ISSUE
TIME
NO.
19
ISSUE
NO.
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CONT ENTS EVERY I S S U E
02 06 08 14 16
Editor's Letter Contributors HC Online Things We Love The Hot List
E N T E R TA I N M E N T
10
Film: Travelling Through Time
12
Books: Time Through Words
12
Podcasts: Time To Podcast
LIFE
24 38 79 86
Social Life After COVID-19 – Consigning Handshakes To History? Trading Concrete Barriers For Glass Ceilings And Beyond What We Talk About When We Talk About Dying Canberra In Pictures
PEOPLE
FOOD
21 102 130
139 167
Inside Story: Kate Dawson What Time Has Told When Time Stops Still
CITY
29
Standing The Test Of Time
ACTIVE
150
Five Ways To Stay Fit At Home
Family Recipes Dieting Through The Decades
STYLE
46
The Manuka House – Bringing The Past Into The Future.
58 120
The Art Of Fashion Face In A Flash
T R AV E L
152
Step Back In Time: The Orange Region
HERCANBERRA.COM.AU
Unfortunately, now is not the time for passion projects. As the effects of COVID-19 continue to decimate Canberra’s hospitality and creative industries, we need to focus on our core business and work as hard as we can to still be here when the crisis eases. The aim, quite simply, is to survive. This issue of Magazine will be our last.
EDITOR'S
letter
I always wanted to work in magazines. And when we published our first edition of this publication back in March 2015, I wasn’t sure where it would lead. I certainly never imagined Magazine would grow to become a collector’s item, a 160+ page thing of beauty which celebrates the very best of Canberra. Magazine has always been our ‘love job’—it doesn’t take a genius to work out that printing 10,000 copies of a hefty (free) publication on thick, tactile paper is not going to be cheap. Let alone all the other production costs involved. But we believed—and we still do— that Magazine plays an important role in telling Canberra’s story, because there is no other print title in the Canberra region that showcases our city and its people in such a thoughtful and visually stunning way. Our hearts spoke louder than our heads.
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From the time we started compiling this issue until the time of publication, the world has changed. We could not have known just how fitting the theme of ‘TIME’ would be. We had to take a good hard look at our content— cut stories, add others, tweak pieces so they were appropriate for life in the time of COVID-19. We hope it will inspire and encourage you, but also make you think. We hope it reassures you that, although we can’t live life as before, it can still be beautiful and rich and fulfilling. We had hoped to be able to bring you one last glorious print edition of Magazine, but that was simply not possible—for a whole lot of financial, logistical and ethical reasons. It would not be responsible of us to encourage you to go out and pick up your latest issue when we all know what we need to do is stay home. Stop the spread. So we can all go back to our wonderful, ordinary lives sooner rather than later. Instead, you can enjoy your copy online. We have included as many links as possible so you can explore the businesses we mention in our stories, and we encourage you to support them
MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
as much as you can—both now and in the future. It has never been more important for Canberra to come together. Throughout it all, HerCanberra will be there for you. We know that you look to us for light in a time of darkness, for connection—and if we can be the community that you need right now, we’ll have done our job right. Bringing Magazine to you these past five years has been one of the highlights of my career. The opportunity to work with so many talented and generous people has filled my heart to bursting. I can’t name them all, because I’d be sure to miss someone, so let me just call out a few key people. Every member of the incredible HerCanberra team over the
past five years, who have given every issue their all; Javier Steel, our first creative director who brought my Magazine dreams to life; Katie Radojkovic, who has made the last 11 issues a visual feast; Lauren Campbell, whose images have graced all but one of our covers; the team at CanPrint for always looking after us; our stockists across the city; the advertisers who have helped us to continue as long as we have; the many, many brilliant Canberra creatives—stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, models, photographers—we’ve had the opportunity to work with; the people whose stories we’ve been privileged to tell. Thank you all.
husband Tim Bean. These two are a creative powerhouse, and watching their skill and abilities grow with each Magazine—and seeing their immaculately-styled images spill across its pages—was an indescribable joy. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.
Lastly, to Magazine’s production manager Belinda Neame and her firefighter-cum-photographer
Amanda Whitley Magazine Editor-in-chief HerCanberra Founder
So, now it’s time to say goodbye. And while I’m sad, as an eternal optimist I can’t help but look to the future and wonder about the opportunities that await us once the world returns to some semblance of normality. See you on the other side.
TEAM HC
Emma Macdonald Associate Editor
Belinda Neame Production Manager
Katie Radojkovic Graphic Designer
Beatrice Smith Online Editor
Sarah Robinson Business Development Manager
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issue no. 3
15 • ISSUE 20
FREE PUBLICATION • WINTER HERCANBERRA.COM.AU
OUR 15 WOMEN TO WATCH IN 2015
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FREE PUBLICATION • MARCH
20
15 • ISSUE
N0.
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N0.
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issue no. 2
THE CULTURE ISSUE
The
THE HIDDEN ISSUE
BREAK THE MOULD
I T WAS A G R E AT F IVE YE AR S
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CELEBRATION ISSUE
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MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS WORDS Emily Coper-Jones Kate Freeman Roslyn Hull Ashleigh Kuhn Emma Macdonald Belinda Neame Gemma Nethercote Way Laura Peppas Molly Satterthwaite Beatrice Smith L AUREN CAMPBELL
TIM BEAN
Lauren Campbell is a Canberrabased wedding, portrait and fashion photographer, approaching all three with unflappable flair. She loves nature, animals, filter coffee and skiing. In the winter months, Lauren spends as much time as she can in the Snowy Mountains to combine as many of her loves as she can!
A firefighter by day (and night), Tim also loves being behind the lens to capture all things food, people and places. You can often find Tim drinking coffee at his local or capturing a time-lapse on Anzac Parade!
Amanda Whitley GRAPHIC DESIGN Katie Radojkovic Tamara Willers-Wagstaff PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT Belinda Neame PHOTOGR APHY Davey Barber Tim Bean Lauren Campbell Robyn Geering Nathan Harradine Hale Paul Jurak Scott Leggo Martin Ollman Lauren Sutton Hilary Wardhaugh MAKEUP Lesley Johnston
G E R A R D W I LT O N
ALI PRICE
Originally from Canberra, and with stints in Sydney and Melbourne, Gerard has cemented himself as a well-respected fashion stylist. In February 2019, Gerard left his tenure as the Men's and Women's Stylist at Country Road Australia to pursue a freelance career. He is currently represented by Duval Agency.
Ali is an award-winning Makeup Artist and eyebrow Specialist whose makeup mantra centres around natural trends and finding simple solutions to makeup dilemmas, particularly for women beyond 45. Ali is a self-confessed dog-lover, connoisseur of unfinished art projects and aspiring health nut.
Ali Price HAIR Lexi Bannister Ali Price STYLING Belinda Neame Gerard Wilton MODEL Alexandra Rayne Sage Salvador Logan Webb PRINTING CanPrint Communications
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FILM TRAVELLING THROUGH
Time
W O R D S
Roslyn Hull
IMDb lists 746 films that involve time travel. Not all of them are good—the list below will not include The Time Traveler’s Wife because it was so bad compared to the book, but Rachel McAdams films will appear anyway— she seems to be the pin-up girl for these movies.
ENCOUNTERING KEY FIGURES
CHANGING YOUR FATE
TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is the hands-down winner of this style of history-hopping romp, with the two boys making their school assignment the best ever and saving the universe at the same er… time. Midnight in Paris is another enjoyable example as is the offering from the warped and wonderful mind of Terry Gilliam— Time Bandits.
Where to begin? With The Butterfly Effect—a film that is fascinating, disturbing and at times horrific— the moral being that not everyone gets out alive and not everyone can be the hero. This is the heartbreak of Twelve Monkeys as well. However, the first—and still the greatest—is The Time Machine. This is H.G. Wells' warning to mankind to change their behaviour or face a violent future. The 1960 version also has the most resilient shop mannequin ever.
Meet the Robinsons takes a boy into his own future to show him he should not give up. Frequency allows a son to contact his father in the past to solve a crime. About Time, often thought of as a romantic comedy, is about accepting the good and the bad in your life. It is also about having more time with a parent, something everyone who has lost one would wish for.
ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN
The best example of this in recent years is the Tom Cruise action epic Edge of Tomorrow. He keeps reliving his day over and over until he can convince Emily Blunt of this, get her heroic assistance and beat the invading aliens. My favourite Cruise effort in years. A similar device is used in Groundhog Day, which is a lot funnier.
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CREATING A FRANCHISE
MEETING YOUR CRUSH
Somewhere in Time is the movie that proved there was more to the great Christopher Reeves than Superman (which also uses time travel). He falls for a beautiful woman in a photo and travels through time to meet her. The romance and tragedy that ensues is beloved by many, even now.
Terminator anyone? Star Trek? Or one of many superhero movies, even Endgame? However, the one that everyone loves, the one everyone refers to, is Back to the Future! Marty McFly and Doc Brown are part of our DNA. We may still be waiting for our hoverboards, but Spielberg was close to accurate with the first pennant for the Chicago Cubs—just one year out.
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THE BASS ROCK
BEFORE TIME BEGAN
Evie Wyld
Jessica De Largy Healy, Georges Petitjean, Luke Scholes
TIME THROUGH WORDS
BOOKS W O R D S
Gemma Nethercote Way, Emily Coper-Jones
Need to kill some time? Books were made for days spent at home.
All titles available for purchase at Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka paperchainbookstore.com.au
Evie Wyld has proven herself to be a master storyteller, and The Bass Rock is no exception. Set on the Scottish coast in the shadow of the titular Bass Rock, this most recent novel follows three women who live centuries apart (we are taken back to the 1720s, to the aftermath of WW2, to something like the present), but whose stories are connected by the landscape they inhabit, and by haunting threads of one-another. Told in language that is both economic and startlingly evocative, this is a deeply unsettling and searingly insightful exploration of abuse and isolation. The tales of these three women weave in aand out of each of their lives, knotted with pain and fury— but also, with the gleam of hope, and the possibility of survival.
TIME TO PODCAST BY EMMA MACDONALD
There was a time when we used to nurture our intellects and inner lives with a book. Now podcasts are our go-to for mental sustenance. Of course, part of their appeal is the fact that you can multi-task while listening—a sign of our busy and overloaded minds. Still, some podcasts are so engaging that time seems to stand still while you are completely and utterly engrossed. Here are some of our top picks.
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Before Time Began is an Indigenous art book, cataloguing the first major Indigenous art exhibition at the Foundation Opale. The book opens with a series of essays exploring Dreaming, contemporary Indigenous art in Arnhem land and its links to traditional roots, the emergence of the Western Desert art movement at Papunya in the 1970s, and the Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) Project, which showcases traditional spear-making from a number of Indigenous communities as an art form. The second half of the book is a catalogue of Indigenous art, paintings, and sculpture from across Australia. The combination of fascinating essays, beautiful art, and rich commentary that provides depth and insight into to each artwork makes this book a fantastic read for anyone interested in art, and Indigenous culture and history.
CONVERSATIONS
LOW TOX LIFE
If your lunchtime doesn’t include an uninterrupted hour to catch this fine ABC radio show, then make time to download the podcast episodes according to interest. Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski take the time to interview each incredible character they come across with sensitivity, warmth and wit.
Alexx Stuart is the woman behind the Low Tox Life “for a healthy you and a happy planet”. Her podcast is for those wanting to promote their own longevity as well as the Earth’s.
Delve into the inner psyches of the famous, if you like—Bill Bryson, Helen Garner and Paul Kelly among them. Or take a punt on listening to the tales of someone unknown, such as the extraordinary survival of winemaker Will Rikard-Bell, or the traumatic childhood of scientist Brandon Richard Webster. Their stories will stay with you forever.
Alexx traverses a range of environmentally-pertinent issues with a strong focus on ways to cut down waste and chemical use and practical messages on everything from cultivating a happy mind to a healthy microbiome. It may sound a little too green for some, but these are great listening, bound to make you take stock of the way you live next time you visit a supermarket or open your bathroom cabinet.
MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
THE MEMORY POOL Therese Spruhan
For many of us, our early memories ripple with swimming pools. If home was the suburbs— perhaps the scent of chlorine, the grease of sunscreen and hot chips, the scald of concrete. If the ocean was close—maybe hair encrusted with salt, the sequinned surface of sea pools, sandwiches full of sand. In The Memory Pool, Therese Spruhan has collected stories from 27 Australians who hold dear the swimming pools of their youth—stories of imagination and escape, of endless summers, of after-school rituals, of teenage romances, of secrets and dreaming. These tales will move and delight anyone who knows what it is to be glitteringly haunted by a pool from childhood— whether a pool of the city or the suburbs, of the ocean or the bush.
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR
MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION
Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
Ottessa Moshfegh
This Is How You Lose The Time War is a captivating blend of science fiction, queer romance, and lyrical prose, in which two spies (Red and Blue) working for opposite factions—each trying to bring about their versions of a utopia across multiple universes and timelines— begin exchanging letters and slowly fall in love, forging a dangerous bond with each other that could spell tragedy in the midst of war. El-Mohtar and Gladstone’s writing is wonderfully rich, with vivid artistic expression and fascinating worlds and ideas. Red and Blue are brilliantly deep and different characters, who the reader slowly gets to know through the letters being exchanged, the way that they interact with the worlds they’re tasked with altering, and their reactions to each other.
Never one to shy away from the darker realities of contemporary life, Ottessa Moshfegh’s latest novel is a grim, funny and artfully realised account of disconnection and alienation. Set in pre 9/11 New York, the unnamed narrator—a beautiful, wealthy young women—dulls the pain of her parents’ death by putting herself into ‘chemical hibernation’ for a year—taking a vast menu of prescription drugs obtained from the ethically dubious Dr. Tuttle. In doing so, she hopes to emerge cured of the disaffection she feels in being alive in a seemingly pointless modern world. Of course, things don’t go as planned, but Moshfegh’s skill in building the world of this character is a compelling triumph.
A gripping and emotional read.
FOREVER35
STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW
DESERT ISLAND DISCS
Two clever American writers Doree Shafrir and Kate Spencer are best friends who love to text each other about serums and love a good face mist. On their incredibly popular podcast they take it a step further and intermingle laugh-worthy commentary on everything from sheet masks to anxiety, work-burn and self-esteem.
Did you sleep through high school? Were you on Instagram at university? If you have certain, ahhh, gaps in your general knowledge then this is the podcast to fill in those misspent years.
If you were spending the rest of your life on a desert island, what eight song tracks, which book and what luxury would you take with you? This BBC radio series ponders one of the fundamental questions of our times (and our dinner parties) and comes up with surprising responses from a range of wellknown and not-so-well-known characters.
There’s a strong consumer element in which the pair discuss the pros and cons of new products and their ability to make us feel better about ourselves. All in the name of holding back the ravages of time on your face, with an eye on cultivating a happy countenance.
Josh and Chuck provide wickedly funny but research-based conversations on science, history, urban legends, and pop culture, “with the occasional conspiracy theory thrown in for good measure". With more than 1000 episodes to choose from, you can walk away with a basic working knowledge of pretty much anything from hangovers to cheese, pinball, transgenderism, or homelessness.
If you don’t know where to even start, try David Beckham (no, he doesn’t choose a Spice Girls’ song) or Simon Cowell for a laugh. Toni Morrison and Yoko Ono provide more sobering content.
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D
A
LOVES
SPRIGGY
I never seem to carry cash on me these days (does anyone?), and that can make it challenging when it comes to everincreasing monetary requests from Miss 11 and Miss 13. Especially since they’re too young for most banks’ card access accounts. But they’re not too young for Spriggy. Not a bank account and more than a prepaid card, it’s a great way to ready your kids for financial independence under your watchful eye. Plus they feel pretty damn important stepping up to the register and tapping their card (it can also be used for online shopping!). Kids get their own personalised prepaid card, with funds and purchases managed through a simple phone app (with real time notifications on spend). Spriggy also lets you set pocket money, oversee savings goals, and instantly transfer funds or lock cards in an emergency.
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THINGS WE LOVE DA S
G O -TO EXF O L I AT I N G SWIPEYS
I'm a simple kinda makeup girl, mainly because I'm time poor and really bad at applying it! But I do love looking after my skin. I've noticed a lot of changes since being in my forties, but these GO-TO Exfoliating Swipeys always make my skin feel clean, clear and smooth. I use them three times a week (in the shower is the easiest) and love how my skin looks afterwards RRP $46 from mecca.com.au
Love
B
From $2.50 per child, per month from spriggy.com.au
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LOVES
LOOSEY GOOSEY JUMPER
When we first put together this Magazine, I chose a Gorman tartan slip dress as my pick— perfect for trans-seasonal wear. Now, in the time of COVID-19 it seems somewhat redundant, as— if I’m being totally honest—I’ve spent the last two weeks in some form or other of loungewear. So instead I’m suggesting this cosy deep green Gorman jumper, which will look chic any place you want to take it—a work Zoom call, your loungeroom, dining room or even in bed. The options are endless. RRP $189 from gormanshop.com.au
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CADENSHAE BAMBOO LONG SLEEVE GLOW TOP
VES
Since getting back into my fitness routine after having our second baby, I admit I've been reluctant to squeeze my postpartum belly into uncomfortable, restrictive activewear. But then I discovered Cadenshae. This soft-as-butter bamboo top is not only nursing friendly, it's extremely kind to pregnant or postpartum bellies as it doesn't cling like most activewear. It also happens to be perfect to pop on post-workout for a takeaway chai and/or chocolate chip muffin (no judgement here).
