True Blue Magazine - Aug/Sept 2019

TrueBlue Aug/Sept 2019

OUR HEART IS IN THE COUNTRY

A real Australian business magazine

DIGITAL DETOX

Turon Gates in the Blue Mountains

CAIRNS ADVENTURE

Linger longer in our blissful tropical city

DOWNTIME IN THE HUON

In Tassie’s Huon Valley, life has a slower pace

FOOTY, FISHING, FAMILY

We check in with ET

Letter from the COO

EDITORIAL

Welcome aboard, and to the August/September issue of True Blue.

It has been a busy few months for the Rex engineering team, preparing our newly acquired aircraft for entry into the network. In May this year, Rex finalised the procurement of three new generation Saab 340B+ aircraft, all of which have now arrived on Australian soil, having made the voyage around the globe from Anchorage, Alaska, to our heavy maintenance facility in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

Assuming Australian aircraft registrations, the aircraft have undergone all the necessary regulatory engineering import work, in addition to livery paint, Australian standard avionics modifications and installation of electronic flight bags. This acquisition brings the Rex fleet to a grand total of 60 tails, and a proud title as the largest worldwide operator of the Saab 340.

Since the commencement of operations in Western Australia in February 2016 on the Perth-Albany and Perth-Esperance routes, Rex has well and truly cemented a loyal following across the state. In July this year, Rex celebrated its first anniversary of the inaugural flights on the Perth-Carnarvon and Perth-Monkey Mia (Shark Bay) routes.

Rex’s commitment to regional communities in Western Australia, and

across the nation, continues through the support of local events and festivals.

For the second year running, Rex is proud to sponsor the Gascoyne Food Festival, hosted by the Gascoyne Food Council, 900 kilometres north of Perth.

Running this August 7–11, the festival promotes local produce and hospitality.

In partnership with the Western Australian Department of Transport, the Shire of Carnarvon and RAC Parks & Resorts, Rex has reported healthy passenger growth across all routes.

This success is largely thanks to the Rex Community Fare initiative, which offers reduced fare prices on flights purchased outside of 30 days before departure, subject to booking availability, with all remaining unsold seats being made available at significantly discounted fares within 24 hours of departure.

From July 1 2018 to June 30 2019, 24 per cent of all passengers travelling on the Western Australian network utilised the Rex Community Fare.

To book a last-minute community fare, visit rex.com.au Until next time, safe travels and enjoy the flight.

Neville Howell Chief Operating Officer

Publisher: Michelle Hespe publisher@publishingbychelle.com Art Director: Jon Wolfgang Miller Lifestyle & Travel Sales Manager: Sonja Halstead sonja.halstead@publishingbychelle.com WA & NT Sales Manager: Greg Parkes greg.parkes@publishingbychelle.com AusBiz. Sales Manager: Effe Sandas advertising@publishingbychelle.com Assistant Editor: Sarah Hinder editorial@publishingbychelle.com Sub-editors: Claire Hey & Shane Cubis Editorial Assistants: Haley Halvorson & Nadia Trégouët

CONTRIBUTORS

Deborah Dickson-Smith Natasha Dragun Sarah Hinder Winsor Dobbin Leah McLennan Darren Baguley Ian Lloyd Neubauer Lisa Smyth Kirsten Craze

PRINTING

Blue Star PRINT 81 Derby St, Silverwater, NSW 2128

True Blue is published by Publishing ByChelle, (ABN: 78 621 375 853 ACN: 621 375 853) 3 Westleigh Street, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089 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 2019

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Publisher’s Letter

One of my favourite memories of late is sitting on top of a lovely, calm horse as it slowly plodded through the bush, sun streaming through the gum trees.

Panning for gold at Turon Gates.

@TRUEBLUe _ MAG 2 TrueBlue

/TRUEBLUEMAG

Screen time. Technology. Argh, they’re the bane of most people’s lives today.

Kids are being held captive by them and us adults are also digital prisoners because in most jobs and roles in today’s society, you can’t escape them. Even if you are someone blessed with working outdoors in nature, the business side of things is still usually run from a screen – be that a computer, a phone or an iPad. But when is enough, enough? I recently went through a terrible stage of nerve and back pain due to my muscles being stressed, and it was ultimately caused

by RSI – constant typing on my phone, tablet and keyboard. I was always scrunched awkwardly above a screen racing to get something done, and I wasn’t taking downtime seriously.

I was falling into one of the biggest traps there is: not taking time to breathe.

Not taking time out to just sit, relax, drink in the world around me. And this is coming from someone who has been a travel writer for more than two decades.

I was focusing too much on screens and forgetting why I was here or there in the first place – to create stories that matter.

To travel, to see, to write.

So I pulled our entire family up on it. Enough was enough. We had to escape. We decided to head for the Blue Mountains and we packed the car, without the iPads, laptops and kids’ phones. We took my phone for taking photos, and checked into a homestead on the side of a mountain with no reception and no internet. To be honest, we thought it would be hard for the kids.

We grew up without screens in every part

of our lives, but they are digital natives, so we wondered how they would cope.

But then we realised something else: we had stopped making as much effort to get them out and about and doing things in the great outdoors, but it was also easier for us if they were entertained by YouTube, games, movies, Netflix series, social media, texting their friends. We were then free to fit in some downtime – read some news online, text friends, look at Facebook, add to Instagram? It was never-ending and a cycle we were now all in, some days not even realising it.

So we did it. We had three days making bonfires, bushwalking, baking, roasting marshmallows on the fire, talking, laughing, being stupid. We went horse riding, gold panning, and took time to simply sit on a big old deck gazing at kangaroos gathering in the dusk before us. I confess – we did watch some old ‘80s movies, but hey, that’s allowed.

And guess what? We slept like we hadn’t slept in years. And one of my favourite memories of late is sitting on top of a lovely, calm horse as it slowly plodded through the bush, sun streaming through the gum trees and lighting up the river.

I remembered how to breathe again.

Happy travels everyone. Drop us a line any time – we love hearing from you.

MICHELLE HESPE & THE TEAM AT TRUE BLUE

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57. father’s day gifts

Our wrap-up of great gift ideas for Dad.

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Cover Story

We speak with rugby league legend Andrew Ettingshausen, aka ET, about all things family, footy and fishing.

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

COMING INTO LAND We investigate the value of farmland in agricultural regions.

AGRIBUSINESS Saltwater crocodiles mean lucrative business for Australian farmers.

PROPERTY BIZ We take a close look at the booming tiny house trend.

CAREFLIGHT An Australian success story in aeromedical training and service.

upfront

Features

07 Rex News

30 Cairns Getaway

Pel-Air and Air Ambulance Victoria provide transport and care for patients; Country Arts SA brings the arts to regional SA; and Rex proudly supports Red Room Poetry Object.

13 Rex Directory

Some of the best places to eat, stay and play across the exciting Rex network.

21 Entertainment

The latest theatre, art, movies, books and tours.

22 Events Calendar

A line-up of some the best events around the country in August and September.

24 Out & About

The latest offerings in cool hotels and eateries.

Not just a ’gateway’ to the reef, Cairns has plenty going for it that makes it a destination in its own right.

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36 Gold Coast

This classic favourite for families boasts more than meets the eye.

42 Turon Gates

On the far side of NSW’s Blue Mountains awaits a relaxed family escape.

46 Wildlife Parks Our countdown of the best wildlife encounters around Australia.

50 Huon Valley

Full of gourmet delights and world-class wines, the Huon Valley is one of Tassie’s best-kept secrets.

54 ArtSpace

From big international shows to Indigenous art from Central Australia, we explore what’s on at Bendigo Art Gallery.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Rex News Rex Airlines initiatives supporting regional causes.

Air Ambulance Victoria plane.

Pel-Air & Air Ambulance Victoria The right care, at the right place, at the right time It’s 6am on a Thursday morning. Trade Assistant Jacqueline rolls out 20-year-old patient Carla on a stretcher. Carla has leukaemia and is being transferred home via air ambulance to Shepparton in regional Victoria following essential treatment at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. The stretcher stops two metres from the light aircraft, and Jacqueline activates the stretcher loading device. With a soft humming buzz, it lowers effortlessly into position. The ‘arm’ of the device can lift a patient weighing up to 240 kilograms onto the stretcher. The cabin inside comfortably accommodates two stretchers, the medical team and one companion. Today, Carla’s mother Anne will accompany her on the journey home.

The sun is rising, casting golden light over Melbourne’s Essendon Airport and the Pel-Air hangar, home to its fleet of four Beechcraft King Air B200C fixed-wing aircraft, as well as the Pel-Air office and crew room. Signing on for the morning, three Captains commence their duty, and three flights are already scheduled to depart in the next hour.

Pel-Air will conduct up to 14 flights today, providing valuable aeromedical transfers for 20 patients to receive essential medical treatment, and to get home to their loved ones.

Pel-Air’s fleet of four B200C aircraft is highly modified

to facilitate aeromedical transfers using a combination of industry-leading aeromedical and navigation equipment.

The fixed wing aircraft are commonly crewed by Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Paramedics and Advanced Life Support (ALS) Flight Paramedics who have completed additional tertiary education in Aviation Medicine.

As night is becoming day, staff on the ground are busy preparing for several departures. Pel-Air’s 36-strong Essendon team is made up of licensed aircraft engineers and apprentices, pilots and ground support staff. After pre-flight checks and documentation, Captain Watkiss and Paramedic Robert give the thumbs up. The B200C door is closed, and as the sky begins to turn blue, Carla and Anne are on their way home.

Pel-Air has been a proud partner of Ambulance Victoria since 2011. Together they provide transport and care for patients between regional Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia, and metropolitan hospitals.

To date, the partnership has conducted more than 58,100 aeromedical transfers, which is equivalent to 40,000 hours of flight. That is 20 times to the moon and back and 500 orbits of the globe (plus 580 tyre changes)!

For more information visit ambulance.vic.gov.au  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Relax and unwind away from the hustle and bustle

Annual membership $329

rex.com.au | 13 17 13

Regional Express (Rex) and the Snowy Mountains Airport Corporation Pty Ltd are happy to announce their renewed partnership for a further three years, to 2022.

The announcement was made before the launch of the 2019 snow season, with Rex once again scheduling additional flights between Sydney and the gateway to the Snowy Mountains, Cooma. Cooma is the region’s largest town.

The Snowy Mountains are home to four ski resorts: Perisher, Thredbo, Charlotte Pass and Selwyn Snow Resort; located within the picturesque Kosciuszko National Park.

During the snow season, a shuttle bus service offering transfers between the airport and major ski fields is also available.

When the snow melts, there is a large variety of adventure and leisure activities to experience, such as kayaking, hiking, horse-riding, fishing and mountain biking, not to mention indulging in the region’s delicious local produce.

The breathtaking Snowy Mountains make an ideal backdrop for a regional escape anytime of the year!

Photo Credit: Destination NSW

Photo Credit: Destination NSW

Rex News Clockwise from left: Madama Butterfly; Sydney Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary Triple Bill; Artist Damien Shen painting his piece for visual art exhibition ‘VIETNAM – ONE IN, ALL IN’.

Country Arts SA brings the arts to life in regional South Australia You’re sitting in an aeroplane, the city landscape diminishing far behind you. As the great open plains of the South Australian outback unfold before you, you enter into a unique and astounding world of arts and culture. Your ticket to some of the best theatre performances and art exhibitions lies ahead.

Country Arts SA is a dynamic arts organisation which presents performances and workshops at art centres and community venues across regional South Australian towns, including Whyalla, Port Pirie, Renmark, Mount Gambier and Noarlunga.

The organisation also supports

artists in developing their practice and making art that shares the real stories of regional South Australia.

From Opera Australia’s unforgettable production Madama Butterfly in Mount Gambier, to Sydney Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary Triple Bill in Whyalla, there’s no excuse not to pack your glad rags for a sojourn in the country. Children are treated to the full theatre experience with Patch Theatre production Zoom, where the all-ages audience become immersed in an animated playground.

Recently opened in Adelaide by the Governor of South Australia, visual art exhibition ‘VIETNAM – ONE

IN, ALL IN’ is now touring the state.

This outstanding collection of multidisciplinary works by contemporary Aboriginal artists explores and acknowledges South Australia’s Aboriginal veterans’ service before, during and after the Vietnam War. More than 60 per cent of the organisation’s skilled, passionate and committed workforce live and work in locations around regional South Australia. It is the strength of the staff, partners and programs that enable Country Arts SA to be regarded as a national leader in regional arts.

For more information visit countryarts.org.au  AUG/SEPT 2019

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The right care, at the right place, at the right time

PEL-AIR, A PROUD PARTNER OF AMBULANCE VICTORIA providing valuable fixed-wing aeromedical transfers to the Victorian community since 2011

Rex News

Red Room Poetry Object competition Red Room Poetry Object is now open until September 27 to teachers and students in Years 3–10 across all schools throughout Australia and New Zealand. The free-to-enter poetry competition is the largest of its kind in Australasia, attracting around 3,000 submissions annually.

Prizes are awarded from a pool worth more than $10,000, including a special Rex prize category for young people and teachers living in regional and rural locations. The Rex category prize pool includes flights, books and special gift packs. Schools from Rex destinations across Broken Hill, Orange, Griffith, Toowoomba and Albany, as well as nearby areas, have so far registered for the Poetry Object 2019 competition.

To see if your school is in or near a Rex destination, explore the network map on page 19.

Now in its ninth year, Poetry Object invites young people and teachers to create poems inspired by their curious, special or talismanic objects. From carved hieroglyphs to obsidian arrow tips, your special object will hold personal meanings and memories. Think about the object’s role in your life.

Is it a ‘talisman’ that guides and protects you? Is it a reminder of an adventure or the keeper of a secret?

Competition judge Emilie Zoey Baker says: “With poetry, you can be as free as you like.

You can make up rules, stories and characters.

You can borrow from the past and see into the future. In your writing, you may time-travel, invent and dream.” She encourages young writers and teachers to stretch their horizons by trying something weird, silly or unexpected.

Each year the competition is accompanied by a curriculum-aligned learning resource featuring creative writing prompts, editing advice, and a new selection of ‘special object’ poems commissioned from professional poets to spark imaginations. There is also the opportunity to book a professional poet to deliver workshops in your school.

Red Room Poetry’s vision is to make poetry a meaningful part of everyday life. It creates poetic projects and learning programs in collaboration with a spectrum of poets, schools, communities and partners for positive social impact. Its principle mission is to make poetry accessible to all.

Register and download the learning resource at redroomcompany.org/projects/poetry-object TB

A Forest Lodge student shows off her very own talismanic object: a string of charms.

