Local East 2019 September

FREE The lifestyle magazine for the Eastern Suburbs

E AST

INSIDE SHOP SMALL AT BONDI ICEBERGS CLUB ITALIAN HOME TRENDS FIJI’S TURTLE ISLAND VICTOR CHURCHILL TURNS 10 BRONTE’S BIG SURF

THE SPORT OF QUEENS How The Everest pushes Sydney style to elegant new heights

S E P T E M B E R

2 0 1 9

E D I T I O N

AUSTRALIA’S RICHEST RACE SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER 2019 ROYAL RANDWICK

TICKETS ON

SALE NOW www.theeverest.com.au

04 | LOCAL

EDITOR’S LETTER MY HUSBAND, LIKE MANY AUSTRALIANS, HAS ONLY TWO SEASONS IN HIS CALENDAR: FOOTY AND CRICKET. The footy season seems to go on for a long time.

It starts in about late February when the sun begins turning golden in the long afternoons and there’s the occasional day when the wind picks up, bringing with it the scent of freshly cut grass. By March he’s edgy for the season to get under way proper, with its endless evenings of entertainment and weekends spent (this year) at the Sydney Cricket Ground watching the Roosters and the Swans. The footy season is still going well into the October school holidays, by which time some of us start begging for it to just end already … and for the more genteel days of cricket to begin.

There is just one other season that entertains him — let’s call it the shoulder season between the codes — and that’s spring racing season.

In days gone by when we had no children and less commitments, we used to go to Melbourne for spring racing. We would pick a weekend out of Caulfield Cup day, Cox Plate, Derby Day/MacKinnon Stakes day, or of course, the big one, the Melbourne Cup and head down south for the weekend, or even a full week of racing (racing for him; shopping and dining for me).

There’s no reason for us to do that any more.

Since Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys introduced The Everest to Sydney each October, the idea of travelling to Melbourne to go to the track has, for us, evaporated. Why bother, when we can stay here in Sydney and have our big race day at Randwick? It’s affordable, accessible, the racing is fantastic, and we don’t have to do battle with Sydney and Melbourne airports (while carrying a hatbox) for the privilege.

This month in Local we look at what’s new in this year’s Everest and seek fashion journalist Elle Halliwell’s tips on what to wear trackside. If you haven’t been to The Everest yet, it’s time to change that. It’s a day of so much fun, fashion and entertainment (oh, and racing) that even those of us who don’t live by the sporting seasons can enjoy an unseasonably good time.

ELIZABETH MERYMENT PUBLISHER

COVER PHOTO

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Elizabeth Meryment lizzie@ localpublishingco.com.au 0412 151 845 ART DIRECTOR Trevor Timms trevor@ localpublishingco.com.au SUBEDITOR Frances Hibbard STAFF WRITER Charlie Hale charlie@ localpublishingco.com.au STYLE WRITER Alexia Biggs alexia@alexiabiggs.com CONTRIBUTORS Neil Breen Jillian Dinkel Rosie English Elle Halliwell Trent van der Jagt Julie Snook RECIPE BY Tom Haynes, Barangaroo House ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER

THE EVEREST • FASHION

HANNA LASSEN PHOTOGRAPHER

“We’ve seen unbelievable growth since its inception ... it’s fantastic for racing in Sydney” CORINA BL ACK, AUSTR ALIAN TURF CLUB ON THE EVEREST F R O M PA G E 2 6

Francesca Mackay francesca@ localpublishingco.com.au 0412 853 130 CONTACT US letters@ localpublishingco.com.au

LOCAL EAST (ABN. 45 613 327 987) IS WHOLLY OWNED BY LOCAL PUBLISHING CO PTY LTD (ACN. 613 327 987) Local East is printed at Spotpress, Marrickville. 50,000 copies of the magazine are printed each month and distributed from Potts Point to Coogee.

Responsibility for material published in Local East is taken by the Publisher. Views expressed by contributors and advertisers are not necessarily the views held by Local Publishing Co Pty Ltd.

INDEX 10 SHOP SMALL

Bondi Icebergs Club

16 BEA NICE

Chef Tom Haynes’ sea bream

20 THE EMPORIUM THAT GRIT BUILT Anthony Puharich on Victor Churchill's 10 years in business

24 THE SHOT

Rosie English’s The Wide Blue Yonder

44 TRAVEL

Fiji’s Turtle Island

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06 | LOCAL

LETTERS

localeastmagazine.com.au

localeastmagazine

We had a huge influx of mail as a result of our West Hotel giveaway. Thank you to the many, many readers who took the time to write to us with their observations of the East and of Local East, and thank you to the West Hotel for the generous staycation prize. Here’s a sample of the correspondence.

I spent an enjoyable half hour yesterday reading Local East over an afternoon cup of tea at my local coffee shop and noticed three other tables were doing the same.

The table nearby to me had two quite elderly, beautifully dressed women enjoying a glass of wine, reading Local East and talking quite animatedly about some of the articles. I could not help but

Send us your thoughts about the East, tips on shops, people or restaurants you would like to see featured, or comments on Local East. letters@localpublishingco.com.au

@local_east

overhear them say how lucky the local young ones were to have a magazine like Local East. It gave me a little chuckle and yes we are lucky.

Thank you.

Michel Manietta

Local East magazine appeals to me as it gives a sense of community and engagement to the Eastern Suburbs. Coming from a rural town (Coonabarabran), I see publications such as Local East to be as valuable as the local paper of a country town, and I enjoy reading about local events and new places to eat.

Thanks.

Harriet Moxham

I just got the August edition of Local East in the post so I made a coffee and walked across the

road into Centennial Park to have a read and soak up some glorious winter sun. It was a nice change to sit back and read this as I’ve recently been focusing most of my time on finding a job. You see, I was made redundant five months back (after eight years with the organisation) and have been finding it extremely hard to find my next job. It’s a time-consuming task and is getting me pretty down as I keep getting halfway through the recruitment stage then finding out I’m unsuccessful. I’m staying hopeful that brighter things are coming soon.

As I was reading Local, I saw the reader giveaway for a staycation in Sydney and I immediately smiled and thought how lovely it would be to be whisked away for a night

Subscribe, snap and win Win a Sydney Seaplanes flight and take in our beautiful local area from the sky!

To enter: • Subscribe to Woollahra Council’s new monthly e-newsletter • Share a photo showing what you love about Woollahra.

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YO U R S AY | 07

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and be able to indulge in such a beautiful hotel with my gorgeous partner. She has ridden the ups and downs with me these past five months. It’s also her 40th birthday on September 21 and I’d love to spend it at the West Hotel with her.

Amy Priestly

I noticed two young men digging up the pavement outside our unit in Fitzwilliam Road, Vaucluse on a freezing morning last week. I asked if they were from Telstra preparing us for NBN and offered to make them both a coffee.

An hour or two after they had finished both the job and the coffee I heard a loud knocking at my door and found a courier standing there with a bouquet. I checked the note but it did not have my name on

nor was the address correct. Off he went. Not 10 minutes passed and he was back, showing me his phone which said the flowers were for me from the two young men from Telstra with the following note: “Thank you so much for the coffee, it was very much appreciated.

The world should be filled with more people like you: kind and considerate. Thanks again and enjoy the rest of 2019. Much love, Damien & Mitch”.

These flowers made me feel so fabulous. So if you see workmen outside your premises or in, offer them a tea or coffee.

