Plus, let's talk about waste. Welcome to Galah Weekly, our award-winning newsletter keeping you up to date with regional headlines that matter, plus other delightful things from life beyond the city. By Dean Southwell, whose fashion sense stops at a tidy pair of jeans.
It's the elephant in the room – Australia's $36.6 billion food waste problem that just keeps growing.
End Food Waste Australia has launched a national campaign, The Great Unwaste, urging households to do their bit in an ambitious national effort to dramatically cut food waste by 2030. And a bill to provide temporary tax incentives for farmers and manufacturers to donate food goes before the Senate later this year.
As part of an effort to halve food waste from 2017 levels, The Great Unwaste encourages households to take simple steps such as storing food properly, flexible meal planning and creative use of leftovers.
The campaign is backed by research showing food waste costs Australian households about $2500 a year. End Food Waste Australia says reaching the target would remove 50 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions as well as saving the water and energy it takes to grow the wasted food.
From surplus to shortage: supermarket shelves in parts of NSW and Victoria have been short of eggs since a bird influenza scare led to the culling of 1.8 million chooks. Now researchers warn it’s a matter of when – not if – bird flu hits Australia, with potentially devastating results for production birds and wildlife.
Dirty Janes is holding Wine Meets Design events at its vintage market locations in Canberra, Bowral and Orange. Wine Meets Design is part gallery, part boutique, part cabaret and 100 per cent a great time with an extraordinary celebration of regional wines, local artist displays, and captivating live performances. Explore the magical spaces of Dirty Janes Vintage and Artisan sellers and enjoy exclusive shopping as dusk sets in. A carnival of creativity and community, mark your calendars in October and November for this delightful evening at each Dirty Janes location. Book your ticket now.
Jeweller Emily Quigley took her collection of pearl necklaces, earrings and bracelets creations from the small NSW town of Trangie (pop. 1000) to the bright lights of Paris this week.
Quigley’s Peggy & Twig was the only independent Australian label in a runway show for emerging designers at Paris Fashion Week. Organisers contacted her late last year. How did she get on their radar? "No idea," said Quigley. "But we do have customers and Instagram followers in Paris and we've been stocking Paris jewellery label Alix D. Reynis for three years, so maybe there were a few touch points."
The former kindergarten teacher spent 10 years creating jewellery designs at home while studying and teaching. She went full-time Peggy & Twig in 2020 and soon after bought an old livestock rural agency building in Trangie, turning it into an elegant workroom and store which wouldn't look out of place in Paris. Before and after.
For the Paris Fashion Week show, Quigley created eight runway looks and while there was plenty of the expected glitz, it wasn’t all glamour.
“I spent a lot of time on the floor looking for earring backs. Also, fixing and remodelling broken earrings just seconds before model lineup calls,’’ said Quigley, who is seven months pregnant. “Definitely should have worn sneakers, not heels.”
Why would you push a wheelbarrow to the top of Africa’s highest mountain? Cairns women Tabitha Knox-Carlson and Lisa Conyers have just returned from pushing and often carrying their bright red wheelbarrow to the top of 5895m Mount Kilimanjaro.
The idea was sparked when they competed in a quirky Qld event, the 140km Great Wheelbarrow Race from Mareeba to Chillagoe, and they wanted to raise money for a Tanzanian primary school.
“We thought it was [a good idea] at the time when we were high on endorphins at the wheelbarrow race,’’ Conyers said after the pair returned from the gruelling effort.
Australia’s wildlife warriors are a resourceful lot. Queensland researchers have found bacon is a secret weapon in their efforts to save the endangered Julia Creek dunnart. It is the largest of 19 species of dunnarts and is found – with much difficulty – between Winton, Julia Creek and Hughenden in Qld. The local Natural Resources Management team and the Queensland University of Technology teams have found adding bacon to their bait mixture of peanut butter and oats helps them lure and study the elusive critters.
Meanwhile, in WA’s Kimberley, disused hospital incubators are being used to save orphaned baby kangaroos. Kununurra District Hospital paediatrics nurse Jane Darlington realised old incubators, no longer fit for hospital use, could be repurposed to save kangaroo “pinkies” left orphaned when their mothers were shot or run over.
Byron Bay artist Laith McGregor has won the $35,000 first prize in the 2024 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award. The biennial award, announced at Grafton Regional Gallery this week, is Australia’s richest regional drawing prize.
McGregor’s work has been exhibited widely around Australia and overseas. His JADA winning piece was a sculptural charcoal drawing described by judge Michelle Newton, from Sydney’s Artspace, as “a prime example of the experimental spirit that typified the 2024 award entries”. Sydney-based Nix Francia won the $5000 Early Career Award. The works of selected finalists will be exhibited until 8 December. Read more
Book your ticket now to Dirty Janes’ Wine Meets Design events.
Galah newsletter subscriber Maggie Wood has won our Lucky Charlie giveaway. Maggie receives a @luckycharliestudio wall banner, a timber dowel to hang it on and a tassel of her choice – valued at $405.
