Issue 63 Aurora Magazine December 2023

FREE 

Aurora 

Issue 63 

GREAT SOUTHERN Lifestyle, People, Happenings December 2023 

GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 

MELANIE ALLEN’S 

MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 

LORRAINE HARRISON 

3D YOUTH PRIZE 

CHRISTMAS EDITION 

PLUS CHRISTMAS RECIPES, 

SUMMER FASHION, LOCAL HISTORY 

AND WHAT’S ON IN DECEMBER 

ALBANY | DENMARK | MOUNT BARKER | WALPOLE 

LOVE LOCAL 

www.auroramagazine.com.au

contents 


Great Southern Lifestyle, People, Happenings 

www.auroramagazine.com.au 

Our cover 

Congratulations to the winner of our 

FREE 


Manager and Editor 

Amanda Cruse 

0438 212 979 

amanda@auroramagazine.com.au 

Advertising Sales 

Amanda Cruse 

0438 212 979 

sales@auroramagazine.com.au 

Production and Layout 

Vanessa Pribil 

vanessa@auroramagazine.com.au 

Photography 

editorial@auroramagazine.com.au 

annual Christmas Cover Competition, 

Denmark based photographer Nic Duncan 

with her magnificent photograph of a 

Carnaby's black cockatoo, resplendent in 

a Christmas-coloured native bottlebrush. 

We had a high standard of entires with 

plenty of lovely artworks and photographs 

submitted. For the full story and a look 

at some of the finalists, turn to page 16. 

PHOTO: NIC DUNCAN. 




ALBANY | DENMARK | MOUNT BARKER | WALPOLE 

LOVE LOCAL 

GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 







4 GIVE GIFTS TO LIFT THE SPIRIT 

Local Group Gives Gift Boxes 

6 FOCUS JAYDEN HOCKEY 

Pursuit Driver Now Driver Trainer 

10 CREATE MELANIE ALLEN’S MILLEFIORI 

More Than Meets the Eye 

16 CONGRATULATE CHRISTMAS COVER COMPETITION 

Winner and Runner-ups 

18 VOGUE SUMMER STYLE 

Local Fashion Feature 

4 GIVE 6 FOCUS 

Editorial 

editorial@auroramagazine.com.au 

Our Contributors 

22 TASTE VINOFOOD 

Local Gourmet Condiments Go National 

Amanda Cruse 

Serena Kirby 

Allen Newton 

24 CHOCCONUTZ 

A Delicious Cultural Collusion 

Anne Skinner 

Distribution 

Tim Cruse 

0438 004 408 

distribution@auroramagazine.com.au 

Published by Greybird Media 

Printed by Colourpress Pty Ltd 

54 Hasler Road, OSBORNE PARK, WA 6017 

Aurora Magazine is subject to Copyright and may not 

be reproduced in any form without permission from the 

Publisher. Any material supplied for publication is the 

responsibility of the supplier. All information is believed 

to be true by the Publisher at the time of printing. 

Aurora Magazine is 100% locally 

and independently owned. 

Aurora Magazine is printed on high quality 

uncoated paper that is sustainably produced 

in Australia. It is 100% recyclable. 

Please dispose of thoughtfully. 

Distribution 

GREATER ALBANY | MOUNT BARKER | DENMARK | WALPOLE 

We distribute our free paper strategically to ensure we are well placed for strong readership 

amongst both locals and visitors to the Great Southern region. 

You can pick up a copy from the Albany and Mount Barker visitor centres, and Walpole-Nornalup 

visitors centres, as well as the Albany ANZAC Centre. We are also available from the Albany, 

Denmark, Katanning, Mount Barker and Walpole public libraries. Almost 1000 copies are put directly 

into the rooms of accommodation venues throughout the Great Southern. 

We also have the following major distribution points: 

Albany: Clarks News Agency, Coles (Albany Plaza and Orana), Dome Cafe, Plaza Lotteries, Puma 

Service Station, Royale Patisserie, Spencer Park IGA, The Naked Bean, Woolworths (Chester Pass 

Mall), and York Street IGA. 

Denmark: Raven’s Coffee. We are also available at The General Store at Youngs Siding and the 

Elleker General Store. 

Mount Barker: Supa IGA and the Plantagenet Wines Cellar Door. 

Walpole: Pioneer Store IGA and the Treetop Walk Gift Shop. 

We have over 100 smaller distribution points, so there’s a good chance your favourite local cafe, 

vineyard, boutique, hotel, gallery or corner store will have some copies on hand. 

26 SILVERSTREAM WINES 

Where Wine Meets the Arts 

28 ALBANY FARMERS MARKETS 

What’s in Season Now 

29 REFLECT HOPE, TEARS AT CHRISTMAS 

‘I will always think of your generous gift…’ 

32 ENGAGE 20 YEARS FOR VOLUNTEER SERVICE 

Team Supports 179 Volunteers Groups 

34 LORRAINE HARRISON 3D YOUTH PRIZE 

Encouraging Young Artists 

36 WHAT’S ON ALBANY COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON 

Everyone’s Invited! 

39 GIG GUIDE SPECIAL EVENTS, MARKETS AND EXHIBITIONS 

10 CREATE 18 VOGUE 

22 TASTE 32 ENGAGE 

Driven by your success. 

Canaccord Genuity is one of Australia’s leading specialist stockbroking and 

financial services firms, offering a range of investment services. 

STOCKBROKING 

INVESTMENT ADVICE 

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT 

Canaccord Genuity Financial Limited AFSL No. 239 052 ABN 69 008 896 311 

SUPERANNUATION 

FINANCIAL PLANNING 

Tim Cruse - Senior Wealth Adviser 

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management 

L2, 184 Aberdeen Street, Albany WA 6330 

08 9842 4780 | TCruse@cgf.com 

2 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

3

give 

give 

GIFTS TO LIFT THE SPIRIT 

Local Group Gives Beautiful Gift Boxes 

STORY ALLEN NEWTON | PHOTOS KAREN STONE 

There are up to 40 in the group which isn’t a not-for-profit or registered charity, just a 

group of friends who contribute money or products and a core group of around 10 who 

help put everything together. 

“We just call it ‘Keren and friends’.” 

“My friends and I, throughout the year when we see a little bargain somewhere we all 

buy everything that we can when it’s discounted and really good value. 

Each pack is extensive. 

“We try and put in some essential things like shampoo, conditioner, and hand cream, a 

Albany schoolteacher Keren Campbell wants everybody to be able to celebrate 

Christmas, including the women of the Great Southern who are doing it tough. Every 

year Keren coordinates the efforts of local community group the Women’s Pamper Gift 

Boxes who create gift ‘pamper packs’ for the Albany Women’s Centre refuge. 

Keren founded the group 16 or 17 years ago with a group of friends. On the day we 

spoke, a group of around 14 teenage girls from Bethel Christian School had been at 

Keren’s home helping to package the gifts ready to be delivered to the refuge. 

Keren teaches from Year 7 to 10 at Bethel and for one period a week the school has a 

15-minute timeslot for Christian living which encourages the students to think beyond 

themselves and reach out to others. 

“It gives them the opportunity to be involved in this one little thing that happens every 

year here in Albany.” 

The Pamper Gift Box idea came together through a ladies’ life group Keren facilitated 

which would get together at The Dome Café and provide encouragement for each other. 

“But I didn’t want it to just be about us. It’s important to connect as women, but I 

challenged the girls, who could we reach out to in our community who may not feel 

connected and how could we do that? 

“One of the other ladies thought of the women’s refuge here. She’d had a sad event in 

her life years earlier where she had to avail herself of that service through a domestic 

violence situation. 

“It was her idea to put together little pamper packs because women in that situation 

would not have the money to buy a hand cream or some makeup or the things that 

women enjoy.” 

The women’s centre thought it was a great idea so the ladies started putting a little bit 

of money aside each week to buy gifts. In the first year the group put together around 

30 gifts and it has kept going from there. 

Keren says the group does get a bit of a hand from local retailers. 

“This year we had Millers, they had some makeup that they were selling on sale and my 

girlfriend asked the lady there if they could discount it further? And they did. 

“We also had Bunnings donate about 45 gorgeous wooden little crates and that’s what 

we’ve been using this year. We’ve painted them up and decorated them and lined 

them with fabric and put a little bow around them and I’ve had my students helping. 

Bunnings donated about $500 worth of boxes which was just outstanding. 

“We’ve also had Priceline give us some little sample packs.” 

body lotion, a pretty soap and maybe a bottle of hand soap, a hand sanitizer if we can, 

some skin care, a lipstick or lip balm, some makeup, a nail polish, deodorant, a little 

hand towel and a face washer, some body wash and then we try and put some special 

things in like maybe a pair of sunglasses, toiletries bag or a little handbag or an evening 

purse or a wallet, a pair of socks or bed socks or slippers, scarf, maybe a nice notebook 

with a pen or a diary and then we’ll try and have, a hat or a cap or a beanie, always a 

piece of jewellery. Usually there’s a really pretty teacup and saucer or a mug with some 

sachets of hot chocolate or tea bags or cappuccino sachets. 

“Then we’ll try and have something special in there, maybe a little inspirational 

message. This year it’s about everlasting seeds and how they sort of pop up and how 

they are very resistant to difficult, hard, dry ground. A little packet of everlasting seeds 

is attached to the card sitting in a cute little flowerpot. I just want those women to 

receive a gift knowing that their community cares about them.” 

Around 50 gift packs will be handed over to the women’s centre to be handed out 

at Christmas and other times of the year for birthdays or when a woman is facing 

particularly difficult circumstances. Keren says she would love to be able to grow the 

project to be able to gift more. 

“One year we were able to take a dozen gifts over to the Bunbury Women’s Refuge 

and a few to the Busselton Women’s Refuge, so the more the merrier as far as I’m 

ABOVE: Keren Campbell coordinates the efforts of local community group the Women’s Pamper 

Gift Boxes who create gift ‘pamper packs’ for women who are going through difficult times. 

BELOW: The Christmas gift boxes are beautifully decorated and generously filled with thoughtful 

items designed to give women a lift. 

concerned. 

“While most go to the Albany Women’s Centre we hold a few back so that through the 

year often word will come through from the community, for example one of our ladies 

that had lived in Albany for 30 years, a really well-known couple, her husband was killed 

tragically in a truck rollover last year. 

“She now lives in Perth but we obviously heard about that so we got a gift up to her at 

an appropriate time, so when we hear of people going through very difficult times we’ll 

get a gift put together for them and get it to them. 

“Throughout the year we might have another 20 or 30 that go out to those sorts of 

situations and we do hear that people are very touched because it’s quite a substantial 

gift, it’s not cheaply put together, it’s got beautiful things in it and we just try and make 

it really special” 

Anyone interested in the project can contact Keren by email at 

sanctuaryfortyseven@gmail.com 

OPEN 11AM TO 5PM DAILY | 90 WALTER ROAD DENMARK | SINGLEFILE.WINE 

Jonathan Hook Ceramics 

UNIQUE, HANDCRAFTED IN DENMARK 

JONATHAN HOOK STUDIO CERAMICS | OPENING HOURS: Mon- Fri: 10am-5pm. Weekends: 12-4pm. 