This Forest Lodge student presents her poetry object: her green ‘fairy dress’.

A pair of booties were this Stanmore student’s poetry object.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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wine voucher

*

www.nakedwines.com.au/trueblue Code: TRUEBLUE Password: JNW15PJ3 Naked Wines is offering True Blue readers a $100 voucher to sample 12 delicious boutique wines.

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Naked Wines are working hard to break the dominance of the supermarkets and major retailers, all while revolutionising the way wine is made and enjoyed in Australia. They don’t just sell great wines, they make them happen.

Their customers directly support independent winemakers, and in return receive exclusive access to delicious, handcrafted wines at amazing prices. And the more support they have, the more independent Aussie winemakers they can support!

Are your tastebuds tempted? Then why not enjoy $100 off your first case from Naked Wines!

The boring bits: To use this voucher you must be 18 years or older. This voucher entitles first time Naked Wines customers to $100 off their first order of 12 bottles. All orders are a minimum of 12 bottles, and a minimum spend of $155.88. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotion. *Next day delivery is available to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth metro areas for orders placed before 3pm. We don’t ship to Northern Territory. Delivery not included. Offer is subject to change. See website for full Terms and Conditions.

Directory

TrueBlue Experiences

Great places to stay, and awesome things to do across Australia.

COAST HOUSE Tasmania

COAST HOUSE Tasmania

RoofClimb Adelaide Oval

Adelaide Oval Stadium Tour

CYGNET, TASMANIA T 0409 446 290 E stay@coasthousetasmania.com coasthousetasmania.com

ADELAIDE OVAL, WAR MEMORIAL DRIVE, NORTH ADELAIDE SA 5006. T 08 8331 5222 E enquiries@roofclimb.com.au roofclimb.com.au

COAST HOUSE Tasmania is exclusive boutique accommodation nestled on a private peninsular in the beautiful Huon Valley. Surrounded by waterways and wildlife, this stunning setting offers guests the ultimate tranquil getaway. Wine and gourmet meals included with your stay.

An unforgettable experience awaits with this exhilarating adventure across Adelaide Oval’s iconic roofline. Enjoy picturesque views of the city and beyond before testing your nerve with a lean-out point 50 metres off the ground! With a wide range of climb possibilities, RoofClimb is a must-do for locals and visitors alike.

ADELAIDE OVAL, WAR MEMORIAL DRIVE, NORTH ADELAIDE SA 5006 T 08 8205 4700 E enquiries@adelaideoval.com.au adelaideoval.com.au/tours

Take a fascinating journey behind the scenes.

Explore the 100-year-old heritage scoreboard, gain an insight into match-day preparations inside the players’ change rooms, feel the roar of the crowd on the hallowed turf through the interactive players’ race, and much, much more.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Directory

TrueBlue Experiences

Porky Beach Retreat, King Island

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

Immerse yourself among the raw beauty of King Island from the comfort of our luxury four-bedroom retreat. Enjoy the breathtaking views from the red cedar hot tub and glass sauna, with access to your own private beach.

Relax and reconnect at Porky Beach Retreat.

Quilpie Visitor Information Centre 51 BROLGA STREET, QUILPIE QLD 4480 T 07 46 56 0540 E tourism@quilpie.qld.gov.au visitquilpie.com.au

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

This stunning south-west Outback Queensland region is steeped in rich pioneering and Mesozoic history. Pick up a brochure, souvenirs and free Wi-Fi before visiting our museums and gallery.

Call us to order your free Quilpie Shire book.

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.

Rock Cottage, Winmark Wines

Mackerel Islands

Onslow Beach Resort

229 WOLLOMBI ROAD, BROKE, NSW T 0429 265 268 E info@winmarkwines.com.au

THEVENARD ISLAND & DIRECTION ISLAND, WA 6711 T 08 9184 6444 E bookings@mackerelislands.com.au mackerelislands.com.au

CNR SECOND AVE & THIRD ST, ONSLOW WA 6710 T 08 9184 6586 E bookings@onslowbeachresort.com.au onslowbeachresort.com.au

Winmark Wines is a stunning property situated on 116 acres in the Hunter Valley producing chardonnay. Nestled into the landscape is Rock Cottage — a perfect getaway for exploring the Broke region. The retreat has three bedrooms, a cosy living area with a fireplace, and an ample kitchen and spacious dining room.

Wake up to the sound of the ocean from your beachfront cabin, snorkel with turtles and amazing marine life, and experience worldclass fishing, for a holiday full of adventure and relaxation. Located a short hop off the midcoast of Western Australia, this is the off the beaten track escape you've been looking for.

Getaway on a coastal outback adventure in WA! This absolute beachfront resort offers relaxed, civilised sophistication - a refreshing welcome when travelling through the remote, rugged beauty of the Pilbara region. Stay in spacious apartment-style rooms with ocean or pool views and enjoy waterfront dining at the Beach Club.

14 TrueBlue

Regional News

Sustainable gardening focus to seed future generations August is Stamp Collecting Month and this year Australian kids can learn all about sustainable gardening.

The five beautifully illustrated ‘In the Garden’ stamps are set in a thriving sustainable garden scene, and are available from

August 1 in participating post offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps For education resources and lesson plans designed by sustainable gardening experts for primary school teachers, visit website auspost.com.au/scm

Explore like a local with Kangaroo Jack Tours Providing an authentic Australian experience, David Zaffina of Kangaroo Jack Tours offers what larger companies cannot: small intimate group tours around coastal Victorian towns.

Having grown up on the Surf Coast, David is passionate about the local environment.

His recent partnership with Airbnb Experiences has allowed David to become a part of the Airbnb community in the Torquay/Great Ocean Road region, and to play an even greater part in supporting the conservation of native wildlife and educating visitors about local Indigenous history.

Highlights of the tour include

the Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre and the Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary, which allow visitors to get up close with wildlife in their natural habitat. David explains that both centres offer the perfect balance of education and intrigue.

“In a safe environment, which protects wildlife’s health and wellbeing, the centres provide visitors an educational understanding of the importance of animal conservation and protecting their natural habitat.

You can’t get this close and hands-on with Australian native wildlife anywhere else.”

To book a tour, visit kangaroojacktours.com TB AUG/SEPT 2019

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HOME TO OVER 75 STORES

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

wagga-marketplace

@wagga.marketplace

WAGGA M ARKE TPL AC E .C OM

Rex FAQs

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 aircontaining cavities that connect with the nose via narrow channels. As aircrafts 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 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.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Rex 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.

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 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.

18 TrueBlue 12 12

12

12

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

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

Ballina (Byron Bay)

Dubbo

Parkes

Orange Esperance Albany

Mildura

Port Lincoln

Adelaide

Kangaroo Island (Kingscote)

Griffith

Newcastle Bathurst

Narrandera-Leeton Wagga Wagga Albury

Mount Gambier

Melbourne

Sydney

Moruya Snowy Mountains (Cooma) Merimbula

King Island

Burnie

AUG/SEPT 2019

19

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

FLEET SIZE

CRUISE ALTITUDE (METRES)

CREW

SAAB 340

13,155

520

34

Y

Y

60

8,000

3

20 TrueBlue

Entertainment

Entertainment

Compiled by: Sarah hinder

books

Image: Jen Rosenstein

TOUR

KISS: END OF THE ROAD Room for a Stranger, Melanie Cheng

May 2019, Text Publishing, fiction Since her elderly sister died, Meg has lived on her own.

She doesn’t really mind.

But after her house is broken into, she decides to take in a roommate. Student Andy, struggling to cover his tuition, moves in. This story unfurls around these two Aussies‘ unusual relationship.

Songspirals, Gay’wu Group of Women

August 2019, Allen & Unwin, cultural studies At the heart of Aboriginal cultures is song. Songspirals are sung by Aboriginal people to awaken Country, and are different ways of understanding the relationship between people and place. This book offers an opportunity for outsiders to understand their role.

ART

Malcom Young, Jeff Apter

August 2019, Allen & Unwin, biography This is the first in-depth biography of Malcolm Young, the founder and driving force of AC/DC, who provided the muscle behind their signature songs.

Focusing on Malcolm, it tells of his remarkable rise from working class life to the biggest stages in the world.

November 16–30 in Adelaide SA, Melbourne Vic, Perth WA, Brisbane Qld, Newcastle NSW & Sydney NSW KISS return to Australia for one final time in their last ever END OF THE ROAD world tour.

The tour wraps up the band’s 45-year career, which contributed to the launch of the era of rock ‘n’ roll.

THEATRE Desert Mob 2019

September 5–October 20 at Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT This annual gathering of Territory artists brings together Desart members and seeks to connect Aboriginal art from remote communities to the wider world. The 2019 exhibition will display hundreds of new works by emerging and established artists, as well as host an art market and symposium events. desertmob.nt.gov.au

Jasper Jones

August 16–September 7 at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide SA Hilarious, bright and bubbling with intrigue, Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Craig Silvey’s popular coming-of-age novel is a heart-warming ride into the subconscious of Australia’s small towns.

In a race against time and prejudice, two young outsiders band together to solve a mysterious murder. statetheatrecompany.com.au AUG/SEPT 2019

21

Events Calendar

What’s on & What’s hot Our pick of the very best gigs, festivals, and cultural and sporting events from around the country.

Compiled by: Sarah hinder

August 1–18 Melbourne International Film Festival

Melbourne Vic The country’s leading film festival, and one of the oldest in the world, MIFF showcases homegrown and international cinema, alongside talks, panel discussions and special events. miff.com.au

August 8-11 Mount Isa Mines Rotary Rodeo

Mount Isa Qld This mining town puts on four jampacked days of rodeo action and outback competitions, as well as the Isa Street Festival and Rodeo Ball. John Farnham and Busby Marou will headline a special 60th anniversary rodeo rock concert. isarodeo.com.au

22 TrueBlue

Film Mr Jones will be screened at the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival.

August 1–5

August 11

Sydney NSW Australia’s largest boat show features kayak, paddleboard and boat exhibitions and an international diving expo. sydneyboatshow.com.au

Latrobe Tas Dedicated to all things chocolate, this quirky event hosts indulgent chocolate challenges. You can also have a game of chocolate chess and see wearable chocolate art. chocolatewinterfest.com.au

Sydney International Boat Show

August 9–18 The Ekka

Brisbane Qld It’s all about agriculture at The Ekka, where you can wander through animal exhibits, marvel at fresh food displays and watch whipcracking competitions. ekka.com.au

Chocolate Winterfest

August 11

City2Surf

Sydney NSW The ‘world’s largest fun run’ sees participants cover a 14-kilometre course from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach while raising $5 million for charity. city2surf.com.au

Events Calendar Events

September 1–30 Kings Park Festival

Perth WA At Kings Park Botanic Gardens, this monthlong wildflowers festival features live music, family entertainment, exhibitions, guided tours and flourishing native floral displays. bgpa.wa.gov.au Barossa Gourmet Weekend.

August 12–18

September 6–8

Tasmania Behind-the-scenes tours, distillery dining experiences and all manner of whisky events take place in restaurants, distilleries, bars and barns across Tassie. taswhiskyweek.com

Barossa Valley SA In one of the country’s premier food and wine regions, feast your senses on a smorgasbord of experiences, from tastings and trails to garden parties. barossagourmet.com

Tasmanian Whisky Week

September 3–6

September 12–29

Brisbane Qld Committed to discovering and enriching the future of Australian music, this lively festival brings together musicians and music lovers. bigsound.org.au

Melbourne Vic With more than 450 events, this open access arts festival provides a platform for thousands of artists from ‘every discipline you can name.’ melbournefringe.com.au

BIGSOUND

Sydney Fringe Festival Sydney NSW

With a bustling festival village and performances across inner-city areas, Sydney Fringe shines light on the imaginative talent of local independent artists and performers. sydneyfringe.com

Melbourne Fringe

September 6–7

September 14–October 13

Birdsville Qld Dubbed the ‘Melbourne Cup of the outback,’ Birdsville attracts a global audience to this two-day event of quality racing and entertainment in the tiny desert town. birdsvilleraces.com

Canberra ACT Australia’s premier spring flower show boasts more than one million blooms, plus workshops and planting. Don’t miss the NightFest featuring light installations and comedy. floriadeaustralia.com

Birdsville Races

September 1–30

Barossa Gourmet Weekend

Floriade

September 6–28

September 26–29

Brisbane Qld This three-week celebration features art, theatre, opera, dance, circus and major public events, including Australia’s longest fireworks display. brisbanefestival.com.au

Bellingen NSW From classical to opera to jazz, enjoy a diverse mix of fine music concerts and workshops in this 10th anniversary event. bellingenmusicfestival.com.au

Brisbane Festival

Bellingen Fine Music Festival

AUG/SEPT 2019

23

Out & About

New standard of apartment hotel is coming to Orange Located on the corner of Kite Street and McNamara Street in Orange’s CBD, Quest Orange is set to open this August, offering a mix of studio, and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, each equipped with kitchen and laundry facilities.

Quest Apartment Hotels has specialised in servicing the needs of business travellers for more than 30 years, and intends to continue delivering this exceptional service, with a team that prioritises delivering a personalised experience. Whether offering local recommendations or providing access to the latest technology to make doing business on the road easier, Quest takes pride in understanding and delivering

upon the needs of its guests.

A highlight of the service offered at Quest is its restaurant chargeback option, where guests can enjoy a meal at selected local restaurants with the dining bill charged directly to their accommodation bill.

Quest Orange franchisee Amy van de Ven says: “Having worked with Quest for nearly seven years now, I have a thorough understanding of the importance that Quest places on building genuine relationships with clients and guests. I’m really looking forward to the opening of Quest Orange so that I can deliver the highest level of guest service and instil a customercentric culture within our team.”

VISIT parkregishotels.com Park Regis North Quay, 293 North Quay, Brisbane Qld Park Regis Anchorage, 51 Palmer St, South Townsville Qld Park Regis City Quays and Piermonde Apartments, 2-6 Lake St, Cairns Qld

Terms & Conditions: Room is subject to availability. Discount is valid for room rates only. Quote promo code: LRAA when booking.

Trendy treats in the backstreets In Gold Coast suburb Miami, just a 10-minute drive from Broadbeach, food trucks line up throughout the Miami Marketta laneway precinct. An absolute favourite among locals, the outdoor street food epicentre seats up to 1,000 people, and serves up a diverse mix of street food, boutique wines and local beers, while jazz, blues, roots and indie artists perform onstage. miamimarketta.com

Out & About

The grand dame of Melbourne raises the bar on pampering When staying in Melbourne, you won’t find a better location than the Yarra River. And at the grand dame of hotels, The Langham, you’ll find yourself right in the middle of Southbank Promenade, in the buzzing arts district. It’s also a gentle stroll from Melbourne’s many lovely laneway restaurants and designer clothing stores.