L
RRP $59.95 from motherlyinstincts.com.au
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VES
EMMA
A
MARIO LUCA GIUSTI SUPER M I L LY T U M B L E R
I try and adhere to the mantra—'buy the best you can afford and you will have it forever’. But this doesn’t work so well with glasses, which seemed to be smashed with alarming regularity in our house (OK, I‘m extremely clumsy). Enter the concept of “synthetic crystal” and designer Mario Luca Giusti. His edgy tumblers look and feel like cut glass, but if you happen to lose one off the edge of the table, don’t worry, they bounce. Expensive, but hey, they will last forever RRP $45 from top3.com.au
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MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
O
VES
NICK O’LEARY RIESLING
There is a reason people get excited about Nick O’Leary. He is helping put Canberra on the map in terms of producing some of the finest cool climate Rieslings and Shiraz wines in the country. My pick is his Riesling, which I am happy to say is widely available in bottle shops across the city. It is a fresh and aromatic wine with hints of citrus, which I also find to be incredibly smooth. It is so good, I even send bottles to my friends and family in Queensland, to fly the Canberra flag. Available at all good bottle shops around Canberra, or order online from nickolearywines.com.au and have it delivered to your door! RRP $25 per bottle.
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T he
HOT LIST
W O R D S
Beatrice Smith
Our Hot List is usually packed full of all the things you should get out and experience in this city we call home. However, as you all know, the responsible thing to do right now is to actually stay home. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the best Canberra has to offer.
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MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
“The responsible thing to do right now is stay home. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the best Canberra has to offer.‟
Eat + Drink CANBERRA’S BEST EATS— DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR
We know that we wax lyrical about Canberra’s food scene from time to time (read: constantly), however, we’ve never been more impressed than by said scene’s ingenuity when it came to pivoting in the time of COVID-19. Forget what you thought you knew about takeaway. Because you’re now able to order Canberra’s most delicious eats straight to your door—and you have plenty of ways to make it happen. Some websites lending a helping hand are Canberra Eats (delivery), Feed Feed (a guide to where does takeaway) and No Biggie (preprepared meals created by local chefs). Why not order a fancy feed, put on your best frock and make a night of it? Oh—and don’t forget the drinks. Thanks to COVID-19 shutdowns, you can now enjoy some of the city’s finest booze in the comfort of your own home. With liquor laws relaxed specially to allow bars and restaurants to offer alcohol for takeaway and delivery, a new world has opened up to us—think Full Moon Party-style cocktails in a bag from Braddon’s Zaab Street Food and something more refined from Hippo Co. The latter have launched an online store which has packaged up their Barrel Aged cocktails (think a Martini, Old Fashioned or Rob Roy) to order—you can pick up, arrange for delivery or even get them through the post! Cheers to that!
Watch LIVE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM
COVID-19 has been something of a death knell for live music. But now, many local artists are rallying to create an at-home experience for live music lovers. Canberra's Hands Like Houses might have bid farewell to their 2020 European tour, but they put on quite the show with their Live in Ya Lounge livestreamed gig last week (which you can watch here). With just shy of 50K views, it’s safe to say Canberran bands have an audience ready and waiting. If EDM is more your thing and you’re missing those nights on the dancefloor, why not head to Civic’s Beirut Bunker Bar—online? Last weekend they livestreamed their DJs Saturday night for those partying at home. They’re also serving up their cocktails in a drive-through service at Bible Lane in the city, so if you really get in the party mood you can nip out for a drink or two to take straight back home. We’re tipping that in the coming months, livestreaming could become quite the artform, so keep a close eye on your favourite artists’ socials.
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HERCANBERRA.COM.AU
See
Move
TERRA CELESTIAL
LIVE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM
Missing the culture of Canberra’s hallowed museums and galleries? Us too. Luckily, they’re pivoting as well as anyone—offering online options for art lovers.
Our movement might be restricted at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we can’t break a sweat inside our own home—or learn a new way to move our bodies.
Craft ACT’s newest exhibition, Terra Celestial, is a group exhibition featuring the work of Sean Booth, Rohan Nicol, Sabine Pagan, Megan Watson and Michelle Hallinan. Across the mediums of paper, metals and mixed media, these five artists explore themes of time and space as they reflect on the anniversary of the 1969 Apollo moon landing.
Across Canberra, many businesses are finding new ways to connect with new and existing members— and online classes have their own benefits too. You can dance, squat and jump like no one is watching (because literally no one is) and you no longer have to compete with rush hour when it comes to making it to class on time.
To take a virtual stroll through this exhibition, see craftact.org.au. Showing until 9 May.
There are plenty of online classes to discover— including dance and fitness classes by Phillip’s Dance Central (which is currently offering free trial memberships) and Les Mills On Demand (which offers many of the group fitness classes offered by gyms). HerCanberra has even taken our Get ACTIVE free fitness initiative online with a Keep ACTIVE series of free online fitness classes from yoga to HIIT.
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MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
Shop SHOP THE CITY FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR COUCH
With social-distancing restrictions as they are, a day out shopping might have to wait…or does it? Forget adding to cart on overseas goods—some of Canberra’s most exciting retailers are now offering innovative virtual ways to shop. If you love vintage and the idea of spending a weekend wandering through the antique and bric-a-brac stalls of the high-end streets of Bowral makes you feel giddy, then hold on to your classic Shaker chair, because Dirty Janes Bowral has just opened the doors to a Canberra emporium. Only, instead of strolling through Dirty Janes Canberra’s massive 2000 square metre shop in Fyshwick, you can head to their Instagram and Facebook for daily posts of available items— including an adorable ‘menu’ of what to look out for each week. Spot something you like? You can pay through Instagram DM or Facebook Messenger and have it delivered to you!
If you’re keen to support as many local small businesses as possible, POP Canberra is the place to be. Having opened on Lonsdale Street just before Christmas to a very warm welcome, POP stocks a huge range of Canberra makers—from jewellery to pottery, small-batch spirits, tea, fashion, papercraft and more. And, if you’re looking for a gift for a foodie—or perhaps the kitchen will be your haven during social distancing—look no further than Kingston’s The Essential Ingredient. They’re offering FaceTime shopping trips and phone orders, with curb-side pick-up or delivery available. Bon appetit!
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of PIZZA!” EAST HOTEL, KINGSTON For delivery, go to agostinis.com.au
MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
INSIDE STORY
Kate Dawson W O R D S
Emma Macdonald
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Tim Bean
Kate Dawson is the face and brain behind one of Canberra’s most stylish shoe boutiques, Sissa Sorella. Opening in 2018, you won’t find bright lights or white shelves, just a warm and inviting space tucked behind Double Shot at the Deakin shops. A Business graduate from RMIT University in Melbourne, Kate embarked on a career in logistics with Qantas in Sydney before moving to Canberra upon the birth of her daughter Ava, 12 years ago. She and husband Jai ran Flint in the Vines at Shaw Vineyard Estate in Murrumbateman for seven years, before a stint in event management at the National Gallery of Australia. We get the inside story on her colourful life.
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HERCANBERRA.COM.AU
Favourite places to unwind? Home, hands down. Our home is our sanctuary. Preferably either in the kitchen whipping up a meal or sitting on my lambswool chair from Inside Story in Fyshwick, with a glass of pinot by the fireplace. Reading? What is the first thing you do when your feet hit the ground?
Biggest Netflix binges? Suits, Handmaid’s Tale, Outlander.
I take myself up Red Hill with our two cavaliers Lola and Charlie.
Canberra needs?
Tea or coffee?
More independently-owned boutiques in our suburban areas.
Coffee before 10am and herbal tea all the way until bedtime. Fave coffee spot? Without a doubt, Double Shot in Deakin.The staff are fabulous and the coffee is consistent (and it’s only 27 steps from my store!). Convenient. What’s on your playlist? Jazz. For the store.
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A beach would be nice to smell the ocean and walk along the sand with the waves crashing. Big name musicals—we head to Sydney for the big musicals. I wish we had more here to help us all stay local. Every home needs what? A fridge full of fresh produce, a comfortable couch and a decent walk-in wardrobe.
I am currently just finishing up Boy Swallows Universe, and although I found it tricky at first to get into, I now can’t put it down. My other one on the go is Jacinda Ardern: The Story Behind an Extraordinary Leader. Next on my list is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Which area of Canberra do you live in and why? Inner south. School and work are close by so it’s very convenient and saves me a lot of time. I grew up in the area and just love the proximity to everything. I also relish the sense of community around here and love that I see familiar faces on my morning walk, in the coffee line and even picking up groceries.
MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
“Give me wool, cashmere, scarves, boots and leather jackets with a glass of red.‟
If you had $100 left in the bank, where would you spend it? Southside Markets on a Sunday morning—fresh organic produce to cook up a nice meal and enjoy with friends. Avocados, berries, seafood and fresh sourdough would be on my list. Been anywhere interesting lately? Internationally, MICAM in Milan, Italy—the biggest shoe fair in the world. That was actually quite overwhelming. So much choice, so many shoes! Locally, I took a very brief visit to Byron Bay with my daughter late last year. Not long enough, just three days. It had been 20 years since I had been and my main purposes was to browse and admire all of the small boutiques doing wonderful things and to enjoy their fresh, wholesome food. I would definitely go back to explore a bit further. Favourite sound? High heels on a wood floor, particularly a deep sound from a solid block heel. It’s a sound of confidence and pride to me.
Where will you be in 10 years’ time?
Fashion labels you most covet?
Apart from probably having a shoe collection twice its current size, I try not to think that far ahead. And I’ve learned that everything is about timing. Being in the right place at the right time, making a decision that fits that time of your life and being brave to run with it. Also, I don’t think that far ahead either because I am genuinely happy right now in my life with what I’ve achieved. I am wanting to enjoy the moments I am in now.
Ginger and Smart, Bassike, Aje, Camilla & Marc and Zimmerman.
Summer/winter? Winter. Give me wool, cashmere, scarves, boots and leather jackets with a glass of red and a fireplace Special secret skill no one knows about (until now)? I learnt how to fly a plane in my teens. I wanted to be a pilot. Maybe I could still fly if I tried?!
What are you most likely to cook for dinner? Rarely do we cook the same thing in our household. We are experimental, seasonal and delight in our time in the kitchen. One of my favourite ways to cook is not to have a plan, and after going to the markets, just pull out some things from the box and put together a beautiful, fresh meal. Last week in our market box my husband and I had bought some fresh prawns and calamari, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, fresh heirloom tomatoes and some baby herbs, among other things. We sat in our kitchen over a bottle of local Four Winds Sangivoese Rose and just cooked a couple of courses up and ate in the kitchen for the evening together. ¡
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Social Life AFTER COVID-19 CONSIGNING HANDSHAKES TO HISTORY?
W O R D S
Emma Macdonald
COVID-19 has changed everything. Almost overnight. From whether we have jobs, to where we work, to who we are allowed to self-isolate with and how many hours of each day we stay in our homes. It has closed our borders internationally and almost at the front of our driveways. It has stopped us reaching out to a friend with a hug or to greet another human being with a handshake. But how will these new normal rules of engagement—both interpersonal and societal—play out in the long term?
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ONCE COVID-19 IS CONTROLLED, will we ever enter someone else’s personal space, or reach out to touch them in quite the same way again? Social anthropologist at the Australian National University (ANU) Professor Simone Dennis has spent her research career investigating the very ordinary interactions of people to understand their underlying logic, to try and make sense of them against a background of regulation or enforcement. She suggests that social cohesion in the postCOVID-19 era could look very different as we renegotiate many of the conventions that have been part of the fabric of our lives. It may even lead to the demise of the handshake. “Already, this virus has affected some very ordinary social interactions we used to take for granted, for example, imagine meeting someone and going to embrace or kiss them. The mere thought of that makes us instantly recoil. “We may well already be asking ourselves how it will be possible to return to normal when even sitting at home watching people hugging and kissing on television makes us immediately recognise ‘No! you can’t do that!’.” The depths to which these aversions are ingrained really depends on how long and how bad the crisis gets. She does believe that we will return to some levels of interpersonal contact “but it is hard to think we won’t bring with us new levels of social awareness about hygiene and personal space given the severity of this current crisis.” This could mean that a handshake is attended by new rituals of hand sanitising before and after, and we may need to brace for possible handshake refusals. They may also be reserved for known associates rather than strangers.
“Whatever happens there is going to be a warming up period where we decide how much contact is safe. The longer the virus lasts, the longer it will take to restore those impulses to touch and it is likely to be attended by all sorts of weirdness. “Perhaps the handshake may diminish in social importance as the primary way to greet someone and we adopt something like the elbow tap.” Simone makes the interesting point that not only are we guarding our personal space zealously, but that many of us have even changed our facial expression when we leave our own homes. “When something suddenly becomes dangerous to you, the principle response to that danger is to limit that contact with the body—and part of that response is demonstrated through the expression of disgust.” Instinctively, people may be trying to shrink their physical presence and even breath more shallowly in a public area as a way to limit their exposure to possible contagion. And if people are displaying their disgust as an expression on their face, Simone suggests that it is likely to become a mirrored behaviour which will rapidly become ordinary. So where we have been used to politely smiling at strangers, our faces may now betray our fear. At a time when we most need to connect on a social level (from a safe distance), the opposite may happen as we grimace at the sight of an oncoming person before we even have a moment to think. SIMONE SAYS HISTORY had a number of pertinent examples where health crises have fundamentally changed our behaviours. An obvious one is smoking—once an almost obligatory social habit of the 20th century which was eventually proven to be potentially deadly. Now smoking is a highly government-regulated and socially stigmatised activity.
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Simone has spent considerable time researching the interface between smoking and social attitudes in the face of scientific evidence, public health measures and government enforcement. “We have fundamentally changed the way we perceive smoking as a result of the precise distribution of medical information. It used to be that smoke was considered a pleasant aroma and direct call to social interaction. Now the smell of smoke is perceived by many to be a direct threat to safety. People will physically avoid going into the path of a smoker.” The reasons people still chose to smoke were varied and complex. Smokers today largely reside out of the white middle classes where health messages had been widely disseminated and smoking cessation has been very effective. The AIDS epidemic is another example of disease impacting behaviour. Through the 1980s, people were terrified about engaging in sexual contact and didn’t want physical touch with others for fear of transmission. But public safety measures and information introduced a whole new range of sexual health and safety measures which have now become embedded—and now, seem second nature. On COVID-19, Simone says, “It is obviously too early to tell whether we are going to internalise this current level of terror so that these new stringent measures of protection and safety become part of our new normal.” But she does suggest that heightened hygiene practices around handwashing have a good prospect of lodging very firmly in the collective subconscious, alongside keeping a larger interpersonal distance. “Having gone through this, it is likely to become part of our habitual practice to try and protect our bodies.”
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“But touch is fundamental to the way we create the institutions of family or workplaces. We now have much firmer boundaries of family space, and the virus is likely to profoundly change the set of protective behaviours we set around older people and also more vulnerable people including newborns. We are certainly set to be a lot more guarded about who comes into our homes as a result.” BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST Associate Professor Alison Behie specialises in the impact of disasters on pregnancy, and considers COVID19 to have potentially damaging effects on women who are pregnant during the crisis, and possibly their babies into the longer term. She, too, notes that self-isolation measures had the potential to disrupt normal patterns of family care and nurturing of newborns as well as critical support for mothers.
MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
“Touch is fundamental to the way we create the institutions of family or workplaces.‟
Babies born during the pandemic are also likely to be further affected by minimal or limited connection to other family members, particularly grandparents. “Given advice on isolating older people and the likelihood that they will not play as big a role in the early development of newborns at this current stage, makes us wonder whether this is going to also have an impact.”
Alison believes women currently pregnant during the COVID-19 crisis would be suffering unavoidable stress as they contemplated childbirth within a health system battling a pandemic. And a natural way of keeping stress levels low—through supportive social networks—was also disrupted. “There’s no doubt pregnant women would be dealing with elevated stress levels at the moment and our research of pregnancy during natural disasters suggests there could be negative outcomes to the foetus as a result. Severe stress is associated with preterm births and associated health challenges. “The impact which start in utero when a pregnancy environment is not optimal means these babies could have a different developmental trajectory.” Studies suggest, for instance, that babies born to stressed mothers can potentially reach puberty at a younger age—an evolutionary response to an inbuilt sense of a stressful environment.
Certainly, there is research that suggests limiting contact with grandchildren has a demonstrable negative impact on the health and quality of life of grandparents—a demographic which also tends to suffer a pre-existing level of social isolation. Family connections and grandchildren bring joy in the main to older generations and they may consider the trade-off heartbreaking. Just as worryingly, Alison foreshadows a potential increase in post-natal distress for new mums who are cut off from family, friend caregivers, and who can no longer rely on the bonding and sharing circle of a mother’s group, particularly in those first few, sleepdeprived months. “All of our social supports which are usually available to help with newborns so mum can get some sleep are now suspended. This could have some very serious repercussions for new mothers in the immediate future.” Meanwhile the long-term impact on the health and wellbeing of the so-called Generation C will take some time to determine. And will they grow up in a society where a simple handshake still stands as an acceptable greeting? Who knows? Our new normal is very much under construction. ¡
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MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
Standing the test
of time
W O R D S
Laura Peppas
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Tim Bean
Few industries are as notoriously cut-throat as the hospitality world. New restaurants will often open to fanfare, but no sooner than you can say “avo on toast”, a newer, hotter restaurant opens its doors, and the crowds evaporate. We hear that 60 percent of restaurants never make it past their first birthday, but what about the other side of the statistic—those old faithfuls that have been there long before FreakShakes, kale or #foodporn? We revisit some of Canberra’s longest running eateries that have truly stood the test of time—and hope that they're still standing when we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis.
