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<strong>Aurora</strong><br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>48</strong><br />
GREAT SOUTHERN Lifestyle, People, Happenings May 2022<br />
JONATHAN HOOK<br />
CERAMICS<br />
LITTLE WHITE<br />
WHALE PROJECT<br />
ASHA BHAT<br />
GLEN TOOVEY<br />
LEATHERWORK<br />
WALPOLE KIDS<br />
PLUS LOCAL WW1 HISTORY,<br />
LOCAL FASHION<br />
AND WHAT’S ON IN MAY<br />
10,000 DISTRIBUTED FREE<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
www.auroramagazine.com.au
<strong>Aurora</strong><br />
Great Southern Lifestyle, People, Happenings<br />
Manager and Editor<br />
Amanda Cruse<br />
0438 212 979<br />
amanda@auroramagazine.com.au<br />
Advertising Sales<br />
Amanda Cruse<br />
0438 212 979<br />
sales@auroramagazine.com.au<br />
Production and Layout<br />
Vanessa Pribil<br />
vanessa@auroramagazine.com.au<br />
Photography<br />
editorial@auroramagazine.com.au<br />
www.auroramagazine.com.au<br />
Our cover<br />
On the cover this month is widely<br />
renowned Denmark ceramicist<br />
Jonathan Hook. This image was taken<br />
of Jonathan in his new Denmark<br />
studio space and gallery as Jonathan<br />
approaches five decades of dedication<br />
to his art. For the full story, turn to<br />
page 6. PHOTO: SERENA KIRBY.<br />
FREE<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>48</strong><br />
JONATHAN HOOK<br />
CERAMICS<br />
LITTLE WHITE<br />
WHALE PROJECT<br />
ASHA BHAT<br />
GLEN TOOVEY<br />
LEATHERWORK<br />
WALPOLE KIDS<br />
<strong>Aurora</strong><br />
GREAT SOUTHERN Lifestyle, People, Happenings May 2022<br />
PLUS LOCAL WW1 HISTORY,<br />
LOCAL FASHION<br />
AND WHAT’S ON IN MAY<br />
Editorial<br />
editorial@auroramagazine.com.au<br />
10,000 DISTRIBUTED FREE<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
www.auroramagazine.com.au<br />
Our Contributors<br />
Amanda Cruse<br />
Deanna Davenport<br />
Serena Kirby<br />
Adam Morris<br />
Allen Newton<br />
Anne Skinner<br />
Distribution<br />
Tim Cruse<br />
0438 004 408<br />
distribution@auroramagazine.com.au<br />
Published by Greybird Media<br />
Printed by Ive Group, Mandurah Print Centre<br />
7 Rafferty Close, Mandurah, WA 6210<br />
<strong>Aurora</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is subject to Copyright and may not<br />
be reproduced in any form without permission from the<br />
Publisher. Any material supplied for publication is the<br />
responsibility of the supplier. All information is believed<br />
to be true by the Publisher at the time of printing.<br />
<strong>Aurora</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is 100% locally<br />
and independently owned.<br />
<strong>Aurora</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is printed on uncoated<br />
paper, and is therefore 100% recyclable.<br />
Please dispose of thoughtfully.<br />
Distribution<br />
10,000 copies of <strong>Aurora</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> are distributed free each month.<br />
We distribute our paper strategically to ensure we are well placed for strong readership amongst<br />
both locals and visitors to the Great Southern region.<br />
You can pick up a copy from the Albany, Mount Barker and Walpole-Nornalup visitors centres, as<br />
well as the Albany ANZAC Centre. We are also available from the Albany, Denmark, Katanning,<br />
Mount Barker and Walpole public libraries. Almost 1000 copies are put directly into the rooms of<br />
accommodation venues throughout the Great Southern.<br />
We also have the following major distribution points:<br />
Albany: Clarks News Agency, Coles (Albany Plaza and Orana), Dome Cafe, Plaza Lotteries, Puma<br />
Service Station, Royale Patisserie, Spencer Park IGA, The Naked Bean, Woolworths (Chester Pass<br />
Mall and Bayonet Head), and York Street IGA.<br />
Denmark: Raven’s Coffee. We are also available at The General Store at Youngs Siding and the<br />
Elleker General Store.<br />
Mount Barker: Supa IGA and the Plantagenet Wines Cellar Door.<br />
Walpole: Pioneer Store IGA and the Treetop Walk Gift Shop.<br />
We have over 100 smaller distribution points, so there’s a good chance your favourite local cafe,<br />
vineyard, boutique, hotel, gallery or corner store will have some copies on hand.<br />
Concerned about poor returns on your cash?<br />
“Historically no other single, easily accessible traditional asset has delivered higher<br />
returns than GOLD in environments where real cash interest rates have been low.“<br />
- The Perth Mint Blog<br />
With over 20 years financial services experience gained in Kalgoorlie, Tim Cruse,<br />
Senior Wealth Adviser can help you develop an appropriate investment strategy.<br />
P: 08 9842 4780 | E: TCruse@cgf.com<br />
Canaccord Genuity Financial Limited AFSL No. 239 052 ABN 69 008 896 311<br />
2 LOVE LOCAL
contents<br />
4 SPOTLIGHT ASHA BHAT<br />
Campaigning Against Otherness<br />
6 CREATE JONATHAN HOOK<br />
Hands on the Wheel<br />
10 RESEARCH LITTLE WHITE WHALE PROJECT<br />
Saving Southern Right Wales<br />
4 SPOTLIGHT 6 CREATE<br />
12 CRAFT SUBURBAN COWBOY<br />
Glen Toovey Leatherwork<br />
14 VOGUE HORSING AROUND<br />
Local Fashion Feature<br />
18 REFLECT PRIVATE WILLIAM WEBSTER AYRE<br />
20 PROMOTE ESTHER JONES<br />
‘one of Billy Hughes’ burnt-out soldiers’<br />
14 VOGUE 20 PROMOTE<br />
The Farmer’s Daughter<br />
22 PRODUCE ALBANY SEAFOODS<br />
Mystery of the Missing Salmon<br />
24 ENGAGE WALPOLE KIDS<br />
Cartoonist Nathan Vass Viney<br />
27 GIG GUIDE EVENTS, MARKETS AND EXHIBITIONS<br />
22 PRODUCE 24 ENGAGE<br />
䄀 瘀 愀 椀 氀 愀 戀 氀 攀 愀 琀 琀 栀 攀 ǻ 渀 攀 猀 琀 挀 愀 昀 猀 Ⰰ 最 爀 漀 挀 攀 爀 礀 猀 琀 漀 爀 攀 猀 Ⰰ 漀 爀 漀 渀 氀 椀 渀 攀<br />
㐀 ㈀㈀ 㜀 㔀 㠀 㔀 <br />
猀 琀 愀 猀 栀 挀 漀 û 攀 攀 ⸀ 挀 漀 洀 ⸀ 愀 甀<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
3
spotlight<br />
ASHA BHAT<br />
Campaigning Against Otherness<br />
STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTO SERENA KIRBY<br />
It’s easy to look at Asha Bhat’s multi-paged resume and be impressed. With an MBA,<br />
a Masters Degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science among her qualifications,<br />
Asha is undoubtedly a high achiever.<br />
She’s also the recipient of a long list of awards and prestigious scholarships that<br />
includes being a two-time finalist in the WA Telstra Business Women’s Awards. She’s<br />
been an Albany Citizen of the Year and, just last month, she was the judge’s choice for<br />
Pro Bono Australia’s Impact 25 ‘Collaborator’ award.<br />
Currently the CEO of the highly respected Southern Aboriginal Corporation (SAC)<br />
that provides assistance for family violence prevention, affordable housing and legal<br />
services, Asha has spear-headed the Corporation’s expansion into numerous regional<br />
locations and a soon-to-opened office in Perth.<br />
Impressive? Yes. Intimidating? Surprisingly not. Asha’s candour, empathy and beaming<br />
smile has a way of putting even the most nervous person at ease. She’s also incredibly<br />
open about the barrier of ‘otherness’ she has had to face on a regular basis.<br />
Born in India, Asha came to Australia in 2004 with her husband and son, as a skilled<br />
permanent resident.<br />
“I had a degree in mathematics and had been a maths teacher back in India, but when<br />
we arrived in Australia, with just $2000, I had to completely re-establish my professional<br />
and personal life in an environment that didn’t particularly support migrant Indian<br />
women,” Asha recounts.<br />
Even with her high qualifications Asha experienced countless job refusals as she had no<br />
Australian referees to vouch for her. She also couldn’t drive and with English as her third<br />
language (yes, she speaks two others) and a heavy accent, people often didn’t have the<br />
patience or foresight to look past her differences.<br />
“I experienced very little respect. I was self-conscious of my English and felt I had to<br />
prove myself all over again. I felt like the ‘other’ in an outgroup of marginalisation. I<br />
had to find the strength and resilience to keep going and even when I finally got a job<br />
in office administration, a year after arriving, it was hard to be accepted. I was Indian. I<br />