The Langham is synonymous with luxury and style, and now it has raised the luxe bar with an indulgent pampering package that will have any woman (or indeed, man) swooning.

Guests receive a 90-minute BABOR Rose Grand Cru facial with active rose ingredients; a relaxing arm, hand and foot massage; a glass of premium sparkling wine or collagen

beverage; access to tri-bathing facilities for the day of treatment; and complimentary valet parking.

Signature Langham white robes and slippers are provided for the duration of your visit, and you can enjoy the spacious salt water Jacuzzi with stunning views of the city skyline. Then indulge in a traditional-style sauna before enjoying a shower in the river stone snail shower, which forces 12 jets of water on to all of your muscle groups.

The Langham is all about relaxation, and so there is a ‘no rush’ policy – linger longer and enjoy your time in downtime Melbourne for as long as you like. The package starts from $269 per person and is subject to availability. langhamhotels.com

AUG/SEPT 2019

25

Cover Story

We catch up with NRL legend and fishing fanatic Andrew Ettingshausen to talk sport, life, work, and avoiding that nasty little thing called stress.

WORDS: michelle hespe Photography: Paul Henderson-Kelly

26 TrueBlue

Cover Story

ndrew Ettingshausen, aka ET, says his life is pretty much defined by the three big Fs – family, fishing and footy.

“I grew up surrounded by family and the great outdoors,” he says. “My cousins, siblings and I could usually be found kicking a footy around, and we loved fishing. And because Dad was really interested in rugby league, he spent a lot of time with me in the backyard, teaching me all the basics. Mum and Dad always came to watch my games. Right from when I was a little kid, they’d be there on the sidelines. And later, even if the games were in places like England, they’d fly over to be there.”

ET grew up in Sydney’s Cronulla, and he’s the first to admit that he’s a homebody who doesn’t seek out change. In fact he started playing for the Sharks when he was 17, and across his entire sporting career – spanning a remarkable 18 seasons – he remained loyal to his beloved Cronulla team. He also still lives in the area where he grew up. “I’d followed the Sharks since I was a little kid, and the grounds where they played were a short walk from home,” he says. “So it was a magnificent feeling, that first day when I walked out there with them.”

Famous for his speed (super-coach Jack Gibson once said: “ET’s so quick he can turn the light off and be in bed before it gets dark”) and movie-star good looks – which many credit with bringing more women to the Australian game – ET quickly made a name for himself. He retired from footy in 2000, but that didn’t put an end to his love of sport and the great outdoors, because he could devote more time to fishing.

It’s a love that developed at a tidal point on the Central Coast called Empire Bay, where his grandparents lived. “All of my family, friends, cousins, aunties and uncles hung out up there, and we all loved fishing, prawning and crabbing. I think those great times – growing up with a big family, playing footy when we weren’t fishing – sum up my life today. And the great thing about fishing – unlike footy, which has a time limit on it – is that you can fish all your life.”

ET has a knack of turning his favourite pastimes into work. After wrapping up his footy career, he tackled a new televisual passion project: Escape with ET. Hosted by the man himself, its main focus is on fishing, though it

Images: ET fishing in Bundeena, New South Wales.

also covers water sports, off-road four-wheel driving and other outdoor activities.

“Fishing is a great way to get away from everything,” ET says. “It gives you time to regroup. You can sit back and think about things while you fish. It’s also a leveller.

Doesn’t matter that you’re a prime minister or the farmer down the road – you’re just someone out there enjoying fishing.”

Referring to Australia as ’God’s country’, ET says he wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

“We have everything in this country. From the cool rainforests of Tassie to the mountains in the Snowies, then up to the stunning Kimberley and all of the Top End – it is so special and ancient. So many people head off to the US or Europe on holidays, but what we have here on our doorstep is just as incredible.

It’s why Australia is on most people’s bucket list. Put me in a tinnie in a Top End creek full of barramundi, and I’m a happy man.”  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Above: ET fishing in the Wessel Islands, Northern Territory.

Right: ET in Bundeena, New South Wales.

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Having had his own fishing show for two decades, ET has racked up some extraordinary tales. But there’s one that stands out. “My mates and I decided to go fishing for black marlin off the coast of Cooktown,” he explains.

“We travelled 3,000 kilometres to get there, then hopped in a small trailer boat and headed a couple of hundred kilometres off the coast to where we wanted to fish. It was an amazing journey in itself, and then I caught a monster marlin – around 1,000 pounds and 13 feet long with an eight-foot girth. I managed to get her up to the boat and it was just mind-blowing – such a fantastic fish and what a fighter! What made it so special was that we weren’t in a big boat, we were in a Yellowfin 6700 plate boat!”

Spending a lot of time in the wilderness, ET knows firsthand how important it is to take care of the environment and to be wary of fish stocks. He’s a big greenie at heart and knows not to bite the hand that feeds him.

“I’m not a person who likes to kill lots of

fish – I let 95 per cent of our fish go,” he says. ”With big barramundi, for instance, you don’t keep them, as they’re the females and they can lay thousands of eggs, which means great fish stocks in the future. On the other hand, a nice 60-centimetre barramundi is great for the dinner table, and won’t put a dent in the fish stock. It’s all about sustainability.”

Through his show, ET is also fortunate enough to hang out with key Indigenous people in remote communities that most people don’t get the chance to visit. He’s been mud crabbing and spearing stingrays, cooking them in the ground with coals on top. During his footy career he also became friends with former Sharks player David Peachy, of the Wiradjuri people from the Dubbo region of New South Wales.

“We went fishing with his relatives and caught a whole pile of barramundi. We baked them in the traditional Indigenous method: in the ground, wrapped in paperbark,” says ET.

Cover Story

“It was a fantastic experience. When I spend time with Indigenous Australians, I can really see their genuine love for the Earth, and everything in nature around them. I can see how it all ties in with their lives.”

ET certainly has a good life, and he admits that he’s lost the right to complain. “Every now and then life throws something at me and I might feel stressed or down, but my wife tells me: ‘Hey, you just remember what some of your mates are doing right now – digging holes or sitting at a desk – I bet they’d just love to be out fishing!’”

Of course, it’s not all roses in anyone’s life, and there have been hard times. ET has openly talked about going through depression and the dark periods in his life. “I learned the hard way that stress is something you do not want in your life,” he says. “I never thought I would be someone to suffer from depression, but when the GFC hit, two of my friends in business unfortunately went bankrupt and left me in millions of dollars of debt. It was a dark threeyear period that I had to struggle through.

“There was an enormous amount of pressure and I was hardly sleeping. And because of my upbringing with league, I had adopted a certain mentality: there’s no second place for athletes. Everything you do is about winning. You come across challenges and you just keep bulldozing them down. But in retrospect, waving the white flag early could have actually been victory for me. If I had admitted defeat, I might not have subjected myself and others to so much pain. Sometimes there are things that are not worth fighting for, and sometimes it’s better that you wave that flag early. Stress is a real killer.”

Fame can be hard to handle, but ET has managed to escape that awkward ‘celeb’ mould. “People come up to me all the time and start chatting away as if they know me,” he says. “And I enjoy being that approachable guy who others feel that they can talk to. It makes me feel good. If someone can look at me and think, ‘he’s not putting anything on’, that means something to me. Basically, if you’ve ticked off a fair few boxes in life and haven’t hurt or upset too many people, you’re doing pretty well, I reckon.” TB AUG/SEPT 2019

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Getaway

Cairns may be the gateway to some of Australia’s most memorable wilderness experiences, but there are plenty of reasons to linger in this blissful Tropical North Queensland city.

Words: Natasha Dragun

TROPIC WONDER

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There are not many places in the world where I’d feel comfortable walking along the street at night sans shoes.

But on a steamy summer evening in Cairns, ditching my heels and strolling barefoot along the Esplanade after dinner seems like the natural thing to do. This city in Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) may be Australia’s fourth most popular destination for international tourists, but it’s a world away from the bustle of Sydney, Melbourne and even Brisbane, around 1,700 kilometres to the south.

The vibe here is sleepy at its quietest, and laid back at its busiest – and it does get pretty busy, if statistics and tourism developments are anything to go by.

Recent figures show there was a 15 per cent increase in domestic visitors to TNQ for the year ending September 2018, with many in the industry predicting numbers will reach all-time highs in 2019 and beyond, thanks to a boom in new infrastructure, not least the just-opened Riley hotel.

Luxe lodgings

The first new five-star lodgings to welcome guests to Cairns in two decades, Riley joins the fast-growing portfolio of homegrown hospitality group Crystalbrook Collection. The property is a snappy redux of the tired Tradewinds motel, which had enjoyed a prime Esplanade position overlooking the Coral Sea for decades. The once-drab building has been transformed into a light-filled, nature-loving cocoon of white and wood, with the 311 rooms and suites split across the original space as well as a new, Olympic torch-shaped tower, its 12 storeys top-and-tailed by dining establishments and a spa. The entire complex envelops the central pool, which has direct access to the lobby, waterfront and an all-day-dining restaurant. And this time next year, Riley will have two new Crystalbrook sisters in town: Bailey and Flynn, both within (barefoot) walking distance along the Esplanade, and all three with distinct design ’personalities’.

Since the trio of Cairns lodgings was announced, the city’s other accommodation offerings have been forced to take note, with a number – including the Shangri-La, Pullman and Novotel – undergoing renovations to keep up with Crystalbrook’s brisk pace of expansion.

But above and beyond the shiny new hotel rooms, the real reason to come to this part of Queensland is to get outside. All perfectly positioned for expansive views across the magnificent Coral Sea, Cairns has a 4,800 square metre saltwater lagoon pool with sandy edges.

It’s part of the enormous Esplanade waterside precinct, which also comes with a skate park, volleyball courts, weekend markets and numerous cafés and restaurants.

I have dinner booked slightly further along the marina  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Getaway Exterior of the new Riley hotel tower and pool.

Lagoon-style pool at Riley hotel.

at Hemingway’s Brewery, a breezy new restaurant and bar in the shadow of hulking cruise ships that port just metres away. House brews here range from a tropical lager to an XPA – and whatever you order, it’s best enjoyed outside in the garden, with sticky chicken wings or salt-and-pepper squid on the side.

World Heritage assets Kayaking in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Cairns.

Experiencing close to 250 days of sunshine a year, Cairns is the gateway to two World Heritage sites: the Wet Tropics of the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. My first day here is spent exploring the latter – from the sky, from the sea, and from the ocean’s depths. My GBR Helicopters chopper departs Cairns heliport and flies low over water so crystal clear it’s as though someone has taken the glasses off my nose and cleaned them for the first time.

We zip across opalesque lagoons toward Green Island – home to Cassius, the world’s largest croc in captivity at 5.5 metres long – and then touch down on a long stretch of Fitzroy Island sand, where a picnic lunch awaits.

In this part of the archipelago you can stroll along the sea floor off Green Island with Seawalker, or take a mini yellow submarine ride around Fitzroy, experiencing TNQ’s marine bounty without getting your hair wet. But I have an underwater date further east on Moore Reef, where my chopper lands atop a pontoon with horizon views for days.

It’s here that I join freshly minted cruise expedition Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel for a tour of the world’s largest coral reef system through Indigenous eyes. The company’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rangers tell us 60,000-year-old Dreamtime stories about the reef’s creation, before we slip into the warm water to snorkel and scuba  AUG/SEPT 2019

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KARIJINI

eco RETREAT

World class Karijini National Park is a must-see for any visitor to the Pilbara and located in the depths of the park is the magnificent Karijini Eco Retreat.

Designed with the environment in mind • Deluxe and dorm style eco tents and cabins • Outback restaurant & bar • 15 min. walk trail to Joffre Gorge • Campground with BBQ facilities, showers/WC • Easy access - only 3km unsealed

Bookings T: (08) 9425 5591 E: reservations@karijiniecoretreat.com.au W: www.karijiniecoretreat.com.au Off Weano Road, Karijini National Park, Western Australia Owned by the Gumala Aboriginal Corporation

ecoretreat karijini

Getaway Flecker Botanical Gardens.

Dive cruise on Norman Reef.

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park.

FACT FILE Crystalbrook crystalbrookcollection.com Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel experienceco.com Kuranda Scenic Railway ksr.com.au Skyrail Rainforest Cableway skyrail.com.au Seawalker seawalker.com.au GBR Subs gbrsubs.com.au GBR Helicopters experienceco.com Tjapukai Cultural Park tjapukai.com.au

Fast Facts • The Yirrganydji and Gimuy Yidinji people are the traditional landowners of Cairns, with many more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities having a connection to the Great Barrier Reef.

• With Riley hotel up and running, sister Bailey is due to open in late 2019, while Flynn will join the portfolio in early 2020. Crystalbrook is also planning two new properties at the Port Douglas Superyacht Marina, around 70km north-west of Cairns.

among some of the 1,500 species of fish that call the Coral Sea home. Drifting between bommies and coral fans, I spot cardinalfish, moray eels, clownfish and turtles – the boat’s marine biologist tells me the reef is home to six out of seven of the world’s turtle species.

Back on dry land, the Indigenous songlines surrounding Cairns are just as strong. West of the city, rainforest-draped mountains are home to the Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway – I go over the Great Dividing Range on the former, and come back to the coast on the latter. Constructed in the late 1800s, the railway is still considered one of Australia’s greatest engineering feats, and on my journey I glimpse orchids, palms and strangler figs, not to mention the incredible fauna – I’m told to keep watch for the country’s second-largest bird, the southern cassowary, which is thought to number only around 2,000 in the wild. On the return journey waterfalls cut beneath me through a dense matting of the world’s oldest rainforest, casting a prehistoric shadow over the countryside.

When I jump off the Skyrail I make a beeline for Tjapukai, a cultural centre celebrating the region’s traditional landowners. Visitors can learn to play the didgeridoo, taste bush tucker, watch Indigenous dancers and storytellers, and join a corroboree in the evening. By day or by night, this is a magical introduction to Tropical North Queensland – a bit like Cairns in a vivid snapshot. TB AUG/SEPT 2019

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with the

Take a break on the Gold Coast and you’re in for a (healthy) surprise with some adrenalinepumping fun thrown into the mix.

Words: Michelle Hespe

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When you think of the Gold Coast, images of high-rise apartments, flash hotels and theme parks dotted along a strip of golden sand spring to mind. This conception is very true, but there‘s another side to the Gold Coast that more and more tourists – including hordes of families – are continually being drawn to.

