Only two per cent of tradespeople in Australia are women, despite many trades having vacancy rates of half or more. But, as LUKE VOOGT discovers, Geelong’s rapid expansion is driving an influx of local women on the tools.

Teneille Linehan

Teneille Linehan could never see herself “sitting in an office job” despite excelling in maths and science in high school.

Thanks to her trade, the Hamlyn Heights sparkie owns her “dream car” and just built a family-sized home in Charlemont with her partner.

“It’s probably put me four years in front of others my age,” the 24-year-old says.

Teneille chose “hands-on work” over a HECS debt from studying environmental science at university.

“Even if you can’t get a job you can start your own business – you’ve always got a trade to fall back on.”

Working a day with an electrician at Castlemaine’s smallgoods factory during year 10 work experience got her hooked, and after finishing school she aced the bookwork in her TAFE electrical course.

“Whereas some of the boys struggled a bit,” she says.

“A lot of people go into it not knowing how involved it is and how much maths you need to do.”

When Teneille started working on homes in 2013 she was the only female tradie onsite.

“But now it’s becoming more common,” she says.

Teneille now owns her own business, works fulltime as an electrical infrastructure auditor, rows for Victoria and is completing wiring on her new home.

“I’ve got more work than I can handle!” she says.

She has worked on major projects, like Epworth Hospital in Waurn Ponds and Geelong’s WorkSafe headquarters.

Negative or sexist comments on the job over her career are rare enough to “count on one hand”, Tenielle says.

“The majority say ‘it’s great to see a female sparkie’. Most people are just really happy to see you having a go.“

But being “the littlest onsite“ means she’s often sweating up in the roof on a hot day with insulation sticking to her.

“I’m always the first to go up and when I am working for myself I don’t have anybody else to do it.“

Tenielle will join a Geelong Women in Trades contingent building a home for a rural family in Cambodia this month.

“I like helping others that are less fortunate than us.“

Grant

Alisha Grant’s parents had doubts when their academically-gifted daughter announced she wanted to be a tradie.

But a few years later, the Drysdale painter is loving the autonomy of her own business and has jobs booked until next February.

“When my parents saw how happy I was they were really happy as well,” the 24-year-old says.

Her love of painting began in high school but teachers never talked about it as a career, she says.

“I had wanted to do painting since I was 15 but I never pursued it because I thought I’d get bored of it. I didn’t even know it was an option.”

After leaving school Alisha began studying biomedicine.

“But I realised I was doing it because I thought I had to, not because I wanted to,” she says.

So she “decided to just go for it” and took the plunge into painting.

“It just felt like I was being more honest with myself and the life I wanted to live.”

Alisha painted on a range of worksites during her apprenticeship, sometimes alongside up to a hundred tradies.

But she says there was far less sexism on her male-dominated worksites than some people might expect.

She never had any issues herself, which she attributes partly to her assertive personality.

“They knew they couldn’t say that sort of thing to me,” she says.

“If you’re confident and happy to be where you are, you’re not attracting that sort of negative attention.”

A mate working in real estate gave her a few clients after she completed her apprenticeship this February, and word of mouth did the rest.

“I qualified on a Friday and on Monday I started my first job,” she says.

“I haven’t stopped since.”

She loves being creative and designing colour pallets.

“I like making a house look nice again for someone – especially an old run-down job,” she says.

Alisha will join an adventure to Cambodia this month with Geelong Women in Trades to build a home for a poor rural family.

The ability to help others is just another reason for women to consider doing a trade, she says.

“There’s no reason why you shouldn’t just have a crack.”

Jess Brownsea

Jess Brownsea is mixing high-end design with hammers and nails to become both a qualified carpenter and architect.

“I’m learning to draw what I’m building and I’m building what I’m learning to draw,” the 22-year-old says.

Jess is two months from finishing her Master of Architecture at Waurn Ponds while working as an apprentice carpenter.

“I started architecture in 2014 straight out of high school,” she says.

A year later she began labouring for her dad, a builder in Warrnambool.

“First day I just started out cleaning bricks,” she says.

“Then I started digging stumps, putting down flooring and building wall frames – all things you’d probably do in the first year of your apprenticeship.