was a woman.”<br />
But prove herself she did and through finding areas of commonality, such as her<br />
knowledge of cricket and her newly found enthusiasm for AFL and footy tipping, she<br />
began to feel more connected and accepted.<br />
After working her way up the employment ladder, and moving several times due to her<br />
4 LOVE LOCAL
spotlight<br />
husband’s own career, Asha ended up in Albany in 2008, and was offered SAC’s top job,<br />
five years later.<br />
“I can see that my experience of ‘otherness’ has supported me in what I now do. Being<br />
an Indian woman leading an Aboriginal organisation is certainly an unusual situation<br />
and you could consider it a case of ‘double otherness’. But knowing what it feels like to<br />
be marginalised, and coming from a country rich in culture, has helped me connect with<br />
the Aboriginal community in many ways.”<br />
Asha’s empathy for those less fortunate has seen her donate a large slice of her time<br />
to supporting charities and not for profit organisations with a particular focus on those<br />
aimed at helping women. As the WA team leader of ‘Share the Dignity’ Asha is drawing<br />
attention to one of the more hidden inequalities of her gender; period-poverty. ‘Share<br />
the Dignity’ is a national charity that provides free period products to women and girls<br />
that are experiencing hardship, homelessness or are fleeing domestic violence.<br />
“Period-poverty is a major issue in India and women are ostracised from their family<br />
and community when menstruating. It’s not culturally the same here but if you don’t<br />
have the products you need to deal with your period it can definitely lead to a sense of<br />
shame and loss of dignity.”<br />
And it’s through this raising of issues affecting women that Asha wants to also address<br />
the gender inequality she sees in the workplace and the broader community.<br />
“There’s close to a 50/50 population gender balance in the Great Southern but do<br />
you see that reflected in our workplaces, our corporate boards and committees?<br />
No, you don’t. I’m on several boards and in the majority of them I’m the only brown<br />
woman. On one of my committees, I am the only woman. It’s time to stop talking about<br />
discrimination, diversity and inclusion. It’s time to act!<br />
“Bias on the basis of race, gender, sexualtity, and other factors creating a sense of<br />
‘otherness’, exists everywhere. Don’t just leave it up to HR managers and CEOs,<br />
everybody can act for change.”<br />
I can see that my experience<br />
of ‘otherness’ has supported me<br />
in what I now do. Being an Indian<br />
woman leading an Aboriginal<br />
organisation is certainly an unusual<br />
situation and you could consider it a<br />
case of ‘double otherness’.<br />
Asha Bhat<br />
Asha adds that she also sees elements of complacency creeping into our society.<br />
“Many people feel we’ve come a long way in dealing with diversity and inclusion but<br />
it’s not far enough. I hope I’m an example of what women migrants, and women from<br />
other disadvantaged groups, can do. It may not be easy but it is doable.”<br />
Asha admits she’s sacrificed much to get where she is and achieve what she has. She<br />
studied hard and chose to work when others were enjoying time off. She’s had dark<br />
times too, dealing with depression and struggled with self-doubt, imposter syndrome<br />
and a fear of public speaking.<br />
After each setback Asha has picked herself up and stepped back onto the path of<br />
advocating for equality and equity. Asha is a woman who ‘walks-the-talk’ every day;<br />
putting words into action and being the change she wants to see in the world. She is<br />
indeed what the local Noongar community call Moorditj Yorga; a Solid Woman.<br />
If you’d like to join Asha in supporting the Share the Dignity charity you can learn more<br />
and donate by visiting sharethedignity.org.au<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
5
create<br />
JONATHAN HOOK<br />
Hands on the Wheel<br />
STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTO SERENA KIRBY<br />
This year marks five decades since Jonathan Hook took his first steps along the path to<br />
becoming a professional ceramicist. Back then he was one of only two full time students<br />
studying an Advanced Diploma in Ceramics at Perth’s Technical College. He was a<br />
country kid at heart, having grown up in Kendenup, and was keen to relocate back to<br />
the country once he finished his studies.<br />
“I was really interested in wood fired kilns so I needed space and wood – lots of it,”<br />
Jonathan says. “Denmark fitted the bill perfectly and I was drawn to the beauty of<br />
the area. I was, and still am, inspired by it and the energy of the landscape permeates<br />
through you and comes out in what you create.”<br />
And Jonathan has definitely created in abundance. He has also been one of those<br />
fortunate creatives who’s been able to sustain a career and a lifestyle doing what he<br />
loves. His new gallery and studio space carries that hallmark of success as its brimming<br />
with vessels in every shape, colour and size. Jonathan’s range now includes more than<br />
1000 different items including a massive selection of carefully crafted tableware.<br />
“For many years I’ve focussed on producing quality tableware and I now have more<br />
than 70 different shapes in a wide variety of colours. Due to their fragile nature it’s not<br />
practical to sell online. I also don’t have any stockists for the same reason so the only<br />
place you can purchase my work is here at the gallery.”<br />
Jonathan’s desire to stay local has also meant that he’s rarely exhibited saying he<br />
prefers not to be part “of the gallery scene”.<br />
“Exhibiting in a gallery is not a reliable way of selling work. Most of the people who buy<br />
my work are from Perth anyway – so in effect – they come to me rather than me go to<br />
them.”<br />
When reflecting on the past 50 years Jonathan says his equipment has scarcely changed<br />
and he still uses the same wheel he had decades ago.<br />
“The biggest change has been in the refinement of my techniques and that comes from<br />
perseverance and practice. This is physically demanding work and you have to be a<br />
<br />
James Halliday 5 Red Star Winery<br />
for 7 consecutive years<br />
Rockcliffe cellar door is open every day and offers a selection of some<br />
of the region’s best award-wining wines for tasting and available to<br />
purchase. Customers are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy at our beautiful<br />
vineyard and pair with their favourite Rockcliffe wine. Visitors also come from<br />
near and far to taste our famous Rockcliffe gelatos and sorbets – all made on<br />
the premises to traditional artisan Italian recipes. Our cellar door is regularly<br />
voted by our customers as not only the best cellar door in Denmark, but the<br />
best cellar door experience they have ever had!<br />
Rockcliffe wines are also available at the best restaurants,<br />
bars and liquor stores throughout the Great Southern.<br />
www.rockcliffe.com.au<br />
CELLAR DOOR 18 Hamilton Road, Denmark, WA, 6333 | PHONE: 0419 8<strong>48</strong> 195<br />
OPENING HOURS 11am to 5pm, 7 days a week. At all other times by appointment, please phone.<br />
6 LOVE LOCAL
create<br />
workaholic to make a success out of making ceramics. You need a high energy level too<br />
and a lot of passion.”<br />
Jonathan’s seemingly abundant energy also led him to take on the designing and<br />
building of his current studio and gallery which opened three years ago. Spanning <strong>48</strong>0<br />
square metres with lofty ceilings, and floor to ceiling glass showing off panoramic views,<br />
visitors can immerse themselves in the landscape while admiring the ceramics it has<br />
inspired.<br />
Not content with just creating a designer space for himself Jonathan has also recently<br />
turned his original studio into short-stay, luxury accommodation. His original home too<br />
has undergone a makeover and is now available for holiday guests.<br />
