Table of contents for January 2017 in Country Style

As soon as I saw Kara Rosenlund’s image of a kangaroo with her joey on a beach, I was struck by how beautiful — and how Australian — it was. And how apt a cover it was for this issue, where the country meets the coast on our pages. From the inland, where ABC TV’s Back Roads presenter Heather Ewart has written an exclusive story on White Cliffs for Country Style, to our pick of the best coastal holiday spots. But back to the cover. Shot on an isolated beach in Yuraygir National Park, near Yamba in NSW, Kara was packing up her camp site when she saw the pair. “The summer rain was starting to fall lightly on the sand and they stopped for a moment to stare at…

Our Christmas issue set the tone for the season, with festive ideas for the home, table and garden. Photography Sharyn Cairns. Styling Tamara Maynes. INSTAGRAM Our Christmas issue featured the home of Julia and Philip Harpham, in the NSW Dumaresq Valley, and discussed Julia’s role in welcoming African refugees to the community. Julia’s granddaughter, Sadie, is seen here with Eliada and Jeanette. Photography Annabelle Hickson. Loved that story and wish every regional town would take note of the benefits in opening up communities to refugees @flophousevic Beautiful article #inspired @kathscottloves Follow us on Instagram @countrystylemag A DELICIOUS GIFT Thank you for your heirloom special in the Christmas issue. I made the Christmas cake and my family loved it so much I’m baking each of them one as a gift this…

ON A BEAUTIFUL spring day, chef Sean Moran and his partner Michael ‘Manoo’ Robertson opened their Bilpin, NSW, farm to celebrate the release of Belinda Jeffery’s The Salad Book. Guests were greeted at the gate by one of the property’s many kelpies, who escorted them to the shed to meet Belinda. After iced tea by Ovvio Organics and a yabby boil by the dam, there was a tour of neighbouring Bilpin Springs Orchard, then a wonderful feast with Lowe Wines. During lunch, everyone swapped seats to chat to Belinda, Victoria Carey, Country Style’s editor-in-chief, and organiser Barbara Sweeney of Food & Words. When the shadows grew long, all left satisfied and some with a takeaway coffee from Little Marionette.…

On hot summer days, the promise of salt and surf hangs heavy in the air in Newcastle, the once-industrial harbour town two hours north of Sydney. Strolling the footpaths of Cooks Hill, past old and new homes, cafés and corner stores, the humidity clings to your skin and the sweet perfume of frangipani drifts past in invisible clouds. Bar Beach is a 15-minute walk away, as is the Newcastle Memorial Walk, which shows off the area’s incredible coastline. It’s a far cry from the cool green climes of northern Sweden, but for Libby Helinski, who owns Nordic lifestyle store Pappa Sven, also in Cooks Hill, Newcastle was the perfect place to re-create the relaxed mood of a European summer cabin. Sydney-born Libby and her husband Matt, a Newcastle native,…

MEET THE PRODUCER Zeta Grealy, Carool, NSW A dream to grow coffee fuelled the purchase of a small property in Carool in northern NSW for Marc and Zeta Grealy 22 years ago. Being city born and bred, neither knew the first thing about farming, let alone how to grow, harvest or process coffee. In those early days, while Marc continued to work as a Qantas pilot, Zeta took on the farm management. “Once coffee is established, it’s relatively low-maintenance,” she says. “We’ve also stayed small, with between four and five thousand trees on nine hectares.” With the goal of producing a fine single-origin coffee — the Grealys grow Arabica — Zeta began to explore the world of roasting, a side of the business they have sold to roaster Richard Bradbury.…

After studying architecture at the University of Tasmania, Zammi Rohan could have worked in any city in Australia. Instead, in 2004, he took a position with Troppo Architects in Townsville, a regional centre he knew little about at the time. And while the firm — regarded as one of the nation’s best — was the major drawcard, Zammi soon discovered the benefits of life in north Queensland. “I arrived in January, in the hottest part of the year, so that was a shock initially,” the 36-year-old says. “I fell in love with Townsville. It’s a fantastic place to live and work. A lot of regional areas rely on one sector, whereas Townsville is quite diverse.” Zammi worked with Troppo Architects for seven years on a range of projects. “There’s a…

