True Blue Magazine - Aug/Sep 2018

TrueBlue Aug/Sept 2018

OUR HEART IS IN THE COUNTRY

WILDLIFE WONDER

Australia’s best wildlife sanctuaries and their work saving endangered species

TOURING ORANGE

The NSW region for lovers of food and wine

Golden

Grant MEET GRANT AND CHEZZI DENYER AT HOME IN BATHURST

AusBiz. The Aussie business mag

Journey to

THE HEART of South Australia.

The Breakaways, Flinders Ranges & Outback

Step back in time and experience a beautifully rugged, 540 million-year-old landscape.

The Flinders Ranges & Outback has so much to offer. Navigate the ancient landscape, charming towns, abundant wildlife and Aboriginal history to make an out-of-this-world trip.

Fly direct from Adelaide to Port Augusta or Coober Pedy and watch the dramatic landscape change before your very eyes. From the lush green of the Clare Valley to the Outback’s vibrant red.

It doesn’t matter how you choose to explore, the Flinders Ranges & Outback will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.

Find out more at southaustralia.com

Letter From the COO

EDITORIAL

Publisher: Michelle Hespe publisher@publishingbychelle.com Editor: Katrina Holden editor@publishingbychelle.com Art Director: Jon Wolfgang Miller Lifestyle & Travel Sales Manager: Sonja Halstead sonja.halstead@publishingbychelle.com AusBiz. Sales Manager: Effe Sandas advertising@publishingbychelle.com Sub Editors: Sally Macmillan, Jessica Multari, Claire Hey Editorial Assistant: Sarah Hinder editorial@publishingbychelle.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Darren Baguley Kirsten Craze Helen Hayes Briar Jensen Jo Stewart

PRINTING

SOS Print + Media 65 Burrows Road, Alexandria, NSW, 2015

To the fourth edition of True Blue

During winter, the Snowy Mountains and surrounding regions of New South Wales have come alive. The June long weekend marked the beginning of ski season in the Snowies, home to the Australia’s highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which rises a cool 2,228 metres above sea level.

All winter long, Thredbo, Jindabyne and Perisher host hoards of snow-sport enthusiasts who flock to the slopes to enjoy the snowfall. To get there, Rex operates daily services to the New South Wales snowfields, between Sydney and Cooma.

For Victorian ski fanatics, Rex offers flights to Albury/Wodonga from Melbourne and Sydney 25 times a week. Albury is the gateway to nearby snowfields Falls Creek and Mount Buffalo National Park, which offer powdery alpine conditions and fun for the whole family. From skiing and snowboarding to tobogganing and hiking, the winter wonderland is reachable in less than two hours by connected bus services from Albury.

In other news, Rex, in partnership with Orange City Council, announced a $109 Rex community fare for passengers travelling between Orange and Sydney. Introduced in May, the fare is available for bookings outside of 30 days prior to departure (subject to booking class availability), with all unsold seats being made available at the $109 community fare within one day prior to departure. This successful initiative — already in place in Albany and Esperance in Western Australia; Broken Hill, Moruya and Parkes in New South Wales; Burnie in Tasmania; and Mount Isa in Queensland — affirms that our heart is truly in the country.

Until next time, sit back, relax and enjoy your flight.

Neville Howell Chief Operating Officer

Cover photo by Paul Henderson-Kelly

True Blue is published by Publishing ByChelle, (ABN: 78 621 375 853 ACN: 621 375 853) Suite 2, Level 8, 100 Walker Street North Sydney, NSW, 2060 (02) 9954 0349 publishingbychelle.com The reproduction of any content, in whole or part without prior written permission by the publisher is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed in the content are those of the contributors, and not necessarily those of the publisher. All information in this magazine was believed to be correct at the time of publication, and all reasonable efforts have been made to contact copyright holders.

Publishing ByChelle cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If such items are sent to the magazine, they will not be returned. We apologise if we don’t get back to your email, as we do receive a large volume of communication via various online channels. Some images used in True Blue are from istock and Getty images, and we make every effort to credit all contributors.

AUG/SEPT 2018

1

PRINT

PANTONE Cool Gray 5C

PANTONE White

PANTONE Process Black C

FASHION / HOME

PANTONE 14-4103 TX

PANTONE White

FONT: MASQUE

PANTONE 19-4203 TX

WOMEN’S RELAXED RIDER

Size: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 36” Leg Perfect rise for riding • Mid Rise at front • Higher Rise at back Stretch for comfort Extra room through thigh so you can be comfortable all day in the saddle PRINT

Extra room through knee for movement

PANTONE Cool Gray 5C

36” Leg Length

Denim PANTONE White

PANTONE Process Black C

FIND YOUR FIT

FASHION / HOME

Alll styles shown $99.95

Bootcut leg opening PANTONE 14-4103 TX

Dakota

PCP2210129

Indiana

PCP2210155

PANTONE

PANTONE

TX or find a stockist To view White entire19-4203 range visit purewestern.com.au

FONT: MASQUE WOMEN’S BOOTCUT

Size: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 34” Leg Mid Rise

Stretch for comfort

Relaxed knee

34” Leg Length

Bootcut leg opening

Taylor

PCP2207130

Macy

PCP2208124

Selina

PCP2207118

Courtney

PCP2208157

WOMEN’S SKINNY

Size: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 32” Leg Mid Rise

Stretch for comfort

Fitted thigh

Fitted knee 32” Leg Length

Fitted leg opening

Harlee

PCP2201018

Eliza

PCP2206117

Ada

PCP2206116

Jasmine

PCP2206156

HOME TO OVER 75 STORES

87 BAYLIS STREET, WAGGA WAGGA NSW 2650 | T: 026931 7277

wagga-marketplace

@wagga.marketplace

WAGGA M ARKE TP L AC E .C OM

Publisher's Letter

“Farmers across the country are having to fork out thousands of dollars every week to keep their livestock alive, and in many areas, there’s no natural stock water left.”

This photo was taken in Orange, which, even when in drought, is still a beautiful city with endless vistas of stunning countryside.

You might notice that this issue of True Blue has a noticeable focus on NSW, and also on lending a hand to Australians going through a tough time. We’re very aware that the drought situation across NSW continues to badly affect the lives of our fellow Australians and all creatures great and small — the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) recently announced that ten percent of NSW is already in drought and that across 90 percent of the state, the condition is worsening.

Farmers across the country are having to fork out thousands of dollars every week to keep their livestock alive, and in many areas, there’s no natural stock water left, and so water is being carted in to save farms.

In this issue, we cover Orange, that has been under the thumb of drought for many years. Yet residents are still positive and passionately do their best to protect this beautiful part of the world. We’ve also covered Tathra and Merimbula in this issue, because Tathra locals, with the help of friends, family and many generous people across the country, are doing its best to get back on its feet after the fires in March that destroyed roughly 65 homes. This area is close to my heart as I grew up in Frogshollow near the Bega Valley, and spent much of my youth at Tathra Beach, and later, enjoying live bands and drinks with friends at Tathra Pub. To get word straight from the land, our editor Katrina Holden recently flew out to Bathurst to meet Golden Logie winner Grant Denyer and his

wife Chezzi, who have made an idyllic country home for themselves on the outskirts of this city, where it’s not all about Holden and Ford. Okay, okay, I might lose that argument at certain times of the year in front of V8 fans, but there’s also a fantastic arts community and so much else going on in Bathurst, as the Denyers now know.

Chezzi is an ambassador for Rural Aid, which was founded in 2015 to provide a holistic support program to rural Australia. The charity kicked off with its Buy a Bale campaign, which to date has received over $4.5 million in donations, which is funnelled into fodder, hampers and other things to help those in need. The organisation understands the needs of our country’s primary producers, and its ongoing goal is to lend a helping hand when times are tough. In order to help farmers along, Publishing ByChelle has also donated an advertisement to Buy a Bale in this issue, to further spread word of the great work being done to help others.

Sit back, enjoy True Blue, and drop us a line anytime, as we love hearing stories from your part of the country.

MICHELLE HESPE AND THE TEAM AT TRUE BLUE AUG/SEPT 2018

5

38 AFFORDABLE BUSINESS

<$250K ANNUAL TURNOVER FROM

35

$

PER WEEK SOLE TRADER

40

$

PER WEEK

BOOKKEEPING

FROM

1300 555 773

PER WEEK

FROM

55

$ TRUST

PER WEEK

FROM

65

$ COMPANY

Visit an ITP QLD office today.

45

$ PARTNERSHIP

All your business accounting and taxation requirements taken care of in 1 easy step. We ensure a professional and compliant service at an affordable weekly fee.

>$250K ANNUAL TURNOVER FROM

PER WEEK

itpqld.com/business Proudly Australian owned and operated

*4 WEEK PROMOTION: FIRST 4 WEEKS ARE FREE FOR CUSTOMERS COMMITTING TO A 12 MONTH (52 WEEK) CONTRACT ONLY. PAYMENT TERMS: PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE BY DIRECT DEBIT ON A WEEKLY BASIS AND BE TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE AFTER PROMOTIONAL PERIOD ENDS. CANCELLATION FEES APPLY TO CUSTOMERS WHO TERMINATE EARLY. PAYROLL MODULE: CLIENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL PAYROLL ENTRIES AND PAYROLL OBLIGATIONS. OFFER EXPIRES AUGUST 31ST 2018. www.itpqld.com/business

38

Cover Story

We catch up with Grant Denyer and his wife Chezzi, who have teamed up with Rural Aid Australia.

Inside TrueBlue upfront

Features

09 Rex News

23 Entertainment

Rex announces 2018's New South Wales Woman of the Year Awards; takes part in the Orange Relay for Life; recaps the Parkes Aero Spectacular; and celebrates those who helped to rebuild regional communities after the March bushfires.

15 Rex Directory

An exciting array of some of the best places to eat, stay and play right across the Rex network.

46

The latest films, art, books and tours to inspire you.

25 It's a wild life

Our wrap of amazing Australian wildlife sanctuaries and the work that many people are doing to protect endangered species.

29 Events Calendar Some of the best events and festivals around the country during August and September.

43 Getaway

From diving with sharks to wandering through rainforest, seaside Shellharbour is a getaway for the adventurous and a place where you can truly get back to nature.

46 Food and Wine

AusBiz. Check out AusBiz. at the back of the magazine.

In this edition youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find:

We explore the gourmet world of Orange, from its award-winning cool climate wines to its world-class abundance of produce.

TELECOMMUTING More Australians working from home means rising regional property prices.

53 Seaside Sojourn

AGRIBUSINESS We investigate the booming business of bees and honey.

A weekend escape to the Sapphire Coast to visit the beautiful towns of Merimbula and Tathra â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which is back on its feet.

56 Philanthropy

We speak with the founder of the GA Foundation, Genevieve Audrey Naisula, which fights to protect children at risk in Africa.

60 ArtSpace

Our conversation with Archibald Finalist and The Wynne Prize finalist, Stephanie Monteith.

INFRASTRUCTURE The latest innovative developments in healthcare design.

BIRTH BEAT Improving maternity and antenatal care across rural Australia.

MAN & MACHINE We witness the wonder of wooden boats.

AUG/SEPT 2018

7

Free Poetry Writing Competition Open for Entries! per of a fever ‘I am the kee ’ inside of me. that shimmers Dots’ From ‘City of Mim, Year 4

Over 100 schools have already registered and over 30 entries have already been received for the Red Room Poetry Object competition in 2018. This competition, the largest free opportunity for poetry in Australasia, invites students and teachers to write poems inspired by their own special or curious objects.

Submissions for poems close 28th September. This year there is over $10,000 in prizes to be won.

New prizes are available to primary, secondary and teacher poems from schools in REX destinations. The prizes include flights, merchandise and poem publication in True Blue Magazine.

All submitted entries are published in Red Room Poetry’s online library, visited by a worldwide audience of over 250,000 every year.

Prizes in the open category include travel vouchers, VIP tours of museums and galleries, books and

magazine subscriptions.

Award-winning poet Bella Li is judging the competition’s magical and imaginative selection of poems.

In looking to inspire young poets, Bella says, “I am looking for poems that recognise that objects, too, carry with them memories and dreams. Where has your object been? What might it be one hundred years from now? What can your object tell us about, for instance, science, art, history, politics, music or mathematics?”

Last year’s winners include ‘City of Dots’ by Mim, Year 4 (featured above); ‘29 Dreamers’ by Jessica, Year 8; and ‘Canvas’ by Peter Ramm, teacher. These poems were then exhibited in an animation that featured in cinemas around Australia and an international film festival.

Winning teacher poet Peter Ramm said of his students’ involvement in the competition, “Poetry Object gives students an opportunity to cast their imagination wide and break free of the classroom. They played with words, metaphors and emotions, entangling their lives in their poetry.”

Register: redroomcompany.org/ projects/poetry-object

WINNING 2017 POEMS FROM REX DESTINATION POETS I hold the beautiful rough cowrie shells And make a wish upon a dry starfish.

The scent of the salty air Lingers around the jar A parting gift from the ocean

From ‘The Sea in a Jar’ Eloise, Year 5 Grafton Public School ~ Like a saviour from above Looking out for people who need medical help When you hear the blades spinning going ch, ch, ch, ch Something inside of you starts bubbling with relief.

From ‘Chopper’ Jacob, Year 8 Orange Christian School ~

WRITE YOUR OWN POEM FOR A SPECIAL OBJECT Write a poem for your special object, not mentioning its name. Use details about how your object looks, as well as its sound, smell, taste and touch.

FIND OUT MORE Red Room Poetry’s mission is to make poetry a meaningful part of everyday life. We create poetic projects and learning programs in collaboration with a spectrum of poets, schools, communities and partners for positive social impact. Our mission is to make poetry accessible to all, especially those who face the greatest barriers to creative opportunities. redroomcompany.org

2018

Rex News Rex Airlines initiatives supporting regional causes

L to R: Minister for Women, the Hon. Tanya Davies, winner of Rex Airlines Regional Woman of the Year, Juliet Duffy, Rex National Flight Attendant Manager, Donna Griffith and Mary murphy, first state super.

Left to Right: MC Deborah Knight with Minister for Women, mental health and ageing, the Hon. Tanya davies, MP.

New South Wales Woman of the Year Awards Now in their seventh year, the New South Wales Woman of the Year Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions made by women across the state to industry, community and society. For four years now, Rex Airlines has been a proud sponsor of the event, which was held in March and attended by NSW Governor David Hurley and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The Rex Airlines Regional Woman of the Year amassed more than 14,000 online votes, from which four extraordinary women were selected as finalists. The prestigious award was handed to Juliet Duffy by NSW Minister for Women Tanya Davies and Regional Express National Flight Attendant Manager Donna Griffith.

Nine years ago, Juliet founded Regional EnviroScience, an occupational and environmental hygiene consultancy, out of her rental-property garage in Dubbo. Named in The Australian Financial Review’s Fast 100 List, it now employs 23 locals and teaches communities across regional parts of the

state how to manage hazardous materials to ensure health and safety in the workplace.

A leader in her field, Juliet mentors young female science graduates and provides career opportunities for women of all ages to work in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Joining Juliet as category winners were remarkable women from diverse backgrounds such as medical science, electrical engineering, women’s health and Aboriginal support and advocacy.

A lucky-door prize of return Rex flights to Ballina plus accommodation was also awarded to Christine Burge from Gosford, one of the New South Wales Local Women of the Year. Chosen by Members of Parliament, women from each electorate are recognised for their outstanding contributions to their local community.

Rex congratulates Juliet, the deserving finalists and winners in all categories.

AUG/SEPT 2018

9

NOW CONNECTING PERTH TO MONKEY MIA Community Fare*

$157 Available up to 60 days outside departure and within 1 day prior to departure

*Rex one-way Promo Community fare between is available outside 60 days prior to departure (subject to availability) and inside 1 day prior to departure for all unsold seats. A booking/handling fee and a payment method surcharge apply. Fare is for web sales only. Terms & Conditions apply.

Photo Credit: Tourism Western Australia

Rex News

Relay For Life unites regional communities Organised by passionate volunteers, Relay For Life is a Cancer Council community fundraising challenge. Teams of friends, families and colleagues band together for an overnight relay that sees participants take turns walking around a track around the clock — signifying that cancer never sleeps.

Activities are designed to celebrate cancer survivors and recognise their carers. Those we’ve lost are remembered in a candlelight ceremony, while money is raised to fund cancer research and improve prevention.

Relay For Life began in the US in 1985, when colorectal surgeon Dr. Gordy Klatt wanted to increase awareness and boost donations to his local cancer charity. He spent a gruelling 24 hours circling a track in Tacoma, Washington, and raised more than US$27,000, proving one person can make a difference.

Since then, Relay For Life has become the largest fundraising event for cancer in the world, attracting more than four million people from 24 countries.

Australia’s first Relay was held in 1999, when the Victorian community of Murrumbeena raised more than $75,000 for the Cancer Council. Now, relays are held in every Australian state and territory, with more than 140,000 participants raising over $24 million each year.

And with more than 200 Relay events happening across Australia every year, you won’t have to travel too far to find one.

All funds raised go towards Australia’s leading cancer charity, Cancer Council. Thanks to money raised through Relay For Life, more than 61,000 lives have been saved over the past 20 years due to improvements in prevention, screening and treatment.

With an estimated 138,000 new cases of cancer expected to be diagnosed in Australia this year, Aussies are being urged to rally behind Relay For Life to help the Cancer Council continue its vital work.

Everyone is welcome to participate, no matter your age or ability — and you can walk, jog, run, wheel or even dance around the tracks.

Here’s what else you can expect at a Relay For Life: • Each event begins with a lap around the track to honour cancer survivors and their carers.

• Teams pass batons to keep someone on the track at all times, day and night.

• Between laps, you can enjoy market stalls, performances by local entertainers and competitions and games for the whole family.

• At sunset, a candlelight ceremony is held in honour of those who’ve been lost to the illness.

• Inspiring speakers then provide hope for a cancer-free future by sharing updates on research advancements.

• A closing ceremony celebrates the Relay’s achievements, motivating everyone to continue the fight against cancer.

Thousands of Australians have already joined this year’s movement to show that, when united, we are stronger than cancer.

Be part of the movement and join Relay For Life today.

rex staff at the event in orange. .

cancer survivors taking part in the relay.

Upcoming Relays:

Townsville Qld: September 15–16, 2018 Leeton NSW: October 6–7, 2018 Port Augusta SA: Oct 13–14, 2018 Wagga Wagga NSW: October 13–14 2018 Orana NSW: October 20–21, 2018 Albury/Wodonga Vic: October 27–28, 2018 Newcastle/Lake Macquarie NSW: November 3, 2018 Oberon NSW: November 10–11, 2018 Mildura Vic: March 23–24, 2019

AUG/SEPT 2018

11

CONNECTING REGIONAL QUEENSLAND

Rex News

Parkes Aero Spectacular Located in central New South Wales, Parkes is home to the historic Parkes Aero Club, which celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. On April 14 the club kicked off festivities with the Parkes Aero Spectacular air show, which saw 3,000 people flock to Parkes Regional Airport to take part in one of the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest events of the year.

Now home to the HARS Parkes Aviation Museum and a Regional Express (Rex) terminal, the airfield began as a Royal Australian Air Force base during World War II. The Aero Club was established in 1948, and today it continues to operate as a flight school, offering training on a two-seat Flight Design

CTMC and a four-seat Cessna 172 (VH-DDV).

From exhilarating aerobatics to vintage vehicle exhibits and a jumping castle for the little ones, there was something for everyone at the Parkes Aero Spectacular. Wartimeaircraft fanatics swarmed the former RAAF AP-3C Orion, ruling it the star of the show, while HARS unveiled its latest acquisition: a vintage sub-chaser.

Regional Express provided a static display of an operational Saab 340 aircraft and offered tours for an authentic passenger experience. A captain, first officer and flight attendant were onboard to answer all the burning questions from young and old.

Hars convair 440 in trans australian airlines (TAA) colours.

Bushfire Appeal Townships in New South Wales and Victoria were devastated by bushfires in March this year. High winds in Bega, Tathra and surrounding communities on the Sapphire Coast fuelled blazes and damaged dozens of homes. While in Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s south-west, 10 homes were lost, 40,000 hectares of land was burnt and 22,000 homes were left without power, with Cobden and Camperdown seriously affected.

To help people in these regional communities rebuild their lives, Regional Express conducted an in-flight fundraising drive to raise money for the Bega Mayoral Appeal Fund and Victorian Relief Fund. Held over two weeks, the fundraiser drew contributions from generous passengers and employees. From there the Regional Express Board matched raised funds dollar for dollar, with total donations reaching $28,675.

Rex acknowledges the kindness of all who donated and assisted in achieving this great outcome.

AUG/SEPT 2018

13

rg io G i rg D io to e m co el D W to e m co el W W Call into our cellar door and check out our range of produce, stay for a glass and a local produce platter

OPEN 10-5PM EVERY DAY RIDDOCH HIGHWAY, COONAWARRA SA 5263 P 08 8736 3222 | WWW.DIGIORGIO.COM.AU

RELAX AND UNWIND IN -TRA STYLE BOOK ONLINE AT VIEW/AMEND BOOKINGS OR AT CHECK-IN

Experience Rex-tra comfort in an emergency exit row seat.

Emergency exit row seats have extra legroom and can be reserved for less than $5.00 per sector to eligible passengers*.

Plus, be one of the first to disembark if you choose a Rex-tra seat in row 1. *Terms and conditions apply.

rex.com.au

Directory

TrueBlue Experiences

Your directory of things to see and do across Australia.

The Eromanga Natural History Museum

King Island Discovery Tours & Benn's Buses

1 DINOSAUR DRIVE, EROMANGA, QLD 4480 T 07 4656 3084 E info@enhm.com.au

PO BOX 265, CURRIE, TAS 7256 T 0429 709 864 E jimbenn53@hotmail.com kingislandbustours.com.au

The Eromanga Natural History Museum, located in South West Queensland is home to Australia’s Largest Dinosaur ‘Cooper’. As well as housing a variety of scientific finds including bones from Australian Megafauna. Four guided tours daily, 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

King Island Discovery Tours and Benn's Buses have all your transport needs covered on King Island. Offering golf, scenic or special interest tours, we can move you wherever you want to go, and provide competitive rates, gourmet food packages and expert informative drivers.

Head to Griffith and discover "one of Australia's most liveable country towns" (Weekend Australian Magazine, 2018). It's easy to love Griffith; the people are friendly, the cafes serve fabulous Italian food, and the main street is buzzing with activity. Order your FREE Griffith Region book today.

Loyalty Beach Campground & Fishing Lodge

Nautilus Arts Centre

Sapphire Waters Motor Inn

66 TASMAN TERRACE, PORT LINCOLN, SA 5606 T 08 8621 2351 E nautilusartcentre@plcc.sa.gov.au nautilusartcentre.com.au

32-34 MERIMBULA DRIVE, MERIMBULA NSW 2548 T 02 6495 1999 E info@sapphirewatersmotorinn.com.au sapphirewatersmotorinn.com.au

Nautilus Arts Centre is a place to gather, innovate, and celebrate. Located in the heart of Port Lincoln's CBD, it is also an outstanding venue for weddings and conferences. In the building you will find art galleries, the Gallery Shop and Nautilus Theatre.

An award-winning motel located just a short walk from the CBD, restaurants and clubs of Merimbula. We have a large range of room types to suit all occasions. Set on Merimbula Lake on the Sapphire Coast, we offer some of the most spectacular scenery on the NSW Coast.

1 LOYALTY BEACH RD, BAMAGA, QLD T 07 4069 3808 E fishcapeyork@bigpond.com loyaltybeach.com

Just 45 minutes from Australia's northernmost tip, we offer 13 acres of stunning beachfront, including 11 acres of open bush camping.