“I’ve always loved architecture and had I not become a ceramicist I would definitely<br />
have been an architect.”<br />
More recently Jonathan has returned to his studies in fine art; something he started a<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
7
create<br />
couple of decades ago but had put aside due to life getting in the way. While Jonathan<br />
says he’s always done sculptural works he hopes to head more in that direction in the<br />
future. But he admits it is not a fast process.<br />
“One piece could take 12 months or it could take 20 years. All good things take time to<br />
develop and my renewed interest in painting and larger sculptural pieces presents me<br />
with a lot of possibilities for creating work relevant to the Great Southern landscape.”<br />
Functional or sculptural, whatever Jonathan creates it will continue to be sought<br />
after by lovers of hand-made, quality objects carrying their maker’s mark. And while<br />
Jonathan drives his creative exploration in new directions he’s sure to always have at<br />
least one hand on the wheel.<br />
Jonathan’s Studio and Gallery are located at 109 Lantzke Road, Denmark. You can visit<br />
Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm as well as Saturday and Sunday 12noon to 4pm.<br />
www.jonathanhook.com<br />
JONATHAN HOOK STUDIO CERAMICS | OPENING HOURS: Mon- Fri: 10am-5pm. Weekends: 12-4pm.<br />
New Studio and Gallery at 109 Lantzke Rd off Redman Rd, Denmark. Contact: 0<strong>48</strong>1 099 125<br />
8 LOVE LOCAL
BROADER<br />
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our team. Now offering our innovative<br />
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0458 393 811<br />
phoebe@masonrealty.com.au<br />
www.masonrealty.com.au | 9841 2994
esearch<br />
LITTLE WHITE WHALE PROJECT<br />
Saving Southern Right Whales<br />
STORY DEANNA DAVENPORT | PHOTOS DEANNA DAVENPORT<br />
Standing on the shoreline of Albany’s coast, marine biologist Katy Fannei watches<br />
a mother-calf pair of endangered Southern Right whales (SRW) through binoculars,<br />
observing their behaviour, which she describes as ‘very cuddly’.<br />
“As the calf gets older, it dares to go on an exploration and then sometimes you can see<br />
a little change in the behaviour of the mother and the calf comes back to the mother<br />
really rapidly,” she laughed.<br />
Observing these gentle giants for hours at a time, Katy would watch as the pair went<br />
into deeper water for a swim, but the calf would become exhausted.<br />
“I observed them coming back closer to shore where mum could rest her belly on top of<br />
the sand and the calf literally climbed onto the back of her and just rested there.”<br />
These land-based surveys, in addition to aerial surveys, are what Katy’s Masters<br />
research is based upon. It was her curiosity about these gentle giants that caught the<br />
attention of local pilot David Ellett and his wife Lisa-Maree.<br />
Whilst Katy was conducting her land-based surveys in 2020, David took his family out<br />
for a scenic flight along the coast. To the delight of the passengers, they spotted a white<br />
SRW calf alongside its mother. David’s wife, Lisa-Maree, shared photos of the white calf<br />
to a local Albany whale watching Facebook group. Katy saw the photo and reached out<br />
to Lisa-Maree with the excitement of wanting to learn more about what they saw.<br />
“I wanted to know all about that little white calf and so I asked Lisa-Maree all kinds of<br />
questions,” Katy said.<br />
Katy met with Lisa-Maree and David, who were enthusiastic to contribute to Katy’s<br />
research. David proposed that the best way they could contribute was to help Katy<br />
count whales from planes. Observing from the air would help Katy understand the<br />
abundance, distribution and habitat use of SRW’s. David rallied support amongst the<br />
local pilot community and so, the Little White Whale Project was conceived.<br />
On 4 June 2021, Katy took her first flight.<br />
With the help of 14 local volunteer pilots, Katy was able to fly once a week from the<br />
Albany Wind Farm to Point Charles in Fitzgerald National Park. Katy said without the<br />
help of the volunteer pilots, she would not have the data she has.<br />
“With everyone contributing effort, resources, time and dedication to the project, we<br />
managed to do 21 weekly surveys,” she said.<br />
“It was very rewarding for the pilots to see the whales and fly for a ‘bigger’ purpose<br />
than just for their pleasure. It raised interest and awareness about the animals in the<br />
pilots and other community members spreading the word.”<br />
A fond memory Katy has while flying was seeing the white SRW calf that inspired the<br />
whole project.<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Marine biologist Katy Fannei will be in Albany this month to continue her surveys of the SRW population. A Southern Right whale with its belly up and her calf alongside. Katy<br />
conducting land-based surveys of Southern Right whales. Supplied by Andrew Davenport. Photographer Elly Waller. Supplied by Katy Fannei. Pilots Max Shearer and David Campbell with Katy Fannei in<br />
the middle.<br />
10 LOVE LOCAL
esearch<br />
“When that white calf was seen in 2020 at Cheynes Beach by Lisa-Maree, I never got to<br />
see it,” she said.<br />
“There were posts saying ‘there it is, there it is’ and I always went to those locations but<br />
I always missed it. So when I saw a white calf at the start of the 2021 season at Point<br />
Ann, I just jumped and screamed.<br />
“The pilots can still remember it – they thought I was going to jump out of the plane -<br />
that’s how excited I was.<br />
“Because that was the only one in the population we had in the survey site, we could<br />
track it. Every week you could see how it moved, where it was and it was so exciting. In<br />
the end, I named him Casper.”<br />
The information collected for Katy’s thesis is just the beginning the Little White Whale<br />
Project.<br />
Founded by David and Lisa-Maree, the organisation aims to facilitate the research of<br />
SRW’s in the Great Southern, which will aid in their protection and recovery. They hope<br />
that the organisation can gain not-for-profit status.<br />
Officially launched back in March at a community event, the pair shared their passion<br />
for the purpose of the organisation, to increase awareness and understanding of SRW’s<br />
through the sharing of research, education and storytelling.<br />
Executive committee member Lisa-Maree said the local community are very fortunate<br />
to have the Southern Right Whales visit Great Southern shores as one of their primary<br />
breeding grounds in Australia each year.<br />
“By supporting the Little White Whale Project,” she said, “you are supporting research<br />
that is essential so we can learn and understand about their recovery and also<br />
understand how we can best co-exist with them.<br />
“We know from our First People that whales visited here peacefully for many thousands of<br />
years, but the hunting of them by Europeans saw their almost complete extinction by 1950.<br />
“This project is a small way we can contribute to their protection and recovery.”<br />
With the support of community members, Katy said she hopes the flights surveying the<br />
whales will continue.<br />
“We want to connect information about their abundance and distribution. Simply<br />
explained – we just want to understand the species, especially on a local basis because<br />
there is not much research being done on them here.<br />
“We want to see how they behave, what they need, what they use, what happens<br />
during the breeding season and where they are.<br />
“We want to be able to – not predict – but gather information about what would<br />
happen in the future when the population sizes increase and there are more whales<br />
and they need more space.<br />
“Where would they go? It seems they need specific environmental conditions. They<br />
need it very calm because they are chunky, very slow animals. They need to save their<br />
energy, especially mothers and calves, to nurse and grow and learn. So, they need these<br />