A GROUP OF CHILDREN explore the uneven bed of dry Quipolly Creek, bending under box tree and Cypress pine branches obscuring their path, and crouching to marvel at ripples in a puddle. It is a sensory wonderland on Lynsey and Carol Quayle’s 43-hectare property on the Liverpool Plains of north-west NSW — and the location for up to 25 annual bushwalks for the students, teachers and parents of Quirindi Preschool Kindergarten, a short bus ride away. The walks are among many play-based indoor and outdoor learning experiences preschool director Alison Thompson has introduced over the last 10 years, with the support of the preschool community. It’s been a gradual transition to make better use of the long, narrow preschool grounds, creating smaller learning spaces for the children to share their…

How I would like a dollar for every time I’ve been told something was very old because “it belonged to granny and she was 100 when she died”. People often forget that granny might have been shopping recently and bought something that was old. Ownership does not necessarily indicate age. However, family history often helps determine much about an object. Birthdays, weddings and anniversaries are traditionally a time for gift giving. Often when only an approximate date can be established for something with a maker’s mark, it is possible to determine a significant celebration that might identify an even more precise date. While I am wary of family histories that, like Chinese whispers, are often warped by retelling down the generations, they are a place to start. After that, you…

LISA HOPPE This writer shares her tips for readers entering our short story competition, page 116 . A judge of our short story competition since its inception in 2011, Lisa has spent countless hours reviewing the hundreds of submissions we receive each year. “I feel privileged to have the opportunity to read the often very personal submissions,” she says. Based in Sydney, Lisa is an Australian Writers’ Guild Award-winning writer with over 20 years experience, mainly in television and film. Her love of the country is a key influence. “I have four siblings living on farms and extended family on wheat and sheep properties in north-west Victoria,” she says. “My relatives are great storytellers and this, together with the cinematic landscape and visceral experiences, has provided great inspiration.” HEATHER…

WITH CHEF Ross Lusted from three-hatted Sydney restaurant Bridge Room at work in the kitchen, guests at our recent Country Style dinner, in association with the Champagne Bureau Australia, enjoyed delicious canapes as well as Champagne. The event was held at the Byron at Byron, with tables by artist and stylist Lisa Madigan. Ross’ four-course degustation dinner menu featured seafood including bottarga and Mooloolaba prawns supplied by Fishtales, ash-grilled duck and a lovely dessert of perfumed fruit. Each dish was expertly matched with wines from the Champagne region. Thanks also to Vin de Champagne Award winner Bernadette O’Shea for a wonderful speech.…

AS PART OF our ongoing Campaign for Country series, Country Style held a Makers Workshop at Langmeil Winery in Tanunda, SA, that showcased some of the remarkable local talents at play in the Barossa Valley region — and encouraged attendees to explore their creative side. Throughout the day, small groups baked sourdough with William Wood, owner of Carême Pastry, made micro-batch kombucha with host and Scullery Made Tea founder Cherie Hausler, hammered little copper spoons with The Hundred Mile Home’s Ilona Glastonbury and artist and metalsmith Peter Hart, and conjured delicate nature mandalas with Janelle Amos of Self Pollinate. A rustic long lunch by Little and Often was accompanied by Langmeil wines, with gorgeous cakes and tea by Scullery Made Tea to finish.…

“WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHO BUILT THE HOUSE OR IN WHAT YEAR. WE SUSPECT IT WAS IN 1915.” A property that has been home to generations of one family for more than 100 years is bound to be a treasure trove. For Trevor and Sarah Ryan, who live at Richmond, a 970-hectare merino stud on the banks of the Wah Way Creek outside Quandialla in central NSW, with their children Reuben, 10, Monty, eight, and four-year-old Clementine, life is a happy and comfortable blend of the past and the present. Home is the property’s main house, where Trevor grew up, as did his mother, Daisy, before him. “We don’t know exactly who built the house or in what year; we suspect it was around 1915,” says Sarah. “They made and…

JOHN EVANS OF SOUTH ON ALBANY, BERRY, NSW John and his wife Sonia Greig run this south coast restaurant, which is adored by locals and food tourists alike. PRAWNS WITH SALSA VERDE Serves 6 (See photograph, page 83) 30 cooked medium prawns, peeled leaving tails intact, deveined lemon wedges, to serve SALSA VERDE 2 cups curly parsley sprigs 1 garlic clove, peeled 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed ⅓ cup olive oil 1 small lemon, rind finely grated, juiced PEA SALAD 350g fresh peas, podded 90g sugar snap peas, trimmed 1 baby fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced on a mandolin small handful snow pea tendrils ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 65g goat’s curd To make salsa verde, process parsley, garlic, capers, oil, lemon rind and 3…