We have town water, power supplies and our restaurant and bar is open 7 days a week.

Griffith NSW 81 KOOYOO STREET, GRIFFITH, NSW T 1800 681 141 E visitgriffith@griffith.com.au

AUG/SEPT 2018

15

Outthere MEDIAKIT 2016/17

Directory

TrueBlue Experiences

Bamaga NPA

where we fly

Gununa

Doomadgee

Cairns

Normanton

Burketown

Townsville Mount Isa

Richmond

Julia Creek

Hughenden

Winton Longreach

Boulia Bedourie

Birdsville

Windorah

Quilpie

Charleville

Brisbane Thargomindah

Coober Pedy

Wellcamp/ Toowoomba

St George

Cunnamulla

Lismore Grafton Armidale Broken Hill

Perth

Taree Ceduna Whyalla

Dubbo Parkes

Mildura

Esperance Albany

Griffith

Adelaide

Port Lincoln

MENTION PROMO CODE: REXAIR for your free upgrade

(Kangaroo Island)

Melbourne

Mount Gambier

King Island Burnie

Macenmist Black Truffles

Absalom's Art Gallery

The Palms Motel Dubbo

230 CAPPANANA ROAD, BREDBO, NSW T 02 6454 4095 E inquiries@macenmist.com macenmist.com

638 CHAPPLE STREET, BROKEN HILL, NSW T 08 8087 5881 E jackab5@bigpond.com.au jackabsalom.com.au

39 COBRA STREET, DUBBO, NSW T 1800 185 322 E bookings@thepalmsmoteldubbo. com.au ThePalmsMotelDubbo.com.au

Macenmist is one of three truffieres located in the Bredbo region, approximately 80km south of Canberra, where the climate is ideal for the production of the coveted Black Truffle. After harvesting truffles, your three-course journey from 'paddock to plate' commences. Enjoy!

On your next visit to Broken Hill, Absalom's Art Gallery is a must. It has the finest collection of outback paintings by Jack Absalom, and features the largest opal display in the Southern Hemisphere. Hope to see you on your next visit. Come in and say hello.

Relax in our spacious, modern rooms. Get that tropical feel by our saltwater pool guarded by towering palm trees. Enjoy our friendly customer service and central location, right in the heart of Dubbo. It's only a 10-minute drive to the airport and Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

Commonwealth RoofClimb

Sundowner Cabins

Port Lincoln Visitor Centre

ADELAIDE OVAL, WAR MEMORIAL DRIVE, NORTH ADELAIDE, SA. T 08 8331 5222 E enquiries@roofclimb.com.au roofclimb.com.au

226 BROADBENT TERRACE, WHYALLA NORRIE, SA T 08 8645 1535 E sales@sundownercabinpark.com.au sundownercabinpark.com.au

3 ADELAIDE PLACE, PORT LINCOLN, SA T 1300 788 378 E info@visitportlincoln.net.au visitportlincoln.net.au

RoofClimb will literally take you to new heights at the world-class Adelaide Oval – in the heart of the city! This exhilarating adventure will have you travelling along the impressive curved roofline of the Oval as you soak up 360-degree views of the city and beyond.

It's an ideal team building experience.

Offering accommodation for all budgets, at daily or weekly rates. Choose from 72 Modern Cabins — three with disability access, 52 two–bedroom, seven one–bedroom with full kitchens and 10 Studio Cabins. We also offer a great range of fully furnished units or houses in Whyalla.

The Visitor Centre is the perfect place to start planning your Eyre Peninsula adventure.

Visit us to obtain permits, book land-based tours, ferry tickets and charters for shark, tuna and seal dives, and fishing. Drop in for travel brochures, souvenirs and postcards and internet access. Open seven days a week.

Lookout Cave Motel

King Island Escapes

LOT 1141, MCKENZIE CLOSE, COOPER PEDY, SA T 08 8672 5118 E info@thelookoutcave.com thelookoutcave.com

135 BARNES RD, LOORANA, KING ISLAND, TAS T 0417 580 550 E stay@kingislandescapes.com.au kingislandescapes.com.au

Charleville Cosmos Centre & Observatory

Sleeping underground is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. An opportunity not to be missed.

Lookout Cave Motel has been excavated into sandstone rock up to 50 metres deep, so you'll experience a sleep like no other. Mention this advertisement for 10 per cent off your stay.

This ultimate beach retreat will take your King Island experience to another level.

Our 4-bedroom architecturally designed accommodation, with bespoke cedar hot tub and sauna, are tucked into a hidden coastal setting with direct access to your private beach.

16 TrueBlue

1 MILKY WAY, CHARLEVILLE, QLD T 07 4654 7771 E enquiries@cosmoscentre.com www.experiencecharleville.com

At our amazing observatory, see the wonders of our outback night skies and view the beauty of the Milky Way galaxy through powerful Meade telescopes. Enjoy ‘Astronomy by Day’ and book in for our incredible ‘Sun-viewing’.

Newcastle

Orange

Wagga Narrandera/ Wagga Leeton Albury

Kingscote

Bathurst

Sydney

Moruya Cooma Merimbula

Ballina

(Byron Bay)

Rex FAQs/Exercises and Stretches

Frequently Asked Questions As you sit back in comfort en route to your destination, the Rex crew hope you enjoy this entertaining and informative light reading.

Q. Why do the flight attendants insist that all window blinds be up for take-off?

A. The most critical phases of a flight are the take-off and the landing. In the most unlikely event of a situation that requires an emergency evacuation, it is important that crew and passengers are able to have a clear view of the outside conditions in case of obstructions. For example, before exits are opened, staff must check for fire or other obstacles that may present potential hazards during the evacuation.

Q. Why do you have to stow your hand luggage in the overhead lockers, under the seats or in the seat pockets for take-off and landing?

A. Flight crews are required by Civil Aviation Regulations to secure the cabin as well as possible for take-off and landing. As mentioned, these are the most critical phases of the flight and securing as much hand luggage as possible ensures that in the unlikely event of an emergency, the exits and aisles stay as clear as possible, in case evacuation is necessary. It is also important to keep hand luggage secure whenever possible to ensure that heavier items do not become airborne within the cabin. This is especially important when the aircraft is experiencing turbulence.

Q. Why do you feel so tired from flying?

A. As the aircraft altitude increases, air pressure decreases. As the pressure of the air decreases, the body absorbs less oxygen than it would at sea level — therefore, it must work harder to supply oxygen to the body’s cells. As the body is working harder, it becomes more tired.

Q. Why do you sometimes feel pain in your ears or sinuses during ascent or descent?

A. The sinuses and middle ear are air-containing cavities that connect with the nose via narrow channels. As aircraft ascend and cabin pressure drops, air passes out of these cavities (without any effort from the passenger) to balance the cabin pressure. It is a different matter during descent, as the cabin pressure increases. The channels close down and must be actively opened by holding the nose and blowing to

18 TrueBlue

inflate the cavities. Facial and ear pain can occur during descent if re-inflation does not occur, and this is much more likely if the passenger has nasal congestion. If you must fly with a cold or hay fever, use a decongestant nasal spray before descent and buy some ‘ear planes’ to plug your ears. (Information contributed by Dr Daniel Hains, ENT Surgeon.)

Q. When can electronic equipment such as laptops, iPods and mobile phones be used?

A. All Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) must be placed in flight mode inside the departure terminal and must remain in flight mode until inside the arrival terminal. Small hand held PEDs weighing less than 1kg, such as mobile phones, can be used in flight mode during all stages of flight on Rex’s Saab 340 aircraft. PEDs over 1kg, such as laptop computers, must be stowed appropriately for taxi, take-off and landing, and are permitted to be used only during cruise when the ‘Fasten Seatbelt’ sign is switched off.

PEDs cannot be used while crossing the tarmac.

Q. What is the average speed of the aircraft when cruising in-flight?

A. Approximately 500 kilometres per hour.

Q. Why do you have to get permission from the Captain to move to a vacant seat?

A. The aircraft’s take-off speed is calculated by the weight and balance of the aircraft, and many factors need to be considered for a successful take-off. Factors include the weight of passengers and where they are seated, the weight of cargo, freight and fuel, the distance available on the runway, etc. For example, if there are 100 or more kilograms of freight in the cargo, the balance of the aircraft will be better maintained if passengers are seated in the forward rows.

AIR TURBULENCE

Q. Aircraft often experience air turbulence, but what causes it?

A. Imagine the air around the aircraft is water in a stream. We can see how water is disturbed around rocks or when two streams converge.

Turbulence in the air is similar: as the aircraft passes through cold air or in the vicinity of

terrain that has disturbed the airflow — often incorrectly referred to as ‘air pockets’ — the aircraft climbs and descends in the same way that a boat moves on water. Though turbulence can be uncomfortable, it poses no threat to the aircraft and is akin to driving on a rough or unsealed road. More severe turbulence can be associated with developing thunderstorms.

The Saab 340 has a sophisticated weather radar that pilots use to avoid these areas.

Occasionally, a flight attendant will discontinue serving passengers in turbulent conditions; this is a precaution to ensure everyone’s safety.

Q. Why should you keep your seatbelt fastened even when the ‘Fasten Seatbelt’ sign is switched off?

A. On occasions, the flight crew cannot foresee turbulence or it is not picked up on the flight-deck radar. Because of this, we could unexpectedly experience turbulence at any time. The company recommends that you always keep your seatbelt fastened while you are seated — for your safety, just in case unexpected turbulence is encountered.

ENGINE NOISES

Q. Why do the aircraft’s engine noises change during flight?

A. Aircraft need more power to climb than to descend, in the same way that a car needs more power to go up a hill than down one. The Saab 340 turboprop has more than enough power to climb, so shortly after take-off you will notice a change in noises as the power is reduced.

The pilots also control the pitch angle of the propellers for various stages of the flight and as they ‘change gears’, this can also be heard in the cabin.

Q. What should you do if you see or hear something that does not look or sound right?

A. Please advise your flight attendant. The flight attendant may be able to answer your query and allay any fears. If not, the flight attendant will contact the flight deck and advise the pilots of anything unusual. Rex encourages open communication and will always treat a passenger’s concerns with the utmost seriousness.

Rex FAQs/Exercises and Stretches

Exercise and stretch regularly while seated Exercise and stretch regularly while seated

IN-FLIGHT COMFORT

SEATED EXERCISES

Exercise and ExerciseSTRETCHES andstretch stretchregularly regularlywhile whileseated seated SEATED

Inflight comfort

Flying can be demanding and altitude may make your body more sensitive to the Flying can be demanding and altitude effects of alcohol and caffeine. Sitting in one may make your body more sensitive place for a long time can be uncomfortable to the effects of alcohol and caffeine. and slow down your blood circulation.

Flying be and Sitting in one place for a long time can Flyingcan can bedemanding demanding andaltitude altitude To helpmay your body adjust to flying make your body more be uncomfortable and slow downand your may make your body moresensitive sensitive to maintain your personal comfort and to and caffeine. blood circulation.

To help your body tothe theeffects effectsofofalcohol alcohol and caffeine. wellbeing, wein recommend you take the Sitting one place for a long time adjust to flying and to maintain your Sitting in one place for a long timecan can following steps: be your personal comfort and and wellbeing, beuncomfortable uncomfortable andslow slowdown downwe your blood ToTohelp recommend you take theyour following bloodcirculation. circulation. help yourbody bodysteps: ANKLE CIRCLES —floor, Lift feet FOOT PUMPS —with Start withonboth ANKLE CIRCLES Lift feet off draw a circle with FOOT PUMPS Start both heels the floorheels and pointon feet the upwardfloor as high Keep hydrated.

Drink plenty of fluids — adjust to flying and to maintain off draw a circle with and point feet high as Then youliftcan.

Then put adjust to flying and to maintainyour your thefloor, toes, simultaneously moving one foot the clockwise as you can.

Thenupward put both feetas flat on the floor. heels high, keeping the water, juice, non-caffeinated soft drinks — to personal comfort and wellbeing, we toes, moving both balls feet flatfeet ononthe floor.

Then lift heelsintervals. high, keeping and thesimultaneously other foot counterclockwise.

Reverse circles. of your the floor.

Continue cycle in 30-second Keep hydrated.

Drink of fluids personal comfort andplenty wellbeing, we – Do each direction for 15 seconds.

Repeat one foot clockwise and theif desired.the balls of your feet on the floor. Continue cycle in preventrecommend dehydration, fatigue and headaches. you take the following steps: water, juice, non-caffeinated soft drinks recommend you take the following steps: ANKLE CIRCLES Lift feet off floor, draw a circle with30-second FOOT PUMPS Start with both heels on the floor and point feet upward as high other counterclockwise. intervals.

Minimise– intake of dehydration, alcohol andfatigue coffee.

ANKLEfoot CIRCLES Lift feet off floor, draw a circle with FOOT PUMPS Start with both heels on the floor and point feet upward as high to prevent and the toes, simultaneously one foot clockwise as you can. Then put both feet flat on the floor. Then lift heels high, keeping the Reverse circles. moving Do each Exercise Exercise and and stretch stretch regularly regularly while while seated seated the toes, simultaneously moving one foot clockwise as you can. Then put both feet flat on the floor. Then lift heels high, keeping the Moisten the face to help reduce drying and the other foot counterclockwise.

Reverse circles. balls of your feet on the floor.

Continue cycle in 30-second intervals.

Keep hydrated.

Drink plenty of fluids –– direction seconds.Reverse circles. balls of your feet on the floor. Continue cycle in 30-second intervals. headaches.

Minimise intake ofthe alcohol and the otherfor foot 15 counterclockwise.

Keep hydrated.

Drink plenty of fluids Do each direction for 15 seconds.

Repeat if desired. effects of cabin air.

Repeat if desired. water, juice, drinks Do each direction for 15 seconds. Repeat if desired.

SEATED SEATED EXERCISES EXERCISES and coffee.

Moisten the facesoft to help water, juice,non-caffeinated non-caffeinated soft drinks –reduce dehydration, fatigue and the drying effects of cabin air. to Eat lightly.

Eat lightly on longer flights –totoprevent prevent dehydration, fatigue and headaches. intake alcohol avoid indigestion — our in-flight is headaches.Minimise Minimise intakeofofmenu alcohol and Moisten the totooptions. help Eat lightly.

Eat lightly onface longer flights designed tocoffee. provide lighter meal and coffee.

Moisten the face help to reduce the ofofcabin air. avoid indigestion –effects our inflight menu reduce thedrying dryingeffects cabin air.is Exercise. We encourage you to do the designed to provide lighter meal options. gentle on-board exercises on this flights page to Eat Eatlightly. lightly.Eat Eatlightly lightlyon onlonger longer flightstoto enhanceavoid yourindigestion wellbeing during the flight.

– our inflight menu isis Exercise.

We encourage you to the avoid indigestion – our inflight do menu We recommend you do these exercises for KNEE LIFTS Lift leg with knee SHOULDER ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLS Arms held at 90° angles, designed totoprovide lighter meal gentle onboard exercises on thisoptions. page to designed provide lighter meal options. bent while contracting your thigh shoulders forward, then upward, elbows down, hands in front. Raise hands about five minutes every one to two hours. enhance your wellbeing during theStartheels flight. muscle. Alternate legs. Repeat 20 then backward, then downward, up to chest and back down. Alternate ANKLE CIRCLES ANKLE LiftCIRCLES feet off floor, Lift feet drawoffa floor, circledraw with a circleFOOT with PUMPS FOOT StartPUMPS with both withonboth the heels floor and on the point floor feetand upward point feet as high upward as h should also occasionally walk down We encourage you to do the theYou toes, simultaneously the toes,Exercise. simultaneously moving one foot moving clockwise one footyou clockwise as do you can.

Then as you putcan. both Then feet put flatboth on the the feetfloor. flat on Then theliftfloor. heels Then high,liftkeeping heels high, the keeping to 30 times for each leg. using a gentle, circular motion. hands. Repeat in 30-second intervals.

We recommend these exercises Exercise.

We encourage you to do the and the other and foot the counterclockwise. other foot counterclockwise.

Reverse circles.

Reverse balls circles. of your balls feet on of your the floor. feet on Continue the floor. cycle Continue in 30-second cycle in intervals.

30-second intervals.

KNEE LIFTS Lift leg with knee SHOULDER ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLS Arms held at 90° angles, aisles, as space permits.

In addition, weto exercises on this page Do each direction Do each forgentle direction 15 seconds. foronboard Repeat 15onboard seconds. if desired.

Repeat if desired. every KNEE LIFTS Lift leg with knee SHOULDER ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLS Arms held at 90° angles, for about five minutes one to two gentle exercises on this page to bent whileLIFTS contracting thighleg shoulders forward, then upward, elbows down, hands in front. Raise hands KNEE —your Lift SHOULDER ROLLS ARM CURLS Arms recommend that you avoid crossing your bent while contracting your thigh shoulders forward, then upward, elbows down,— hands in front. Raise hands enhance your wellbeing during hours.

You should also occasionally walklegs. muscle.knee Alternatebent legs. Repeat 20 then backward, then downward, to chest and back down. Alternate enhance your wellbeing duringthe theflight. flight. with — Hunch shoulders heldupup at muscle. Alternate legs.while Repeat 20 then backward, then downward, to90° chestangles, and back down. Alternate to 30 times for each leg. using a gentle, circular motion. hands.

Repeat in 30-second intervals. you do exercises SEATED down the aisles, as permits.

In MovingWe about the aircraft.

You may move contracting your forward, upward, elbows down, to 30 times forSTRETCHES each leg. thigh using athen gentle, circular motion. hands.

Repeat inhands 30-secondinintervals.

Werecommend recommend youspace dothese these exercises muscle. Alternate legs. then backward, then front. Raise hands up to for minutes one toand two addition, we recommend that you avoid about the aircraft as spaceevery permits when forabout aboutfive five minutes every one to two Repeat 20 to 30 times for downward, using a chest and back down. hours.

You should walk crossing your legs.also the seatbelt sign is off.

However, when the hours.

You should alsooccasionally occasionally walk each leg. gentle, circular motion.

Alternate hands.

Repeat SEATED aisles, asas space permits.

InInremain SEATEDSTRETCHES STRETCHES seatbeltdown signthe is you are required in 30-second intervals. down theon aisles, space permits.to addition, we recommend that you avoid Please note: you should not do any of seated with the seatbelt fastened. addition, we recommend that you avoid crossing your legs. these exercises if they cause you pain or If you feel unwell, tell the cabin crew.

They crossing your legs. cannot done withcommon ease. can assist withbe the more in-flight KNEE LIFTS KNEE Lift legLIFTS with knee Lift leg with knee you should SHOULDERnot SHOULDER ROLLSdo Hunch ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLSARM ArmsCURLS held atArms 90° angles, held at 9 Please note: any offurther complaints and, if necessary, can seek note: you shoulders should not do any bent while contracting bent whilePlease your contracting thigh your thigh forward, shoulders then forward, upward, thenof upward, elbows down,elbows handsdown, in front. hands Raiseinhand fron muscle. Alternate muscle. legs.

Alternate Repeat legs.

20 Repeat 20 then backward, then then backward, downward, then downward, up to chest and up to back chest down. and Alternate back down. these exercises if they cause you pain or Moving about the aircraft.

You may and assistance these exercises iffor they cause you pain to advice 30 times for to 30 each times leg. for each leg. using ayou. gentle, using circular a gentle, motion. circular motion.or hands. Repeat hands. in 30-second Repeat inintervals.

30-second cannot be move about thewith aircraft ascan space permits On descent.

Ears and sinuses cause cannot bedone done withease. ease.

SEATED SEATEDEXERCISES EXERCISES

Inflight Inflightcomfort comfort

and when thethe seatbelt sign is discomfort, due to change inoff. air pressure on descent.

To minimise discomfort: Moving about the aircraft.

You may about the asasspace you are required to remain seated with • Yawn move or swallow frequently. move about theaircraft aircraft spacepermits permits the seatbelt sign isisoff. the seatbelt fastened.

• Pinch and your nostrils together blow firmly andwhen when the seatbelt signand off.

However, when the seatbelt sign into your cheeks with mouth However, when theyour seatbelt signisclosed. ison on you are required to remain seated with Ifyou you feel unwell, tell the cabin crew. are required to remain seated with the fastened.

They can assist with the more common theseatbelt seatbelt fastened. inflight complaints and, if necessary, If you have ongoing discomfort, seekcan the Ifseek feel tell cabin further advice and assistance for you. advice of the cabin crew Ifyou you feelunwell, unwell, tellthe the cabincrew. crew.

They Theycan canassist assistwith withthe themore morecommon common inflight complaints and, if necessary, can descent.

Ears and sinuses can KNEE TO CHEST KNEEBend TOOn CHEST forward Bend slightly. forward slightly.

FORWARD FLEX With both FLEX feet With oncan both the floor feet on theOVERHEAD floor OVERHEAD STRETCH Raise STRETCH both hand Rais inflight complaints and, ifFORWARD necessary, Clasp hands Clasp aroundhands left knee around andleft hugknee it toand hug it toand stomach and heldstomach in, slowly held bend in, slowly forward bend forward straight up over straight yourup head. overWith yourone head. han seek further advice and assistance for you. cause discomfort, due toassistance the change seek further and for you. your chest. Hold yourthe chest. stretch Holdforthe15 stretch seconds. for 15advice seconds.and walk your and hands walkdown your hands the front down ofin your the front ofgrasp your the wrist grasp of the theopposite wrist of the hand oppos and

SEATED SEATED STRETCHES STRETCHES Moving about the aircraft.

You may However, when the seatbelt sign is on KNEE TO CHEST Bend forward slightly.

Clasp hands around left knee and hug it to your chest. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds.

Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it KNEE TO —10slightly.

Bend down.TOAlternate legs. times.

KNEE CHESTCHEST BendRepeat forward KNEE TO CHEST Bend Clasp forward slightly. forward Clasp hands slightly. around left knee and hug it to Clasp hands around left knee and hug it to your chest.around Hold the stretch knee for 15 seconds. hands and your chest. Hold theleft stretch for 15 seconds.

Keeping aroundchest. knee, slowly let it hug it hands tohands your Hold Keeping around knee, slowly let it down.stretch Alternate legs. Repeat 10 times. the seconds. down. Alternatefor legs.15 Repeat 10 times.

Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it down.

Alternate legs. Repeat 10 times each leg.

FORWARD FLEX With both feet on the floor OVERHEAD STRETCH Raise both hands and stomach held in, slowly bend forward straight up over your head. With one hand, and walk your hands down the front of your grasp the wrist of the opposite hand and legs toward your ankles. Hold the stretch for gently pull to one side. Hold the stretch FORWARD FLEX —back With STRETCH — for 15 seconds.

RepeatRaise on theboth other side.

15 secondsFLEX and slowly sit up.

FORWARD With both feet on the floor OVERHEAD OVERHEAD STRETCH hands FORWARD FLEX With both feet on the floor OVERHEAD STRETCHstraight Raise both hands both on floor both hands andfeet stomach heldthe in, slowly bend forward Raise straight up over your head. With one hand, and stomach held in, slowly bend forward straight up over your head. With one hand, walk your hands down front of your grasp theyour wrist of the opposite hand and andand stomach in,the slowly With and walk yourheld hands down the front of yourup over grasp the wristhead. of the opposite hand and legsforward toward your and ankles.walk Hold the stretch for onegently pull to one side.the Hold the stretch bend hand, legs toward your ankles. Hold the stretch for gently pullgrasp to one side. Holdwrist the stretch for 15opposite seconds. Repeathand on the other side. seconds and slowly the sit back up. your1515 hands front of the for 15 seconds. Repeat on theand other side. secondsdown and slowly sit back up.

of your legs toward your ankles. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and slowly sit back up.

gently pull to one side.

Hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the Please note: you other side.

should not do any of these exercises Please note: you note: you SHOULDER STRETCH — Reach your right handcause over you ifPlease they should not do your left shoulder. Place your left hand behind your right should not doany any PLEASE NOTE: You pain or cannot be elbow and gently press your elbow toward yourexercises shoulder. ofofthese shouldSTRETCH not do any SHOULDER Reach your right hand HoldNECK With your these exercises the ROLLS stretch forshoulders 15 seconds. Repeat on thewith other side. done ease. over left shoulder.

Place yourifleft hand relaxed, drop your ear to shoulder and ofyour these exercises ififthey theycause causeyou you behind right elbow andpain gently press your gently roll your neck forward and to the theyyour cause you NECK ROLLS —each With your drop your elbow toward your be shoulder.

Hold the stretch other side, holding position for shoulders relaxed, pain or cannot be or cannot done pain or cannot be ear to shoulder and gently roll your neck forward and to forwith 15 seconds.

RepeatReach on theyour otherright side.hand five seconds.

Repeat times.

SHOULDER STRETCH NECK ROLLS With yourfive shoulders ease.

SHOULDER STRETCH Reach your right hand the other NECK ROLLS With your shoulders done with ease. side, holding each position for five seconds. over your left shoulder. Place your left hand relaxed, drop your ear to shoulder and done with ease. over your left shoulder. Place your left hand relaxed, drop your ear to shoulder and

Keeping hands Keeping around hands knee, around slowlyknee, let it slowly it legs toward your legs toward ankles. your Holdankles. the stretch Holdforthe stretch gently for pull togently one side. pull Hold to onetheside. stretch Hold air pressure onletdescent.

Toslowly minimise for Repeat 15 seconds. on theRepeat other on sideth down. Alternate down. legs.

Alternate Repeatlegs.

10 times.

Repeat 10 times. 15 seconds and 15 seconds sitand back slowly up. sit back up. for 15 seconds.

On discomfort: Ondescent. descent.Ears Earsand andsinuses sinusescan can cause discomfort, due to •cause Yawn or swallow frequently. discomfort, due tothe thechange changeinin air pressure descent.

ToTominimise •air Pinch youron nostrils together and blow pressure on descent. minimise discomfort: firmly into your cheeks with your discomfort: • •Yawn swallow mouth closed.

Yawnoror swallowfrequently. frequently.

• •Pinch Pinchyour yournostrils nostrilstogether togetherand andblow blow into your cheeks with your Iffirmly you have ongoing discomfort, firmly into your cheeks with your mouth seek theclosed. advice mouth closed.of the cabin crew.

times. behind your right elbow and gently press your Repeat gentlyfive roll your neck forward and to the gently roll your neck forward and to the other side, holding each position for other side, holding each position for five seconds. Repeat five times. for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side. five seconds. Repeat five times.

behind your right elbow and gently press your toward your shoulder. Hold the stretch 12 elbow elbow toward your shoulder. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Please note: Please you note should not should do any not d of theseofexercises these exer if they cause if theyyou cause pain or cannot pain orbe cann done with done ease. with e

SHOULDER SHOULDER STRETCH Reach STRETCH your right Reach hand your right hand NECK ROLLSNECK With ROLLS your shoulders With your shoulders over your leftover shoulder. your left Place shoulder. your left Place hand your left handrelaxed, droprelaxed, your eardrop to shoulder your earand to shoulder and Ifyour have ongoing discomfort, Ifyou you have ongoing behind your behind right elbow and right gently elbow press and gently your press your gentlydiscomfort, roll your gently neckrollforward your neck and forward to the and to the elbow towardelbow your toward shoulder. your Hold shoulder. theadvice stretch Hold the stretch other side, holding other side, each holding positioneach for position for AUG/SEPT 2018 seek the of the cabin crew. seek the advice cabin crew. for 15 seconds. for Repeat 15 seconds. on theRepeat other on side. the other side.of fivethe seconds. five Repeat seconds. five times.

Repeat five times.

12 12 12

12

19

Up, up and away!

Regional Express: Our heart is in the country Bamaga NPA

Mornington Island (Gununa) Karumba Normanton

Cairns

Burketown Doomadgee

Townsville Mount Isa

Julia Creek

Hughenden

Richmond

Winton

Boulia

Longreach Bedourie

Windorah Charleville

Birdsville Carnarvon

Brisbane West Wellcamp (Toowoomba)

Quilpie Cunnamulla

Monkey Mia Coober Pedy

Brisbane

St George

Thargomindah

Lismore Ceduna

Grafton (Yamba) Armidale

Broken Hill

Perth

Port Augusta Whyalla

Esperance Albany

Adelaide

Kangaroo Island (Kingscote)

Dubbo

Parkes

Orange

Mildura Port Lincoln

Newcastle

Griffith

Bathurst

Narrandera-Leeton Wagga Wagga Albury

Mount Gambier

Ballina (Byron Bay)

Melbourne King Island

Burnie

Sydney

Moruya Snowy Mountains (Cooma) Merimbula

Check-in Info

CHECK- IN

BAGGAGE

Online check-in You can check-in online through the Rex website, rex.com.au, on your desktop or mobile devices between 48 hours and 60 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of your flight.

Checked baggage Passengers on all fares (except Rex Flex) are permitted a 15 kilogram free baggage allowance.

Passengers in possession of a Rex Flex Fare are permitted a 23 kilogram free baggage allowance.

Airport check-in If you have checked baggage, we recommend that you arrive at the airport for check-in at least 60 minutes before the scheduled departure of your flight at all airports except Burketown, Queensland (90 minutes before).

Passengers with international connections (within 24 hours) are permitted a 23 kilogram free baggage allowance upon presenting a valid itinerary or ticket.

Cabin baggage A maximum of two pieces per passenger up to a total of 7 kilograms of cabin baggage is permitted on board.

Rex check-in closes: •6 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure time at Burketown airport.

•3 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure time at Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Queensland airports (with the exception of Burketown above).

•2 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure time at regional airports in NSW, SA, Tas, Vic and WA.

Excess baggage Excess baggage is permitted subject to restrictions of the day and a surcharge of $7.70 per kilogram.

Virgin Australia Baggage Agreement Rex accepts the checking of baggage to/from Virgin Australia flights. Ask at check-in for more information.

Passengers with special requirements Passengers with special requirements must check-in at the airport (online check-in is not available) no later than: •6 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure in major cities and all Queensland regional airports except Burketown (please see below).

• 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure in NSW, SA, Tas, Vic and WA regional airports.

• 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure in Burketown.

REX AIRCR AFT FACTS

AIRCRAFT

MAX. TAKE-OFF WEIGHT (KG)

SPEED (KM/H)

AVAILABLE SEATS

GALLEY

REST ROOM

AVAILABLE AIRCRAFT

CRUISE ALTITUDE (METRES)

CREW

SAAB 340

13,155

520

34

Y

Y

56

8,000

3

AUG/SEPT 2018

21

Entertainment

Entertainment

Compiled by: Sarah hinder

books TOUR

Welcome to Country, Marcia Langton

Released May 1, RRP $39.99, Hardie Grant, Travel.

This travel guide to Indigenous Australia and the Torres Strait Islands offers a fascinating look into the history and customs of our first peoples, and provides a state-by-state directory of Indigenous tourism experiences.

Out of the Forest, Gregory P. Smith

Released May 28, RRP $34.99/EBook $12.99, William Heinemann Australia, Biography.

In this revealing memoir, Smith shares the story of his escape from society to live in near-total isolation in a forest in northern New South Wales for 10 years — and what eventually brought him back.

ART

Whitsunday Dawn, Annie Seaton

Released July 23, RRP $29.99/EBook $6.99, Harper Collins, Fiction.

This eco-adventure is set in the Whitsundays, where Olivia finds herself torn between big business and nature when she meets a local fisherman who opens her eyes to the impact her mining project will have on the Reef.

Gene Simmons

August 28– September 1 in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane.

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of his debut solo album, KISS legend Gene Simmons visits Australia for his first-ever solo tour, and will be joined on stage by former band mate Ace Frehley.

DOCUMENTARY MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art

June 9–October 7, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

This year’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition presents 200 key works from New York’s Museum of Modern Art including masterworks by artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Dali and Warhol.

Blue the Film

Current screenings across Australia & available on iTunes, Google Play, YouTube & DVD. In the last 40 years, half of all marine life has disappeared, and by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. This eye-opening Australian doco tells the story of our dying oceans and the human-imposed dangers destroying them.

AUG/SEPT 2018

23

Wildlife Encounters Special

Jamala Wildlife Lodge, Canberra ACT For an immersive experience that can only be described as an overnight safari, Jamala offers guests the chance to stay in luxury lodges virtually built into the habitat of native and exotic animals. Choose to stay just inches away from a lion, tiger, cheetah or a Malayan sun bear — with only a glass wall between you. Or reside among the treetops in a Giraffe Treehouse that overlooks a friendly herd, known to wander right up to balconies in search of a feed.

Dedicated to conservation, Jamala Wildlife Lodge focuses its efforts on those animals considered vulnerable and critically endangered, including Sumatran tigers and Malayan sun bears. Set up as an addition to Canberra’s National Zoo & Aquarium, Jamala contributes funds to the zoo’s all-important breeding and conservation programs.  jamalawildlifelodge.com.au

Wildlife Encounters

Here are some of the country’s finest wildlife destinations housing rare and endangered species, where you can learn how these conservation sanctuaries work to save them.

WORDS: Sarah Hinder AUG/SEPT 2018

25

Wildlife Encounters Special

Tasmanian Devil Conservation, Tas

Altina Wildlife Park, Darlington Point NSW Committed to saving endangered animals from extinction, Altina Wildlife Park maintains vital conservation and breeding programs for a host of exotic animals, including the Southern white rhino, African wild dog and maned wolf. Set on a 207-hectare property on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in Darlington Point, Altina’s open layout can be explored on a 2.5-hour tour in a horse-drawn or motorised cart accompanied by a guide. From red pandas and meerkats to hyenas and ring-tailed lemurs, a visit here is both exciting and educational — especially if you opt for a Behind-The-Scenes Encounter, which treats you to close-up feeds with your chosen animal. altinawildlife.com

26 TrueBlue

Our Tassie devils have faced their share of challenges, having been hunted to nearextinction in the 1930s and plagued by a rare contagious cancer since the 1990s.

Today, a visit to one of Tasmania’s wildlife sanctuaries is the best way to see and learn about the endangered species, since many are partnered with Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and carrying out their own conservation initiatives, too.

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Brighton and Devils @ Cradle adjacent to Cradle Mountain National Park work tirelessly to protect vulnerable species like the devil that are unique to Tasmania, including the eastern quoll, the Tasmanian pademelon and the Tasmanian bettong. In Moll Creek, Trowunna Wildlife Park houses the world’s largest heritage population of devils, while Tasmanian Devil Unzoo in Taranna is the world’s first ‘unzoo’, inviting visitors into the natural environments of animals rather than traditional enclosures. Here you can handfeed wallabies and pademelons and learn about native birdlife at Tasmania’s only flight show. bonorong.com.au devilsatcradle.com trowunna.com.au tasmaniandevilunzoo.com.au

Wildlife Encounters Special

Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie NSW

Broome Bird Observatory, Broome WA

The Koala Hospital is a rehabilitation sanctuary devoted to saving the lives of our cuddly native marsupials, whose population is sadly plummeting. Living along a narrow crescent on the east coast of Australia, their habitat is being destroyed, and so today there are only between 2,000 and 8,000 koalas living in the wild.

A visit to Port Macquarie’s Koala Hospital involves a tour of the grounds and rehabilitation areas, while insightful guides explain risk factors — such as urban development, logging and road accidents — threatening koalas today, as well as the crucial work being done at the hospital to save and protect them.

To support their efforts, you can adopt a wild koala or plant a tree. Adoption contributes to the rescue and medical treatment of sick and injured koalas, while planting a tree provides much-needed food and shelter for those released into the surrounding area. koalahospital.org.au

A haven for birdwatchers, the Broome region is home to more than 325 recorded bird species — that’s more than one-third of Australia’s total. Located on the shores of Roebuck Bay, Broome Bird Observatory facilitates and supports research projects designed to conserve the migratory shorebirds that visit here each year.

With around 55 species of shorebirds — a quarter of the world’s total — landing on the bay, the observatory offers excellent birdwatching tours and courses in species identification and bird photography. Make the most of a trip here by staying in a self-contained cottage or sleeping under the stars at the campground or caravan park.

To celebrate the observatory’s 30th anniversary, it’s putting on a party for the public on August 3 that coincides with the shorebirds’ ‘birthday’ on August 1 (a date given to them to help researchers age them). It’s also hosting BirdLife’s Congress and Campout from September 8 to 11. broomebirdobservatory.com TB

Mogo Zoo, Mogo NSW Just 10 minutes south of Batemans Bay, Mogo Zoo treats visitors to up-close encounters with exotic animals such as rhinos, snow leopards, white lions and zebras. A founding member of the Australasian Species Management Program and recognised internationally for its role in global breeding initiatives, Mogo is home to more than 250 animals, of which more than 44 are rare or exotic species.

Currently, the privately owned zoo is redeveloping a Great Apes sanctuary to incorporate world-class orangutan and western lowlands gorilla facilities.

Sadly, anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 orangutans are killed each year due to human encroachment and deforestation. To help save these loveable creatures that share 97 per cent of our DNA, you can sponsor one of Mogo’s orangutans or make a donation, knowing your contribution will go directly towards these vital conservation efforts. mogozoo.com.au

AUG/SEPT 2018

27

COME VISIT US AT MOGO ZOO! Come and visit us at Mogo Zoo, just 10km south of Batemans Bay on the beautiful NSW South Coast.

As a founding member of the Australian Species Management Program, we are recognised internationally for our role and success in global breeding programs.

We are proud to have been awarded many major NSW tourism awards including Best Tourism Attraction 2011-2013, and the Gold Sun Herald People's Choice Award in 2011.

We have more than 250 animals on exhibit, 53 of which are rare and exotic and classified as critically endangered.

Coming soon: we are developing and constructing a new ‘Great Ape Exhibit’ proudly sponsored

by Ingenia which will see the development of an amazing new Orangutan facility adjoining the construction of a new world class Western Lowlands Gorilla facility.

View giraffes, meerkats, gibbons, lemurs, snow leopards, zebras, African lions, zebra, rhinos, tigers, gorillas and more.

Bring the family and join us for talks by our keepers, animal feeding, book an experience or dine at our Tumbili Terrace Café.

Open 9am until 5pm daily.

Ph: 02 4474 4930 mogozoo.com.au facebook.com/MogoZoo @mogo_zoo

Events Calendar Events

What's on & What's hot

Compiled by: Sarah hinder

Kings Park Festival

August 12 Chocolate Winterfest

Latrobe Tas Dedicated to all things chocolate, this quirky event holds a Chocolate Chilli Sundaeeating competition and a Kit Kat Chunky Tower Challenge. You can also compete in a game of chocolate chess and check out wearable chocolate art displays. chocolatewinterfest.com.au

August 13–19

Tasmanian Whisky Week

Tasmania Behind-the-scenes tours, distillery dining experiences and several whisky events take place across the island state. taswhiskyweek.com

August 22–26

CinefestOZ Film Festival Busselton WA Showcasing new homegrown and French cinema in the region’s theatres, wineries, small bars and galleries. cinefestoz.com

August 31–September 2

August 9–12 Mount Isa Mines Rotary Rodeo

Mount Isa Qld The mining town puts on four jampacked days of rodeo action and outback competitions, plus the Isa Street Festival and Rodeo Ball. Jimmy Barnes, Shannon Noll and The McClymonts headline a free concert with a hot line-up of Aussie talent. isarodeo.com.au

Barossa Gourmet Weekend

Barossa Valley SA In one of Australia’s premier food and wine regions, feast your senses on a smorgasbord of experiences, tastings and masterclasses. barossagourmet.com

September 1–30

Kings Park Festival

Perth WA On the edge of Perth’s CBD at Kings Park Botanic Gardens, this month-long festival features live music, family entertainment, exhibitions, guided tours and flourishing

floral displays. bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park/ events/festival

September 1–30

Sydney Fringe Festival

Sydney NSW With a bustling Festival Village at Chippendale’s Kensington Street and performances across inner-city areas, Sydney Fringe shines light on the talent of local independent artists and performers. sydneyfringe.com

September 4–7

BIGSOUND Festival

Brisbane Qld Committed to discovering and enriching the future of Australian music, BIGSOUND brings music to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. bigsound.org.au

September 15–October 14 Floriade

Canberra ACT This spring festival and flower show boasts more than one million blooms, plus creative workshops and hands-on planting. Don’t miss the accompanying NightFest featuring light installations and pop-up events. floriadeaustralia.com AUG/SEPT 2018

29

KIMBERLEY FINE DIAMONDS

Top Destination with Top Souvenirs

93 Konkerberry Drive PO Box 20 Kununurra, Western Australia 6743 Phone: +61 (08) 9169 1133 Fax: +61 (08) 9168 1188 Freecall: 1800 852 144 (within Australia)

KIMBERLEYFINEDIAMONDS.COM.AU

True Blue Promotion

Best foot forward Wagga Wagga-based shoe business Millwoods was conceived when founder and mum of three, Jane Robertson saw a need to create a range of children's footwear, having given up on finding stylish shoes for her own toddlers that didn't break the bank. Jane identified a gap in the market for beautiful, affordable and comfortable children’s shoes and for an easy-to-navigate online store that would resolve the perennial problem of figuring out children’s shoe sizing.

Millwoods have made a printable PDF designed to accurately measure little feet to make purchasing as simple as possible.

“Much of the feedback from our consumers has been that they love the concept, that the shoes are designed in regional Australia by a mum who truly gets that comfy, beautiful shoes for kids should be accessible for everyone, regardless of where they live. I’m a huge advocate for using locally based

services and resources. Everything except the manufacturing happens within 200 kilometres of Wagga, including the packaging, design, warehousing, distribution, logistics, photography, marketing and PR," said Jane.

The Millwoods Loafers are a versatile timeless shoe, handcrafted with a soft leather inner and durable tumbled leather outer. The full gum sole ensures durability and protection and they mould to little feet. Millwoods designs also include comfort cushioning, a small amount of arch support and a unique, non-slip heel insert so when kids run the shoes stay put.

Jane grew up in Gunnedah, although she calls Tamworth home attending high school there and her parents are based in East Tamworth. She now lives in Wagga.

“I genuinely love seeing happy kids running around in Millwoods shoes,” said Jane. millwoods.com.au

watching the whales In August, there are thousands of Humpback Whales migrating south along the eastern coast of Australia.

Merimbula is a wonderful place to view whales, with only an eight-minute cruise into Merimbula Bay to find whales.

Our crew has been whale watching in Sydney over the winter, observing thousands of humpbacks on their northern migration. All of these whales are now heading south, bringing their young calves with them.

Our boat is a 75-passenger powered catamaran with both an indoor cabin and outdoor viewing platform designed for whale-watching, allowing ample space and stability. The boat travels to and from the whales quickly, maximising your viewing time.

Merimbula Marina operates multiple cruises each day from 15 August to 20 November. Our family-owned and operated business believes in responsible and respectful whale watching practices. We have a deep love of the ocean and all its amazing creatures and enjoy sharing this with our passengers. In 2016 and 2017 we had 100 per cent whale sightings on all cruises throughout the season! We are looking forward to another fantastic whale watching season in 2018.

Departing daily, tickets cost $69 adult; $65 senior/ student concession; $50 child (1-15 years) for a 2.5hour Express Whale Watch Cruise. A Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children under 15 years) costs $199.

We offer a money back guarantee that whales will be sighted on your cruise. Self Drive Boat Hire is also also available for exploring Merimbula Lake.

Check out our daily photos and whale reports on our Facebook page facebook.com/Merimbulamarina.

Like our page and download free photos taken during your cruise. Book now by phoning 02 6495 1686 or online at merimbulamarina.com AUG/SEP JUNE/JULY2018 2018313

A luxurious couples retreat

Commanding stunning ocean, farm-scape and native bushland views, Stowaway Kangaroo Island is a shining example of effortless indulgence.

Offering the luxurious facilities expected of a world-class boutique hotel, in a relaxed, uniquely Australian setting, Stowaway is the ultimate couples retreat.

The two purpose-built, freestanding Stowaways exist in utter isolation. Enjoy total privacy, aside from abundant native wildlife on your doorstep.

Indulgent gourmet food, drinks and massage packages are available for purchase from our website.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook stowawayki.com.au

Stylish, comfortable shoes your kids will want to wear

FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS OVER $100 Order Now! www.millwoods.com.au

Foodie News & Views

Sip, Eat & Sleep A culinary EXP.erience

Frank Fawkner’s signature dessert, Myrtle Gum.

At fine-dining restaurant EXP. in the Hunter Valley, patrons perched at the counter bar can watch chef and owner Frank Fawkner busy at work in his kitchen. Hunter-born local, Fawkner opened the restaurant in 2015 after having worked at another fine-dining Hunter restaurant Muse, which achieved two chef’s hats from The Sydney Morning Herald during his time as head chef. Fawkner has also worked in London for Tom Aitken, becoming sous chef at Tom’s Kitchen. At EXP. there is an emphasis on using as much native, local and seasonal produce as possible. The tables, wall art, wine rack, crockery and serving dishes used in the intimate dining nook are all sourced from local artisans. Food is delivered to tables by Fawkner himself.

Every dish is well considered — from the warm sourdough served with cultured butter infused with hay to the petit fours of

salted caramel and coconut rough. Trout, Wagyu brisket, quail and kangaroo all feature on the mains menu but whatever you do, save room for Fawkner’s signature desserts. The ‘Warm Shadows of Blue’ sees a buttery soft brioche bun filled with a blue cheese sauce and topped with marigold ooze forth onto its base of local honey — the flavours all harmonise perfectly. Meanwhile the Myrtle Gum is made with wattleseed ice cream coated in dark chocolate infused with eucalyptus, wrapped in lemon myrtle caramel and finished with milk chocolate infused with eucalyptus. It is Fawkner’s take on a Magnum ice cream, only somewhat more exotic with chocolate from Daintree Estate and made with eucalyptus ice cream. In July, Fawkner opened a bakery Fawk Foods Kitchen & Bakery in Pokolbin. exprestaurant.com.au

Getaway to Stowaway Located on 200 acres surrounded

by Lathami Conservation Park, the Stowaway Kangaroo Island retreat has been designed as the ultimate couples getaway. Owners Adam and Carly Bussenschutt purchased a part of Carly’s grandparent’s Stokes Bay farm, never imagining it would be home to two purpose-built couples retreats. After a whirlwind global trip with a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, Carly was inspired to showcase Kangaroo Island and at the same time, offer a truly unique luxury retreat experience. “As farmers, we completely take privacy and seclusion for granted. We have always had a passion for exceptional travel experiences and we had some land which was in the perfect location — so we went for it!”

The property offers complete seclusion, expansive views over bushland to the coast and features the kind of amenities you would expect of a world class boutique hotel, including an alfresco hot tub, sauna, big bath and a romantic double-sided wood fire. An ultramodern cook’s kitchen makes selfcatering a breeze, or you can order from a selection of food hampers from the online farm shop.