I find Local East to be informative.

Desiree Segal

The winner of the West Hotel staycation prize is Amy Priestly

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10 | L O C A L

BONDI ICEBERGS CLUB

LAP LAND Operating out of one of Sydney’s most famous landmarks is a club that is for the brave of spirit and body, writes Elizabeth Meryment MEMBERS OF BONDI ICEBERGS CLUB HAVE A SAYING THEY LIKE TO SHARE WITH NEW MEMBERS. “We’re the hardest club in Australia to get into, and the easiest to get thrown out of.”

So explains the club’s secretary manager Kerrie Brien, pictured, reaffirming the notion that this is one club that’s not for the faint of heart.

This year the swimming club that operates throughout winter at the landmark Bondi Beach ocean pool celebrates its 90th anniversary.

That’s 90 years of icy cold winter swims, 90 years of club dinners and 90 years of mateship among diehard club members.

“It’s all about mateship here,” says Brien. “We have an ethos of always being there to help out mates. Some of the men in this club have been coming here for 40 and 50 years, and a lot of them come for the friendship.”

Many people would be

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unaware that Bondi Icebergs Club operates like any other sporting club (for instance, golf or bowls clubs), with members compelled to turn up on regulation. Rules state members must swim three Sundays a month between May and September, for five years before they gain full membership. This equates to 75 swims in five years (members can be granted leave for some circumstances).

Swimmers also must compete in weekly timed handicap races across 40 and 50 metres, and younger swimmers (known as “ice cubes” by older members) compete in aged championships.

With the water temperature often dipping to a chilly 15.C degrees in the middle of the year, it would be tempting to stay in bed rather than get up to swim outdoors.

Nevertheless, there are 900 members, including 110 honorary life members who have met the rules

for 40 or more continuous years.

For the less brave, there’s also a social club membership, which grants access to the pool and the club bistro, an icon in its own right that serves up to 1000 meals a day — mostly seafood in theme, from seafood platters to fish and chips served alongside icy cold beers with the best views in the world — during summer months. Visitors are welcome and the pool is open to the public for a fee that includes showers and entry to the legendary poolside sauna.

Brien says Icebergs has a rich history, having formed in 1929 as a men’s-only swimming club, despite the pool having been a female-only reserve earlier in its history. Women were only admitted in 1995.

“Back in the old days, because Bondi was very different 20, 30, 40 years ago to how it is today, it was a very hard area,” Brien says. “It was a place of wharfies and labourers, and full of, as they used to say, scoundrels, thieves and conmen.

“But now we have a huge range of people from all walks of life, from truck drivers to CEOs of big businesses. Everybody is equal on the pool deck.”

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12 | L O C A L

the wrap SO FRENCHIE, SO CHIC He has Bert’s in far-flung Newport and Fred’s in our own Paddington and now publican-turnedrestaurateur Justin Hemmes has added another stunning Frenchthemed venue to his growing collection with Little Felix, newly opened in Ash Street in the city.

The bar, described as “a sophisticated and intimate slice of 1920s Paris in Sydney’s CBD”, may be part of a mini-French revival, when viewed alongside the opening of Franca Brasserie on MacLeay Street, Potts Point, this winter.

A 20-year-lease and a $2.5 million fit out by architect Dirk Anderson and interior design firm Steel + Stitch has already garnered Franca plenty of attention.

The restaurant, pictured, in the old Fratelli Fresh site above Woolworths, has received warm reviews and is serving full houses every night as locals lap up its Gallic style and classic French-bistro fare.

Critics, too, are loving it. “The smartly dressed waitstaff bounce from table to table, delivering service with grace and savoir-faire,”

observes contributing Local critic Anthony Huckstep in his Delicious review this month. “It’s hard not to fall in love with the art of old-school hospitality on display here.”

Little Felix, meanwhile, has a focus on old-school cocktails served in one of the city’s sexiest new spaces.

“We have taken the wellknown classic cocktails from the great Parisian bars and hotels of the early 20th century, and gently refreshed them to make drinks relevant today,” says Merivale group bars manager, Sam Egerton.

“Embracing provenance as a guide for these developments, we used French liquors as modifiers to the

tried and tested recipes.”

This collaboration between Justin and Bettina Hemmes, design firm Acme & Co (profiled in Local East last month) and stylist Amanda Talbot, is the first of four new bars and restaurants slated to open in the Ivy laneways in coming months.

Look out for the launch of a Middle Eastern concept on George Street and a Totti’s-inspired Italian eatery and bar on Palings Lane.

LITTLE FELIX 2A Ash St, Sydney merivale.com.au/littlefelix FRANCA Shop 2/81 MacLeay St, Potts Point francabrasserie.com.au

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14 | L O C A L

this month

WATS ON AT THE BAY Watsons Bay will come to life on September 15 when the annual Cambridge Markets spring market arrives besides the sea at Robertson Park. The mega market will feature 120 stalls selling everything from fashion to jewellery, art, photography, handmade toys, beauty products, organic skincare, plants and much more. It always makes a great day out.

Sunday, September 15, 10am-4pm, cambridgemarkets.com.au

NATIVE GATHERING Lovers of the experimental will be excited that one of the country’s most innovative chefs has landed in Surry Hills for a month-long stay. Orana in Residence is the creation of award-winning South Australia-based chef Jock Zonfrillo, as a spinoff of his much-loved venue, Orana. Zonfrillo is renowned for his take on indigenous food and his 22-course, $350 per person Sydney tasting menu has already been well received by critics.

“Bringing Orana to Sydney will help give indigenous foods and culture more awareness and recognition, and shift the mindset around the acknowledgement of just how special the oldest surviving culture in the world is, which is right here on our doorstep,” Scottish-born Zonfrillo says.

“We are surrounded by delicious indigenous ingredients that don’t require irrigation, that are organically and naturally grown on country, and that the First Australians have eaten for 60,000 years. The question has always been: ’Why aren’t these foods more widely consumed?’.”

The residency occupies the former Longrain site at 85 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills and runs until September 15.

Rick Stein at Bannisters by the Sea in Mollymook is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a gorgeous luxe package. The September-only package includes accommodation, a special five-course menu at the onsite restaurant, a Rick Stein cookbook, 10th anniversary tote bag and continental breakfast. The menu will feature favourite dishes from the restaurant’s impressive history. Packages start at $639 for two people, per night.

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16 | L O C A L

RECIPE TOM HAYNES

E X E C U T I V E C H E F, B A R A N G A R O O H O U S E

R

Bea’s butterflied sea bream with tomato & oregano

This is my absolute favourite dish at Bea and really hits what I want to achieve with the menu. Land, sea, Australian produce and a wood fire pit INGREDIENTS Serves 4

SEA BREAM •4 x 400g sea bream, descaled and gutted •O live oil •S ea salt

BLISTERED CHERRY TOMATO & OREGANO OIL • 500g cherry tomatoes •1 00g shallots, thinly sliced •S mall handful picked basil leaves • Small bunch picked oregano leaves • 20ml sherry vinegar •1 lemon, juiced •1 00ml olive oil •S ea salt • Cracked white pepper

chef’s tip Sea bream is a great fish you can find at the fish markets but if you can’t get sea bream, you can also use pink snapper. Ask the fishmonger to descale the fish and also remove the guts; you can do this at home but it’s a little messy, and who has the time for that?