New Studio and Gallery at 109 Lantzke Rd off Redman Rd, Denmark. Contact: 0481 099 125 

4 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

5

focus 

focus 

JAYDEN HOCKEY 

Pursuit Driver Now Driver Trainer 

STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTOS SERENA KIRBY 

Any parent that’s helped teach their child to drive knows the friction and stress it can 

cause. With your hand hovering over the handbrake or foot poised over a phantom 

brake pedal, you brace yourself for a nerve-wracking ride with a first-time driver at the 

wheel. 

Jayden Hockey knows more than most about how to teach new drivers as he does it for 

a living. But even before he became a driving instructor he’d already had a hair-raising 

driving job. Jay was once a police pursuit driver. 

“I spent nine years as a pursuit driver with the WA Police Force and five years as a traffic 

cop,” Jay says. 

“I never really set out to be in the Force. It just sort of worked out that way. I originally 

wanted to do mechanical engineering but schooling never really interested me, so by 

Year 12 I had no idea what I was going to do. That was when a teacher told me that the 

WA Police had reopened their cadetship program. I thought, what the heck, I’ve got no 

other direction in mind, so I applied. The rest is history.” 

After several years in the job Jay was offered a place in a pursuit driving course and he 

jumped at the chance. Several other advanced courses followed after which Jay became 

a qualified pursuit driver and he reflects on his time behind the wheel during highspeed 

car chases with mixed emotions. 

Fee-free initial 

consultations 

until the end 

of 2023 

Cousins Family Law is dedicated to providing 

their clients with effective and affordable 

solutions with empathy, in family law and 

wills and estates matters. 

Please call or email us to discuss issues you 

may have in regard to property settlements, 

children’s matters, divorce, binding financial 

agreements, updating or preparing new wills, 

enduring powers of attorney and enduring 

powers of guardianship. 

t 0412 767 803 | e catherine@cousinsfamily law.com.au 

www.cousinsfamilylaw.com.au 

“There weren’t really enough protections in place if it turned pear-shaped so I knew I 

was putting my neck on the line a lot of the time to try and capture these people and 

get them off the road and protect the public. I knew what the risks were and it could 

turn catastrophic very quickly and very, very easily, but I thought the good outweighed 

the bad. I still feel that way; that the benefits of getting these people off the road 

outweighs the risk.” 

The cars Jay got to drive came with some serious grunt like the Kia Stinger, the XR6 

Turbo and the Subaru WRX. Surprisingly there was no extra body protection or roll 

cages and that’s predominantly because the drivers are so highly trained it’s not 

considered necessary. 

While Jay loved his job, the frequent relocations to various WA towns with his young 

family eventually led him to rethink his life and make the decision to hand back his 

badge. 

“My wife and I discussed what I could do next and it seemed obvious I would use my 

driving skills and experience so starting a driver training business in Denmark seemed 

the right choice. It’s been brilliant and I really enjoy it. 

“I’m also the only instructor in the Great Southern doing defensive driving courses 

where I train adults that need to drive as part of their job. This course is also really 

useful for new drivers dealing with country roads and for young drivers preparing to 

drive in the city.” 

So what’s Jay’s advice to new drivers and those brave parents that jump in the 

passenger seat to help teach them? 

Parents: Stay calm. “Kids feed off your energy so don’t overload them with too much 

information. Learning to drive is like climbing a ladder. Focus on single steps and one 

thing at a time. You can’t jump halfway up the ladder and simply start driving around 

town because they don’t fully comprehend road signs or braking points yet.” 

Start off slow: Most new drivers want to get in the car and just drive. Jay says some 

country kids, who’ve driven quad bikes or farm vehicles, may feel they’re able to do this 

but you also need mechanical sense and spatial awareness of where you are on the road. 

“Take them to a car park or quiet road out of town where there’s heaps of space and no 

traffic and just practise that initial push-pull of the steering wheel so they learn how to 

direct the car to where it needs to go.” 

Get to know the car: Take time to just sit inside the car and talk through all the 

dashboard controls. Lift the bonnet and open the boot so they can see inside. Show 

them the spare tyre and jack tools and even do a mock tyre change and/or get them to 

watch a YouTube clip on changing a tyre. 

Spatial awareness: “It can take time to develop special awareness of where the 

passenger side tyre is in relation to the kerb and they’ll constantly be tapping kerbs. 

Getting them to repeatedly pull over, stop and get out of the car to see where the tyre 

is can really help.” 

Holding the steering wheel: Position your hands as if on a clock at 10am and 2pm or 

9am and 3pm. Focus on push-pull steering so that each hand stays on its own side of 

the wheel and make sure there’s always at least one hand in control. 

“The issue a lot of people have is that they start doing overhanded steering. This leads 

to reaching a certain point where one hand can’t move and, if they need to use their 

indicators or lights, they get all confused and then control of the vehicle is lost.” 

Mobile phones: Turn them off and put them out of sight in the glove box or centre 

console. 

Night driving: “The first thing you want to do is slow down and avoid being blinded by 

frugal fox rural 

maintenance • fencing • chainsawing • basic carpentry • 

• brush & debris clearing • slashing • 

• hands-on help • no job too small • 

earthworks • 4t excavator • trenching • post holes • swales • 

timber • portable bandsaw mill • firewood processing • 

planning • holistic farm design • drafting & shire approvals • 

• alternative agriculture advice • 

• denmark • western australia • 

• 0484 617 193 • frugalfoxrural@gmail.com • 

Let us help you with your 

Christmas seafood 

ORDER NOW 

Last Orders 20 th Dec 

37 Hercules Crescent, Albany | P: 9842 2551 

M - F 9am - 5pm | Sat 8.30am - 12.30pm 

Saturday Farmers Market 8am-12pm 

See web for extended Christmas Trading hours 

www.greatsouthernseafoods.com.au 

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 

㐀㈀㈀㜀㔀㠀㔀 

猀琀愀猀栀挀漀 û 攀攀 ⸀ 挀漀洀 ⸀ 愀甀 

6 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

7

focus 

PROPERTY SALES | AUCTIONS | ADVICE 

oncoming headlights so you need to slightly alter where you’re looking.” 

Jay advises looking down to the left – just in front of your car and towards the left-hand 

side road line. You can then use your peripheral vision to see the rest of the road. 

Biggest mistake: “Due to inexperience, particularly in the country, people panic when 

a wheel leaves the bitumen surface into gravel or even when they’re driving on gravel 

and they over-correct and lose control. 

“New drivers can also be a bit too confident. They often take corners too fast and 

then the car starts to skid and they’ve got no idea what’s going on. That’s when they 

do something silly like ripping on the steering wheel or sudden acceleration, or jerky 

controls, which you don’t want to do. You want to avoid any sudden and vicious inputs 

on the car that will induce a skid and cause a crash.” 

Drive to the conditions: “Just because a road is signposted at a certain speed doesn’t 

mean it’s safe to do that speed. Maybe your tyres are starting to wear, maybe your 

brakes are on the way out or maybe there’s rain, fog or trucks. Slow down and create 

more distance between you and the vehicle in front.” 

Biggest danger to new drivers: Themselves!. “Every new driver gets to that point, 

after a couple of months, where they get a little bit cocky and confident. They get 

complacent and their observation skills start to decrease. 

“They also get distracted when mates are in the car and want to join conversations 

happening in the back seat. They’re often looking at their mates in the rear view mirror 

instead of looking ahead at where they’re driving. So, definitely the biggest danger to 

inexperienced drivers is themselves.” 

Best tip of all.. 

Jay says when you’re in a car, treat other road users like they’re out to get you! 

“You need to think of driving on the road as being like a demolition derby where 

everyone wants to crash into you. This mindset will make you constantly look around 

and be more aware of what’s going on. It will also make you a safer and better 

defensive driver.” 

www.denmarkdrivertraining.com.au 

EXPERIENCE 

STRATEGY 

SOLD 

The best sales results require experienced 

agents with the best strategy. 

Welcome to Mason Realty. 

ADVERTISEMENT 

We wish you and your 

loved ones a safe and 

Happy Christmas and 

festive season 

Rebecca Stephens - Member for Albany 

(08) 9841 8799 rebecca.stephens@mp.wa.gov.au 

Authorised by R. Stephens, 348 Middleton Loop, Albany WA 6330 

8 LOVE LOCAL 

Office (08) 6830 1854 | hello@masonrealty.com.au | www.masonrealty.com.au

create 

create 

MELANIE ALLEN’S MILLEFIORI 

More than Meets the Eye 

STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTOS SERENA KIRBY 

At first glance it’s easy to presume that Melanie Allen’s polymer clay jewellery is made 

by painting on pictures or sticking on patterns. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Melanie’s highly detailed works are actually made using an ancient technique known as 

‘Millefiori’ and the expertise and countless hours she applies to her creations is simply 

hard to fathom. 

Melanie explains that Millefiori has an extremely rich history that dates back centuries 

and that its roots can be traced to the ancient glass making techniques of the 

Phoenicians, Egyptians and Romans. 

“The term “Millefiori” means ‘a thousand flowers’ in Italian and in the 19th century it 

became more highly developed (and popular) due to the renowned Murano glass work 

from Venice,” Melanie says. 

“This glasswork was created by highly skilled artisans using an extremely complex 

process to create floral patterns and vibrant colours inside glass.” 

In the mid-20th Century artists started to seek out an alternative to glass and the 

Millefiori technique transitioned into use with polymer clay, which is a synthetic clay 

made from polyvinyl chloride. Polymer clay was seen as a perfect choice as its pliability 

and diversity of colours made it ideal for replicating the intricate patterns found in 

traditional Millefiori glass. 

It’s important to note that this technique is not for the faint-hearted as one of the most 

fascinating aspects of Millefiori is the high level of precision and careful attention to 

detail it requires. 

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done before you even get close to the final 

piece. I create sheets of graduated coloured clay by running the clay through a pasta 

machine. These sheets are then cut, shaped, and layered into hand built elements 

which are assembled just like a thick jigsaw that can be three inches deep. 

“Some designs take several weeks to create and there can be up to 50 uniquely 

different, and totally separate elements, incorporated in the finished item. It can be 

tricky keeping track of all the elements, so I find it helps to draw the design onto a sheet 

of paper first and use that as the template to create the jigsaw. 

“The picture is then created from these layered colours which are compressed by hand 

to create a block that I shape into what they call ‘canes’ or ‘rods’. 

“The more you squeeze and pull the cane the more it elongates and the picture or 

pattern inside gets smaller and smaller. The secret is to be really, really gentle.” 

The resulting canes look a bit like rock candy canes as their detailed patterns and 

images run through their entire length. Melanie then slices thin cross-sections from 

these canes, revealing the miniature designs hidden inside. These slices are then baked 

to harden them, sanded, polished and often lacquered to give a luxurious finish. 

There’s no doubt that this technique requires great skill and patience and it’s the 

polymer clay’s similarity to traditional clay that initially tweaked Melanie’s interest. 