sheltered, shallow, calm bays.”<br />
Katy said they don’t want to hoard the research they collect, but instead share it with<br />
everyone who wants to learn and hope the local community can get on board with<br />
sharing their knowledge as well.<br />
“The community in Albany is just amazing. Everyone is so passionate and kind and<br />
helpful. Whales are important to them and there is much more we can all learn with<br />
each other’s help.”<br />
Katy will be back in Albany this month to start aerial surveys for the 2022 season.<br />
You can get behind and support Katy, Lisa-Maree and David, and the volunteer pilots, by<br />
heading to their website https://www.littlewhitewhaleproject.org/<br />
LOVE LOCAL 11
craft<br />
SUBURBAN COWBOY<br />
Glen Toovey – The Last of the Leathermen<br />
STORY ADAM MORRIS | PHOTOS LATA WRIGHT<br />
Glen Toovey is between studios at the moment as he sits in his makeshift workshop<br />
hidden away on a nondescript street in suburban McKail. But the temporary digs<br />
haven’t stopped the gifted young craftsman from practicing his passion on a daily basis.<br />
As the phrase goes, wild horses couldn’t drag him away.<br />
Glen is currently consumed with making all things leather and although the focus is on<br />
equine and rider apparel such as saddles, spur straps and reins, Glen has also turned his<br />
expert hand to belts, bags, wallets and even mobile phone cases which he tries to make<br />
as quickly as the orders come to him, a task which he admits is frankly impossible.<br />
The corridor from Glen’s front door to the small space where he spends most of his<br />
free time is lined with well-worn cowboy boots, half made saddles and rolls of leather<br />
of varying shades stacked neatly on the floor to ceiling shelving. Akubras sit nestled<br />
about the room on top of the spools of the industrial sewing machines and the smell of<br />
leather fills the air. Glen sits in the middle of it all, looking very much at home riding the<br />
fine line between creativity and chaos beautifully.<br />
“I would like to have each piece be a work of art that the owner is happy to have<br />
for the rest of their life. One of my main aims would be to make each piece of work<br />
be heirloom quality that gets handed to the next generation and bring back the<br />
appreciation for handmade, quality work that lasts a lifetime.”<br />
For Glen his leatherwork is an extension of what he has done with horses all his life. A<br />
never-ending process of reflection and creativity, always striving to achieve the most<br />
optimal outcome, whether it’s fashioning a new belt with exquisite detail or calming a<br />
traumatised horse and bringing the best out in the animal to improve its quality of life.<br />
Glenn loves making things and he loves getting better at making things, sometimes it’s a<br />
saddle, sometimes it’s a bridle and sometimes it’s working alongside a horse that needs<br />
looking after. For Glen, being around horses is much more than a hobby or something<br />
to do on the weekend, it’s a way of life.<br />
“The biggest thing I love about horses – they are a reflection of yourself, if you are tense<br />
and nervous, they will be too. But if you are relaxed and calm they’ll reflect that. They<br />
are all individuals where they each have their own quirks and personality and you need<br />
to be adaptable to get the best out of them. They have helped me massively to learn to<br />
12 LOVE LOCAL
craft<br />
be more patient and understanding but it’s an endless goal that I will always find room<br />
for improvement on to achieve a better horse. It’s one of those things that I’ll never<br />
finish learning, just like my leather work, there’s always something more to learn.”<br />
Glen grew up on a horse and cattle farm in the Frankland region of WA before moving<br />
to Albany with his family when he was just seven years old. The family took their love<br />
of horses with them and they’ve been an integral part of Glen’s life ever since he can<br />
remember. Glen’s horse Kitty waits for him at a mate’s property in Mount Barker, where<br />
he travels to her regularly to reconnect and restore both himself and Kitty as Glen keeps<br />
his eye out for a suitable property for his next move.<br />
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Glen’s passion and commitment to what he does will see him travel to NSW to take part<br />
in an informal apprenticeship from Master Leatherworker John Saunders, a man who<br />
holds icon status in Glen’s world and a man whose work Glen has been admiring for<br />
many years.<br />
“He’s definitely my biggest inspiration for leatherwork along with Don Gonzales, Dustin<br />
Loftis, Gracie Christian and Sarah Garvey. John makes one of the best quality saddles<br />
I’ve ever seen in terms of craftsmanship, they all make absolute works of art when it<br />
comes to creativity and quality in what they do.”<br />
In ten years time, Glen hopes to be building custom saddles where clients can come<br />
with their own design and he’ll be able to bring their vision to life. Sitting with Glen<br />
and listening to him explain his plans and passion in his tiny makeshift studio is like<br />
sitting with a luthier or a master carpenter. His drive and determination in the quest for<br />
a perfection he knows he will never attain is inspirational, and you can’t help but feel<br />
excited for him as his captivating hobby looks to be in danger of turning into a full-time<br />
career.<br />
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Detail of Pure Western jeans with embellished back pockets, $100 from Trailblazers.<br />
Wrangler printed shirt, $110 from Trailblazers. Pure Western bootcut jeans, $100 from Trailblazers.<br />
Wrangler tie front shirt, $100 from Albany Horseworld. Akubra Cattleman hat, $170 from Albany<br />
Horseworld.<br />
THIS PAGE TOP TO BOTTOM Both women wear Brigalow Country shirts, $70 each from Albany<br />
Horseworld. Wrangler denim jacket, $130 from Trailblazers. Pure Western embossed t-shirt, $45<br />
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THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Both women wear Thomas Cook hats from Trailblazers and Bullzye t-shirts, $40 from Trailblazers. RM Williams skirt with raw edge, $165 from Trailblazers. Pure<br />
Western embellished skirt, $95 from Trailblazers. Pure Western navy and white shirt, $80 from Trailblazers. Alicia wears Hardslog shirt, $45 from Trailblazers. Kate wears Thomas Cook shirt, $110 from<br />
Trailblazers. Horze puffer jacket, $115 from Albany Horseworld.<br />
OPPOSITE PAGE: All Toovey accessories crafted by local leather craftsman Glen Toovey. To learn more about Glen see the full story in this edition of <strong>Aurora</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> on page 12.<br />
16 LOVE LOCAL
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eflect<br />
PRIVATE WILLIAM WEBSTER AYRE<br />
‘I am just one of Billy Hughes’ burnt-out soldiers’<br />
STORY ANNE SKINNER<br />
At <strong>48</strong> years old, William Ayre was more than twice the age of most of the young men<br />
lining up at the Albany recruiting office in the spring of 1914. Unlike the naïve, eager<br />
20-somethings ahead of him and behind him in the queue, William’s previous military<br />
experience had shown him the horrors of war. More than anyone else there, he knew<br />
something of what they all would face.<br />
As a teenager he had joined the Royal Navy where he worked his way up from naval<br />
cadet to Sub-Lieutenant. After nine years at sea, William left the navy and later<br />
volunteered to fight in the Boer War in South Africa, serving as a Corporal in the 2 nd<br />
Western Australian Mounted Infantry. When Australia and Britain declared war on<br />
Germany on 4 August 1914, he was still single and had no dependents. It made sense,<br />
William thought, that he should once again sign up to serve his country.<br />
To the rousing sounds of the Albany Brass Band, 850 Private William Webster Ayre<br />
marched to the railway station with the first contingent of Albany soldiers on the<br />