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Caphs C AF É BA R & R E S TAU R A N T
Opening its doors in 1926—when Canberra itself was barely established—this Manuka institution is the oldest surviving café in the city, and with good reason. Although the streets and shops that surround it are everchanging, Caphs has largely remained the same—the dining interior is still delightfully retro and even the menu sticks to the same formula (think frothy milkshakes, thickcut chips and hearty meals.) For Manuel Notaras, the secret to his café’s longevity is a personal touch. “It’s always been personal service, the owners have always worked here and we make people feel special, so it’s why they keep coming back,” he says. “It’s probably pretty rare that you see generations of sons and fathers working in the one spot.” –––– 36 Franklin Street, Manuka
caphscanberra.com
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Charcoal R E S TAU R A N T
With its mirrored walls, deep red chairs and low-lit lamps, this restaurant and steakhouse is a nod to the old-world brasserie—you half expect to find Frank Sinatra crooning on a piano. Opened in 1962, Charcoal Resturant was one of the first eateries in the Melbourne building, and is still a favourite among locals (many claim it serves up the best steak in the city). Owner David Ramege says he’s survived the competition because there will always be a place in the industry for good old-fashioned service, fine wine and a cracking steak. “Consistency and quality are key, the way we do things is very traditional,” he says. –––– 61 London Circuit, Canberra City
charcoalrestaurant.com.au
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Mezzalira RISTORANTE
Boasting an award-winning wine list, fine Italian food and a sleek interior, it’s little wonder that Mezzalira has mastered the delicate balance of catering for lunchtime business meetings and romantic dinners alike. Since opening in the iconic Melbourne Building in 1996, the Trimboli brothers have launched three other dining spots in Canberra (Italian and Sons, Da Rosario and wine bar Bacaro) but Mezzalira remains the jewel in the crown, its reputation testament to the outstanding dining experience on offer. –––– 55 London Circuit, Canberra City
mezzalira.com.au
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Happy's Chinese R E S TAU R A N T
Happy’s lays claim to being Canberra’s first Chinese Restaurant, with “Mr Happy”, as he is known, opening the doors in 1962. More than 50 years on, Mr Happy’s grandson is still serving Canberra’s community with a smile. Despite its slightly secluded location, tucked away down a flight of stairs away from the hustle and bustle of Garema Place, it’s a restaurant that locals have never forgotten. Why? Well, as its regulars will say, it’s all about consistency. Each time you visit, you get what you want; whether it’s comfort food, friendly atmosphere or efficient service. –––– 1/17 Garema Place, Canberra City
happys.com.au
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DICKSON
Asian Noodle House For a generation of local food lovers, this Woolley street “OG” was their introduction to a wider style of Asian cuisine, with its steaming stir fried noodles, lao and the “best laksa in Canberra and anywhere,” according to reviewers. Since opening the doors in 1993, owners Saya and Sang Rangsi haven’t strayed from their winning formula, keeping the layout simple and the dishes anything but. –––– 29 Woolley Street, Dickson
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TRADING CONCRETE BARRIERS FOR GLASS CEILINGS AND BEYOND
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W O R D S
Emma Macdonald
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Tim Bean
A 1963 briefing paper on whether women should be permitted to rise up the ranks within Australia’s Trade portfolio shows not only were they not considered suitable for promotion, but they were undermined at every turn. How things have changed. Now Austrade is on an equality and inclusion mission.
HERCANBERRA.COM.AU
IN 2020, THE NUMBER of female Australian Trade Commissioners and General Managers stationed overseas is expected to reach 31 out of 63, putting Austrade on track to achieve gender parity by the end of 2021. But it was only 1963 when the Australian Government’s Trade Commission Service was in the throes of a gender debate as it considered appointing its very first woman trade commissioner, a bureaucrat named Freda Beryl Wilson, who was bound for the Los Angeles office. Those internal deliberations, which were captured in a formal Minute Paper signed by a fellow named A. R. Tayson, give a staggering insight into the ways in which women were viewed with ridicule and withering derision within the Australian Public Service. And this—a mere 57 years in our past. “A spinster lady can, and very often does, turn into something of a battleaxe with the passing years,” Mr Tayson said of the suggestion women could become successful trade emissaries. “A man usually mellows,” he continued. But there were apparently wider issues at bay. Women couldn’t get into the men’s clubs to do business, for a start. PAGE 40
And while they may be helpful promoting trade in women’s clothing and accessories, for instance, “such an appointment would not stay young and attractive forever and later on could well become a problem.” Moreover, “A man normally has his household run efficiently by his wife who also looks after much of the entertaining. A woman Trade Commissioner would have all this on top of her normal work.” And of course, “It is extremely doubtful if a woman could, year after year, under a variety of conditions, stand the fairly severe strains and stresses, mentally and physically, which are part of the life of a Trade Commissioner.” The good news is, these arguments didn’t prevent Beryl Wilson from getting that LA post—and by all accounts she acquitted herself honourably in the role. THE MINUTE PAPER to this day also provides a flashpoint of sorts for the current CEO of Austrade to push forward with some of the most progressive inclusion policies across Government.
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What’s more, that CEO is a woman—Austrade’s first—Dr Stephanie Fahey. Stephanie finds the Tayson memo singularly entertaining. But also “completely outrageous”. “He was clearly a man of his times, but I would suggest he was a very conservative man of those times.” It was not until 1966 that the Public Service Act was amended to allow women to keep their jobs after marriage, so women had not faced discrimination so much as been systematically blocked from fair representation. Forget the glass ceiling—“for women at that time, these policies provided concrete barriers to their progression. We may laugh about it now but it wasn’t that long ago,” says Stephanie. She was shown the infamous Tayson memo shortly after taking up the top Austrade job back in 2017—having come to the position after being EY’s lead partner for education in the Oceania region, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) at Monash University and Director of the University of Sydney’s Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific.
Sally cannot pinpoint a single instance in which her own career in Austrade has ever been impeded by her gender. Kelly Matthews, meanwhile, who has just commenced a role as Trade Commissioner in Abu Dhabi and has been rotating on various postings since the age of 22, does recall being viewed in her work “through a gender lens”. “I remember a time early in my career where foreign counterparts could not seriously understand how a single woman lived all by herself—who did my washing, who did my cooking?” Tayson’s arguments to prevent women like Kelly ever holding an overseas post are “amusing, but it also makes me reflect on how much the APS has changed.”
“I remember a time early in my career where foreign counterparts could not seriously understand how a single woman lived all by herself—who did my washing, who did
MUCH OF THE MOST dramatic change within Austrade has occurred under Stephanie’s tenure—as she has worked concertedly to bring the gender divide into balance. She generously acknowledges the work initiated by her predecessors and recognises that a CEO can’t achieve these changes alone. You have to take the team on the journey.
The paper, for those wondering, Last year she spearheaded an my cooking?” resurfaced into a much less ambitious Diversity and Inclusion hostile and sexist Australia in Strategy which has set firm targets 2005 as part of a National Archives display of "quirky, to increase the representation of women in Senior amusing or nostalgic little gems" that researchers Executive, Trade Commissioner, and Senior Trade sometimes unearth within its collection. Commissioner roles. Indeed, it is well known among the group of Australian female trade commissioners who gather in Parliament for the HerCanberra photo shoot prior to a black-tie Australian Export Award Dinner. They have all read it. Sally Deane, Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner in Jakarta and acting General Manager for ASEAN, says, “it amuses me more than anything. In many ways it shows how much things have changed— even if there is still a way to go.”
Specifically, Austrade has set a goal of having 50 percent of SES positions filled by women by 2021. Other key aspects of the diversity strategy related to gender include a Women in Leadership talent development program which fosters existing female talent; a Panel Pledge ensuring diversity all Austrade events, meetings and forums globally; supporting flexible working and enhancing global policies to help parents share responsibility for childcare and exploring whether there is any bias in their recruitment systems.
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“Currently, 59 percent of Austrade staff are women.‟
Stephanie notes Austrade is already beginning to reap the benefits of the drive to greater female representation with last year’s Senior Trade Commissioner round producing five successful female applicants out of seven, and the most recent round of Trade Commissioners producing 13 women out of 25 roles. Currently, 59 percent of Austrade staff are women. The percentage of women in SES roles has increased substantially since 2015, from 34 percent to 44 percent by January 2020. The number of women in more junior management roles has also increased since 2015, up 5 percent to 54 percent. Stephanie is loving the role, and while the travel demands are considerable, she is somehow fitting in activities that are singularly Canberran—riding her bike to work, paddling on the lake, hiking all the local hikes. Having completed her PhD at the Australian National University, Stephanie admits being less than enthused by the prospect of relocating to Canberra— the university town she had known only in the 1980s. But she has experienced a new Canberra and now intends to retire here. Not before she brings a new inclusive energy to the vital trade portfolio. “At this point in my career, I feel this job gives me the authority to do the things I believe are important. And something that is hugely important to me is the diversity and inclusion strategy….When people of every gender, sexual orientation and race can stand up and really be proud of who they are and lead others in the organisation, that’s when you can feel satisfied, because as a CEO you have your hands on the lever and you can make these changes.” Gender diversity in particular is a no-brainer for Stephanie, who sees women as having a natural affinity for trade negotiations.
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“Trade has traditionally been dominated by men— partly because it was business oriented and also a dispersed network operating overseas which meant that the male culture stayed with Austrade longer than in any other parts of the public sector.” But women have many of the requisite skills required for spruiking their country’s bests interests in the diplomatic mazes overseas. “Women are very good communicators, they are empathetic, very good networkers and multitaskers. When you think of having to juggle the number of different exporters who are coming to the market from different industries, and to join the dots to ensure no opportunity is missed, I think women have the emotional intelligence to achieve this. I truly believe they are suited to trade.” CERTAINLY, WHEN ANNA LIN, New South Wales State Director of Austrade and a former TC in the Middle East and China, arrived in the international backwaters which was Mongolia 10 years ago, she honed an inner resourcefulness which stays with her to this day. Surviving the minus 40-degree temps, she would strategically park herself at Millie's Café—a “microcosm of the international development community, where I met someone from the International Monetary Fund, which eventually led to the Swiss agency funding an enterprise project with our organisation. My main lesson from Mongolia? Be resourceful and stay the course”. Nicola Watkinson, the General Manager for the Americas, based in New York, has worked across Europe, South Asia and the Americas. Taking a leaf out of former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s book, she now arranges to meet a group of business women on every trip she does around her region.
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“One of my joys is working with the next wave of women taking on the world. Young and old, from diverse backgrounds and experiences, I see women increasingly taking their rightful place in global business…We are now tackling global challenges without leaving half our team on the bench,” she says. “But it did remind me of the letter from A R Tayson when I discovered that a major business club in Lima is still ‘men only’ with women permitted under escort and until recently required to wear a skirt. We have agreed to refuse invitations held at this venue, and focus on those business people who are inclusive.” STEPHANIE CANNOT HELP BUT SMILE when she speaks of the recent export awards handed out at Parliament and how they would have been viewed by A.R. Tayson and his ilk. Winner of the 2019 Sustainability Award was Modibodi—a Sydney-based company that is producing pioneering period undies made from tech-savvy fabrics like bamboo, merino wool and microfibre. The company has 150,000 customers worldwide, has sold over one million garments and plans to launch a men’s underwear range. Founder Kristy Chong estimates Modibodi products will stop two billion disposables being used over the next 50 years, resulting in almost 170 tonnes less waste. It is the ingenuity and grit of companies such as Modibodi that Stephanie believes is propelling Australia’s economic advancement relative to other countries. “We forget we are a tiny island, really off in the Pacific…Other economies—countries in Latin America such as Chile, Brazil—they look at us and compare economies and they say 'how did you do that? What is it that you do differently?'” Modibodi is only one of many clever companies creating new markets here and overseas with the export awards recognising dozens more.
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But Stephanie pauses a moment to consider how one Mr A.R. Tayson would feel about a menstruation product being held up in the trade spotlight as a symbol of Australian manufacturing savvy. “Well one can only imagine what Mr Tayson would have thought. He would have wanted to crawl under the table, I believe. He would have been very afraid. It is an indication of just how much has changed since his time.” ¡
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BRINGING THE PAST into the Future W O R D S
Emma Macdonald
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Tim Bean
When a Canberra couple—experienced in the art of designing, building and selling homes—purchased a heritage cottage in Manuka, they had one aim. To preserve where Canberra has been as a city, and to forecast where it should be going.
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OVER JUST 18 MONTHS, the couple (who prefer to remain nameless) transformed the tiny, 1927 cookie-cutter, three-bedroom cottage into an architectural statement which marks the entrance to what is arguably Canberra’s most photogenic streets—Grant Crescent in Manuka. The massive corner block, part of the city’s Blandfordia heritage precinct, was the site of a Federal Capital Commission box when the couple bought it on a whim, almost four years ago. At the time they were living a massive self-built home in Yarralumla, following several other builds across the city. Yet they laughingly concede that the Yarralumla home was something of a McMansion. “Architecturally, it was pretty standard,” the wife said. “We call this our heritage challenge, it was the little bit missing in our development experience,” the husband added. In an act of pure spontaneity, they bid for it at auction. The location, one street from Manuka Village and surrounded by the genteel housing of some of Canberra’s earliest suburbanites, was also a huge drawcard. Once they had a moment to think about it, the couple formed a strong view about where this next project would lead them. Unlike the most usual heritage transformations in Canberra—where great effort is placed in melding the original style of the heritage dwelling with new additions—this pair wanted to break new ground.
“We never wanted to disguise the cottage or change it in order to add to it, we wanted it to stand alone. And we didn’t care there would be a massive contrast between the old and new—in fact, we wanted the new additions to have their own voice,” she said. “We wanted distinctive pods which created a delineation between the original structure and the new parts that was anything but subtle. Most people try and carry their heritage theme throughout an extension, but we wanted ours to be a harsh contrast.” Their purchase of a corner block was also fortuitous in that the common practice of “hiding” a modern cube at the back of an old house was simply not an option. The modern add-ons were allowed to be visible from the front—their only restriction was a three-metre setback from the cottage frontage.
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It meant the stars aligned in terms of Canberra’s strict planning regime, and they were able to move forward with a design which reveres the original 1927 cottage in classic white render, while welcoming two striking grey concrete pods to either side of the original facade. NOT THAT THERE WEREN’T a few early hiccups. “When we first went in with a very early concept idea to Heritage, they said ‘forget it. Absolutely not’. “But then they changed committees and those who made up the new committee clearly had different architectural perspectives and they could see where we wanted to take it. So we received approval.”
“We never wanted to disguise the cottage or change it in order to add to it, we wanted it to stand alone.”
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Indeed, the couple has travelled widely and taken many of their design cues from building transformations taking place in cities such as London and Amsterdam. While the wife was delighted to maintain the character and charm of gables, chimneys, sash windows and rendered brick, the husband could not wait to experiment with the brutalist feel of raw and formed concrete. The couple settled on architectural firm Collins Caddaye—based on the firm’s experience in competently handling both approaches.
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The aim was to maintain the focus on the cottage frontage, while extending on either side, and transforming the back end of the house to a modernist and open-plan space for family (there are four older children who come and go), which would lend itself to entertaining on a grand scale.
They also settled on four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two powder rooms—one of which is hidden behind dark wood panelling off the main entrance and is accessed by pushing on the wall, at which point a series of pendant lightbulbs come on automatically to illuminate the way.
“The ultimate vision for the house, really, was to create something for empty-nesters that could still be used as a family home for children, or grandchildren even,” she said.
IN THE PROCESS of designing the generous spaces, courtyards and two levels of amenity, the owners were able to add some extraordinary design features, including underwater downstairs windows that look straight into the turquoise ripples of pool water.
Must-haves included a pool, artist’s studio, pool room, and a polished concrete seven-car underground car-park that has to be seen to be believed. “For me the James Bond-style carpark was important,” he said.
A suspended stairwell connects the gleaming showroom garage, pool and media rooms and the artist’s studio to the main level of living, but not before you pass a tantalising cellar built into one side of the massive wall.
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“I love waking up and seeing the join of this incredibly bright fabric wall with the concrete ceiling. It is such a contrast between harshness and softness and I find my eye is always drawn to it.”
Upstairs, the wife’s artistic bent comes to the fore with design features that celebrate the old and new in luxe and distinctive ways. Her pottery sculptures create an organic centrepiece in the living room while a giant tiled mosaic outside reflects the colour scheme of the bedroom. The original front room is an elegant grand sitting room, complete with marble fireplace and bespoke botanical-themed wallpaper.
