Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2023 i Country Style

AS I TAKE a final flick through this issue before it gets sent off to the printer, I realise that the stories contained in its pages in many ways reflect the state around which this magazine revolves: Tasmania. There are modern, cleverly designed homes built to withstand changeable weather; historically significant houses on farms given another chapter by a new custodian; and inspiring tales of trailblazing people making a go of it against the odds. All with Tassie’s rugged natural beauty as the backdrop. Having now visited our island state several times, I have a special admiration for Tasmanians. They are no-nonsense, they love being outdoors, they don’t seem to feel the cold (unless it is actually Antarctic), they are adventurous, and they can laugh at themselves. As our Country…

MOVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY without visiting the area first seems risky, but Rose Kiselev had a good feeling about it. “I moved from the Gold Coast to Tasmania with my husband, Dmitry, just over two years ago,” she says. “We hadn’t ever been before, but we fell in love with it just by looking at real estate online and seeing all the open countryside. It seemed much quieter, with cute towns and older architecture.” The duo packed up, filled their trailer and made the drive down to Hobart, where they began searching for a home. A quaint farming town called Sorell soon stole their hearts. “We found a hectare of land and began building a house, which we moved into at the end of last year,” Rose, 30, says. “We…

LAUNCESTON TAS WHEN PEARL AND ROSS BLANDFORD were dreaming up the design for their new home, they went on long drives around Tasmania to collect inspiration from the state’s heritage houses. But they found it wasn’t the grand manors that sparked their interest; it was the estates’ humble shearing sheds and other outbuildings that caught their eye. “The industrial working buildings really appealed to us. They just really spoke to the Australian lifestyle,” Pearl recalls. “We loved the look of Georgian homes, but if we put a Georgian cottage on our land, it wouldn’t work in the same way. We didn’t want it to stick out in the landscape.” The couple had bought a two-hectare block overlooking the River Tamar (kanamaluka) in Launceston that had once been merino sheep pasture.…

DANISH FOLK HAVE a wonderful term for the feeling of cosy comfort and soul-nourishing moments shared with loved ones. Known as ‘hygge’, this sense of the good life can be found at Cressy House Estate, a sheep and crop farm in Longford, Tasmania, not far from Launceston on the traditional lands of the Panninher people. Home to Henry and Margit Smith and their three sons – Noah, 12, Oscar, 11, and eight-year-old Edward – the 1170-hectare property has been in Henry’s family for generations. His great-great-grandfather first leased the paddocks and Cressy House homestead in 1884, and then his great-grandfather purchased it all for 12,000 pounds in 1914. Henry, 39, has followed in their footsteps and now runs the large-scale operation. Meanwhile, Margit, 40, grew up on a farm in…

IT’S EASY TO THINK you’ve ticked all the Tassie boxes. If you’ve braved the windy top of Mount Wellington/kunanyi, eaten your way around Hobart and stopped at wineries on the way to Freycinet Peninsula, then gone on to Cradle Mountain (where, if you’re unlucky, you might just lose a chunk of flesh when a cute wombat takes on a more menacing persona up close), you might think you’ve seen it all, bar a town or two. But if you take another trip to the island state, you could just realise how wrong you are. Worth a visit in itself is the coastline of north-west Tasmania, where World Heritage wilderness meets unspoilt beaches and the Bass Strait beyond. It’s said that here, where you feel as though you’re on the very…

MARGIT SMITH WIFE, MUM, FARMER, CO-OWNER OF CRESSY HOUSE ESTATE, 40 Margit lives with her husband Henry, 39, and sons Noah, 12, Oscar, 11, and Edward, eight (plus dachshund Coco, huntaway Milly and horse Blossom) on a cropping property in Longford, Tasmania. They run more than 5500 breeding ewes on their 1170-hectare farm. What do you love about living in the country? I love the open space, the views over the paddocks and the Great Western Tiers, the animals, the crisp air… I grew up on a dairy farm in Denmark – my family had 120 milking cows and 160 hectares, including 12 hectares of forest, so the country has always been home to me. Are you interested in fashion? I like to dress up for the odd occasion, but…

EARTHY APPEAL Smitten Merino’s new-season burnt orange poncho is made in Australia from pure merino wool. It’s lightweight and washable, too. smittenmerino.com AUTHENTIC PUGLIA Enjoy this beautiful area of southern Italy in small groups with a relaxed pace, expert guides, and delicious food and wine. italiantours.com.au FLOOR SHOW Engineered for everyday living, Clever Choice Hybrid flooring has a water-resistant core and a scratch-resistant surface layer. andersens.com.au OLD GOLD The Antique Guild curates exquisite jewellery, heritage furniture and world-class design at its Brisbane store and online. theantiqueguild.com.au STEP IT UP For 50 years, Peter Sheppard has sourced the best in European footwear. View the Autumn/Winter 2023 collection in-store or online. petersheppard.com.au LUXURY RETREAT Escape to the Monaro with Birdsnest. Stay in a restored terrace with a private shopping experience, bubbles, treats…