evening of Sunday, 16 August, where they were farewelled by a cheering crowd<br />
of about 1500 people. Those first 30 Albany volunteers joined other members of<br />
the recently raised 11 th Battalion at Blackboy Hill Training Camp, which those early<br />
enlistees had literally to carve out of virgin bush. Less than three months later, Pte Ayre<br />
embarked from Fremantle with H Company aboard the troopship Ascanius. They were<br />
bound for Egypt and several months of further training to fight on the newly opened<br />
front against the Ottoman Empire.<br />
Standing 176cm tall and weighing 76kg, the Tasmanian-born Pte Ayre was a finelooking,<br />
well-built man with blue eyes and brown hair. In his ten years at the Albany<br />
Water Board he had risen to the position of foreman, and his employers valued him<br />
enough to hold the position until his return. He may have been twice the age of his<br />
comrades in arms, but his health and fitness were still “good for his age”, according to a<br />
medical examiner who saw him after the war.<br />
LEFT: Private William Webster Ayre at Blackboy Hill in 1914. (Courtesy Norman Dowie).<br />
ABOVE: A troop train carrying Australian soldiers from Marseilles to Le Havre makes a rest stop.<br />
(Courtesy Australian War Memorial P02321_053). BELOW: Australian soldiers resting on the quay<br />
at Marseilles after disembarking from Egypt in early 1916. (Courtesy Australian War Memorial<br />
A02752)<br />
18 LOVE LOCAL
eflect<br />
The 11 th Battalion was among the first ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Pte Ayre<br />
fought his way up the craggy slopes behind the beachhead and dug in with the rest of<br />
his company. Two months later, during a raid on a Turkish trench, a bayonet wielded by<br />
another Australian soldier accidentally wounded him in the back of his right knee. He<br />
was treated at the casualty clearing station on the beach and invalided out of action for<br />
the next five weeks. The injury, considered light by the medics, was to affect his ability<br />
to fight for the rest of the war and dogged him for the remainder of his life. He was<br />
placed on light duties until the end of the Gallipoli campaign.<br />
75 rounds of ammunition. The British blockade of the North Sea and English Channel<br />
was designed to prevent war supplies, food and fuel from reaching Germany, which<br />
retaliated by using its only weapon of advantage – torpedo-armed submarines.<br />
The end of the war intervened before Pte Ayre finished his home leave. For the next<br />
few years, he went back to prospecting around Coolgardie where he had spent some<br />
time after returning from South Africa. He later met 45-year-old Isobel Palmer and the<br />
couple married in 1923. Too proud to apply for a military pension, William continued to<br />
work at various jobs, mostly as a chainman for the Western Australian Railways.<br />
After the evacuation, Pte Ayre was made a temporary baggage guard in Egypt until<br />
the battalion sailed for the Western Front in March 1916. Once in France, he was<br />
transferred permanently to the regimental transport section. The job was not without<br />
its dangers, as the transports were often exposed to enemy fire. Pte Ayre escaped<br />
further injury and illness during the 11 th Battalion’s campaigns through Pozieres, Ypres,<br />
the Hindenburg Line and the German spring offensive of early 1918. In August, the<br />
battalion was a part of the great offensive launched east of Amiens that was later<br />
lauded as the greatest Allied success in a single day on the Western Front. Throughout<br />
every advance and retreat, Pte Ayre concentrated on one of the most important tasks<br />
of any war – driving wagon after wagon of food supplies, ammunition, rolls of barbed<br />
Advising the Great Southern since 2012<br />
wire and timber for trench construction to support the front line troops.<br />
In July 1918, the Gallipoli veteran was sent on leave to Australia and allocated to<br />
submarine guard duty for the journey home. The guard was stationed at various<br />
vantage points of the vessel to look out for German U-boats, each soldier allocated<br />
Advising the We know Great and understand Southern the since rural sector 2012<br />
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Worn out by years of toil and debilitating illness, William Webster Ayre suffered a stroke<br />
and passed away in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War. The doctors determined<br />
the 73-year-old was suffering from arteriosclerosis, cerebral thrombosis and uraemia.<br />
Isobel applied for a war widow’s pension, but her application was refused after the<br />
Repatriation Commission decided William’s death was not the result of his war service.<br />
In her indignant appeal, Isobel wrote: “My husband had a stroke which I say was mostly<br />
Advising the Great Southern since 2012<br />
due to his four and a half years’ war service at the age of 50. I feel I know him better<br />
than any doctor. He often said to me, ‘I am just one of (wartime Prime Minister) Billy<br />
Hughes’ burnt-out soldiers’.” Isobel lost her appeal and was forced to live on a weekly<br />
pension of 17 shillings and sixpence – equivalent to just over $81 today. She passed<br />
away in 1950 and was laid to rest near her husband in Karrakatta Cemetery.<br />
Sources: Charles Bean, The AIF in France, 1916; Australian War Memorial; National<br />
We know and understand the rural sector<br />
Advising the Great Southern since<br />
Archives of Australia; AIF Project, https://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualPreDecimal.<br />
html; https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/unrestricted-u-boat-warfare.<br />
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promote<br />
ESTHER JONES<br />
The Farmer’s Daughter<br />
STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTO SERENA KIRBY<br />
The farming and agriculture sector has undergone major changes since Esther Jones<br />
was a child but there’s one farming tradition that hasn’t quite caught up with modern<br />
trends. Family farm inheritance still favours sons and it’s estimated that only 10 percent<br />
of farm successors are women.<br />
For farmer’s daughter, Esther, this meant that when her parents decided to retire, the<br />
family property she dearly loved was put up for sale; a female successor was simply not<br />
something anyone had considered.<br />
Esther was devastated; she was a teenager at the time – still at school and still living at<br />
home and one of two children – both daughters. But unlike most girls her age and era<br />
she was far more interested in doing farm work with her dad than learning how to cook<br />
with her mum.<br />
“I just loved our farm and everything farming; the paddocks, the big skies, being with<br />
my dad and working outside,” Esther says. “I lived and breathed the land. It was my<br />
passion. It was my everything.”<br />
Esther quickly decided that if she wasn’t able to work on the farm she’d work within<br />
the industry instead. And what she lacked in male chromosomes she certainly made up<br />
for in determination as, straight out of school, she scored a job as a cadet journo at the<br />
Western Farmer and Grazier newspaper.<br />
“I soon got poached by Elders Weekly and became their first ever female livestock<br />
journo. I travelled the State covering news stories and livestock sales. I was so young<br />
and often worried farmers wouldn’t take me seriously if I rocked up with P plates on my<br />
car. I always made sure to stop at the gates and whip the plates off.”<br />
Esther quickly saw there was a gap in the market for promoting what was happening<br />
on the land. Yes, there were public relations companies sending out media releases for<br />
farming clients but none of the PR businesses back then had any real life experience in<br />
agriculture.<br />
With opportunity knocking loudly at the door Esther set up her own farming-focussed<br />
company. She had no PR experience, no plan and no idea how she was going to make<br />