1

To start, butterfly the fish. We use a serrated bread knife, then hold the fish flat to a board and cut through the belly and halfway through the head. To pin bone the bream, lay it skin side down and run your finger down the inside flesh. You will feel some small bones protruding. Using a pair of tweezers, gently pull the bones out of the flesh. If you pull these out at the angle at which they are pointing they will come out very easily. Don’t worry if you break a few; you’re only human and they aren’t too annoying to get out later as they expose themselves a little more once the flesh cooks.

2 3

Dab the inside of the fish dry with a paper towel and season with salt and olive oil, then flip the fish and repeat on the skin side.

For the blistered tomatoes you are going to need to fire up that barbecue.

Season the cherry tomatoes in a little olive oil, salt and pepper then place them over the grill, ensuring they get a little bit of flame but a nice caramelised skin. Remove from the grill and set aside.

4

Back in the kitchen, add olive oil and sliced shallots to a medium-heat pan and sweat down gently until soft. Add the blistered cherry tomato, picked basil leaves, oregano leaves, sherry vinegar, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place in a 100°C oven in an oven friendly dish for one hour, just so those tomato sugars and flavours mix throughout the oil.

5

Place the bream skin side down on the grill and cook at a medium high heat for about three minutes, or until nicely charred. I know it’s tempting but try not to move the fish too much while it’s cooking. If you want to check on how much the fish is charred then lift the tail up gently and you will get a good idea. This is a delicate fish so the less you play with it, the better.

6

Once you can see that the fish is turning a little opaque on the flesh side, gently turn it over and cook for one more minute. Remove from the barbecue and put straight onto a plate so as not waste any “juice” that will leak from the fish. Season with a little lemon juice and sea salt and then cover the fish in the blistered cherry tomato and oregano oil.

7

Serve this simply with a butter leaf salad, some steamed broccolini or even a side of roasted potato.

F O O D & W I N E | 17

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TH E H O US E LU N CH To celebrate the arrival of spring, Bennelong is opening for Thursday lunch from September 5th. To mark the extra lunch service, Executive Chef Peter Gilmore and Head Chef Rob Cockerill have curated a special lunch menu, The House Lunch. A two-course choice menu for $85 per person, or three-course choice menu from $100 per person. This limited edition menu will run Thursday & Friday only and be available in conjunction with the à la carte menu, cured & cultured and bar menu.

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20 | LOC AL

THE EMPORIUM THAT GRIT BUILT

As Victor Churchill celebrates its 10th birthday, founder Anthony Puharich reveals how staring down a personal humiliation inspired the bespoke butchery … and why he’s shelved plans to take on New York. By Elizabeth Meryment

ANTHONY PUHARICH DOES NOT SEEM LIKE SOMEONE OFTEN BESET BY SETBACKS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS. The plain speaking and openhearted man known to many as Sydney’s “celebrity butcher” acknowledges that he has, in many respects, had a dream life, one filled so far with unexpected adventures and incredible success.

But it was failure, and a deep sense of humiliation, that inspired the financier turned meat businessman to create one of his greatest achievements.

This month marks 10 years since Puharich took the biggest gamble in a risk-seeking life, splurging $2 million on the renovation of an ageing butcher’s store purchased with his butcher dad, on Woollahra’s Queen Street. His vision was to create something far beyond typical retail. In fact, far beyond all expectations.

The result was Victor Churchill, a concept store that is now arguably the world’s finest meat emporium.

“Australia is a pretty brutal country when you fail and at that time I really wanted to do something to prove to myself that I wasn’t washed up,” Puharich tells Local East in an interview to celebrate the anniversary. “Personally, because I had risked it all, I was doing it really tough and I needed to do something that nobody expected.”

The failure Puharich refers to was a huge push he made into China with his family company, Vic’s Meat, prior to 2009. The international expansion was neither easy, nor a success. The business “lost a lot of money” and was forced to retreat back to Australia. The flop shook Puharich’s confidence.

“For the first time ever, I fell on my face,” he says of China. “So, with Victor Churchill, I wanted to make

something for myself, and I wanted to do it for my Dad.” Puharich talks a lot about his father, Victor, a fourth-generation butcher who migrated to Australia in 1970 from Croatia.

“My Dad is a remarkable craftsman, the best butcher in the world,” says Puharich. “He has also been an amazing role model for me, and I can never repay my father for what he did for me growing up. So this was also about creating a legacy, for him.

“And you know, when we started people thought I was mad. Who spends $2 million on a butcher shop?

Or $300,000 on marble on the floor?

“But I wanted to do something different. And also, I won’t lie, I saw there was an opportunity there.”

In many ways, Victor Churchill was the perfect extension for Vic’s Meat, a wholesale and supply business that has grown into a food-chain powerhouse.

Today Vic’s is probably the country’s highest-profile meat providore, working with everyone from hospitality giant Merivale to small mum-and-dad restaurants across the city, and around Australia, sourcing and supplying the nation’s highest-quality meats.

Puharich, who joined the family business after studying finance, has become one of the most important players in the Australian food scene, a man who mixes with the nation’s top chefs, publicans, food media and industry figures.

But it is Victor Churchill that brought the family into the public’s imagination more than anything else.

“I was worried when we opened that people would think that I was some rich kid who wanted to flaunt his wealth,” Puharich says. “But we came from very

F O O D & W I N E | 21

“He loved what we did and he said that New York deserved a store like Victor Churchill” ANTHONY PUHARICH ON CLOSE FRIE ND, CHE F ANTHONY BOURDAIN

22 | LOC AL

humble beginnings. We “He loved what we did and came from a working-class he said that New York deserved background. We didn’t want a store like Victor Churchill,” for anything growing up, but Puharich recounts. “He was a we didn’t get everything we very proud New Yorker and he wanted either, if you know what was the one that planted the I mean. I have never lost that seed in my head that we could sense of being humble, being take this Australian butcher grateful for what we have and shop and put it in the biggest not taking it for granted.” global city in the world.

Victor Churchill turned out “The day he died, I had to be an act of genius. The ailing been calling him because shop on one of Australia’s best he had written the forward streets had the bonus of being to my book. We had missed Australia’s oldest working each other on the phone a few butcher store, and the location times. When the police found for a meat emporium was ideal. him, they saw all these phone “Before we opened, we calls from me and they called did the numbers on it. We knew me. They said, ’Did you notice that a good butcher shop, a anything different about him?’. neighbourhood butcher shop, But I can tell you honestly that made about $30,000 per week. no, I didn’t. He was exactly the A really good shop, maybe a same as always.” half dozen in Australia, made Bourdain’s shocking death about $50,000 per week. Our plunged the Victor Churchill long-term number was to do New York plans into “turmoil”, Victor and Anthony Puharich in front of Victor $50,000-$60,000 per week laments Puharich.

Churchill on Queen Street, Woollahra after the store found its feet.

“Sadly, we’re not going to “We ended up doing pursue it any more. It doesn’t $48,000 in our first week. It blew our expectations.” feel right without him being there. There have been so Victor Churchill now has more than 1700 customers many ups and downs with it, and I feel like someone is each week (and a further 800 visitors who just go in telling me that it’s not meant to be.” to stickybeak without buying) and each December Instead, the family has new plans to expand alone makes $1 million. The store is now a $5.5 million the Victor Churchill brand — not in Manhattan but annual proposition. in Melbourne.

