Sommaire pour December 2019 de Country Style

Mum said yes, of course. Just at that moment a tree behind the house burst into flames and it began to rain. We were so lucky. That year, the fires came right up to our back paddock, leaving behind a charred boundary line as a reminder for many months afterwards. As I write this, many people in NSW and Queensland, already battling the drought, are now facing the most dangerous bushfire season on record — much, much worse than the fire I’ve described. Our thoughts are with them and the amazing firefighters who do such a brilliant job. One of the first stories in this issue is about some very resilient and enterprising women living in the bush. Photographer Clancy Job, florist Suzie Meers and graphic designer Emma Barrett recently…

A HARD ROAD My husband and I recently drove to Brisbane via the New England Highway. We were amazed at the devastation of the landscape and the spartan fields, empty of stock. What particularly struck me was the amazing women who were working in the country towns. One told me she now works part-time in a shop in order to pay for the weekly groceries. Another said it cost them $2000 a week to feed their sheep and that didn’t cover the freight cost when feed often has to come from as far away as South Australia. Another said they have five water tanks and only one has water in it and they had to pay for that water. My heart goes out to these brave families who have to…

QUEENSLAND Wasabi Restaurant & Bar One aspect of Japanese dining that Wasabi’s owners, Danielle Gjestland and Zeb Gilbert, like to honour is the expression of season and place. December sees summer’s menu unveiled. There’s everything from line-caught fish delivered to the restaurant’s jetty to Japanese herbs and vegetables grown on the restaurant farm, Honeysuckle Hill. A summer favourite is the fragrant shiso leaf, a key ingredient in grilled tsukune (usually made with minced chicken but here they use free-range goose). While the menu reads as Japanese there are echoes of Australia. Miso, for instance, is made using bunya nuts, instead of soybean, and Zeb uses cracked macadamia nut shells to smoke different ingredients. One ingredient that comes from afar — but not as far as Japan — is the restaurant’s…

SUZIE MEERS PARKS her dusty wagon beside an old shearing shed near Narromine, NSW. The wagon is filled with buckets of roses and paper daisies of pastel hues, which photographer Clancy Job helps Suzie unload. The flowers are placed on a large wooden shearing table for Suzie to carefully select and trim the stems. It’s still cool inside and the boards creak underfoot as she assembles a floral display atop a nearby wool press. There are no remnants of wool on the floor this year. The press, like the red plain beyond, lays dormant, as drought continues to bite throughout western NSW. But for today, the woolshed, along with an old cast-iron tub and table outside in the paddock, are transformed into something beautiful as an ode to the rural…

THE COUNTRY HAS a way of seeping into your soul, and quietly living there, no matter where you go. Helen Curtis was born and bred on a farm in East Gippsland, Victoria, and then raised her own three, now adult, children in the region. But more than a decade ago she became a city dweller, living in inner-city Melbourne with her husband Rodney: that was until the longing set in. “I grew up on a farm that my ancestors had lived on for 160 years, between Metung and the Tambo River, a beautiful part of the world,” says Helen, owner of Found, an antiques store in Daylesford. “We moved to a small apartment in the city but after living there for six months with no garden, no trees and no…

• Fliss chose an all-white scheme for her kitchen. “I thought if I have a white base I can just add to it,” she says. “I love having big flower arrangements, bowls of fruit, layers of details and textures.” The display shown on the island bench combines Silver Dollar gum with pear tree branches. • The facia of the island bench features joinery with a V-groove detail to match the original timber panelling appearing elsewhere in the home. • The kitchen stools are Jok stools from Western Australian company Empire Homewares. “I love the leather seat,” says Fliss. (08) 9754 7492, empirehomewares.com.au • The wall sconces in the kitchen are the 20th Century Library Single Sconce in Aged Steel, from Restoration Hardware in the US. restorationhardware.com • Fliss’s Christmas gifts…

CHRISTMAS IS A time of reflection for me (and I don’t mean gazing at myself in the bathroom mirror to snap a pouting selfie). As a chef, I’ve worked my fair share of Christmases and the first festive season I spent away from my family and in the kitchen remains vivid in my memories… I had just finished my apprenticeship in Melbourne and enthusiastically skipped off to London, my birthplace, to work in a large hotel kitchen. Unfortunately, my breezy disposition and questioning of authority were abruptly at odds with the grimly antiquated and hierarchical kitchen culture I had plunged myself into. But I managed to survive a year, which prepared me for my next move to a venerated 16th-century English restaurant smack-bang in the middle of Constable Country in…