“I had a career in pottery for about ten years in my twenties and early thirties but gave 

it up to become a nurse specialising in surgical theatre work. It was when I was working 

at King Edward Hospital that I found a craft magazine in the tea room which included 

an article on polymer clay. It looked really cool so I dropped into a craft shop on my way 

home from work that day and just started fiddling around with it.” 

Melanie was immediately hooked and every night for the next five years she practised, 

practised and practised some more. 

“It was like an apprenticeship to me. I was constantly exploring what this material could do 

and it was absolutely amazing stuff as it could do anything I wanted. I was totally addicted.” 

After relocating back to Denmark, and while working as a local nurse, Melanie threw 

herself even further into her passion for polymer clay. She started selling her creations 

at local markets and success quickly followed. Before long her jewellery was getting 

snapped up at an increasing rate; so much so that she took the plunge to give up 

nursing and work on her clay creations full time. 

“Believe me I’ve had plenty of failures over the years but there’s always the opportunity 

to cut a failed work into pieces and incorporate those pieces into something completely 

new.” 

And this is another reason for Melanie’s adoration for this technique as it allows for 

endless adaptations and experimentation with colours, shapes and patterns. Melanie 

now creates all manner of intricate, eye-catching pieces featuring geometric designs 

and abstract compositions as well as images of birds, animals and flowers. 

But whatever Melanie’s working on, the appeal of her work lies in her ability to 

combine a traditional technique with contemporary creativity that results in tiny and 

timeless pieces of artistry. 

Melanie’s work is available at local visitor centres and at Petrichor Gallery in Walpole, 

Riverfront Gallery in Denmark and Albany’s Coastal Creations and Co. 

Melanie will advise of new website address later…. 

Beautiful wall ornaments inspired 

ICKY FINKS 

by mid-century modernist design, 

handcrafted in timber with a unique 

European-Australian flavour. 

Visitors welcome at Derek’s Albany 

design studio and gallery. 

BEAUTIFUL RANGE OF 

FESTIVE DECORATIONS 

IN STORE NOW 

Please call ahead 

www.derekschapperdesign.com.au | 

derekschapper_design 

on 0417 096 204 

derek.schapper@gmail.com 

Rear, 280 York Street, Albany. P 9841 7622 

10 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

11

taste 

Christmas 

Gifts 

for Gardeners, Fashionistas 

Home Decorators, Blokes 

Gourmets, Hard to buy fors... 

gift 

vouchers 

available 

Enjoy a coffee or light lunch while 

you browse and we will gift wrap! 

4 Langton Road, Mount Barker 

Open Mon to Sat 8.30am to 3.30pm 

shop local 

ALBANY ECO HOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS 

Christmas shoppers at Albany Eco House will find gifts that they can be confident their 

loved one will enjoy and get regular use from. With a focus on quality environmentally 

friendly products that last, it’s the ‘buy-once-buy-well’ ideology for Albany Eco House. 

Examples of their most popular Christmas gifts that give joy and longevity include 

marine-grade stainless steel pegs, silicone baking mats (for the regular baker) and the 

famous Leaf razor. 

They’re also home to the city’s largest variety of environmentally friendly products that 

are compostable at the end of their long life. You’ll be surprised by how many things 

around your home can be swapped for a more planet-loving alternative. Shop the entire 

range of plastic free homewares and personal care products at albanyecohouse.com.au 

or pop instore. 

STRIKE ME PINK! 

Coming to the wonderful artistic and creative hub of Mount Barker was the start of a 

new career phase for Strike Me Pink Nursery and Café owner Robyn Blanchett. Since 

buying the business in mid-2022 Robyn has revamped the interiors and increased 

locally made WA products on the shelves as well as expanding the range of plants that 

gardeners love in the nursery including roses, fruiting trees and unusual and interesting 

plants. 

Strike Me Pink is a perfect place for your Christmas shopping with plenty of Christmas 

gift ideas for all. In store you’ll find homewares, garden gifts, fashion, hats and 

bags, jewellery, French cosmetics, locally made soaps and candles and locally made 

chocolates and other sweet treats. Gift vouchers and laybay are available and the 

friendly team can even wrap your gifts. 

Come in and see the girls, Robyn, Amanda and Lisa for a great coffee and some 

gardening advice or gift shopping assistance. We don’t have anything that you can’t 

squeeze into a caravan! 

LEFT TO RIGHT: Amanda, Robyn and Lisa at Strike Me Pink Nursery and Cafe in Mount Barker. 

WISHING EVERYONE A 

LOCAL 

LOW WASTE 

SUSTAINABLE 

CHRISTMAS 

INGREDIENTS: 

A MESSAGE FROM US 

1/2 Cup Witch Hazel 

2 Tbsp Aloe Vera Gel 

10 Drops Lavender Essential Oil 

10 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil 

A Little Water To Loosen 

DIRECTIONS: 

The team at Albany Eco House would like to thank you for all you support throughout the year 

of 2023. We are ever grateful to share our low waste and sustainable vision with you all, 

especially during the festive season. 

Wishing you all many blessings in 2024. 

DIY Gift Recipe - After Sun Spray 

Stayed out in the sun a little too long? We’ve got the solution, Made with all natural 

ingredients this DIY after sun spray is sure to soothe your sunburn! 

Put Essential Oils Into Clean Empty Atomiser Bottle 

Add Witch Hazel, Aloe Vera Gel and Water 

Shake Well to Emulsify 

Store in the Fridge 

Avoid Eyes and Sensitive Areas 

Xmas Hours // Closed 23-26 December. 

Open 10am-2pm 27-29 December. 

Normal Hours from 2nd January. 

SINCE 2006 

NURSERY | CARSEATS + PRAMS | CLOTHES + SHOES TO 7YRS | GIFTS | PRE + POST PREGNANCY ESSENTIALS | + MORE 

370 + 372 MIDDLETON LOOP, ALBANY | WWW.BEBEBITS.COM.AU Bebe Bits Wordmark Stickers.indd | MONDAY-FRIDAY 1 

9 – 5 | SATURDAY 9 – 2 | CHECK 4/11/18 FB 2:12 FOR pm UP TO DATE HOURS OVER FESTIVE SEASON 

MON-FRI. 8.30AM-5PM // SAT. 9AM-1PM 

9 MINNA ST, ALBANY // 08 9841 6171 

ALBANYECOHOUSE.COM.AU 

Shop our products online or instore 

12 FROM OUR ADVERTISERS

shop local 

CHRISTMAS AT DESIGNER DIRT 

Designer Dirt is a creative hub for gardeners, artists and outdoor enthusiasts – they’re so 

much more than a landscape supply store. They have a large array of fantastic garden art, 

local artwork, homewares, gifts, indoor and garden pots and luscious healthy plants. 

They enthusiastically support local artists and many of their wonderful home and 

giftware products are locally sourced from artists and artisans. They have candles and 

diffusers, jewellery, scarves, metal art, cards, prints, body care and sunscreens. There’s 

always something new to discover and lots of lovely Christmas gift ideas. If you have 

trouble choosing a gift, there are always Designer Dirt gift vouchers. 

The Designer Dirt team take great delight in kick-arting their day by creating custom 

made artwork that forms a focal point in your garden. They’d love to help make your 

garden art project a reality! They also have an amazing array of outdoor art, garden 

screens and creative garden ornaments as well as many beautiful pots and plants to 

feed your indoor plant obsession. 

You’ll find their shop tucked away in the industrial area off Chester Pass Road within 

Ardess Estate, and there’s also an online store. Come in for the friendly service and 

expert advice, and leave with great tips, locally sourced artwork and top-notch 

materials to add finishing touches to your outdoor spaces. 

BLUSH RETAIL GALLERY 

Located on the lower end of York Street in a beautiful heritage building is one of the Great 

Southern’s most beautiful regional art galleries, Blush Retail Gallery. Established in 2018 by 

local artist and art lover Angie Frier-Smith, the gallery is a contemporary light-filled space 

where people can simply drop in to view the works on display, all of which are also for sale. 

Angie personally curates the ever-changing art collection and features both classic 

and contemporary works from talented local and Western Australian artists. There is 

a stunning selection of paintings and other wall art as well as beautiful ceramics and 

smaller sculptural pieces. Most of the works are by well-known local artists and would 

make wonderful gifts for art-lovers. 

Blush Retail Gallery is open on Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm in York House at 

133 York Street, Albany. To learn more about the gallery you can follow them on Insta 

and at www.blushretail.com 

Lots of Christmas gift ideas 

Coastal Creations and Co 

Shop 6/69 Lockyer Avenue, opposite the Woolies car park. 

sales.coastalcreationsandco@gmail.com | 0457 097 019 

www.facebook/coastalcreationsandco 

ceramic series by Linda Chambers Art 

contemporary fine art + ceramics 

by west australian artists 

historic york house 133 lower york st albany 

www.blushretail.com tues-sat 10-5pm or by appt. 

FROM OUR ADVERTISERS 

15

LOVE LOCAL 

congratulate 

Congratulations to the winner of our annual Christmas Cover Competition, Denmark based photographer 

Nic Duncan with her magnificent photograph of a Carnaby's black cockatoo, resplendent in a Christmas-coloured 

native bottlebrush. Nic says this particular photo was taken in her neighbour’s garden in Denmark, early one 

afternoon in September, on her Canon R5 mirrorless camera with the RF100-500mm lens. 

“I follow several skilled bird photographers on social media and am always in awe of their action shots. I’m 

however not a skilled bird photographer, so this feasting Carnaby's black cockatoo afforded me the luxury of 

taking a few portraits,” says Nic. 

Christmas Cover Competition 2023 

FREE 




GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 



“I’ve always adored the black cockies, and stop to watch them fly over when I hear their squawks, rushing inside 

to grab my camera if they land in a tree nearby. It’s only since I saw Jane Hammond’s incredible documentary 

Black Cockatoo Crisis, that I’ve come to appreciate just how lucky I am to see these big, beautiful birds on a daily 

basis for many months each year. That film has hopefully inspired more people to put cockatoo-friendly natives in 

their garden, and rejoice when the cockies come in for a feast, tearing the flower heads off one by one!” 

Nic is also an exceptionally accomplished portrait photographer and has won or been a finalist in many prestigious 

national and international portrait awards including the most recent 2023 the PPWA Ilford Orloff Awards - Orloff 

Award, Best Portrait of the Year. She has also had images exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. 

CHRISTMAS 

Gift Ideas 

Finalists 

This year we had a record number of entries at a high standard, with plenty of lovely artworks and photographs 

submitted. The things we look for include content or colours that evoke Christmas, with a theme that expresses the 

Great Southern. Importantly, the image should work as a portrait shape and be composed in a way that enables us 

to place text in a legible way on the cover. Below is a selection of some of our favourites from this year’s entries. 





ALBANY | DENMARK | MOUNT BARKER | WALPOLE LOVE LOCAL 


FREE 


FREE 


FREE 









GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 




GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 



GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 






10,000 DISTRIBUTED FREE 

FREE 









GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 




FREE 


LOVE LOCAL 





GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 








FREE 


LOVE LOCAL 





Golden Red Tails by Taysha Barret. The Making of Memories by Cynthia Orr. Porongurup Summer Day by Lex Porebski. 



