Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i Country Style

IN JANUARY, I LET OUT A SIGH OF RELIEF. The excitement – and stress – of Christmas is over, and NYE is the final celebration of the season. The rest of January is for relaxing, responsibilities allowing. Long days and high temperatures mean trips to the beach (or river, creek or pool) are essential. At this time of year, I’m always envious of people who live by the coast. It’s a style of house I could see myself living in one day; built to take in cooling ocean breezes, and decorated with a subtle nod to the sea and sailing in every shade of blue and white. We’ve featured three such homes in this issue, our annual coastal edition. This January, I have a week of leave booked and my…

GROWING UP ON AN 11,000-HECTARE cattle property 100 kilometres north of Chinchilla in Queensland, Bill Webb learnt to plait leather at the age of five when his parents handed him a leathercraft book in the hope of keeping him still. Bill developed his knack for leather plaiting throughout his 11 years of boarding school in Toowoomba, and would spend Saturdays at the local tannery. “They got to know me pretty well,” he says. “It was just a matter of picking every brain that I could, when I could.” In year 10, Bill was given a copy of R. M. Williams’s The Bushman’s Handcrafts, a step-by-step guide to making whips, plaiting belts, lacing and carving. Stumped by one of the instructions, Bill wrote to Reginald Murray Williams himself, at the time…

“BEING ON THE BEACH IS FUNDAMENTAL to my life,” says artist Jo Victoria from her home and studio in Mossy Point, a laid-back hamlet on the South Coast of New South Wales. “It’s the beautiful light, the colours of the ocean, the direction of the wind, whether there are dolphins, whales or seals, or if the sea eagles are flying. I look for every little detail every day.” Her husband John, 67, surfs daily, but Jo is content walking along the shore with Olive, the couple’s lively two-year-old German shepherd-labrador cross. “Every day on the beach is a different experience. It calms my mind and connects me to deep time and something way bigger than me,” says Jo, 60. Jo’s connection to this landscape and its storied layers fuels her…

HELLO THERE, JANUARY, with your still mornings, sticky nights and buzzing insects. In January, we start weeding early and turn the sprinklers on late. It’s holiday month in Australia, when our thoughts turn to the coast and its beaches, so let’s talk about coastal gardens! Maybe you own one, maybe you’ve visited one, maybe you’d like to live in one? Coastal gardens have their own visceral appeal, being close to the sea and filled with grasses and salty daisies, so working with salt air and sandy soils is definitely not a hardship. In our coastal garden here at Buena Vista, over many years and multiple generations of gardeners, we’ve found just a few things that won’t grow on the coast. We’ve had little luck with blueberries; it doesn’t get cold…

LOOKING UP RUDE WORDS in the dictionary was a favourite pastime of mine as a kid. I would also interrogate my parents as to the validity of some words or idioms that I thought they’d made up. For example: ‘elbow grease’, ‘proof is in the pudding’, ‘spill the beans’, ‘fricken’ and ‘eff off’. My own son went through a stage where he would exclaim ‘bullshark!’ when he was questioning the veracity of something and skirt around acceptable conversation by calling someone he didn’t like an ‘ice-hole’. Years ago, Micheal Keaton starred in a film called Johnny Dangerously, where the villain, played by Richard Dimitri, mispronounced swear words to great comic effect. Speaking of comedies (here’s the clunky segue!), one of my all-time faves is The Jerk with Steve Martin. His…

“I WASN’T GOING TO DO ANOTHER food business,” insists Cherie Bevan. The New Zealand-born chef and cookbook author was worn out from a 40-year career in hospitality when she sold her Sydney bakery and cafe and escaped to the Northern Rivers of NSW mid-pandemic. “I really didn’t think I had the energy in me to do it again,” she explains. Cherie, 56, and her partner Peggy Vertzyas, 59, bought a property in rural Tuckombil and embraced a peaceful life of gardening and walking their Australian shepherd, Duke, on the beach. But it didn’t take long for Cherie’s imagination to spark: “The produce at the farmers’ markets blew my mind. The abundance and freshness and quality – everything about it made me think, ‘I’d love to get back into the food…

