sports-obsessed, but he also painted from childhood and says he was lucky to have many people encouraging his artistic talents as a teenager. He studied art at Caulfield Tech and then education at RMIT. Being a scholarship student meant I had to repay my debt to the government, he recalls. So I was sent to Mansfield, which at that stage seemed like the end of the earth. The principal of the school told me he didnt want an art teacher and I said Thats good, because Im not really interested in teaching art. So I became the phys ed teacher and progressed through the ranks until I became a principal.

By the time he met Alla, Allan had graduated to an alternative school with a strong creative arts focus on its curriculum. Alla entered his orbit as the schools cooking teacher. Fresh from her travels in France she shared her dream of opening a worth-a-detour country restaurant. Alla was familiar with Daylesford as her parents had owned a dacha (summer house) in the town. Like many central

LandscapeLandscape & & legend legendfor the past 30 years artist allan wolf-tasker

and his restaurateur wife, alla, have been making their mark on the victorian town of daylesford.

By K ir st y McKenzie, photogr aphy Shar yn Cair ns , Mia Mala McDonald & Ken Br as s

As Larissa Wolf-Tasker describes her parents decision to open a restaurant at Daylesford in Victorias spa country, its just as well they didnt have a business plan, because they would never have gone through with it.

But go through with it the young cooking teacher, Alla Wolf-Tasker, and her artist husband, Allan, did. In spite of dire predictions that there was already a restaurant in town (country Chinese), that no one wanted to visit Daylesford, the railway line had been pulled up, unemployment was high and no one had any money to spend on fine dining, the couple with barely a bob between us and not able to take no for an answer went ahead and bought a disused mining site on the edge of the swamp. They set about achieving Allas dream of a destination restaurant similar to those she had encountered on Michelin Red Guide-inspired travels in France.

Allan was the son of an Australian fighter pilot and a

CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW:

Allans latest exhibition, Daylesford Landscapes, is timed

to celebrate the Wolf-Taskers 30th

anniversary living and working in the town;

Allans studio is in the grounds of the Lake

House boutique hotel.

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Artist in residencE

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Artist in residencE

Europeans, they were attracted by the districts mineral springs. Southern Europeans also got Daylesford and established vineyards and lavender farms in the region. Nonetheless, in the early 80s word had not yet filtered through to Australia at large. The countrys obsession with food was still in its infancy and when Alla put an ad in the local paper asking for local produce, the response was one sack of potatoes and another of giant carrots.

Everyone told them they were mad, Larissa says. But Dad believed in Mums vision and basically he built the Lake House for her. The block of land was covered in gorse and blackberries and the only other signs of life were one half-dead eucalyptus tree and seven redback-infested wrecked cars. So in 1979 Mum and Dad moved into a caravan on the site and Dad spent the next four years building the restaurant. In between they commuted back and forth to Melbourne to their day jobs. They finally opened in 1984, by which time I was a pre-schooler.

The Lake House has been in a state of perpetual growth ever since. Allan retired from teaching in the mid-80s about the same time the Wolf-Taskers added more land and 11 ensuited guest rooms to the property. Although Allan says he has been painting full-time since 1985, he still devotes the better part of a working week to building, maintenance and bookwork. With Alan in the background, Larissa in charge of marketing and Allas ferocious drive and dedication to seasonal produce and regional cuisine, the property has evolved from a restaurant with rooms to

a boutique hotel with a fine restaurant. The Lake House enjoys two chefs hats in The Age Good Food Guide, is listed in Tatlers 101 Best Hotels in the World and is on Conde Nast Travelers Gold List. The original 40-seat restaurant has expanded and there are also a Salus Day Spa, a function room and 33 guest rooms.

Finally, six years ago, Allan built a dedicated studio, the first time in his long career that he has been able to paint in a room that is not a bedroom or a back shed. From it, and another base on the Great Ocean Road, he works on two to three exhibitions every year, in cities ranging


The now-beautiful waterway that was

little more than a swamp when the

Wolf-Taskers bought the land; the exhibition

draws its inspiration from the surrounding

landscape; Allan in his studio; tools of his

trade at the ready.

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Artist in residencE

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Artist in residencE

from Melbourne and Sydney to Hong Kong and New York. Recognising that not all art lovers are comfortable in the hallowed spaces of art galleries, Larissa has also organised shows in pop-up venues and Allans w

Australian Country Magazine - June-July 2014

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Transcript of Australian Country Magazine - June-July 2014