“Kangaroo Island is a truly unique, special place. We wanted to create a space where people could enjoy the raw beauty of the landscape but not compromise on luxury. We wanted to offer a place where couples can really get away from it all and truly indulge and reconnect.” stowawayki.com.au AUG/SEPT 2018

33

Foodie News & Views

Back a winner at MGallery Overlooking the racetrack at Warwick Farm in Sydney’s south-west is the newly opened The William Inglis Hotel at Riverside Stables — an MGallery Hotel by Sofitel. The beautifully appointed luxury hotel has, naturally, an equine theme that is tastefully executed throughout the property. The hotel is named after the founder of the successful Ingliss stock trading family which operated out of Sydney’s Randwick for more than 100 years. Rooms and suites are named after horses that the Ingliss racing family have owned and sold over the years. All the amenities you’d expect in a five star hotel are available, along with the MGallery ‘Inspired

by Her’ products for the convenience of the hotel’s female clientele (with emergency kits containing stockings, nail polish remover and hair ties among other items commonly needed by women when travelling). With several function spaces and a sense of getting away from the bustle of the city, the hotel serves as an ideal venue for conferences, corporate retreats and weddings. Guests can reach the hotel by car, train or bus and the hotel can arrange shuttle services to and from major transport checkpoints. Cuisine at the hotel is centred around a paddock-to-plate concept with a fine dining restaurant, café and bar. williaminglis.com.au

Relax at Peppers Waymouth, Adelaide Peppers Waymouth Hotel brings some European sophistication to the heart of Adelaide, offering business and leisure travellers a place of comfort and style to relax or work in. All of the rooms and suites include king beds, and the large marble bathrooms have separate baths and showers.

Take things to the next level and reserve the Penthouse suite, which has a spa bath, a private balcony with charming city views, and a lightfilled large living and dining area. There’s also a fully equipped gym if you want to fit some exercise into your schedule, an indoor heated pool, spa and sauna, and high-tech conference facilities, so you can bring the meetings to you.

There are two restaurants on-site, and both embrace the farm-fresh produce that South Australia is renowned for. Essay Kitchen is more of a food journey than an eatery, with a walk-in wine cellar where a sommelier can assist you in pairing wines with your courses. Barketta is a tapas-style restaurant where you can enjoy a charcutterie board and perhaps a cocktail or craft beer. Stay at Peppers Waymouth from $179 per night, from 1st Aug – 30th Sept, 2018. peppers.com.au/waymouth AUG/SEPT 2018

35

SPECIAL FEATURE

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Be Out Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the Parkes RegioN

Be out there in Parkes where it all adds up for fun and quirky experiences along with a bucket list of iconic attractions.

36 TrueBlue

Be welcomed in our townships with friendly hospitality and memorable experiences and stories.

Be entertained by our unique Events + Festivals, including the internationally renowned Parkes Elvis Festival celebrating the King of Rock 'n' Roll every second week in January and the Trundle ABBA Festival in May. Be amazed by our dreamy dark skies and scientific technology with a visit to the iconic CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope, made famous by the hit movie, The Dish.

SPECIAL FEATURE What’s ON in Parkes AUGUST 2018

Parkes Shire Agricultural Shows – Tullamore, Trundle, Peak Hill, Parkes

SEPTEMBER 2018

1 September Trundle Bush Tucker Day — featuring Richard Clapton Live 15 September Australian National Busking Championships in Peak Hill

OCTOBER 2018

October Long Weekend Parkes Antique Motor Club Motorcycle Rally 13 October Central West Car Club Show & Shine and Parkes Antique Motor Club Swap Meet

JANUARY 2019 9-13 January Parkes Elvis Festival

Be fulfilled with a wide range of dining options that cater for a variety of tastes, and pick up some unique gifts and local produce at one of our many retail outlets and boutique stores.

Be playful and enjoy the many picturesque parks, playgrounds, cycle ways and recreational and sporting facilities, providing hours of entertainment for the whole family.

Be rested in a range of quality accommodation options including bed and breakfasts, motels, hotels and cabins. Pitch and unhitch with RV-friendly facilities and quiet and spacious caravan parks and campgrounds.

Be central to 100 miles of experiences from Parkes, including the Targona Western Plains Zoo Dubbo, food and wine experiences in Orange, Wellington Caves and the stunning Japanese Gardens in Cowra.

Be adventurous with nature-based experiences including bushwalking, hiking, riding, fishing and four-wheel driving in our beautiful National and State Parks.

Be out there... it all adds up in Parkes!

Pick a copy of the free Destination Guide from any NSW accredited visitor information centre, or view online visitparkes.com.au

MAY 2019

4 May Trundle ABBA Festival For a full list of events in the Parkes Region head to visitparkes.com.au

AUG/SEPT 2018

37

Cover Story

NOTHING GRANTED Calling Bathurst home, Chezzi and Grant Denyer are thankful to connect with their community by lending a helping hand to causes that support farming families doing it tough.

WORDS: KATRINA HOLDEN | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL HENDERSON-KELLY

Cover Story

t the Denyer home in Bathurst, New South Wales, the sight of TV presenter and Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer greeting us at the front door seems almost familiar. Aside from gracing our television screens since 1997, his genuine, down-to-earth demeanour tricks us into thinking we’ve rocked up at a mate’s.

Chezzi, Grant’s wife and mother of their two girls Sailor, seven, and Scout, two, is equally hospitable — and real.

The pair met when she was a producer on Channel Seven’s Sunrise, on which Grant was a presenter for 10 years. Last year Chezzi set up website Mummy Time, which features blogs, podcasts and a video series, all aimed at connecting mothers across Australia by sharing their stories of motherhood. In particular Chezzi focuses on perinatal depression and anxiety through her work with charity PANDA. “Parenthood has taught me to be a lot more patient. When I first had Sailor, I thought having a baby wouldn’t change me at all and wouldn’t change us and she could just fit into our busy schedule — which was crazy,” admits Chezzi. “In her first year she took 100 flights — we had a lot of disasters. Now I’m a lot more go-with-the-flow, but it’s taken a lot of time to learn that.”

The tree change to Bathurst nearly five years ago, meanwhile, has been a homecoming of sorts. Growing up in regional communities, Chezzi was raised in a town called Fremantle, an hour outside Bathurst, while Grant spent his childhood in Avoca on the New South Wales Central Coast and on his family’s farm in Wagga Wagga, which they’ve kept for 110 years.

“I split my time between the coast and a rural life — the ultimate for any

40 TrueBlue

kid — between a tiny little quiet hamlet on the sea and big, open wide spaces in the outback, where you learn to drive and round up sheep and you’re in the shearing shed,” says Grant.

It’s also where he developed his passion and talent for motor racing.

Starting off with a handmade go-kart at seven, riding tractors and eventually going on to enjoy a highly successful motoring career, Grant’s won a number of championships. The plentiful trophies in his shed, Chezzi points out, represent only a quarter of what he’s won, with the rest stashed away in boxes.

After marrying in 2010, the Denyers knew they’d one day settle in the country. With Grant frequently on the road for work and following Sailor’s birth, Chezzi wanted to be close to her family in Bathurst.

“We were looking for about six months here around Bathurst and we

finally found this place and fell in love with the view,” she says.

“It’s magic,” adds Grant. “It’s very balancing for your soul. I find it very restorative out this way. The media world is not a normal one, so I find this ‘renormalises’ me. The town is small enough that it feels really communal and friendly, but it’s big enough that it has everything you need. I think we’ve found the secret.”

Inside ‘Hyfield’, aside from a TV Week Logie Award sitting without fanfare on a hall table next to an oversized lamp, and framed memorabilia of Grant’s Dancing With The Stars win, the interiors are like any other home belonging to a young family. Large family photos line the hallways and plush runners provide cushioning for little feet as well as the family’s cavoodle, creatively named Princess Popping Popcorn (Popcorn for short) by the couple’s daughters.

Cover Story

so I can do Sydney radio from our little farmhouse in Bathurst!” says Grant of his daily breakfast radio gig on Sydney’s 2DayFM. “That allows me to be here for the kids. But obviously Sydney radio is a big, demanding beast and a competitive one. I’ve got to be in Sydney a lot, so those trips back and forth are critical for making inroads.”

Grant will also be filming in Sydney in the coming months, when the biggest television set Network Ten has ever built is constructed for upcoming show Game of Games, which he is set to host.

For Chezzi, starting a business and working as a mum from a rural base, with no internet, meant there were a few obstacles to overcome. “I started doing my blog The Chezzi Diaries at the local library,” she says. “Then it just took off.”

Now, with the addition of Mummy Time, Chezzi interviews all sorts of mothers in both city and country.

“With the help of Rex, I’m able to head off in the morning, drop the kids off to school, interview mums throughout their day and then fly home and pick the kids up by the time they

finish school. It’s amazing,” she says.

Throughout their travels around the country, the Denyers are forever buoyed by the resilience of Aussies.

Reporting on many natural disasters during his time on Sunrise, Grant says the Australian spirit is unbreakable.

“Watching not just the human spirit but the Australian spirit when the chips are down — that never ceases to amaze me,” he says.

These days, Chezzi says she and Grant are a lot more appreciative of a slower pace in the country.

“Once I had kids, I realised I never really stopped to look around,” admits Grant.

“It was all about where I was going, not where I was. I never really enjoyed the wonderful opportunities I had.

Whereas now, I tend to do that a little bit more and live in the moment. It’s kind of nice putting other people first.

I now really enjoy my experiences of taking the girls with me — we share it all as a family.” TB

AUG/SEPT 2018

I M A G E S : PA U L H E N D E R S O N - K E L LY

Like their dad, the girls love to ride motorbikes and relish nature-spotting expeditions with their parents — especially when it involves discovering some platypi at a local river.

“We’ve got cows, too,” says Grant.

“We’ve got some life on the place. I wanted the kids to look out the window and see something. Our Scottish Highland cows are gorgeous but… I’ve got no idea what I’m doing with the cows. I’m the world’s greatest pretendfarmer you’ve ever seen. You should see the size of my hat — I’ve got all the gear and no idea!”

Last year Chezzi and Grant were ambassadors for Jeans for Genes Day, which both describe as a wonderful eye-opener to charity work. This year they actively sought out another charity close to their hearts.

“We approached Rural Aid because it seemed like a perfect fit. We’re on the land, we know what it’s like to have no feed and to be struggling with drought,” says Chezzi.

“We also wanted to throw our support behind them because we have friends and family who’ve been doing it tough with mental illness brought on by the drought and extreme conditions.”

Grant says he was drawn to Rural Aid because of its simplicity. The Buy a Bale project allows people to donate a $20 bale of hay to a farming family so they can feed and hang on to their stock, giving them a chance to continue once the weather turns good.

The Denyers are working with Rural Aid to devise a number of initiatives being released later in the year, including rescue programs to fix up farming houses in disrepair.

“We’re going to one this weekend where the sewerage isn’t working and it’s leaking under the kitchen floor, so we’re going in with a team of volunteer tradespeople to fix it,” says Chezzi.

The commuter lifestyle affords the couple the chance to be at home with family and still pursue the causes and work they are most passionate about.

“I have a little studio here at home,

41

Multi Award Winning Underground Complex Guided tours through the Aboriginal Interpretive Centre, underground home and our real opal mine.

20 minute award winning documentary "The story of Opal".

Underground bunkhouse accommodation Package tours for groups Special display of fossils from SA Museum.

Large display of exclusive opal jewellery.

Crystal, Black & Boulder opal.

Rough & cut opal. Specimens.

TOWN

18 MAP

TAX FREE TO OVERSEAS VISITORS 100% INTERNATIONAL WRITTEN GUARANTEE Lot 14 Hutchison Street, Coober Pedy SA 5723.

Phone: (08) 8672 5288 Email: admin@umoonaopalmine.com.au www.umoonaopalmine.com.au - OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

Stunning Shellharbour

Getaway

Swim with sharks and traipse through untouched rainforest. Shellharbour, just 90 minutes from Sydney, is an adventure loverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hidden gem.

WORDS: Sarah Hinder

AUG/SEPT 2018

43

Getaway

“Okay, ready to dive?”

Diving master Mick Harris grins as I take a few deep breaths in anticipation, gentle waves lapping at my chin. On the count of three then,” he relays.

Kicking heartily, we duck dive, and are propelled metres downward into a blue-green world. Almost instantly Mick squeezes my hand, pointing excitedly as three young grey nurse sharks swim up towards us. I reach my hand out, almost grazing the gentle creatures as they glide by untroubled.

The sharks are juveniles, Mick explained earlier that day, as we fitted out flippers and wetsuits in his local shop, Shellharbour Scuba Centre.

Now, face-to-face with the metre-long swimmers, their knowing eyes peer curiously at us before meandering on, unperturbed. I hold the air in my lungs,

wishing to stay in their calm presence as long as possible. Finally I squeeze Mick’s hand, and we ascend towards the filtered daylight above.

Breaking the surface, I take in the fresh air before absorbing my surreal surroundings. We are at the centre of Bushrangers Bay with dozens of young sharks circling below. We’ve ambled through heritage listed coastal rainforest to reach this secluded cove.

A couple more dives and it’s time to head in. We pass schools of colourful fish and a few curious sting rays on the swim to the rocky shore.

As late afternoon sets in, we jump back in the car with Biserka, our guide from Tourism Shellharbour, and head west to leafy Albion Park. A little knackered from the snorkelling

Fast Fact

300

Grey nurse sharks are listed as critically endangered on the east coast of Australia, with an estimated population of less than 300 along New South Wales.

44 TrueBlue

Fast Fact Macquarie Pass is one of Australia’s southernmost areas of subtropical rainforest.

adventure, we arrive at dusk outside an elegant 19th century building. Built in 1893 as a grand Georgian-style manor, the McCallum family took over the property in 2000 and have completely transformed it. Set upon three acres of heritage gardens the brilliantly restored Ravensthorpe resembles a French chateau, and today it plays host to swish high teas and wedding celebrations.

We are greeted by owner Hamish McCallum, who tells me I’m in luck – my lodgings for the night will be the bridal cottage, which is a short walk from the main house. Once settled into my beautiful cottage, Hamish kindly invites me to return to the main house to explore a little before dinner.

Rejuvenated, I amble over and see that the manor is now splendidly lit from floor to ceiling. Wine in hand (a red chosen for me by Hamish) I wander through more elegant rooms, each high-ceilinged, ornate and filled with antiques. Long tables are set

for tomorrow’s high tea decorate one room, a wedding ballroom fills another.

In our private dining room, we are politely asked about our dietary requirements, and then the night is in the hands of the chef – Hamish’s mother Deborah, who trained at French gastronomy school, Le Cordon Bleu.

What follows can only be described as a gourmet feast. A smorgasbord of colourful, inventive and flavourful dishes – sweet figs, pumpkin-filled zucchini flowers, slow roasted fennel, prawns, fish pie. More than 10 individual courses are followed by extravagant desserts. At the end of the night, I make my way back through quiet grounds to the pretty cottage.

In the morning, I bound outside to get a good look around the manor gardens in the early morning light.

After a beautiful breakfast of fresh fruit, yoghurts, muesli, pastries, warm rolls and café-style coffee, we hit the road for the next adventure.

We wind our way further inland

through sprawling green countryside.

Macquarie Pass National Park is the destination in mind and as we get closer the road begins a steep descent before plunging into dense forest. Pulling over by an inconspicuous track entrance, we jump out to meet our exuberant walking guide Paul Dickson. Driven by his passion for nature and ecology, Paul runs Nature Engagement Tours, leading guided treks and day tours throughout 10 national parks between Aspen and Narooma.

Today we’re in store for Paul’s new Scones in the Forest Tour – an exceptional wander through fern-filled forest, followed by jam and scones, handmade by Paul’s mum. As we take to the trail, with leafy gorges and towering gums on either side, Paul shares his knowledge, pointing out scratched-up earth where lyrebirds have foraged for food and 300-year-old trees with hollow limbs where owls and possums may make a home.

At the end of the track we sit down

to enjoy the scones, Paul revealing the variety of jam he’s brought along and explaining his mum’s scone-making process. With all devoured and well wishes sent to their maker, it’s all too soon that we’re back on the road, returning through the dense forest and out onto the rolling hills. As our car speeds away from these enchanting forests, I find I’m already planning my return hike, and have decided to take Mick up on an introductory scuba dive course, back in the underwater world of grey nurse sharks. TB

Fact File Tourism Shellharbour visitshellharbour.com.au Ravensthorpe Guesthouse ravensthorpe.com.au Shellharbour Scuba Centre shellharbourscuba.com.au Nature Engagement Tours natureengagementtours.com.au

AUG/SEPT 2018

45

Food and wine

Orange Art of Being

The

The thriving regional city of Orange is renowned for its superb produce, its paddock-toplate approach to dining and its enviable world-class wines.

46 TrueBlue

top to bottom: beautifully rustic displays at racine restaurant; church spire in downtown Orange; guests enjoy forage at F.O.O.D Week; local organge produce on display at the agrestic grocer.

I M A G E S : D E S T I N AT I O N N S W

Seated at a long wooden table that’s dressed in a crisp white tablecloth for a Champagne lunch at Orange’s Racine restaurant, I can’t help thinking that still-life painter Margaret Olley would have loved the many wonderful things that are arranged in a considered yet somehow haphazard way. Everywhere I look there’s another delightful ensemble of everyday man-made objects and pieces plucked from nature that Olley could very well have set up herself.

Herbs in terracotta pots framed by sparkling wine and Champagne glasses grace the tables; a handwoven gardener’s basket filled with fat pumpkins and purple carrots is surrounded by bunches of grapes, dried flowers and twigs of rosemary; a Chesterfield-style faded green velvet couch and a few simple wooden chairs sit against a corrugated iron wall beneath a web of fairy lights. And the place is positively peppered with flowerbeds and veggie patches.

I’m in Orange for its famous F.O.O.D Week and my senses are already in overdrive. I can see why this picturesque city attracts hundreds of artists and producers of fine food and wine.

People stroll into the buzzing garden party, whisking up a glass of champers before taking their place and introducing themselves to neighbours. Recent treechangers and tourists do their best to blend in — carefully selected RM Williams outfits and still-stiff Akubras are quite clearly not as farm-worn as those sported by the locals but it’s an incredibly merry bunch and lunch, and the locals are keen to embrace those who have come to experience this beautiful place.

Every shared platter is a delicious arrangement of local produce accompanied by something Racine does exceptionally well — breads and pastries. There are exquisite dips, wines from newcomer Nashdale Lane (they do a sauv blanc that will lure chardonnay and pinot grigio fans to the other side), 

top to bottom: wine tasting at ferment; guests enjoy wine and food at heifer station; outdoor dining and bar area at the greenhouse; owner of cargo road wines, james sweetapple.

48 TrueBlue

larger property used by Cobb & Co as a change station for their horse fleet, and was one of the biggest cattle stations in NSW. At an elevation of 900 metres, it benefits from a balance of elevation and sunshine, making it highly suitable for growing chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot gris, merlot and shiraz grapes.

The winery is owned by Michelle and Phillip Stivens who bought the property after nearly 25 years in the corporate world. An old wool shed serves as the cellar door, popular with families for the onsite resident herd of alpacas headed by ‘Snowy’ and a petting zoo and fun farm adjacent to the cellar door where kids can feed chooks and goats, and view highland cattle, sheep and the winery’s mini Shetland pony, Tilly.

Next I head into town to visit Ferment the Orange Wine Centre, which is housed in a gorgeous heritage building. Owner Simon Forsyth has installed three Enomatic winedispensing systems in this super-cool bar, so guests can taste more than 50 local wines at their leisure. It’s packed all year round from what I hear, with tourists and locals.

After sampling a few varietals, I walk down the road to my abode for the next few days — Mercure’s hotel in Orange, Templers Mill.

It recently had a refurb and the rooms are spacious and modern, and most importantly it’s within walking distance for everything in Orange. However, a surprise awaits when you climb the stairs to the transformed rooftop of the Ex Services’ Club.

Here I discover The Greenhouse, which celebrates local and regional produce at affordable prices in various spaces that are reminiscent of Sydney’s The Grounds. There’s an enormous café complete with hanging herb and flower gardens, a pizza bar dishing up some of the best in Orange, a children’s play area/park, and a hall that looks like a rustic stable housing a restaurant and bar. A street food kitchen set-up and a fine-dining degustation option in a more formal dining room setting complete the picture.

My days in Orange are filled with visits to more wineries, farms and niche sellers of lovingly produced delicacies, and walks down leafy streets awash with autumnal

I M A G E S : D E S T I N AT I O N N S W

quiches whipped up courtesy of the freerange chooks’ eggs and bowls laden with verdant salads, everything picked from the surrounding gardens. Treats from Racine Bakery follow, including a soft banana bread that melts in the mouth.

I learn over lunch that Orange isn’t named after the citrus fruit, as most assume. It’s actually a city with roots planted in apples and gold mining; early explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell named the parish Orange as he’d been an associate of the Prince of Orange in the Spanish Peninsular War when both were aides-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington.

Armed with this information, I farewell my new-found friends and head off into town to enjoy some of the many offerings that have been excitedly discussed at the table.

Montoro Wines is a must for shiraz lovers and architectural buffs. Yes, it’s shiraz-only on this lush land. Owner and winemaker Bob Derrick is a long-time resident and former science teacher. His and his wife Jennifer’s passion for wine and design has resulted in an extremely classy, pared-back cellar door featuring black wall panelling and polished concrete floors. Outside, the signature element of this stunning cellar door — designed by Source Architects — is the suspended concertina roof that soars majestically into the sky, balanced on two sturdy metal frames that straddle the entire glass-box building and a sprawling outdoor deck area. The scene is complete with border collie wine dog Bailey bounding about, a happy host with a lotta love to give.

In 2017, Montoro won seven gold medals and a trophy at the Sydney Royal Wine Show, NSW Wine Awards and Orange Wine Show, across its eight varieties of shiraz. The Derricks have been selling grapes for years to other winemakers but in 2013 bottled their first wine; since then they’ve been busy making more space for awards.

With a half-bottle of white shiraz (Bob’s mother reckons that’s the perfect amount for a drink) tucked into my backpack, I head off to Heifer Station Vineyard, perched upon the volcanic basalt slopes of Mount Canobolas.

The vineyard was once part of a much

Food and wine

colours. I check out hazelnut production at Fourjay Farms, sample deliciously plump olives and good preserves from Kalavista Organics and Franklin Road Preserve, and discover the many different flavour sensations of Fresh Fodder dips.

I take a half-hour trip out of town along sweeping valley roads to the beautiful property where The Beekeepers Inn sits in all its glory, surrounded by farm implements from days gone by.

Here you can enjoy some of the best homemade scones, cream and jam in the region, and honey-lovers will be in a spin over the varieties of the sweet stuff available: coolabah, blue gum, stringy bark, yellow box, lucerene, mugga iron bark and Christmas mallee.

On my last day, in need of a truly

WINE

Orange sunset, I join a holistic vineyard tour with vigneron James Sweetapple and his two dogs, at his beloved Cargo Road Wines. He takes guests through the process of growing grapes and making wine, then gives an engrossing talk about how he and his fellow vignerons strive to take care of the land that feeds them.

As the sun sets, a golden light has the wine in people’s glasses glowing. The dogs leap around under the vines and gumtrees, and a kookaburra lands on a fence post to take a close look at us as we happily swill the good stuff. Looking out over the rows of vines and up at Mount Canobolas, I can’t help but smile. And as I sip my wine I think — everyone I’ve met in this beautiful place has mastered the art of being Orange. TB

·

CHEESE

· PICNICS

Fact File Racine restaurant and bar racinerestaurant.com.au Nashdale Lane nashdalelane.com Montoro Wines montorowines.com.au Heifer Station Wines heiferstation.com Ferment orangewinecentre.com.au Greenhouse of Orange thegreenhouseoforange.com.au BeeKeepers Inn & 1859 Brewery beekeepersinn.com Cargo Road cargoroadwines.com Mercure Orange Templers Mill templersmill.com.au

· PETTING ZOO

OPEN EVERY DAY 11am to 5pm  02 6365 2275 heiferstation.com



@heiferstationwines

Choose your own adventure ORANGE, NSW WWW.KWS.NSW.EDU.AU

Education Special Feature

Kinross Wolaroi School: A long-standing history and tradition in Orange, NSW Kinross Wolaroi School like Orange NSW has seen great growth in the local area in recent years, with over 1,100 students at present. Whether it be local residents, interstate and remote boarding families or those wanting a tree change to live in the ever-popular Orange, KWS has something to offer every student and family.