GROWING UP IN THE RIVERINA district of New South Wales set Ruby Lucas off on her rural career – but it doesn’t look quite like the path carved out by the three generations of farmers who came before her. Instead, she owns a fashion store, Ruby’s Boutique, in the small town of Coolamon. “Growing up, fashion was always a shared passion between my mum, two sisters, and me,” explains Ruby, 27. “We would spend hours shopping together, picking out outfits, and styling them. But living in the country meant we had limited access to the variety of clothing stores that you would find in major cities. My mum would often drive long distances to reach the nearest shops, as online shopping wasn’t as popular back then. This experience planted a…

A PERSON’S CONNECTION TO THEIR SCHOOL can span generations, continents even, and be incredibly meaningful. This certainly rang true for Sydney-based GP Dr Alexandra White in 1994 when, as university students, she and a friend journeyed to Africa for a month of elective medical training. Both former students at Frensham, a boarding and day school for girls in Mittagong, NSW, they’d long been inspired by fellow alumnus Dr Catherine Hamlin, who’d established the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia 20 years earlier. “We decided to go to Catherine’s hospital, if she would have us. Her name was definitely known around the school for being such an unbelievable role model,” Alexandra says. “And we’d always wanted to go to Africa, so it was the perfect combination.” The young women mined as…

I LOVE THE WAY SOUND CARRIES in summer. It’s something to do with the extra degrees in the air temperature giving sound particles more energy. All the noises – the crack of a cricket bat, the hoorays and howzats!, the hum of machines and moos from the dairy – have enough kinesis in their waves to travel from down the hill or far along the road to my ears. I know I could be more precise about the science of this, but I like to think there’s more than science to the gift of a child’s distant laughter on a hot afternoon, or a tinkle of music on the breeze. I prefer to imagine it’s a clearing of space in my mind and the pause of things; having time to…

Editor KYLIE IMESON Deputy editor HANNAH JAMES Creative director MIA DAMINATO Contributing art directors JUDIE SIU, KELSIE WALKER Queensland contributing editor CLAIRE MACTAGGART Stylist KATE LINCOLN Feature writers REBECCA HOOTON, RACHEL WHITE Chief copy editor, Homes Group PETER GRIFFITHS Senior copy editor GRETA DUMBLETON ADVERTISING AND PRODUCTION Commercial brand manager, Homes MICHELLE O’HANLON  Brand executive MIKAELA LEZCANO  Head of sales – NSW BLAKE WRIGHT  Head of sales – Vic, SA, WA WILL JAMISON  Head of sales – Qld JUDY TAYLOR  Advertising production manager KATE ORSBORN  Head of directories REBECCA WHITE  Head of creative CLARE CATT  Head of events and sponsorships CATE GAZAL Production controller KARA STEAD  Advertising production controller DOMINIC…

IT WAS THE HEIGHT OF THE MILLENNIUM DROUGHT on Mywurlie, a 7081-hectare sheep station on the outskirts of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village of Gunbar in New South Wales. In the worst drought recorded since European settlement, feed had dried up, the livestock were hungry, and the barren stretches of the Hay Plains never seemed to end. But one thing stood strong. “If we didn’t have that saltbush, we wouldn’t make it,” Paul Porter said to his then 10-year-old daughter Em, pointing to the native grey-blue shrub that sheep rely on during extended dry spells. The little girl wouldn’t know it at the time, but that saltbush would become the roots to her success as a mother, grazier and businesswoman decades down the track. Em is the founder of Saltbush Stretch, an…

THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO MARGARET, a 120-year-old cottage at Milsons Passage on the Hawkesbur y River in New South Wales, is by boat. The weatherboard beauty sits on the traditional lands of the Darug people in an enclave of about 40 river-fronted shacks with the Muogamarra Nature Reserve behind them. The dense, thriving parkland is open to the public for only six weeks of the year to protect its fragile ecosystems and significant Aboriginal cultural sites. This romantic atmosphere of the wild and remote enchanted the Simoneau family, who bought Margaret in 2022. Tamara and Marc Simoneau live in Sydney with their children, Scarlett, 17, Emmanuelle, 11, and Luc, 10. “During COVID, we started to rethink how we spend our leisure time,” says Tamara, who works as a…