With its luxury fit out, extraordinary meats, “Melbourne makes sense to me,” Puharich says. unparalleled level of service (there are no counters and “New York was an amazing opportunity, if it had butchers do not serve from behind a glass panel) and happened, but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead we’re going European-style charcuterie and pâté ranges, Victor to be opening in Melbourne in the next 18 months. We’re Churchill is now an international success. Within a year currently looking for sites. Our wholesale business is of opening, it won New York Interior Design’s Best of Year down there and we see our future in retail in Melbourne.” award for the world’s best retail space.

At the same time, there are plans for a renovation “In a way we became a champion for retail,” at Woollahra, to expand the floorspace and move the Puharich says. “We opened at a time when online kitchen areas upstairs. Puharich has enlisted design shopping was taking off. But we stood for something team of the moment Acme & Co. to refresh the look and else. Victor Churchill is about bespokeness, it’s about the better utilise the space. experience of the shop, the staff and the customer.”

“It’s going to be a big 12 to 18 months for us, with The BoY prize brought fame to the store, as well as Melbourne and the facelift here,” he says. celebrity attention. It also caught the eye of food writer Puharich says despite the obvious success of his and chef Anthony Bourdain, who visited, was impressed business, it has not been an easy or safe path. and became close friends with Puharich.

“It has been a constant battle, and I think it’s The pair eventually made well-publicised plans to important to acknowledge that. But I am still in love take Victor Churchill to Bourdain’s native New York. The with the industry, despite its challenges. I have never project experienced setbacks, including having to move regretted a day in the food industry and the hospitality from its original location, but remained ongoing and was industry. It’s been incredibly good to me.” well developed when Bourdain died by suicide last June.

Puharich is still shocked, puzzled and scarred by his VICTOR CHURCHILL friend’s passing, and was one of the last people to be in 132 Queen St, Woollahra contact with Bourdain before his death. victorchurchill.com.au

The go to place for everything for your home…

24 | LOCAL

ROSIE ENGLISH PHOTOGRAPHER

The Wild Blue Yonder, Bronte Rosie English is an Irish-born photographic artist with a passion for her adopted Eastern Suburbs home. She shoots with a Leica camera, a device that helps afford her images their distinctively dreamy and occasionally surrealist edge. “There is so much to photograph here,” she says. “Sometimes I go to the beach and I hear people say, ‘There’s nothing here to photograph’, and I think ‘Are you mad?’.” r o s i e b o n d i .c o m . a u

TOP SHOT | 25

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THE EVEREST ELLE HALLIWELL FASHION

QUEEN BEES Racegoers heading to this year’s Everest would do well to take their style cues from recent showings at Royal Ascot

IF RACING IS TRULY THE SPORT OF KINGS, THEN THE FASHION MUSES FOR THIS YEAR’S SPRING CARNIVAL COULD NOT BE MORE PERFECT. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are engaged in a subtle style race of late, trumping each other with their fashionforward wardrobe choices.

And their friendly competition has resulted in an unprecedented wealth of style ideas as we head in to this year’s spring racing carnival, spearheaded in Sydney by The Everest.

From the contemporary red headband and pink Stella McCartney frock-combo Kate donned for her new nephew Archie’s christening in July, to the demure, flared boatneck dresses beloved by Meghan, the royal sisters-in-law are a one-stop inspirational shop for the race-going fashion fan.

Style experts are betting on a return to this royaltyinspired glamour at Sydney’s spring racing season, with

retro headpieces, ’70s prints, feminine frills and elegant tailoring also expected to be winners in the trackside trend stakes.

“Meghan and Kate really epitomise elegance, and we’re definitely going to be seeing plenty of ensembles inspired by their wardrobes at this year’s carnival,” says stylist Kash O’Hara.

“I think racewear will be slightly more pared back this year and not as over the top as previous years.”

There was one exception to this, however, according to the Randwick-based racing-fashion expert.

When it comes to the statement sleeve, bigger and bolder is definitely better.

“Brands such as Alice McCall, Scanlan Theodore, camilla and marc, Aje, Thurley, Carla Zampatti and We are Kindred all feature dramatic sleeves in their new-season collections,” she says.

The look, O’Hara says, evolved from the flared styles which dominated the fashion conversation in

T H E E V E R E S T | 27

“Duchess Kate wore a stunning pale blue Elie Saab dress to Royal Ascot in June, which is the perfect shade for The Everest” STYLIST KASH O’HARA

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what to wear Trove headband, $29.95

Nerida Winter boater, $295

Trove hairpin trio, $34.95

Sienna Jacket, $749, and pants, $399 Alice McCall Javanaise midi dress, $495

By Johnny Lolita midi dress, $350

Thurley muse dress, $849

recent seasons, and whether you prefer puffy, short styles or oversized, cuffed balloons, there’s an option for all body shapes and tastes.

Millinery trends have shifted away from oversized hats in favour of more subtle hair accessories.

“It’s no secret hair accessories are hot right now and this is set to carry through into spring racing season,” Trove accessories founder Lydia Pedrana says.

“Hairpins, clips and headbands are great alternative to traditional race-day headwear and an easy way to elevate your look.”

Last year Italian fashion house Prada singlehandedly launched a global micro trend when it debuted a range of padded headbands. It wasn’t long before the style was spotted on scores of fashionable celebrity heads including Sienna Miller, Rita Ora and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Fortunately, those on a modest budget can now get the Prada-inspired look, with local brands offering more inexpensive variations on the designer style.

Thurley Vivianna dress, $499

“The best thing about jumping on the hair accessory bandwagon is that they are affordable, easy to style yourself and they’re not just suitable for race days; they’re also a chic option for off-duty dressing,” says Pedrana.

Another royal-inspired trend will be monochromatic layering. It’s a look Her Majesty The Queen has championed with an almost religious fervour for decades, so much so you’d be hard-pressed to find photo evidence of her attending an official engagement in anything but a similarly hued hat and frock-coat combo. While pink is the uncontested colour of spring 2019, pale blue will also be a popular choice at this year’s Everest.

“Duchess Kate wore a stunning pale blue Elie Saab dress to Royal Ascot in June, which is the perfect shade for The Everest,” O’Hara says.

And whilst a top hat and tails may seem a little bit formal for a Sydney race meet, Sydney blokes can still take cues from the princes Harry and William.

Shine those shoes, add a flower to your buttonhole and behave as if your grandmother was in the crowd.

THE E VE RE S T | 29

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THE EVEREST JULIE SNOOK AMBASSADOR

PONY CLUB This year The Everest introduces new precincts, more fun and a Palm Springs-inspired playground with bars, cabanas and even pools

IMAGINE THE SUN ON YOUR FACE AND THE SOUND and glamour.” says the Australian Turf Club’s executive OF CHAMPAGNE POPPING; the scent of freshly cut general manager (commercial), Corina Black. “We’ve grass lingering in the air while your friends laugh nearby looked the world over but really created something we and the bookmakers shuffle cash in and out of their big think is our own.” old-fashioned book bags.

As well as The Estate, expect three more new zones Thundering down the straight of the evergreen — The Conservatory, The Manor and Pony Palms.

Royal Randwick are some of the country’s finest “Playing to the name Royal Randwick, the names thoroughbreds.