STEVE CUMPER Our Country Chef Steve moved to Tasmania in 2003, where he had a smallholding with “vegies, fruit, cows, chooks, the whole catastrophe!” See page 101 for his Tassie-themed recipes. Steve has been a chef for 41 years, and his love of the art still burns bright. “I’ve always loved cooking,” he says. “It’s my way of demonstrating love for my family and friends.” Though he grew up in Melbourne, his mum’s childhood on a sheep station in Deniliquin, NSW, meant they visited the country regularly. “I recall the smells and textures – baled hay, fires, animals, eucalyptus, weathered wood and hanging fruit.” Steve and his wife, Cate, now live in Hobart with labradoodle Maisy (children Nina, Lily and Archie have grown up), and escape to the Tassie wilds…

PRETTY PIECES Stylist Julie Willis has an eagle eye for the handmade, the antique and the unique – and she’s stocked her Hobart shop, Wesley & Willis, with just those pieces. Visit the boutique or shop online at wesleyandwillis.com.au CHECKING IN Drop into the Devonport homewares shop Mr Wolf and you’ll find a treasure-trove, from bed linen to books and bath products. This tartan picnic rug could live in the mud room or car boot, or even lie across the sofa. Visit shopmrwolf.com fire away Say goodbye to the untidy heap of logs next to the hearth and stash your stack in a stylish holder. The sleek curves of this log-holder from Hardtofind, crafted in powder-coated steel, look perfectly elegant beside the fireplace and suit any interior. Visit hardtofind.com.au shine…

MELISSA DUNIAM’S DAY starts around 6am, when her husband brings her a non-negotiable cup of coffee. As the morning sun peels the fog off the distant Mount Misery, its neighbour and antidote, Mount Sunshine, is revealed and the dairy farmer, horsewoman and business facilitator heads outside to feed hay to her team of five horses. Just south of Tasmania’s verdant north-west coast, the Duniam family property enjoys a vista of rolling hills all the way to the ocean. Below the horse paddocks, a gully of blackwoods stands sentry. It’s a life that combines all of Melissa’s greatest passions – and one that seven years earlier would have seemed impossible. It was 2016 when Melissa’s life was cleaved into ‘before’ and ‘after’. The then-37-year-old was running late, rushing to feed the…

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DOWN THE GARDEN PATH “HELLO, I’M FIONA, I’m a gardener and my favourite thing in my garden is my eucalyptus silver dollar gum. I have 12 of them.” (I’m very lucky, I have lots of space). This is a terrific icebreaker with gardeners; finding out: “What is your favourite thing in your garden? Is it a plant or a corner? I’d truly love to know.” I simply adore other people’s gardens. All that inspiration and none of the responsibility. I love open gardens, where you can meander and ask the owner questions about what they’re growing, like an authorised stickybeak. Open gardens are fun because you’re expected – the garden is waiting for you, and you know it is looking its level best. I also love surprise gardens – private…

NOTHING PREPARED ME for the culinary awakening I was to experience when my family and I left the bustle of inner-city Melbourne 20 years ago for a bucolic patch of rural Tasmanian countryside. I had always been drawn to the country – perhaps it was my mum’s influence, as she grew up in rural Deniliquin, NSW, on a sheep station. During a stint in England, I took a position in a leafy part of Essex made famous by renowned landscape artist John Constable. Once back home, I hassled Maggie Beer for a job at her eponymous restaurant in the Barossa Valley. Later, I moved to Tassie to launch a large country restaurant in Woodbridge, just across the channel from Bruny Island. And in 2009, I achieved a lifelong ambition to…

STAYS ORFORD TAS MILLINGTONS HOUSE A little creak here or a small groan there is to be expected at Millingtons House, a 100-year-old seaside shack a stone’s throw from the Prosser River in the heart of Orford, one hour’s drive north-east of Hobart, Tasmania. Its imperfections are all part of the appeal, with the original floorboards, skirtings, fireplaces and ceiling rafters evoking a cosy charm. The decor has a dreamy, rustic, French style with lashings of washed linens, piles of cushions, and throws in organic hues of dove grey, chestnut and charcoal. Owned by Sophie and Nick Weeding, Millingtons has a great set-up, with two spacious queen bedrooms and bunk beds in a third. A sunroom has a day bed with views out to the landscape, and the private rear…

“WHEN WE LAUNCHED IN 2007, we thought we’d be online only,” says Nicola Mason, the co-founder – with husband Carl – of Tasmanian merino-clothing brand Smitten Merino. “But when we got an office space in Battery Point, people started knocking on the door. It became clear that they wanted a storefront – they wanted to touch and feel.” It’s no surprise that potential wool-wearers are soon converted once they feel Smitten Merino pieces for themselves. The fabric is knitted in a factory in Melton, Victoria, out of wool from Tasmanian and Victorian sheep, then cut and sewn back in Tasmania into lusciously soft, warm clothing with a luxurious drape and feel. It’s a far cry from Nanna’s scratchy wool blankets. “People also love that they’re buying something that’s actually made…