An enormous velvet sofa from King Furniture and oversized armchairs from Bo Concept provide the perfect position from which to watch the Manuka street life while Fornasetti plates and a starburst mirror echo the room’s original age. A Ben Grady original commissioned work Portal, signifies the move from old house to new, which is almost imperceptible until you move through into an expanse of openplan living anchored by a huge curved concrete wall. When asked what his favourite part of the house is, the husband eschews the garage, curved walls and pool room for this single architectural feat. “Engineering-wise, it is pretty significant, it is a post-tension slab…It took five months to form the concrete and it is generally something you only see in commercial buildings.” PAGE 53
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The fact that its massive weight balances atop the garage without a single pillar underneath to ruin the sleek lines of the automotive showroom speaks to the engineering and design that went into the build. At night, the enormous curve—visible through vast glass floor-to-ceiling sliding doors—is lit very gently and provides a perfect backdrop to one of many dramatic steel sculptures placed artistically around the property. For the wife, joy comes from her studio, a subterranean tiled space, the walls crowded with inspiration and art and tinged blue from her watery window. A joint love is the pod dining room—an irregularshaped room which focuses one window onto the original front room where the historic rough-cast finish of the render contrasts with the smooth concrete of the pod. The terrazzo table was designed by the wife to match the shape of the room while the Italian Flow dining chairs are covered in black Mongolian sheepskins to bring warmth to the geometric space. An Andy Staley artwork features pebbles which reflect the stone in the table, while the 25-metre pool stretches out the other window and tucks under the pod so that it feels suspended across the water. Indeed, it is a room custom-made for the most memorable of dinner parties. A less formal eating nook is located next to the vast kitchen, while an airy living space is made even more so by having glass walls open to courtyards and the pool area on either side. A parents' retreat, with its own bathroom and robe area is secluded up this end of the house, ensuring maximum peace and privacy.
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“We got carried away in the architecture, in the whole dream of it, which is madness really.”
Softening the dark colours in this area, the wife designed the bedhead wall to be covered in a luxurious and colourful fabric by Christian Lacroix for Designers Guild. “I love waking up and seeing the join of this incredibly bright fabric wall with the concrete ceiling. It is such a contrast between harshness and softness and I find my eye is always drawn to it.” As with every build, the couple do have one small regret—that is, the size of two smaller bedrooms down the other end of the house which are, on reflection, a tad too small. This is not a problem for the very front bedroom, which is an original room and is decorated with the most delicate floral wallpaper by Ellie Cashman in something of an homage to the 1920s. Two cut-glass pendant globes set off the muted colours of the walls while a window seat gives a perfect view into Grant Crescent. The couple paid tribute to their builder—Bloc— for ensuring a seamless transition between old and new, and anticipating every demand of the ambitious construction.
“We had a lot of fun, and bounced off each other well,” she said. It is clear that their experience in the area leaves them fazed by little. And just like in Grand Designs, we end the article by asking the couple how their budget went.
“This house could have been a disaster when you consider what we were trying to do—you have all sorts of joinery, you have different materials, but every time I asked a question, our project manager Chris McCormack already had the answers.”
“I didn’t even know if we had a budget…Did we?,” the wife asks.
AND WHILE MOST AMBITIOUS BUILDS can leave even the most simpatico of marriages a little frayed around the edges, this couple came through the 18-month process unscathed.
“We got carried away in the architecture, in the whole dream of it, which is madness really. But it reflects the quality and the attention to detail and the passion we have had for the project. Now we are very happy to be here.”
The wife is amazed by her husband’s spatial skills and technical understanding. The husband appreciates his wife’s incredible eye.
“No, there wasn’t a fixed budget to be honest,” he responds with a smile.
That is, of course, until this creative couple move onto the next project. ¡
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THE ART OF
FASHION C O N C E P T
Gerard Wilton
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Lauren Campbell
As COVID-19 sees the National Gallery of Australia shut its doors, we take a virtual journey through its halls as two creative cultures collide.
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ART At left: Eirene Mort Mirror c.1906, copper repoussé mounted over wood frame, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 1984. At right: Frederick McCubbin Bush Idyll 1983, oil on canvas. Kindly lent from a private collection. FASHION Sage wears COS shirt cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au, Tommy Hilfiger shoes au.tommy.com. Alexandra wears COS knit cosstores.com/au, Lee Matthews dress from David Jones davidjones.com.au, Gorman shoes gormanshop.com.au.
ART Works by various artists in the International Galleries, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. FASHION Alexandra wears Oroton dress and scarf oroton.com, Elk bag au.elkthelabel.com, Superga sneaker from David Jones, davidjones.com.au. Sage wears COS shirt and stripe tee cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au, model’s own shoes.
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ART Napier Waller I'll put a girdle round about the earth 1933 (detail), oil on canvas, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1979. © Estate of Napier Waller. FASHION Alexandra wears Jigsaw polo jumper and bag jigsawclothing.com.au, Oroton dress oroton.com, Gorman trench gormanshop.com.au, Veja shoes from David Jones davidjones.com.au. Sage wears COS jacket, and shirt cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au, Tommy Hilfiger shoes au.tommy.com.
ART Georgiana McCrae Miss Agnes Morison c. 1830, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 2003. Other works by various artists in Belonging: Stories of Australian Art, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. FASHION Elk dress and jacket au.elkthelabel.com, Jigsaw bag jigsawclothing.com.au, Oroton scarf oroton.com. Sage wears COS tee cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au.
ART Works by various artists in Asian Art: Devotion, Nature, Time, People, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. FASHION Alexandra wears Oroton shirt oroton.com, Jigsaw skirt jigsawclothing.com.au, Aje knit from David Jones davidjones.com.au. Sage wears COS shirt and stripe tee cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au, model’s own shoes.
ART Hugh Ramsay A mountain shepherd 1901, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Gift of Nell Fullerton, niece of the artist, in memory of her parents, Sir John and Lady Ramsay 1980. FASHION Alexandra wears Gorman boiler suit gormanshop.com.au, Oroton trench and bag oroton.com, Gregory Ladner Beret from David Jones davidjones.com.au and Elk sneaker au.elkthelabel.com. $210.00. Sage wears COS shirt and stripe tee cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au, model’s own shoes.
ART Works by various artists in Australian Art Galleries, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. FASHION Sage wears COS shirt cosstores.com/au, Jag jeans from David Jones davidjones.com.au. Alexandra wears COS jacket and pants cosstores.com/au, Veja shoes $195.00 from David Jones davidjones.com.au, Oroton bag and shirt oroton.com, and Lee Matthews polo from David Jones, davidjones.com.au.
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BEHIND THE
Scenes
C R E AT I V E D I R E C TO R + S T Y L I S T G E R A R D W I LTO N PHOTOGRAPHER LAUREN CAMPBELL MAKEUP ARTI ST LESLE Y JOHNSTON HAIR STYLIST LEXI BANNISTER F E M A L E M O D E L A L E X A N D R A R AY N E, D E VO J K A M O D E L S MALE MOD EL S AG E S A LVA D O R, I M G CO O R D I NATO R B E L I N DA N E AM E S T Y L I S T ' S AS S I S TA N T H AY L E Y B R U E M M E R L O C AT I O N N AT I O N A L G A L L E R Y O F A U S T R A L I A
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NOW OPEN
A NEW WORLD OF FASHION
C A N B E R R A O U T L E TCENTRE. C O M . A U
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WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DYING
W O R D S
Beatrice Smith
Death might just be the last taboo of our over-sharing culture. But that’s changing. Beatrice Smith explores the modern state of death and dying in Canberra.
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IN THE SUNNY GARDEN of a café in Canberra’s inner south, five strangers are discussing their end-of-life care plans. We’re sitting in a café within a café—a Death Café, in fact—and for people who have only just met, we’re getting very intimate, Bear in mind, this is pre-COVID-19. Gently prompting us is Vickie Hingston-Jones, a death doula, death literacy advocate and organiser of this Death Café. Her tone is both warm and frank as she asks things like: “Do you know what happens straight after someone dies?”. She doesn’t mean spiritually, either. Vickie has been running Death Cafés for some years now, and sees them as the perfect arena in which to discuss society’s last taboos—death and dying. We get into the nitty gritty of wills and funerals and care plans and cremation. It sounds morbid, but there’s also fresh air, sunshine, cake and tea. It could be a lot worse. And by a lot worse, I mean the awful situations that Vickie tells us come about when someone doesn’t plan ahead. Wills that haven’t been updated for decades. Lost passwords. Vital documents misplaced. Heartbreaking split-second medical decisions that need to be made without any idea of what the person wants. All things that can be avoided, says Vickie, with a bit of mindful death admin. I’m one of the five strangers and, at 28-years-old, facing my own mortality is…uncomfortable. But after all, that’s the point. As Vickie puts it, “we learn sex education in schools though we might never have sex. But we don’t have death education—and we’re all going to die.” But that lack of education might just be changing. In recent years, dying and death have increasingly drawn a brighter spotlight. The latest season of the ABC’s Pineapple Project podcast is focused on death and Vickie says she’s in-demand as a presenter for private, small-group Death Cafés.
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“What I often say is when people come to a death café, they can go home and say, ‘well, you wouldn't believe where I've spent the afternoon!’,” she laughs.
But that doesn’t mean that you’ll find it easy to bring up at the dinner table. My best friend—who is happy to skydive and throw herself down a rocky mountain on a bike—admits to me that she’s fearful of even talking about death. Other friends are curious about my upcoming Death Café. After all, almost everyone has a story of a passing that could have been easier had someone updated their will, written an end-of-life care plan or simply told people: cremation or burial. Meanwhile my soon-to-be 87-year-old grandmother has cheerfully brought up the topic on her own multiple times. On her 85th birthday she declared she’d quite like to donate her body to science and when her medical researcher daughter gently broke it to her that cadavers are in bountiful supply, she proposed being made into a diamond, which she had read about. Cue a lot of wry discussion between the grandchildren about who exactly would get to ‘wear’ Grandma. For those relatives facing a tougher conversation with their ageing loved ones, Vickie is pragmatic. She explains that you can’t lead a horse to water—or a human to an end-of-life care plan—so the best way is to educate yourself and then educate others. “What I often say is when people come to a death café, they can go home and say, ‘well, you wouldn't believe where I've spent the afternoon!’,” she laughs. Vickie says her biggest hurdles come when she speaks at Men’s Sheds.
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“They say, ‘Oh no…We're not that old yet’. And I say, ‘Do you know anyone under the age of 60 who's died?’ And they go, ‘Oh, yeah’. And I say, ‘Do you know anyone under the age of 40 who's died? 30?’ ‘Yeah.’ And I say, ‘What makes you special?’” For Vickie, frank and fearless education is a powerful tool when it comes to death and dying, regardless of age and health. When we meet one-on-one before the Death Café, one of her first questions to me is, “If you got hit by a bus on the way home, do people who love you know if you want to be buried or cremated?” “Erm, no,” I admit. ‘I’m 28’, I feel like adding. But then I remember Vickie’s own words, 'do you know someone under the age of 30 who has died?' Yes. So, what does a healthy 28-year-old with no dependents need when it comes to death admin? “As a baseline, I would say you need some documents in your bottom drawer that have an advanced care plan,” says Vickie. “So, if you're on life support, what would you want? If you were to die suddenly how you would like your body to be treated?”
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“We'd like to think we'd die peacefully in our sleep after a good night out or the last episode of Game of Thrones or something,” she adds wryly. “But in fact, it doesn't often work like that.” Vickie says that while death is the “dragon under the bed” that no one wants to face—it’s not all about us. “Dying doesn't just involve the person that's dying. It involves all the people that that person touches. Knowing your options is the important thing and that's what I try to do. Talk to people about what death is really like and it's not that scary.” KNOWING YOUR OPTIONS might very well be empowering, but what if the options you seek are beyond your reach—or the law? Across Australia, there are other end-of-life avenues being discussed—and a growing pro-choice movement around death. Voluntary assisted dying—sometimes called voluntary euthanasia—is becoming less ‘something niche that happens in Switzerland’ and more a choice Australians want made available.
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“The polling consistently tells us that 80 percent of Australians support voluntary assisted dying,”
In November 2017, the ACT Government tasked the Select Committee on End of Life Choices with looking into, among other things, “ACT community views on the desirability of voluntary assisted dying being legislated in the ACT”1.
Tara adds that MPs in Tasmania have plans to introduce a similar bill, South Australia and Queensland have opened end-of-life inquiries. In New South Wales, an end-of-life choices bill failed by just one vote in the upper house in 2017.
“The polling consistently tells us that 80 percent of Australians support voluntary assisted dying,” explains Labor MLA Tara Cheyne who was part of that Committee, adding that “[Australia] only had around 60 percent for marriage equality.”
While the ACT Committee ultimately decided it was unable to make recommendations on voluntary assisted dying due to the federal restrictions, Tara says the inquiry was broad enough in scope to make recommendations on “how [the ACT is] dealing with death generally.”
So, what did they find? Well, it’s a bit more nuanced than that. As Tara explains, the ACT has been self-governing since 1989, however, after being spooked by the Northern Territory passing its own Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 1995, the Federal Parliament “inserted specific provisions in the ACT and NT’s selfgovernment Acts that stop us from ever legislating voluntary assisted dying…So our parliament can talk about it as much as we want, but we can’t pass valid legislation.” That might come as a blow to the 488 Canberrans who took the time to submit their experiences and insights to the Committee—the most in the Parliament’s history. But that doesn’t mean that change isn’t coming. In mid-2019, Voluntary Assisted Dying laws came into effect in Victoria, with 135 applicants deemed eligible2 between June and December 2019. As of late February 2020, 52 terminally ill Victorians have chosen to die using state-sanctioned medication, exceeding the initial estimation of 12 people annually. Western Australia passed similar legislation at the end of 2019 which is expected to be implemented in 2021.
“Are we supporting people who deal with death, such as nurses?” she says. “Is everything that we're doing adequate? Where can we make change? And if we ever did, if we were in a position to proceed with looking at legislating for voluntary assisted dying, what could that look like?” For Tara, this isn’t just politics. Watching her father die painfully from pancreatic cancer in 2016 ignited something in her. It was only 11 weeks from diagnosis to his passing. “His last few weeks were marked by significant pain,” Tara wrote in a piece for HerCanberra in 20183. “And the last moments I shared with my Dad while he was conscious—my very last memories of [interacting with] him—were him swearing at me in frustration because of the utter indignity he was experiencing. He would hate to be remembered like that, but those memories are seared in my mind.” “My story is not an uncommon one. Too many of our loved ones suffer, seemingly unnecessarily, in the final days of their terminal illnesses. These shared experiences are one of the reasons why so many Australians and their parliaments are having the important conversation about voluntary assisted dying.”
1 parliament.act.gov.au/in-committees/select_committees/end-of-life-choices 2 smh.com.au/national/victoria/euthanasia-52-victorians-take-approved-lethal-dose-in-first-six-months-of-new-laws 3 hercanberra.com.au/cplife/restoring-territory-rights-why-it-matters
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“It all comes back to feeling that you’ve got the ability to choose.”
WHILE CANBERRANS MIGHT BE WAITING some time for the same choices, some refuse to wait. Ian* is in his early seventies and has everything he needs to die when he chooses. Neither he nor his wife Celia* have a terminal illness, but they’ve been prepared for more than a decade. Why? ‘Well why not?’, says Ian. “Interestingly, Celia and I have been interested in end-of-life planning for the last 15 years,” says Ian. “But we happen to be mad planners anyway—life doesn’t happen to us—we try and steer life a bit.”
For people like Ian and Celia, whose choices have steered them through successful careers and built a close-knit family, bidding farewell to autonomy isn’t an option. “In the Middle Ages, life was short and you were powerless. Nowadays we’re in a time where there’s all sorts of intervention,” says Ian. “It seems to me that it shouldn’t just be a one-way street. You shouldn’t just have interventions to make you drag on longer. The same intervention should allow you to pass on when you want to.” Vickie shares this sentiment.
Like Tara, Ian’s initial interest in voluntary assisted dying came after the difficult and undignified death of a relative.
“I think we talk about assisted dying—why don't we talk about assisted living?” she asks thoughtfully. “'How ethical is assisted living?', is what I would say.”
“I thought; well f**k, that’s not something I’m interested in.”
“It's a kindness and that's what I'm about. Just being kind and doing what you can. And I think assisted dying, if well-legislated, is a kindness.”
Ian’s research led him to Exit International, a notfor-profit organisation that advocates for end-oflife choices. Founded in 1997 by Dr Philip Nitschke (the man behind the Northern Territory’s fleeting legalisation of voluntary assisted dying in 1995), Exit International holds regular workshops and information sessions around the world, aimed at educating those interested in exercising their own end-of-life choices. Nembutal, a short-acting barbiturate, is often used to euthanise animals and was the cause of Marilyn Monroe’s overdose in 1962. Today, Nembutal is the drug of choice for legal voluntary assisted suicide in places like the Netherlands, California and at the famous Dignitas in Switzerland. Kept refrigerated, Nembutal can last for decades and Exit International offers a testing kit, to test if the ingredients are still active—and that you haven’t been scammed. “It all comes back to feeling that you’ve got the ability to choose,” says Ian. “Yet there’s a whole group of people—parliamentarians and the church—who have taken it on themselves to be the judge.”