For Maree Duncombe of Conondale Station, near Maleny on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, the best Christmas present is the small, four-legged variety. She runs 300 Brahman cows and 200 weaners on the 930-hectare cattle property, which calve from July through until February. Inevitably, a handful of snowy Charbray calves are born on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day itself. “They tend to get named either Chrissy or Evie — I have had quite a few of them over the years!” says Maree, 38. “My absolute favourite thing is witnessing a calf being born. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing those first few minutes of connection and love shared between a Brahman mother and her baby, it is just so natural. No matter how many times I see it, I…

FLISS BROPHY ACCESSORIES DESIGNER AND MUM OF THREE, 43 Since returning to her family’s property in south-west Western Australia six years ago, Fliss Brophy juggles raising three kids with her fashion business Bahru. Where do you live? I live on our beef farm with my husband and our three kids. There are three houses on the property, my parents’ homestead where I grew up (and where they still live), our house, which was my grandparents’s, and a worker’s cottage. What do you love most about living on the farm? The connection with nature, open space and the proximity to the beach. It’s an unbeatable place to raise our kids. How would you describe your style? I live in jeans, a shirt and trainers when I’m not in work boots. What…

MUSEUM PIECES DISCOVER UNUSUAL PIECES FOUND IN THE PERMANENT COLLECTIONS OF GALLERIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. STICK FURNITURE IS ANCIENT and examples can be found in many different cultures. In Australia, the tradition was strongest in northern Tasmania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Craftsmen — including Jimmy ‘Possum’ (so-called because he lived in the bush, perhaps in a hollow tree), Mick Cook, Lennie Longford, and members of the Larcombe family — mostly lived in and around Deloraine. They made chairs for their own use and to sell, supplementing their income as timber workers and farmers. Locals with long memories tell tales of Jimmy Possum bringing a chair into town to sell for a few shillings as late as the 1930s. Several members of the Larcombe family made furniture…

LIGHT AND BRIGHT The Set cushion in Citrus will add a touch on cheery sunshine yellow to any room. domayne.com.au/ set-cushion-citrus.html BEAUTY SLEEP Ruby Simone silk pillowcases, luxuriously finished in a high-density silk are essential for luminous skin and hair. rubysimonesilk.com.au TAKE A SEAT The Rodeo outdoor dining chair not only looks good, it’s comfortable too. harveynorman.com.au/rodeo-outdoor-dining-chair.html IT’S A WRAP A beautiful Smitten Merino scarf is so versatile. Wear it as a wrap, pashmina, travel wrap and sun protection on holidays. smittenmerino.com CARRY ON The Arlington Milne Paige crossbody bag is made from premium leather with a removable strap — practical and stylish. unearthedhomewares.com TAKE A TOUR Join Nina’s Pathways small group tour of Sri Lanka in April 2020, or let us organise a departure date that suits you. ninaspathways.com.au…

KRISTINA SOLJO This photographer loves the collaborative nature of photograph shoots. She worked with Sarah Maloney to capture the images for our entertaining gift guide on page 106. “I never work alone, and each new person I collaborate with brings something new … this is when the magic happens,” says Kristina. Her work in fashion, interiors and travel is a world away from her childhood in the mountains of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where she lived until she was seven. “We had sheep, a cow, chickens, bees, pigs, a dog, grew all our own fruit and vegetables and would smoke meats and preserve food for the winter,” she says. “We were very self-sufficient.” When the family moved to Sydney it was suburban living — not the language — that proved the biggest shock.…

THE WAY I see it, taking bad days with the good is simply life. Our journey is made up of wins and losses, happiness and sadness, laughter and tears — the yin and yang of life. So it is with Christmas. As the years roll by we can all look back and remember Christmas days that were euphorically happy, as well as those that were tinged with sadness, or heart-achingly lonely and left us tired and empty. The first 30 years of my life were lived in close proximity to my family. Memories of childhood Christmases are sweet and echo with the hauntingly beautiful sound of music. As my grandfather played the fiddle, I was spun in the circle of laughing older siblings and cousins playing Ring a Ring o’…