Few people realise that the Gold Coast was originally known as the South Coast, due to it being south of Brisbane. Then, from the late 1950s, inflated real estate prices and other goods and services aimed at those with deep pockets led to the nickname ‘the Gold Coast’. In the 1980s the Goldie, as it’s often dubbed, boomed as a tourist destination.

Then, in 1994, the City of Gold Coast local government area was expanded to encompass the majority of its metropolitan area, making it the second most populous local government area in Australia after Brisbane.

Today one of the great things about the Goldie is the Gold Coast Highway, which slices right through the mass of houses, apartments and seemingly endless motels and hotels. So it’s easy to navigate, and in just 15 minutes you can be out of the city hustle and into the tropical rainforests of the Gold Coast Hinterland. For families you get the best of both worlds: non-stop entertainment, and downtime surrounded by nature. Today, lo and behold, a certain degree of urban sophistication has also crept its way into the golden mix.

BROADBEACH AND MIAMI It’s a bit rock star staying right in the middle of Broadbeach – with the casino behind you and 17 kilometres of beach and the Pacific Ocean sprawled out front. Here Avani Broadbeach Gold Coast Residences is perfectly positioned to take in the nightlife, buzzing restaurant scene and the spoils to be reaped at the casino, if you’re child-free or on business.

You’re also only a few minutes’ walk from the G:link tram, which takes you up and down the coast to Surfers Paradise, Southport and beyond. The hotel’s modern, streamlined design in neutral shades with punches of fun colour make for a lovely and easy base.  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Experience a wild night of comedy cabaret unlike any dinner and show you’ve ever experienced. The show explodes mid-theatre with aerial acts, live rock, dark mime, burlesque and insane comedy.

Begin your night by entering through the Mausoleum experience and ride the Ghost Train into the theatre. Show Only or Dinner & Show Packages available! Upgrade to VIP tickets for priority entry and seating, canapes and sparkling wine on arrival.

DRACULAS.COM.AU

Shows run Tuesday to Saturday nights.

Bookings are essential!

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Don’t miss the the dessert hall, where you can buy one of the biggest, fluffiest lamingtons you’ll ever see or eat in your life.

The one thing everyone should do, no matter who their crew consists of, is visit Miami Marketta. It’s the hottest spot in town right now, and is bringing a bit of Melbourne-esque laneway dining style to Queensland. A single road that is empty by day, at night this space is transformed into a thriving nighttime spot with more than 25 types of cuisine, craft beer and wine stalls, not to mention a gin parlour with more than 90 types of gin. Spin a lottery drum to choose your gin if you can’t make up your mind. There’s market stalls and live music with people from all walks of life getting up for a boogie. The best part: the kids will have a ball with so much excitement while Mum and Dad can relax and indulge in delicious food and beverages. Don’t miss the dessert hall, where you can buy one of the biggest, fluffiest lamingtons you’ll ever see or eat in your life.

THEME PARK FUN AND A SPECTACULAR SHOW Or if you want to stay out of town, away from the buzz and by the ocean, you can’t go past the Oaks Calypso Plaza on Coolangatta Beach. It’s palm tree-lined pool is heated yearround, creating an oasis for parents and kids.

And it’s just a five-minute toddle to the beach with restaurants, cafés and a mall, which is home to a lovely cinema for that rainy day.

However if you do have the younger ones ones in tow, then you’ve also got it made when it comes to visiting the theme parks and evening shows the Goldie is famous for.

We’ll get to those soon...

Previous page: Scuba diving at Sea World.

Left to right: Miami Marketta; A suite at Avani Broadbeach Gold Coast.

Even if you’re not an adrenaline seeker, there’s no getting around it – you can’t visit the Gold Coast (especially if you have kids with you) without fitting in a theme park or a show.

Movie World is the crowd pleaser for fun park rides, and it’s home to the tallest, longest and fastest HyperCoaster in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s 1.4 kilometres of hair-raising fun. There’s also one of the most thrilling SpaceShot rides you’ll ever experience – BATWING. It shoots straight up to almost 60 metres in breathtaking speed and then finishes with bungee-like bounces.  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Don’t miss the Superman Escape (another thrilling rollercoaster where Superman himself propels you out of harm’s way) or the ScoobyDoo Spooky Coaster, which is actually not as tame as it first looks.

At Sea World you can go scuba diving or snorkelling with sharks, thousands of fish and stingrays, or jump on a thrilling ride called the Jet Rescue Roller – all the more scary because you’re strapped in by only a lap bar, with nothing around your shoulders, while holding on to jet ski handles as you fly over the coaster.

The Thunder Lake Stunt Show is a family pleaser, packed with acts on jet skis, water skis and trucks taking to the impressive water arena.

Above: An immersive scene in Australian Outback Spectacular.

Below: Heart-pumping action during Dracula's fabulous Nine Pints.

If you can fit in two shows while in town, the Australian Outback Spectacular is the ticket for families, and Dracula's Nine Pints is seriously awesome in an edgy burlesque kinda way.

Australian Outback Spectacular takes guests on a tear-jerking (and often hilarious) journey into Outback Australia, where a community of farmers are battling with the heartache and breakthroughs of drought. In a transformative arena brought to life with mindboggling immersive technology, rejoice in the community’s courage, bravery and generosity.

Dracula’s current show Nine Pints throws you headfirst (via a Ghost Train and ghoulish cocktails) into a thrilling evening of comedic cabaret. Indulge in an intimate three-course dinner and a show like nothing you've ever seen, where aerial acts, live rock, dark mime and burlesque magic will have your heart and mind racing.

BACK TO NATURE It may be called the Gold Coast, but the hinterland of this region is a verdant paradise of rainforest-clad mountains, valleys filled with burbling creeks, rushing rivers and cascading waterfalls, and hills covered in farms producing

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Clockwise from left: The pool at Oaks Calypso Plaza; Koala cuddling at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary; Potato rosti and avocado breakfast at Freeman’s Farm.

FACT FILE Avani BroadBeach Gold Coast Residences avanihotels.com/en/ broadbeach Oaks Calypso Plaza oakshotels.com/en/ oaks-calypso-plaza some of the country’s best organic produce.

A legend in this region is David Freeman of Freeman’s Farm, which has some of the most stunning views back across the mountains towards Burleigh Heads. David’s great, great uncle Arthur started growing bananas on this remarkable 300-acre patch of earth more than one hundred years ago, and today it is a slice of organic heaven, with (as David says) a ’botanical walk of health featuring 100 different fruit trees’.

Guests can take a seat among the crates and paper bags brimming with delicious market produce – at a chiminea fire in winter, or on the grass before the avocado and banana plantations in summer. It’s all about getting back to nature and drinking in the sunshine and views at Freeman’s Farm. Plus there’s always a lovely local to meet – no doubt a devout fan of organic food and a holistic approach health.

Miami Marketta miamimarketta.com Village Road Show Theme Parks themeparks.com.au Dracula's Draculas.com.au Freeman’s Organic Farm Facebook: Freeman’s Organic Farm Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary currumbinsanctuary. com.au For more information: destinationgoldcoast. com

A 15-minute drive down the road will take you to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where you can take a mini train around the sanctuary focused on preserving Australia’s endangered species.

Visit the Wildlife Hospital, where you can see nurses and doctors in action assisting all creatures great and small. Then have a cuddle and your photo taken with a (surpisingly heavy) koala. Don’t miss an exciting show called Crocodile Behaviours, where you can watch in fascination (perhaps with a pinch of terror) as Currumbin’s biggest saltwater croc, Boss Hog, jumps for his chicken dinner and shows the audience what dinosaurs are really made of.

You could spend an entire day or even a weekend at this sanctuary, so make sure you meet as many critters as possible. As they say, take time to smell the roses. TB AUG/SEPT 2019

41

Off the grid

Two parents, three kids and no tech devices.

Fire, horses, and gold. It’s a recipe cooked up to bring a family together through treasured memories.

WORDS: Michelle Hespe

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Through the gates

Off the grid Meeting the Turon Gates horses.

We hit the road out of Sydney. And after the usual squabble between our three tweens about who is going to sit in the middle, there’s immediate grumbling. “Why can’t have the iPads on the way? Pleeease? Then we won’t use them for three days – promise! Just one more game of Fortnite!”

The answer is ’no’, and then the first suggestions don’t go down well: I spy? Count some cows? Take a snooze?

We all settle on a family favourite – a fruit salad memory game where you go around in circles and keep adding another type of fruit to the salad. If you can’t remember the order, you’re out. The game gets us halfway to the Blue Mountains, and then we switch to thinking of an animal that starts with each letter of the alphabet.

There’s some fighting, but there’s also a lot of laughter, and we’ve reached the letter P by the time we drive through the front entrance of Turon Gates, where we’re staying in a homestead called The Loft. It’s perched on the side of a hill with superb views across kangaroo-packed paddocks, sandstone gorges and the sprawling, grand mass that is the Blue Mountains. There’s no phone reception. No internet.

FIRE STARTERS “What’s kindling?” That’s the first question out of the youngest one’s mouth when we settle in and decide to light a fire in the lounge room’s open fireplace, and a bonfire in the firepit outside. It’s autumn, so as soon as the sun sets, it’s going to be freezing.

And so the fun begins. We give the kids re-usable shopping bags and explore a nearby paddock with an abundance of sticks and twigs. Before we know it, we’ve raised the bar, and Dad is showing the kids how to break logs thicker than their legs by wedging them between tree branches and all pushing and jumping their hearts out.

Our very own bonfire overlooking sprawling paddocks.

When the fire is lit inside and the lounge room is toasty warm, we focus on our bona fide bonfire. Before darkness descends we have it roaring, and the kids are mesmerised.

We make damper in an old billy can, whip up a chicken pasta and bake some salted caramel cookies. Then it’s marshmallow roasting on the fire and popping an old movie into the DVD player. We watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and the kids crash right after, exhausted, with cookie crumbs on their fingers. Thankfully, the word ’iPad’ hasn’t been uttered.

HORSING AROUND The next morning starts with a fry-up. Afterwards the kids race about collecting more firewood, and then we all head down the road to Turon Gates camping ground.

It’s a 10-minute drive through stunning, quintessentially Aussie bushland, and we spot a goanna, hundreds of kangaroos, wallabies, birds, and cows galore.  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Off the grid

Turon Gates has a lovely history. Owners Soren and Sonya arrived in the area on a camping trip in 1972. After four days they fell in love with the place, and decided that, one day, they’d retire there. They built themselves a small, cosy bush retreat by the river and gradually bought more land, establishing a campground. Wanting to expand the idea and build more places to stay, the couple invited others who loved the area to contribute some funds, so more land could be bought and other dream eco retreats could be built.

Today Soren and Sonya run the accommodation alongside activities such as horse riding from their original cottage.

We meet Sonya for a coffee (she’s as bubbly as everyone says, and brimming with local knowledge), and then head down the road to check out the new, incredibly glamorous eco glamping tents, and the enormous conference tent at the epicentre. It’s ideal for business bonding escapes, and is popular as a wedding venue too.

Next up: horse riding. The excitement as the kids are introduced to their horses – Kahlua, Oscar and Midnight – is enough to have everyone grinning from ear to ear.

They’re lovely, calm, sturdy steeds, and as we set off with our riding instructor and guide Peter, the sun is shining and the river is sparkling under a bright blue sky that shows off the brilliant greens and greys of the gum trees.

We head out of the camping area and into the wilderness.

There’s no one else out on the tracks, so we could be in the middle of nowhere. We brave some river crossings, but for most of the two-hour ride are just ambling alongside flower-filled paddocks and down sunlight-dappled trails which weave across the mountains. It’s utterly peaceful and sometimes we’re all quiet, with only a few horse snorts punctuating the silence. It’s like meditation – and for once there’s no bickering from the kids. They’re enchanted, and one of them later says they felt as if they were in a movie.

HISTORY, MYSTERY & GOLD PANNING Day three of Digi Detox (as we’ve started calling it) rolls around, and it’s as though our kids belong to a different era. They’re not looking for their phones or asking if they can play ’one game of Fortnite’, and they’re volunteering to go wood collecting. Over breakfast they’re keen to know what activity we’re doing next.

When we announce that we’re going gold panning in an old gold rush town called Hill End, there’s more unbridled excitement. In the car on the way they’re deciding how their fortune will be divvied up when we find a huge gold nugget, and it’s eventually decided that if we find one worth $500,000, we can all have $100,000 each.

We swing by the quaint town of Sofala, which can legitimately claim to be Australia’s oldest surviving gold town as it developed on the back of Australia’s first gold rush, and then head to History Hill Museum & Underground Mine, which is owned and operated by historian, author and gold-loving character Malcolm Drinkwater.

A noisy kookaburra keeps watch.

Dozens of wary kangaroos stand attentive as we traipse by.

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Off the grid

The museum, which is Malcolm’s life’s work, is home to more than 10,000 gold rush artefacts, and the Son of Hope Mine – which he built himself – has 175 metres of underground passageways that visitors can safely explore.

It’s remarkable how much there is to see and do, and Malcolm regularly hosts school group excursions. We learn about the German-Australian Bernard Otto Holtermann: a gold miner, businessman, and politician, who in 1871 was one of a few miners who discovered rich veins of gold in Hill End. The Holtermann Nugget was the largest gold specimen ever found, at 1.5 metres long and weighing 290 kilograms, with an estimated gold content of 93 kilograms.

After a good couple of hours the kids’ heads are bursting with dreams of gold nuggets, and we head out of town to meet Malcolm’s son, Jhob Drinkwater, who runs gold panning lessons. He takes us down to a secluded river where he fossicks himself, and digs up loads of mud out of a cave-like wall in the creek. He then hands us all a gold pan piled high with clay, and we wander down to the river in search of our impending riches.

Jhob takes everyone through the three main steps. Step one: get your hands in there and break everything up to make it nice and soupy. “Do it like a washing machine,” he says with a smile. “Washy washy, soupy soupy.” Step number two is shaking out anything heavier, in search of gold.

“Shaky shaky,” he says over and over to the kids. Then step number three: “Cleany cleany,” where you clean out the mud and other rocks, and are hopefully left with a gold fortune.

We spend an hour in the creek going through the steps, and the kids are having a ball getting wet and muddy. By the end of the tour they are all owners of a speck of gold as big as a grain of sand, which they carefully pop into a tiny vial provided by Jhob. They are each worth about 10 cents, so our eldest son’s dreams a buying himself a million games and us a house disappear up the creek.

He’s not that fussed – he just wants to know what’s next?