The Conservatory and The Manor lend themselves THE And let’s not forget your reflection — the EVEREST to that beautiful, elegant and prestigious outfit is on point, just like the celebrities and design,” Ms Black says.

Royal Randwick style stars spotted in the buzzing crowd.

For partygoers, Pony Palms will be October 19 This is spring at its finest. This is The constructed upon Leger Lawn. theeverest.com.au Everest Carnival. And Sydney, the wonderful “We’re also looking to create a whole theraces.com.au news is that it’s happening in our own backyard. new precinct for our general customers coming From September until November, Royal through, really wanting a great day, really appealing Randwick and Rosehill Gardens host eight weeks of to those younger audiences as well,” Ms Black says. world-class racing, headlined by the third annual The “So it will be a Palm Springs-inspired precinct including Everest, run this year on October 19. bars; we’re putting in a pool, cabanas, it’ll be just a great In 2019, The Everest features a new precinct, called place to hang out, listen to fantastic music while you The Estate. This high-end, corporate entertaining and watch the racing.” hospitality precinct — think chandeliers, Champagne The Everest is the world’s richest race on turf, towers, velvet chaises — will be the ultimate in race-day carrying a prize pool of $14 million and a rather luxury. It comes with a concierge service, customremarkable trophy to boot. Sydney jewellers Cerrone designed catering, uninterrupted views of the Randwick created the handcrafted piece, which contains almost track, private betting facilities and live entertainment.

500 carats of black and white diamonds, two rubies, “We wanted to create something that was really seven kilograms of silver and carries a value of more unique to Sydney but also offered incredible prestige than $500,000.

T H E E V E R E S T | 31

what’s new THE ESTATE The Estate is a luxurious racing destination located on the rails, comprising The Manor, a premium contemporary structure, and The Conservatory, an atrium-style glass panel marquee. australianturfclub.com.au/spring-racing/the-estate

PONY PALMS A new free experience in the general admission area, Pony Palms will be located on the Leger Lawn, and will be inspired by the golden age of Palm Springs.

There will be racetrack views with poolside glamour, cocktails, food vendors and background beats by the hottest DJs.

HARROLDS FASHION CHUTE The renowned fashion and style competition will return to The Everest, where ladies are invited to show off their best race day look. The most elegant attendees will be photographed on the day and be able to enter the contest. Finalists will be chosen and invited to attend the final presentation on the day, and be eligible to win major prizes.

EVEREST CARNIVAL FASHION LUNCH

Also worth marking on your calendar is The Golden Eagle, which will be run at Rosehill Gardens on November 2. It is Australia’s third richest race, worth $7.5 million.

With such lucrative prize money on offer, it’s safe to say spring racing has been reinvigorated in New South Wales, with particular thanks to The Everest.

“What it’s brought to racing here at Royal Randwick, and to Sydney, is quite incredible,“ says Ms Black.

“We’ve seen an unbelievable growth since its inception and now heading into the third year, even more so. It’s fantastic for racing in Sydney.”

The Australian Turf Club says general ticket sales have increased 20 per cent on last year, while hospitality sales for The Everest Day sold out two weeks after release.

“I think we can thank Winx for that, Winx brought in an incredible new audience and they want to come back for more,” says Ms Black. “We’re having to look at every experience across the entire customer journey. Where we’re seeing that strong growth is across hospitality.

We’re needing to create new experiences.”

From the Harrolds Fashion Chute, where the bestdressed ladies and gents flock, to the Moët & Chandon experience and the endless trackside entertainment, there’s something for all comers this spring.

Julie Snook co-hosts Racing Dreams Saturday 11am on Sky News

This pre-Everest day lunch will play host to a super stylish crowd at Royal Randwick and aims to to celebrate all things fashion. VIPs, celebrities and designers will be in attendance to see the magic unfold. Tickets are open to the public. Indulge in an afternoon of champagne, cocktails a d a two-course luncheon at the Moët & Chandon Garden, Royal Randwick. Harrolds will present a spring fashion runway, an inspiring “Women in Power” panel and entertainment.

Thursday, October 10 australianturfclub.com.au/everest-carnival-fashion-lunch

GUILLAUME BRAHIMI One of Sydney’s favourite chefs will be a key part of this year’s Everest carnival. Guillaume Brahimi will be catering the food at the newly established The Estate, offering a spring-inspired menu featuring touches of his native French flair.

“Sydney has been my home for 25 years, so to be able to join the ATC’s new premium hospitality precinct in the Estate on behalf of my restaurant Bistro Guillaume is an honour,” the chef says. “This gives me the opportunity to curate an exclusive menu for guests in the Manor and the Conservatory across the Everest Carnival, where I’ll create some new spring-inspired dishes and bring some of my most loved ones to Royal Randwick. I’m very excited by the opportunity, as I get to experience two of my biggest passions, food and horse racing.”

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THE EVEREST NEIL BREEN THE RACE

RED-HOT FIELD Need a guide to The Everest race this year? We’ve got you covered

T H E E V E R E S T | 33

TWO OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BREEDERS, ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S TOP BLOODSTOCK AGENTS AND, INCREDIBLY, THE MELBOURNE RACING CLUB HOLD THE FINAL KEYS TO THIS YEAR’S EVEREST RACE. Already eight slot holders have snapped up horses to run in The Everest on October 19. This year’s field includes two-time winner, Redzel, Sunlight, Pierata and the world’s top-rated sprinter, Santa Ana Lane, trained

by Anthony Freedman.

But most intrigue centres on world-renowned breeders Godolphin and Coolmore.

Godolphin, the racing empire owned by Dubai Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, has an enormous operation in Australia, with his horses trained by Bart Cummings’s grandson James Cummings.

His deputy is none other than the great former jockey Darren Beadman — that’s racing royalty right there.

They have top-class sprinters in Osbourne Bulls and Alizee. Osborne Bulls finished third last year and Alizee is the up-and-comer looking to establish herself as a bona fide star. They will choose one of those two to run for them in their Everest slot.

Coolmore is desperate to bring out a horse from either the UK or the United States for the race. Last year Coolmore raced US Navy Flag from England in its slot.

This year, they have been leaning towards bringing out

multiple UK Group One winner Ten Sovereigns, but will wait and see how he pulls up after the Northern Hemisphere summer racing season.

Racing NSW would dearly have loved Battaash to have travelled for the race — he has been in sensational form, winning Group One sprints at York and The Curragh, but he seems destined to target the rich US Breeders’ Cup meeting in early November instead.

Harron chose Redzel to run for him in the inaugural race in 2017. He has kept his powder dry on a runner this year and is likely to go for an in-form horse not already chosen.

Godolphin will hope to get two horses in the race by choosing one of their own and then have Harron choose the other one.

The Melbourne Racing Club has the most interesting way of picking its runner.

While there has been much anger in Victoria about The Everest taking attention away from their traditional spring carnival, the MRC decided on an “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach this year and have decided to join in the race.

The 1100m Schillaci Stakes is run at Caulfield seven days before The Everest, and the winner will take the MRC’s slot, ensuring incredible interest and a hot field in the race as those left out have a chance taking that precious last slot, in The Everest, which, after all, has a prize pool of $14 million.

“If you can’t beat them, join them”

E X C E P T I O N A L

Whitton Lane “...the attention to the smallest detail, the level of finishes and the great natural light, makes Whitton Lane an obvious choice.”

Justine O’Connell Future Whitton Lane Resident.