NSW Voco Kirkton Park Hunter Valley Start your day by heading to the hen house and pig pen with a feed bucket, taking in the view of the surrounding hills. Or do a few laps in the pool. Another option is to sleep in and have a late buffet breakfast. At Voco Kirkton Park Hunter Valley you can do as much or as little as you like. The rooms all have verandahs on which to enjoy a glass of wine from a nearby winery as the sun sets. But before that, book in for a cocktail-making class using ingredients from the hotel garden. Dinner at Locavore, its onsite restaurant, is a must for its hospitality and Hunter-centric wine list. 336 Oakey Creek Road, Pokolbin, (02) 4998 7680, huntervalley.vocohotels.com…

WHEN JANE CAY purchased a small clothing store in Cooma 14 years ago and renamed it Birdsnest, little did she know her fledgling business of five people would grow into a team of 140. Her dream was to launch it online, build it to be the same size as the store in the Snowy Mountains town, 114 kilometres south of Canberra, then replicate it in other country towns. However, the online store quickly became the main game. The 41-year-old believes understanding her customer and creating a nurturing work environment have contributed to her company’s extraordinary success. “Becoming the champion of culture is my main job. It’s like the soil; if you nurture and fertilise it, great things grow from that. Once your team really care about their roles, they care…

• An Esse Ironheart woodfired stove is used for cooking and heats the entire house. esse.com • The exterior of the cottage is painted in Porter’s Paints Jaguar. 1800 656 664, (02) 9698 5322, porterspaints.com • Bathroom fittings are from The English Tapware Company. 170 Queen Street, Woollahra, NSW, (02) 9362 4736; 751 High Street, Armadale, Victoria, (03) 9818 1403, englishtapware.com.au • One of Helen’s favourite haunts for vintage and antiques when in Melbourne is Ingles & Co, 2 Victoria Road, Hawthorn, Victoria, 0481 751 144, inglesco.com.au…

WITH A FULL HEART I’m writing this to you from North Stradbroke Island, a sand island in Queensland’s Moreton Bay. The local Quandamooka people call it Minjerribah, which means ‘island in the sun’. It’s just turned spring, though it always feels like summer over here. People like to keep Stradbroke Island a secret. It’s a haven — for people and nature. Being here feels wild. People say the island feels this way because a planned bridge was never built to connect it to the mainland. Being isolated only attracts a ‘certain type of person’, the type who doesn’t see travelling over water as a barrier, and who yearns for simplicity. The seclusion has kept the island safe from change. My husband and I bought a weekender here about 18 months…

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD’S CHRISTMAS is always full of excitement and wonder but Haruki Busuttil Nishimura has more than just gifts to look forward to this year. He is also eagerly awaiting the arrival of a sibling, who will hopefully make an appearance on time, not in the middle of Christmas dinner! “Baby number two is due December 30,” Haruki’s mother, food writer and cookbook author Julia, says. “But if baby comes early, it will be a beautiful Christmas gift.” In fact, even though Nori, her Japanese husband, is a talented chef, it seems only contractions will stop Julia from preparing this year’s Christmas feast. “Nori is an amazing cook but I generally like to be the one in charge at Christmas,” she says. “Since Nori never really grew up celebrating Christmas,…

“We visit the church that overlooks the Hill of Grace vineyard on Christmas Eve…” STEPHEN AND PRUE HENSCHKE Henschke, Eden Valley, South Australia Husband and wife as well as chief winemaker and viticulturist, Stephen and Prue are the fifth generation of Henschkes to produce wine. They consider themselves “custodians” of their land for their children Johann and his wife Angela, Justine and Andreas, and are very focussed on sustainablilty. Do you feel connected to the land through winemaking? Stephen: Absolutely. Great wine is made in the vineyard. Our historic sites, such as the 50-year-old Wheelwright, 100-year-old Mount Edelstone and 150-year-old Hill of Grace vineyards, have a strong personal history and story to them. Are there any traditions that you follow every year? Prue: We visit the church that overlooks the…

JUST BELOW CAPE NATURALISTE, west of Geographe Bay, the vibrant coastal town of Dunsborough in the Margaret River region of Western Australia is a favourite vacation spot for many and it’s easy to see why. The diverse beauty of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, its proximity to Margaret River wineries, fresh produce, acclaimed restaurants and hip cafés are part of the appeal, as is the lure of surf breaks at nearby Yallingup, Smiths and Injidup beaches. But it’s also that relaxed south-west vibe that entices many holidaymakers and young families to put down permanent roots in this coastal town of about 5300 people. Isaac Kara, head roaster and co-owner of Margaret River Roasting Company, says it was the lifestyle that lured him back to the region six years ago. The 33-year-old grew…