As a leading regional school with over 130 years of history, KWS is becoming increasingly well known within the Central West and further afield. The journey at KWS can start in Pre-Prep for children four years of age, offering a structured learning environment and foundation for education. Students then transition into Kindergarten, experiencing the extensive educational and co-curricular offerings at KWS. KWS offers a thriving Senior School

where students mature into young adults, immersed with opportunity. At KWS, half of the Senior School live on campus, resulting in a thriving boarding community and nurturing environment for those students living away from home.

KWS strives to offer pioneering learning initiatives, providing students with unparalleled educational opportunities. Recently, this saw the development of The Regional Engagement Enterprise (TREE), offering contextual, cross-curricular, community-based learning experiences for all students from Kindergarten to Year 12. Director of TREE Tom Riley highlights that “The most important thing about TREE is to engage our students with their learning”. A practical example of TREE includes a mapping project by Year 8 Geography at the recently purchased school property ‘Windmere’; a 250-acre farm located 10 mins from the back gate of the School.

The school is also focusing on the

popular food scene in Orange and the growing paddock to plate movement, boasting farmer’s market garden beds, egg-laying chickens, 600 head of cattle, free-range piglets and five school farms with more than 1,500 acres.

As a large regional school, KWS offers a wide variety of co-curricular activities, sporting opportunities and academic programs for their students. These include vast sporting outlets, indoor and outdoor pools, bustling Performing Arts department, language programs, active Cadet program, exceptional learning facilities and expansive grounds.

It is by no accident that KWS has been a choice for many generations, fostering pride and loyalty while allowing students to broaden their horizons and opportunities for the future.

To explore what Kinross Wolaroi School has to offer, please visit the school’s website: www.kws.nsw.edu. au, or call 02 6362 0300 to talk to the Admissions Team.

“At Kinross Wolaroi School your child will experience a first-class, innovative and dynamic learning environment that will provide them with the academic and personal skills to flourish.”

DR ANDREW PARRY KWS PRINCIPAL

KINROSS WOLAROI SCHOOL, ORANGE NSW O2 6392 0300 | www.kws.nsw.edu.au | Facebook: KinrossWolaroiSchool | Instagram: @kinrosswolaroischool AUG/SEPT 2018

51

Seaside sojourn

THE SEA Tathra was ravaged by bushfires in March, however the places that make this region so appealing were thankfully left undamaged.

WORDS: HELEN HAYES

It looks like art. A piece of demonic abstract art in canary yellow that is actually the lid of the council recycling bin about 10 metres from my brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unit in Tathra. It shows just how close we came to losing the family photo albums and the garden that our late mother so painstakingly established.

I am in Tathra two weeks after 65 houses and 35 cabins and caravans were destroyed and 48 houses damaged, my heart breaking as I hear stories from friends and family who either fought the fire, lost their home or were fortunate and came back to a house still standing.

JUNE/JULY AUG/SEPT 2018

53

Seaside sojourn

It could have been much worse.

No infrastructure was damaged, no restaurants or businesses were lost – apart from Tathra Beach Motor Village – and, most importantly, not one life was lost. The community is strong and is doing what people in this little town of around 1,600 people do: helping each other. And help didn’t just come from these parts. It came from everywhere, and it is still coming. The Hoodoo Gurus, 1927 and the Badloves headlined the sold-out Band Together fundraising concert on May 26, with all acts performing free.

As Kristy McBain, the Mayor of Bega Valley Shire Council, told True Blue, Tathra’s residents have been overwhelmed by the wonderful support. “The collective embrace that has come from right across the country has provided a much-needed boost, especially to those directly impacted by the fire. With tourism playing such a key role in the local economy, it is absolutely vital for the Tathra community that visitors return and enjoy the town and

54 TrueBlue

surrounds as they always have. We are fortunate to be able to call such a pristine and picturesque corner of the world home, and we are very keen to be able to share it with as many people as possible,” concluded Ms McBain.

BEACH, BIKE AND BEAUTY Tathra has fantastic mountain bike tracks for people of all skill levels, as well as spectacular hikes such as the Kangarutha walk between Wallagoot Lake and Kianinny Bay. Go fishing from the historic Tathra Wharf and check out the museum and café on site. The surf in this area is excellent, too – just ask my sons, with their favourite breaks in Mimosa Rocks National Park north of town. Nelson’s, Middle Beach and beautiful Aragunnu are their picks, and Short Point and Bar Beach in Merimbula also rate. Another favourite place for our family is the Mumbulla Creek waterfall, where you can slip down a natural slide into a pool of water fresh from the mountain top.

For a caffeine hit go to The Gap

Espresso, with owner Mark Whitbread winning hearts in the days following the fire by giving away hundreds of free coffees to locals and emergency workers. Also try HoWeRoll for great bacon and egg rolls, or new café Wild Orchid for great avocado toast.

The newly refurbished Tathra Hotel, dating back to 1888, reopened last November with an edgy new interior and live music every Sunday during winter. Next November, the Hotel’s Humpback Brewery will also be open.

For dinner, try Fat Tony’s Bar & Grill, in the historic 1905 Harbourmaster’s Cottage. When not at the restaurant, owner Anthony ‘Ant’ Little can be found deep-sea fishing or paddleboarding.

Ant told True Blue, “Tathra is a perfect base for stand-up paddleboarding with great flat water at the mouth of Bega River for beginners, while more advanced paddlers can chase the surf at Tathra Beach. I often see bottlenose dolphins, local bull rays around Tathra Wharf, seals, and I even had a close encounter with a humpback whale.”

Seaside sojourn

From left to righ: tathra oysters; local mountain bike trails; bithry inlet in mimosa rocks national park; Ant Little at Fat tony’s; kianinny bay

OYSTER OVERLOAD Lovers of Sydney rock oysters are in for a treat as Tathra Oysters, run by Gary and Jo-Anne Rodely, sells these beauties from a shed behind their house.

Gary says, “We feel a special responsibility and honour to be growing what many believe is the world’s finestflavoured oyster, the Sydney rock oyster.

This rare oyster grows predominantly in estuaries on the Eastern Seaboard of Australia, mainly in NSW, and nowhere else in the world. The Far South Coast of NSW is now regarded as ‘the’ spot for cultivating this oyster, and Nelson Lake, where we grow ours, seems to be at the heart of this spot.”

TAKE OFF TO MERIMBULA Flying into Merimbula with Regional Express delivers postcard views over the beaches and lakes, and with Tathra just 20 minutes’ drive away, its many attractions are easy to access.

Go on a whale watching cruise with Merimbula Marina. Humpbacks and other whale species cruise past when

they migrate north from May to July, but the best time is when they head south with their babies, between August and November. You are also likely to see dolphins, fur seals, penguins and turtles.

Stroll the trail to Top Lake, ride the bike track past the airport to Pambula, do an oyster tour at Wheelers Oyster Farm and then have lunch at the excellent on-site restaurant. Merimbula also boasts great surf, golf, scenic flight tours and so much more.

So what is it about this part of the world that makes it so special? It is the pristine natural beauty of its rural landscape, rivers and beaches. It is the range of fresh produce from Bega Cheese to oysters and other seafood.

But mainly it is the people: friendly, saltof-the-earth locals who would give you the shirt off their back.

“A community forever strengthened through overcoming significant adversity awaits with open arms and renowned country hospitality,” says Mayor Kristy McBain.

And what could be better than that? TB

Where to eat

Fat Tony’s Bar & Grill: fattonys.com.au Tathra Hotel: tathrahotel.com.au Tathra Oysters: tathraoysters.com.au Wheelers: wheelersoysters.com.au

Where to sleep

Tathra Beach House Apartments: tathrabeachhouse.com.au Tathra Beachside caravan park: tathrabeachside.com.au

What to do

Merimbula Marina whale watching cruises: merimbulamarina.com Tathra Beach & Bike for surfboard, SUP and bike hire: mountainbiking.com.au Tathra Beach Country Club: tathrabeachcountryclub.com

Getting there

Rex Airlines flies to Merimbula from Sydney several times a day. rex.com.au

More information

Bega Valley Shire Council: begavalley.nsw.gov.au Sapphire Coast Tourism: sapphirecoast.com.au AUG/SEPT 2018

55

Warrior at heart

In one of the world’s most corrupt cities where child sexual abuse is rife, remarkable young Australian Genevieve de la Reux has made a commitment to rescuing and rehabilitating boys and girls through a foundation she set up in Nairobi all on her own.

WORDS BY: Katrina Holden On her third day in Nairobi, Kenya, Genevieve de la Reux, aged in her 20s, stood in a mission hospital in a slum, scrubbing in for a caesarean on a gang-raped nine-year-old girl. She was eight months pregnant and weighed 27 kilograms.

“Right then and there, I found out more about the epidemic of child rape everywhere, but particularly in the poorer communities in the world,” says Sydney-born Genevieve, who was raised in Bowral in New South Wales.

The story of how this dedicated young woman started a crusade to fight child rape, sexual violence and human trafficking in Africa is both awe-inspiring and deeply moving.

With a broken childhood during which she experienced neglect and abuse, Genevieve developed a strong sense of social justice very early on. She has suffered mental health

56 TrueBlue

issues and has battled anorexia and bulimia in the past.

“When I somehow came out of that, I was reflecting on everything that happened. I thought of a younger version of me and wished I’d had somebody I could depend on. Having that support would have changed my life — for the better,” says Genevieve.

In 2011, when she working in financial services, Genevieve became less interested in Sydney’s corporate world and more involved with volunteer work. She raised well over $150,000 in two years for a local charity, but she became increasingly disheartened at the use of funds and charities giving handouts instead of hand-ups.

She shifted her studies from law to psychology, with a goal to eventually study medicine, and planned a trip to Africa

Philanthropy

on the proviso she’d secure a one-month hospital placement as a medical observer.

Referred to a group through the United Nations, she paid US$5,000 for the placement, only to arrive at Nairobi’s airport one evening in January 2015 with no one there to collect her. “The whole thing was extortion. I sat around at the airport then had to find my way into Nairobi,” recalls Genevieve.

Determined, she door-knocked on hospitals for three days.

After standing in on that first caesarean, Genevieve immediately began the process of setting up the GA Foundation in Kenya, working on the business structure, returning to Australia and registering the charity.

“I was looking for more of a purpose. I wanted something that was going to be very effective in an area that was very desperate for help,” she says.

The first child Genevieve rescued was 11-year-old Jane.

At 10, Jane and her four-year-old sister were living in a slum.

Their mother was missing and Jane went to beg for food. She was gang-raped by a group of men. At just 10 years old, Jane was pregnant and in need of a caesarean.

“What really made me know I had to start the foundation then and there was that these nuns were forcing these little girls to keep and love their babies. Jane couldn’t even hold

her because the baby was a reminder of the rape and trauma. The nuns were beating her because she couldn’t love her baby. I pulled Jane aside and told her it wasn’t her fault and it was okay if she didn’t love her baby. She broke down in tears and cried.”

In Kenya, if a woman — or a girl — falls pregnant out of wedlock, they are ostracised. Even teachers would shun Jane, despite being a victim of rape. So Genevieve arranged for her to go to boarding school, where she had to conceal her story. “Today, she’s absolutely nailing it,” she says.

Genevieve, a nominee for Australian of the Year in 2017 and for the Class of 2018 Young Global Leaders Award, admits the most severe cases have deeply affected her. She found herself helping a threeyear-old boy whose father had raped him and then set him on fire. “I went and saw him and I broke down,” says Genevieve of young Brandon who, having suffered third-degree burns to 80 per cent of his body, wound up in a hospital burns unit for nearly a year.

“The sadistic level of violence really got to me. I was an absolute mess. I was terrified of going back and seeing that child and of what he’d been through. Something snapped inside my head and I realised that’s the problem — that’s what the world is thinking about this little kid who needs my help more than anyone right now. It was a real turning point.” AUG/SEPT 2018

57

Philanthropy

All of the children Genevieve has rescued have thrived — even the worst cases like Brandon. “They are now my strongest, toughest kids, who are compassionate and loving and top of their class. That’s what keeps me going,” she says.

Several girls rescued by Genevieve endowed her with the Kenyan name “Naisula”, which aptly translates to “warrior girl”. Since setting up the foundation Genevieve has been thrown in jail and accused of raping and kidnapping children in extortion attempts. Nairobi, she says, “is a disgraceful part of the world” where people have a dog-eat-dog mentality.

Today, she and her partner live outside Nairobi in the countryside — along with the kids in their care.

One gets the sense that Genevieve, too, is finding healing through her efforts. There is no doubt she’s found her calling — and her work is having greater reach beyond the slums of Nairobi. Through her Facebook page Genevieve regularly receives direct messages from people around the world she has never met who, after watching her heartfelt videos, are inspired to share their own stories of abuse.

“I don’t sugar-coat the issues,” says Genevieve. “I want donors to know what the issues really are and where their money goes. Despite what I do and the horror of it all, there’s never been a point in my life when I’ve been happier.”

HOW TO SUPPORT THE GA FOUNDATION The foundation has deductible gift recipient (DGR) status and so all donations are 100 per cent tax deductible. Payment methods include credit card, PayPal and direct bank transfer. Donate at gafoundation.co/donations.

The Naisula Project accepts annual educational sponsorship, putting one student through private school for a year. A yearly cost of $1,472 includes 12 months of school fees, sporting equipment, textbooks and uniforms.

The GA Foundation also accepts donations for projects such as another Angela Project crisis shelter. Genevieve thinks another 20 crisis centres are needed in Nairobi.

Genevieve will be in Australia from 1–20 November 2018 to meet potential corporate donors.

She will be visiting Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, meeting with some of her major donors, including Bunnik Tours in Adelaide. She welcomes approaches by any company looking to support a charity which guarantees donations will go direct to the cause. She is available to present at private or public functions.

GA FOUNDATION ABN 49 769 685 389. gafoundation.co/donations Email: g@gafoundation.co Facebook: facebook.com/GAFoundation15/ If this article has raised any concerns and you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline Australia, open 24 hours on 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au.

Foundation projects The GA Foundation has now saved 138 children, and counts a four-month-old girl and a nine-month-old boy as the youngest rescued. The foundation is split into projects.

GA FOUNDATION The GA Foundation provides emergency medical and psychiatric care to children who are victims of rape, abuse and sex trafficking, aiming to rescue and rehabilitate them.

NAISULA FOUNDATION Children in most cases cannot return to where they came from, so the Naisula Foundation is focused on education sponsorship and providing schooling options for those children who have been rehabilitated.

THE ANGELA PROJECT The Angela Project is the name given to a crisis centre in Nairobi’s worst slum. It was established by the foundation when they realised there were literally thousands of sexual violence cases a week that weren’t reaching them simply because the victims –—women and young children — couldn’t afford the $1.50 bus fare to hospital. The Angela Project crisis centre fills the gap, providing an accessible facility in town. Women are also taught vocational skills. TB AUG/SEPT 2018

59

Accidentally Archibald A last-minute decision by Sydney-based artist Stephanie Monteith to enter the lauded Archibald Prize paid off. WORDS: KATRINA HOLDEN The home of Stephanie Monteith is bursting at the seams with paintings and sculpture, oozing the warmth and eclectic charm you’d expect in a house occupied by creatives.

The family’s friendly sausage dog Patsy escorts me through the post-war home in Sydney’s southern suburb of Loftus, where Stephanie lives with her partner Dale Miles, a sculptor, and their six-year-old daughter Valerie.

At the kitchen table, surrounded by a vintage cupboard, an antique velvet settee and a large painting she produced, Stephanie discusses her life, work and the skeletons in her studio.

Neither eccentric nor flamboyant, Stephanie exudes a calm, measured presence. She imbues a serenity that

60 TrueBlue

resembles the poised women depicted in the works of centuries-old masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, whose paintings inspire her.

Stephanie has achieved what many Australian artists aspire to. This year, her work is hung among portraits by 56 other finalists in the coveted Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Even sweeter, a second landscape piece is one of 46 finalists in the Wynne Prize, Australia’s oldest art award, first presented in 1897.

Dressed in the same coat she wears in her Archibald self-portrait, Stephanie recalls her earliest brushes with art.

Born in Brisbane, her family moved to Sydney where, apart from a threeyear stint in Papua New Guinea during

her teens, she was raised in North Epping. After high school she went to Meadowbank TAFE, before enrolling at the University of New South Wales Art & Design school in Paddington.

“In those early years I think I was quite naive,” says Stephanie. “I wasn’t very strategic in my career planning.

My mum would always say you need to have something you’re really interested in and that education was very important to give you independence in life. She said it’s important you find something of interest to pursue — for me, it happened to be art.”

After university Stephanie travelled and worked overseas in the UK, France, Spain and Central America.

“Visiting museums was part of my

ArtSpace

From Left: Backyard (2018) ; Artist Stephanie monteith; her Archibald entry The letter — I really wanted to paint Germaine Greer but she said No (2018) . training. I like to look at art history and past art and really respond to that. I took sketchbooks the whole time I was away and I’d draw everywhere I went.

I deliberately didn’t take a camera. I found drawing made me more focused on engaging with a place,” says Stephanie, who took inspiration from the likes of Turner, Bonnard, Velázquez and Goya, while she currently counts American John Curran as her favourite contemporary artist.

Stephanie’s training all those years ago certainly paid off. To date, her works have been featured in 11 solo and 83 group exhibitions. Her Archibald self-portrait, The letter — I really

wanted to paint Germaine Greer, but she said ‘no’, took “ages” (more than a year) and she almost didn’t submit it.

“I decided to enter this painting just a week before the final due date, so it was quite a last-minute entry. I felt self-conscious about submitting a selfportrait, because the Archibald prefers that the sitter is someone ‘distinguished in art, letters, science or politics’,” explains Stephanie. “To claim the ‘distinguished’ title for oneself seems a bit egocentric, so my submission was based on the fact that I felt it was a strong painting that happened to be a self-portrait. Self-portraits have become quite acceptable as an Archibald entry.”

The title, as well, was not originally intended. But for Stephanie, the letter in her painting serves as a metaphor for the stereotypical Archibald experience.

“I asked Germaine Greer to sit and she said no. I never actually received a letter from Germaine, but I got a definite response,” she says. “Letters in paintings have happened a lot over time. Vermeer used them a lot — particularly women receiving a letter — and it’s like a communication of any kind. It could be many things; whatever the viewer wants to think. I like that sense that there’s a symbol of communication in there.”

The painting, Stephanie says, is  AUG/SEPT 2018

61

ArtSpace

quite “domestic” and, in a sense, she’s turned herself into one of her objects.

“I don’t mind being in the limelight, but I’ve got this other side that’s fairly quiet.

I think it encapsulates those ideas that you have a confidence but you’re happy to be in the background, too.”

It is almost accidental — or some might say fated — that Stephanie even appears in the painting. A late change of heart saw her step in for a skeleton she had intended to depict, as she’d done in earlier works, including her 2010 Living Room exhibition.

“I was painting some of the still life and I kept leaving the skeleton out. I thought, ‘I don’t want to do another skeleton painting right now,’ so I just put myself in the painting where the skeleton was,” she says.

It was a fortuitous decision. On her way to the train station one day, Stephanie received news — via email: the modern-day letter — she’d been accepted into the Archibald. “I was walking along with a silly grin on my face,” she remembers.

We head outdoors into the quintessentially Australian backyard, with a metal Hills hoist, a steel fence and a garden shed serving as her studio. A towering crimson bougainvillea bush spills over the

62 TrueBlue

Stephanie in her studio; one of Her Skeleton works A World (2010).

fence from the neighbours, its colour matched by two crocheted woollen rugs Stephanie has positioned for added vibrancy and texture.

It was here, sitting on her white wrought-iron patio chair in front of her easel, that Stephanie completed two paintings that formed together to create her Wynne Prize entry, Backyard.

“Gardens aren’t always built for paintings, but they are like the ultimate form of artwork,” says Stephanie, who relishes the versatility of switching between studio and en plein air

(outdoors) painting.

These recent accolades aren’t lost on Stephanie. With a newfound confidence, she plans to paint more landscapes beyond her own garden, with different types of flora and nature.

“I definitely want to pursue some portraits of others, too,” she says. “It’s just organising the time with them, because I do want them to be able to sit — I want to have time for that.”

Here’s tipping that, next time, her portrait subject will say “yes”. TB stephaniemonteith.com

The Archibald Prize will be on show at the Art Gallery of NSW until 9 September. The touring exhibition then provides an opportunity to see all of the 2018 finalists in the following regions: • Geelong Gallery, September 22–November 18, 2018 • Tamworth Regional Gallery, November 30–January 28, 2019 • Orange Regional Gallery, February 8–April 10, 2019 • Lismore Regional Gallery, April 18–June 17, 2019

Griffith Region Plan a trip to Griffith during Spring and experience the charm and hospitality of this cosmopolitan regional city. The days are perfect for exploring, and the Spring Fest program is loaded with fabulous lively events, enticing you outdoors. From delicious long lunches under shady trees - in celebration of our rich Italian heritage, to relaxing in rambling open gardens and attending how to sessions with gardening guru Jason Hodges, there is plenty on offer. Be sure to admire the amazing citrus sculpture display - thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a reclining chook, talking robot and grand piano, and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss the festivities and fun at the paella launch party. The 70 plus sculptures, created using 100,000 oranges, line the main street for two weeks making an impressive sight. Visit Griffith Region during Spring Fest 7-20 October 2018.

GriffithSpringFest.com.au

ADVERTISEMENT

Hope For Men over 40 Struggling With ‘Age-Related’ Erectile Dysfunction A limited number of readers will receive a free assessment by our experienced consultants and doctors and start the journey to a confident and more sexually satisfying future!

AT LAST! A ground-breaking treatment tried and approved by Australian men from all over the country suffering from erectile dysfunction. They reported increased levels of confidence, happier relationships and most importantly longer and harder erections.

This treatment is not a gimmick or false promises; this is a doctor prescribed treatment program that is personalised for each patient and their unique circumstances.

Erectile dysfunction can affect more than the physical in a man’s life, it can undermine confidence, happiness and self-worth. Now, as part of a nationwide initiative, Men’s Health Institute Australia is offering a limited number of FREE assessments to men over 40 who want to get back to the best version of themselves.

Erectile dysfunction is one of the most common sexual health issues experienced by men as they age. An Australian survey showed that at least 1 in 5 men over the age of 40 have erectile problems1. A landmark study conducted in the US found that 67% of men have some form of erectile dysfunction by the age of 702.

Men who suffer from medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease are also at a higher risk of having erectile dysfunction issues.

Men’s Health Institute Australia now offer effective treatment programs for Australian men who have lost hope in ever regaining their sexual prowess. In most cases, erectile dysfunction is a reversible and treatable condition.

“If you have struggled to gain or maintain an erection, or it has been years since your last erection, we have a treatment program that could help you and improve the quality and quantity of your sex life” says Matthew Cameron from Men’s Health Institute Australia.

