Country Style

I’VE BEEN LUCKY enough to squeeze in quite a bit of travel in the past 12 months. In May I went to Canada to travel through the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer – a once-in-a-lifetime experience I would thoroughly recommend. It was my first

Editor KYLIE IMESON Creative director SARAH FARAGO Deputy editor HANNAH JAMES Art director BERNHARD SCHMITZ Contributing art director JACQUELINE PAGE Queensland contributing editor CLAIRE MACTAGGART Stylist KATE LINCOLN Feature writers REBECCA HOOTON

Margaret River Region Open Studios, Sept 7-22 Paintings, pottery, prints, textiles, illustrations – you’ll find all this and more at Australia’s largest annual Open Studios event. From Busselton to Augusta, 144 artists will welcome the public into th

Send your shopping news to [email protected] Celebrate the imminent arrival of spring with new outdoor furniture. Cotswold InOut Furniture’s Safi dining table, $1755, and Mia chairs, $825 each, come in five colours and have a timeless silho

STARTING ABOUT 10 years ago with a Facebook group of just four pioneering members, Fiona Marantelli is fighting to keep the historic process of beeswax candle-making alive. “There’s very little information on the internet and anyone who’s trying to m

REGIONAL BUSINESS advocate Mandy Walker takes stock at the end of another busy day, gazing up at the magenta sky stretching over the hills near her home in Western Australia. As one of this year’s AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Award national fi

SOME OF JOURNALIST Alex Cullen’s fondest childhood memories are of sitting on wool bales in the shearing shed, listening to old-timers tell stories. “That’s what I miss most about the country – being surrounded and entertained by that wonderful humou

HERITAGE IS EVERYTHING on a farm. Blood lines are recorded and plotted out in spreadsheets and the results are seen both in the paddocks and in the bottom line. But for the farmers themselves, heritage can be just as vital. David Refalo’s farming bac

JUST JUMP IN THE DEEP END and give it a go: that was the mentality with which Natalie and Robert Caruana approached their olive-growing venture near the NSW Central West township of Bumbaldry, and 12 years later, they are reaping the rewards. “We jus

This light-filled home in the Yarra Valley holds characterful antiques and vintage pieces. For more, turn to page 68. PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLE ■

SET AMONG TWO HECTARES of lush pasture that once housed an old dairy, Rachelle Ashmore’s farmhouse, with its weatherboard cladding, rustic tin roof and tall spire, looks like it’s been there forever. However, the home is little more than 10 years old

FROM THEIR PERCH on the roof, a pair of friendly crows keeps a watchful eye over the Coach House. “If we’re eating outside, they’re there, and if we’re feeding the chickens, they’ll sometimes eat in the coop with them,” says Danielle Symes, 39, who l

THERE’S A LARGE AERIAL artwork hanging in the dining area of Lewis Schulz and Nina Johansen’s home in Woodend, Victoria, that has special significance for the couple. “It was taken in Lofoten in Norway, a place that we love and visited on our honeymo

WITH FUEL PRICES currently at an eye-watering high in New Zealand, Christchurch locals are reluctant to venture more than 10 kilometres from town. But there is one destination they’re happy to make an exception for – a 272-hectare farm called The Row

NOMINATING A FAVOURITE plant is a bit like picking a favourite book – impossible. But, if pushed, I could tell you my very favourite bunch of plant life is flowering trees, hands down. I’ve always loved them. Flowering trees were the first things I n

DESIGNING THEIR home from scratch meant former professional hockey player David Jones and his wife Kimberly Vaage Jones could create their ideal property. Their three-storey home by the North Shore Mountains, north of Vancouver, is just right for the

In her new book, chef Annie Smithers shares tales from her first year of cooking in the country. For more, turn the page. PHOTOGRAPHY LEON SCHOOTS ■

It’s 1988 and, as a young chef, Annie has already worked at Melbourne’s iconic Stephanie’s, as well as a bustling city restaurant called Alphington House – but wanderlust has kicked in and she decides to move on. I ANSWERED A JOB advertisement for a

‘CHERAX DESTRUCTOR’ sounds more like a competitor on an episode of Robot Wars than the name of Australia’s most common freshwater crustacean. Widely known as the yabby, it can be found along the length and breadth of Australia’s riverways, streams, l

I’VE ALWAYS wondered why carrot gets to have all the fun when it comes to sweet baking, while poor old parsnip seems to be relegated to the ‘soup’ or ‘baked vegie’ category. Personally, I’m a big fan of parsnip – probably because my dad has a really

We’ve created a free e-book of our most-loved Heirloom recipes – scan the QR code above to download Part 1, and check out our next issue for Part 2. If there’s a recipe that’s been passed down through your family, you can share it with us! Email the

Embrace a slower, calmer daily routine while staying at The Nesting Post in Allora, Qld. For more, turn the page. PHOTOGRAPHY HANNAH PUECHMARIN ■

Wisteria trees and sunflower fields are just the icing on the idyllic cake that is The Nesting Post. Located just outside the quaint village of Allora in Queensland, this dreamy 1929 cottage invites guests to take a slower approach to life. The count

1 16GB Kindle Paperwhite, $269, from amazon.com.au 2 Chanel polarised Havana sunglasses in Brown, $830, from David Jones. 3 Hunza G Domino swimsuit in Rosewood Red, $315, from Farfetch. 4 Departure travel kit, $83, from Aēsop.  5 Vanity cosmetic case

Turning a vacation in spots like Yamba, Noosa or Phillip Island into real life is easier than you think. Palm Lake Resort has been creating communities for over-50s for more than 40 years. It offers everything from traditional weatherboard to sleek m

Through its carefully curated collection of garments, accessories, gifts and homewares, Raw Fibre endeavours to help people of all ages appreciate superb quality, and place greater value on a sustainable lifestyle. rawfibre.com.au Lend a touch of el

Robert, a farmer who also works in retail asset management, lives with wife Natalie and daughters Sarah, a paramedic, and Emmah, who is studying to be a teacher, at Glen Donald Estate, in Bumbaldry, NSW. They run cattle, goats, sheep and alpacas on t

CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Charles + Lee Shaving Brush in Black, $21, from Myer, gently exfoliates skin during shaving. Weleda Shaving Cream, $22.95, from David Jones, contains sweet almond oil extract and goat’s milk to protect and soothe sensitive skin.

Robert and daughters Sarah and Emmah shop for well-made clothing by trusted Australian designers and retailers. 1 Kapunda sweater in Dark Indigo, $289, from R.M. Williams. 2 Drover belt in Bark, $149, from R.M. Williams. 3 Marcel Check shirt in White

Liane Moriarty, Macmillan, $34.99 This is Moriarty’s 10th novel and it’s her masterpiece. On a plane from Hobart to Sydney, an elderly woman rises from her seat. She walks slowly down the aisle turning to left and right. For each passenger she has a

THIS SPRING, for the first time in over a decade, I will not be acting midwife to thousands of ewes. After much soul-searching, we have sold our farm on the East Coast and moved everything except 99 per cent of the sheep up to the north of Tasmania t