1 Aurellia dress in Sage, $239, from Bird & Kite. 2 Flax water jug in Duck Egg Blue, $54, from Darling & Domain. 3 Coco Milk moisturiser, $24.95, from We Are Feel Good Inc. 4 Amandi perfume, $59.95, from Melis. 5 Bessette Slim Illuminate jeans, $229, from Nobody Denim. 6 Paris bag in Blush, $280, from Bahru. 7 Krystle Knight Spirit Light bracelet, $89, from Milc Homewares. 8 Chat 10 Looks 3 podcast with Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb, from iTunes. 9 The House and Garden at Glenmore book by Mickey Robertson published by Murdoch Books, $65, from Booktopia. 10 G2S 1001 Classic Canvas shoes, $135, from Spring Court. 11 Armor Lux Heritage long sleeve T-shirt in Navy, $100, from Irving & Powell. 12 Liberty pants, $79.99, from Black Pepper.…

BACK IN THE days before we preheated the planet to meltdown level, summer holidays meant going to the beach. Everyone went to the beach. We were expected to go to the beach. It was unpatriotic not to go to the beach Old-timers remember how it was. I was discussing the summer break with an old-timer the other day and he asked, “Are you going to the beach?” “Those were the days,” I said, “but now the beach has pretty much come to us.” We used to go to the beach for sun and sand and warm days and balmy nights. Or sometimes to the river. Remember rivers? Some used to run so you could float down them on tractor tyres or air beds. That was back when the fish were…

PERFECT CURE My mother felt miserable with bronchitis and I asked what would help and she replied “something beautiful and peaceful”. I arrived with your Coastal Homes and the November issue. We loved all the articles, especially reading about writer Heather Rose with her enduring love of literature and the sea. Many memories came back of the holidays we spent in South Africa, travelling from our home in Zimbabwe. We took out old photograph albums and shared the times of lazy days on the beach. Country Style is a cure for all ills and provides so much joy with amazing pictures of nature and the families who live in beautiful surroundings. We are grateful for the immense pleasure you bring us each month. Vickie Mavros, Sale, Victoria GOLDEN MEMORIES As…

VICTORIA Woodend Community Farmers’ Market, first Saturday One of many projects run by the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group aimed at promoting sustainable living. As an accredited member of the Victorian Farmers’ Market Association, shoppers are assured the goods have been produced by the farmer or maker selling it. You can pick up Christmas cake, whole hams and festive baking ingredients, including fresh walnuts and free-range eggs. There is also a home-produce exchange, where backyard gardeners swap their excess. You can take broken bikes, wooden furniture and even computers and teddy bears to the Woodend Repair Café, which is always open on market day, plus there’s a recycling service for batteries and more. The market is plastic free and welcomes dogs. 9am–1pm. Corner of High and Forest streets, Woodend, 0458 769…

ASK ANY SERIOUS Australian swimmer about their early years, and you can guarantee a rhapsody about splashing around outside. “It’s just so special, feeling the sun and the breeze on your skin,” agrees Libby Trickett, OAM, winner of four Olympic golds and Sport Australia Hall of Fame luminary. “Swimming outdoors is one of the best things about being from this part of the world.” Libby was a year old when she learned to swim, and joined her first club at four, following in the wet footsteps of her siblings Justine, then 12 years old, Victoria, nine, and Stewart, eight. Growing up in Townsville, Queensland, she vividly remembers the searing heat and the relief of plunging into the pool in their back garden. That everyday occurrence led on to podiums in…

AFTER LIVING ABROAD for several years and with three children aged under five, Western Australian couple Fliss and David Brophy felt the irresistible pull of home. Having grown up on a dairy farm on the south-west coast of the state, Fliss was yearning for the wide spaces and the windswept curve of sand and surf she knew as a child. “We decided that it would be a good time to return to Australia so the kids could have the country upbringing I had,” says the 43-year-old. Fliss, a former marketing executive, and Dave, 43, a commodities trader, originally moved to Singapore as a newly married couple, when they both had jobs that required a lot of international travel. After the birth of their oldest son Jack, now 11, Fliss left…