Private and confidential discussions with knowledgeable Australian doctors “Tried and approved by Australian men from all over the country, they feel younger, happier and more confident”

Research indicates that many men are uncomfortable speaking to their family doctor about sexual health issues like erectile dysfunction. Men’s Health Institute Australia

CALL 1300 230 580 MHIAUS.COM.AU

takes the awkwardness away from these sensitive conversations by introducing phone consultations with professional doctors who are knowledgeable and experienced in dealing with men’s sexual health.

Our patients are raving about the unbelievable results that they achieved on our treatment programs. They are happier, more confident in their day-to-day lives as well as their sex life.

“At first I was doubtful that the program and medication would work, but I’m very happy to say that I have my mojo back and feel like a new man” - Paul M No gimmicks. No false promises.

No awkwardness. This simply is a personalised treatment program that is based on a confidential consultation with an

Australian doctor and medications that are delivered from an Australian pharmacy directly to your door.

“Once I started the program I found it amazing and even better than they claimed it would be” - Brian F The team at Men’s Health Institute Australia are highly experienced in their field, including doctors, pharmacists and men’s health consultants. They provide this specialised care in a supportive environment of complete privacy and confidentiality.

Now, for a limited number of readers, they are offering FREE assessments to help begin your journey to your most optimal sexual self. But this is limited to the first 98 callers only. From 8am today, the FREE ASSESSMENT Hotline will be open. Simply call 1300 230 580.

Health and fitness Events

Peach Band

Lululemon ‘Down For A Run’ Jacket Stay warm on your run this winter with Lululemon’s latest wind- and water-resistant jacket, made with 800-fill-power goose down and Glyde fabric. Comfy and stylish all at once, it comes in black, white and inkwell. $229, lululemon.com.au

This revolutionary resistance band is suitable for workouts at home and the gym. Short and taut, it allows for optimal time under tension and improved muscle control. Using a Peach Band is an effective way to incorporate resistance exercises into your routine. $27.45, peach-band.com

Health and fitness

Enhance your wellbeing and stay active this winter.

KeepCup This Australian company has succeeded in diverting billions of disposable cups from landfill, instead promoting sustainability through the use of reusable ones. You can design your own personal barista standard KeepCup or customise a branded one for your organisation. $11–$34, au.keepcup.com

Herschel Novel Duffle The Herschel Novel Duffle is practical, wears well and will last years. Ideal as a weekender or gym bag, it comes with great storage space, a separate signature shoe compartment and is available in more than 35 custom designs. $159.95, herschel.com.au AUG/SEP 2018

Health and fitness nts

Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link Purifier Heater

Travertine Dumbbell 1pce The Travertine Dumbbell is the most stylish of all gym accessories. They are also perfect for use as a paperweight or functional sculpture in the home or studio. $129.90, top3.com.au

Dyson’s purifying heater uses compact filtration technology to capture 99.95 per cent of fine particles, including allergens, pollutants, bacteria and odour. For use in all seasons, the device both purifies the air and maintains your preferred temperature. $799, dyson.com.au

Live Whole Coconut Yoga Mat Made from 100 per cent natural tree rubber and reinforced with coconut coir fibre, this biodegradable yoga mat is one of the most durable — and easy to grip — on the market. With every mat sold the company buys back acres of land for conservation in partnership with the Rainforest Trust. $99, livewholeyoga.com

Blackmores Probiotics+ Immune Defence Providing 20 billion good bacteria, plus a prebiotic, Blackmores’ multi-functioning probiotic formula helps to restore the good, natural bacteria in the digestive system, while providing a healthy dose of vitamin C and zinc for immune support. $29.99, blackmores.com.au AUG/SEP 2018

Health and fitness

DOIY yoga mat terrazzo white DOIY’s Nature Yoga Mat is printed on one side with a natureinspired pattern, so you can bring a little of the outside into your living room/yoga studio. It’s thick, lightweight, easily portable, and has a supportive cushion. $59.90, top3.com.au

Camelbak Ultra Pro Vest Ideal for the competitive runner, this vest is made from ultra-light materials and features a streamlined design.

With a 4.5-litre capacity, secure phone pocket, gear storage and reflectivity for safety, the Ultra Pro Vest aims to change the way you exercise. $185.95, camelbak.com.au

Camelbak Eddy This durable water bottle from Camelbak has achieved the perfect design for hydration on the go. Made from BPA-free materials, it’s equipped with a spill-proof bite valve, plus it’s dishwasher safe. They’re available in a range of colours and in 60ml, 75ml and 1L options. $24.95–$49.95, camelbak.com.au

Everyday Super Food, Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver makes eating well simple, fun and colourful in his best-selling cookbook, where every recipe is nutritionally balanced and loaded with nutrient- and vitamin-rich superfoods. Delish ideas. $49.99, jamieoliver.com AUG/SEP 2018

Health and fitness

PlanetBox These stainless steel lunch boxes provide a neat way to pack healthy food, keeping everything inside fresh. Ecofriendly and built to last, they don’t cost the planet and better yet, they come with a customisable design. $39.95–$59.95, planetbox.com

Twotags Microfibre Towel Frank Body Coffee Scrub Frank Body’s coffee-infused scrubs exfoliate dry skin, stimulate blood flow and promote collagen production. The scrubs come in original coffee as well as cocoa, coconut, peppermint and a new shimmer kit. $16.95–$19.95, frankbody.com

Soft and lightweight, Twotag’s smart microfibre training towels absorb eight times their own weight in liquid, yet dry in just half the time of regular cotton towels. The built-in pockets hold keys, cash, earphones and other gadgets — very handy when hitting the gym or travelling. $12–$25, twotags.com.au

AUG/SEP 2018

AusBiz.

NEWS+VIEWS | MINING | AGRIBUSINESS | INFRASTRUCTURE

16

30

10

34

05 P.5 mining: renewable energy P.10 property: The rise of telecommuting P.16 agribusiness: the booming business of bees P.30 Business: HelloFresh australia. P.34 family business: Thomas cook boots & clothing co. P.40 EDUCATION

Business News+Views

Business News+Views Bringing you the latest insights and analyses. WORDS: Sarah Hinder Mining X-rays map new paths to hidden gold Revolutionary new X-ray technology that provides critical data to miners on gold grades in near-real time is changing the landscape of Australian mining. Developed by the CSIRO and brought to market by Chrysos Corporation, the fully automated photon analysis system drastically reduces the turnaround time on assays from days to minutes.

Adopted by Aussie mining services company Ausdrill, the groundbreaking technology is currently being used in a world-first at their MinAnalytical Perth facility, with two

more photon assay systems to soon be established in the Kalgoorlie goldfields.

At a similar cost to the conventional fire assay technique for gold analyses used for 500 years, this new X-ray system analyses more than 50,000 gold samples a month and can be applied to other minerals, including silver and copper. A faster, safer and more environmentally friendly alternative, photon assay technology is expected to give Australia’s mining industry a competitive edge on the global stage.

Chef in the house?

Meet Andrew — in his mid-thirties, always up for a challenge, with a sense of adventure that has led to living in towns from Western Australia's Pilbara region and also in the Central Highlands area of Queensland. Much of Andrew’s travels around regional and remote Australia has been for free, including his accommodation and meals, because Andrew is a qualified chef.

Some years ago, Andrew approached Atlas People after a recommendation from another chef. Atlas People recruit chefs, sending them to venues in regional and remote towns throughout Australia.

Venue owners and managers also benefit, knowing they can relax when an existing chef decided to move on, because they will secure a chef who has worked for Atlas People before, or who has been referred to them with the necessary, recognised qualifications. If long term appointments are required, Atlas People offer a try before you hire service.

"Let’s face it, anyone can find a chef in the city because of the sheer number of

AusBiz. Promotion people who live there,” says Managing Director of Atlas People, Doug Fletcher. “Away from the city, as any owner or manager of any business will tell you, it is harder to find qualified people.

We've been active in building a large pool of talent, that as well as being qualified chefs, are after a lifestyle that enables them to travel Australia and play a vital role in these communities", Fletcher said.

With a repeat business rate of 75 per cent plus, the advantages Atlas People offer regional and remote venues are appealing. "Our try first offer and available talent pool means we can have a chef in place within 24-72 hours, regardless of your location. We also manage the payroll headaches and our rate includes wages, superannuation, PAYG tax, Workcover and Public Liability Insurances,” said Fletcher.

Contact Atlas People at admin@ atlaspeople.com.au or phone 07 3088 3700 (east coast) and 08 9468 7500 (west coast).

PXC 550 WIRELESS

Transform Your Journey Travel with unparalleled sound quality.

Deep, crisp, powerful â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with wireless freedom and up to 30 hours of battery life. Make calls with unrivalled triple microphone array which delivers crystal clear speech clarity. Listen uninterrupted in every environment with Adaptive Noise Cancellation, NoiseGardâ&#x201E;˘.

Available online and at leading electronic retailers.

Sennheiser.com/PXC550Wireless

Business News+Views

Australia’s fish populations in peril Numbers of large fish species in Australia are rapidly on the decline, with populations of fish measuring more than 20 centimetres — such as bream and snapper — down by 30 per cent in the past 10 years.

Since the introduction of marine parks in the 1980s, as well as national regulations that outlined fishing zones, catch sizes and mesh size of nets, Australian fisheries have enjoyed a reputation for being some of the world’s most sustainable. However, the latest statistics have marine ecologists calling for a review of Australian fisheries and

fishing practices.

Research from the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Tasmania suggests that, in addition to climate change and overfishing, the ineffectual managment of marine reserves is largely to blame for the steep decline. Undersized and under-resourced, most Australian marine reserves are largely unable to aid in the recovery of important ecosystem functions.

If Australia wants to manage its commercial fish stocks for sustainability reasons, attention must be paid to the protection of marine habitats.

Fast Facts

50,000

Photon assay technology analyses more than 50,000 gold samples a month.

In the past century, seagrass cover has declined by 30 per cent, while 20 per cent of the world’s mangrove cover was lost between 1980 and 2005.

33%

In waters open to fishing, exploited populations fell by an average of 33 per cent between 2005 and 2015.

Mining

Renewables start to shine for Australian miners RUNNING A MINING OPERATION USES A LOT OF ENERGY. AS RENEWABLE ENERGY COMES DOWN THE COST CURVE, IT’S BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO DIESEL AND NATURAL GAS. Darren Baguley An agriculture, tech, mining, energy and business specialist writer.

Mines use a lot of energy, whether it is to run draglines and haul trucks, conveyors and crushers or for on-site beneficiation. According to Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)’s white paper Renewable Energy in the Australian Mining Sector, on average one tonne of coal takes 50.5kWh (kilowatt/ hour) to produce, minerals average 10.7kWh/tonne and metals come in at 54.5kWh/tonne. With coal and minerals, diesel equipment and comminution operations comprise much of the energy consumed, but with metals on-site beneficiation operations cause disparity.

The beneficiation processes for bauxite consume on average 13kWh/tonne while gold averages 210kWh/ tonne. This is because the energy consumed by metals with low on-site beneficiation, such as bauxite and iron ore, is predominantly consumed as diesel for plant involved in extraction and transport. Metals with a high level of on-site site beneficiation, such as copper and gold, consume energy as electricity.

The energy for beneficiation is mainly supplied by diesel (41 per cent), natural gas (33 per cent) and grid electricity (21 per cent), and the industry’s energy intensity is only going to increase as miners chase

Fast Facts

58million Australia has the best solar energy resource in the world, receiving on average 58 million Petajoules of solar radiation per year, approximately 10,000 times its total energy consumption.

30,000

South Australia’s 100MW/129MWh battery is the biggest lithium ion device in the world and is capable of powering about 30,000 homes for a little over an hour.

K E E P I N G D E G R U S S A’ S S O L A R / D I E S E L / B AT T E R Y H Y B R I D P O W E R P L A N T O P E R AT I N G AT P E A K P E R F O R M A N C E I S A T E A M E F F O R T. O N S I T E M A N A G E M E N T T E A M : ( L- R ) TA D G H O ’ S C A N N A I L – SANDFIRE, PETER COOK – OTOC, NORBERT BORCHERT – JUWI, LAURENT LAFFORGUE – NEOEN.

AUG/SEPT 2018

5

Mining

M E TA L S W I T H A H I G H L E V E L O F O N - S I T E S I T E B E N E F I C I AT I O N , S U C H A S C O P P E R , C O N S U M E E N E R G Y A S E L E C T R I C I T Y. T H E D E G R U S S A COPPER MINE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA SOURCES AROUND 20 PER C E N T O F I T S T O TA L E N E R G Y N E E D S F R O M 3 4 , 0 8 0 S O L A R P V PA N E L S C O N N E C T E D T O A 6 M W L I T H I U M - I O N B AT T E R Y S T O R A G E FA C I L I T Y.

ore bodies of ever-decreasing grade.

According to A.R. Bye (Case Studies Demonstrating Value from Geometallurgy Initiatives, 1st AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference 2011), in the past 30 years the average grade has declined by half while the amount of overburden needing to be removed has doubled.

As commodity price volatility is the new normal and competition from international players grows, our mining industry is under immense pressure to reduce operating costs. Mining operations with a high electricity demand and a long life can support the capital investment required to extend electrical or gas pipeline infrastructure and 65 per cent of Australian mine sites are connected to the grid.

On remote mine sites diesel is generally reliable and quick to deploy, but it’s also expensive. According to the AECOM report Off-grid Solar in the Mining Sector, remote mines can be paying more than $300/MWh in fuel; and diesel costs are likely to rise over time. Natural gas, either CNG or LNG, can be cost competitive if close enough to infrastructure, but price volatility is one of the consequences of the Australian gas market’s recent interconnection with the global market.

According to AECOM, “A 1.2 MW solar installation could reliably supply 5 per cent of the electricity for a 5MW mine, reducing diesel consumption by 600,000 litres per annum, saving around $6 million in diesel costs over 10 years.” It’s

6

AusBiz.

important to note, however, that even though diesel prices have been edging up recently there is little consensus among analysts about what oil or gas prices are likely to do over the next few years, let alone 10 years.

The report noted several other benefits for mine operators deploying renewables, including “reduced exposure to the uncertainty of the carbon price [and] increased system redundancy, providing an increased level of reliability.”

While it’s true there is currently no price on carbon in Australia, it is only a matter of time before a carbon price, an emissions trading scheme or an emissions intensity scheme is introduced. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht says any new mining company that has a 10-year plus operating horizon is factoring some form of carbon price into its calculations.

It is important to note that this report was written in 2012, and as well as factoring in a carbon price it priced solar photo-voltaic (PV) generation costs at approximately $226/ MWh. Since then solar PV has moved even further down the cost curve. According to International Renewable Energy Agency's report Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2017, utility scale solar photo-voltaic power has come down to US$10 per MWh. Australia’s leading solar researcher, 2018 Global Energy Prize-winner Professor Martin Green, was reported by ReNew Economy as predicting that the cost of solar PV will fall to about 1c/KWh before the mid-2020s.

While mine sites aren’t quite utility scale and they also need battery storage to smooth out intermittency to work effectively, the cost of renewable energy is plummeting, and the business case is becoming ever more compelling.

Companies are starting to look closely at renewable energy.

Cost saving is the major driver for mining companies

Mining

but they’re also looking to smooth out volatility in fuel cost and hedge against the future introduction of some sort of carbon price. Frischknecht says there are other benefits from deploying renewables on mine sites. “The strongest driver is the cost of the alternative, so for mines that are off grid – and 65 per cent of Australian mines are grid-connected — they’re either using gas or diesel generators and it’s mainly the cost of fuel.

“Solar with diesel and battery storage is predominantly the generation method that mines are looking at. Wind is a possibility in some instances but many of our mines are in cyclone areas and to make a wind turbine that can stand up to a cyclone needs a stronger frame that is more firmly anchored down, which costs more.”

Connecting a battery in-line with solar serves several purposes. The most obvious is that it can store energy for when the sun is not shining. However, an advantage that is not widely recognised is that a battery provides better quality power. “It eliminates the voltage drop caused by clouds passing over the solar array, but a battery also provides more stable frequency and voltage by dampening down the sub-second oscillations that even grid connections experience,” says Frischknecht.

In a way, even a relatively small battery can provide these benefits as it works in the same way that an uninterrupted power supply works for a data centre, i.e. providing power while the generator starts up.

Both Frischknecht and the AECOM report argue that deploying renewable energy provides excellent opportunities for public relations and community engagement, and for improving the environmental credentials of the business. Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa Copper-Gold Mine is a high-grade copper mine located 900km north east of Perth in Western Australia. The mine was completed in 2012 and in 2016 commissioned the largest integrated off-grid solar and battery storage facility of any mine in Australia, and quite possibly the world.

The $40 million project funded by ARENA comprises 34,080 solar PV panels mounted on a single-axis tracking system that enables the panels to track the sun during the day. The panels are connected to a 6MW lithium-ion battery storage facility and the existing 19MW diesel power station.

The solar panels supply around 20 per cent of the DeGrussa mine’s annual power requirements and cut its emissions by approximately 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year — this represents a reduction of about 15 per cent based on the mine’s FY2016 emissions.

Just as importantly, Frischknecht says, there has been a boost in workforce engagement. “I was flying into the DeGrussa mine with some of the workers and without any prompting they started telling me how they love flying over the solar field as they’re coming into work. ‘It reminds us that

T H E D E G R U S S A C O P P E R M I N E ’ S 3 4 , 0 8 0 P V PA N E L S C O V E R J U S T O V E R 2 0 H E C TA R E S A N D C A N B E C L E A R LY S E E N F R O M T H E A I R .

the company cares about the planet, our kids, the future,’ one worker said.”

Despite the advantages, many challenges remain before renewable energy is commonplace on remote mine sites, says Frischknecht. “One major challenge is the shortage of technical expertise. Once a hybrid system is tuned it will run itself but integrating all the different components — solar PV, batteries and the diesel power plant — is a different skillset from running a diesel genset.”

Other inhibitors include the 10-15 year power provisioning contracts that mining companies take out with third parties that are very difficult to vary during the life of the contract.

“There are challenges around the processes and operational principles that large companies operate under.

For example, a genset is an accepted piece of technology and the acquisition of an additional unit may only take 48 - hours to sign off because it’s in the system. By contrast, getting something new and untried like a solar array component can take a year or two,” says Frischknecht.

There is no doubt that projects such as DeGrussa and a similar ARENA-financed installation at Rio Tinto’s Weipa bauxite mine are igniting interest in renewables. In the past few months South32, Image Resources and OZ Minerals have all announced plans to integrate renewables with existing power plants. The South32 project at Cannington, Queensland, will be funded by ARENA and will incorporate a re-deployable 3MW solar farm from Energy Developments Ltd. If the re-deployable system proves successful, it will help solve the disconnect between mine life and ROI that is acting as a brake in investment in renewables.

AUG/SEPT 2018

7

Precision Solar Farm Technology

Drive more piles, more accurately

Semi-autonomous pile driving technology combines the Vermeer PD10 pile driver with Carlson PDGrade machine guidance to: • • • •

Increase productivity Improve safety Eliminate stringlines Reduce survey costs

Get in touch today:

1300 867 266 info@positionpartners.com.au www.positionpartners.com.au Australia • New Zealand • SE Asia

AusBiz. Promotion

New semi-autonomous pile driving solution for Australian solar farms

A combination of Carlson machine guidance, the Vermeer PD10 pile driver machine and technical support promises increased productivity for the Australian solar industry.

Intelligent positioning solutions provider Position Partners has teamed up with heavy machinery manufacturer Vermeer Australia, to streamline pile driving applications in the solar industry. With more than 200 people in offices Australia-wide, in South East Asia and New Zealand, Position Partners is the largest Australian-owned company focussing entirely on the distribution and support of positioning and geospatial solutions for surveying, civil works, mining and building projects.

The amount of posts required for a solar farm varies greatly, from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand. Traditional methods are labour intensive with potential for human error, as they involve a surveyor manually staking out each pile location, along with continuous stringline installation to guide the machine operator. If any pile is a little off its desired location, the racking system that is used to house the solar panels may not fit.

By eliminating the need for manual stakeout and stringlines, the new semi-autonomous solution not only speeds up the process, it also guarantees greater accuracy and improved safety, by removing the need for people to work close to the pile driving machine.

“Depending on the project, we estimate that contractors save between eight to ten dollars for every pile they drive,” said Andrew Granger, Position Partners Business Manager for Mining, Solar and Landfill. “On a small solar farm where every dollar counts that’s a good saving, and on a large-scale farm the savings are significant,” he added.

Carlson machine guidance includes a variety of sensors fitted to the machine, along with a precision GPS unit and a control box that gives the operator real-time information about location, depth and angle of each pile. With all the information required on screen, the solution eliminates the need to manually stake out the piles altogether.

When combined with Vermeer’s PD10 piling system, the benefits of Carlson’s machine guidance are further increased. Vermeer opened up the machine’s CANBUS system to allow for greater communication between the machine and the guidance technology, creating a semiautonomous solution that reduces the risk of human error even more.

“We’ve been working with Carlson’s Australian distributor, Position Partners, for some months on this solution, with great success,” said Jeff Lawson, National Construction Sales Manager at Vermeer Australia. “Vermeer’s most advanced pile driving machine, combined with Carlson’s machine guidance and our combined technical support capabilities enables us to offer a winning combination for Australian contractors.”

For more information about the semi-autonomous pile driving solution contact Position Partners on 1300 867 266 or visit positionpartners.com.au AUG/SEPT 2018

9

Telecommuting

Cutting the work commute WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF AUSTRALIANS NOW WORKING REMOTELY, TELECOMMUTING IS RESULTING IN A RISE IN REGIONAL PROPERTY PRICES. Kirsten Craze Kirsten Craze is a freelance journalist who has been writing about property in Australia and overseas for more than 15 years.

T H E E N T R A N C E , C E N T R A L C O A S T. C R E D I T: D E S T I N AT I O N N S W I

10

AusBiz.

M A N W O R K I N G AT 1 0 0 M I L E TA B L E I N B Y R O N B AY. C R E D I T: D E S T I N AT I O N N S W

Telecommuting

H O O K I N G A L I N E AT F L I N D E R S P I E R , MORNINGTON PENINSULA.

Fast Facts

2020

By 2020, after the completion of the National Broadband Network, the Federal Government aims to give 12 per cent of all public servants the opportunity to regularly telecommute.

8%

According to the latest ABS Census data, telecommuting increased from 8 per cent of the workforce in 2001 to 30 per cent in 2016.

Escaping tedious commutes and high-density living is a dream for many city dwellers, but there is a real fear of missing out on big city salaries. However, a growing number of Australians are managing to make their ideal lifestyle change while maintaining metro wages.

Telecommuting, also known as teleworking and e-working, is an emerging lifestyle phenomenon not only changing the way Australians are living, but also driving up regional property prices.

“Now it seems prices could be peaking in capital cities, so people are looking outside of these areas.

As a result, prices are starting to grow in the regions as people move out to them,” says Mathew Tiller, Head of Research at LJ Hooker.

“Obviously, most of our regional towns have property prices well below capital-city medians. But, for many, the hardest part about moving to a regional centre is income and employment prospects. So if you can take your city income with you and transfer it to an area where life is more affordable, then obviously you’re far ahead of the pack.”

The mass exodus, Tiller adds, mostly includes Baby Boomers who might still be a few years off retirement, and young families seeking a lifestyle change.

While these city defectors are at different life stages, they share the same goal: they want to ditch the commute, cash in on big city property prices and get more bang for their buck in regional towns.

“We’re definitely seeing it on the East Coast, AUG/SEPT 2018

11

Telecommuting

particularly for Sydney and Melbourne due to the population growth and affordability issues those two cities have. But the other capitals are experiencing it as well,” says Tiller.