For Ian, planning for end-of-life well ahead of time represents a pragmatic box-tick, like superannuation, albeit with more emotional investment. “Knowing that you—in theory—have the means [to die] is very important.” As for informing family of their wishes, Ian and Celia did so more than a decade ago. And their children are supportive. “We’ve made it clear to our children and their partners that we’ve planned this—and Celia and I have a bit of an agreement, as far as it goes, that if the circumstances were right, we would like to go together.” Unlike her husband, Celia does have ongoing health concerns and for some time Ian was convinced he was getting Alzheimer’s. “We joked that we’d end up with one working body and one working brain across two people,” laughs Ian. “So we thought, if that happens, we’ll call it a day.” ¡ * Not their real name
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CAN BERRA IN PICTURES
What are the images that capture the soul of a city? We asked 10 Canberra photographers to share an image that speaks to them.
Photo Tim Bean
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DAVEY BARBER
What represents Canberra for me is the suburbs, the smaller communities within the larger Canberra. The place to be when I was a kid was the local shops. The hub, where $5 chips—with sauce on one side and gravy on the other—is part of a balanced diet for the local kids, along with a few dozen cheese and bacon rolls. This photo, sums up a big part of my childhood in Canberra. I like photographing things that bring memories flooding back—maybe the shop owners will see them and know that their delicious treats have helped Canberra through many hangovers and heartbreaks.
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TIM BEAN PAGE 90
To me, this image of the Sydney building is a reflection of Canberra’s past and present. I have always had a real interest in Canberra’s historic buildings and cityscapes—this gave me an idea to meld my photography with that of Canberra’s first Official Photographer William James Mildenhall. Mildenhall photographed and documented the early development and
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growth of Canberra during the early 1920s up until 1935, and I have always admired how he captured the rawness of the building industry.
to create a time capsule image of this iconic Canberra building from the exact spot William Mildenhall stood 70 years ago before me.
I believe The Sydney Building (mirrored by the Melbourne Building across Northbourne Avenue) is the heart of the nation’s capital and thought it appropriate
Original image: National Archives of Australia, A3560, 6594
instagram.com/timbean_photography
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LAUREN SUTTON Autumn in Canberra. Trees turn from green to spectacular shades of yellow and red. Crisp mornings shrouded in fog clearing up to blue sky days. I love experiencing the best of all four seasons in Canberra. A reminder that change happens, and change is good.
laurenlsutton.com
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NATHAN HARRADINE HALE
These images represent such a dark moment in Canberras history. At a time that was filled with a yellow haze, I felt like it was my duty as a photographer to step out and capture these moments in our city's story. These images not only show the powerful impacts of the fires, but the resilience of Canberrans who went out to carry on their normal daily duties during such a traumatic time.
collectionsfromhim.com
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PAUL JURAK I love experiencing Canberra from the water’s perspective. I am constantly spellbound by the beautiful spectrum of colours that are continually cast in Canberra. A lot of people have a perception that Canberra is lacklustre in winter, but for me this is when the cool conditions create unforgettable moments like this! We have such beauty on our doorstep, sometimes you just have to open the door.
kayakcameraman.com
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ROBYN GEERING Once you dig just a tiny bit deeper, past Canberra's "political bubble" reputation, you'll find a thriving undercurrent. It's vibrant and energetic, but most of all, it's authentic. A home to artisans who are colourful and creative. You'll discover them and what they create, in places that you might not expect. Canberra is so much more than just the bush capital. It's edgy, and outdoorsy and the food and coffee is second to none.
robyngeeringphotography.com
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SCOTT LEGGO I love how as you drive around Canberra, many of the roads line up with major landmarks including Parliament House. Lake Burley Griffin was designed with many geometric motifs and the alignment of the two major bridges are an obvious example. However, it is not until you explore a little further you come to appreciate the true simplicity of Canberra’s design. This photograph captures much of that simplicity for me, while still representing an angle that many miss despite driving over the lake every day.
scottleggo.com
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HILARY WARDHAUGH I think this image reflects Canberra the 'secret city', in that we hear rumors of tunnels going from Parliament House to various places and bunkers underground....and I like the ironic nature of the fact that when I walked down the stairway, there was a locked door, and yet the light (which I put there) shines outwards...so heaven is only available to those with the key?
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MARTIN OLLMAN This photo really did not register at the time. I had just come off an Enlighten project where I was looking at photos of Walter and Marion and producing some projections for the National Library. It was only later that I realised a resemblance, and it was then the image came to life. The slight lead the lady has and the determination in the their stride shows a a power couple. The setting really puts them in Canberra, and with the crane in the distance—the building the city story is told. ¥
martinollman.com
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WHAT TIME HAS
Told
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Tim Bean
These days, we know age is no barrier to experience and youth is no barrier to wisdom. We asked eight women across eight decades what life has taught them.
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TEENS Willow
A lover of Netflix and Harry Potter, Willow is currently trying to nail three things: Year 12, winged eyeliner and reverse parallel parking.
What do you wish you’d known a year ago?
What are three things your teen years have taught you?
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about Generation Z?
A year ago, I was going into a new school and had to adjust my perspective around my place and my grades, which dropped a little at first, leading to major self-doubt.
1. I feel like this is a pretty simple one, but ‘no one is judging you’. I feel like this generation of teenagers isn’t about conforming to the status quo. We’ve evolved, if you will, to celebrating differences. I’m very proud of that.
I feel like misconceptions about Gen Z are put on us because others didn’t have it when they were growing up: too much internet, too much technology, too much ability to do the things that other generations never dreamed of doing at our age.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that there’s a vast and diverse range of people in a school year group, and everyone has it tough sometimes. You are never as alone as you think you are. What are your biggest fears for the future? I guess I am worried about what I’ll do in the future. It’s very easy to be caught up in all the choices and focus on what I can’t do rather than what I can, but I like to think the future is pretty rapidly changing and there is no one path to happiness. I do sometimes worry that my old age will be spent in a panic as Australia tries to escape the hole our current government is digging us into.
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2. Know when enough is enough. This can be hard. As teenagers we are constantly told that our futures are on the line—and that’s really scary! I’ll tell you what’s really a huge part of your future: the stress standard you set in your teen years. I strongly feel that it’s not said enough—nothing is worth your mental health. 3. Lastly, teen years really are the time to do literally anything, because most of it won’t affect your future and even then only the good stuff will count. I used to think the world depended on my Outdoor Ed grade. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
It’s not our fault it’s no longer acceptable for children to disappear for a whole day with two cents and a packet of BandAids. Instead, our generation is empowered by that technology we’re so often criticised about. I mean, look at the School Strike 4 Climate and Extinction Rebellion— these movements are powered by switched-on Gen Z kids. Just because we’re not growing up like you did, doesn’t mean we’re doing it wrong. What are you looking forward to? I’m looking forward to travelling in the future. Getting out to the world might help me figure out what I want to do, or how I want to do it. Taking some time to figure me out. You know?
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20s Nip
Nip is a social entrepreneur who founded family business GG’s Flowers and Hampers at 20-years-old, out of a desire to create meaningful career paths for people with disabilities. Last year she was the recipient of a Westpac Social Change Fellowship, which saw her to travel to Harvard to undertake professional development. But as she puts it, it’s not all sunshine and roses.
What would you tell yourself at age 20? Chill out and enjoy life. I was so busy trying to smash goals that I forgot to smash the goal of living life. Happy to report I'm kinda there now...maybe more to go. Best piece of advice you’ve been given? We don't all have a lot of money but what we do have is time. Sometimes 'time' can be the most powerful thing you can give someone else—or even yourself! This is kinda ironic coming from someone like me who literally prays every day to have 27 hours in the day. I can definitely get caught up in the 'busy' and the 'no-time' vicious cycle. Sometimes, you just have to shut up and make time.
Career-wise, are you where you’d thought you’d be? What would you tell those who are at the start of their careers? Absolutely not. I 100 percent thought I'd be a journalist or public servant working in communications and media with a consistent salary, superannuation and flex time. You know, utilising my degree I spent thousands of dollars and hours on? However, I'm just not there. Sure, I'm running my own show, literally winging it and having the best time ever. But with that comes a lot of worry, pressure and financial ties. In my mind, my younger self saw myself married, housed and stable career-ed by now. I literally couldn't be further from that distant memory. But honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. I love every moment of the work I do. I think my best piece of advice would be to make sure you check yourself when it comes to expectations. Whose expectations are you upholding? Your own? Someone else's? Society’s?
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Who is your dream mentor? This is an interesting question—I've had the privilege of being mentored by some incredible people (and also some not-soincredible people). I think I'd love the opportunity to be mentored by Janine Allis—the Founder of Boost Juice. She's successfully franchised and is a serial entrepreneur. I admire her tenacity and grit. What is something you’d never thought you’d do? Building GG's to be where it is today. I always thought of it as a little florist that would exist to deliver a few rainbow roses here and there. I'm super proud to have employed over 35 people with special needs over the years and just continued to chip away at the greater goal of reducing unemployment of people with disabilities. I often say I'm not a very consistent person—but we're going seven years strong so surely I get a consistency badge from Girl Guides by now?
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30s
Ashleigh
An avid fan of Canberra and mum of three, Ashleigh is event director of Damsel and Sprout, a thriving events business. Her thirties have been shaped by resilience, bravery and motherhood.
What do you wish you could tell yourself five years ago? That the line between being fearful and fearless is very thin. Five years ago, I had one baby, one on the way and an idea with one of my best friends. I was walking pretty close to the fearful line—'how will I get through two under two, and a huge career decision?’ As soon as I crossed the line from being fearful to fearless, life changed for the better in so many ways. I would tell myself that being fearful is ok, but being brave is so much better. What has the last decade taught you? The last decade has been my most life-changing of all. In the past 10 years, I've married my best friend, had three babies, lost two very special people, bought our first house, lost our first house (thanks Mr Fluffy!) and left a job I loved to start a business that has fulfilled and challenged me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. This last decade has taught me to be brave, to go with my gut and to surround myself with 'my' people. The people that love you
for more than dinner catch-ups and the odd night out. The ones that come to your house and fold your washing when you've just come home from hospital with a new baby, or take your toddler to the park so you can sleep, and bring dinner home so you're off the hook. The ones who offer to be your staff members when your business is so new, you can't hire yet. The kind of friends that are your family and that truly fill your cup. Name three people who inspire you Zoë Foster Blake. She's honest, effortless, personable and funny. She's got a great business and ethics that I admire. Turia Pitt. To go through what she went through and to be as positive and determined blows my mind, and in days when I need the inspiration to take on a simple task, her story can really put me in perspective. My children Rylan, Finley, and Darcy are my inspirations for everything. My kids show me how to be carefree and how to thrive on exploring and experiencing new things. They teach me to turn things upside down and look from
new angles. They remind me that it's possible to make something wonderful out of nothing at all. What has being a mother taught you? Being a mother has taught me patience, resilience and the importance of being a good person in a world that's sometimes very scary. It's taught me that the little things matter—that those little milestones are more than first steps and first teeth, it's seeing your little person grow into who they are meant to be. It's taught me to view relationships differently and to put so much value in time. Time with my children means more than any toy. It's moments, no matter how small that you spend with them that means everything. It's also taught me to embrace spontaneous kitchen dance parties, to write down the funny things they say straight away and to always listen to what they have to say. And also...that Weetbix could be used as a fairly close substitute to concrete, and never feed your toddler's rice for dinner after you've cleaned the house.
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40s Tash
Named Lifeline Canberra’s Rising Women of Spirit in 2016 for her work supporting families of seriously ill children, Tash now dreams of a writing career that supports a nomadic lifestyle. After surviving her thirties, she is excited to see how her forties unfold. What do you wish you could tell 30-year-old you?
What have been the biggest challenges of the last decade?
What piece of advice has stuck with you?
If given the chance to chat to my 30-year-old self, I’d let her know, that while things were going to get rough for a while, they will calm down. Every moment only ever lasts for that moment. A difficult day will only ever last for 24 hours. Nothing is permanent.
My thirties provided lots of opportunities for personal growth. I’d compare it to being thrown in a raging river, with my legs and arms tied together. After almost drowning, multiple times, I’ve learnt strategies to keep my head above the water. Even if it means just rolling over and floating on my back for a while.
Live life with no regrets.
On the flip-side, I would encourage the younger version of myself, to never be ‘too busy’. To stop and consciously take time to appreciate the good things in life. I’d remind myself to be grateful for my health and happiness, and that of the ones I love. I’d recommend eating less and moving more, and to spend more time enjoying the company of positive people. People that make me feel good; deep down inside. I’d suggest seeking out exciting experiences, and taking up a creative hobby, something just for me. Finally, I’d remind myself to really appreciate all the happy moments, and file them away, so they can be reflected on, especially when times get tough. What do you wish you had done a decade earlier? Invested more time in my own health and wellbeing.
The challenging decade began after I gave birth to our second daughter Maya. Maya was born with a rare form of cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma. Heartbreakingly, after almost two years of treatment, Maya died. Words cannot describe the overwhelming pain and sense of loss our family experienced. After Maya died, I threw myself into a lifechanging legacy project. A way to honour Maya’s life, while helping others in similar situations. It was a finely-tuned distraction, one that I thought was helping us grieve. However, over a fouryear period, it took a toll on my health and, sadly, the health of my husband and daughter. My late thirties involved learning how to ‘let go’. Over time, I learnt to let go of negative feelings, self-destructive behaviours and the hardest of all, negative relationships. As I embark on my 42nd year of life, I finally understand the importance of caring for myself.
What are you looking forward to? I’m really looking forward to expanding my writing career. I love writing and have my own copywriting business. During the summer holidays, my daughter Amelia and I wrote a children’s book. It started out as a way to keep her entertained, without relying on technology. I wrote the story, which Amelia illustrated. Her dedication to each illustration impressed me so much, that I decided to self-publish a handful of copies. I recently used the book as an example in a creative writing course, enjoying the opportunity to pick the story apart and make improvements. Feedback from the course facilitator urged me to have the book published. An exciting thought, one I am eager to explore further. Also, I’m looking forward to a whole host of new opportunities and adventures that may come my way. I feel like every challenge I’ve been faced with, every obstacle I’ve overcome, has laid the foundations for what lies ahead in life. I’m excited to see how that future unfolds.
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50s Gillian
Gillian grew up in Scotland and ventured to Australia in her twenties. Newly arrived in Canberra 12 years ago, Gillian was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. She now uses her own experience as owner of Colleen’s Lingerie and Swimwear to help women find their “new normal”, showing the many choices available in lingerie and breast forms as well as sharing her story to encourage and give hope.
What was your toughest decade? I would have to say my forties. I was a single mum of a sevenyear-old, working full-time, trying to juggle all the demands of a parent and making ends meet. I felt exhausted pretty much all of the time. I remarried and became an instant step-mum when my husband’s two children lost their mother in a car accident. I was now mother to three children. I gave up full-time work and worked three days a week so that I could spend more time with them. In my late forties I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The hardest thing was telling all three teenagers, especially since two had already lost their mother. You do what you have to do to get through treatment, sometimes putting on a brave face for everyone and at other times crying your eyes out in private. Returning to work, nothing was the same, I couldn’t cope especially as I had developed anxiety and insomnia. I couldn’t wait to turn 50! What is your favourite thing about being the age you are? Having so much hindsight and life experience I’ve learnt that a decision is just that, there is no right or wrong. This makes
decisions quicker and keeps me moving forward instead of procrastinating and wasting so much time as I have in the past. It also stops me from questioning if I’ve made the right decision! What age would you go back to for a day if you could? Twenty-years-old, the day before I started drinking alcohol. I’d tell myself that alcohol doesn’t solve my problems, it gives you a horrendous hangover, you don’t need to drink to have fun, it changes your judgement so that decisions you wouldn’t normally make are made to your detriment, being drunk can put you in dangerous or risky situations, and there’s never a toilet around when you need to vomit. What advice would you give to today’s teens? You are worthy and lovable just as you are. We were not born hating our bodies, we remember the negative things that are said by those around us—social media, commentators’ and other’s attitudes—which paint a very untrue picture of ourselves in our minds. So much so that we don’t love ourselves and worry about what others think of us.
Real connection starts by putting away your phones, talking faceto-face and actually listening to the other person. What a difference it would make to so many lives if all we heard and all we said were positive words—and that starts with you. 50 is the new 40—discuss As a teenager I thought anyone over 20 was old, and so 50 was really ancient! Now 50 is very young to me! Women had children in their late teens or early twenties so 40 was the age your children left home and you became empty nesters. With that came freedom from parental duties (although you never stop being a parent) and not only doing the things you want to do, but about finding out who you are when you’re not defined as a parent. Turning 40 was the decade to explore new possibilities, travel, downsize, make changes and as income was no longer needed for your children there was more disposable income. Now women are having children later in life and they’re staying with their parents longer, so empty nesters are now in their fifties. So, 50 is the new 40!
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60s Roslyn
HerCanberra’s resident film reviewer, Roslyn is a ‘loud and proud’ nerd of all things historical, sci fi, fantasy and steampunk. A Canberran for 20+ years, Roslyn is the proud mum of two daughters and two dogs and can usually be found in the garden with husband, Stephen, or tending to their bees. She loves to write, sew a lot of her own clothes and tell stories. What was your decade of biggest change?
What do you wish you had done a decade earlier?
All of them.