WHERE DOES ONE start with a bare paddock in Australia at one’s disposal and such a wealth of roses to choose from? ‘‘‘Baronne Henriette de Snoy’, ‘Omar Khayyam’ and ‘Tricolore de Flandre’ … I delighted in their very names, exotic, evocative, conjuring up visions of distant places, other climes, other centuries. One thing was certain: there would be no place in my garden for ‘Frilly Dilly’ or ‘Sexy Rexy’!” So mused the late Susan Irvine, who became one of Australia’s best-known rosarians, when she wrote up her first rose order in 1982. This was for the garden Susan created at Bleak House on the windswept plains of central Victoria around a century-old stone cottage. Ten years later she told the story of making this garden in Garden of a Thousand…

MEET THE PRODUCER Nick Austin, Mundarlo, Wagga Wagga, NSW A course in regenerative agriculture, a comment from his wife Deanna about working on weekends and the effects of the drought all contributed to Nick Austin rethinking his approach to farming. Methods and ideas he’d accepted in the past were scrutinised and together with his parents, Frank and Diana, they mapped out the farm’s future using a holistic context tool, which aligns decisions with the life you want. “I wanted time,” says Nick. The farm has changed with each generation: sheep in the 1940s; cattle, cropping and silage in the ’70s. Today, Nick only runs cattle on the 1440-hectare property and is focusing on soil health and ground cover. Cattle numbers are determined by how much pasture there is for feed.…

NEW SOUTH WALES Amara Home The facade of Amara Home in the quaint village of Berry on the NSW South Coast is like something from a fairytale. It’s covered in creeping ivy that shrouds the blacksmith and farrier sign from days gone by. Inside you’ll find a dreamy selection of interiors and high-end fashion in neutral colours. One-off furniture and decorative pieces, sourced from as far as Africa, India and Morocco, sit comfortably among luxury clothing and accessories by Celine, Anine Bing, Jac and Jack, Lucy Folk, and Bemboka. Be sure to seek out knives by Poglia, The Laundress’ genius collaboration with Le Labo and Jérôme Dreyfuss’s buttery soft leather bags — for all of the latest finds in this treasure-trove of a store, follow @amara_home on Instagram. 83 Queen…

WHEN IT COMES to legendary beauty brands, an inspiring behind-the-scenes story can make the products themselves all the more alluring. Take La Mer’s Crème de la Mer moisturiser ($455 for 60ml), which has a devoted following and an intriguing history. In the 1950s, Dr Max Huber, an aerospace physicist, suffered burns to his face after an explosion in the lab. After 12 years of rigorous experimentation, Huber produced a ‘miracle broth’ made from fermented kelp which, legend has it, erased all evidence of the accident. Such was Huber’s belief in the rejuvenating powers of his broth, he reportedly ate it by the spoonful as well applying it to his skin. After Huber’s death in 1991, Estée Lauder snapped up the formula and made La Mer a billion-dollar brand. Price can…

April & Oak 1 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes, NSW,1300 793 271, aprilandoak.com.au Aura Home 60 Corporate Drive, Heatherton, Victoria, 1300 304 269, aurahome.com.au Avène avene.com.au Bahru bahru.com.au Barnaby Lane Unit 2 30 Wangaratta Street, Richmond, Victoria, (03) 9077 3792, barnabylane.com.au Bauwerk Colour Unit 1/15 Emplacement Crescent, Hamilton Hill, WA, (08) 9433 3860, bauwerk.com.au Beauty Blender beautyblender.com Bioderma bioderma.com Bird & Kate birdandkite.com Black Pepper 1800 001 399, blackpepper.com.au Bobbi Brown bobbibrown.com.au Booktopia booktopia.com.au Burt’s Bees burtsbees.com.au Busatti 1/50 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, (02) 9363 4318; 257 Queen Victoria Street, North Fremantle, Western Australia, (08) 9335 8918, busatti.com.au Canvas and Sasson (03) 9790 1266, canvasandsasson.com.au Clay Beehive claybeehive.com Clinique clinique.com.au Clover Flower Co Fulham Place, Melbourne, Victoria, (03) 9620 4333, cloverflowerco.com Cultiver 499 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Victoria, (03) 9827 0781, cultiver.com.au Darling & Domain 122 Wellington Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, (08)…