“All our capitals have very scenic coastal towns or attractive regional centres just outside them. Near Sydney you have the Hunter Valley, the Southern Highlands and the beaches of the South and Central Coasts. Close to Melbourne you have the same thing with Mornington Peninsula and the Surf Coast, while in Queensland it’s the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Outside of Adelaide you have the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa Valley, and with Perth there is the Margaret River region.”

While many regional towns suffered property price slumps post-GFC, the tides have recently turned.

Although there are a number of reasons behind rising regional real-estate values, Tiller attributes flexible working arrangements and technology as key drivers.

According to recent statistics from property data firm CoreLogic, the median house price in the Central Coast in New South Wales has jumped 74.2 per cent in the past five years to $748,178, while in the greater Wollongong area they have skyrocketed by 76.2 per cent to $831,774.

L I F E O N T H E G O L D C O A S T. C R E D I T: T O U R I S M Q U E E N S L A N D .

12

AusBiz.

In Victoria the regional hotspots are Mornington Peninsula, where the median house price increased by 50.5 per cent in five years to $808,036, and the Greater Geelong area, where prices rose 33 per cent to $518,613.

Queensland’s Gold Coast saw the median house price increase by 34.7 per cent in five years to $640,000, and even units, which endured significant losses post-GFC, have increased in price by 22.2 per cent in that time. Another region of note in the Sunshine State is the greater Toowoomba area, where the median house price now sits at a modest $388,236, up 20.9 per cent.

A recent McCrindle Research survey showed that Australians are eager to make significant changes to their working styles and embrace the freedom to work from home or remotely. Of those surveyed, 80 per cent (82 per cent of women and 78 per cent of men) said they’d be more likely to stay longer with an existing employer if they provide flexible working conditions.

“Most employees are prepared to forego a percentage of their pay in exchange for greater flexibility,” says social demographer Mark McCrindle, founder of McCrindle Research.

While 28 per cent of Australians would be willing to earn five per cent less for significant flexibility, an incredible one in 16 Australians would compromise 20 per cent (or one day’s pay) in exchange for the opportunity to work remotely.

A poll of more than 8,000 people by recruitment firm Hays found that 55 per cent of workers were happy to drop their salary if it meant they could work from home.

Telecommuting

“If you have a long commute, working from home or at another location closer to home will allow you to cut the travel time of your routine, which should improve your physical wellbeing,” says Susan Drew, Senior Regional Director at Hays.

Despite the overwhelming desire of Australian workers to plug into telecommuting, Drew says it is still not the norm for many companies.

“There is a worry among both employers and employees that telecommuting will hinder performance. However, it is down to the individual and the employer to ensure that they remain on track,” she says, adding that companies seeking five-star staff should consider the practice.

“If people cannot access telecommuting from their existing employer they may look elsewhere, which will lead to competitiveness in the market. To compete in retaining and attracting staff, companies will have to

“It's no longer a commuting class.

It's no longer people living in the region and suburbs but travelling to work in the nearest city."

T H E G O L D C O A S T. I M A G E C R E D I T: B R O B E S . C O M .

B E L O W : M O R N I N G T O N P E N I N S U L A B AT H I N G B O X E S .

14

AusBiz.

introduce working-from-home options.”

Mark McCrindle says that, with this growing desire for flexible work conditions and more affordable lifestyles, it is no wonder population rates and property prices in regional areas are on the rise.

“Some regional cities are actually growing faster than the capitals — it’s phenomenal. People can now work from these areas; we don’t just have to work in the CBD of big capitals. Technology solutions have really been an enabler,” McCrindle says.

“It’s no longer a commuting class. It’s no longer people living in the region and suburbs but travelling to work in the nearest city.”

In many ways, McCrindle adds, the NBN and the ever-changing digital landscape has given regional towns a leg up on capital cities, where house prices are becoming prohibitive.

“People can see the affordability, the lifestyle and now the ability to work from these places. They’re not just holiday destinations now; people live and work there while holding down well-paid CBD jobs,” he says.

“That’s the new way of life that Australians have responded to: they want to live, work and play close to where they are rather than just commute.”

ADMIT IT,

YOU’D RATHER BE OUT HERE. Escape the daily grind and choose Suzuki Marine for your next boating adventure. With better acceleration, better fuel efficiency and better value, you can stay on the water for longer. That’s boating made better.

We have a 150 Suzuki Marine caps to give away, valued at $29.95. To receive yours, simply fill out the form at suzukimarine.com.au/suzuki-marine-hat-giveaway

SUZUKIMARINE.COM.AU

Agribusiness

A HIVE OF INDUSTRY CRUCIAL POLLINATING MACHINES AND CHAMPIONS OF THE FOOD CHAIN, BEES BRING MORE TO OUR TABLES THAN HONEY.

16

AusBiz.

Agribusiness

Darren Baguley An agriculture, tech, mining, energy and business specialist.

Fast Facts

25km/hr Bees fly at about 25 kilometres per hour and beat their wings 200 times per second.

10 kilos

It takes 10 kilos of honey to produce one kilo of beeswax — pretty amazing considering each bee only produces 112 of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime.

60,000

A bee colony or hive contains 20,000–60,000 worker bees and one queen. Worker bees are female and live between six weeks and nine months depending on the season.

The honey and beeswax they produce and the pollination services they provide are worth billions to Australian agriculture. But more importantly, life as we know it would be impossible without honey bees.

As humans have spread out across the globe to populate every continent except Antarctica, they have brought their animals, large and small. Of these species’ introductions, none have been more successful than the western (or European) honey bee (Apis mellifera). First brought into Australia in 1822 to aid in the pollination of the colonists’ European crops and pastures, beekeeping is an important rural industry and the pollination services it provides are even more vital than they were nearly 200 years ago.

Amateur and commercial beekeepers in every state and Territory, except Tasmania, are required by law to register their hives. According to Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) executive director Trevor Weatherhead AM, there are 24,000 beekeepers in Australia and more than 647,000 hives, which produce around 20,000 tonnes of honey annually.

The ABARES Australian honey bee industry 2014–15 survey results estimated the gross value of production at $101 million. The report found that, “on average, Australian beekeepers sold around 53 per cent of their honey to major processors in 2014–15. Around 17 per cent was sold to other processors, while the remainder was sold direct to retail (12 per cent), local markets (10 per cent) and door sales (6 per cent). Average sales of honey directly to export were minimal (0.5 per cent).

“This pattern was similar for all states except Tasmania, where a larger proportion of beekeepers sold honey to other processers and directly to retail (34 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively), and 8 per cent sold honey direct to export.”

Around 14 per cent, or 4,600 tonnes, of honey gets exported, according to the ABARES report. Weatherhead, however, says it is exported as a packaged, finished product by processors rather than in bulk. “There is demand for our honey overseas, but price is a big factor — our honey is expensive compared to the world price,” he says. “Ironically, we import honey from China, but there is a big demand in China for food produced outside the country because of our clean, green image and our more stringent quality assurance procedures.”

While honey is the most important bee product by far, beekeepers also sell beeswax, royal jelly, pollen and propolis — a resinous substance used by bees to repair AUG/SEPT 2018

17

80 YEARS OF THE VERY BEST In 1938, Charles Warman came up with an idea that would totally revolutionise the mining industry. As soon as Warman’s pumps came on to the scene, they became the very best you could buy.

If it wasn’t Warman, you were wasting your time.

Over the course of 80 years, Warman pumps spread across the globe driven by the ethos to always innovate. Soon, Warman became a global brand with a bigger influence than even the forward-thinking Charles Warman could ever have imagined. All over the world, Warman is known as the very best.

It’s always been Warman, and it always will be.

To find out more visit www.alwayswarman.weir

www.minerals.weir Copyright © 2018, Weir Minerals Australia Ltd. All rights reserved. WARMAN is a trade mark and/or registered trade mark of Weir Minerals Australia Ltd and Weir Group African IP Ltd. WEIR and the WEIR logo are trade marks and/or registered trade marks of Weir Engineering Services Ltd.

Agribusiness

and varnish honeycombs.

Live queen bees and packaged bees are also sold to Canada, the Middle East, Pakistan and Japan. “There’s a good market in the Northern Hemisphere as we can supply bees at the start of their season.

They’re able to use imported Australian queens to split hives, and packaged bees to make good any losses they may have suffered over winter,” says Weatherhead.

While it ranks behind honey, pollination services and live bee sales in terms of income for beekeepers, Australian beeswax has surged in popularity and price in recent years, according to Weatherhead and beeswax candle-maker and owner of Queen B, Cate Burton. “There has been a 300 per cent increase in the price of Australian beeswax in recent years,” says Burton.

“Australia doesn’t have Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), so our beeswax is free of the chemical miticides that beeswax everywhere else in the world has. This makes it very popular with pharmaceutical companies making hormone replacement therapy products, and cosmetic companies who use it in hand cream, lipstick, lip balm etc.”

While honey is the main product of bees, in recent years more and more attention has been focused on the role bees play in pollinating the plants that are so vital to our planet, known as ‘pollination services’ in economic-speak.

Modern industrial agriculture is increasingly dependent on beekeepers trucking thousands of hives around the country every year. Due to land clearing and the resulting loss of biodiversity, cherries, apples and pears, almonds and macadamias all need additional bees to pollinate the crops at the appropriate time of the year. According to Weatherhead, 200,000 beehives were needed to pollinate last year’s almond crops in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

And it’s not just tree crops that need bees for pollination.

Strawberries, cucurbits, carrots and onions all need bees to pollinate the next crops, as do canola and sunflowers.

A study by Curtin University’s John M Karasinski found that 53 crops rely on honey bees for pollination to some extent, while the economic value of Australian-managed and wild honey bee pollinators is estimated to range between $8.35 billion and $19.97 billion, depending on fluctuations in the AUG/SEPT 2018

19

Agribusiness

farmgate value of the crops they pollinated.

Whatever the actual value of pollination services, what we can be certain of is that a world without bees would be a very bleak one. Activists painted this unsettling picture several years ago when a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurred in the United States that saw entire beehives die off. According to Weatherhead, CCD is caused by multiple factors, with Varroa mite being the major culprit, along with starvation. Environmentalists point the finger at a group of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, which are extremely persistent in the environment. So harmful, the European Union is convinced enough of their impact on bees and other pollinators to ban their use, despite legal challenges by chemical companies such as Bayer and Syngenta.

Knowledge of CCD and neonicotinoids teamed with the spectre of a world without bees has led to a massive upsurge in amateur beekeeping in both urban and rural environments. According to NSW Amateur Beekeeping Association (ABA) president Bruce White OAM, “the ABA in 1968 had six branches, in 1988 seven branches, in 1991 eight branches, in 2018, 21 branches; and membership has grown from 706 in 2014 to 1680 in 2018.”

This interest has been driven by the media and popular TV programs such as the ABC’s Gardening Australia, which have publicised the world decline in bee populations and the

20

AusBiz.

Agribusiness

magnitude of the threat to world food security. “Up to 65 per cent of all the food we eat depends on pollination, with honey bees the main pollinators,” says White.

The invention of the Flow Hive, a new type of easy-to-use beehive, has also played a part.

Weatherhead welcomes the growth in amateur beekeeping, but also cautions that making sure Australia continues to be Varroa mite-free is the best way of ensuring our bee population remains healthy. This will be a big ask as the eastern (or Asian) honey bee (Apis cerana) is the natural host for Varroa mite, but it’s a threat government and the community are taking seriously so far.

“It’s absolutely crucial that we keep Varroa out of Australia,” says Weatherhead. “We’ve been running education programs, including education of wharfies, and there’s the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program which is being run by Plant Health Australia (PHA).”

Perhaps, ultimately, the best thing Australian bees have going for them is our beekeepers. Burton has been making beeswax candles for more than 20 years and has travelled all over the world visiting beekeepers. “No Australian beekeeper — even those doing pollination services and trucking their hives around the country — will shut their bees up for more than 24 hours,” she says. “They refer to the bees as ‘their girls’, and they just have much higher standards of animal husbandry than in other countries.”

AUG/SEPT 2018

21

Infrastructure

Picture of Health

Jo Stewart Jo is a Melbournebased author and features writer.

22

AusBiz.

INNOVATION CONTINUES TO CHANGE THE WAY HEALTHCARE IS PROVIDED ACROSS AUSTRALIA, BUT THE DELIVERY OF NEW INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES.

Infrastructure

The funding of healthcare is one of the best investments governments can make. A universal need that benefits the entire population regardless of age, gender or income, healthcare funding is always a hot topic come election time.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) more than $155 billion was spent on healthcare in Australia in 2012-2013, with the federal government contributing $63.5 billion and state and territory governments contributing $41 billion.

Despite this seemingly significant investment, the

Australian Medical Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (AMA) Public Hospital Report Card indicates that performance of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public hospitals remains less than adequate. Contending that public hospitals are facing a funding crisis, the report highlights that emergency room waiting times continue to increase and bed number ratios remain static.

Innovation within the healthcare sector has delivered mixed results in Australia, with the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hospitals and healthcare services using new technology and fresh approaches to meet the evolving needs of the population, but not without failures and setbacks.

AUG/SEPT 2018

23

Infrastructure

High-tech hospitals

Technological advances have transformed many industries and the healthcare sector is no exception. Two landmark hospital developments recently constructed in Australia show the changing face of hospitals and the impact that technological advances have on how healthcare infrastructure is planned, designed and built.

As Australia’s most expensive building and South Australia’s largest capital investment project, the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (nRAH) was heralded as a game-changing facility that would use an innovative approach to deliver optimal outcomes for the community.

Costing $2.3 billion, the public-private partnership suffered many setbacks over

24

AusBiz.

Fast Fact

4 Star

With a 1.6-hectare footprint of green space, high-efficiency water fittings and an on-site heat generation system that uses waste heat, the new Royal Adelaide Hospital has been awarded a 4 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

the course of its construction. From budget blowouts to costly legal challenges, planning bungles and design flaws, the ambitious project has captured headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Finally completed in September 2017, the 800-bed facility was described as “a hospital for the future” by the hospital’s Director Commissioning, Elke Kropf.

Despite the challenges it has experienced in its short life, the nRAH remains an example of how modern healthcare facilities are more patient-focused than those of previous generations. Gone are the dour colour schemes found in hospitals of years gone by. Instead, natural light and green space are incorporated throughout the space, with 70 courtyards, terraces and sky gardens scattered across the site. Moving away from shared wards towards private suites, 100 per cent single overnight patient rooms offer greater levels of privacy to promote healing.

Mirroring the move to automation evident in other industries, the hospital harnesses new technology to automate many of its key functions. An automated pharmacy distribution system (one of the largest in Australia) supports fast, precise distribution of medicines. Diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases is supported by the largest automated microbiology system in the Southern Hemisphere, while a digital instrument tracking system efficiently manages equipment.

In Western Australia, the state-of-the-art $1.2 billion Perth Children’s Hospital designed

by JCY Architects and Urban Designers, Cox Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership with HKS Inc also experienced extensive delays and budget blowouts.

Opening in May 2018 (almost three years late) the hospital design prioritises the patient experience by affording more privacy than hospitals of the past. Three-quarters of the 298 beds are housed in single rooms, while family lounges and parent accommodation facilities are designed to provide comfort and ease stress for loved ones.

As with other contemporary hospital developments, green space, natural light and views of nature take precedence in the design with outdoor spaces and private courtyards,

Infrastructure

Fast Fact

88,000

More than 88,000 people across Australia took part in a Royal Flying Doctor Service telehealth or telephone consultation in 2016/2017.

26

AusBiz.

Infrastructure

changing the perception of hospitals as closed-in, overtly clinical spaces.

While both hospitals were plagued by planning, design and construction issues, the completed projects demonstrate how hospitals have evolved from artificially lit, concrete slabs filled with shared wards to well-lit, flowing spaces that make use of the latest technology to streamline service delivery.

Innovation driving healthcare delivery in regional communities While hospitals remain a priority for healthcare funding, what about people who don’t live within cooee of one?

Australia’s vast land mass and significant number of regional, rural and remote communities make delivery of essential health services to people living far from metropolitan hospitals an ongoing challenge. The birth of key technologies such as the internet has led to the emergence of telehealth services that can overcome some of the barriers that prevent rural-dwellers from accessing healthcare.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Victoria has provided telehealth specialist services to rural Australians since 2013, enabling rural communities to access health services without leaving the community. The free service started in Mildura and has now grown to service many more communities in need. Offering endocrinology, cardiology, psychology, psychiatry and respiratory services, the telehealth program operates in a number of rural regions, including Swan Hill, Mildura, Kerang, Edenhope, Nhill and Warracknabeal.

A purpose-built platform that operates from a single portal, the RFDS telehealth service not only allows patient and clinician communication but also enables appointment viewing and scheduling, and document storage and sharing. A share-screen feature also allows clinicians to show patients diagrams and pictures.

“Back in the day hospitals bought these large, complex systems with double screens for telehealth, but with our system all you need is a laptop or iPad with a camera and access to the internet,” explains Margaret Kuhne, General Manager, Primary Health Care at RFDS Victoria.

Helping people to stay within their community to access specialist medical advice, the telehealth program reduces the huge distances that rural-dwellers travel to attend specialist medical appointments. Many patients are unable to drive or take time away from work to attend appointments in the city, so the telehealth service has improved the lives of many Australians living with chronic disease.

Kerang resident Ron Hick used to undertake a 600km round trip to see a diabetes specialist but now uses the RFDS telehealth service instead. “The greatest impact for me has been the fact that instead of having to travel four hours each way to see my specialist, I now travel four minutes. I have great respect and admiration for the service,” says Hick.

In the past regional communities may have been overlooked for government funding, yet Kuhne contends that this has changed in recent years. “More and more, governments are supporting innovative models in rural communities. Telehealth is being used more frequently to address the issues that rural and remote communities have with accessing specialist healthcare.”

The ability to operate off low bandwidths means areas without NBN access are still served well. “While it’s not suitable for every type of consultation, it’s gradually becoming the option of choice where appropriate, as patients are saving time and money,” says Kuhne.

Because it is a cost- and time-effective way for service providers to reach rural communities, the expansion of telehealth services to other communities is a priority.

“It takes time to physically transport a clinician from the city to a remote community, whereas clinicians could spend that time seeing patients via telehealth appointments and therefore see a greater number of people across a range of locations,” Kuhne explains.

“It’s a much better use of everyone’s time.

We’re constantly trying to innovate. Innovation and technology is certainly the key to providing better service and access to services.”

Plato may have coined the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention” centuries ago, yet for healthcare providers delivering essential services in Australia’s many remote communities, necessity still drives innovation.

AUG/SEPT 2018

27

Start-ups

Start-ups

Birthing a business FRUSTRATED WITH THE LACK OF CHOICE FOR REGIONAL PARENTSTO-BE AROUND THEIR BIRTHING OPTIONS AND PRENATAL EDUCATION, TAMWORTH MIDWIFE EDWINA SHARROCK CREATED BIRTH BEAT, OFFERING ONLINE COURSES ACROSS AUSTRALIA. The conception of her company was a classic story, says Edwina Sharrock, founder of Birth Beat — working out of friends’ living rooms and on dining tables in the New South Wales town of Tamworth.

Sharrock, who grew up in Tamworth, studied nursing at the University of Sydney and began working at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She had planned to study midwifery there when her father became ill and she returned home. With her plans changed, Sharrock enrolled in studies in Tamworth.

“It was the best way to study midwifery, because I was able to go to Armidale, Inverell and Moree and spend time in those hospitals. When you’re learning in country hospitals it’s often a very small team, so the student gets to do so much more,” says Sharrock.

Settling down in Tamworth and starting her own family, Sharrock, who has daughter Polly (aged six) and son Theo (aged three), was disappointed when the local maternity unit closed down at the private hospital.

“Just because we live in the bush doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have access to and choice around our healthcare,” says Sharrock. “Our choices were taken away and that made me cranky. I was complaining about it one afternoon and my husband said to me, ‘Well, why don’t you do something about it?’ I couldn’t build a maternity wing, but what I could do was provide the very best antenatal classes — and that’s how we started Birth Beat.”

Initially offering courses in Tamworth only, Sharrock had customers travel great distances to attend. One pair came from Cobar, travelling 500 kilometres each way. Sharrock began researching maternity and healthcare options in regional and remote parts of Australia.

“I found out that 41 per cent of maternity units have closed in the last 15 years in Australia, mainly in rural, regional and remote areas. So we’ve taken away this access for women in the country to get educated, and it’s so important to be educated for birth because then you’re not fearful. It’s all

Katrina Holden Editor of True Blue, Katrina has been an editor of business and lifestyle titles for more than 20 years.

about removing the fear,” says Sharrock.

It was then, in 2017, that she decided to take her courses online, signalling the beginning of her start-up journey. Birth Beat was soon recognised by Commonwealth Bank with an Innovation Award, then as a Google Regional Online Hero.

From here, Sharrock heard about the HCF Catalyst program, in which HCF helps businesses that are taking innovations in healthcare which align with the company’s values.

“I was really lucky to get a place on that program,” says Sharrock, although hard work and grit clearly played major roles in ensuring Birth Beat became one of just 10 companies selected from 300 applicants to take part.

“I literally had to pull an all-nighter and build a pitch deck — I had no idea what a pitch deck was — and then get it to them within 48 hours. The presentation was like Shark Tank — it was the most nerve-wracking thing, and I’d got up at 4.30 in the morning and driven from Tamworth to Sydney.”

The 12-week accelerator course has an assigned expert in residence for each business. Sharrock feels privileged to be “hanging out with some pretty smart people doing incredible things in business and the health industry.”

Though the pace has been gruelling, the mum-of-two acknowledges the support of her community. “All my friends and family have rallied around me,” says Sharrock, who advises anyone considering a start-up to just do something.

“That’s the thing in start-ups — people worry that they don’t have it perfect or that the website isn’t 100 per cent. Just get it out there, because you’re never going to have it perfect,” says Sharrock. “Also: talk to your market.”

Looking to the future, Sharrock says she has a greater understanding of her potential customers and is now looking at B2B opportunities with big companies to provide antenatal education to its staff members, many of whom are scattered all over the country.

She has also registered birthbeat.com.

“So we’re ready to go global — but I’m not in any mad rush to do that!”

AUG/SEPT 2018

29

Business

A fresh start FOUNDED IN 2012, HELLOFRESH AUSTRALIA NOW DELIVERS MORE THAN TWO MILLION MEALS AND RECIPES EACH MONTH AROUND THE COUNTRY. WE CHAT TO FOUNDER AND CEO TOM RUTLEDGE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S GROWTH. Growing up on a rural property in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Tom Rutledge says the kitchen was the “nerve centre” of his family’s farm.

“From a very early age, I was aware of the seasons and the provenance of ingredients. The blokes that worked on the farm would come into the kitchen every morning — it was where we’d always congregate as a family. It was a place that had very happy associations for me and still does,” says Rutledge.

After graduating from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Economics, Rutledge worked for a number of start-ups, including a human resources company and a wine business, before finding his way onto Network Ten’s MasterChef series as a finalist in 2011.

“Coming from a farm which is a small business, I’d always had the desire to do something entrepreneurial and to be able to tie that in with food, which is a subject matter I was keen on because of MasterChef but have always loved.

It was an obvious place to turn my attention to for opportunities,” says Rutledge, who then founded gourmet food home delivery service Mr Perkins & Co., after taking inspiration from several overseas models.

It was the first meal-kit concept to hit Australia, and it wasn’t long before HelloFresh came knocking. Established in Berlin in 2011, its founders were on the hunt for prime global markets where they could launch concurrently.

Australia was on the list of launch markets (along with Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and France) and

30

AusBiz.

Rutledge was approached to oversee its launch.