GATHERING GROUND Landscape artist Nat Anderson picked an inspiring spot to live with her husband, Shane, and their three daughters: a hectare in the rolling Barrabool Hills, behind Victoria’s Surf Coast. Architect Robert Troup designed the home to fit its site: “It was important that the house just sat on the hillside and looked like it had always been there.” A Colorbond roof and walls in Night Sky fit the brief, as did this fire-pit area with Ceres sandstone flooring. Gabion walls serve as seats. Follow @natandersonartist GREAT OUTDOORS style tips Large Napoli planter in Black, $74.95, from Provincial Home Living. Warm White outdoor festoon string lights, from $59.95, from Temple & Webster. Andina five-piece outdoor lounge/ dining setting, $2699, from Harvey Norman. HEALTHY OUTLOOK “Every section of the home…

A SHARED PASSION FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING and healthy living led chef and holistic nutrition and performance coach Scott Gooding and his wife, actress and director Matilda Brown, to launch The Good Farm Shop in 2021. Their Sydney-based company produces nutritious ready-meals made from sustainably sourced ingredients. For Matilda, it’s a lifestyle approach with deep roots – her parents, actors Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward, own a beef cattle property in the Nambucca Valley on the Mid North Coast of NSW. After battling years of drought and bushfires, Rachel embarked on her own journey into regenerative agriculture – a process reflected in her engaging and inspiring 2023 documentary Rachel’s Farm. As parents to three children – Scott’s 15-year-old son Tashi, Zan, five, and Anouk, three – Scott and Matilda take a…

JANUARY: THE WEATHER IS HOT, the days long and balmy and, if you’re lucky, you have a little time to slow down and digest the year that was – both metaphorically and literally. Time to puddle about outside, move the sprinkler around the thirsty garden and check on the summer seedlings you keenly planted, then promptly forgot about… or is this just me? Although the weather can be stifling, the urge to bake never leaves me, but I must concede that the recipes I lean towards are simple. If possible, they also contain stone fruit – to me, a signifier of summer like no other. And so, this month, I have for you what I wish to be eating all summer long: a simple peach and almond galette that is…

THE RESIDENTS OF BERMAGUI have a very special relationship with the sea – and nowhere is this more evident than during a sunny afternoon on the porch of the Beach Hotel, overlooking the crystal-clear waters of Horseshoe Bay. Almost everyone is facing the ocean, scanning the horizon for a sign of the main topic of conversation: the countless whales that inhabit this pristine stretch of the South Coast of New South Wales. The locals are more than happy to point the novice in the right direction. “There’s another one, it just breached – you can see it between the palm trees on the right,” a helpful patron says. Watching these majestic giants frolic in the early evening light is a sight nobody here will ever tire of. Bermagui – or…

Outside Beauty & Skincare’s SPF50+ Face Mist, $55, is a non-greasy mist infused with refreshing Kakadu plum, vitamin E and raspberry seed oil. Dermresults Soft Focus Veil SPF 30, $74, from Arbonne, is mineral-based and offers a subtle tint for skin radiance. Natio’s handy Invisible Stick Facial Sunscreen SPF 50+, $22.95, is fast-absorbing and water-resistant for two hours. Gently cleanse skin with the soft Cocoon Towel in Nutmeg, $79, from Saardé. Protect your eyes with Palmer Sunglasses in Caramel, $149, from Bailey Nelson. Soleil Protect Anti-Brown Spot Unifying Fluid SPF 50, $34.99, from Roc, is packed with antioxidants to minimise visible spots and prevent skin damage. Beauti-fltr Lustre Mineral SPF50+, $25, from Adore Beauty, does it all: moisturise, prime and protect with 100 per cent zinc sunscreen. Alpha-H Daily Essential…

TEAM EFFORT As subscribers to Country Style for many years, my husband and I have often envied the wonderful ideas people have for a structure in their garden that is designed to have a practical purpose as well as being an attractive feature of the garden. My husband announced he was going to convert a trellis in a corner of our garden into an aviary, as he wanted a new hobby after his cancer recovery. He and our son-in-law had several conversations about the construction, which I thought was odd given that it was only going to be an aviary. My daughter arranged for the two of us to go away for a few days and to my great surprise, when we got home my husband and son-in-law had built…