“I’ve been at school 18 years in a row now and you sort of get sick of it.

“It’s good to get up, make something and get your hands dirty.

“I really like being able to stand back and say, ‘I made that house’.“

Jess is also studying carpentry at Gordon TAFE.

“I was learning everything, so we decided I might as well back it up with a qualification.”

She never thought of doing an apprenticeship at high school.

“For whatever reason, that was sort of perceived as something you do if you’re good not at school,” she says.

“But trades school the teachers have been really happy with my written work.”

Having dad as boss helps Jess juggle work with study.

“But uni’s only a couple of days a week, six months a year,” she says.

“I think he’s proud. He likes to take photos and show my mum what I’ve been doing.”

Jess urges women give trades a go, even if they’re at university.

Male tradies might be stronger but “if you work at your muscles and weights, it doesn’t have to be a limitation”, she says.

“I tend to keep the worksite a bit cleaner than some of the blokes too.”

She can’t wait to design a project and build it from the ground up.

“If I could see a project through from start to finish it would be really exciting,” she says.

From starring on stage in London’s West End to life with Mamma Mia’s Natalie O’Donnell in Geelong West, Simon Gleeson speaks to LUKE VOOGT about love, acting and family.

Have you adopted Geelong as your hometown after moving in 2011?

I don’t think I have a hometown. You sort of lose that as a result of going to boarding school.

Home is pretty much where the suitcase is or where I’m standing now.

But I’m certainly happy to be here. The standard of life you can give your children is so much better than in Melbourne.

We’ve met some wonderful people here too. And there are a lot of actors moving to Geelong now.

Why did you move to Geelong?

All of Natalie’s family have been in Geelong for generations.

Her grandmother went to the same primary school as her and her great-grandmother might have too.

We were living in London before I did Les Miserables, and we got married and had our daughter there.

Later we moved to Melbourne to be closer to family but we realised we might as well have been living in London still. So we moved to Geelong.

What do you love about Geelong?

There’s plenty! I love that I can get my kayak into the bay in four minutes.

I really love what they’ve done with the esplanade and Geelong’s laneways.

They’ve got that great little pocket of coffee shops and wine bars.

In comparison to the congestion and how built up Melbourne, Sydney and London are, the lifestyle’s fantastic.

Where did your passion for theatre originate?

I was very young. I had an older sister who was in theatre and my dad did amateur theatre.

It was certainly something that was encouraged in the house but it was never seen as a viable job.

Go and study something proper was the general suggestion from my parents.

I had done at least a year of what they suggested (a bachelor of accounting) and then I thought it’s time for me to do what I love.

A friend of mine had just signed and paid for an application to go to drama school and he said I should just go.

He went to Sydney and I went to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Art (WAAPA) in Perth.

That was kind of when I took it seriously.

Others have described you introverted. What’s it like being both an introvert and an actor?

What I love about theatre is I’m absolutely not myself. I’m certainly not introverted on stage.

Off stage I just enjoy my own time and my own company. Maybe that’s what being introverted is – I’m not sure.

My personality doesn’t suit the attention that comes from acting. For me it’s all about the story-telling.

How do you feel about Natalie’s recent role as ‘Donna’ in Mamma Mia! The Musical?

I’m immensely proud of her – it’s not easy to do a role of that size and be so available as a mother and wife.

On a more personal level, she had to sacrifice quite a lot as I with toured Les Mis for a number of years.

This role she’s doing at the moment is hugely vocally demanding. I was delighted for her to be able to flex her muscles in that way.

Have your children shown any acting talent?

Certainly our daughter Molly (11) is heading down that path.

She’s only little but she loves watching it and she loves doing it.

While we’re certainly not pushing her, we’re encouraging her – it’s obviously her passion.

The desire’s a pretty obvious thing as a parent.

She just has to be passionate about it for the right reason – the doing of it, not attention and signing autographs – there’s not much longevity loving it just for that.

Rafferty (7) has shown no passion for it but we’re perfectly OK with that.

What first attracted you to Natalie when you met at age 19 at WAAPA?