The answer is a pub lunch at the lovely Royal Hotel, which has an awesome beer garden that stretches out into a paddock where the kids can play in the sun and climb trees. The grand building was built in 1872, and is the last man standing of 28 pubs which were built during the gold rush to service the 8,000 people who moved into town with dreams of striking it lucky.

Our final night in The Loft is another peaceful one. We cook a lamb roast, enjoy more marshmallows blackened over the fire, and pop on another classic DVD from the huge collection. This time it’s School of Rock. The kids’ heads are lolling as we reach the film’s end, and they’re asleep as the credits roll. There’s been no mention of ’iPad’, and we’re hoping that Fortnite has been pushed aside, replaced by dreams of bonfires, gold nuggets and horses peacefully traipsing across mountains. TB

A trail ride through secluded mountains.

Fact File Turon Gates turongates.com History Hill Museum & Underground Mine historyhill.com.au Royal Hotel Hill End royalhotelhillend.com

Wildlife Encounters Special

Wildlife Encounters Up close and personal experiences where you can learn how conservation sanctuaries work to save endangered native and exotic animals, while teaching visitors about their plight.

WORDS: Sarah Hinder

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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 Humberkhali the giraffe, 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

Devils@Cradle, Cradle Mountain Tas This boutique alpine conservation sanctuary, situated at the edge of the spectacular Cradle Mountain National Park World Heritage Area, specialises in Tasmania’s three largest carnivorous marsupials: the Tasmanian devil, the spotted-tail quoll and the eastern quoll.

Devils@Cradle is a key partner of both the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and the Tasmanian Quoll Conservation Program, which deliver significant and sustainable in situ conservation outcomes for these beautiful, threatened species.

Visitors to the sanctuary can join a guided tour, which operate both day and night, conducted by a qualified animal keeper. A guided tour will provide an educational understanding of the animal’s lifecycles, behaviours and threats, as well as give visitors insight into the operation of a working conservation facility. devilsatcradle.com  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Wildlife Encounters Special

Phillip Island, Vic Lying just off the south coast of Victoria, Phillip Island is most well-known for its population of more than 20,000 miniature penguins who call the island home. Hundreds of people gather to watch the little penguins ‘parade’ ashore at sunset… each day of the year! It’s a special experience, where every allowance has been made to ensure that humans don’t impede upon the penguins’ natural habitat and behaviour.

The island is home to an impressive diversity of wildlife, including Australia’s largest colony of more than 16,000 fur seals. Visitors can watch them lounging about on the rocky shore from the Nobbies Centre or can head out to sea on a local seal watching cruise.

The 100 square kilometre island is also home to an abundance of first-rate wildlife parks (including Phillip Island Wildlife Park, Koala Conservation Centre, Moonlit Sanctuary, Maru Koala and Animal Park, and Churchill Island Heritage Farm), whose primary aim is to preserve the astounding biodiversity of life that calls this tiny island home. visitphillipisland.com piwildlifepark.com.au moonlitsanctuary.com.au marukoalapark.com.au

THE KANGAROO SANCTUARY, ALICE SPRINGS NT The Northern Territory is bursting with thrilling and unforgettable animal experiences. A standout among them is the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs. This rescue centre is dedicated to the rehabilitation and protection of orphaned baby and adult kangaroos.

Wonderful for educational and up-close experiences, Chris ‘Brolga’ Barnes, aka Kangaroo Dundee, and his team rescue, rehabilitate and release orphaned baby kangaroos back into the wild. Those kangaroos raised by wildlife carers from infancy which cannot be released inhabit the wilds of the 188-acre refuge.

Visitors can explore the sanctuary throughout the year on guided sunset tours led by Brolga and the other wonderful sanctuary tour guides. kangaroosanctuary.com

FEATHERDALE WILDLIFE PARK, SYDNEY NSW In Sydney’s west, this fantastic family-focused wildlife park boasts Australia’s largest collection of native animals. The park is one of the best for children (and adults too) to learn about animals, from cuddly kangaroos and koalas to reptiles and rare species. Choose to explore the park on your own or book an up-close learning encounter with one of the park’s inhabitants.

Behind the scenes, Featherdale runs some fantastic conservation initiatives for endangered native species. A few include the Koala Plantation Fund, which seeks to create a self-sustaining food plantation for its koalas; carrying out research into endangered species, such as eastern quolls and spotted-tailed quolls; and partnering with various other wildlife conservation groups. featherdale.com.au TB

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Getaway

VALLEY OF SLOWER PACE There are no luxury resorts in the Huon Valley. No branches of McDonald’s or KFC. Not even a set of traffic lights. But what you will discover is perhaps Tasmania’s best-kept gourmet secret, with rivers, orchards, friendly locals and hearty food.

Image: Tourism Tasmania/ Samuel Shelley

WORDs: Winsor Dobbin

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Getaway

Fast Facts Huon Valley is the southernmost municipality in Australia. Locals like to joke that the next stop south is Antarctica.

The area has bounced back after bushfires earlier this year, but the Tahune Airwalk, one of the region’s major attractions, remains closed indefinitely.

The Helmsman’s House at Frenchman’s River.

Image: Tourism Tasmania/ Samuel Shelley

Getaway

COAST HOUSE Tasmania.

Cooking ‘plank salmon’.

Fact File Huon Aqua huonaqua.com.au Home Hill Winery homehillwines.com.au Elsewhere Vineyard elsewherevineyard.com.au Kate Hill Wines katehillwines.com.au Two Bud Spur Vineyard twobudspur.com.au Willie Smith’s williesmiths.com.au Frank’s Cider frankscider.com.au Pagan Cider pagancider.com.au Sailor Seeks Hors sailorseekshorse.com.au Mewstone mewstonewines.com.au Hartzview Vineyard hartzview.com.au

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H

ead south of Hobart to enjoy the wild beauty of a twin-tailed valley that is rapidly building a reputation for its cool-climate wines, artisan ciders and gourmet seafood. Huon Valley is known for its small villages, hidden beaches, and arts and crafts trails. The hamlets of Cygnet, Franklin and Geeveston are among the region’s most popular destinations.

Here you can pick berries fresh from roadside hedgerows, pull mussels and oysters straight from the water, fish for river trout or buy ciders from the same shed in which the apples were processed.

In the 1950s apples were sea-freighted from here to Britain, and the Huon was the biggest producer on the Apple Isle. Today, seafood from Huon Aqua is keeping the region’s name alive on the global food stage.

This region has something for everyone, be they walkers, fishermen or wine lovers.

SIP Home Hill Winery is regarded as one of the country’s leading producers of premium pinot noir, and is a popular lunch venue with a restaurant overlooking the vines.

Also check out Elsewhere Vineyard, Kate Hill Wines and Two Bud Spur Vineyard cellar doors and Willie Smith’s Apple Shed – an organic cider pioneer – Frank’s Cider and Pagan Cider, all of which welcome visitors.

Try also to seek out wines from small producers such as Sailor Seeks Horse,

Mewstone and Hartzview Vineyard, and be sure to sample the cherry cider at Pagan.

SLEEP When it comes to places to stay, choices range from rustic campsites to luxury guesthouses.

River’s Edge Wilderness Camping, on the banks of the Russell River at Lonnavale, is remote and rustic, and hugely popular with trout fishermen.

In Cygnet check out the Old Bank – a chic little Bed & Breakfast with its own café – while just out of town you’ll find luxury accommodation at COAST HOUSE Tasmania and Frenchman’s River cottages, both places where you can kick back in style and enjoy a day or two of peace and quiet.

Huon Bush Retreats at Ranelagh, and Driftwood Cottages and Ashdowns of Dover in the south of the Huon, are other popular and affordable accommodation options.

EAT When it comes to eating, choose from lunching at Home Hill or Willie Smith’s, the gourmet burgers at the Ranelagh General Store, or several waterfront cafes in Franklin.

The Old Bank, vegetarian hangout Red Velvet Lounge and newcomer Ilha are all found in Cygnet. All three showcase locally farmed produce, while Ilha is the first restaurant venture for former MasterChef contestant Sarah Clare, a local whose potter father designed all her crockery.

Getaway

Pademelon at Huon Bush Retreats.

Just outside town, on the road to Nicholls Rivulet, is an unlikely find: Ashcraig Farm, which offers authentic Thai food to eat in or take away.

DO Although it begins just a 30-minute drive south of Hobart, the rural idyll that is the Huon has very few city conceits. It moves at its own pace, and, in season, you can pick up fresh apples, berries, cherries, stone fruits and purple garlic from roadside stalls and simply leave your money in an honesty box.

Make sure to sample local cheeses, vegetables and mushrooms and even saffron.

It was to Cygnet, the liveliest hamlet in the region, that Sydney chef and restaurant critic turned Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans moved, and filmed several series of his hugely successful SBS TV show. He offers Friday lunches, cooking classes and foraging experiences at his Fat Pig Farm at Glaziers Bay, and his caravan is a regular at local festivals including the Huon Show, A Taste of the Huon and the Huon Valley Mid-winter Fest.

Cygnet also attracts thousands of visitors with its Folk Festival every January, while sushi master Masaaki Koyama, who used to be based in a tiny hole-in-the-wall eatery, will soon reopen in a former church building in Geeveston.

Port Cygnet Cannery, just outside town, will be home to a wood-fired oven, café and the Sailor Seeks Horse cellar door, when it opens towards the end of the year.

Both Geeveston and Franklin have a good

selection of eateries from which to choose, but this is the country and most options close early.

Unless you live locally, you probably haven’t heard of any of the local wine producers.

The biggest are Home Hill and Panorama, now owned by Steve and Monique Lubiana.

Tucked away on hillsides and riverbanks there are many more small producers. Jim Chatto, renowned winemaker at Pepper Tree in the Hunter Valley, has planted his own Isle Vineyard with pinot noir at Glaziers Bay. Chatto, who has a passion for Burgundy, says: “This part of the world has the potential to be among the most exciting sites for pinot noir anywhere in Australia.”

Huon Aquaculture was started in 1988 by local couple Peter and Frances Bender. It now employs more than 500 people and was Tasmanian exporter of the year in 2012.

“It’s all about getting the basics right – and attention to detail,” says Frances, who praises the stress-free and pristine Huon environment in which the business’s sashimi-grade salmon are raised.

“We are very proud of this region,” she says.

“It is a clean, beautiful place with a real sense of community, and we wanted our product linked with the area – hence the name. We think it is great that the story of the Huon is now being told all over Asia. And it is great that we can be champions for this remarkable place.”

Visits to Huon Aqua’s main farm at picturesque Hideaway Bay, outside Dover, are available by appointment. TB

Home Hill Winery.

Fact File River’s Edge Wilderness Camping riversedgecamping.com.au Cygnet Old Bank cygnetoldbank.com.au Coast House coasthousetasmania.com Frenchman’s River frenchmansriver.com.au Huon Bush Retreats huonbushretreats.com Driftwood Cottage driftwoodcottages.com.au Ashdowns of Dover ashdownsofdover.com.au Red Velvet Lounge redvelvetlounge.com.au Fat Pig Farm fatpig.farm Chatto Wines chattowines.com AUG/SEPT 2019

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ArtSpace

THE ART OF THE MATTER Bendigo Art Gallery is one of Australia’s oldest art galleries, with a bright future in sight.

WORDS: sarah hinder In Central Victoria, Bendigo Art Gallery excellently toes the line between classic and contemporary. We spoke with the gallery’s newly appointed Director, Jessica Bridgfoot, to explore its history and a few upcoming exhibitions.

Founded by early colonial settlers more than 130 years ago, with paintings brought over from the UK and Europe,

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Bendigo’s is one of the oldest art galleries in Australia.

“At that time, there was a certain nostalgia for the ‘motherland’, and a desire to bring European and British sensibilities to the new colony,” says Jessica. “The gallery was founded with the motto: ‘Art for the people’.

And that’s still inscribed upon our building today.”

Balenciaga

Today the city of Bendigo has certainly become an established destination for arts and culture, especially within the fashion and textiles space. “We’ve become synonymous now with international fashion and design and celebrity-based exhibitions,” Jessica explains.

“The area has become our niche, in a way.“ The ‘Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion’ exhibition, on at Bendigo Art Gallery from August 17 to November 10, is a textile and design exhibition tracing fashion designer Christóbal Balenciaga from his early roots in Spain during the ‘40s and ‘50s to his famous Parisian salon, in which he hosted and designed for several high-profile clients including Ava Gardner and Gloria Guinness.

“He was very much at the peak of his game,“ explains Jessica. “He was a master couturier, recognised by Dior and Givenchy. He’s lesser known, but was in fact one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. He revolutionised the female silhouette, invented the sack dress, peplum and baby doll dress – variations of which are now part of our contemporary fashion vernacular.“

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ArtSpace

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Desert Lines

On loan from the NGV, exhibition ‘Desert Lines: Batik from Central Australia’, this August 17 to November 17, will present more than 60 works of Indigenous batik from five Central Australian Desert communities.

“This is something that we’ve always wanted to bring here to Central Victoria, so we’re showing an expanded exhibition and bringing in some painting from the Central Desert as well,” says Jessica.

The show highlights the significance of batik to Indigenous women of the Central Desert region, and illustrates the link between batik and painting.

Traditionally, during the ‘70s and ‘80s, Indigenous men painted, while women worked in batik. So women only started painting in the late ‘80s, and before then it was classified as ‘men’s work’.

“Consequently, when batik originated during the ‘70s in the Central Desert, the works were viewed as craft rather than fine art. It simply wasn’t on the art market. What this meant was the artists had a right of freedom to really develop the technique, colour and stories, unconfined by any commercial market.”

Alongside the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on educational programs such as a batik dyeing workshops.

Going Solo

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Bendigo Art Gallery actively collects and showcases regionally based artists, with its annual ‘Going Solo’ exhibition showcasing a local emerging artist.

“This year we’ve dedicated our exhibition to a local First Nations artist, which we will continue to do every second year,” says Jessica. “This year’s exhibition, ‘What’s on your mind’, will feature early career artist Josh Muir.”

Opening in November, it will include a learning space and an interactive digital space. “There will be a type of gaming space as an extension of Josh’s artwork. He works in neon

with a street art aesthetic, and is interested in youth culture and the idea of what it means to be a young Indigenous person in a contemporary world.”

As new director at the gallery, the digital realm is something which Jessica is interested in exploring further in the future. “It’s an area that I’m interested in pushing,” she says. “We’re looking at implementing a permanent digital space.

“We’re also interested in our future audiences.

Younger people are becoming very interactive with artistic spaces. So, we’re experimenting in that space. It’s brand new territory for us.” TB

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Father’s Day gift ideas After a great gift for a great dad?