1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments.

Construction has now started.

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From the team that brought you VUE

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Luxelife

HOME HUNTER MAKE LIKE AN ITALIAN AND TAKE THINGS AL FRESCO

THE HIGH LINE A beautifully finished residential enclave from one of Sydney’s most experienced developers will bring a new sense of style to Bondi Junction

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FUTURE LIVING

“Bondi Junction is probably the most undervalued suburb in Sydney”

DEVELOPMENT MANAGER THEO TRIANT HAS DONE THE MATHS ON THE EASTERN SUBURBS AND HAS A MESSAGE FOR BUYERS — BONDI JUNCTION IS ARGUABLY THE MOST UNDER-VALUED SUBURB IN THE EAST, IF NOT ALL SYDNEY. Triant is getting ready to begin excavation, with builders Hutchinson, on the high-rise development, Whitton Lane, at 22 Spring Street, Bondi Junction, an ultra-impressive 14-level building with 122 apartments and panoramic views, and has evaluated the options across the city.

“Bondi Junction is probably the most undervalued suburb in

Sydney,” he says.

“The prices in Bondi Junction are great value. You go down the hill to Bondi and try buying a one-bedroom apartment down there, you’ll spend $30,000 per square metre. In Bondi Junction it’s $18,500 per square metre, and you are closer to the city, closer to the train, closer to Westfield and closer to Centennial Park. That’s a pretty good mix in anyone’s view.”

Triant, development manager for Whitton Lane, a project of the highly regarded Lindsay Bennelong Group, knows a lot about Bondi Junction, given the group has recently completed the successful VUE residential development, also in Bondi Junction.

The group has also long worked across the East, and elsewhere, having been responsible for a range of high-quality developments including the Advanx and Advanx East in Rushcutters Bay. They have a depth of quality residential development experience and brings an understanding of the needs of homeowners to Whitton Lane.

“We are building a product here for people to live in,” says Triant. “We are targeting this property at the downsizer market, the owner-occupier, someone who wants to live in the apartment and enjoy the lifestyle and energy of Bondi Junction. We want to offer a comfortable and high-quality level of finish.

“The big thing for us is that

L U X E L I F E | 37

we are a developer here for the long term and we have engaged a very experienced team to deliver Whitton Lane. We’re working with Hutchinson Builders, their experience dates back to 1912.”

Of the Whitton Lane apartments, 31 are one-bedroom, 63 are two-bedroom and 28 are three-bedroom. Prices start at about $800,000 (one-bed), $1.4 million (two-bed) and $2 million (three bedroom).

Triant says the finishes on the apartment — shown in these first-release images — show the attention to detail that is being poured into the project.

“Lindsay Bennelong prides itself on the quality of our projects, they are built to last, and we only

engage well-regarded and leading consultants and contractors,” Triant says.

Buyer Justine O’Connell, who recently purchased a one-bedroom apartment, says she is looking forward to the 2021 completion date so she can relocate from current premises in Camperdown.

O’Connell works in Bondi Junction and can see the future in the suburb.

“I work in the Eastern Suburbs and wanted to live somewhere close to all the amenities and I think the prices at Whitton Lane are very good for what you get,” she says.

Triant says Bondi Junction is in a similar situation to Surry Hills 10 years ago, with the suburb rapidly gentrifying and changing.

“Anyone who lives there knows

how good it is in relation to position, location and amenities,” he says.

“The neighbourhood is undergoing a process of gentrification there’s a wave of new residents moving here. Health food shops, gyms and other places are moving in and what follows will be all the cafes, the restaurants and the bars. It’s really good value now, for a project of this quality and finish in what I’d describe as an energy-filled location with loads of up-side.”

WHITTON LANE 22 Spring St Selling agent: Ray White Projects, Bondi Junction Phone: 8383 1188 ; rwbj. projectsales@raywhite.com whittonlane.com.au

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interior life

ANNA AINSWORTH

GRO URBAN OASIS/ EDEN GARDENS The co-owner (with husband Simon) of these booming garden businesses on the healing power of plants, and going green indoors

Tell us about your personal philosophy in relation to homes and spaces? How can beautiful places improve people’s lives?

We are all about enriching people lives with plants and for me, the home represents your personal sanctuary where your endeavours provide you with satisfaction that may be shared with family and friends. Your home is also your garden and that garden can be anywhere you wish it to be — in its traditional location outside, on a terrace for closer inspection, or within your home in any room.

Plants are a hobby so they provide a distraction from daily stresses, engender relaxation and involve your engagement and creativity, which most people find enriching.

the innate appreciation of plants and the emotional connection to nature they facilitate as the urban built form continues to cause disconnection. Lastly, designers now incorporate plants, images of plants and foliage everywhere, irrespective of relevance, marking the currency of life they represent; it’s almost populism.

Indoor plants are popular.

What’s driving this trend?

Small-space living, the huge rise in renting on account of housing affordability, portability of the indoor garden, the need for simplicity to counter the complexity of life, the healthgiving properties of plants and the small hobby afforded by them,

Tell us something that has inspired you lately.

I look at everything in a design aspect and admire all of life and people’s constructs. Art, design, plants and their habitat, growth, colour, shape as a result of nature is endless inspiration; so much design is inspired by nature. A recent favourite was in Hong Kong for

Are there any trends in indoor plants and pots and if so, what are they?

It’s all about indoor plants, hanging design and decorative quality ceramic pots to show off the treasure; many of our beautiful pots are designed by us and are handthrown earthen from Vietnam and The Philippines.

shoe designer Camper: a graphic of a lady using light and colour to illuminate her face and hair; not a shoe in sight.

Anna, tell us about your work within the community.

Eden Gardens works with Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets program supporting young people so they have the opportunity to gain their first employment.

This program means a great deal to me as I believe every young person deserves an opportunity to be the best they can be. Eden Gardens also works with Cancer Council NSW, both promoting sun awareness and cancer prevention to the wider community. We have joined together to create a beautiful Daffodil Garden with a Wall of Recognition and Wall of Memory as a place of thanks, remembrance and hope.

Gro Urban Oasis, now open Westfield Bondi Junction and Westfield Warringah Mall, plus Rouse Hill and Miranda; Eden Gardens, 107 Lane Cove Rd, Macquarie Park gro-urbanoasis.com.au

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120 STALLS RIDES + GIFTS + GOURMET FOOD AND LOCAL BAND: FIGTREE JAM The Watsons Bay Spring The Watsons Bay Spring Markets are an amazing Markets are an amazing community event that event that Raine & Horne andcommunity I are proud supporters of. & Horne and I Raine We’d love for you are to proud supporters of. come along and enjoy We’d love for you to the day - and maybe even come along and enjoy get a headstart onthe yourday - and maybe even Christmas Shopping. get a headstart on your Christmas Shopping.

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SMOOTH OPERATER New mother Jillian Dinkel finds the answer to a great night’s sleep in hotel-inspired ironed sheets and an absence of clutter

AUSTRALIANS DO HOLIDAYS RIGHT — FAR FLUNG LOCALES FOR WEEKS ON END ARE JUST THE TRICK FOR MAKING THE DARK DREARY WINTER MONTHS PASS QUICKLY. But what to do when faced with the harsh smack of reality once the five-star hotel stay is over?