GIFTS TO LIFT 

THE SPIRIT 


MILLEFIORI 

CHOCCONUTZ 




S T A R T E R S 

Cucumber and Salmon canapes 

Garlic Shrimp 

Festive baked Brie 

M A I N C O U R S E S 

Juicy Turkey 

Low and Slow Roast beef 

Baked Salmon 

D E S S E R T S 

Christmas Trifle 

Christmas Cake 

Strawberry Cheesecake 

123 Anywhere St., Any City 

Reservations Recommended 

Call CLOTHES 123-456-7890 ACCESSORIES HOMEWARES GIFTS 




PLUS CHRISTMAS RECIPES, SUMMER FASHION, LOCAL HISTORY 


OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 100 York Street, Albany 0447 216 698 Find Us On Instagram 

and Facebook 


LOVE LOCAL 



LOVE LOCAL 



LOVE LOCAL 


Hakea Christmas Party by Julie Outram. Christmas Preparations by Maxine Holman. A Low Waste Christmas by Brenna Quinlan. 

16 LOVE LOCAL

vogue 

SUMMERSTYLE 

A Selection of this Season's Styles from 

Local Retailers 

Women's and Men's Country Road 

apparel and accessories in-store now! 

PLUS 

New 

Season 

Marco Polo 

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The Hub. Foil linen dress, $180 from The Hub on York. Wrangler dress, 

$110 from Trailblazers. Mos Mosh denim Jeans, $199 from Infinito. Linens Unlimited top, $99 and 

pants, $179 from Infinito. Yarra Trail dress, $120 from The Hub on York. Foil linen polo top, $120 

from The Hub on York. 

CENTRE: Pure Western off-shoulder top, $80 from Trailblazers. 

New arrivals 

every week 

18 LOVE LOCAL 

OPEN 7 DAYS 

29 SOUTH COAST HWY, DENMARK 

Monday - Friday 10-5pm Saturday 9:30-4pm 

Sunday and public holidays 10:30-2:30pm 

SHOP ONLINE 

didis.com.au 

IN-STORE NOW: 

Browse or shop local online at www.thehubalbany.com.au 

176 York street 9841 1880 www.thehubalbany.com.au 

Trading hours Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri: 9am to 5.30pm. Thur: 9am to 8pm & Satuday: 9am to 4pm.

vogue 

INFINITO @ OAR 

Aberdeen and Frederick Streets junction is one of Albany’s most iconic trading 

spaces and home to fashion and homewares retailer, Infinito. 

Stepping into the large, airy, light-filled space is like embarking on an adventure 

filled with the most beautiful and stylish treasures waiting to be discovered. Owners 

Carlene and Mia have spent years perfecting the art of curating a wonderful selection 

of clothing and homewares, and there is something special for everyone and at every 

price-point. It’s an ideal place to do your Christmas shopping this year. 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Alemais linen dress, $505 from Ricarda. Metta linen shirt, $255 from 

Ricarda. Humidity midi dress, $125 from Didis Boutique, Denmark. Loobie’s Story print blouse, $359 

from Didis Boutique, Denmark. Marco Polo dress, $160 from the Hub on York. 

You will find beautiful quality clothing including cool linens in earthy tones and 

funky denims. There is also a great selection of accessories like leather bags, 

luggage, sunglasses, jewellery and fragrances. 

There is a large and expanding range of unique homewares from stunning glass 

objects and vases, book ends, candelabras and Christmas ornaments, enormous 

statement mirrors in gilded frames, hall runners and rugs, to side tables and shelving. 

Every item has been lovingly selected and is true to the inspiring aesthetic of Infinito. 

INFINITO 

@OAR 

Clothing | Furniture | Home | Vintage 

Najo 

Bianca Jeans 

Maison Anje 

Mos Mosh 

King Louie 

Isle Jacobsen 

Priv’e Revaux 

Junction Aberdeen & Frederick Streets, Albany, WA | 0472 772 090 | shop@infinito.com.au 

20 LOVE LOCAL 

ALBANY 222 York St, Albany WA 6330 0477 449 152 

CLAREMONT 37b Bay View Terrace, Claremont WA 6010 9286 1114 

ricarda.com

taste 

taste 

VINOFOOD 

Local Gourmet Condiments Go National 

STORY ALLEN NEWTON 

Leanne Rogers started making jams and chutneys as Christmas presents for family and 

When Leanne and Gary bought the Lake House property with its vineyard and a building 

friends, now she has a business with 28 products in its repertoire and has just sent off 

that could be used as a cellar door with a commercial kitchen Leanne decided to put it 

its first pallet of preserves to department store David Jones for its Christmas sales. 

to use. 

Vinofood which operates side-by-side with the Lake House Denmark got its start in 

“When we started selling the wine, we wanted to do food as well and originally I used 

2005 when Leanne with partner Garry Capelli bought the 91-acre block in Denmark and 

to get in a food service quince paste or something like that. 

started experimenting with recipes even before the cellar door opened. 

“I thought I could make something similar and that would give us a point of difference 

“I love making things, so for Christmas presents I used to make jams and chutneys,” 

and then if you infuse it with wine, then that ties it into the winery.” 

Leanne says. 

She’d make big batches of soaps and face creams for the women and bottle something 

like a chilli salsa or some pears in port for the men. 

She started with a seeded chardonnay mustard then the fig apple and chardonnay 

chutney and then a Merlot wine jelly. 

“The wine jellies were made because I was trying to make a wine jam and it just set too 

hard.” 

SPICED ORANGE GLAZED HAM 

This is a quick and easy way to have a ham that is both delicious and moist with 

Vinofood’s Spiced Orange & Riesling Syrup and Seeded Chardonnay Mustard. 

CHRISTMAS FRUIT MINCE PIES 

By simply adding a few extra ingredients to Vinofood’s Fig, Apple & Chardonnay 

Chutney you can make a great base for these yummy fruit mince pies. Makes 12. 

Customers loved it because it went really well with the cheese so Leanne started 

bottling it with a little label printed out at home and put them on a small shelf in the 

cellar door which became more and more popular. 

Vinofood moved into a new building with a big commercial kitchen, next to the cellar 

door, just prior to Covid, allowing for an increase in production and in turn more 

distribution throughout Perth and the east coast of Australia. 

The new shed allows people to taste the whole range of products and not only the indemand 

products used on the Lake House platters. 

Ingredients 

7kg smoked ham (cooked ham on the bone, shank end) 

3/4 cup Vinofood Spiced Orange & Riesling Syrup 

1/2 cup Vinofood Seeded Chardonnay Mustard 

100g brown sugar 

20 whole cloves 

Ingredients 

1 packet sweet shortcrust pastry 

360g Vinofood Fig, Apple & Chardonnay Chutney 

60g glace cherries 

¼ cup brown sugar 

2 tbsp brandy or whisky 

“Then we’ve got some seasonal products that we mainly sell at Christmas time, like the 

Instructions 

¼ tsp ground cloves 

figs in Shiraz syrup which sell really well at Christmas time and the spiced orange and 

Riesling sauce which has that Christmassy sort of feel.” 

www.vinofood.com.au 

Preheat oven to 180°C. 

Remove the skin from the ham and discard, but leave the fat on the ham. Score the fat 

in a diamond pattern. 

½ tsp ground cinnamon 

Instructions 

BELOW: Leanne Rogers and Gary Capelli at The Lakehouse Denmark. 

LEFT: Vinofood gift boxes. 

Poke the whole cloves in the scored fat. 

Put the ham in a large baking dish lined with baking paper. 

Mix all the ingredients together (except the pastry) and let sit for 1-2 days or longer if 

possible to infuse the flavours. 

Mix together the Spiced Orange & Riesling Syrup, Seeded Chardonnay Mustard and 

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with pastry rounds. You can use a glass or cup to cut out the 

sugar to combine. 

shape. 

Spread 1/3 of syrup mixture over the ham and put the ham into the oven. 

Cook for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown, re-basting with the 

remaining syrup mixture every 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven). 

Spoon the fruit mince into the pastry case. 

Using a star-shape cutter make 12 stars to put on top of the fruit mince. 

Let rest for 20-30 minutes then slice and serve. 

Ocen bake at 180°C for 20 minutes or until golden. 

COME AND ENJOY 

SCOTSDALE VALLEY WITH US. 

Opening hours 

extended 

during school 

holidays! 

Dellendale Cheese can be found at most 

specialty cheese shops and your local IGA. 

To learn more about our cheese visit 

dellendale.com.au 

We serve delicious food with an Asian twist. 

Restaurant Open Saturday & Sunday for lunch. 

807 Scotsdale Road , Denmark | Cellar Door open: Thur - Sun 11 AM - 4 PM 

www.estate807.com.au | Tel 9840 9762 

22 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

23

taste 

taste 

CHOCCONUTZ 

A Delicious Cultural Collusion 


thought I’d be working in Denmark or Albany Hospital. 

“And we also thought that it would be lovely to be somewhere in between those two 

places because we knew that the Lower Denmark Road is the touristy road people go 

through. And we were already tossing ideas about what we could do. 

“We had some crazy ideas like a dumpling house and we will make German dumplings 

and we’ll have cows and I’ll make quark. 

“None of it came to fruition but we came up with a different idea,” says Silvie. 

In a roundabout way, a communist imitation of the indulgent Nutella spread led to the 

launch of Silvie Miczkova and Katrin Hoffmann’s Chocconutz nut butters business at 

sheet, and I subjected my work colleagues to tasting. It was like a blind tasting of the 

samples, and they had to score it, what they liked, what they didn’t like. 

“We looked for a smaller lifestyle property but we ended up with a slightly bigger one 

than we bargained for. But it is a beautiful property,” Kat says. 

Youngs Siding. 

Czechoslovakian Silvie and West German Kat would joke about how different their 

“In the end, we came up with the final recipe. And that’s how Chocconutz was born,” 

Silvie says. 

Neither of the pair have professional cooking backgrounds, but they are both 

enthusiastic cooks who like to experiment. 

formative years were with Kat coming from a privileged West Germany while Silvie 

suffered in what was then communist Czechoslovakia. 

“Kat in West Germany had access to everything and anything and us in Czechoslovakia 

were queuing for bananas for Christmas, it was just a complete opposite,” Silvie says. 

“We were talking one day about how as a kid Kat used to eat Nutella as a sort of 

breakfast staple. 

“And I was laughing because in my days we didn’t have Nutella but what the 

communists came up with was what we called a commie version of Nutella. 

“It was called Nuggeta and it was actually made from peanuts instead of hazelnuts, so 

when I was telling Kat about it, she just couldn’t imagine how that chocolate spread 

would taste from peanuts instead of the hazelnuts. 

“I said, okay, I’m gonna make it for you. And I tried to remember how it probably 

tasted. I started making the chocolate peanut butter as the first butter and she loved 

it and then we thought maybe if she likes it being from the west maybe people in 

Australia would like it. 