Try out these creative ideas.

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1. kickin’ it The zip-sided chemical-resistant #982 by Blundstone is ideal for industries where there is a potential risk for caustic or acid exposure. Packed with the latest innovations in safety and comfort, they are perfect for keeping you protected if you’re on your feet all day. For further details visit: blundstone.com.au

Compiled by: haley halvorson

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2. Tackle It Shimano’s backpack with tackle box makes a stylish addition to every fisherman’s collection.

With four included tackle trays, sunglasses case, tool holder and drink pocket, it doesn’t matter whether he’s a diehard fisher or weekend warrior – this bag will have his back. $99.95, ottostackleworld.com.au

3. master series 15-year-old whisky This premium single malt whisky represents the very best from Tasmania’s Hellyer’s Road Distillery. Selected by the master distiller, it has been drawn from some of the popular distillery’s oldest casks. $282.90, hellyersroaddistillery.com.au

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4. Handmade Shoes These classic Oxford toecap brogue shoes are handmade by master shoemaker Andrew McDonald. Business classics, they’re made with black and brown box calf upper, and brogue detail on the toecap for a refined look. Available sizes include men’s 40-46.

From $795,andrewmcdonald.com.au

Receive a bonus antler shoe horn to the value of $50 if you mention InflightMags Stocks limited!

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Father’s Day Gift Ideas

5. Sock it to Him Who said socks had to be boring? Who said socks even had to be identical? These ‘odd socks’ are made from sustainable bamboo, which is moisture wicking and anti-bacterial. Meaning, no more stinky feet! $16.95, lambchopssocks. com.au

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6. Get Smart

7. Gentlemen Only

8. hair hero

Carry all you need without the struggle of fitting a bulky wallet into your favourite suit or pair of jeans. Stay efficient and say goodbye to getting stuck when your phone’s run out of battery. KobZ Smart Wallet’s clever design combines storage for cash and cards with a portable power bank. $99, top3.com.au

The Handy Man Tool Kit is a mini workbench in a box. Bringing together all the standard fixer-upper necessities, the solid wooden case holds a hammer, tape measure, wooden ruler, pliers, multi-ratchet screwdriver and a pencil.

Each premium-quality piece is strong, ergonomic and made to last. $99.90, top3.com.au

The perfect solution for a dad in need of thicker, stronger hair.

This Hunter Lab Hair Care Kit, which includes an Invigorating Shampoo and Nourishing Conditioner, is packaged within a luxury black gift case. Both practical and indulgent, this gift is wrapped and ready. $84, hunterlab.com.au

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Father’s Day Gift Ideas

9. go fish in coral bay, WA Operating out of Coral Bay on Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, Mahi Mahi Fishing Charters offers fantastic full- and half-day fishing tours in addition to private charters for small groups.

Light game and bottom fishing, as well as heavy game fishing, can all be catered for.

From $225, 08 9942 5874 mahimahifishingcharters.com.au bookings@mahimahifishingcharters. com.au

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10. Sortable & Portable

11. Love the Beard

12. Well-Groomed

This foldable carry-on bag can be compacted into a zip-up pouch when not in use. It’s handy to pop in checked luggage to use as a small day bag when out and about. The bag features a front zip pocket that slips over luggage handles, so it’s easy to transport with the rest of your gear. $14.95, buymythings.com.au

Think of this beard oil as ‘man oil’.

It’s good for all those itchy skin, dry jawline and frizzy facial hair symptoms that most men don’t like talking about.

Whether your dad has got a beard or not, this stuff gets to the bottom of all skin problems, moisturising and healing both his skin and beard. $44, blackchicken.com.au

Turn Dad’s bathroom into a sanctuary of organisation by giving all his grooming tools a home of their own.

The Harvey & Oliver Set by Tooletries will help to ‘shave’ time off his morning or night shower routine. Plus, the steamy, warm water means shaving in the shower is better for his skin. $54.95, tooletries.com

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Father’s Day Gift Ideas

13. All Teched Up The Gaucho Techroll, in racing green no less, is the ideal gift for the man who ‘has everything’. Keep his tech gear and accessories organised with this soft genuine leather mobile tech organiser, which can be personalised with his name. $269.22, giftslessordinary.com

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14. keep Him Cool Keep his drinks cold in Packit’s 9-Can freezable insulated cooler, with a built-in eco-gel liner that lets you take meals and drinks everywhere without the need for ice packs. It keeps contents cool for up to 10 hours, is PVC and lead-free, non-toxic, reusable, and folds compactly in the freezer for storage. $44.95, biome.com.au

15. Get Comfy, Dad This lightweight and ergonomically designed Kikkerland iBED lap desk

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is Dad’s answer to comfy use of his tablet or e-reader when on-the-go. Thanks to the roomy, non-slip surface and a sturdy microbead cushion, he can just pop his book or tablet into the slot and be ready to go. $19.99, yellowoctopus. com.au

16. Made with Love These bespoke sterling silver children’s drawing cufflinks from Gifts Less Ordinary are the perfect personalised gift for a new dad this Father’s Day. $221.22, giftslessordinary.com

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Father’s Day Gift Ideas

17. Get Rolling

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The Studio Roller is an innovative way to display information in the cafĂŠ, office or home. A simple and functional wall-mounted bracket seamlessly dispenses kraft paper to write ideas, menus, specials and daily tasks. $243.92, georgeandwilly.com

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18. The Finer things in Life The stunning Van Daemon decanter sets (in three designs) include a whisky decanter and four heavybased tumblers large enough to accommodate 2-inch whisky stones, cubes or an ice ball. Each set comes in a gift box, which can also store its contents for years and generations to come. $149, freshaustralianstore.com

19. Some Like it Hot Inspired by Alaskan whalers from the 18th century, the Fire Starter provides a revolutionary way to light your fire without kindling or newspaper. The porous

ceramic stone absorbs lamp oil in the steel vessel. Once lit, it produces a generous flame for 15-20 minutes, allowing for large logs to catch fire. $337, georgeandwilly.com

20. A Carry-on for the frequent flyer dad Boasting voluminous packing space of 32 litres, this super sleek carry-on is the perfect travel companion for any jetsetter dad. It can also expand up to 4 centimetres to increase packing capacity and comes equipped with a handy USB port which can connect to a battery pack.

Now he can keep his device powered when on the go. $759, victorinox.com

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AusBiz.

NEWS+VIEWS | MINING | AGRIBUSINESS | INFRASTRUCTURE

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12 P.2 buisness news+views p.3 QLD invest special p.6 mine fires on the rise P.12 agricultural land prices P.18 agribusiness: saltwater crocs P.22 property biz: tiny houses P.26 charity spotlight: careflight

Business News+Views

WORDS: sarah hinder

Australian grains making waves in Vietnam Every year Australia exports more than $460 million worth of wheat into Vietnam, mostly used in bread and noodles. According to a new research report published by the Australian Export Grains Innovations Centre (AEGIC), this number is expected to increase by 44 per cent by the year 2030.

Australia’s wheat has historically been used across Vietnam’s higherpriced food sectors, explains lead report author Dr Peter White.

“Australian wheat has an excellent reputation for noodles in Vietnam,

[and] is Vietnam’s first choice for bread (bánh mì),“ he says. “Vietnam is one of the top 10 beer markets in the world, and Australia is already their largest supplier of malt and malt barley.”

With the country’s middle class expected to make up one quarter of its 96 million-strong population by 2030, the demand for high-quality Australian grain and wheat is expected to be at an all-time high.

Meanwhile, Australian barley imports into Vietnam have the potential to double by the same year.

To find out more visit aegic.org.au

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INVESTMENT PROPERTIES FROM $505,000

Investment Special

QLD Invest deliver valuable property investments to Australian families Let’s face it, working for the man is good for paying the bills, but to really get ahead, we all know that property investing is a must. As a wise old investor said to me years ago: “This property will never be as cheap as it was when you bought it.” Well, I guess that’s why they call it REAL estate.

Where do you start? Seriously!

How much research do you need to conduct before you buy a property?

When navigating all the contradicting property reports out there, it’s easy to follow the herd, simply because that’s what the herd does. Plus, who has the time to drive across the country investigating every nook and cranny, trying to locate that ‘great deal’?

Well, enter Korry from QLD Invest.

The really unique thing about what Korry does is he ‘manufactures’ the wealth into the property design. It’s a concept that takes time to wrap your head around. But once you get it, you’ll probably never buy a stock standard property again. QLD Invest was set up by Korry in order to deliver real wealth, to everyday families, through smart property investments.

Korry explains that his team spends most of their time looking at council zoning, and what would be allowable under council rules. Then designing a building that will deliver a specific commercial outcome to the investor.

“We deliver a complete package.

All the investor needs to do is be prepared to work with the mortgage broker to get the lending in place and sign a few contracts.

“We’ve got dozens of clients currently involved in projects which will provide $80,000-$120,000 in immediate uplift, within six to eight months. Not only that, it provides big tax deductions. It’s hard to beat. And an investor on a normal salary can get into high return property, with around $100,000 equity or deposit.”

Korry explains: “We named the business QLD Invest because southeast Queensland is in fact one of the best locations for investment at the current time and foreseeable future.

“Many of our projects are returning high weekly rents and incredible returns of 6 to 15 per cent each year.

On top of that is the capital growth.

One of our clients who wanted to move up from Sydney, is in fact getting a 25 per cent annual return on the project that we delivered. It’s basically allowed the family’s dad to stay at home. That’s life changing, and that’s when I get real satisfaction from my business. We are a family business, and we pride ourselves in helping families secure a great future.”

QLD Invest makes the investment process seamless. With every step, from initial discussion through to securing lending, managing the project and getting it rented, the team at QLD Invest support the process at no charge to clients.

“We deliver far more than most people would be able to achieve with their own knowledge, and we do it quickly, including high return SMSF property.“ Talking with Korry, you will learn more in three minutes than you may in a lifetime. qldinvest.com.au | 0439 425 855 korry@qldinvest.com.au

Korry and Roma from QLD Invest with their daughters.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Cairns & Townsville

Launceston

Perth

Blue Mountains

Melbourne

Brisbane

Sydney

Hunter Valley

At the heart of Subiaco in Perth: Park Regis Subiaco – Opening November 2019.

Contact: mranoa@staywellgroup.com | Website: staywellgroup.com

Business News+Views

South Queensland Energy and Resources Expo

Northern Australia wild for rice In the first project of its kind undertaken in Australia, the new Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) plans to launch a $505,000 research collaboration to kick off a rice sector in northern Australia.

Partnering with organisations including the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), the 18-month project will trial three different scenarios for the proposed industry, including production of unique wild rice and northern Australian rice varieties, and the potential global commercial use of these varieties’ genes.

QAAFI’s Professor Robert Henry explains: “a ‘North Australian rice’ grade would be worth $50 million within seven years.“ For more information visit crcna.com.au

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AUG/SEPT 2019

5

Mining

Darren Baguley Darren specialises in the fields of technology, mining, agriculture, energy and business.

Mine fires on the rise THE INCREASING USE OF PLASTIC IN MOBILE PLANT ON MINE SITES HAS LED TO A MARKED INCREASE IN MINE FIRES. According to the NSW Resources Regulator, the number of fires on mine sites has doubled in nearly a decade. A recent report from the regulator found that more than 200 fires were reported between September 2014 and May 2017.

On average that’s about six per month – double the number reported between 2001 and 2008.

Further, the regulator noted that between May 2016 and May 2017 a total of 97 incidents were reported, at an average of eight fires each month. It also noted that high temperature diesel engine exhaust and turbo surfaces were the ignition source in 69 per cent of fires in the data period.

This trend is not restricted to New South Wales, or even Australia: according to international insurer FM Global, mine plant fires are on the rise everywhere. The US-based insurance firm has offices worldwide, and specialises in insuring large corporations. It has 300 mining sites on its books, spread across the globe.

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Mining

Unlike most insurance companies, which employ actuarial calculations to determine risk, FM Global determines risk, and premiums, by applying engineering analysis.

This approach takes the view that property losses can be prevented or mitigated, and the company’s engineering personnel regularly visit clients to evaluate hazards and recommend improvements aimed at reducing physical and financial losses if an incident occurs.

According to Group Manager, Account Engineering, Mike Beaumont, the increase in mine fires highlighted by the NSW Resources Regulator is definitely a trend and not a statistical outlier. “FM Global’s data, including over 50 mining sites in Australia, shows that fire incidents at mines are on the increase,” he says.

“While the number of fires that affect mobile plants remains relatively stable, there has been a significant rise in fire incidents (both in frequency and severity) involving other types of fixed plant, such as

rubber belt conveyors, vibratory screens, hydro-cyclones, piping and rubber-lined equipment.”

During the reporting period, fire accounted for 27 per cent of all losses on mine sites. If the use of autonomous vehicles continues to rise, as widely expected, the risk of fire could increase further unless it is managed appropriately. The NSW Regulator, however, argues that “engineering technology is available to virtually eliminate fires on mobile plant, as demonstrated by underground coal mobile plant statistics…

There continues to be clear indication that hot surface and inadvertent release of combustible fluid is a dominant condition causing fires on mobile plant at mines. Surface temperature control by water jacketed turbos and exhaust manifolds as typically available on marine application engines, or other methods, should be considered as a means to eliminate hot surface ignition sources.”

One factor that FM Global’s data suggests is contributing to the rise  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Mining

in mine fires is the increased use of plastic equipment and plastic parts.

The issue isn’t so much with the plastic equipment, but with the fire awareness that goes with it. Put simply, plastic is more combustible than metal, and as plastic parts replace steel, there needs to be a change in fire prevention strategies. For example, a recent fire was caused by workers doing hot work above plastic filtering screens, which caught alight.

Beaumont says: “In FM Global’s view, there has been a lag in updating fire safety practices in line with the increasing use of new materials, such as plastics, in mine sites.

There needs to be more education and awareness around combustibility issues when using plastic equipment in a mine site. Also, consideration should be given to improved use of fire protection equipment in key areas of plastic equipment concentration.”

According to Beaumont, FM Global has done a lot of the work for mining companies already when it comes to improving fire prevention standards. “This can be found in our Data Sheet 7-12 ‘Mining and Ore Processing Facilities,’ which is available on our website,” he says.

“This standard is in the process of being updated to provide even more detailed guidance for plastic equipment where we are seeing more losses, and should be available to the public later in 2020. Remaining on top of evolving standards in this area and implementing new recommendations is key to mitigating risk.

