AV gas pretty much runs in the veins of this Melbourne family. Their Hawthorn home is tribute to all things aviation.

European gardens have inspired the Bath family to create a space that celebrates their talents and welcomes enthusiasts. Two things precipitated the Bath family’s move to Maitland 19 years ago – a tiring commute to work each day from the Central Coast and a growing family that needed more space. Benjamin and Sue Bath decided […]

Sue and Jim Jardine may have inherited a grand garden, but they’ve devoted more than five decades to turning it into a stunning showpiece.  By Kirsty McKenzie, photography Ken Brass  The name Jardine is synonymous with European settlement and history on the rolling plains of the Monaro high country of southern NSW. The sturdy Scottish pastoralist, William Jardine, first arrived […]

Longtime locals, visitors and newcomers to Goondiwindi all agree that there is much to celebrate in the small southern Queensland town, for a happy and joyful bush Christmas.  You feel it as soon as you hit town. There’s an energy about Goondiwindi, home to approximately 6000 people on the Queensland-NSW border. Gundy, as everyone calls […]

This simple stir-fried Garlic Butter Prawns dish uses fresh Australian garlic in a buttery sauce to coat delicious and tender prawns.

Visitors to the Kiama region of NSW are spoilt for choice with a full menu of outdoor activities and indoor indulgences.  Photography Destination Kiama Even before the first passenger trains rolled into town in the 1880s, this spangled strip of the windjammer coast has been a lot of a show-off. The Kiama region, Minnamurra, Bombo, […]

No matter how far and wide the Simoneau family travels, there will always be a pocket of paradise in Queensland they call home. By Kirsty McKenzie, photography Anastasia Kariofyllidis By their own reckoning, if Tamara Simoneau and her husband, Marc, had simply stayed in the one place, they could afford to be driving Lamborghinis. Instead, they’ve lived […]

Allison Bellinger cheerfully admits she knew nothing about running an art gallery when she opened her exhibition space in the centre of Inverell in rural northern NSW. The town is better known for agriculture and gemstones than a passing parade of potential art investors. But the former Sydney lawyer trusted her instincts and long interest in art and aesthetics and, in 2016, […]

Birds, bees, butterflies and refugees from the urban rat race all find sanctuary in Simone Jelley’s edible flower garden. By Kirsty McKenzie, photography Ken Brass    They say there’s a fine line between passion and insanity. By her own account, Simone Jelley has been teetering on the border between the two for the past six years. Simone and her husband, […]

The Hay family has called Olive Grove home for more than 150 years. For the present custodians, it’s a haven for transitioning from working life to a well-earned retirement.  By Kirsty McKenzie, photography Ross Williams, styling Bronte Camilleri It’s almost impossible to imagine today, but when Alex and Helen Hay moved to Olive Grove in 2008, the garden […]

A joint venture rewilding program between the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is providing renewed hope for the future of the endangered numbat and other threatened wildlife. Numbats are rarer than the giant panda or the black rhino, and there are estimated to be fewer than 1000 of them […]

 The Perfect Australian Experience In Sydney Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens offers a smorgasbord of opportunities to learn more about Aboriginal heritage, culture and connection to country. They say it’s a dull day when you don’t learn something new. Spend a fraction of it on one of Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden’s Aboriginal-guided tours and you’ll come […]

Crime author, Fleur McDonald, supporting families at risk with charity Country crime author Fleur McDonald has channeled her considerable energy and resources to create a charity that provides assistance to families at risk of domestic violence. Since her earliest memories, rural author Fleur McDonald has been obsessed with crime. When she wasn’t riding bikes or hanging […]

Rural Queensland has some of the most picturesque and relaxing drives – here’s how you can go and visit without overspending

From her home studio in the Monaro region of NSW, Lucy Culliton celebrates the theatre of the everyday. From the flowers in the garden and her family of rescue animals to the sweeping high country plains and domestic utensils, she elevates the mundane to magnificent through oils on canvas. By Kirsty McKenzie, photography Ken Brass Lucy […]