Lost my inhibitions. I worried so much about what people thought of me. Maybe I wasn’t smart enough, stylish enough, wasn’t reading the ‘right’ things? My creativity wasn’t radical enough, my house wasn’t tidy enough?
So far in this current decade I’ve had to change eating habits for my health, lazy habits for my work-life balance, weekend habits to fit in a regular visit to my dad who’s now in a nursing home. About the only thing I haven’t had to change is my drinking habits— always in moderation, as long as it includes HerCanberra gin! What’s still on your bucket list? I’ve had some wonderful jobs in my life—from drafting and commercial art to cleaning a motel. I’ve gotten degrees, worked in retail and tourism, museum education, curation and now management. But when I grow up I’d still like to be a writer. I did a tandem free-fall a year ago and a zip line a year before that but there are still a few adrenaline challenges out there I’d like to try, like bungee jumping or hang gliding. Maybe I’ll just get back on my skis or inline skates and see what I can break. I have promised myself I will learn to fly fish when I retire but that’s still years away.
I wish I could have been as comfortable in my own skin then as I am now. At least part of this comfort has come from understanding that I have a right to own my heritage, I think. I have always been proud of my Indigenous origins but I have not known how to articulate it. I was never sure if I was Indigenous enough, I guess.
There’s also that saying about wishing them ‘enough’—enough tears so they feel joy keenly, enough struggles so they enjoy their triumphs. It might be hackneyed but it is true. I know that everyone’s path through life will be bumpy so I wish them both resilience in everything. I hope that their lives are fulfilling. It is not my wish for them to find partners or give us grandchildren. If that is part of their journey, so be it. I do wish them careers that are stimulating and personal lives that do not hinge on those careers. I wish them to be, and to have, good friends. I wish them to always know their parents love them—relentlessly, respectfully and regardless of what happens.
With the encouragement of local Elders, my husband and my own children I have learnt to speak out and stand up—I truly wish that had come sooner. All my mother’s mothers for a thousand generations have been Australian. I am a descendant of the Maiawali people of Western Queensland, I am of the Channel Country, of the Jump Ups and the Min Min light.
What would you tell yourself a year ago?
What are your hopes for your daughters?
Oh, and buy a P2 mask before they sell out…and extra Ventolin…and park the new car under cover all the time.
An inhabitable planet above all else.
To stress less—but I wouldn’t have listened. My need for perfection in myself may have relaxed but I still aim for 100 percent all the time at work. That makes it tough when there is a lot to do and not enough time or people to do it. I think it would be better to simply tell myself that this too shall pass.
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70s Marie
As a recently-minted 80-year-old, Marie defies many expectations of an octogenarian. After a fulfilling career in nursing, Marie spends her retirement trying out new dance classes, catching up with friends and is a regular Zumba participant. Her latest challenge? Skydiving. What has the last year taught you? As I turned 80, I learnt that it didn’t mean that I would stop being able to take on new challenges [and] that it was important to make peace with family members I find difficult and say sorry for hurts I’ve caused. I’m blessed to have lived this long and loving each other— even those who you don’t agree with—enables all to grow. You have a try-anything attitude— what makes you so fearless? I have never thought of myself as fearless, but my friend tells me she thinks I am. I guess it’s because growing up I went to five different schools (because my dad was a school teacher who didn’t think it right to teach his own children). Living in the country we had a lot of freedom, plus I was—and still am—an avid reader, so lots of my ideas came from books. I get a lot of pleasure from trying new things and doing them on my own—I meet lots of interesting and fun people.
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What are the biggest misconceptions about getting old?
What are things you’d still love to see or do?
The biggest misconception is that getting old means you can’t take on new challenges. I feel that some of the restrictions are a state of mind, and there are many older people living productive and useful lives who are not seen.
I’ve always thought it would be fun to drive a Formula 1 car but I guess that’s out of the question now! I’d also like to go to Argentina to learn to dance the tango and I hope to visit Morocco. But at the moment I’m planning to demolish my current house and build two units on the block which will be more suitable living as I get older. I feel very blessed to have my health and my wonderful family and friends, so I can live life to the full.
What are some of the things you’ve done later in life that might surprise people? I had a great partner in my husband, but when he died, I had to get on without him so I learnt to manage paying bills and banking and shopping online (not good for the bank balance). I also took myself to London, hired a car and drove to Cornwall, and took a back roads tour of Croatia and Montenegro—I met very interesting people and had a great time.
What are your biggest fears for the future? My fears for the future, are that the people in power at present won’t listen and act for the betterment of all—but I have great hope in the youth as I feel that they will build a better world for all people.
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80s Janet
At 28-years-old, Janet set off for India with a one-year-old in tow to commence a posting with her diplomat husband. Across the next four decades she lived in Switzerland, Israel, Thailand, the United States and the Philippines on postings, as well as Canberra where she taught in ACT public schools. She has four children, 11 grandchildren and is an avid concert and theatre-goer. What was your decade of biggest change?
How has your self image changed as you’ve gotten older?
Probably the sixties, with the birth of my children and moving overseas. It was a time of great upheaval in the world—the development of the civil rights movement in the USA, the Kennedy assassination, the Martin Luther King assassination, the Paris Spring uprising in 1968—it was a time of great social change.
I think I’ve become more selfconfident—travelling certainly widened my experiences.
I found it very interesting—and very frustrating sometimes. Particularly when we were living in the States and it was the first time people tried to bring in new gun control laws. That was 1968 and they’re still trying to do the same thing. It must be so frustrating for all those poor Americans who have been fighting for so long.
That we may live with more awareness of environmental and international problems and find leaders to develop the vision to make the world a better place.
What advice would you give to younger generations? That’s easy—live, love, laugh and be happy. I don’t think it needs explaining.
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What age would you go back to for a day, if you could? I find that a really difficult one. At my age I’m happy living in the present! What are your hopes for the future?
How did travel shape you as a person? While living overseas I had many opportunities to meet fascinating people and do interesting things in many countries. But my most unforgettable moment happened in the late ‘80s in Thailand, when we attended the opening of a memorial for those who lose their lives building the Burma Railway at a notorious place called Hellfire Pass.
The night before the opening there was a reunion of people who had been forced to work on the railway—former prisoners of war. There were some amazing people there, including Australian politicians Tom Uren, John Carrick and [surgeon] Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop. They were such different people—Uren was Labor and Carrick was Liberal—but they were all the closest of friends, having survived together. It was wonderful to see. That night they had a concert and there was a man there who sang— he had the most incredible tenor voice. I’ve never forgotten it. We were all reduced to tears by the end. But it wasn’t just his singing that was amazing. During the war he was a young English POW—just 19 or so—and he was commanded to detonate an explosive, which blinded him. Because he could no longer work, he didn’t receive rations from the Japanese, but his fellow inmates kept him alive for years by sharing theirs. The human spirit is an amazing thing. For me, hearing their stories was the most amazing experience I ever had. ¡
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Face in a
FLASH P H O T O G R A P H Y
H A I R
+
Lauren Campbell M A K E U P
+
M O D E L
W O R D S
Logan Webb
Ali Price
Stuck in a beauty rut? No time to change up your makeup? Now that you're staying home for the foreseeable future, you have a chance to shake things up and practice for when you can once again show your face to the world. We show you four 15-minute looks that you'll want to perfect.
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WORK DAY THE LOOK
PRODUCTS TO TRY
One of the best things about working from home during the COVID-19 crisis is not having to put any makeup on, right? Well, we have two words for you: Video. Conference.
Prep SUKIN Hydrating Mist Toner ($10.99) priceline.com.au M.A.C Prep and Prime Fix+ ($39) maccosmetics.com.au
Think fresh, professional, long lasting.
Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Brightening Skin Primer ($45) napoleonperdis.com
HOW TO GET IT
Skin
Start with satin skin, using a foundation that stays put and keeps shine to a minimum. Using a soft powder on the T-zone helps longevity. Save time by adding colour rather than detail. Use satin and matte finishes to keep products on longer with minimal touch-ups. Focus on clear skin with mid-level colour and warmth, giving a wellrested look. Logan is wearing a peach lip and cheek to bring out her blue eyes. Bronzer adds warmth and dimension while blush delivers a pop of colour. A touch of lavender on her outer lid picks up on the cooler tones that are coming back in AW20. Choose a tubular mascara that washes off with water and doesn’t smudge. And when it comes to brows, think well-groomed and natural, rather than drawn-on. Finish with lips designed to go the distance—choose long stay, mattes, satins or lip stains.
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($100) giorgioarmanibeauty.com.au Esmi Mineral Foundation ($49) esmi.com.au Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick ($72) bobbibrown.com.au Rationale Beautiful Bronze Superfluid ($64) rationale.com Conceal Inglot Under Eye Concealer ($26.35) inglotcosmetics.com.au NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($48) mecca.com.au
Inglot Cosmetics Freedom System Eyeshadow Matte, ($10.20 each) inglotcosmetics.com.au Revolution Roxxsaurus Ride or Die Shadow Palette ($25) priceline. com.au The Balm Meet Matt(e) Trimony Palette ($44.95) davidjones.com.au Too Faced Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette ($78) mecca.com.au Lashes PONI White Knight Tubing Mascara ($30 ) ponicosmetics.com.au Kevyn Aucoin’s The Volume Mascara ($45) mecca.com.au YSL The Shock ($60) davidjones. com.au Lancome Grandiose Mascara ($59) mecca.com.au Brows Brow Code Imitations Micro Pencil ($38) browcode.com.au Napoleon Perdis Wand-er Brow ($32) napoleonperdis.com
Powder
Hourglass Arch Brow Micro Pencil ($45) mecca.com.au
M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish Powder ($55) maccosmetics. com.au
Benefit Cosmetics’ Precisely, My Brow Pencil ($45) benefitcosmetics.com/au
By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder ($90) mecca.com.au
Lips
Cheeks
M.A.C Lipstick in Marrakesh ($30) maccosmetics.com.au
M.A.C Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul ($47) maccosmetics.com.au
Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear ($34) mecca.com.au
PONI Unicorn Candy Blush ($40) ponicosmetics.com.au
The Body Shop Matte Lip Liquid ($9) thebodyshop.com
PONI Chocolate Bronzer ($40) ponicosmetics.com.au
NYX Professional Powder Puff Lippie ($17.95) priceline.com.au
Eyes
Lip Heroes Dark Berry Zap ($40) lipheroes.com.au
Stilazzi Eyeshadow Palette Stella ($69) beaudazzled.com
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WEEK END THE LOOK
Playful, fresh, flushed, lots of gloss. This look isn’t as long-wearing, but weekends are the perfect time for makeup that needs a little touchup now and again. Your social schedule might be more Google Hangout than girls' weekend at the moment, but it won't be forever.
Gloss, and plenty of it, will add a 2020 vibe to your look. Tinted lip balms (used on eyes, cheeks and lips) can be used to add colour and gloss at the same time.
Cheeks
Brows are low-maintenance— simply brush up and set with a balm.
RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek ($58) mecca.com.au
If you’re blessed with great skin, give foundation a miss and go for a little concealer just where you need it (and always remember sunscreen). If you need a little more coverage, go with a light water-based foundation. Save time by using the one colour everywhere—over cheeks, temples and brow bones—giving you a pretty all-over flush. A multipurpose product that you can use on lips, cheeks, and eyes is even better—I love creams because you can use your fingers to apply, but powders are also good.
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The Body Shop Lip + Cheek Stain ($25) thebodyshop.com
Gloss PRODUCTS TO TRY
Prep + conceal HOW TO GET IT
M.A.C Pro Face Palette Blush ($67) maccosmetics.com.au
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit ($62) bobbibrown.com.au Kryolan Concealer Wheel ($72) kryolan.com.au M.A.C Studio Fix Conceal and Correct ($72) maccosmetics. com.au
Use gloss just as you would a highlight on cheekbones, eyes and lips. Danessa Myricks ColorFix 24-Hour Colour Glaze in Kaleidoscope ($32) beaudazzled.com Tarte Skin Gloss Glass Highlighter ($25) tartecosmetics.com Brows
Esmi Skin Shield Natural Sunscreen SPF30 ($45) esmi.com.au
Makeup Weapons Brow Balm ($27.95) makeupweapons.com.au
Skin
Benefit Cosmetics’ Gimme Brow+ ($45) benefitcosmetics.com/au
M.A.C Studio Face & Body ($54) maccosmetics.com.au Dior Backstage Face and Body Foundation ($70) sephora.com.au
Lips Burt’s Bees Naturally Tinted Lip Balm in Rose ($12.99) priceline.com.au NARS Afterglow Lip Balm ($45) mecca.com.au
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PARTY THE LOOK
Nothing says ‘party’ like a red lip—and just because you're limited to socialising with your household doesn't mean you can't still celebrate. This dazzling look is big on impact, but takes just minutes—save time by eschewing a complicated eye, instead spending time on perfecting a bold lip, adding lashes for impact and perfecting a glowy skin. HOW TO GET IT
Most of us automatically think ‘more’ when it comes to an evening skin base, but fresh, glowing skin is stunning at night. ‘Yoga Skin’, a technique developed by Scottish Makeup Artist, Sara Hill, is achieved by adding a combination of liquid bronzer, hydrating luminiser and a touch of face oil to your foundation to warm your skin and give it automatic radiance. If you feel you need more coverage, do another layer of this light-filled mix. Keep the glow going by using liquid or cream blush and pat on a little more liquid highlighter across the top of your cheekbones. Contour with a deeper foundation colour or a cream contour.
Keep it simple by blending a little cream blush to the brow bone and add a shimmery cream eyeshadow to your lid and blend upward. Place a little highlighter in the inner corner. Add lashes (magnetic lashes are a great quick alternative—try the magnetic liquid eyeliner version!). Think full and fluffy brows, held in place with brow gel or balm—fill in any gaps with pencil. Lips are the focus. Use a long stay lip liner and lipstick and apply lots of gloss to create the latest ‘vinyl look’, or splurge on one of the new vinyl-look lipsticks. And don’t forget your body! Add the same cream/liquid shimmer to your shoulders and collarbones to give an all-over burnished look. PRODUCTS TO TRY
Skin Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquie in Opal ($62) sephora. com.au M.A.C Strobe Cream ($56) maccosmetics.com.au Chantecaille Radiance Gel Bronzer ($70) mecca.com.au M.A.C Studio Face & Body ($54) maccosmetics.com.au The Ordinary Coverage Foundation ($12.90) theordinary. deciem.com
Cheeks Mecca Cosmetica Hydra Cheek Tint and Illuminating Balm Duo ($45) mecca.com.au Inglot AMC Face Blush ($22.10) inglotcosmetics.com.au Eyes Inglot Aquastic Cream Eye Shadow ($25.50) inglotcosmetics.com.au RMS Beauty Eye Polish ($45) mecca.com.au Brows Makeup Weapons Brow Balm ($27.95) makeupweapons.com.au Benefit Cosmetics’ Gimme Brow+ ($45) benefitcosmetics.com/au Lashes Ardell Magnetic Liner & Lash Kit ($29.99) priceline.com.au BM Artist Deluxe Individual Lashes ($20) bmartistlashes.com.au Lips Lip Heroes This Is Valerie Red ($40) lipheroes.com.au Lip Heroes Waterproof Lip Liner in Redness ($34) lipheroes.com.au Harlotte Cosmetics Lipshine ($28) harlotte.com.au Stila Shine Fever™ Lip Vinyl in Hot Pursuit ($38) mecca.com.au
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NIGHT OUT THE LOOK
With this ‘90s-inspired look you can save time by using the same colour palette for lips, cheeks and eyes. Skin is ultra-dewy and brows natural. Get glam, order some home delivered cocktails and join one of the live-streamed DJ sets on Facebook and you have a great night out, at your place. HOW TO GET IT
Add false lashes for definition if you wish. Place a little highlighter in the inner corner of each eye. Brows should be full and fluffy— fill in any gaps with an eyebrow pencil and hold in place with brow gel or balm.
Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes in 105 ($50) mecca.com.au Mecca Max Zoom Shadow Stick ($18) mecca.com.au Inglot AMC Gel Liner #77 ($25.50) inglotcosmetics.com.au
Finish with satin lips—a long-stay lip liner and lipstick will see you through a big night out!
PONI White Knight Tubing Mascara ($30) ponicosmetics. com.au
PRODUCTS TO TRY
Brows
Skin
Makeup Weapons Brow Balm ($27.95) makeupweapons.com.au
When it comes to skin and cheeks, simply follow the steps outlined in the ‘Party’ look—this regimen is a night-time staple and works for a variety of looks. Don’t forget to extend the shimmer to your décolletage for all-over glow.
See the ‘Party’ look for guidance.
Using a similar colour to your cheeks, blend out a cream eyeshadow all around the eye. Add a little cream gel eyeliner to the upper lash line for definition, curl your lashes and apply a couple of coats of mascara.
Ellis Faas Liquid Blush in Soft Bronze ($52) mecca.com.au
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Eyes
Contour Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Cream Kit ($72) mecca.com.au Cheeks
Inglot AMC Face Blush #95 ($22.10) inglotcosmetics.com.au
Lips Ellis Faas Milky Lips in Nude Brown ($48) mecca.com.au ¡
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WHEN TIME
Stops
STILL W O R D S
Emma Macdonald
Childhood sees the days drag slowly while adulthood speeds them up to a seemingly endless blur. But what happens when the very nature of time seems to shatter in an instant? Three exceptional women discuss the circumstances which have irrevocably changed their perceptions of time—and how each moment is precious.