“In the meantime, FM Global recommends that miners conduct on-site hazard analysis before starting any hot work. One recommendation to mitigate the risk of fire would be flanging off pipes so that fires in one vessel won’t jump to another if the worst does occur.”

Beaumont says that mine operators

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also need to think about how they are configuring flammable materials. Miners should try to keep the concentration of combustible equipment below a reasonable level, as this can minimise the spread of fire if it occurs.

FM Global believes it is key to ensure miners are aware of any safety related issues, such as combustibility, when new equipment is introduced.

According to Beaumont, failing to adequately educate staff on the ground leads to a far greater risk that appropriate precautions may not be taken. “Staying on top of your equipment maintenance is

another important factor,” he adds.

“Many fires are related to equipment failure, where machinery is running for long periods without maintenance.”

While, thankfully, the rise in mine fires has not resulted in fatalities, with any fire there’s a risk of injuries or death if it isn’t contained effectively, says Beaumont. “As a property insurer, FM Global’s focus and expertise is on the property damage/business interruption side of the equation. We’re not safety experts. But the risks associated with mine fires highlight why it’s imperative for miners to understand fire risk and take appropriate precautions.”

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Achieve maximum effectiveness onsite with Topcon technology and MAGNET software integration One of the largest surveying firms in regional New South Wales, PHL Surveyors has been operating for more than 100 years in Griffith, and for the last 12 years in Bungendore. PHL Surveyors is involved in many facets of surveying including rural boundary definition, rural and urban sub-division, large-scale irrigation design work, planning and engineering works.

The company has been using MAGNET software since the late ‘80s, and first purchased Topcon robotic total stations from Position Partners about seven years ago. Two years ago, PHL Surveyors made the decision to fully integrate its system by purchasing Topcon GNSS equipment.

Operating the Bungendore branch, Alan Longhurst is one of three directors at PHL Surveyors. “One of the projects we’re working on at present is a 20-kilometre rural marking job, where the boundaries have been very difficult to access, and the terrain is pretty steep,” Longhurst explains.

“We’ve utilised several technologies onsite, including total stations, GNSS equipment, AllDayRTK, as well as kinematic methodology – and have

been very impressed with the way the Topcon equipment has performed. It’s made the task so much easier for us.”

PHL Surveyors found that working with Position Partners to integrate the two technologies has resulted in an entirely seamless process.

Longhurst explains: “Since Topcon has taken on the role of developing MAGNET software, we’ve found that it’s worked seamlessly with the use of GNSS equipment and robotic total stations, where in the past we’ve had to use other third-party software and swap it through different applications.”

PHL Surveyors chose a combination of Topcon total stations, GNSS and MAGNET to enable an integrated process both in the field and the office.

“We found the cost effectiveness and the accuracy that we can achieve using Topcon equipment is really impressive,” Longhurst explains. “Now we can operate much more effectively in the office, transferring data to and from equipment and to and from field parties. We feel quite content with where we are now.”

PHL Surveyors has used MAGNET software, in one form or another,

for more than 30 years, and one thing that has kept the company using the software is the support received from Position Partners.

“Whenever you use software or surveying equipment like this, there are always issues. The key to having a good software base is the support you get when things go awry or when there are questions to be asked and answered.

We’re very happy with the way Position Partners is supporting us in the use of this software and we see no reason to change,” affirms Longhurst.

“The use of MAGNET software is critical to the way we operate our survey practice. Without it we couldn’t achieve the outcomes we need to satisfy our clients’ needs.”

AUG/SEPT 2019

11

Agricultural Land Prices

Darren Baguley Darren specialises in the fields of technology, mining, agriculture, energy and business.

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AusBiz.

Agricultural Land Prices

Coming in to land

THE VALUE OF FARMLAND IN SOME AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL REGIONS HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, AND LARGER FARMS ARE BECOMING BIGGER.

Recent reports by Rural Bank and Rabobank indicate that, despite dry conditions in much of the country, rural land prices continue to climb, with Victoria, South Australia and Queensland all showing double digit growth year on year.

According to Rural Bank’s 2018 Australian Farmland Values report, “the national median $/ha price increased by 10.7 per cent in 2018; the fifth consecutive year of growth.

“Farmland value rose again in 2018. Most states recorded an increase in the median price, ranging in growth from -5 per cent to +17 per cent. [The data was compiled from] over 255,000 transactions, accounting for 297.5 million hectares

of land with a combined value of $150.4 billion over 24 years.”

While there is considerable variation from region to region and state to state, all states saw increases except Tasmania, which fell by 5.0 per cent. According to Rural Bank CFO Will Rayner, the fall came after a “sustained period of really strong growth, and the fall mainly represents prices reverting to the mean.”

According to the Rural Bank report, in 2018 the median price of Victorian farmland increased by 14.1 per cent compared to 2017. This marks the third consecutive year of growth in median value per hectare, bringing the three-year average annual growth rate to 12.2 per cent.

The estimated number of farmland transactions in 2018 was 1,681, down 8 per cent compared to 2017.

Although much of Queensland has been suffering drought or drier than normal conditions, the median price of farmland in Queensland increased by 15.7 per cent in 2018 following a 2.8 per cent decrease in 2017.

The estimated number of farmland transactions in 2018 was 1,721, just one more than in 2017.

In New South Wales the median price of farmland increased by 9.6 per cent in 2018, while the volume of transactions decreased by 18 per cent; this trend was mirrored in South Australia, with an increased median (+17 per cent) and lower  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Agricultural Land Prices

transactions (-12.6 per cent).

Western Australia recorded the lowest rise in the median (+3.8 per cent), but unlike South Australia and the eastern states, WA saw an increase in the number of transactions (+9.1 per cent). Tasmania’s 5 per cent decline in median needs to be put in context against growth of 19.3 per cent in 2017. In Tasmania transactions also decreased 11.7 per cent, a turnover remaining close to the 10-year average.

According to Rural Bank and Rabobank, the 2018 growth in median farm price can be attributed to a different mix of farm sales to 2017.

There were fewer sales in 2018, and of farms that did sell, a greater proportion were high value per hectare properties, which contributed to pushing the median higher.

According to RaboResearch Australia & New Zealand Agricultural Analyst Wesley Lefroy, “consolidation and drought are major driving factors behind this. Consolidation is the factor over the long term, but the major factor right now is the drought.”

Despite the drought, the number

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of distressed sales has fallen as a result of improved operating profits, and in circumstances where farmers may have previously sold (such as retirement), the property is now often being continued to be farmed or leased in order to benefit from capital appreciation.

Lefroy says: “opportunistic purchasing drove prices of smaller properties, and heightened demand for ‘add-on’ blocks for existing farms has driven price growth of smaller properties (2.6 per cent CAGR [compound annual growth rate]).

The reason for this is that consolidation has been going on for some years now and larger properties have more purchasing power. There also can be considerable neighbourly competition where a block comes up for sale 

Fast Facts Rural Bank 2018 Australian Farmland Values report Y-oY% State breakdown NSW farmland

9.6

VIC farmland

14.1

SA farmland

17.0

TAS farmland

-5.0

WA farmland

3.8

QLD farmland

15.7

National

10.7

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Agricultural Land Prices

and it complements a number of operations in the area.”

Rayner adds that demand is also being driven by farmers seeking regional diversification. “Regional diversification brings opportunity because prices, productivity and conditions vary so significantly from region to region. It’s becoming increasingly common for pastoral companies and large family operations to buy properties in high rainfall areas to essentially buy their own haystack.”

Lefroy says it is important to keep in mind that agricultural land prices have mainly been driven by a rise in operating profits. “Agricultural land prices don’t correlate with residential property, population growth or unemployment, it’s all about commodity cycles and profitability.

Nationally, the five-year average (2013-2017) farm operating profit was close to seven times larger than a decade earlier (2003-2007) [according to data from the Australian

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AusBiz.

Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)].

Growth was strongest for broad-acre cropping and mixed livestock farms.”

It is important to keep in mind that the reported increase in operating profit has been driven more by macroeconomic conditions than increases in agricultural productivity.

For a large part of the past five years, the overnight cash rate has been at record lows, and the value of the AUD/ USD has been weakening since 2013. A string of favourable seasons elevated production, and most agricultural commodities traded in a profitable range. None more so than beef, wool, and sheep meat prices, which reached decade highs in 2016 and 2017, while the sheep meat price continues to climb. Increased operating profits enable farmers to purchase more land. For corporate investors, high operating returns increase the attractiveness of farm investments.

Nevertheless, good investment

opportunities in agricultural land remain. In the Rabobank report, ’No Summit in Sight: Ag Land Prices to Climb Higher, Australian Agricultural Land Price Outlook 2018’, Lefroy notes that a proportion of land was sold under market relative to productive capacity. “One of the challenges for buyers is that in a perfect market you would be paying for what you could produce – 3 tonne/hectare should be $3,000/hectare – but there is a big variation from region to region. Doing a lot of due diligence in terms of understanding long-term production capacity and reliability of production, there is the opportunity for prospective buyers to buy land well under market value with a similar productive capacity.”

With interest rates at record lows and demand likely to continue, both Rayner and Lefroy believe demand for agricultural land and continuing strong prices will be a feature of the future.

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Agribusiness

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Agribusiness

Ian Lloyd Neubauer With nearly 20 years’ journalism experience, Ian is abreast of global news as it happens.

HUNTED TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION, THE SALTWATER CROCODILE HAS MADE A STELLAR COMEBACK, CREATING A BUNCH OF LUCRATIVE SIDE BUSINESSES IN THE PROCESS. “Shoot the lot of them.”

That was the general consensus towards the estuarine or saltwater crocodile in Australia until a few generations ago. And that we did, using Aboriginal labour and guidance to hunt crocs for their skin – to the brink of extinction. By the early 1970s crocodile numbers had dwindled to fewer than 3,000. The species was added to the endangered list and hunting was banned.

There are an estimated 150,000 saltwater crocodiles in the Top End now, making them the beneficiary of the most effective predator conservation program ever conceived.

Its great success is credited to the concurrent launch of incentive-based income streams: crocodile farming for leather and meat and a tourism industry sector underpinned by our love-hate relationship with the world’s most efficient predator.

To gain a better insight, we spoke with three business owners in three different industries that have helped save the saltwater crocodile from humanity’s reptilian nature.

Turning trash into cash

When Aaron Rodwell was a kid he emptied the family swimming pool and turned it into a reptile enclosure. When he grew up, he got a special permit to remove problem crocodiles from the wild that pose a threat to tourists and cattle stations. A decade ago, the Darwinite’s special relationship with the predators led him to create Croc Stock and Barra, a crocodile fashion and apparel company in a class of its own.

“Never kill an animal unless you’re going to use or eat all its parts.

That’s how I roll,” Rodwell says.

“I turn parts that normally get burned at the crocodile farms into products.

I make backscratchers from the claws, necklaces and earrings from the teeth, and I make taxidermy skulls for collectors and universities. The crocs I kill in the wild, their skin is too tough and old to make products, so I sell them as trophy skins.”

Farmed crocodile skin is mostly used for handbags, and Australian saltwater crocodile skins are considered the best in the world. The big European fashion houses can’t get enough of them, so  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Agribusiness

five years ago two of the biggest – Louis Vuitton and Hermès – bought 12 out of 14 crocodile farms in Australia. Their least-expensive crocodile handbags sell for around $50,000. Others go for more than twice that much.

But Rodwell’s handbags, made from crocodile backstraps and crowns, sell for much less: $500 to $1500.

“Those big companies, they’ve monopolised the market and made it hard for Australian producers to find skins,” he says. “But I have a special relationship with the farmers because I turn their trash into cash. What farmer in the world wouldn’t like that?”

Taste like chicken… and fish Low in fat and cholesterol but rich in protein, crocodile meat is not only good for you but makes you look good thanks to its high colloid content, which delays the onset of wrinkles.

But how does it taste?

“It’s not fishy, not meaty, it has a neutral taste, like a cross between seafood and chicken,” says Marnie Flanagan of Naturally Wild, a supplier of Australian-farmed buffalo, boar, venison and crocodile meat.

“I always compare it to calamari – light white meat that goes very well with lemon, butter and salt.

“When I started my company in 2010, I did shelf tests with the supermarkets to see what cuts of meat sold,” she recalls. “One of the barriers we found is that people didn’t know how to cook croc because, like all game meat, it’s easy to overcook, turning it tough and leathery, and those consumers never come back.

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Fast Facts

6 metres

The largest saltwater crocodile reliably measured was was 6.17 metres from nose to tail.

31 people

In Australia, 31 people have been killed by crocodiles since hunting was outlawed in the 1970s.

Agribusiness

“So to make sure they wouldn’t be disappointed, we tried ready-toheat meals – crocodile green and red curries. But they weren’t big sellers, so we went back to square one and figured out crocodile tail steak was a winner because it’s the most tender part of the animal. We also do sausages that are 90 per cent crocodile meat with rice flour added.”

The crocodile meat market in Australia remains small because of limited supply and high prices. A 250-gram crocodile steak sells for about $13 at Coles – more than $50 a kilo.

“The people who buy it tend to be health-conscious, looking for low-fat meat that’s unsullied by antibiotics,” Flanagan says. “It’s also popular among food adventurers and people who’ve travelled overseas and tried game meat on safaris in Africa, and aren’t geared on the repetitive Australian diet of beef, lamb and chicken.”

Crocodile bungee

Between 1984 and 1988, visitor numbers at Kakadu jumped from 75,000 to 200,000. Credit for the spike, according to Peter Hook of Kakadu Tourism, goes to “the crocodile in the shape of Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee – and by the opening of the Crocodile Hotel in Jabiru.”

Visitor numbers in Kakadu have taken a hammering over the years, but have now surpassed 1988’s level, with 200,577 visitors in 2018. Nearly every single one of those who visit the park for the first time will buy a ticket for a jumping crocodile show on the Adelaide River.

“It’s like when you go to Paris, you see the Eiffel Tower. When you come to the Northern Territory, you go to see the crocs. It’s on everyone’s must-do list,” says Maxine Bowman of Adelaide River Cruises, one of three tour boat operators on the waterway.

“The other two companies are much bigger than us and have bigger boats – ours is just a little family business,” she says. “We only have two boats that can take a maximum of 45 people twice a day – but that’s part of the appeal. Our boat drivers are two brothers who’ve been doing the same job for 20 years. We offer tourists a more personalised experience.”

Animal welfare groups have voiced concerns about operators that coax crocodiles to jump out of the water, saying it changes the predator’s behaviour and encourages them to attack human beings.