RESIDENTS OF SMALL TOWNS get even smaller amusement from those old gags about the limitations of living in the sticks. I’m sure you will have doubled up at the hilarious humour about our phone books having nine pages but only five different family names. Well, as it so happens, our phone book is dominated by Yeos and Notts, and Bowmans and Abbotts. When a Yeo ties the Nott with a Bowman, that’s one less entry rather than one more. Okay, we may not have many pages in the phone book, but we also don’t have an identity crisis. In cities, people don’t know anyone outside their immediate neighbours. Names don’t really mean much. People are identified by their distinction… by their otherness. The man who patted your dog at the…

WORTH THE WAIT I look forward to receiving my copy of Country Style each month. Seeing the glossy cover of each new publication prompts me, without fail, to grab a cuppa, sit back and put my feet up. Firstly, I leaf through the magazine with anticipation, eager to find out who, like me, decided to make the move to country living. These are the articles I always read first, especially if they contain beautiful gardens. A browse through Country Style gives me an added boost of joy, peace and calm before heading off to teach my yoga classes. Trish Bowler, Cowra, NSW DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH I loved reading the June story about Kathleen Murphy’s refresh of her 1980s home in Gisborne (Rooms With a View). I’ve been a long-time…

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY I’M THAWING FROM A DAY at the 185th Campbell Town Show in the midlands of Tasmania. I was there supporting my friend and fellow writer Meg Bignell, who’d been asked to open the show and judge the community cake competition. Unfortunately, Meg, who is married to a dairy farmer, is allergic to dairy (oh, the irony), so I had to be her taste tester for the cakes… By the time I arrive, Meg has already witnessed the Great Dachshund Race (won by the speedy, long-haired Gadsby), the judging of the Smithfield dogs, and the Dog High Jump. In the main arena, children on ponies are completing an obstacle course. Behind the pavilion, filled with the finest fleeces, is the lively Yard Dog Competition. We head…

WHEN SELF-PROFESSED city girl Esther Palmer met her now-husband Andrew in Basel, Switzerland in 2002, she was unaware of his long-held dream of owning a farm. “He also wanted a vineyard – which, too, was something I found out later!” she says. Tasmanian-born Andrew ran a health economics business in the Swiss city, while German-born Esther was living on the other side of the Rhine River in the border town of Weil am Rhein. Six years and two children later, the couple agreed to make the move to Australia, and in 2008, they left the bright lights of Basel for the Hobart suburb of Taroona. “Andrew had a beautiful childhood in Tasmania, so he wanted to raise our kids in the same environment,” says Esther, who shares four children with…

TILLY’S TABLE I HAVE TWO BROTHERS. I love them dearly and, for the most part, we get along really well. There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule: one involves cinnamon buns; the other, Monopoly (a story for another time, but needless to say, it has now been banned from all family gatherings). Cinnamon buns, thankfully, not so. Cinnamon buns have become something of a tradition for our family. They are baked at Christmas for an early morning first breakfast, at Easter for a welcome change from the obligatory hot cross bun marathon, and at any other family gathering that we can think of. My brothers are also both wildly outdoorsy folk – often to be found dangling from, flying off, or riding down a mountain at great speed.…

REGIONAL SHOPPING CAMPBELL TOWN TAS OPENING THE DOORS of an independent, bricks-and-mortar store seven days a week is rare – even more so in a town of just 800 people. However, Jo Taylor, owner of Coco Blue in Tasmania’s Campbell Town, settled on the decision when she bought the business seven years ago. “I find it frustrating – and I see the frustration in others – when you go for a drive to visit a shop and it’s not open. You don’t often get a second chance,” Jo, 40, says. “And we’re not in a major town, so people have often travelled to visit us. So, we’re open from 10am to 4pm every day – and most public holidays.” Campbell Town, on the lands of the Tyerrernotepanner people, proudly lays…

RECKLESS Marele Day, Ultimo Press, $39.99 In 1979, Day boarded a flimsy catamaran in Darwin, headed for Sri Lanka. Unbeknownst to her the charismatic skipper, Jean Kay, was a wanted criminal who had stolen eight million francs in cash from France’s leading industrialist, Marcel Dassault. The plan was to scatter the notes from the top of the Eiffel Tower. A dossier proving Dassault’s tax fraud was the safeguard. It worked. Dassault waved the incident aside and infuriated half of France by saying, “It was only eight million after all.” Back then, Day was a poet and French Honours graduate grieving for her true love, Tony, who’d died in a motorbike accident. The chance to flee aboard the O’Cat was irresistible. When they finally disembarked, after hellish storms and damage to…