“The blokes behind HelloFresh are very smart guys. We were put in touch by someone who was aware of their plans and what I was doing — and it was a pretty easy decision for me,” says Rutledge.

At the start of 2012, Rutledge set up HelloFresh Australia, initially doing everything on his own and then building a small team, meeting challenges as they arose. Today they’re leaders in the meal-kit market, and their revenue grew by more than 50 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2018, with a current revenue run rate (at May 2018) in excess of A$200 million.

Katrina Holden Editor of True Blue, Katrina has been an editor of business and lifestyle titles for more than 20 years.

HelloFresh Australia is now shipping 600,000 meals a week, and more than 2 million a month.

Business

AUG/SEPT 2018 C H I L L I P R AW N L I N G U I N E

31

Erosion Control Blanket

1300 040 050

Business L E F T, T O P R O W : M A C A D A M I A CRUSTED SALMON. BOTTOM R O W F R O M L E F T: PA N S E A R E D BARRAMUNDI; SIRLOIN STEAK. PICTURED: CEO TOM RUTLEDGE.

“The biggest challenge to begin with was finding customers. It was a new service and people weren’t waking up thinking, ‘I need a meal kit’. We were having to get out there and explain the benefits of a meal kit as opposed to traditional grocery shopping,” says Rutledge.

HelloFresh Australia creates recipes based on trends, customer insights and seasonal ingredient availability. The company then transports those recipes and the required ingredients to its customers, with the aim of taking the stress out of weeknight cooking.

Rutledge explains the company has a range of customers, from professionals with no kids to families and empty nesters.

“Our value proposition, which is to solve the decision dilemma around deciding what’s for dinner, appeals to a lot of people. The whole conundrum

of what’s for dinner holds for everyone and not only ‘What do I want to cook and what do I need to buy for that’, but also the constant refreshing of inspiration,” says Rutledge, adding that the company has a very short supply chain and ingredients are packed and dispatched within a 24-hour window.

Rutledge works with a range of suppliers and has a preference for independently run businesses. “But more than anything, we want to make sure we have suppliers who have a quality product and, on top of that, are able to deliver things to us on time and in full. Getting things a day later may not be super-critical for a supermarket, but with a product like ours, it’s imperative for us it's on time or it won’t make it into the box,” says Rutledge.

HelloFresh Australia is now shipping 600,000 meals a week, and more than two million a month. Globally,

HelloFresh has an active customer base of 1.88 million.

Rutledge is most proud of the company’s growth and what that means for its customers.

“What we’re doing is eliminating thousands of decisions every week, and we’re giving our customers and their families the opportunity to still have the fun of cooking without all of the process, decision-making and logistics,” he says.

Committed to further growth, the company plans to add to their product portfolio by expanding the variety they offer customers.

“We also want to continue our expansion into the regions,” says Rutledge. “Last year was a great year for New South Wales and Queensland, and this year we’ve had some good additions in Victoria and Western Australia, with more to come.”

AUG/SEPT 2018

33

Family business

T H R E E G E N E R AT I O N S . L- R : M U R R AY C O O K , THOMAS COOK SENIOR, THOMAS COOK II.

Following in the family footsteps

Katrina Holden

WE CHAT TO THIRD-GENERATION FAMILY MEMBER MURRAY COOK, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL BOOTMAKING AND COUNTRY CLOTHING COMPANIES.

Editor of True Blue, Katrina has been an editor of business and lifestyle titles for more than 20 years.

Bootmaking was in the blood from an early age says Murray Thomas Cook, Managing Director of Thomas Cook Boot & Clothing Company.

At eight years old, Murray spent his Saturday mornings sweeping the factory floor of his grandfather’s boot business to earn 50 cents pocket money from his father, second generation Thomas Cook.

Murray’s grandfather, Thomas Cook Senior, established the business in 1924.

His story is a classic rags-to-riches tale, involving hard work, strong business AY CC OO OO KK ..

SS UU EE AA NN DD MM UU RR RR AY ethics and great vision.

Born in Fremantle in 1908, Thomas, the youngest of seven children, was just four years old when his mother died. Unable to cope, his father placed the youngest four kids in a Salvation Army home.

Thomas’s father would remarry and take the children out of the Salvos home for a number of years, but the youngest of the kids, including Thomas, were returned when their father then passed away.

34

AusBiz.

“It was a very tough upbringing for Pop and he learned to fight in those Salvation Army homes,” explains Murray.

At 14 Thomas landed a job at a dairy farm, and come weekends, he’d box and play football. He soon developed his boxing skills and thought he could have a shot at being a professional. His older brother George was based in Melbourne working at a boot factory, and paid the 10 pounds to put Thomas on a ship to Melbourne, where he took up boxing and started working in the boot industry.

Thomas got his first knockout after winning 20 matches and decided a career in boxing was not for him. “But an opportunity came out of that with fellow boxers making boxing boots for them. So that’s where he started, working out of a shed,” says Murray.

In his early twenties he opened a shop on High Street in Preston, and before long, as the business flourished, he expanded to buy four shops in a row, which he then knocked down to build a small factory that later made way for a

Family business

bigger one.

Thomas II ran the company from 1968 until his retirement in 1990.

Murray loved spending his school holidays working at the factory, painting boot soles and fixing eyelets.

After high school he worked at Melbourne Sports Depot before joining the family THOMAS COOK SENIOR. business.

Today the company produces footwear; men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories; and homewares. The business employs 45 staff in its Melbourne office and 10 sales staff throughout Australia and New Zealand. It has four distinct brands: Thomas Cook, the company’s signature line; Wrangler and American boot label Twisted X, both sold under licence; and the company’s Pure Western label.

“One of Pop’s sayings was: ‘Just remember, it’s my name on the line — you’ve got to make a good, honest product and, once you do, you’ll get a good following,’ recalls Murray. “I certainly carry that through to this day.”

As the National Sales Manager, Murray’s wife Sue loves meeting her customers in their own towns and hearing about what conditions they’re dealing with — be it a closing mine, cattle prices or how drought is affecting them.

“We get to work together, but we also get to see some really beautiful parts of Australia and our fantastic customers and towns that they live in — it’s great,” says Murray, who acknowledges you can’t run a clothing business from behind a desk in the back blocks of Melbourne.

Where other companies have pulled their sales teams from the road due to expense, Murray believes it’s vital to have first-hand contact with customers, and for account managers and product designers to be talking to retailers as much as possible.

With a shared commitment to their company, both Murray and Sue relish working together and “wouldn’t have it any other way”. “We are very lucky,” says Murray. “You talk to some couples and they don’t even holiday together!”

And when it comes to carrying on founder Thomas’s sense of innovation, the company certainly hasn’t hung up its boots, with Murray confirming his beloved business is “forever evolving”.

AUG/SEP 2018

35

Voted the

BEST WHISKY

in the Southern Hemisphere

Limeburners

Margaret River | Albany | Porongurup

www.distillery.com.au

Man & Machine

The Wonder of Wood LONG AFTER THEIR CONSTRUCTION, CLASSIC TIMBER HALVORSENS STILL HAVE THE GLAMOUR FACTOR TO TURN HEADS.

Briar Jensen Briar Jensen is a freelance travel writer with a penchant for soft adventure. She especially loves exploring Australia in search of inspiring travel experiences to share with her readers.

Glasses clink in salute as water laps the wooden hull. A breeze shimmies through the gum trees, and the setting sun ups the saturation on honeyed sandstone cliffs. It’s cocktail hour aboard MV Kalinda, anchored in Sydney’s Cowan Creek; time to relax, absorb the serenity and admire the varnish.

There’s something romantic about vintage timber craft — their classic lines, distinguished heritage and superb craftsmanship. They exude the refined grandeur of yesteryear, and none more so than Sydney Classic Boat Charters’ MV Kalinda, a 1950 Halvorsen Bridgedecker motor cruiser.

The Halvorsen name is synonymous with timber boats in Australia. Second generation Norwegian boat-builder Lars Halvorsen arrived in Sydney in 1924, and through determination and hard work established a family boat-building dynasty that now spans five generations.

As Mary-Louise Williams, then director of the Australian National Maritime Museum, says in the foreword to Wooden Boats, Iron Men: The Halvorsen Story, “The name Halvorsen is central to the achievements of 20th century boatbuilding in Australia.”

Many Sydneysiders fondly remember holidaying on a Halvorsen, and tall stories about on-board shenanigans. Less well known is Lars Halvorsen Sons’ involvement in World War II, having built more than 250 vessels for the Australian, US and Dutch forces. The family also built yachts, including Freya, three-time Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race winner, and Gretel, Australia’s first America’s Cup challenger.

The quality, workmanship and timeless style of Halvorsens have made them highly sought after by wooden-boat enthusiasts, like skipper of MV Kalinda, John Spry.

“Old timber boats, like old timber houses, have their own individual ‘souls’ — the  AUG/SEP 2018

37

WE CREATE

BICYCLES where form and function blend beautifully

Because if you're going to get anywhere in this world, you should do it in style.

38

AusBiz.

USE PROMO CODE REX FOR 15% OFF YOUR PURCHASE FROM PAPPILLIONAIRE

L- R : K I T T Y S P R Y, JOHN SPRY AND JEN REDSTON.

Fast Facts Three requisitioned Halvorsen cruisers snared the Japanese midget submarine No.21 in Sydney’s Taylors Bay in May 1942.

MV Kalinda has featured in episodes of The Bachelor and Married at First Sight.

legacy of those who designed them, built them, sailed them, worked on them or lived on them,” he says. “It stems initially from the timber, itself a living thing.”

John started mucking about in wooden boats when he was 12, and MV Kalinda is his fifth wooden craft and third Halvorsen. “I love the style and functionality of Halvorsen designs,” he says. “They were the pinnacle of excellence of their time.”

In 2004 John was contemplating a lifestyle change, so he sold his electronics engineering business and, at 54, became a mature-age boatbuilding and shipwright apprentice, to the amusement of his mates.

At the time he and his wife Debbie owned a 26 foot Halvo, as they are affectionately known, but together with daughter Kitty, an accounts and marketing executive, decided to purchase a larger family boat. “We wanted a classic Halvorsen with the charm and elegance of 1950s luxury, but large enough with plenty of outdoor seating for comfortable day charters,” says John.

In 2007 they found their perfect match — online, in Seattle, USA. The 47 foot Bridgedecker was built in Sydney in 1950 and taken to America by Carl Halvorsen, chasing the Hollywood market. She sold immediately and changed hands many times over the years, by swapping, repossession and the winnings from a game of craps — the dice from that game rumoured to be in the bilge.

Following an arduous ordeal arranging transportation from Seattle, Hardway as she was then named, began to sink when unloaded from the ship in Newcastle.

Despite knowing she would take on water due to plank shrinkage in transit, the volume was far greater than the on-board fire pump could handle, and only prompt assistance from the local water police averted disaster.

Told “you’ll never get an old boat like her into commercial charter,” her owners took on the challenge of restoration, removing live-aboard conveniences of furnace, laundry, trash compactor, dishwasher, cat flap and hot tub. The entire internal space AUG/SEP 2018

39

niche programs, big hearts

Supporting Rural Australia ...through unique rural assistance focussed programs like:

DONATE OR GET INVOLVED 40 TODAY AusBiz.

Fodder Assistance Program

Fixing the Farm Program

This drought appeal campaign is providing meaningful support for farmers by delivering hay and other essential items to farmers who have no feed left for their livestock.

Tradies & volunteers doing mini makeovers on farms or community infrastructure, to help make life easier for those people feeding our nation.

ruralaid.org.au | 1300 327 624

Man & Machine

was gutted, revealing the dice from the winning craps game.

The following years were a labour of love for the Sprys, returning the vessel to its original layout. Tragically, in 2010, Debbie lost her long fight with cancer, but the family continued the backbreaking work knowing she was with them in spirit.

In 2015 MV Kalinda, an Aboriginal name meaning 'the sea' or 'a lookout', was licensed for commercial operations, and now hosts guests for vintage high teas and cocktail parties on the sheltered waters of Cowan Creek, surrounded by Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Her retro glamour attracts proposals, intimate weddings, anniversary celebrations and photo shoots.

Shipwright skills aren’t a prerequisite for wooden-boat ownership, but time certainly is. “You need to be handy and retired or have bucketloads of money to pay for maintenance,” quips Halvorsen owner Cathy Astridge (who works full-time and maintains her boat herself). But John and Cathy agree

paying someone to do general maintenance misses the point of owning a classic timber boat. “The more you put into it, the more you get out of it,” says John. “It’s an emotional investment.”

All that gleaming woodwork involves at least 10 coats of varnish, though, not something that can be knocked over in a weekend, especially by the inexperienced; which is why the Halvorsen Club was formed in 1991. Commodore Bob Allen says the club adds prestige, provides camaraderie and offers technical support.

Pride comes with preserving a piece of history, and Halvorsen owners see themselves as custodians of their heritage craft which, like vintage cars, are living museum pieces. They willingly share their vessels at wooden-boat festivals around the country, and in the case of MV Kalinda, out on the water, where you too can luxuriate in her vintage charm over a sunset drink. sydneyclassicboatcharters.com.au halvorsenclub.com.au

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A TIMBER BOAT: • Search for known designs, not one-off models; this helps the resale value.

• Check state of varnish, chrome and paint, look for interior mould and dry rot in timber.

• Check age of engine, as a modern diesel can add value, as can good electronics.

• Research the vessel’s history; talk to other wooden-boat owners.

• Invest in a pre-purchase marine survey by a specialist timber boat surveyor.

AUG/SEP 2018

41

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We knew that Nudgee College could provide so many more opportunities.

Not just in normal everyday education, but in a way that would expose Tom to new challenges, that could help him to grow into a young man who will leave an indelible footprint on his surrounding world.â&#x20AC;?

Education Special Feature

All aboard for Junior Boarding Boarders at St Joseph’s Nudgee College share their thoughts on the many benefits and lifelong friendships formed whilst boarding at the school they call home.

For boarders, St Joseph’s Nudgee College is not just their school, it is their home. The connection that many boarders past and present feel towards the College is obvious whenever they reminisce for days gone past or share anecdotes from within the Boarding Village.

While some boarders only experience a year or two in Nudgee College Boarding, others start in Years 5, 6 or 7, and therefore most of their teenage years are shaped by their journey through Boarding.

Head of Murphy Boarding House Ben Ralston spent years as the Head of O’Brien Boarding House, which is a dormitory for boys from Years 5 to 9.

When boys begin their high school boarding experience in Year 7, Ben said it allowed them to form

friendships and develop good habits around study and daily routine under the guidance of experienced staff who provide a caring and nurturing environment.

“I have been able to see the transformation of several boarders I looked after in O’Brien who are now flourishing in a Senior Boarding House,” he said.

“I think that being here from Year 7 has helped these young men really feel as though Nudgee College is a second home to them and has allowed them to mature at their own pace, supported by many great role models.”

College Vice Captain Lawson Saurels has been boarding since Year 7, and said this experience helped him settle in early so he didn’t have to worry about it in his Senior years.

“That is truly where the friendships and bonds start to be created,” he said. “I felt I was helped and supported well as a younger boarder.”

Year 11 student Izaac Fiorini was living in Dubai before he moved into Nudgee College Boarding when he was in Year 7. His father had also boarded at the College, and Izaac said he felt privileged to continue that tradition.

“I loved watching the Nudgee spirit videos growing up, and I would watch

the 1st XV video over and over again before arriving at Nudgee College,” he said.

From fast-making friendships to getting the hang of community living by the end of his first year of high school, Izaac said there were many benefits to his early start in Nudgee College Boarding.

“Starting off in Year 7 has helped shape me, in good times and in bad, into a true Nudgee College man,” he said.

“From an endless sleepover with your mates, to waking up five minutes before morning training, boarding is also just such a convenience for everyday life and study.”

While going into Boarding can be daunting for some boys, Izaac and Lawson agree that the best way to adjust is to get involved.

“From academics to sport, and even supporting others through their sports and extracurricular activities, it is imperative that you get involved,” Izaac said. “You meet new people and time goes a lot faster when you’re having fun.”

“There’s always a calling to something, so don’t be afraid to put your hand up and give it a go.” nudgee.com.

AUG/SEPT 2018

43

A UNI THAT KNOWS CONVENIENCE COUNTS At CQUniversity Australia, we know you want options when it comes to accessing a quality education.

With a huge range of courses, outstanding support and flexibility, plus the expertise of a uni ranked in the top two per cent worldwide*, CQUniversity can help you be what you want to be. Whether you’re interested in a certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate or research higher degree – full or part time – our courses have you covered. Choose to study on campus at one of our many locations across Australia, or online via our renowned distance education mode.

Designed alongside industry with a focus on work integrated learning, our courses will prepare you with up-to-date, real-world knowledge and skills.

What’s more, we’re recognised as Australia’s first and only Changemaker Campus by social innovation group Ashoka U and have been awarded five stars for full-time employment, starting salary and social equity^.

Apply now to study in 2019.

*Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018. See cqu.edu.au/reputation. ^ The Good Universities Guide 2018.

300+ TAFE AND UNI COURSES 20+ NATIONAL LOCATIONS LEADER IN ONLINE EDUCATION TOP 2% OF UNIS WORLDWIDE*

“CQUniversity has allowed me that opportunity to find out who I am, and opened my eyes to who I want to be.”

– Liam, CQUniversity graduate.

CRICOS Code: 00219C | RTO Code: 40939 | C_AD_1802_Rex-Aug

OUTSTANDING EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES^

Finance

Tax time tips Tax time. Two words that bring a sense of dread to most people. If this includes you, read on. We’ve compiled our top tips to ensure smooth sailing this financial year.

Start early

If you’re after a stress-free tax return, the best thing you can do is stop procrastinating and lodge your return as early as possible. Get ahead of the ball this year by organising any statements for savings accounts or other investments in advance, as well as ensuring that you have your Pay As You Go (PAYG) Payment Summary or Group Certificate on hand.

Having these prepared before you begin your tax return will save time and help you receive your tax refund sooner.

Become a boss at deductions

The thought of adding deductions when filing a tax return often seems like a hassle – but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, once you know what you can claim, the process becomes easy and it could end up saving you thousands.

We’ve compiled a quick list of the top deductions that will help you dominate this financial year and put some of your hard-earned tax dollars back into your own pocket.

• Mobile phones – Workers can claim the costs of their phone and internet expenses that are work-related.

• Electricity – Many people take work home with them.

If you don’t want to claim comprehensive home office expenses, you can still claim for electricity used when doing work at home.

• Education – If you’re studying subjects related to your

46

AusBiz.

current paid employment, it’s tax-deductible after the first $250. You also can claim travel expenses for the cost of getting to and from your place of education.

• Printer ink — There’s a pile of home office items that can be claimed including inks, stationery, printers, computers, chairs, desks, paper shredders and rubbish bins.

• Bricks – The most lucrative potential tax deduction for property investors is not the carpets and curtains, but writing down the bricks and mortar. For most people it’s a 2.5 per cent annual tax deduction on the cost of the building – but not the land, which does not depreciate. For an investment property costing $300,000 to build, that’s a welcome $7,500 tax deduction every year.

• Your income – If you pay income protection insurance premiums, make sure to claim them. It’s the only form of personal insurance that is tax-deductible.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

An estimated 46 per cent of us spend three or more work hours per week thinking about our finances (PWC 2017 Employee Financial Wellness Survey), resulting in low financial wellness. Add on the stress of a tax return and it’s easy to see why so many of us become overwhelmed.

Our financial wellness impacts all aspects of our lives — from our physical and mental health, right through to the relationships we have with our family and friends.

So, if you need a little extra help filling out your return, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Accountants can take the hassle out of your tax return, leaving you to live your good life.

Join our growing College community

APP LY N OW

Integrate learning and living at university. New undergraduate wing now open! www.stpauls.edu.au

Engineering Construction Automotive Electro Technology Information Technology Career Ready Introducing P-Tech Industrial IT in 2019

Townsville MACKAY CAIRNS MAIN Campus 54 Discovery Drive Douglas 4814 | reception@tecnq.com.au | 07 4779 2199

Puzzles

CROSSWORD

E N B W E H A R S I A Z B

R E S M T G S D E I N N A

T B O E A K A A Q G A A B

I A M O N G L L A M I T W

R Y A O G O T K I Y E N E

E N L U G L J B P R B E M

D E I N G U I N E A L I O

W K A R C A M E R O O N L

SOLUTIONS:

A I O N F H I I S G H A M

A N E B C A N O B U G N I R E S M T G S D E I N N A

J S A Z A U A S P M D I Z T B O E A K A A Q G A A B

I A M O N G L L A M I T W

R Y A O G O T K I Y E N E

E N L U G L J B P R B E M

D E I N G U I N E A L I O

E G Y P T G M A L I A A P

E N B W E H A R S I A Z B

W K A R C A M E R O O N L

A N A W S T O B O I A Z N

A I O N F H I I S G H A M

SOMALIA SUDAN TANZANIA TOGO TUNISIA ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE

Find all the words listed hidden in the grid of letters. They can be found in straight lines up, down, forwards, backwards or even diagonally. Theme: AFRICA

A N E B C A N O B U G N I

AusBiz.

GAMBIA GHANA GUINEA KENYA LIBYA MALI NAMIBIA NIGERIA SENEGAL

WORD SEARCH

J S A Z A U A S P M D I Z

48

DOWN 1. Feminine 2. Attain 3. Anaesthetises 4. Actress, ... Monroe 5. Dancer’s costume 6. Unrelenting 12. Devour 15. Try 16. Wheel covers 17. Wound with claw 19. Illinois is there (1,1,1) 20. Surrendered 22. Short pasta tubes 23. Highest ranking peers

E G Y P T G M A L I A A P

ANGOLA BENIN BOTSWANA CAMEROON CHAD EGYPT ERITREA ETHIOPIA GABON

28. Cash machines (1,1,2) 29. Occurred afterwards

A N A W S T O B O I A Z N

ACROSS 1. Series of rabbit tunnels 5. Look before you ...

7. Consumption 8. Large 9. Australian gem 10. Erected 11. Recesses 13. Eve’s mate 14. Masted vessels 18. Nakedness 21. Pencil end 22. Canoe oar 24. Wear by rubbing 25. Global hostel chain (1,1,1,1) 26. Charitable 27. Dessert, ... pie

Your fresh start is here!

Between working, exercising and seeing family and friends, it can be hard to find time to eat a balanced diet.

That’s where HelloFresh comes in. Each week, simply choose from our recipes to create a perfectly balanced meal plan for you. Then sit back and relax as we deliver your recipes and fresh seasonal ingredients in just the right amounts. Try HelloFresh today and find your perfect balance with a delivery of inspiration.

SAVE $160

WITH $40 OFF YOUR FIRST 4 FAMILY MEAL BOXES USE CODE: HELLOTRUEBLUE

FLEXIBLE, NO LOCK-IN PLAN Start your delicious adventure at HelloFresh.com.au

Available on a household’s first four Family Meal Boxes only. Full T&Cs available online.

Enhance your experience with Hertz.

Unlock a free upgrade when you next rent with Hertz, a preferred partner to Rex Airlines.* To upgrade simply go to the Hertz counter on arrival and quote Promotional Code 304194 or visit hertz.com.au/rex

Hertz. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to get you there. *Offer available for rentals up to 31 December 2018. This offer is applicable for rentals in participating locations in Australia only. Offer excludes taxes, fees, optional products and services, fuel, additional charges such as airport taxes and sundry fees and the GST that applies to these charges. This offer may not be combined with any other offer, discount promotion, special offer or coupon. Offer applies to economy to full size vehicles. Visit hertz.com.au/rex for a full list of participating locations and terms and conditions. Blackout periods apply.