But Bowman says that’s bull: “Crocs jump naturally in the wild. I have personally seen egrets perched on low-lying branches or walking along the bank of a river when all of a sudden you hear this massive whoosh as a crocodile explodes from the water for lunch. It’s the greatest show on earth.”

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Property Biz.

A mini revolution

IMAGES: TINY HOUSE COMPANY.

THE TINY HOUSE MOVEMENT IS GAINING MOMENTUM IN AUSTRALIA. SO WHAT’S THE DEAL?

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AusBiz.

Property Biz.

Kirsten Craze Kirsten Craze is a freelance journalist who has been writing about property in Australia and overseas for more than 15 years.

Blame the Marie Kondo minimalism trend, or the fight against McMansions, but an increasing number of Australians are rethinking what makes a house a home, and downsizing their footprint to upgrade their lives. For a small but growing proportion of the population, that means choosing a tiny house.

As our metropolitan and regional centres grow up rather that out, and housing affordability becomes a challenge, some Aussies are of the belief that good things come in small packages.

While the concept has taken off globally, and spawned a number of popular reality TV shows plus a 1.9 million-subscriber-strong YouTube channel called Living Big in a Tiny House, Down Under the phenomenon is still relatively small. Dr Heather Shearer, research fellow with the Cities Research Institute at Griffith University and author of ’Towards a Typology of Tiny Houses’, says while Australia’s climate and lifestyle perfectly lend themselves to tiny house living, it is estimated only 200 to 300 people have taken the leap.

“One of the interesting things I found in my research was the wide disparity between people who find them so fascinating and say they would love to live in a tiny house, and the very few people who actually do,” she says.

Heather explains that while the idea of a tiny house fits with many Australians’ philosophy of living a simple life, the reality of a mini-footprint goes a lot deeper.  AUG/SEPT 2019

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Property Biz.

What is a tiny house?

Useful resources Australian Tiny House Association australiantinyhouse association.org.au Tiny Houses Australia facebook.com/ tinyhousesaustralia The Tiny House Company tinyhousecompany. com.au The Tiny House Resource Guide tinyhousecompany. com.au/tinyhouse-planningresource

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Although media might suggest the movement is a minimalist millennial invention, tiny houses have been around since emergency housing was needed after WWII. While there is no formal definition of ’tiny house’ in Australia, the concept usually refers to dwellings with a footprint of less than 40 square metres, which can usually be purchased for $50-100,000.

Some are converted shipping containers or refitted buses; others are purpose-built fixed tiny houses or tiny houses on wheels (THOW), which can be transported like a caravan.

But more than just glorified caravans and cabins, today’s tiny houses benefit from modern architectural techniques and technological advances in systems such as solar power, rainwater tanks and composting toilets.

Where can they go?

Buying a tiny house to put on any old suburban block might sound like a cost-effective way to climb onto the property ladder. But it’s not that simple according to Lara Nobel, architect and carpenter with the Tiny House Company, a firm that offers design advice and building services.

“People want a short, snappy answer about where they can put a tiny house, but unfortunately you need to consider a number of things,” she says. “Where’s your backyard?

What’s your council area? Is your tiny house going to be on wheels? Is it not on wheels?

How is it connected to the ground, the utilities?”

In conjunction with ESC Consulting, the Tiny House Company produced a planning guide to consolidate a number of frequently asked questions. And while there is no one-size-fits-all answer to where a tiny house can be built or “parked” in Australia, many local councils often break them down into two categories: those with wheels and those without.

On wheels, a tiny house is often treated as a caravan, and therefore can only really be a ’home’ for a short period, while those without wheels are often considered a ’granny flat’, and not to be treated as a primary dwelling.

“What we discovered, and a lot of other people are finding out, is that some councils just don’t know what to do about tiny houses – it really is such a grey area,” Lara says.

Heather agrees there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to how councils treat tiny houses: “It’s not that local councils don’t permit them; they just don’t recognise them in their local laws and planning schemes.”

Who can build them?

Potential tiny house dwellers can purchase plans from a number of specialist companies and head down the DIY route, or engage a builder, but either way the red tape isn’t the same as with a standard house.

“One of my hats, as well as being a researcher, is as a planner,” Heather explains. “Ideally, from a planning perspective, I’d like to see tiny houses more regulated. Currently, if you build a tiny house on wheels, as long as it adheres to the transport regulations that apply to caravans, like electrical and building tickets, it’s okay. But there’s nothing to say they have to be built to any sort of building code, because they’re considered vehicles.”

But Andrew Carter, Lara’s partner and another Tiny House Company architect, says for the longevity of the movement and the wellbeing of all those involved, building regulations do need to come into play.

“They’ve been around for such a short period of time that there hasn’t been the necessity for precautions and the building techniques that the industry has tried and tested,” he says. “And as they aren’t specifically tested in the tiny house world, people assume you don’t need to do it.”

According to Lara, the safest solution for those looking at a tiny house life is to consult an experienced firm. “We come across a lot

Property Biz.

of people in the DIY category who imagine it’s like building a regular home on a small scale. But, if anything, making it tiny is actually far more complicated,” she says.

Why go tiny?

Going tiny gives people all the perks of living in a standard detached home – without the mammoth mortgage. And by going down the THOW path, owners claim more freedom.

Lara and Andrew lived in a tiny house for two years before and after the birth of their first child. “It sort of confirmed our suspicions,” Andrew says. “We already knew that we didn’t need a lot of space. If your storage is customised to suit your needs, you really can scale down.

“It’s not just about reducing the size of a standard house and having it function the same way. It has to be designed differently so that you have overlapping functions for spaces.

Everything has multiple uses through the day.”

Andrew says if we look to other cultures we would see most people live in far smaller spaces.

“The default is set so high for Australians that we think we need so many things – but if you adjust your lifestyle, it’s manageable.”

Lara adds that just because your home is tiny, your lifestyle doesn’t need to be. “Your house is your retreat,” she says, “but you also use the local parks, cinema, pool, library or coffee shop. You’re out and about more than if you have a big house with a media room and its own pool and double lock up-garage. We felt like we were more surrounded by community.”

Who fits the tiny house mould?

The first rule of tiny house living is that it’s not for everyone – but it can serve a purpose for a number of people at various life stages.

According to Heather, the two most common demographics of tiny house dwellers are people in their 20s looking for a first home solution, and women over the age of 55 who live alone and either choose, or are financially required, to downsize their lives.

“It’s a niche solution for a small part of the housing market. Tiny houses serve a specific purpose, and they serve it quite well,” says Andrew. “It’s funny, because we do also spend time convincing people not to buy a tiny house after getting to know them and what they’re really chasing. I think some people get swept up in this idea of them without fully considering what it involves.”

Tiny House Company designers, builders and company directors Greg Thornton, Andrew Carter and Lara Nobel.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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AusBiz. Promotion

WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CAREFLIGHT In 1986 CareFlight established Australia’s first dedicated medical emergency helicopter service.

Not only does the original rapid response helicopter service continue to serve the community in Sydney, the critical care team model it pioneered has been emulated around the world, making CareFlight an Australian success story in aeromedical training.

Doctors teaching doctors

CareFlight was the first organisation in Australia to be accredited by the Specialist Medical Colleges for training doctors in critical care skills outside of a hospital.

The doctor training program sets a benchmark both in Australia and internationally. It attracts and trains upwards of 50 specialist doctors each year, who will go on to fly all over the country and beyond, saving lives with CareFlight and many other organisations.

For more than 25 years, doctors at the top of their game have been vying for the opportunity to attend what is a unique and independent ‘school’ developed by some of the nation’s most experienced and respected specialist emergency doctors.

Today CareFlight trains doctors aboard its helicopters, propeller and jet aeroplanes, as well as in road vehicles.

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Nursing jobs like no other

The extraordinary conditions of Australia’s Top End call for a unique solution. CareFlight doctors, nurses, pilots, engineers, logistics, dispatch and support staff work together as one team, and across all operations.

The team is Australia’s only fully integrated aeromedical service, operated on behalf of the Northern Territory Government.

CareFlight nurses are on the front line of this busy service; they’re frequently a lifeline for families living in some of the most remote communities on the planet.

Training as midwives and in other advanced skills is vital for nurses so they can learn to manage all types of emergencies and save seriously injured and ill adults, children and babies who might be hours away from a hospital. 

AusBiz. Promotion

Fast Fact CareFlight trains some of the only nurses in the world who undertake downthe-wire rescues from the helicopter, day and night, over land and water.

AUG/SEPT 2019

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Darwin

AusBiz. Promotion

CareFlight’s social purpose and teaching on the ground CareFlight has grown to be one of the best known and most trusted charities in Australia. Its mission is unrelenting: to save lives, speed recovery and serve the community. All of the resources the not-for-profit can muster are strategically directed into growing the charity’s social impact.

The helicopter services in Sydney and Darwin are the best-known examples of CareFlight’s social impact funded with community support. In recent times, helped by businesses and individuals, CareFlight’s education programs have branched out to touch the lives of Australians right around the country, and will be expanding into Queensland soon. Highly trained and experienced pre-hospital medical specialists now deliver advanced training to volunteers and clinics in remote communities. Together, it’s about building resilience in remote, rural and regional Australia.

Territory Generation CEO Tim Duignan

“The MediSim Trauma Care Workshops have provided invaluable and potentially life-saving training to those in rural and remote areas, including some of our own employees, who may be the first responders in the event of a serious incident.”

TIO CEO Daryl Madden

“The MediSim program provides potentially life-saving education in some of the most challenging locations in the Northern Territory, and empowering local workers and volunteers with the skills and confidence as first responders is a great outcome for these regions.”

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Cairns

Alice Springs

Brisbane

Perth Sydney Adelaide

Reach of mobile training since 2011 Total MediSim Training Sessions: 352 Total Responders attending: 5,011 We are looking for sponsors to expand our MediSim program into all states including Queensland.

Trauma Care Workshops

CareFlight’s award-winning MediSim program provides medical simulation training to rural and remote emergency service volunteers and workers. Given locals in remote locations are often the first to arrive at the scene of a major trauma incident, CareFlight trains them to deliver pre-hospital emergency care while awaiting the arrival of professional help. Educators use mobile simulation equipment and realistic scenario training to give participants the confidence to take action at an emergency scene that could ultimately save a life.

CareFlight instils cutting edge prehospital knowledge and skills in the workshops. Participants are also shown ingenious improvisation techniques that will work on scene, for example to stem serious bleeding or make a splint.

Dr Ken Harrison developed Trauma Care Workshops after years flying on the CareFlight helicopter. He was also able to draw on his personal experience of being deployed with CareFlight’s disaster cache to Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami, experiencing first-hand the need for improvisation due to lack of surgical equipment. More than 5,000 Australians have now been upskilled with MediSim. It continues to be delivered at no cost to participants.

Canberra

Melbourne

Hobart

Sick and injured kids in remote communities

Building lasting resilience is vital in remote and regional communities.

CareFlight’s Top End team last year developed an additional clinical training program designed specifically to help sick and injured children in remote and regional settings, particularly Indigenous communities.

Over the past year, eight workshops have been delivered at no cost to participants and health clinics. This is largely made possible with financial support from CareFlight’s partners TIO and Territory Generation.

Paediatric cases are challenging for all clinicians, particularly when access to specialists is limited. The course was designed to help clinicians diagnose and treat children to ensure they receive the vital treatment they need.

Experienced CareFlight nurse and midwife Dean Blackney led development of the course. He said it was designed to share the latest evidence-based knowledge in managing and stabilising unwell and injured children and babies.

“Remote area clinicians are well trained, but they don’t see trauma after trauma like those working in a big hospital. Practising their skills can mean the difference between life or death in a lot of situations,” Blackney says.

Learn about the history of the Huon Valley apple industry

Enjoy a Willie Smith’s cider paddle

Take a tour of the Charles Oates Distillery

Visit the Saturday Artisan & Produce market

Visit the home of Willie Smith’s cider where you can enjoy a great meal and a cider paddle, visit the Huon Valley apple museum, get up close and personal with a working distillery, peruse the Saturday Artisan & Produce Market.

Hobart Hobart Huonville

Contact

25mins

Huonville

www.williesmiths.com.au appleshed@williesmiths.com.au (03) 6266 4345 2064 Huon Hwy, Grove, TAS, 7109 25 minutes from Hobart

Education Special

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Studying on-campus at one of three locations (Ipswich, Toowoomba or Springfield) is a rewarding way to undertake a university degree in an innovative and friendly environment. Alternatively you can join the university’s more than 70 per cent of students who study online.

Make this year the start of something great with Australia’s number-one university for graduate starting salary.* With the option to study online or on-campus, full-time or part-time, USQ is ready to help you on your path to become more on your own terms, in your own time. *The Good Universities Guide, 2019.

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Puzzles

CROSSWORD

R Z W C C O W A R D I C E

E T E E I E B R Z F Y A C

J C C C L P C P I G S D I

U C I F I H I R U L G V T

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I J Q I O A E I E I U C U

C D C R S N C R C C R E J

E E O L C E N E C I V E D

SOLUTIONS:

E T E E I E B R Z F Y A C

J C C C L P C P I G S D I

U C I F I H I R U L G V T

D Q Y V O V C C U K O I S

I J Q I O A E I E I U C U

C D C R S N C R C C R E J

E E O L C E N E C I V E D

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SERVICE SLUICE THRICE TWICE VOICE

P H E I Q B D C G A S C U

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P H H T U E C I O J E R L

T A U A W N Q C L C L O M

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SACRIFICE

NOVICE PRACTICE PRECIPICE PREJUDICE REJOICE

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G R R T C U O T O I S N E

LATTICE

CHOICE COWARDICE CREVICE DEVICE JUSTICE

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: ‘ICE’ WORDS

P H H T U E C I O J E R L

ADVICE

WORD SEARCH

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DOWN 1. Wept 2. Pronto (1,1,1,1) 3. Jumping parasite 4. Tennis-shots exchange 5. Tropical swamp trees 6. Supplies 9. Paints roughly 11. Balancing feat 13. Fully 15. Sultan’s wives 16. Sufficient 18. Musical composition 19. Appeal earnestly 21. Egyptian river 22. Profound

I L Q L U W S E R V I C E

ACROSS 1. Submerged sandbank 7. Nice 8. Baked dough 10. Semi-paralysed person 12. Pathetic loser 14. Highs & ...

16. Whirlpool 17. Meataxes 20. Outmanoeuvred 23. Holy city 24. Agreeably 25. TV serial melodrama, soap ...

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Dream the days away at Frenchman’s River.

Beauty, luxury, serenity. Come and stay. book@frenchmansriver.com.au | 0466 790 142 @frenchmansrivercygnet | www.frenchmansriver.com.au