With a newborn at home, those hedonistic beach holidays marked by endless negronis feel further than 16,000 kilometres away. So this month I gave myself a mission —surely there was a way to bring that sense of hotel luxury home.

First, I had to declutter. Part of the serenity found in a hotel room comes from the complete lack of stuff.

Beyond my own personal preference for a minimalist aesthetic, scientifically it has been proven time and time again that there’s a direct correlation between clutter and sleep deprivation.

First order of business to summon the Zen vibes I was seeking was a tidy up. I found it particularly calming to keep my bedside to just the basics — a table lamp, water jug, book and a small catch-all tray for my jewellery and reading glasses.

With the bedroom a clean slate, my next thought was of course the bed. Although styled to look pretty, it wasn’t giving me the luxury experience I craved. First instinct would be to upgrade to zillionthread-count sheets, but what is often overlooked is a bed’s foundation pieces. So I turned my focus to finding a mattress topper, pillows and a new quilt to upgrade my white-on-white bedding look.

I road tested I Love Linen’s Hotel Cloud Collection and it was a total game-changer. Not only did the pieces give my bed a puffy and inviting look, the mattress topper in particular took my sleeping experience to a new level of bliss. I am quite confident actual clouds are to be found within the filling.

Now feeling quite pleased with myself, I indulged my deepest OCD tendencies and ironed my sheets for that super-crisp hotel-style aesthetic.

The last step in the process was to incrementally upgrade the experience of my other senses — smell and sound are too often forgotten but are so important to your feeling of wellbeing. So gone is my basic grocery store hand soap, replaced with a high-end version with the soothing scent of lavender. A room spray is also high on my list (try Mecca for dozens of options) and I’m working on a playlist of my favourite holiday songs to be instantly transported to sunnier days on faraway beaches.

Though it may not be Capri, my bedroom is now a relaxing retreat at the end of the day. And for those first few moments upon waking up in my fluffy cloud of a bed, beneath a silk eye mask, I can almost believe I’m on sunnier shores. Now, how to get some room service, please?

Jillian Dinkel is The Terrace House Designer, jilliandinkel.com

Luxury

carpets & rugs

BRITISH CARPET

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42 | LOC AL

Lucy Folk Slice of Heaven sunglasses in Sunset $395, lucyfolk.com

home hunter

Williams-Sonoma Fleur dinner plate in white $27, williams-sonoma.com.au

MEDITERRANEAN MOOD As the warmer months approach, make like an Italian and take things al fresco. Think good food, great company, lazy afternoons and long strolls.

Here’s how to set the scene: ALEXIA BIGGS INTERIOR STYLIST

Vespa Primavera 50cc Scooter $6390, scootercentral.com.au

Raja Homewares Collections bookcase $550, rajahomewares.com

Roar + Rabbit Ripple ceramic table lamp in turquoise $269, westelm.com.au

Tigmi Trading Ciao jute bag in natural/red $129, tigmitrading.com

Freedom Catania outdoor cushion in blue $34, freedom.com.au

LUXE LIFE | 43

Williams-Sonoma marble fruit bowl $299, Williams-sonoma.com.au

Adam Goodrum Trace Collection Tait chair upholstered in Catherine Martin by Mokum Tropicalia Gilver outdoor fabric

Smeg Dolce & Gabbana Sicily is my Love kettle

$6220, madebytait.com.au

$799, smeg.com.au

Flexform Ortigia outdoor chair $7050, fanuli.com.au

Helen Kaminksi Armada sunhat in nougat/black $310, helenkaminski.com.au

Basil Bangs Tessuti: Made In Italy collection beach umbrella in Marina

Serpui Sicilian Lemon cane handbag $499, davidjones.com

$450, basilbangs.com

Soludos classic sandal espadrille $39, davidjones.com.au

Meletti Limoncello 700ml $50, danmurphys.com.au

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T R AV E L | 4 5

E M B R AC E POSITION An enchanting and remote Fijian island offers an immersive — and gloriously luxurious — cross-cultural escape, writes Elizabeth Meryment

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THE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FIJI’S TURTLE ISLAND BEFORE YOU ARRIVE IS THAT THERE WILL BE HUGS. LOTS OF HUGS. Landing on the island after floating in from Nadi on the little dragonfly-like seaplane, you’ll find yourself greeted by a rush of islanders heading towards the plane, arms outstretched, the minute the propellers stop.

“Bula!” the chorus chimes. “Bula!”

The dazzle of the island, with its stretch of postcard-pretty beach, palm trees and jetty over turquoise water, is momentarily blinding. Then two burly men in grass skirts pluck you from the plane and carry you over to the beach. Your bure “mama” — one of the village women assigned to care for you during your stay — comes forward with a hug. Not a quick, slap-on-the-back Western-style hug, but a full-strength embrace, her fleshy arms wrapped tightly around you, like your own mother if you had been away for a long time. “Welcome home,” she cries, almost tearfully, as if greeting her own child.

Hugger or not, you will go with it, and get used to it.

Everyone hugs on Turtle Island. Turtle Island is not like other places.

IN SOME WAYS THIS PLACE RUSHES UP TO YOU, YET IN OTHERS THE REVEAL IS SLOW. The beauty, of course, smacks you in the face, even before you step into the willing arms encircling your plane.

Turtle is part of the Yasawas, a volcanic archipelago flung to the far north of Fiji’s main island, and is as picture perfect in reality as it is in the promotional photography.

The 14 bures, built in traditional island style, with thatched roofs, furniture made from local timber, and gardens of jungle flowers, are so discreet you may not even notice them scattered along Turtle’s main beach, a thin rind of sandy shoreline on the sheltered side of the island overlooking the calm, pristine lagoon.

A golf-cart trip along leafy tracks to the other side of the island reveals a slew of wilder, deserted beaches with romantic names — Honeymoon Beach, Nudie Beach, Devil’s Beach, Rose Beach and so on — that have made Turtle the stuff of Hollywood fantasy.

Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins shot the

T R AV E L | 47

Around here it is at once rugged yet charismatic, gorgeous and distant, a picturesque escape from everyday life 1980 Columbia Pictures’ blockbuster The Blue Lagoon here and the sensual shadow of the film lingers long over the place to this day. People talk about The Blue Lagoon almost incessantly on the island.

The jewel-toned waters, particularly on the island’s lee side, shift from aquamarine to sapphire; you can see the abundant sea life without even stepping foot into the crystal water. Yes, there are turtles whose heads break above the surface to peer inquisitively at tourists.

See, too, flying fish that skip joyfully above sea level at dusk, schools of stripy tropical fish that zoom around the jetty pillars in the sunlight, and, on land at dawn, the sweet tinkling of tropical birds whose presence is heard rather than seen.

Somewhere nearby, on another island, a film crew is shooting Australian Survivor, and you can see why the location was chosen. Around here it is at once rugged yet charismatic, gorgeous and distant, a picturesque escape from everyday life.

THE VERY FIJIAN-NESS OF TURTLE ISLAND TAKES A WHILE LONGER TO WORK OUT. Expect to wake after

your first dreamy night on the island to the gentle sound of village staff singing, hymn-like, in preparation for that night’s cultural evening, complete with Fijian fire dancing, a lovo (earth pit) feast and kava ceremony.

“Is that singing real?”, is a natural first response.

But step out of the bure and the cries of “Bula” coupled with spontaneous hugs from staff seemingly overjoyed to see you again after an absence of mere hours confirm you are now deeply ensconced in Fijian village life. You are now a part of the village.