For anyone who meets her, it’s unmistakable how warm-hearted and generous she is. It’s the heart she has.

All my good friends put up with me just to be around Nat.

We started dating just around the time she started playing Sophie (in a 2001 Australian stage production of Mamma Mia!).

Before then, we were studying so hard I don’t think we would have survived if we dated for those few years.

What’s your career highlight?

It’s hard to go past Les Mis as a highlight because it’s such a monster to play.

You pinch yourself because of the history attached to that show – it’s been going on the West End for 33 years. To have a part in that is amazing.

We’re not in control of the work that comes our way, that’s in the control of who pulls the purse strings.

A lot of the time you’re just riding the waves – unless you make your peace with that early in your career you don’t last.

How far back does your connection with Les Miserables stretch?

Nat and I were both in the ensemble in an Australian tour in 1998. It was our first ever professional job. We hadn’t even finished drama school!

What do you think of Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Jean Valjean?

Hugh’s great – we had a chat about the massive scope of the character. I thought he did a fantastic job. He probably enjoyed the fact that he didn’t have to do it eight times a week. But filming it wouldn’t have been a picnic either.

How does performing in Geelong compare to the West End?

Geography doesn’t really matter. You can do amazing work in a shed somewhere in Colac and see terrible work in the West End.

The standard of work we’re doing here is equally as good as the West End. We just don’t have the population that they do who can support it.

Personally I’d like to see them start producing more plays here. There’s an opportunity to widen the talent available.

Do you have some time off with your wife playing a major role?

Not really. Last night I just finished three months on An Ideal Husband for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

A month before that I did Oklahoma in Melbourne.

It just affords me chance not to take on a long-running project and support her – so that’s nice. It’s just a matter of making sure our focus is on the children and making sure they’re doing alright.

TEN years ago Pete Cromer left the corporate jungle and his career as a graphic designer with a greeting card giant behind.

It was a calculated risk the Surf Coast artist doesn’t regret at all.

Pete’s mission was to escape the rat race and fully explore his creative talents. Now an established artist, his colourful work featuring Australian wildlife is earning recognition and commercial success.

Pete’s fun abstract paper collages and quirky ceramic and resin artworks are both edging onto the world stage via a growing export trade, yet he is keen to return to abstract painting as a medium.

It’s almost full circle for the 37-year-old who grew up in Grovedale. After 10 years in Melbourne, Pete has settled on acreage at Mt Duneed, near Torquay, with his partner of 17 years.

Pete admits to “no ounce of sporting ability” yet still likes the ocean and going for walks on the beach and in the bush. Being surrounded by trees, birdlife and other wildlife inspires his art.

“I like the chilled vibes and peace of quiet of Torquay. This is our home, our community.”

Pete’s characteristic use of budgies first started when he was preparing for an exhibition two years ago at Outre Gallery in Elizabeth St, Melbourne. Now his wildlife art of all sorts is in high demand.

“Where we live we have lots of birdlife visiting – galahs and cockatoos and even gang gangs. I’m always drawn to birds – they just crack me up with their personalities,” Pete says.

He also uses other Australian animals such as koalas and kangaroos and platypus in his work.

“I’ve always been into art and studied graphic design. I gained a lot of experience working with Hallmark and taking freelance jobs. When we first left the city I did a design job in Geelong for two years whilst I worked on my art at home.

“Then I quit to try and make a career of my art at 32. It had been niggling at me for a while and I wanted to try it. I didn’t want to regret not giving it a real go.”

It was a brave leap that’s paying off.

“Things are going better than I dreamed,” he says.

“Overall it’s so busy now that Mark works full-time in the business producing the concrete druids and resin budgerigars to keep up with orders.”

Currently Pete’s range of prints, greeting cards, pins, keychains and resin budgies are also stocked at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane airports in domestic and international terminal stores.

So far his biggest online export markets for his quirky collection are the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. His collage artwork has also been sold to buyers in the Netherlands and Oman.

Pete considers his new collaboration with homewares brand Maxwell & Williams “a really big deal for me”.

“The response when my collection of mugs and coasters was launched was amazing. Retailers and buyers have been so warm and positive about putting colour back into product.”