it work but her timing was perfect and Elders came on board as her first client with<br />
Wesfarmers soon following suit.<br />
“The business just took off and one job led to another. Within a few years I was starting<br />
a family too and I clearly remember being on the phone to book ram sale ads in<br />
between birthing contractions. Crazy I know, but that’s how much I loved my work; I<br />
literally pushed through to get the job done.”<br />
With event management often falling under the PR umbrella, Esther expanded into<br />
organising conferences and expos for the farming industry. Her first event was a<br />
20 LOVE LOCAL
promote<br />
relatively small affair but within a few short years she had a staff of five and was<br />
convening up to 15 events a year with many of those being large-scale national events.<br />
Esther has since sold her events business and done a seachange to live on the banks of<br />
the Wilson Inlet, but her involvement in the industry has not diminished. She’s swapped<br />
her backstage role for an upfront microphone and has become a highly regarded<br />
presenter at industry events. She also trains other would-be presenters.<br />
“I think my success with organising conferences and presenting content is all to do<br />
with my point of difference. I know what makes good content – not from the point<br />
of a convener but from an audience perspective. A wise man once told me that ‘it’s<br />
more important to be interested than interesting’. At the moment I’m training some<br />
CSIRO scientists how to talk better to farmers. How can I be their best trainer if I’m not<br />
interested in them?”<br />
As a passionate professional, Esther has also dedicated time to help not for profit<br />
agricultural-related associations by holding executive roles with groups like the WA<br />
Sheep Alliance and Western Dairy and currently she’s Executive Officer with the WA<br />
Livestock Research Council.<br />
She’s also shining a spotlight on what’s possible for women in a predominantly maledominated<br />
industry and says there’s been a resurgence in women interested in working<br />
in agriculture.<br />
“Advances in on-farm technology and machinery has seen a lightening of the physical<br />
workload making a career in farming a lot more accessible to women. The sector has<br />
become a lot more profitable, more interesting and you could even say ‘sexy’. Women’s<br />
confidence has risen and they’re better supported than they used to be. There’s also<br />
been an increase in the number of women studying agricultural sciences and they now<br />
I know what makes good content<br />
– not from the point of a convener<br />
but from an audience perspective.<br />
A wise man once told me that ‘it’s<br />
more important to be interested<br />
than interesting’.<br />
Esther Jones<br />
make up more than 55% of students in this field. Seriously, if you have an Ag. Science<br />
degree, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to job options.”<br />
Esther adds that at a recent farming event in Kojonup around 50% of attendees were<br />
women under age 40 and she constantly meets young couples that work as a tight<br />
team, sharing the on-farm workload and the business management.<br />
And what of farm succession? Esther says things are changing but ever so slowly.<br />
“Farm succession is a weighty topic and long-standing tradition. It’s a bit like the Titanic;<br />
it’s not something you can turn quickly.”<br />
The women in agriculture movement will also be hard to stop and Esther is proof of<br />
that. Once that farm dirt gets under your feet, under your nails and under your skin, it<br />
can spark a lifelong love. It’s a classic case of: you can take the girl out of the farm but<br />
you can’t take farming out of the girl.<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
21
produce<br />
ALBANY SEAFOODS<br />
Mystery of the Missing Salmon<br />
STORY ALLEN NEWTON<br />
Love them or hate them, Albany’s famous Australian salmon seem to have gone<br />
missing. It’s more than 20 years since two viruses swept from South Australia through<br />
the Southern Ocean and all but wiped out the once prolific sardines which were the<br />
main source of food for the salmon.<br />
Tony Westerberg whose fishing family has been operating out of the Great Southern<br />
since the early 1900s, says it’s not the first time the family has had to deal with<br />
changing fishing conditions. They’ve always had to keep one step ahead of the game as<br />
fisheries have come and gone.<br />
These days Albany Seafoods operate two purse seine vessels out of Albany targeting<br />
sardines which are landed within three hours of being caught and processed in the<br />
2000m2 factory five minutes out of town. Their efforts are focused on beach seining<br />
Australian herring and Australian salmon, as well as purse seining sardines.<br />
Keeping ahead of the game for Albany Seafoods has meant value adding to some of<br />
their fish which are now canned and packaged for retail distribution. They have been<br />
seeking wider distribution for their canned salmon and sardines but dealing with the<br />
big supermarket chains has been difficult without multiple products in their range.<br />
“It’s not worth the hassle for them of dealing with just one or two products from us,”<br />
Tony says.<br />
Albany Seafoods now have export approval and are looking more closely at potential<br />
overseas markets and casting their nets over a wider area.<br />
Given the disappearance of the sardines and the large volumes of salmon that used to<br />
be found along Albany beaches, the local fishing industry is working together under the<br />
auspices of the Southern Seafood Producers Association to bring a bigger boat to Albany<br />
from the eastern States to see what fish are out in the deeper ocean in the next year or<br />
two. They know that redbait and blue mackerel are both offshore in fairly big volumes and<br />
there’s speculation that the salmon may also be out there in larger numbers.<br />
“Since the sardine virus there aren’t many sardines on the coast anymore and the<br />
salmon aren’t travelling the coast like they used to,” he says.<br />
It’s thought they are mostly staying offshore where the baitfish are and to purse seine<br />
for them will need a bigger boat. The results will be worth the effort says Tony with big<br />
demand, mainly in northern Africa, for mackerel.<br />
Sardines were impacted by two viruses that arrived in WA in 1995 and 1998, which Tony<br />
says came in from California in imported bait to the tuna farms in Port Lincoln in South<br />
Australia and then swept through to WA impacting the sardine fishery which hasn’t<br />
recovered in WA.<br />
“In the first two years after the virus we were catching salmon and they were coming<br />
through the same on the beaches and they were full of everything, whiting, stingrays,<br />
blowies, every mortal thing in the ocean was inside the salmon, when normally they<br />
were just full of sardines.<br />
“Since then salmon sightings have been less and less, so we presume they are all<br />
offshore, out where the bait is because they are fully roed and they are coming up to<br />
spawn, but I’m not too sure.<br />
“A couple of scientists I’ve spoken to, who do worldwide stuff, said pelagics will follow<br />
pelagics, so the salmon follow the sardines and if the sardine stocks go down they’ll<br />
restrict their spawning because there’s not enough food and as the sardines bounce<br />
back up they’ll start spawning again.<br />
“Because our population hasn’t bounced back like it has in South Australia there are a<br />
few of us starting to think maybe they are not out there, maybe they’ve just restricted<br />
their spawning.”<br />
Tony hopes a bigger fishing boat will reveal more about the true picture and targeting<br />
larger fish might be the solution to keep the fishery going.<br />
But even if they do find the elusive salmon Tony says they also have to deal with the<br />
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history and spectacular scenery of the amazing<br />
South Coast.<br />