“That’s how it all came up about. First, we made the chocolate peanut butter. We 

made a number of samples. I remember bringing a few tubs to work and a scoring 

“We started playing with flavours around 2018. I think the first butters we sold were 

actually in the Bornholm Good Food Shed in late 2020,” says Kat. 

Silvie arrived in Perth in 2001. 

“Initially I came for 16 weeks to study a bit of English, but I really never left and I’m still 

here 23 years on, and loving it, never looked back,” Silvie says. 

In 2008 Silvie and Kat met in Perth and in 2013 they moved to the Great Southern. 

Kat had come to Australia from Germany to do her PhD in Molecular Biology at Murdoch 

University in Perth. 

“At the time I was working in plant biotech and then I’ve spent about a good 20-odd years 

in medical research after that,” Kat says. 

In 2010 they travelled south on a holiday - and loved it. 

“I think on the first evening we said we need to move down here. It’s just so beautiful. It 

just feels perfect for us and what we wanted,” says Kat. 

It took them four years before they found the 34-acre property at Youngs Siding. 

“We always wanted something between Albany and Denmark because I 

thought that it would always suit my work because I’m a nurse. I always 

“I personally have issues adhering to any recipe, I always have to freestyle it,” Silvie says. 

Kat has a different approach. 

“I approach it like being in the lab. I do follow recipes because that’s just my training. 

“We are both health professionals so maybe from the health perspective, the 

knowledge that we have from public health standards we were able to utilize, but 

otherwise we don’t have formal training.” 

Chocconutz now has six different flavours of nut butters. 

Silvie says nut butters are great as a spread, on pancakes, with fruit and natural 

yoghurt, in chia puddings, porridge or milkshakes, for making nut bars and raw balls, 

baking, cooking or just to eat by the spoonful. 

“We like to please the chocolate lovers so we have three different chocolate-flavoured 

nut butters,” she says. 

“And then we have a few that are non-chocolate based. We have a mocha and an 

almond mocha. And then we have the cashew coconut, cashew strawberry and 

cashew coffee. 

ABOVE: Katrin Hoffmann and Silvie Miczkova from Chocconutz. 

BELOW: Some of the delicious Chocconutz range created locally at Youngs Siding. 

“We’re trying to differentiate ourselves from the usual produce you find in Coles or 

CHOCCONUTZ NUT BARS 

Ingredients 

155 g (1 cup) almonds 

Woolies. 

“We make a point of using real ingredients rather than flavourings so when we make a 

coffee butter we add coffee, the strawberry butter has actual strawberries in it.” 

100 g (1 cup) pecans 

Chocconutz is on sale at numerous markets and in a number of retail outlets around 

100 g (1 cup) walnuts 

55 g (½ cup) almond meal 

30 g (½ cup) shredded coconut 

110 g (1 cup) dried cranberries 

150 g Chocconutz Nut Butter (best with Cashew Strawberry Coconut, Cashew Coconut or 

Cashew Coffee nut butter) 

Albany. 

“We’re a regular at the Boatshed markets and the Kwoorabup markets in Denmark 

and then other markets in Perth.” 

www.chocconutz.com.au 

100 g coconut oil 

100 g honey 

½ tsp vanilla bean paste 

¼ tsp seasalt 

LOCALLY HAND MADE 

BEAUTY ESSENTIALS 

Handmade homewares, cosmetics, clothing, 

jewellery, gifts and gourmet foods. 

ENQUIRE ABOUT OUR 

CATERING SERVICE 

Fresh take home meals and 

lunches available daily. 

Method 

Preheat oven to 160°C, line a baking tray with baking paper and toast the nuts for 5 mins. 

Allow nuts to cool and roughly chop with a knife or in a food processor. 

Place nuts in a large bowl, stir through the almond meal, coconut and dried cranberries. 

Melt the coconut oil and nut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the honey, 

vanilla bean paste and salt and mix well. Pour the mixture over the nuts and dried fruit, 

then stir until well combined. 

Spoon the mixture into a tray lined with baking paper and smooth out using a spoon or 

spatula to a 1-2cm thickness. 

Refrigerate for 1-2 hrs. When set cut into even pieces and store in an airtight container in 

the fridge. 

www.whollylocal.com.au 

Ph: 08 9899 4486 

3/9 South Coast Highway, 

Denmark 

Opening Hours: Monday to 

Friday 10.00am to 4.30pm, 

Saturday 10.00am to 2.00pm, 

Sunday closed 

GIFT HAMPERS 

PERFECT FOR 

CHRISTMAS 

Choose from our range online 

or pop in and create your own. 

24 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

25

taste 

taste 

Wine and art go hand in hand according to the owners of Silverstream Wines in 

Denmark, Tony and Felicity Ruse. The couple have a long association with the arts and 

want to engage customers by combining their craft-style viticulture with wine releases 

and cultural events. 

They bought Silverstream Vineyard, located 23 km from Denmark in late 2004. Towards 

the end of 2018 Tony acquired 241 Scotsdale Road which had been the winery, 

warehouse and cellar for Howard Park. 

The cellar door has hosted events including Chorus, a 1500-person community dance 

project held over two nights, International Women’s Day with Gillian O’Shaughnessy as 

MC, and Evan Ayres and the Swing Kings all between 2019 and 2021. 

The cellar door was closed to the public in early 2022 and is only used for warehousing. 

“Our plan is to open the cellar door albeit on a different template to the former drop-in 

and taste model,” Tony says. 

“We are currently investigating restructuring the cellar door, warehouse and winery, 

to a direct sales model to customers, which would include formal tastings by 

appointment.” 

Tony is a big advocate for biological vineyard processes and believes there is a lot more 

to share with customers about enhancing healthy soil and plants as well as tasting and 

appreciating Silverstream wines. 

“This re-direction will include the appointment of a cellar door operator with the ability 

to engage our customer base with our viticultural activities as well as wine releases and 

events.” 

SILVERSTREAM WINES 

Where Wine Meets the Arts 

The cellar door will also complement the couple’s long association with the arts in WA. 

Felicity sits on the committee of the collective giving group Arts Impact WA, which 

STORY ALLEN NEWTON | PHOTOS HOLLY MEDWAY 

is about to enter its third year of philanthropic giving. In year one, one of the two 

$100,000 grant recipients was Denmark identity Vivienne Robertson’s Reclaim the Void, 

a project to cover a mining hole with a large-scale artwork made up of thousands of 

handmade circular rag rugs made from discarded fabrics. 

“My involvement with Arts Impact came about because of my background as a board 

member of Fremantle Press and being an active member of Impact 100 for the past 10 

years,” Felicity says. 

“I enjoy seeing the benefits of giving back to West Australian arts by contributing my 

time, energy and connections.” 

The third year of Arts Impact WA opened at the beginning of December for artists with 

unique and ambitious projects that benefit the local community who can apply for 

grants of $100,000. The organisation is also looking for interested investors who would 

enjoy joining in the search from now until May next year to choose the recipients most 

worthy of the money donated. 

Before the purchase of the cellar door Felicity says the attractive cottage gardens at the 

vineyard were where she hosted the Great Southern Art Trail, launches of Fremantle 

Press books with Sabrina Hahn, Chris Ferreira, Dave Warner and Alan Carter, and with 

chef and author Sophie Zalokar at Taste Great Southern. 

According to Tony even the biological viticulture he practices is akin to the Arts when 

you look at Silverstream’s methode champenoise Blanc de Blanc Silverstream Sparkling. 

“The Chardonnay grapes must be handpicked by our passionate pickers, it must 

be fermented in the bottle, then it remains on lees (dead yeast cells) adding to the 

complexity and taste,” he says. 

Tony says the latest disgorged sparkling wine is the 2016 vintage which has now been 

on lees for seven years. 

BELOW: Tony and Felicity Ruse in the Silverstream Vineyard. OPPOSITE: Silverstream’s Chorus sparkling wine was launched alongside the Community dance project of the same name. 

Felicity says when they bought the vineyard they thought it was “the most picturesque 

property, with challenges waiting.” 

The property is at the elevated western end of Bennett Range approximately 13 km 

from the Southern Ocean as the crow flies. 

Tony has always been passionate about broadacre, biological farming at his Gingin farm – so 

the challenge became to adopt the same processes for perennial viticultural at Silverstream. 

“There is a lot of trial and error in adopting the biological processes – some work better 

than others, but when you see the breakthroughs, it’s a powerful, natural process you 

are observing,” he says. 

“This vintage in particular; from a slow start, we have an abundance of legumes or 

brassicas, and grasses competing with the invasive Kikuyu grass. 

“For us it is mandatory to avoid using non-natural inputs – chemicals, pesticides and 

herbicides – which all have a detrimental effect on microbial activities. We are farming 

soil microbes, which in turn build soil health – resulting in vine health and quality fruit. 

“Being a single vineyard the result is a taste of distinctively Denmark wine from one of 

Australia’s leading cool climate regions.” 

Tony and Felicity stumbled across Silverstream Vineyard in 2004. 

They drove down to Denmark to look at buying a house for the private properties 

booking agency Felicity was running and on the way down Tony saw an ad in the paper 

for Silverstream, phoned the agent Joss Harmon in Denmark and made an appointment 

to see the property the following morning. 

“We didn’t look at the vineyard and go, oh my god, we’ve always wanted to own a 

vineyard. It was honestly the land, the property, the garden, the orchard, the ocean 

view, which is a glimpse really at the very top of the property. It’s 100 acres of which 22 

are under vine and the rest of it is very, very beautiful. Tall trees and lush and green, it 

reminded me very much of England or New Zealand,” says Tony. 

fishing • camping • workwear 

NEW 

BRANDS 

INSTORE 

NOW 

ROAD CHEF MICO DINGKER 

MICROWAVE TOASTED 

SANDWICH MAKER 

EDEN GATE 

Blueberry Farm 

Find us at the 

Albany Farmers 

Market every Saturday 

morning and the 

Good Food Shed every 

Sunday morning. 

We offer fresh and frozen 

blueberries, fresh double blueberry 

muffins, hand crafted blueberry 

ice cream, a range of blueberry 

preserves, Blueberry Blitz 

Bluemonade and our legendary 

alcoholic blueberry liqueur. 

Enjoy the relaxed, laid back and 

pleasant atmosphere of WA’s 

first blueberry farm. 

OPEN MONDAYS, THURSDAYS 

AND FRIDAYS from 10.30am 

to 4.00pm. 

Albany’s largest fishing, camping and lifestyle store. 

100% Locally owned and run. 

Open 

6 days 

a week 

184 Albany Hwy, Albany 

9841 7859 

trailblazers.com.au 

685 Eden Road, Youngs Siding 

Tel: (08) 9845 2003 

info@edengate.com.au 

26 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

27

taste 

reflect 

ALBANY FARMERS MARKETS 

What’s in Season Right Now 

Where can you buy locally grown fresh produce direct from farmers of the Great 

Southern? Albany Farmers Market of course! 

Asparagus continues into December and avocados will be available all summer. Add 

them to salads of locally grown kale, lettuce, cucumber, beetroot, peas, radicchio and 

fresh herbs. Courgettes and zucchini are in abundance and are delicious sliced and 

grilled on the barbecue. Later in the season you’ll find tomatoes, corn and capsicum. 