1 The Premium beach tent in Lauren’s Navy Stripe, $299, from Business & Pleasure Co. 2 Cozumel beach towel in Cloud/Multi, $80, from Città. 3 Luxury parasol in Sage/White, $550, from Basil Bangs. 4 Premium beach umbrella in Breton Stripe, $274, from Hardtofind. 5 Beppi sling chair in Amore Stripe Terra, $389, from Basil Bangs. 6 Cotton House Ortiga beach towel in Khaki, $74.95, from David Jones. 7 Summer deck beach chair, $169, from Sunday Supply Co. 8 Busby pool towel in Fuyu & Chalk, $130, from Baina. 9 The lounger in Chestnut, $249, from Basil Bangs. 10 Meet & Eat lunch bag in Olive Multi, $39.99, from Kikki K. 11 Hopper M20 soft backpack cooler in Sandstone Pink, $450, from Yeti. 12 Hardcase drinks box in Safari White, $249,…

THE SEA HAS ALWAYS REASSURED Australian author Tim Winton. At lunchtime in his Perth primary school, Tim’s boyish anxieties were soothed by the sight of the bombora – the large sea waves breaking out over a submerged reef. His family may have lived five kilometres inland, in a house with no view of the ocean, but in the afternoons, as he buckled down to his homework, the cool sea breeze known as the Fremantle Doctor would arrive, lifting his spirits as it rustled the treetops and stirred the curtains. Christmas holidays heralded their annual migration, for six weeks, to his family’s holiday shack south of Geraldton, where the surf “hammered night and day”. Most days, he would wake before dawn to go crayfishing with his father. But it was when…

BUFFETED BY THE TEMPESTUOUS WINDS that give Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast its forbidding name, Port Farm is a hilltop home bolstered against the weather by firm foundations and lofty ideals. Located near the seaside village of Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road – on Eastern Maar and Kirrae Whurrong lands – the home was designed as a weekender, and potential Airbnb, for its owners, cropping and livestock farmers Georgie and Richard Selman. Hailing from Kolora in the state’s west, the Selmans have holidayed in Port Campbell for years, often driving down on weekends for fish and chips at the beach with their kids, Jimmy, 10, and eight-year-old twins Rosie and Angus. “Port Campbell is a world apart,” says Georgie, 40. “It’s not just different from our home – I think…

SUMMER – THE WARM SEASON that calls for fresh, light food and equally refreshing drinks. A cold beer, an icy gin and tonic or a chilled manzanilla sherry feature among my summer sips, but wine remains my focus. After all, I am known as The Wine Man. And, as much as I love Champagne and Australia’s best bubbles, it’s still wines that suit the food I cook in summer. Riesling is high on my list. I’ve been a 40-year disciple of the tight, linear, dry rieslings that Australian winegrowers do so well, with the pure, precise offerings of Jeffrey Grosset, Mount Horrocks and Henschke at the top of my list. However, I’ve fallen for the new wave of rieslings made in the Germanic mould with wild yeast ferments, often in…

Strange but true We’ve seen shiraz gin, but from the home of sauvignon blanc, New Zealand, comes this new grape-based gin. Sauvignon blanc layers aromatic, fruity notes onto the classic juniper flavour. As a gin fan, this is my new favourite; $89.99 from Dan Murphy’s. Visit strangenaturegin.com DAIRY DELIGHTS Our own Bruny Island Cheese Co has won big at the World Cheese Awards. Pick up its trophy-bagging Raw Milk Tom, 1972 Washed Rind, and Raw Milk C2. Visit brunyislandcheese. com.au Plate it up Bring the Med to your table. Rebecca Udall’s Eleanor plates, $535 for six, are handpainted in Portugal, and Ginori 1735’s Il Viaggio di Nettuno dish, $307, is crafted in Italy. Visit emporean.com PANTRY PERFECT Full of deli classics, the Cipri Antipasto Box, $155, is a great gift…

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER Lynda La Plante, Zaffre, $32.99 As the creator of television series Prime Suspect, Widows, The Governor, Trial & Retribution and The Commander and author of 52 novels, there’s hardly been a year since 1983 when La Plante wasn’t front and centre in the world of fictional crime. This is her memoir, starting with a Liverpudlian childhood that most Australians would say warranted a Care and Protection Order. But that was then (she’s 81), when parents believed in a hands-off approach. The teenage La Plante threw herself into an acting career. One day, unhappy with a script – “Who the hell writes this rubbish?” – she was invited to write a better one. It came back with “This is brilliant” scrawled across the page. You get the…