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EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY HOUR of every day is time to be savoured by 38-year-old Caitlin Moorhouse. She was told five years ago to get her affairs in order. The last thing Caitlin was expecting just weeks after jubilantly welcoming her first-born daughter Violet into the world was to find out she had stage 4 bowel cancer that had spread to her liver. In fact, she was feeling fine, save for the sharp pain she was experiencing in her shoulder—which she’d put down to lifting her newborn. The public servant, who was otherwise in good health, went for an ultrasound scan. By that afternoon her baby bubble—and everything else— was shattered by her doctor’s unspeakable truth. Caitlin had cancer—a primary in her bowel had invaded her body without any symptoms or family history and it was now advanced. There were too many tumours in her liver to even count. “I remember walking through Garema Place after seeing my doctor, ringing my mum and sobbing that I didn’t want to die.” “I felt pure terror for the first time in my life. I measured everything in relation to how long I could possibly stay with Violet. Anything I had wanted to do with my life was secondary to just staying with Violet as long as I could.” While the diagnosis carried with it a five percent chance of surviving five years, Caitlin was very clear that she did not want to be limited by a timeframe— a wish she and her family vociferously communicated to her medical team at every stage. “It makes me very angry when doctors give specific time predictions. The spoken word is powerful and we need to be very conscious of the words we speak into people’s lives, particularly when they are vulnerable.”
The litany of chemotherapy courses, surgeries—one of which was life-threatening—clinical trials and treatment regimens has been Caitlin’s life now for five years. But there has been incalculable joy in experiencing every one of those years. “Early on I realised that the only time I had was now and if I was miserable then I was robbing myself. So I try very hard to be the me I always was.” Caitlin focuses on spending time with Violet and David, seeing her friends and family, going to work, travelling, reading. “I don’t have a bucket list. Just a wish to keep living my ordinary, beautiful life.”
Overnight, everything changed.
Her next goal is to see her fortieth birthday which is in February 2021.
Instead of starting mothers’ group and playdates with her baby, Caitlin and her husband David uprooted from their Griffith home to go to Melbourne and live with Caitlin’s mum while she began treatment at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
“The first three years felt very long. They were very hard, I was extremely sick at points, and I felt like we were eking out time. The last year and a half has flown though and I can’t believe how much Violet has grown and changed.”
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“I don’t have a bucket list. Just a wish to keep living my ordinary, beautiful life.”
In her blog, The Fairytale and the Abyss, Caitlin has chronicled her journey. “Sometimes when Violet is crying and I am comforting her or even when she is smiling with her pure baby joy at me, I feel overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and shame that I’m leading her down the garden path. That I’m creating promises of love and comfort that I won’t be able to keep. “And it’s heartbreaking—literally a physical pain to know that you will be the cause of terrible sadness for your child, for whom you should be their safest place.” “The hardest thing is not the physical treatments—it is the relentlessness of pushing myself to keep trying, keep believing, keep hoping. I do have moments sometimes when I think maybe I should stop treatment and let the disease take its course but I know that fundamentally that’s not who I am. I’m not a passive person—and that has remained constant throughout my disease.”
27-YEAR-OLD AMANDA MORTON does not have cancer. But the disease casts a shadow over her life every day. When Amanda was just 13, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Seven years after she died, Amanda’s dad was diagnosed with leukemia. And in the midst of caring for her parents, Amanda underwent genetic counselling which enabled her to understand her genetic predisposition to the disease. As she has come to terms with the loss of both parents, having helped nurse them through the ravages of cancer, Amanda also has to quell an internal voice that tells her every headache, every freckle, every twinge in her body may become the ultimate betrayal. It has changed the way she conceptualises her future with her husband Harry, impacts on her timing around having children and has ultimately led her to decide on taking proactive surgical interventions once she has had babies.
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“My early concepts of time are that it was slow—the school term would drag, Christmas and birthdays seemed to never come fast enough. And then suddenly Mum got sick, and she was gone. Dad got sick, and he was gone, though it was many years apart.
Often, her family medical history is an exhausting burden to bear.
“The whole growing up, graduating, becoming an adult—it all kind of blurred into one. But that’s life, isn’t it? It gets away from us too quickly!”
“I don’t want my babies growing up without me. It’s that simple. I don’t want to die—I don’t want my kids or Harry to be doing life without me.”
That heightened sense of mortality is not the sort of thing most 20-something women carry. And Amanda constantly needs to check her paranoia.
The loss she has experienced also impacts daily on her connection to loved ones. She is always preparing herself to hear the worst—when her husband doesn’t answer his phone or if her sister rings at an unexpected time. She often has to give herself a stern talking to if she feels her irrational thoughts are getting out of control.
“I’ve inherited the legacy of strong women (her mother’s breast cancer gene is the one Amanda carries) which now puts my future at risk. I do what I can, medically and by sharing my story to raise awareness and funds for research. Is that enough? I am not sure. But that is what I can control.”
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Amanda admits that she is preoccupied with thoughts of her future children and the ‘what if’s’ associated with parenthood.
But there are medical interventions that she is preparing to undergo.
MAGA ZINE I S S U E NO.19
Amanda and Harry have discussed what is available when it comes to "prophylactic" surgery which includes options to have a mastectomy and/or hysterectomy.
her corporate day job. It is an exhausting juggle, yet Amanda is determined to squash in as many productive hours to her days as possible.
Meanwhile, while her friends are busy making plans, Amanda is busy putting hers into action.
“I don’t want to waste time, I want to make memories with the people I love, and I want to capture the memories made—so they live forever. I also like to celebrate the small wins, the irrelevant moments that seem to just pass us by. I hate the idea that one day it could all change, or that we wake up one day and something may not be an option, so I try not to sweat the small stuff, I park it and move on.
She has started a blog Courageous Ladies, which celebrates women who inspire her in life, alongside
“I want it all, and my gosh am I grabbing life with all I have and aiming for the sky.”
The concept of this surgery actually gives Amanda some internal peace. It allows her to take some control back of her future. “For me, information is definitely power.”
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WHEN EMMA GREY VISITS HER MOTHER, she has to remain completely and utterly in the moment.
“It’s such an awful thing to
Claire, 87, has dementia.
grieve the love of your life
Emma and her sister first noticed signs about 12 years ago, and while the disease progressed slowly at first, Claire has now lost all concept of time—often asking where her mother is. She has also wondered if her beloved husband of more than 65 years, Barrie, is her child. “She is astonished when we tell her some of her grandchildren have grown up. When she sees herself in a mirror or while we’re taking a selfie with her she can’t work out who the old woman is, and wonders if she is her mother. “Dad has an almost saintly patience. It’s such an awful thing to grieve the love of your life while she’s still alive. But he makes the best of his circumstances—has established a men’s discussion group in the nursing home and they’re active
while she’s still alive.”
participants in the ‘Alchemy Chorus’—a wonderful choir for people with dementia and their carers.” Emma, who is a well-known Canberra author and time management expert, has forged a professional path in analysing work/life balance and helping women in particular to claw back time for themselves. The perspective she has gained from her mother’s dementia is as simple as it is heartbreaking. “When someone has dementia, they live mainly in the present (with glimpses of the long-term past). You realise the importance of doing nice things now, even though the experiences will be instantly forgotten. You learn that not everything is about ‘making memories’. It’s much like spending time with a toddler, who won’t have any memory of a fun day—it’s still worth having that fun, for the joy it brings in the ‘now’.” BUT EMMA HAS ENDURED an even more visceral change to how she processes the passage of time. Three years ago her husband Jeff died on an otherwise unremarkable and ordinary evening. Emma went in to check on the man she adored. But he was gone. “In the moments I spent with Jeff as reality sunk in that we had lost him, I became acutely aware of my own heartbeat. I could feel every breath going in and out of my lungs. Death, up close, makes life seem extraordinarily fragile. I learnt that you can wish your life was over at the same time as not wanting to waste a single second of it. Grief pulls you up, sharp. It brings you to your knees. It rearranges your priorities in an instant.”
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In the blur of hours and days that followed, Emma realised that she had a choice—"to grieve either standing still, or moving.” “There were days when I barely did a thing (and that’s important, too), but I learnt that what I was feeling wouldn't magically disappear if I stepped back from life. On the contrary, it was by looking for tiny, life-affirming things in a day—a stranger’s smile in a supermarket or someone letting you merge in traffic—that I managed to keep moving forward.”
helping her young son Seb come to grips with the loss of his beloved dad. “There’s no doubt that Seb and other children we’ve befriended who’ve lost parents, look at the world differently, through the lens of grief. The ‘magic’ and sense of safety was torn from their lives and they learnt difficult lessons about loss as children that many adults are yet to encounter.” But she has also seen that grief teaches resilience.
She also held tightly to the analogy that grief is like waves—“you drown in it at first, but over time you find yourself in calmer waters. Eventually the waves of grief become less intense, and the distance between them further apart. Every so often you’re still dumped by what feels like an unexpected tsunami of pain, but you’ve learnt by then that there’s no way out but through it…”
“Seb understands that time can soften the edges of pain—though it doesn’t heal it completely. He knows we can get help to recover from traumatic things. He understands that life is short and it’s precarious. Whether that gives him a sense of urgency as he grows up is yet to be revealed, but I notice he can be much more philosophical about life than I recall being at the same age.
Emma has been open about her grief in her public writing and has placed particular energy into
“Jeff would often say about unchangeable things, ‘It is what it is’. I think Seb is learning that lesson too.” ¡
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Family Recipes
S T Y L I N G
Belinda Neame
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Tim Bean
They're the recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation, handwritten on batter-splattered and well worn pages. These are the recipes we treasure, and now we're sharing them with you.
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Val's
Boiled Fruit Cake EMM A M ACDONALD
There is simply no other smell that connects me to the happiness of my childhood than my mum’s Christmas cake. It would take a couple of days to create it from start to finish, as the house filled with the most exquisite aroma of mixed peel, butter, and the odd waft of brandy. It meant Christmas was on its way, and—once baked—the cake would be lovingly served to friends and family on the big day and long summer holidays that followed. Often it lasted weeks. But more often than not it would be devoured to the very last crumb before January even began.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
125g butter cut into pieces
The night before baking, place all the ingredients in a Le Creuset pot or very large pot and stir and boil for several minutes. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for a little. Add a good dash of brandy or sherry or rum and leave to stand overnight.
1 cup water 1 cup brown sugar 1 – 1.5 kilos mixed fruit 1 – 2 pieces glaze pineapple 1 – 2 pieces peach and/or apricot 1 packet red glace cherries 1 packet green glace cherries ½ packet whole blanched almonds ½ packet hazelnuts ½ packet brazil nuts 1 – 1 ½ cup plain flour 1 – 1 ½ cup of self-raising flour 1 – 2 packets blanched almonds
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The following day, add 1 cup of each flour first. Then add extra as it needs to be pretty hard to stir with wooden spoon. Brush the inside and base of a freeform cake tin with liberal butter. Cut greaseproof paper for sides and base and press in place. Place mixture in tin and press down all over top to make flat. Empty 1-2 packets of blanched almonds and select the large plump ones to go all over the surface of the cake. Place foil over the top of the cake tin and bake at 180°C (350°F) (160°C non fan forced) for about 2 hours. Then remove the foil and bake for another hour. Keep checking top and make sure the nuts do not brown or burn too much.Keep checking with a skewer—when it comes out dry to the fingertips—the cake is ready.
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E lizabeth’s
Crunchy Biscuits S A R A H RO B I N S O N
My Aunty Bev’s Nan, Elizabeth Clare Ryan, is the creator of these simple-but-scrumptious Crunchy Cookies. According to Aunty Bev, she was an amazing cook and used to bake delicious custard tarts, sponges and these special crunchy cookies for her grandkids for their afternoon tea. The recipe is still a favourite and is frequently requested by not only my aunt’s grandchildren, but from all of her extended family. Served with a cup of tea or a glass of milk for the kids, they are simply divine and bring back many memories. When the kettle goes on, we all know what is coming next. Yum!
INGREDIENTS
1 heaped cup self-raising flour ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate soda 1 teaspoon of mixed spice ¾ cup coconut ¾ cup corn flakes ½ cup sultanas ¾ cup sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon golden syrup 3 tablespoons of melted butter Few drops of lemon essence METHOD
Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the golden syrup, melted butter and lemon essence and stir to combine. Place in teaspoonfuls on a greased baking tray. Bake in a moderate oven—180°C (350°F)— for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray.
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Liz’s
White Chocolate Amaretto Mousse AM ANDA W H I T LEY
My mother-in-law Liz is an incredible cook. Her handwritten cookbook contains recipes collected from her travels, spanning a childhood spent in the UK, time in the Pacific Islands and Africa, and 50 years in Australia. Hard-pressed to pick just one (her Smoked Trout Pâté is the stuff of dreams), I couldn’t go past her White Chocolate Amaretto Mousse. Decadent, creamy and with a lingering hint of almond liqueur, the addition of tart berries and crunchy almonds make this a dessert worthy of handing down through the generations. INGREDIENTS
250g white chocolate 75ml boiling water 4 large eggs, separated 10ml almond essence 10ml Amaretto 250ml whipping cream 100g roasted almonds 100g berries (strawberries or raspberries)
METHOD
Place white chocolate in a food processor or blender, process until finely broken down. While still running, pour in boiling water and combine until the chocolate is thick and creamy. Add egg yolks, almond essence and Amaretto and process for one minute. Pour into large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and then fold through the chocolate mixture. Beat the cream and then fold into the mixture. Pour into 4 dessert dishes and place into the fridge for several hours. Garnish with almonds and fruit and serve.
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Mama’s
Shortbread BE AT R ICE SMI T H
This recipe has been passed down from mother to mother for four generations of my family—a tradition I can only hope continues well into the future. Ridiculously buttery, yet light enough for multiple servings, this shortbread was originally my great grandmother’s (Mama) who always made it for Christmas, along with a traditional fruit cake. Her daughter (my grandmother) modified it to include the option of ginger—the perfect modern twist on a Scottish favourite for a family with roots on the Isle of Skye.
INGREDIENTS
220g butter 1 level teaspoon salt 280g plain flour 60g rice flour 90g caster sugar 1 good teaspoon pure vanilla
METHOD
Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and beat again. Sift both flours with salt and add to the butter mix with the vanilla. Make a stiff dough and arrange in a tin at about 2-3cm thick. Mark out the squares and then prick all over with a fork. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes in a moderate oven—180°C (350°F). Once cooled slightly, cut through the marks.
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Mum's
Bread & Butter Pudding BELINDA NE AME
Mum has always been the baker in our family. Rarely do we have a family dinner without 'sweets' made by her—anything from a simple butter cake iced with vanilla icing and 100s and 1000s, to a delectable seasonal tart. But for our family, Mum's bread and butter pudding is what screams familiarity and comfort. It's always warm and full of eggy custard with just the right amount of spice. It's even better when she uses raisin bread as the base and then serves it with vanilla ice cream and double thick cream. Let’s hope one of us can learn to make it as good as Mum!
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
60g mixed raisins and sultanas
Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C (350°F).
2 tablespoons orange juice (or brandy)
Soak the raisins and sultanas in the orange juice (or brandy) for 30 minutes.
30g butter 4 slices good quality bread 3 eggs 3 tablespoons caster sugar 3 cups milk 3 tablespoons cream ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
Butter the slices of bread (and jam if you like), remove the crusts or leave them on if you prefer and cut each piece into 8 triangles. Arrange the bread in a lightly greased 1 litre oven proof dish. Combine the eggs with sugar, milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well. Drain the raisins and sultanas and add any liquid to the custard mix. Scatter the soaked raisins and sultanas over the bread and pour custard mix over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (not absolutely necessary). Sprinkle the pudding with demerara sugar (lots) and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top of the pudding is crunchy and golden. Note: use good quality bread. Ordinary sliced white will tend to become soggy when it soaks up the milk. Fruit loaf is a great.
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FIVE WAYS to stay fit at home
W O R D S
Ashleigh Went
Staying home cramping your fitness style? It doesn’t have to. Ashleigh Went has the answers. There are plenty of ways to move your body that do not require much equipment and can be done in the comfort of your own home or a nearby outdoor area that allows plenty of room between you and other people. Here are five to try.
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PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES
Unable to make your regular dance classes? Why not make your living room your dance floor and let loose? Choose whatever music gets you moving, pump it loudly and get your freak on—just make sure you shut your blinds or you may find yourself with a captive audience. Or better yet, support a local dance school that has moved its classes online during the COVID-19 crisis. Dance Central, Play, Kokoloco and Subsdance are just some of the studios offering a virtual space where you really CAN dance like nobody's watching! GET BENDY
Yoga at home is nothing new—but you may be surprised at the variety of options available online. If you’re a more experienced yogi then you can practice some sun salutations solo, but if you’re a beginner or looking for some guidance, you can find yoga instructors sharing sequences for free on YouTube. Lululemon offers some good ones or try Yoga with Adriene—her 30 Day Yoga Camp is excellent, and her Yoga for Anxiety and Stress is the ultimate cure for overwhelm. S KI P A B E AT
Remember all that skipping you did back in primary school? As it turns out, it’s actually a great way to burn calories and get your heart pumping. There’s a reason why it’s so popular among boxers: skipping helps increase your aerobic fitness. You can either skip as a standalone activity—try skipping for two minutes and resting for 30 seconds to a minute, for as long as you can—or as part of a circuit mixed with other exercises.