They’re all picked fresh for market each week so you can be sure you are getting the 

very best of the season. 

All your favourite veggies are at the market – carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, beans, 

spinach, mushrooms, leek, spring onions, fennel, garlic and more. Roast up some new 

season potatoes with a selection of waxy and floury varieties appearing throughout 

summer including Prince of Orange, Delaware and Maris Piper to name a few. 

It’s a busy time for our fruit farmers with fresh cherries, blueberries, apricots and 

strawberries, with peaches, figs, passionfruit, melons and plums to follow later in summer. 

Delicious macadamias are now available – and they make a great Christmas gift too. 

Have you tried the new free-range chicken? It’s available every week during summer, 

along with grass-fed lamb. You’ll also find locally caught fish in the seafood van. 

What else will you find at the market? Milk, yoghurt, eggs, honey and a gorgeous array 

STORY RUTH SPELDEWINDE 

of freshly picked summer flowers. There’s also a big range of breads from local bakeries, 

pastries and hot food to go, dried fruits, jams and preserves, fruit liqueur, gelato and 

vegetable seedlings. Meet a friend for coffee and bite to eat in our seated area once 

the shopping is done. 

OPEN EVERY SATURDAY OF THE YEAR INCLUDING 23 and 30 DECEMBER 2023. 

Our Stallholders 

Bathgate Farm 

Felton Farms 

Piacun Farm 

Redgum Hill Orchard 

Touchwood Mushrooms 

WA Bush Honey 

Mostert’s Fresh Veggies 

Handasyde’s Strawberry Farm 

Gloria Dieu Farm 

Yard 86 dairy 

Bred Co 

Green Gold Avocados 

Eden Gate Blueberries 

Great Southern Seafoods 

Mount Serenity Asparagus 

Summerhouse Supplies 

Bushy Blooms 

Royale Patisserie 

Bornholm Growers 

Shotcallers Espresso Bar 

Southern Seedlings 

HOPE, TEARS AT CHRISTMAS 

‘I will always think of your generous gift to a lonely 

soldier thousands of miles away’ 

They thought even more about home at Christmas time – those soldiers who froze 

in muddy trenches at the front, galloped their horses through desert sand or lay 

wounded in hospital. Even for the lucky ones on leave, the festive season was not the 

same without family. In their letters to loved ones, men recalled past Christmases 

with nostalgia and looked to the next one with yearning optimism: surely the war will 

be over by then, and they’ll be back home again. For families left behind in Australia, 

Christmas without a beloved husband, father, son or brother was a time of increased 

anxiety amid the tinsel, wrapping paper and roast dinners. They set the extra place 

at the table and toasted the empty chair: this time next year, he’ll surely be home. 

STORY ANNE SKINNER 

A ward of No 4 Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Egypt brightly decorated for Christmas 1915. (AWM C04012) 

Australian families who had already lost one or more of their men to the horrifying 

conflict on the other side of the world – that daily swallowed thousands more young 

lives – found Christmas one of the hardest times of the year: the empty chair at the 

table was the focus of acutely renewed grief. 

But Christmas is always a time to celebrate, no matter what, and in France, the Middle 

East and England, the men made sure to have the best of times amid the worst of 

circumstances. While those on duty in the trenches frequently had to munch dry 

rations spattered with mud, soldiers billeted behind the lines were often fed delicious 

hot meals complete with Christmas pudding, beer and some slapstick theatre. Diggers 

Fresh and delicious seasonal produce 

directly f rom the farmers to you. 

WHAT YOU’LL FIND AT 

ALBANY FARMERS MARKET: 

HUGE RANGE OF VEGETABLES AND FRUIT – FRESHLY PICKED! 

• VEGETABLES 

• FRUIT 

• FARMED MEATS 

• SEAFOOD 

• DAIRY 

• BAKERY 

• JAMS AND SAUCES 

• SEEDLINGS 

• HONEY 

• EGGS 

• FLOWERS 

• SPECIALTY GOURMET 

PRODUCTS 

• COFFEE 

• HOT FOOD 

Albany Harbourside 

Apartments and Houses 

Offers a range of fully self-contained 

accommodation options, ideally located in the 

town centre and Middleton Beach. Soak up the 

history and spectacular scenery of the amazing 

South Coast. 

WWW.ALBANYFARMERSMARKET.COM.AU | EVERY SATURDAY, 8AM-12 NOON, COLLIE STREET, ALBANY 

Excellent facilities, great locations. Welcoming corporate clients, families and couples 

www.albanyharbourside.com.au 

info@albanyharbourside.com.au 9842 1 769 8 Festing Street, Albany 

28 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

29

eflect 

on leave in Paris could find a warm welcome at the British Army and Navy Leave Club, 

where the English and American ladies who ran it organised concerts and parties. 

If a soldier was lucky enough to be on leave in Britain, he could be invited to tuck 

into a hearty Christmas dinner with all the trimmings at the home of a local family, 

with dancing afterwards and a kiss under the mistletoe if he was lucky. Nursing staff 

in hospitals up and down the country decorated wards, cooked special dinners and 

organised entertainment for the wounded. Patients who had recuperated enough to 

leave the hospital grounds had, in the words of one soldier in an English hospital, “… 

hundreds of invitations out to tea and theatres, and the picture palaces are always 

free to us in our hospital clothes.” Some Australian soldiers returned the generosity, 

providing entertainment for English children whose fathers and uncles were away 

fighting in the trenches across the channel. 

Back in Australia, legions of ladies from every town in the country tried to make sure 

not one of their boys overseas felt overlooked at Christmas. The mothers, wives, sisters 

and girlfriends of soldiers at the front spent countless hours raising funds, baking cakes, 

knitting balaclavas and socks, buying useful items like soap and toothpaste and packing 

them all into parcels to be shipped, free of charge, by the Department of Defence to 

their men far away. Even as the people on the home front sought to make their boys’ 

Christmases bearable with food parcels, gifts and the legendary Christmas billies, so 

did many soldiers try their to lessen their families’ worry. “Cheer up, for it will not 

be long before I come marching home again,” one soldier wrote to his mother. Lance 

Corporal Victor Hallissey wrote an optimistic Christmas letter to his father in Albany in 

1917: “Somehow, I think next year will see us back in Australia again, and the war over.” 

The women of Albany put in a huge effort to send parcels to the troops via the Albany 

ABOVE LEFT: Christmas cakes shipped to London by the Australian Red Cross Society in 1918 as gifts for our troops celebrating the end of the war. (AWM A04848). ABOVE RIGHT: This decorated 

Christmas billy no doubt made many Diggers homesick for Australia. (AWM P09871.001). BELOW: Prisoners of war celebrate Christmas in a POW camp at Preussisch Holland, east Prussia, in 1917. (AWM 

P01981_018). OPPOSITE: The First World War created a French cottage industry making embroidered silk postcards that thousands of soldiers sent home to their loved ones in Australia. (AWM RC06590, 

RC06591, RC06571) (All images courtesy Australian War Memorial) 

Advising the Great Southern sin 

Leases and Share Farming Agreements; 

Succession reflect Planning; 

Sale and Purchase of farming properties, other 

Advising the Great Southern agricultural business since rural assets sector 2012 and residential 

Leases and Share Farming Pre contract Agreements; advice; We know and understand the rural sector 

Personal Wills and Estate Planning; 

• Advising Leases and Share the Farming Great Agreements; Southern 

Sale and Purchase of Probate farming and properties, Estate Administration; other and 

agricultural business assets General and Property residential 

the Law 

• Succession Planning; 

Advising Great Southern since Great 2012 since Southern 2012 sin 

• Sale and Purchase of farming properties, other 

evel 1, 184 Aberdeen We agricultural know Street, and Albany business understand • Telephone: assets and the (08) residential 9841 rural 5634 sector 

Advising Email:albany@wapropertylawyers.com.au 

properties; 

the Great Southern since 201 

• Pre contract advice; 

Probate and Estate Administration; and www.wapropertylawyers.com.au 

• Leases and Share Farming Agreements 

• Personal Wills and Estate Planning; 

the Great Southern • Succession since Planning2012 

• Probate and Estate Administration; and 

We know and understand 

• 

• General 

Settlements the Property rural of farming 

Law sector and residential properties 

Albany • Telephone: and business (08) 9841 sales 5634 and purchases 

Email:albany@wapropertylawyers.com.au 

Leases and Share We know Farming • and Pre Agreements; 

understand contract Level 1, advice 184the Aberdeen ruralStreet, sectorAlbany • Telephone: (08) 98 

www.wapropertylawyers.com.au 

Succession Planning; 


Leases and • Personal Share Farming Wills Agreements; and Estate Planning 

Sale and Purchase of farming • Probate properties, and Estate www.wapropertylawyers.com.au 

other Administration 

agricultural business Sale and assets Purchase and of residential 

• General Advice farming properties, other 

agricultural business assets and residential 

Leases and Share Farming Pre contract Agreements; advice; : properties; (08) 9841 5634 


Personal Wills and 

Pre contract Estate advice; Planning; 

Personal Wills and Estate Planning; 

Sale and Purchase of Probate farming and properties, Estate Administration; other and 

Probate and Estate Administration; and 

agricultural business assets General and Property residential Law 

General Property Law 

Level 1, 184 Aberdeen Street, Albany • Telephone 

evel 1, 184 Aberdeen Level 1, 184 Street, Aberdeen Albany Street, • Email:albany@wapropertylawyers.com.au 

Telephone: Albany • Telephone: (08) 9841(08) 5634 9841 5634 


Level 1, 184 Aberdeen albany@wapropertylawyers.com.au 

Street, Albany • Telephone: (08) 9841 5634 


Probate and Estate Administration; and 


Email: albany@wapropertylawyers.com.au 

Red Cross Society, the Victoria League or one of the soldier comfort funds, while the 

Friendly Union of Soldiers provided Christmas treats for the children of the troops. The 

Red Cross made sure no prisoner of war was forgotten, sending thousands of Christmas 

boxes to soldiers behind the wire every festive season of the war. 

Succession Planning; 

the Great Southern since rural sector 2012 

The soldiers’ gratitude for the care and hard work of the women at home flooded letters 

that were later printed in newspapers across the nation. In Albany, Mrs Herbert Robinson 

was inundated with grateful notes after sending at least 40 Christmas billies to Egypt in 

1915. They were packed with everything that would fit in the metal cans, from chocolate, 


golden syrup and cakes to pencils, pocket knives, safety pins, books and cigarettes. Other 

Albany district ladies had similarly full letterboxes, including Mrs A.C. Vaughan whose 

letter from a Light Horse trooper in distant Egypt was published in the Albany Advertiser: 

“I can tell you the boys were all very well pleased with the way our dear people in 

Australia looked after them,” he told her. Private M. McIntosh wrote to Miss McKay of 

Torbay Junction: “I do not know how to start to thank you for your kindness in sending 

me such a lovely parcel…. It is grand to think that, although we are far away from our 

homeland, we are not forgotten.” Miss Parker of Albany opened a letter from Pte F.H. 