28 DEGREES BYRON BAY, NSW Byron Bay on the NSW north coast has great accommodation choices. For something that is both serenely simple but thoughtfully refined, with attention to every detail — from French linen to black painted French oak floors and complimentary organic chocolate — 28 Degrees should fit the bill. Only a couple of blocks from the beach and less to the heart of town, 28 Degrees (the name references Byron Bay’s latitude) is the new boutique accommodation offered by interior designer Deb Garske and family. Three of the guestrooms open onto fragrant gardens and private plunge pools, and a fourth upstairs room offers views of the lighthouse. Guest bikes are provided for exploring town, but there are no televisions. “We want people to switch off and enjoy…

“With the Great Barrier Reef on our doorstep and a thriving adventure tourism market, Townsville is certainly the place to be.” WITH MORE THAN 300 days of sunshine every year, there’s lots of time to explore Townsville, located halfway between Brisbane and the tip of Cape York. And it’s not just tourism that brings in the crowds; the bustling Queensland region is now one of the fastest-growing areas in the state, with a population of more than 190,000. A leading regional centre for economic development, its sectors include government services, mining, agriculture, marine research, defence, tourism, education and mineral processing. “The future here is exceptionally bright,” says Townsville Enterprise’s CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan. “We’re the regional powerhouse of the north, and well on our way to becoming the true capital of…

BUSHMAN A haunting tale of family lost and found, and the consequences of decisions made, by Sydney-based Robert O’Reilly. “AT NIGHT IT looks like someone’s put a torch to the sky,” he told me, looking up to the heavens. An appreciation of nature’s clout was mapped in the wrinkles of his face, puckered like cellophane and hardened by wind and sun. His voice, unoiled by conversation for years, was as rough as rocks, and his eyes had the uncertain gaze of a man unfamiliar with company; they looked everywhere and nowhere at once. We were standing on a cake of rock that jutted out from the top of the mountain, not far from where he’d collected me. I’ll meet you at the No Camping sign, the letter had said. Five…

NUJEEN Nujeen Mustafa, HarperCollins, $29.99 Although I’m full of admiration for feisty 16-year-old Nujeen, a Kurdish Syrian refugee confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy, it is Nasrine, her sister, who is the heroine of this memoir. Nasrine pushed Nujeen through Syria, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria through to Germany where the blessed Angela Merkel housed and educated the family. On the television news we see the Kurds fighting in Syria, doing much of the heavy lifting, while western and Iraqi forces dither. Nujeen’s journey brings home the hopelessness of the situation but helps us to be better informed. THIS WAS A MAN Jeffrey Archer, Macmillan, $42.99 This is the seventh and final novel in The Clifton Chronicles, a series which follows two families through from…

“IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO FOLLOW A FEAST OF CHRISTMAS TURKEY WITH A MONTH OF GOING COLD TURKEY?” AH, JANUARY. A month of serving penance for the excesses of the festive season. If March is the month of Mars, the Roman god of war, then January is the month of Detox, the universal saviour of livers and arteries. Tread carefully in January, for you tread on the hopes, anxieties and frailties of all whose superstitions have hoodwinked them into believing that a new year can create a new life. The most unpredictable and capricious of these are those who have taken vows of a Dry January. I’m happy to agree that most of us should drink less — and that some shouldn’t drink at all — but why on…

THE CHANCE TO see one’s work in print and win a substantial prize of $5000 has tempted many readers over the years to try their hand at Country Style’s Short Story Competition. Some have been experienced writers, others first-timers who surprised themselves with the extent of their literary talent: all are equal when the entries are collected for judging. Your story can involve any situation or setting, but must incorporate ‘light’ as a major or minor theme in either a figurative or literal sense. We look forward to your imaginative response — time to start writing! PRIZE The winning entrant will receive $5000. TO ENTER Mail your story, along with your full name, address and daytime telephone number, to STORY, Country Style, Locked Bag 5030, Alexandria, NSW 2015. Alternatively, visit…

weekends away NSW The Cottage Kangaroo Valley Running throughout summer is a special package for Country Style readers at artist and stylist Lisa Madigan’s gorgeous cottage stay in Kangaroo Valley. A basket of seasonal local delicacies will be awaiting your arrival, including olives, sourdough treats and a selection of fresh produce. Also included is a delicious breakfast hamper and Aēsop amenities. The package is available for bookings made during the month of January for stays taken until February 28th, 2017 — $660 for two nights midweek, $880 for weekends. Mention this page at the time of booking. 0415 138 909; lisamadigan.com.au VICTORIA Habitat House at Botanica Editions In the Yarra Valley, Habitat House boutique cottage retreat (part of Botanica Editions property) offers an eclectic mix of contemporary comfort,…