“Choose whatever music gets you moving, pump it loudly and get your freak on—just make sure you shut your blinds or you may find yourself with a captive audience.”
RING THE BELL
This one might not be ‘equipment-free’ but it only uses one piece that’s super versatile and fairly inexpensive—the kettlebell. Kettlebell Swings are a fabulous exercise that gets your heart racing and engages your glutes. Goblet Squats, Kettlebell Deadlifts and Turkish Get Ups target lower body, while Bottoms Up Presses, Single Arm Rows and Upright Rows help strengthen your upper body. Add in some Russian Twists for your core and you have yourself a whole-body workout! FREE FORM
The ultimate piece of workout equipment—your body! Bodyweight exercises are fantastic for perfecting your form and building up base strength before moving onto weighted exercises. Push Ups, Prone Holds/Planks, Side Planks, Squats, Lunges, Handstands, Bridges and Dips are all really effective bodyweight exercises. Mix-and-match your favourites to make a circuit or take to Google or Pinterest for some inspiration. ¡
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Step back in
TIME THE ORANGE REGION
W O R D S
Molly Satterthwaite & Belinda Neame
P H O T O G R A P H Y
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Tim Bean
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While a mini break in the country is but a wistful memory right now, that doesn't mean you can't take your mind on a trip and plan something to look forward to. Imagine yourself exploring Orange and its surrounding historic villages, just a few hours’ drive from Canberra.
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Eat Exquisite food, award-winning wines and trendy cafes—you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to eating in this pristine part of New South Wales. Here are just a few to choose from.
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TONIC
GROUNDSTONE
Located in the beautiful historic town of Millthorpe, just a 20-minute drive from Orange, this elegant restaurant has reaped several SMH chef's hats over the years. Serving a contemporary seasonal menu that utilises incredible local produce, it’s worth the short trip.
A simple yet delicious menu, these guys take pride in sourcing quality produce that is local wherever possible. Light and airy with a Scandinavian vibe, it’s the perfect spot to sit and mingle over brunch and a cup of coffee on a sunny morning.
Corner of Pym and Victoria Streets, Millthorpe tonicmillthorpe.com.au
151a Byng Street, Orange groundstone.com
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THE UNION BANK SCHOOLHOUSE R E S TAU R A N T
Housed in a State Heritagelisted building, The Union Bank delights people of all ages with food and wine experiences that pay homage to its fascinating history. Experience delicious local, seasonal cuisine and the attentiveness of a team thriving under the guidance of Rockpooltrained Head Chef, Dom Aboud.
84 Byng Street, Orange theunionbank.com.au
R A KU IZ A K AYA
Modern Japanese Cuisine in the main street of Orange. Although only recently established, it has quickly developed a reputation for brilliant food in a captivating space.
129 Summer Street, Orange rakuizakaya.com.au
BYNG STREET LOCAL STORE
SWE E T S O U R SALT
Established in 2011, the café with the red door is a local favourite. Serving amazing food, coffee and local wine—not to mention service with a smile.
Fun casual dining, great service, funky interiors, and local vino and brew. Expect sweet sour salty (and spice) in punchy Asian dishes with a modern twist.
47 Byng Street, Orange byngstreet.com
179 Anson Street, Orange sweetsoursalt.com.au
“You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to eating in this pristine part of New South Wales.”
AND THEN THERE’S…
Still hungry? Pull up a chair at one of these much-loved local hotspots: Omar Specialty Coffee Bar, Bills Beans East Orange, Racine, Lolli Redini Restaurant, The Sugar Mill Cafe, The Agrestic Grocer and Millthorpe Providore. PAGE 155
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“Sit back and relax with a wine in hand, enjoy a picnic package, or hire a bike.”
Drink Because who doesn’t love a good pint or cocktail every once in a while? WASHINGTON & CO.
Raise your glass to this one. Amazing atmosphere, top-notch staff and hard liquor… What more does one want? This Whiskey saloon is like stepping back an era—not only does it serve up a good time but inventive cocktails, too.
243 Summer Street, Orange facebook.com/washingtonandco
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THE GREENHOUSE OF ORANGE
This relaxing yet energetic rooftop live music destination is perfect for an afternoon beverage while you watch the world go by. You may even decide to stay and see what the nightlife has to offer—Saturday nights see resident DJs playing cool, chilled beats.
44 Sale Street, Orange thegreenhouseoforange.com.au F E R M E N T, T H E O R A N G E WINE CENTRE
With state-of-the-art Enomatic wine dispensers and a contemporary European interior that contrasts the charming, heritage listed facade, enjoy a pre-dinner drink at Ferment, a wine store and tasting room specialising in local wines, spirits and craft beers.
87 Hill Street, Orange orangewinecentre.com.au
WINERIES
The Orange region produces some cracking cool-climate wines across 80+ vineyards and there are more than 30 cellar doors to taste. Be sure to visit Colmar Estate, the region’s most awarded winery, specialising in varieties from the Alsace region of France; Borrodell Vineyard Estate, for sweeping views of their Pinot Noir block and some tasty drops; and Swinging Bridge Estate, producing exceptional handcrafted cool climate wines. Heifer Station’s cellar door—set in a stunning old woolshed—is also worth a look. Sit back and relax with a wine in hand, enjoy a picnic package, or hire a bike and ride around the vineyard enjoying stunning views.
colmarestate.com.au swingingbridge.com.au borrodell.com.au heiferstation.com
WINE TOURS
Prefer to let someone else do the driving? A range of local tour companies with brilliant local knowledge cater for groups of different sizes—we highly recommend Winery Experiences Orange. It’s a great way to get the most out of your tasting experience without the worry of needing a deso!
orange360.com.au/Wineries
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Play From pristine natural spaces to fascinating museums and galleries, there's plenty to explore in the Orange region.
PICNIC BY THE RIVER
Pack a hamper or order a grazing box from The Village Grocer and enjoy a picnic under the beautiful old shady trees on the banks of the Belubula in Carcoar.
carcoar.com.au/eat/the-village-grocer N AT U R E WA L KI N G T R AC KS
The Orange district is flattered with incredible landscapes and views—serene waterways, unique rock formations and beautiful native flora and fauna. There is no shortage of walking tracks—try Federal Falls Walk, Gosling Creek Reserve, Lake Canobolas Reserve and Borenore Caves for starters.
orange360.com.au MUSEUMS
The region’s rich history makes for some cool and interesting museums. Take a journey through time at Carcoar’s Stoke Stable Museum, Toy Museum and Hospital Museum; Millthorpe’s volunteer-run Golden Memories Museum and the Regional Museum of Orange.
orange360.com.au
COOK PARK
A National Trust area, this tranquil space named after Captain James Cook embodies the seasonal colours of Orange all year round. Initially designed in 1873, much of its traditional Victorian Style is still in place. With duck ponds, swings, an aviary and lattice fernery this park is a beautiful place to while away the time.
24-46 Summer Street, Orange orange.nsw.gov.au/parks-reserves/ cook-park
THE CORNER STORE GALLERY
A vibrant and artistic hub in East Orange, this small artist-run business showcases artists and designers from all across the country in a range of creative mediums. The gallery not only holds monthly exhibitions but also workshops for you to get your creative on.
382 Summer Street, Orange cornerstoregallery.com
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Stay From townhouses to cottages and boutique hotels, the Orange region boasts accommodation for all tastes and budgets. You’re sure to find somewhere perfect to call your (temporary) home.
G L A M P I N G AT N AS H DA L E LANE WINES
THE BYNG STREET BOUTIQUE HOTEL
Spend a luxurious night (or two) nestled amongst a stunning vineyard while you enjoy a glass of local wine and gaze upon the beautiful night sky. The perfect balance between luxury and nature.
A unique accommodation experience in the heart of Orange, this premium boutique hotel is the perfect combination of heritage meets modern. With 22 guest rooms and suites choose from the contemporary Modern Wing or historic Heritage Wing— both of which are just delightful. Decisions, decisions…
125 Nashdale Lane, Nashdale nashdalelane.com/pages/glamping
62 Byng Street, Orange byngstreethotel.com.au FOR 2
Situated in a quaint back garden in the heart of Millthorpe, For 2 is lauded for its attention to detail and cosy atmosphere. This little studio accommodates up to two couples and is the ideal country getaway.
airbnb.com.au T H E C OT TAG E AT T H E OLD CONVENT
The Cottage at The Old Convent is a heritage-listed building that was once home to Australia's only saint, Mary McKillop. While historic and quaint, it has been comfortably fitted out with luxuries that a nun could only dream of, including lush beds, a fully equipped kitchen, deep bath, king-sized bed and double bed.
307 Convent Lane, Borenore oldconvent.com.au
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ROWLEE SINGLE V I N E YA R D W I N E S
As well as being home to beautiful single vineyard wines, Rowlee has its own private, luxury guesthouse set within the estate. A beautifully restored and styled cottage perfect for couples. The guesthouse includes a master bedroom with luxurious king size bed, a freestanding stone bathtub and walk in shower, a private verandah that opens up with views across the garden all complete with log burner and a fully equipped kitchen.
19 Lake Canobolas Road, Orange rowleewines.com.au AND THEN THERE’S‌
Some more places to rest your head on a pillow around the area include: De Russie Boutique Hotel, Rosebank, The Black Sheep Inn, The White Place Home, Byng Street Cottage.
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Shop Discover just how good retail therapy can be. Boutique shopping in and around Orange is a must-do. THE SONIC
Located in an 1864 Masonic Hall, this space in the heart of Orange is home to three outstanding businesses—JUMBLED, Iglou and Nimrods. Bright, colourful and fun, this concept store truly is something else. With coffee, fashion and home, you’re bound to lose track of time here.
33-35 Sale Street, Orange thesonic.myshopify.com
“With coffee, fashion and home, you’re bound to lose track of time here.”
TH E B OWE R M I L LTH O R P E
T O M O L LY
One of the sweetest finds in Millthorpe, The Bower is a quaint shed tucked up the end of a driveway, full to the brim with a beautifully-curated collection of antiques and timehonoured objects. This little treasure is an old wares lovers delight.
Take the 40-minute drive to the town time forgot, Carcoar. Wander around the historic village and call in to see Belinda the Shopkeeper at Tomolly—an intricately-styled store that houses a delightful range of homewares. Be sure to check out the workshops in the lovely creative space next door.
15 Victoria Street, Millthorpe instagram.com/thebowermillthorpe
Belubula Street, Carcoar tomolly.com.au PAGE 163
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ORANGE FARMERS MARKET
Held on the second Saturday of every month, the Orange Farmers Market began in 2002 to give local farmers and food producers an opportunity to sell their goods directly. The market now has over 60 stallholders—all of who which love a chat and deliver your goods with a smile. A beautiful atmosphere and a wonderful way to spend your Saturday morning.
orangefarmersmarket.org.au THE PROVIDORE M I L LTH O R P E
Housed in the old butcher’s building in Millthorpe, The Providore offers more than just good coffee. You’ll also be able to fill a basket with a range of unique cheese, dips, olives, charcuterie and smallgoods. Stop in for breakfast, morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea and try out the seasonal menu. Or pre-order a gourmet food filled picnic basket if you fancy soaking up some of the beautiful outdoor spaces.
25 Victoria Street, Millthorpe instagram.com/millthorpeprovidore THE COLLECTIVE
This space is just sensational— filled with everything from coffee to fashion to flowers. Housing the Good Eddy, Belle Armoire and Botanica Flora, get a taste of Melbourne in downtown Orange.
187 Lords Place, Orange goodeddy.com.au bellearmoire.com.au botanicaflora.com.au
M O R E R E TA I L T H E R A P Y
Still want more? Take yourself and your credit card to Mary and Tex Curious Emporium, The White Place, Millthorpe Blue and Hawkes General Store. ¡
“...a wonderful way to spend your Saturday morning.”
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DIETING THROUGH
the decades W O R D S
Kate Freeman, The Healthy Eating Hub
Meat and three veg, High Carb, Low Carb, Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Plant-based—every year it seems as there's a new fad diet promising weight loss. But what actually is a sensible and sustainable diet?
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FOOD IS FUNDAMENTAL. Not only is it necessary to keep us alive, but we eat to celebrate, commiserate and everything in between. It’s no surprise then, that over the past 100 years—since the very first vitamin was isolated and nutritional science was born—that we’ve been investigating how nutrition affects our health and how we can lose weight. Manipulating our food intake to improve our health, lifestyle or aesthetics is as old as the ancient Greeks; however, it was in the 19th century that fad diets were first adopted, and they’ve been part of Western popular culture ever since.
So what are ‘fad diets’? They are weight loss plans or programs that promise quick weight loss and dramatic results with little effort. The majority are not based on scientific evidence, but rather promote the benefits of ritualistic and sacrificial eating relying on the testimony of their followers to market and sell. Although fad diets have taken different forms over the years, they all still have the same characteristics: they all claim that you can experience fast weight loss, while still including your favourite, high-calorie foods.
1929
1890 Water and vinegar diet. Mmm, sounds satisfying. Not.
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Cigarette diet. Called the ‘Reach for a Lucky’ campaign, tobacco company Lucky Strike promoted their cigarettes to women to reduce sweets consumption that “made you fat”, as nicotine supresses appetite. *Insert stunned face emoji*
1963 Weight Watchers was founded. I’m dubbing it the grandfather of the modern weight loss industry, as it was founded by a man.
1985 1975 Paleo diet. The original Paleo book was published all the way back then.
Fit for Life diet. This diet has rules around the macronutrients and something about not being able to have carbs paired with protein. Huh?
1920
1950
1970
1977
1992
Grapefruit diet. Eat a grapefruit at every meal. See above.
Cabbage soup diet. If you loved cabbage, you lost weight because cabbage has a low energy density. If not, you lost weight because it was disgusting and you couldn’t eat it.
Sleeping Beauty diet. It was based on sedation and sleeping more through the day. I kid you not.
SlimFast. The shake diet was born. There are now oodles of companies selling shake-based weight loss.
Atkins diet. Dr Atkins published his first book. It was based on a highprotein, low-carb diet and became a household name in the ‘90s.
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They also typically claim that their method is superior to others. They frequently restrict ‘allowed foods’ down to a small list, which is not nutritionally balanced and often missing whole food groups. The final ingredient of a successful fad diet is a ‘miracle’ food or supplement that needs to be consumed regularly or in large doses to ‘aid in fat burning’. Over time, our culture has become more and more obsessed with losing weight—so much so, that at any one time there are 2.3 million Australians on a diet. This isn’t a new thing, we’ve been ‘dieting’ as a culture for about 200 years!
LET'S TAKE A WANDER THROUGH FAD DIETS OVER TIME 2019
1995 Zone diet. This program has all kinds of rules around the balance of carbs, fats and protein.
2010 Instagram. Food iPhoneography begins. Enter the ‘influencer’ and ‘clean eating’.
2012
2015
Hello Fresh. The meal box delivery service begins. It may have taken some years to hit Canberra, but it has changed the cooking habits of a generation.
Keto diet. A high fat, very low carb diet, it was originally used to manage epilepsy and dates back to the 1920s. It takes the low carb diet to a whole new level.
Gut health. The link between the gut and the rest of the body starts hitting popular culture, with more and more people trying fermented foods and probiotics, and restricting certain foods in the name of the microbiome.
2002
2011
2014
2016
Paleo diet (again). A new book hits the shelves and popular culture was never the same.
HCG diet. Involves homeopathic drops of a pregnancy hormone under your tongue, combined with eating only 500800 calories per day. Hmm, is it the drops or the calorie restriction working here?
Paleo diet (again). Paleo Pete (chef Pete Evans) published his debut book, caused lots of controversy that got him incredible PR and made a killing in dollars.
Plant-based diets. Vegetarian and veganism is on the rise, and more and more Australians start ditching animal products.
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IT’S BEEN ONE HELL of a 200 years! The trouble is, we’re none the wiser. We still have unrealistic expectations of weight loss. The American Institute of Medicine defines successful weight loss as a 5 percent reduction in body weight sustained for a minimum of 12 months. On average, however, overweight adults set a weight loss goal of a 30 percent reduction in body weight—and, in my experience, they want it yesterday. For the majority of people, this is neither achievable nor maintainable. These unrealistic goals make us susceptible to the fad diet of the day that promises fast results, with minimal effort. They are enticed by the lure of a quick fix, rather than the sensible-but-perhaps-less-sexy approaches informed by science. We still think that there is ONE perfect way to eat to lose weight. There isn’t.
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Science has shown us time and time again that consistent adherence to a calorie deficit, combined with high diet quality equals weight loss. The problem is, further research shows that only 20 percent of dieters actually do this—and if they do—they don’t do it for long enough. So, the problem is not that a well-balanced, sensible diet with a calorie deficit doesn’t work, it’s that people don’t stick to one. They go from one extreme to the other. They live on cabbage soup or grapefruits, cut out all carbs or drink shakes before bingeing on all the food they’ve denied themselves for weeks on end. It doesn’t have to be this way. 2020 is as good a time as any to ditch fad diets and start to making healthy food choices that you can realistically and sustainably stick to— for the rest of your life! ¡
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