If you aren't Maggie but had your eye on Lucky Charlie's simple, stylish wall banners, you're still in luck. Lucky Charlie has offered all Galah subscribers a 20% discount off all orders. Just add the code GALAH20 at checkout. Shop here
We’ve just chosen the cover for Galah Issue 11, a stunning photographic work by WA artist Annie Kavanagh. And soon – after a few finishing touches – the magazine will be sent to the printers. Centred on the theme of “pleasure”, it’s perfect for summer reading and Christmas gifting.
We’ve loved producing this issue on many of life’s most pleasurable experiences: from brunch to books, gardening to sex (not necessarily in that order), and passion projects in all their crazy forms.
All subscriptions and Issue 11 pre-orders placed before midnight Thursday, 17 October, receive free shipping (a saving of $10).
Subscribers will also receive exclusive Galah perks, including access to magazine articles and our regional travel guides online, early access to events and first dibs on new releases from the Galah online shop. There’s never been a better time to sign up.
Editor-in-chief Annabelle Hickson joined Galah’s midweek editorial meeting from her car, fresh off the Sorrento ferry and while heading to Melbourne. She was still enthused by the previous night’s bumper Galah book-tour gathering at Barwon Heads. The community known for being the backdrop to SeaChange obviously impressed, as did the Great Gatsby homes she spotted as the tour rolled on.
The Qld food-bowl city of Bundaberg showcases its community culture and spirit in a 10-day celebration of the region. Milbi Festival starts with a Sunset Launch featuring live entertainment, food and market stalls, and the program includes First Nations art exhibitions and tours, films and a twilight long-table dinner. 25 October-3 November. Read more
Victorian textile artist Leesa Cowan has a pop-up exhibition of her paper floral creations at Geelong’s Boom Gallery. Also at Boom is the exhibition Common Threads, featuring Geelong painter Hop Dac, Melbourne artist Seth Searle and Sydney-based Phoebe Stone. Until 19 October, Boom Gallery, Geelong West. Read more
SA artists Honor Freeman and Rita Kellaway feature in new exhibitions at Sabbia Gallery in Sydney. Ceramicist Freeman, who lives and works on the Fleurieu Peninsula, takes ordinary items connected with the body and casts them in porcelain. Glass artist Kellaway’s work is inspired by the geological marvels around her Port Noarlunga home. Until 26 October, Sabbia Gallery, Redfern. Read more
Artists will converge on Mudgee for regional Australia’s most expansive outdoor art exhibition. Sculptures in the Garden has been running for 14 years and this year will feature more than 250 artworks from 130 artists, along with works from local children in the SIG for Kids! section. It’s also another stop for Annabelle on the Galah book tour on 19 October. 10am-4pm, 12 October-27 October, Rosby Wines, Mudgee. Read more
Interview: Emma Hearnes
She’s the Victorian farmer who became a filmmaker and picked up an international acting award along the way. McDougall and her husband, Sean, are behind Mellow in the Yellow, an event held yesterday to highlight the importance of rural communities and to promote mental health awareness. She’s also a writer, advocate, mother and former Mrs Australia. Dubbed “’Australia's most unlikely filmmaker’’, Septimius Award winner McDougall reveals why she brought her film, Just a Farmer, to life.
What was your goal for Just a Farmer?
I wanted to make a film that truly makes an impact – something that sticks with people and creates real change. Mental health is a cause close to my heart – both my husband and I have experienced the impact of suicide and severe mental health issues in our immediate families. Our goal with this film was to break down the stigma and contribute to creating an environment where people can openly discuss their experiences without shame or discomfort and feel supported.
What has been the reception to Just a Farmer?
Overwhelmingly positive. We've received so many emails and messages from people saying that the film has profoundly impacted their lives and sparked important conversations.
How did you muster the courage to write, produce and act in a feature film with no experience?
To be honest, I was a bit naive about the scale of it all. I tend to dive into things headfirst and see if I can make it work. My mum always said “there’s no such thing as can't” and I took that to heart. I truly believe nothing is impossible if you’re willing to do what it takes.
My passion for the message of this film and the power of filmmaking to change perceptions has kept me going. Being dyslexic has actually given me a unique advantage in the problem-solving involved, as we tend to see things differently
What’s your next project or fixation?
I’ve really fallen in love with filmmaking. My next focus is sharing more stories from rural Australia. I want to highlight the beauty and resilience of our country and its people.
Move over Banksy, there’s another pop-up star in town. NSW school cleaner Laurie Nelson has turned her job into art as a way of sparking joy for pupils and staff at Deniliquin North Primary School. Once a week Nelson vacuums a surprise artwork – anything from an elephant to a shark – into the memory-foam rug on a classroom floor.
Nelson started her carpet art in August and now produces the works on a random day each week after finishing her cleaning duties. She uses a vacuum and her hands for most of the work, but also uses rulers and pencils for the smaller details. A teacher said the class of six- and seven-year-olds now walks carefully into the classroom to avoid stepping on the mat until everyone has seen the work.
We’d love to hear about the news, events and people that should be making the headlines in the Galah Weekly newsy. Share what’s new(s) in your neck of the woods with us at newsie@galahpress.com