“Bula,” purrs Bill, the cultured island overseer, as you step into the breakfast room, while Jerry, his grinning 2IC comes over for a hug. Polite, quietly spoken Saki is on standby to take you on a trip to his village, a stone’s throw across the passage, should you desire to see meet his people. Maika, the grinning fisherman itching for time on the water, has the boat ready should the guests wish for the exhilaration of a day at sea with the big lines cast.

The rhythm of the days on island begins to assert itself. Western cares drift away. Each day the smiling, happy islanders enfold you a little more into their lives.

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THE STAFF SPEAK IN REVERENTIAL TONES ABOUT TURTLE’S OWNER, one Richard Evanson, an American former cable TV executive who bought the island in 1972. The enigmatic octogenarian still lives here, but is rarely seen on account of poor health. Luck strikes us one night when his son, Richard Evanson Junior, emerges from somewhere for cocktails. Young Richard turns out to be a charming 30-year-old Melbourne-educated partAmerican, part-Fijian who now oversees the island.

He engrosses us in stories about the time his father was island-hopping his way to Sydney but found himself waylaid in Fiji. Another American showed him this island he owned to the north of Nadi — one of Fiji’s handful of freehold islands — and flew Richard Senior over it for a look at it. Evanson bought it that day for $US500,000.

The resort has been a half-century work in progress.

The story could be its own movie.

THESE DAYS TURTLE ISLAND IS DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR WEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE TO DEEP DIVE INTO RELAXATION. The place is filled with a

curious assortment of Americans, as well as some Australians and Kiwis, either here to honeymoon or unwind.

There is no Wifi in the guest bures, nor is there any television or newspapers on the island; instead, there is the daily ferry in or out, and the gentle coming and going of the seaplane dispersing new and dispatching departing guests.

An on-island yoga teacher holds daybreak classes (well, 8am), a fully stocked bar is open all hours, there are private dining experiences — book to have dinner on a pontoon under the stars and your meal will be delivered by boat, your table lit only by candles — and morning breakfasts to take with the other guests. By mid-morning, the private beaches are open to explore.

Picnics and wine are part of the daily beach deal.

The adventurous can go fishing or snorkelling at nearby Blue Lagoon; the stressed can order massages at the Vonu spa. Everyone has a sun bed in front of their bure and a daybed on their private veranda. Inside the bures, the king beds, fluffed with down pillows, are stripped daily to avoid sand between the sheets and

T R AV E L | 4 9

TURTLE ISLAND, FIJI what to know Resorts are a dime a dozen in Fiji. Denarau Island, on the mainland, is sprinkled with huge five-star properties featuring dozens or hundreds of rooms, big pools and kids’ clubs. Turtle Island is not like that. Twice a year it has block-out periods when families can come to the island — each child receives their own local companion, or Bula Buddy, to look after them 24 hours a day — but for the rest of the year this is an adults-only resort. The family weeks are becoming the most popular times on the island, however, with these weeks often booked out a year in advance.

There are a few communal table experiences. Most nights guests eat together at the main table beachside under the big communal bure. Other nights, some are split off to dine in a grill where chef Simon cooks teppanyaki-style in front of diners. Some nights the entire guest community dines together on the top of the island, winds permitting.

Private dining experiences can be found on one of two pontoons, accessible by small runabout, or on the island’s cliff point.

By day, dine in room, on the main beach, at the communal table or private beach.

draped with mosquito netting for an atmospheric touch.

There is an emphasis on being part of the community, so be prepared to have dinner some nights around a communal table. If this sounds like it might not be your thing, stick with it — guests during our stay prove as fascinating as the villagers.

Billionaire Texans rub shoulders with Puerto Rican doctors and a couple of lovely Australian dentists. A travel writer from Boston and his marketing executive boyfriend regale us over margaritas with hilarious anecdotes from the East Coast. One night a retiree couple from Carmel, California return to their bure to eat hamburgers alone after the South African head chef, who cooks international-standard food, draws the line at allowing Americans to eat hamburgers at the communal dinner table.

After dinner, every night, there’s kava with the entire village, singing, talking, cocktails and, always, hugs, before you are bundled off back to your bure with nothing but the sound of the sea lapping against the shore to will you into a deep, deep island sleep.

Elizabeth Meryment was a guest of Turtle Island.

Turtle Island is accessible by seaplane or, in inclement weather, ferry, although this can take up to five hours to reach the mainland.

Rates start from US$2100 per night per couple and are all inclusive of food and beverages (including alcohol).

Seaplane transfers are $US1000 per couple return.

For first-time families, the nightly rate for a beachfront bure starts at US$2600. turtlefiji.com

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Ro xy

rituals september PET FRIENDLY Neil Breen on how society has gone to the dogs

MANY THINGS STRUCK ME WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO THE EAST FROM BRISBANE IN 2003.

But one thing always stood out, and it made me realise how laidback the citizens of Sydney were compared with those of Brisbane.

I’d always been of the belief that Queenslanders were relaxed and went with the flow … because that’s what we always told ourselves. How wrong was I. Back then I worked on the weekend and had Thursdays off. So most weeks I would take our kelpiecattle dog cross for a long walk.

One day I ended up in Steyne Park on the water at Double Bay. I walked down the jetty with Roxy the dog and the ferry came in.

As it was about to leave, a ferry hand shouted: “Are you getting on?”

My reply: “I can’t. I’ve got the dog.”

Worker: “That’s alright. But if she makes a mess it’s your problem, not ours.”

Next thing you know, the dog and I are on the ferry heading toward Watsons Bay. We got out there, had fish and chips, strolled around and then got the ferry back home to Double Bay. Roxy and I did it many, many times, until my wife and I had kids and that lazy Thursday ended abruptly.

I can tell you from experience that the chances of taking a dog on a ferry in Brisbane are zero. There’d be a near riot, a fine, public ridicule — you name it.

On the ferry in Sydney, no one batted an eyelid. In fact, most people stopped for a pat.

When we bought an apartment in Edgecliff, I wrote to the owners’ corporation informing them we owned a dog and wanted her, of course, to live in the apartment with us.

The chairman wrote back the most charming letter informing me Roxy would be most welcome in the building and they looked forward to meeting her. We lived there happily for five years.

It’s no surprise to me then that in recent years

there has been an explosion of pubs, restaurants and cafes around Sydney that allow you to take your dog inside.

Dog-friendly is the new black. And I haven’t seen or heard a whimper. In Brisbane, a dog in a pub or restaurant? Please …

It’s recognition that there has been a societal change in attitudes to dogs. Back in the day, dogs lived outside. They don’t any more. Housing has become smaller and dogs are much more part of the family.

They watch TV with you, go on holidays, go everywhere. So why not come out to dinner?

There has also been a reduction in the amount of dangerous dogs kept as pets.

Smaller breeds are in vogue.

Roxy, whom we got from the pound when she was eight weeks old, died at 17 in 2012.

I still miss her, and the adventures we had, dearly. How I’d love to be on a ferry to Watsons Bay with her now.

In her place is Katy, a French Bull Jack, or French bulldog/Jack Russell cross. A New Age dog for New Age times. I think I might take her out to dinner.

AUSTRALIA’S RICHEST RACE

SAT 19 OCTOBER ROYAL RANDWICK www.theeverest.com.au