Excellent facilities, great locations. Welcoming corporate clients, families and couples<br />
www.albanyharbourside.com.au info@albanyharbourside.com.au 9842 1 769 8 Festing Street, Albany<br />
22 LOVE LOCAL
produce<br />
fish’s sometimes poor reputation as an eating fish and to convince the public that it is a<br />
healthy, tasty and sustainable locally fished seafood.<br />
To help the Albany Seafoods food van has been set up to sell and promote salmon,<br />
herring and sardines and to showcase how they can be cooked. The van will be at the<br />
Albany Food & Wine Festival as part of Taste Great Southern on Saturday, 14 May at the<br />
Centennial Park Exhibition Centre.<br />
The van serves dishes like massaman salmon arancini balls, smoked salmon croquettes,<br />
salmon cake sliders, panang salmon spring rolls, Albany lemon pepper salmon wonton<br />
skins, salmon pate crostini, smoked sardine bruschetta and herring tacos.<br />
People often turn their nose up when they are told the fish being used in the food van<br />
is salmon but bled and cooked properly it can be tasty Tony says. The fish cooked in<br />
the van is soaked in buttermilk and honey which makes it tender and removes the fishy<br />
taste. Tony says people don’t realise how little they need to do to create something<br />
really tasty from a fish that is cheap to buy.<br />
Albany Seafoods is on Instagram @albanyseafoodsfoodvan<br />
RIGHT: Tony Westerberg in the Albany Seafood van which will be at the Albany Food & Wine<br />
Festival on 14 May to promote how tasty Australian salmon can be.<br />
BELOW: Purse seining for sardines off the coast of Albany.<br />
ARCHITECTURE WITH HEART<br />
08 98<strong>48</strong> 3894<br />
info@ptxarchitects.com.au<br />
ptxarchitects.com.au<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
23
engage<br />
WALPOLE KIDS<br />
Cartoonist Nathan Vass Viney Animates Walpole Art Scene<br />
STORY ADAM MORRIS<br />
The Walpole arts scene is alive and thriving and one man, Nathan Vass Viney has<br />
captured it all in a new short documentary along with assistance from Regional Arts WA<br />
and the Walpole Community Resource Centre.<br />
You don’t meet many cartoonists in everyday life Nathan, how did you discover this<br />
passion?<br />
I began drawing cartoons when I was in Primary School. A close friend and I were<br />
getting into comic books and newspaper strips and it took our full attention. We both<br />
came up with jokes based on school and family life, always in a competition to make<br />
each-other laugh. Looking back, most of the strips made no sense. But it was fun. I’ve<br />
been producing comics and 2D animation ever since. While I do have a regular job<br />
in Walpole, my not so secret identity is the local newspaper comic guy. The comic,<br />
Walpole Kids has been mentioned or appeared in event posters, stickers, a book, as<br />
knitted characters and now in this short documentary film.<br />
Walpole is often the forgotten town when Perth tourists think of heading south, how<br />
would you describe the town and its attractions for people who have never visited?<br />
I’d hope that Walpole is not forgotten! We are the ideal spot to rest up and enjoy some<br />
incredible nature and community. When my partner and I first visited Walpole for a<br />
weekend many years ago, we had no idea it was near water. We enjoyed the incredible<br />
forests, but missed a whole other element. Walpole backs onto two incredible inlets.<br />
With still mirror-like water and a quiet town, Walpole’s Swarbrick Jetty or Coalmine<br />
Beach are perfect places to stop and have a breather.<br />
The local art scene seems to be bustling in Walpole, how is it such a small community<br />
has such a vibrant artist community?<br />
You’ll find most any community will have a vibrant art scene. Some people don’t even<br />
recognise themselves as artists, but they make incredible things just in their backyards.<br />
Art is really just anything that a person can create, starting out in the mind. Cooking and<br />
baking is art, music is art, sticking some dry pieces of pasta together is art. Something<br />
I’ve tried to do with my new documentary film Walpole Kids: Meet the Artists is bring all<br />
of the arts together.<br />
You have a cartoon strip that runs weekly in the local paper, could you tell us a little<br />
24 LOVE LOCAL
engage<br />
bit about its origins and what you hope it brings to local readers each week?<br />
My comic strip, Walpole Kids began in 2020 as a weekly strip but as of 2021 had to<br />
become fortnightly. This is just due to general life time constraints. The comic has<br />
appeared in 3 newspapers during its run so far and remains to this day in the Walpole<br />
Weekly community paper. I was inspired by the nature, the small town setting and<br />
the slogans Walpole displays, such as ‘Litter Free Walpole’. I wanted to make some<br />
characters that could experience the town with me, so I made three children originally<br />
to experience it via short form jokes.<br />
Who has been your inspiration in the animation world? Do you remember which<br />
cartoons appealed to you as a child?<br />
My comic heroes as a kid and still to this day are Charles M Schulz of Peanuts fame,<br />
Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes and the many artists that have worked on the<br />
UK comic magazine, The Beano. When it comes to animation, my heroes have been a<br />
bit more obscure, people like Adam Phillips, a pioneer in Flash Animation in the early<br />
2000s, Howard Read, creator of the BBC Children’s show, Little Howard’s Big Question,<br />
of which I was an animator on, and inspiration on a wider scale, film studios such as<br />
Studio Ghibli.<br />
Your film Walpole Kids: Meet the Artists incorporates the local community including<br />
school children, what was it like making the film?<br />
The film showcases up to 14 local artists and uses the voice acting abilities of 4 local<br />
Walpole kids. I’ve always enjoyed the early Peanuts television specials, in that they<br />
always used real kids to voice the characters such as Charlie Brown. There is nothing<br />
more authentic. It was great fun working with the kids and getting them involved. I was<br />
mostly just running from place to place with a phone and a tripod, with every element<br />
of the production running around in my brain. That was fun too. At the end of the<br />
day, I love art and I love where it comes from. So the greatest part of interviewing the<br />
creatives was hearing their stories and seeing where that inspiration was coming from.<br />
What was the thinking behind the interview series, was this your brainchild?<br />
When I came to Walpole originally, I visited the Ficifolia Community Garden. It’s<br />
a lovely place, very peaceful. I noticed some coloured children’s chairs by a small<br />
stage. Immediately I imagined some new characters sitting on those chairs, enjoying<br />
a performance. Almost two years later, in Walpole Kids: Meet the Artists, I sat those<br />
characters on those chairs and they watched a performance for real. I had no idea how<br />
it would go, I just hoped for the best. It turned out all of the artists I interviewed were<br />
incredible, and they definitely made the film what it is. Luckily for me, Regional Arts WA<br />
and Cherie Smith at the Walpole Community Resource Centre supported the project.<br />
What is next for yourself Nathan?<br />
I am currently working on a traineeship at the Walpole Community Resource Centre,<br />
so there’s a bit of work for me to do regarding that, now the fun is over. But the comic<br />
will continue to go out fortnightly as long as I can and as long as the newspaper will<br />
have me. I’d love to make more animated shorts in the future. My partner Jasmine<br />
and I, have just had our first child so I’m excited for us to continue our journey as new<br />
parents. There is much to learn and plenty of love to be shared.<br />
The documentary will be available shortly after it’s first screening on 30 April on the<br />
Walpole Community Resource Centre YouTube Channel and Facebook soon after.<br />
Walpole Kids books and stickers are available at the Walpole Makers Collective and the<br />