Godding who wrote: “I take the pleasure of writing you a short note to thank you for your 

welcome and much appreciated Christmas billy and its contents. I will always think of your 

generous gift to a lonely soldier thousands of miles away from home.” 

More than at any other time of the year, the traditional season of faith, joy, hope and 

love focused the hearts and minds of every family on each other, both at home and 

away at war. Celebrating Christmas in any way possible became an act of defiance 

against the death and destruction of the front lines – and a symbol of hope for enduring 

peace after all the battles were finally over. From north to south, in cities, towns and 

farming regions in both hemispheres, millions of prayers rose from thousands of 

churches into the December sky – that this Christmas would be the last one at war, and 

that next year the soldiers would come home for good. 

Sources: Trove (Albany Advertiser), Australian War Memorial. All images are courtesy of 

the Australian War Memorial. 

www.propertylawyers.com.au 

• Absence from 

work consultations 

• Beauty Services 

• Click & collect 

• Document certification 

• Medication packing 

• Medication review 

• Home delivery 

• Naturopath 

• Vaccinations^ 

^Available at select Priceline Pharmacies. 

Eligibility criteria for National Immunisation 

Program (NIP) apply. Vaccination service 

fees may apply. We may be required to 

collect and provide your personal information 

to a third party for the purpose of vaccine 

administration in accordance with Australian 

regulations and our privacy policy, which can 

be found at www.priceline.com.au 

Priceline Pharmacy Spencer Park 

Shop 12, Spencer Park Shopping Centre 

3–7 Hardie Road, Albany 

Ph: 9841 1100 

30 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

31

engage 

engage 

20 YEARS FOR ALBANY REGIONAL 

VOLUNTEER SERVICE 

Small Team Supports 179 Local Volunteer Organisations 

The Albany Regional Volunteer Service (ARVS) is celebrating its 20th anniversary with 

a special event on 5 December this year. The small organisation only has three paid 

staff and seven volunteer staff working from their office on North Road, but it’s a little 

operation that packs a big punch. 

ARVS provides community and not-for-profit groups with free information and advice 

on resource material, best practice, risk management, board and governance, rights and 

responsibilities, recognition, insurance, job description templates, grants information, 

management information, and Police and Working with Children Clearance Information. 

Chair of the ARVS Board, Sue Dawes, says since 2018 the organisation’s weekly food 

relief programs have delivered around 10,000 meals to people in need. 

ARVS coordinates the need for volunteers of 179 organisations in and around Albany 

and has 2,506 volunteers on its books. It matches the skills, desires and availability of 

volunteers to not-for-profit organisations that need help. 

“It came about because there was a group of businesses in Albany who when talking with 

the City of Albany could see the need to utilise volunteers within the community for notfor-profit 

organisations but nobody actually knew how to get around that,” Sue says. 


“So with a lot of thought they came up with the concept of Albany Regional Volunteer 

Service and way back then it became funded through a mix of federal government, 

state government and our local government City of Albany funds. 

“It’s grown over the years from small achievements to some really incredible achievements. 

“We hold volunteer recognition events twice a year. In May we hold a presentation 

ceremony. It’s a recognition event held in the evening in collaboration with the 

Department Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. 

“We usually have around 160 to 170 guests and recognise people who have an amazing 

contribution into the community through sports or any volunteering. 

“In December we hold a morning tea to thank all volunteers. So not just the 

outstanding volunteers that we have, but anyone and everyone who volunteers. We do 

that to highlight how much we welcome and value volunteers.” 

Sue says ARVS was responsible for organising volunteers for the Field of Lights at Mount 

Clarence which ran from October 2018 to April 2019. 

“That was a partnership with the City of Albany, ARVS and FORM, to install, manage, 

maintain and then eventually remove more than 16,000 lights. 

“It meant that we needed volunteers seven days a week for more than six months to 

be able to do that. It was a really big event that needed a huge number of volunteers. It 

marked the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.” 

Sue says it’s hard to quantify the number of volunteers who worked on the project 

because some volunteers stayed for the duration of the six months and were there as a 

constant where others came and went according to their own personal scheduling. All 

up there were hundreds of volunteers. 

“We also held an inaugural Great Southern Volunteer Conference. Again that was in 

collaboration with the City of Albany. It was held in their premises with the Department 

of Local Government, Sport and Culture.” 

It was also available online so people across the Great Southern could attend. 

Sue says a series of presenters answered questions, providing information for 

volunteers and organisations who used volunteers, needed them, and didn’t know how 

to recruit or retain them, or didn’t know how to connect with them, or any other issues. 

ARVS often helps out with one-off events such as NAIDOC Week and Homelessness Week. 

“We may provide things such as training or perhaps on volunteer management or on 

specific topics as requested. 

“We have a trailer that’s set up to use as a barbecue, so we can open it out and provide 

cooked foods. And we use that regularly every week to provide Breakfast in the Park. 

“It’s not just about providing food though, it’s also about social connectedness. 

“We have had some really, really good outcomes from Breakfast in the Park. We had 

a gentleman who used to come regularly and use the service and eventually he asked 

if there was something he could do to help. So he became a volunteer assisting us 

and as his confidence grew and as he felt more socially accepted he was happy to talk 

to people. He ended up getting a part-time job and moved from being homeless into 

having some form of housing and eventually did get a full-time job. 

“So it’s more than just food, it’s about filling the gap. 

“We also have Tummy Warmers which we run in out of the church in York Street which 

does the same thing in a different area providing social connectedness and food for 

people who perhaps don’t have any. 

“In 2022 we won the Australia Day Awards we won the Active Citizenship Award for a 

community. 

“We do as much as we can in the community wherever we can see that there is a need 

for something. Our basic service that we run out of our office is to connect people who 

would like to volunteer with organisations that need volunteers.” 

Sue says while that might sound easy the process of matching a volunteer who wants to 

do a particular thing, or who doesn’t have a clue what they want to do can be difficult. 

“We interview people and we try and match their skills or their likes with organizations 

that need those particular skills or those types of people. You may have a caring nature 

and you want to look after the elderly or you may have a really strong affiliation with 

animals and you want to do something in the line of helping animals or you may be an 

environmentalist or you may not have the faintest idea and think you don’t have any 

skills at all and don’t know how you could help anybody. 

“Through our interviewing and through our matching services we can place you with 

the people that really could use your help in the best way possible.” 

When ARVS celebrates its 20th anniversary in December all its volunteers will be invited 

along. 

www.arvs.org.au 

From my family to yours, 

wishing all Aurora readers 

a safe and 

happy Christmas! 

RICK WILSON MP 

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR O’CONNOR 

101 Albany Highway, Albany WA 6330 9842 2777 

rick.wilson.mp@aph.gov.au rickwilson.com.au RickWilsonMP 

Authorised by Rick Wilson MP, Liberal Party of Australia, 101 Albany Highway, Albany WA 6330. 

32 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

33

engage 

engage 

LORRAINE HARRISON 3D YOUTH PRIZE 

Annual Art Competition Encourages Young Artists 


“Even the ceramic work, because the kids have done it for three years, their ceramics 

have improved too, it’s really given them a focus and because they know it’s going to be 

exhibited they’ve really improved their skills.” 

At the inaugural exhibition the Youth Prize was dedicated and named the ‘Lorraine 

Harrison 3D Youth Prize’ after a founder, ceramicist, and long-time active member of 

Viewpoint Inc, now in her 90s. 

The three-dimensional art group has existed since about 1988 and three or four years 

ago began talking about promoting 3D art to younger people to get more of them 

involved. Out of those conversations the competition was born. 

The only criterion for the art is that it must be three-dimensional. 

We’ve actually been surprised by 

some of the subject matter which 

has been really quite dark and very 

serious a lot of the time. 

Nadja Roelofsis 

An art competition to encourage budding young artists from across the Great Southern 

has seen a dramatic jump in the quality of work being displayed since it was first held 

two years ago. 

The Lorraine Harrison 3D Youth Prize will be held at the Museum of the Great Southern 

in Albany from Saturday, 2 December to Friday, 15 December 2023 and admission is 

free. 

The competition for 16 to 21-year-olds has attracted an increasing number of entrants 

each year. 

Nadja Roelofsis, Viewpoint Exhibition Coordinator for the Lorraine Harrison 3D Youth 

From this year’s exhibition Shanti McMullen’s Open your eyes 

Skinby by Tiana Seminara is in the current exhibition. 

Prize, the group behind the competition, says in 2021 the theme was ‘Interconnected’ 

with 24 youth participants, in 2022 the theme was ‘Masking’ with 32 participants and 

this year the theme is ‘Elements’ which is expected to feature the work of around 35 

participants. 

“The quality, just in the three years, has improved remarkably,” Nadja says. 

Schools have really supported their students in years 10, 11 and 12. 

“I think in our first year it was new and everyone just had a go. Because the year 

10s had watched the year 11s and 12s perhaps exhibit their work and went to the 

exhibition, then they had an idea of what to create, so it kind of built on that. 

“When we put the information out to schools, we talked about using recycled materials 

and those sorts of things. We’ve had a lot of ceramics come through, like 3D sculptures 

and things like that, but saying that we’ve also had wire. 

“This year we’ve got someone doing something in metal, I think she might have even 

welded it. We’ve had textiles, anything that is just not two-dimensional. 

“We’ve also given size limits, so it can’t be over 30 kilos and it needs to be something 

that sits on a plinth or can be feasibly exhibited in a small space.” 

This year the theme is ‘Elements’. 

“We try to give a theme that kids can interpret in different ways and with a little bit of 

room.” 

LEFT: From last year’s exhibition, Reflections by Isabella de Gambattista. RIGHT: Last year’s 

Unbalanced by Imogen Tooke. 

Nadja says titles for some of this year’s entries include Elements of Childhood, then 

there’s another one called Surviving the Elements another called Symphony of Creation 

and one called Bit by Bit. 

Some of the entries in last year’s competition, themed “Masking” surprised the 

organisers. 

“We’ve actually been surprised by some of the subject matter which has been really 

quite dark and very serious a lot of the time.” 

She says many of the entries told stories about having a public face or a side of 

themselves that they show, but which is not a reflection of what’s actually sitting 

underneath. 

“One entry was a clown that looked really happy, but with a really sad bit of writing that 

went with it saying, you know, this is not actually that person.” 

Nadja says the competition promotes the arts and gives young people an opportunity to 

express themselves in an exhibition - something there wasn’t much opportunity to do. 

While schools might have kilns and other equipment and a support network, it provided 

an opportunity they might not have at home on their own. 

“If they do have a flair and they get motivated they might join one of the local 

community groups like the pottery group down here at the Vancouver Art Centre and 

we’ve got felting groups and we’ve got other 3D kinds of weavers and those sorts of 

things other than just painting. They might be interested in something like welding or 

experimenting more.” 

The competition hoped to draw out these talents and encourage young people to take 

their art further. 

www.visit.museum.wa.gov.au/greatsouthern/lorraine-harrison-3d-youth-prize-0 

ARCHITECTURE 

WITH HEART 

08 9848 3894 

info@ptxarchitects.com.au 

ptxarchitects.com.au 

34 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

35

what's on 

EVERYONE’S INVITED! 