It’s fair to say that the Akubra is an Australian icon. Practical and long-lasting, these fur-felt hats are standard-issue workwear for country men and women, but in recent times they have gained a following among fashion-conscious city folk and celebrities, who are regularly photographed wearing them. Television presenter Lisa Wilkinson favours the ‘Coolabah’ while Samantha Armytage prefers the ‘Avalon’, and actor Hugh Jackman is often seen wearing his ‘Cattleman’. Although there are now 60 styles available, the company’s top sellers remain the classic stockman’s hats, which have wide brims for protection from the sun and rain, and a reputation for reliability and durability. “We’ve seen hats that are 50 to 60 years old that are still in top condition,” says Stephen Keir IV, Akubra Hats’ managing director. Stephen’s great-great-grandfather,…

“IT NEEDED TLC. IT WAS THE COLDEST HOUSE IN WINTER, AND THERE WERE RATS AND POSSUMS…” “THE BUILDER FOUND SECRET PANELS IN THE WOODWORK.” The location was idyllic, and the proximity ticked all the right boxes. However, the beach house that Heather and Peter Cameron eventually found in 2009, at Flinders on the south-east tip of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, was much more than they had imagined. Heather laughs when remembering how they stumbled across St Marys, a classic old seaside home overlooking the meeting of the wild waters of Bass Strait with Western Port Bay. Back then, they were looking for “a little beach house, walking distance to the beach, café and a pub”. Nothing much was on the market, Heather says, and as they explored the point…

IN THE CUMPER household of yore, summertime meant growing tomatoes and corn in our backyard vegetable patch. It was a simpler time, before the terms ‘urban farm’ and ‘high-density smallholding’ entered the vernacular, and we chose our seeds from the Yates catalogue rather than having them ‘curated’ by a wellness coach. While not quite on the scale of the cornfield in the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams, our patch was big enough so that I could lie down in the middle of it and imagine myself in a paddock where cornstalks stretched to the horizon in every direction. Back then, the laws regarding suburban poultry keeping were not as strict as they are today. We were regularly woken by the competing cries of the neighbourhood roosters, and often received…

The three-hour road trip from Broken Hill to White Cliffs in the outback of far western NSW delivers pretty much what I’d expected: scrubby semi-desert saltbush plains with more than the odd kangaroo to dodge right on sunset. Stray cattle can be a bit of a hazard too on the edge of vast pastoral stations. There’s a greenish tinge to the land after heavy rains, but as I near the small pioneer opal-mining town of White Cliffs, this gives way to red earth, and what strongly resembles a moonscape. I’m on my way to film an episode of the ABC TV series Back Roads, featuring country towns around Australia. I will be in White Cliffs for 10 days, and already I’m wondering what it is that attracts people to such…

MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, who died in 1956, aged 92, owned this serving set. Could you please help me with some information about its origin and history? K. Newman, BALLAN, VICTORIA Thomas Turner and Co. was established in Sheffield in about 1802. The firm was a major manufacturer of cut-throat razors and carving sets. By 1883, the firm was electroplating cutlery and in 1918 was known as T. Turner and Co. They went out of business in 1919. This clearly places your serving spoons as having been made between 1918 and 1919. They were probably a gift. Was there a significant event in your great-grandmother’s life at that time? The fashion for an endless variety of tableware developed in the Victorian era when there was a ‘proper’ utensil for every purpose.…

TURNING TABLES Refresh your table with ‘Darjeeling’ linen by L&M Home. Trade can source the range this February at the AGHA Sydney Gift Fair. aghagiftfairs.com.au BEAUTY SLEEPER The classic ‘Cino’ bed design is complemented by the intricate tailoring of its bedhead with button and curved wing details. Pair it with a ‘Cino’ bedside table and tallboy. fortywinks.com.au STYLISH ESSENTIALS The collection of fashion, accessories and homewares at Olive and Clover is wonderfully eclectic. From light and ethereal to sophisticated and chic, you’re sure to find something to suit your style. www.oliveandclover.com.au FEATHER INN YOUR CAP Next time you visit Tasmania, show off your travel know-how and book a room at the historic Red Feather Inn. Its sandstone buildings house a luxury retreat, including a restaurant that serves up local produce…