Walpole Community Resource Centre. To see more of Nathan’s work you can visit his<br />
website at www.artbynathanviney.com<br />
OPPOSITE: Nathan Vass Viney with his partner Jasmine Dyer at the Perth Comics Arts festival last year. ABOVE: The Walpole Kids watch a performance at the Ficifolia Community Garden.<br />
BELOW: Some examples of the Walpole Kids comic as it appears in the Walpole Weekly.<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
25
WHAT’S ON!<br />
what’s on<br />
Koolbardi wer Wadong<br />
at AEC this June<br />
Immerse yourself in Noongar culture with the magnificent Koolbardi wer Wadong<br />
presented by the Albany Entertainment Centre 4 June 2022.<br />
Get ready to aliwa yeyi! (look out now!) as feathers will fly in this cautionary tale.<br />
Koolbardi the Magpie and Wardong the Crow are two very proud, vain, jealous<br />
brothers. Watch as their cunning, rivalry and one-upmanship brings them unstuck in<br />
spectacular fashion.<br />
Set on Noongar Boodja (the south west corner of Western Australia), you are invited<br />
to join a journey back to the Nyittiny, the time of Creation, where love, loyalty, betrayal<br />
and jealousy are all stretched to their limits. Award winning songwriters and story<br />
tellers, Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse weave magic in a world first, brought to life<br />
under the deft direction of Matt Reuben James Ward. Experience the incredible beauty<br />
of the language of this land as this production promises to delight audiences of all ages.<br />
The production will be sung in Noongar with English surtitles.<br />
Koolbardi wer Wardong is a Wesfarmers Arts Commission. The Albany tour is supported<br />
by Opera in the Regions Partner Minderoo Foundation, Playing WA and Feilman<br />
Foundation. Albany Children’s Chorus is supported by Lotterywest and choreographer is<br />
supported by the Bendat Family Foundation.<br />
Get Your Entries in for<br />
Nature Photo Comp<br />
20 years ago in 2002 an enthusiastic group of photographers organised the first Mount<br />
Barker Wildflower Photographic Competition. For that very first competition there<br />
were three sections with 134 entries. The annual photographic competition and public<br />
exhibition is still going strong, with some of those original entrants still participating<br />
every year.<br />
The competition has grown since then, and is now the Mount Barker Wildflower &<br />
Nature Photo Competition, and includes 5 different sections including WA wildflowers,<br />
nature and landscapes and attracts 100s of entries each year. This year the committee<br />
have included a new category of photographic art to allow for digital enhancement in<br />
any of the 3 subject categories.<br />
In recognition of the 20 year anniversary the prize pool has increased to a very<br />
substantial $3000, while entry fees remain at a modest $2.50 per image. Entries close<br />
on Sunday 11 September and entry forms are available from local visitor centres.<br />
BUY TICKETS!<br />
Box Office 9844 5005 | albanyentertainment.com.au<br />
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook<br />
MOUNT BARKER WILDFLOWER &NATURE<br />
Photo Competition<br />
$3000 prize money over 5 sections.<br />
CLOSING DATE Sunday 11th September 2022.<br />
Entry forms now available from visitor centres<br />
Phone David 0478 162 997 or email aldredd650@gmail.com<br />
26 LOVE LOCAL
gig guide<br />
Everything we put in the Gig Guide is correct at the time of<br />
printing, to the best of everyone’s knowledge. But be warned,<br />
things can and do change.<br />
WHO + WHAT WHERE WHEN<br />
ALBANY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE<br />
Jon Stevens – Noiseworks and INXS<br />
Collection<br />
Albany Entertainment Centre<br />
Monday 2 May, 6.30pm<br />
Chopin Waltzes by Candlelight Albany Entertainment Centre Friday 6 May, 7.30pm<br />
The Celebration of Swing Albany Entertainment Centre Sunday 8 May, 3pm<br />
The Great Un-Wondering of<br />
Wilbur Whittaker<br />
Albany Entertainment Centre<br />
Wednesday 18 May, 4.30pm<br />
Banff Mountain Film Festival Albany Entertainment Centre Saturday 21 May, 7pm<br />
Amy Shark See U Somewhere<br />
Australian Tour<br />
EXHIBITIONS<br />
Albany Entertainment Centre<br />
The Rats of Tobruk Barrack Building, Princess Royal Fortress to 1 May<br />
Brickwrecks: In Lego Museum of the Great Southern to 8 May<br />
Hammer & Honey Albany Town Hall to 21 May<br />
Maritime & Miniatures Trail Museum of the Great Southern to 8 May<br />
Strike A Pose Museum of the Great Southern to 8 May<br />
Warbirds: Aircraft of WW2 Married Quarters, Princess Royal Fortress All of May<br />
FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS<br />
Thursday 26 May, 7.30pm<br />
CINEFESTOZ ALBANY Various locations, Albany 28 April to 1 May<br />
TASTE GREAT SOUTHERN Various locations, Great Southern 5 to 15 May<br />
Mother’s Day Classic Albany From Middleton Beach Sunday 8 May from 7.30am<br />
2022 MSWA Albany Swim Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre Saturday 14 May<br />
Albany Food & Wine Festival Agricultural Pavilion, Albany Saturday 14 May<br />
Great Southern Volunteer Conference Retravision Stadium, Albany 21 to 22 May<br />
MARKETS<br />
Make a Scene Pop-up Gallery Patterson’s Arcade, York Street Each Mon to Sat, 10am-4pm<br />
Albany Farmers Market Collie Street, Albany Every Saturday 8am to noon<br />
Stirling Terrace Indoor Markets Old Auction Room Every Sat and Sun 9am to 3pm<br />
Centennial Markets Centennial Park, Albany Every Sat and Sun 9am to 1pm<br />
Albany Boatshed Markets The Boatshed, Princess Royal Drive Every Sunday, 9am to 1pm<br />
Kwoorabup Community Markets Steiner School Hall, Denmark Every Sunday, 10am to 2pm<br />
Kendenup Town Hall Markets Kendenup Town Hall Saturday 14 May, 9am-1pm<br />
OTHER<br />
Film Harvest – Independent<br />
and Arthouse Films<br />
Orana Cinemas Albany<br />
Every Wednesday 6.15pm<br />
It’s FREE to promote your event in the<br />
AURORA MAGAZINE Gig Guide!<br />
If you would like to be included for the Winter edition,<br />
contact us at gigguide@auroramagazine.com.au before the<br />
5pm Sunday 5 June deadline.<br />
SPECIAL TASTE GREAT SOUTHERN EVENT !<br />
SATURDAY 14 May 2022<br />
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for details<br />
Kendenup<br />
Town Hall<br />
EVERYBODY’S BEEN ON<br />
ALBANY’S RIVERBOAT!<br />
www.albanyaustralia.com<br />
9am Full 36k, 4 hour “SHELTERED WATER CRUISE”<br />
Billy tea, coffee, wildlife &<br />
Captain Kalgan’s famous HOT damper.<br />
Aussie seniors $95 - we reckon you’ve earned the discount<br />
BUT IT REALLY PAYS TO BOOK<br />
Markets<br />
Upcoming markets: Saturday 14 May<br />
• fresh produce • local olive oil<br />
• plants galore • hot food<br />
• cakes & slices • jams & preserves<br />
• local handcrafted gifts<br />
9844 3166<br />
Not so rough,<br />
it’s only<br />
9-1pm<br />
Call Kate Ryan-Taylor on 0493 044 235 for details<br />
PLUS<br />
Natural Raw<br />
Honey Tasting<br />
Karri on Bar<br />
SMALL BAR IN PORONGURUP<br />
Pizza oven’s lit, the beers are cold and the tunes are playing!<br />
Hope to see you down here for a casual afternoon<br />
or evening drink and some tasty food!<br />
OPEN FRIDAY EVENING FROM 5PM. OPEN SATURDAY<br />
AND SUNDAY FROM 11AM. KITCHEN CLOSES AT 8PM.<br />
Check our website for additional opening hours during school holidays.<br />
1983 PORONGURUP RD, PORONGURUP, WA. CALL (08) 9853 1022<br />
LOVE LOCAL<br />
27
ESSENTIALS FOR AN ECO FRIENDLY<br />
HOME AND LOW WASTE LIFESTYLE<br />
WARM YOUR<br />
HOME THIS<br />
WINTER<br />
Visit our showroom for new build design consults and<br />
exceptional product knowledge on our broad range of<br />
eye-catching and high efficiency wood heaters<br />
from Australian and leading international brands.<br />
JARRAHDALE • PACIFIC ENERGY • MASPORT • MORSO<br />
We stock a range of wood fire parts and accessories<br />
FIRE TOOLS • CHILD GUARDS • KINDLING STORAGE • FIRE PARTS<br />
MON-FRI. 8.30AM-5PM // SAT. 9AM- 1PM<br />
9 MINNA ST, ALBANY // 08 9841 6171<br />
RANGE ONLINE AT ALBANYECOHOUSE.COM.AU