ALBANY’S COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON 

Once again, all the hustle and bustle that goes into organising the annual free Albany 

Community Christmas Luncheon is in full swing. Pastor Steve Marshall and his wife 

Karen, along with a host of volunteers are pulling out all the stops to make this year’s 

event the biggest and best ever. 

Steve says the event is all about community, togetherness, equality and sharing 

time together on a day no one should spend alone. Over the years he has found that 

the Community Luncheon it is not just for people who find themselves emotionally 

struggling at Christmas time or for those who may be financially doing it hard. People 

from all walks of life come for all sorts of different reasons. 

remarkable, without their continued, ongoing overwhelming support, the Christmas 

lunch just would not happen.” 

Steve, who is a minister for a small congregation in Albany, Grace and Glory Ministries 

International on Serpentine Road, is reluctant to take much credit for what he admits 

might be the largest free Christmas Lunch in all of WA. For him, the credit always 

goes back to the team of volunteers and the generosity of businesses and donations 

which make the day possible for so many different people. A spirit which has travelled 

throughout regional WA and sees visitors making the trek down south just to be a part 

of this Albany celebration. 

SAT 2 DECEMBER | 3PM - 8PM 

ALBANY TOWN SQUARE 

& ALISON HARTMAN GARDENS 

FEATURING 

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT, CRAFT 

MARKETS, LIVE MUSIC, ROVING 

ENTERTAINMENT, SANTA CLAUS, 

SNOW ZONE, FOOD VANS & MORE... 

Some are international travellers like backpackers, some on short work visas, some may 

be grieving recently lost loved ones, some are in genuine need, some come to volunteer 

their time or simply come to donate a plate of food for the occasion and Steve says it is 

practically impossible to tell who is who on the day. 

The planning and logistics of the Christmas feast begin to take up most of Steve’s 

thinking around the middle of the year and although Steve and Karen are the driving 

forces behind the massive catering event, Steve is very firm in his conviction that 

absolutely none of it would be at all possible without the incredible generosity from the 

local Albany community. 

“The generosity of the people of Albany and the businesses in Albany is just 

“We have visitors who travel from far and wide to come for their Christmas lunch. We 

have had people from Ongerup, Kalgoorlie, Perth, Esperance, Northam, Kojonup and 

Denmark who have all made the journey to share in what can only be described as a 

heart warming and loving Christmas Day. 

“It takes on the feel of a family. Everyone is equal, why you’re here, where you’ve come 

from or how much money you might have or might not have, it doesn’t matter, no 

matter your skin colour, your religion, your place in the world, on that one day, we’re all 

equal, we’re all in this together, we’re all part of the same family.” 

For details on how to get involved or to register your interest in attending, see the 

advertisement on the back page of this edition of Aurora Magazine. 

SUN 31 DECEMBER | 5PM - MIDNIGHT 

ANZAC PEACE PARK 

FEATURING 

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT 

& LIVE MUSIC FROM SOUTH 

SUMMIT, THE FRAUDS, CRISTIAN 

STROMBERG & MORE... 

FRI 26 JANUARY 

BINALUP / MIDDLETON BEACH 

FEATURING 

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT, 

MULTICULTURAL PERFORMANCES, 

LIVE MUSIC, CITIZENSHIP & AWARDS 

CEREMONY & MORE... 

Join us for the City of Albany’s Summer Events Series! 

SCAN ME! 

CITYOFALBANYEVENTS.COM 

36 LOVE LOCAL

what’s on 

gig guide 

ALBANY PLEIN AIR OIL PAINTERS 

The Albany Plein Air Oil Painters are hosting their inaugural exhibition from 5 to 17 

December at the Vancouver Arts Centre. They are a friendly group of local artists who 

enjoy the challenges of painting with oil paint in an outdoor environment. 

The exhibition includes a variety of scenes from many well-known Great Southern 

locations. Some of the work has been done completely on location while some has 

been finished off back in the studio. 

Painting in the open air (plein air) is recorded as far back as the Renaissance, but was 

then generally done in preparation for studio painting. In the nineteenth century 

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS TRAIL 

The holiday season is set to shine even brighter in the heart of Albany as the highly 

anticipated Christmas Lights Trail returns for 2023. This year there will be ten dazzling 

installations, each thoughtfully selected to bring the magic of the season to life. The 

Christmas Lights Trail will continue to shine bright until early Janaiury 2024. For more 

information and to access the new and innovative Christmas Lights Trail interactive map 

visit www.cityofalbanyevents.com/lights-trail 

Everything we put in the Gig Guide is correct at the time of 

printing, to the best of everyone’s knowledge. But be warned, 

things can and do change. 

WHO + WHAT WHERE WHEN 

ALBANY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE 

Empowered Elevation Albany Entertainment Centre 2 and 3 December, 2pm 

Dance the Way I Feel Albany Entertainment Centre 9 December, 4pm 

EXHIBITIONS 

Beyond the Milky Way Museum of the Great Southern all of December 

Mayoral Portraits Albany Town Hall to 9 December 

Albany Plein Air Oil Painters Vancouver Arts Centre 5 to 17 December 

WHO + WHAT WHERE WHEN 

Bornholm Christmas Tree Bornholm 3 December, from 1.30pn 

Great Southern BINGO Beryl Grant Community Hospice 6 and 13 Dec, 6.45-9pm 

Bushcarers Busy Bee (CoA) Mokare Park – Mokare Rd 8 December, 9-11am 

Swing into Christmas Wind Ensemble 

Free Reformed Church, North Rd 

Albany 

8 and 9 December, 7.30pm 

Art After Dark Albany Town Hall 13 December, 5-7pm 

Great Southern BINGO Beryl Grant Community Hospice 11,18,25 Oct, 6.45-9pm 

Bushcarers Busy Bee (CoA) Mokare Park – Mokare Rd 8 December, 9-11am 

Swing into Christmas Wind Ensemble Free Reformed Church, North Rd Albany 8 and 9 December, 7.30pm 

Art After Dark Albany Town Hall 13 December, 5-7pm 

artists such as John Constable, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and John Singer Sargent 

Elements 3D Youth Prize Museum of the Great Southern 2 to 15 December 

painted en plein air as they considered this to be the best way to capture the light and 

true beauty of nature. 

SWING INTO CHRISTMAS! 

FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS 

Albany Christmas Lights Trail Albany CBD All of December 

Christmas festival & pageant Albany town square 2 December, 3-8pm 

Mount Barker Xmas Street Festival Lotwood Rd and Shire lawn 16 December, noon-4pm 

The stage is set for a Christmas extravaganza as The Albany City Wind Ensemble returns 

Free Community Christmas Luncheon PCYC Albany 25 December from noon 

with a jazzy twist. Join them in celebrating the holiday season as they ‘Swing Into 

Christmas!’ under the baton of Musical Director Peter Findlay. 

Kalgan River Music Festival Albany Kalgan River Chalets 29 December, 3-10pm 

NEW YEAR’S EVE Picnic and Fireworks Anzac Peace Park, Albany 31 December, 5pm-midnight 

ACWE is ready to embark on a musical journey that spans from Benny Goodman to 

Imps, seamlessly blending the worlds of Classical and Big Band. They promise to have 

your feet tapping in no time, ensuring a festive experience. 

They are having two performances, one on Friday 8 December at 7.30pm, and one on 

Saturday 9 December at 2.30pm. The venue is the Free Reformed Church on North 

Road, Yakamia. There is easy access for disabled and seniors with walkers (no steps). 

MARKETS 

Albany Farmers Market Collie Street, Albany Every Saturday 8am to noon 

Stirling Terrace Indoor Markets Old Auction Room Every Sat and Sun 9am to 3pm 

Centennial Markets Centennial Park, Albany Every Sat and Sun 9am to 1pm 

Albany Boatshed Markets The Boatshed, Princess Royal Drive Every Sunday, 9am to 1pm 

Tickets are available at Paperbark Merchants, York Street. 

Kwoorabup Community Markets Denmark High School, Denmark Every Sunday, 10am to 2pm 

Cruise Markets Albany Town Square 4,11,23 December, 9am-2pm 

Albany Christmas Twilight Markets Albany Town Square Friday 8 December, 3-8pm 

Walpole Community Markets Pioneer Park, Walpole 2,16,30 December, 8am-1pm 

OTHERS 

Digital Drop In Albany Public Library Every Wednesday, 10am-noon 

Film Harvest – Independent and Arthouse 

Films 

Orana Cinemas Albany 

Every Wednesday, 6.15pm 

It’s FREE to promote your event in the 

AURORA MAGAZINE Gig Guide! 

If you would like to be included for the JANUARY edition, 

contact us at gigguide@auroramagazine.com.au before 

the 5pm Sunday 17 December deadline. 

EVERYBODYʼS BEEN ON 

ALBANYʼS RIVERBOAT! 

PLUS 

Natural Raw 

Honey Tasting 

KILLER WHALE EXPEDITIONS 

www.albanyaustralia.com 

9am Full 36k, 4 hour “SHELTERED WATER CRUISE” 

Billy tea, coffee, wildlife & 

Captain Kalgan’s famous HOT damper. 

Aussie seniors $105 - we reckon you’ve earned the discount 

BUT IT REALLY PAYS TO BOOK 

9844 3166 

Not so rough, 

itʼs only 

DEPARTURES 

ALBANY 

05.30 

Albany to Bremer Bay transport 

PRICE 

$126 PP 

BOOK NOW 

WWW.BUSYBLUEBUS.COM.AU/TOURS 

38 LOVE LOCAL 

LOVE LOCAL 

39

FREE 

12 NOON 

CHRISTMAS DAY 

Hosted by Steve and Karen Marshall of 

Grace & Glory Ministries International 

at PCYC, 77 Sanford Rd, 

Albany 

COMMUNITY 

CHRISTMAS 

LUNCHEON 

This year’s Free Community Christmas 

Luncheon will again be hosted by 

Steve and Karen Marshall of 

Grace & Glory Ministries International. 

It is provided to all within the community completely free of charge and 

without any obligation whatsoever. If you are not joining anyone else, or 

are alone at Christmas time; then we would love you to share Christmas 

with us. Perhaps you would like to help out on the day or even assist 

with a donation, then please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

YOU CAN REGISTER YOUR DETAILS TODAY BY CONTACTING: 

Steve and Karen Marshall, Grace & Glory Ministries International 

Mobile: 0412 850 105 or Home: 9844 4550. 

Online at : www.christmasluncheon.org or www.ggmi.org 

Email: stevemarshall@christmasluncheon.org 

Or by contacting Rick Wilson MP - Federal Member for O’Conner. 

101 Albany Highway, Albany, WA, 9842 2777 

email: rick.wilson.mp@aph.gov.au 

OR ALTERNATIVELY CONTACT. . . 

Rebecca Stephens MLA - Member for Albany, 348 Middleton Loop, 

Albany WA, phone 9841 8799 

email: rebecca.stephens@mp.wa.gov.au

Issue 63 Aurora Magazine December 2023

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?