His cups and coasters are still rolling out with Maxwell & Williams nationally and internationally. Their products sell online and are stocked in Myer, Matchbox, House and independent stores.

Pete said he’s encountered “a huge learning curve” running a business enterprise at the same time as developing his art and now deliberately separates his creative studio from office admin duties.

He recently moved across to a larger studio space at Ashmore Arts in Torquay. It’s a great hub for other designers, painters, ceramic artists, sculptors, furniture makers, and even a blacksmith.

“There’s lots of inspiring art going on here – it’s an inspiring place to work with all sorts of people which is great,” Pete says.

“My earlier work was very abstract painting. I’ve been working a lot in paper and collage recently and really want to go back to my painting.”

His fresh focus for spring is pulling a body of work together for his next exhibition – a group show at the Outre Gallery during the AFL Grand Final weekend.

“I’m not afraid of failure,” Pete says.

“If it doesn’t work, it can always go on the bonfire!

Rach Brennan knew she loved music from a young age but could never quite build up the confidence to go public.

The 24-year-old Geelong singer/songwriter would dabble with singing and lyrics but never really thought it would take her far until the day she left school to study a degree in music.

“I’ve been playing music my whole life,” she says.

“Most of it was done secretly when I was really young.

“It wasn’t until I met Will Gardner (of Famous Will) and we started hanging out together and he said, ‘Let’s do some gigs together’.

“He gave me the confidence to believe in myself. I always thought people would laugh at me but I’ve had a couple of people show faith in me. I didn’t think there would be room for me in the industry.”

Rach’s band, Rach Brennan & the Pines, recently released a new single, Weapon of Love, at to two sold-out launches in Geelong.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Rac admits.

“I wrote it really quickly and it came together really fast.

“I sat there with a pen and I couldn’t get it out fast enough. In five minutes the song was done.”

Also making up the band is Rach’s brother Liam, her partner Levi Anderson, Kane Sherriff and Cam Jerabek.

Such is the chemistry between them that the band will often unintentionally delay rehearsals, chatting and catching up beforehand.

“It would be almost easier to rehearse if we didn’t get along,” Rach laughs.

“We get so distracted. We co-write lots of stuff together and bounce ideas off each other.”

Happily, Rach’s music seems to strike a chord with her audiences.

“You do get comments from people saying, ‘Play something we know’, but it rarely happens,” she says.

“I’m proud of what we’ve got. I love what we do and what we play, and if someone else does then that’s great, but you don’t have to like it.”

When asked what she does away from music, Rach pauses.

“Cooking, yoga … music,” she laughs.

Songwriting comes naturally to her but she finds she needs a reason to put pen to paper.

“I always find it easier to write if I have a connection with something,” she explains.

“When my life is getting a bit boring I write things about my friends. One friend had just come out of an eight-year relationship.”

For now, Rach and the band are happy to focus on a new album, but the future is clearly in mind.

“We’re very serious in taking it as far as we can go,” Rach says.

“Rad festivals, meet cool people, travel – we’ll be doing this for a while.

“I love it. There’s no safer, more comfortable, happy place for me.

“I’ll never stop doing what I’m doing.”

A dance-floor meeting leads to a temple-top proposal for central Geelong couple Prudence Laws and Sean Stockton.

Where they met

“We first met nine years ago and started dating two years later,” Prudence says.

“Both Sean and I went to university in Tasmania, in Launceston, and we met on the dance-floor at a university party. Sean popped his head around the corner, we started talking, and it all started from there.”

The proposal

“We were engaged in 2017 and had about a year and a half engagement,” Prudence says.

The couple went on a holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia, where Sean proposed on top of a temple at sunset.

“There were about a hundred other people there and Sean waited until everyone left to propose to me.

“We had to wait until the sun went down, which was about three hours. I was taking some photos when he got down on one knee.

“I was ecstatic. I was amazing and just incredibly romantic and unusual.”

The rings

Sean used a temporary ring for his proposal to Prudence.

But she was rapt with the special sentimental value of the real thing when it arrived.

“I love that it looks like mum’s,” she says.

“My engagement ring is aquamarine and mum’s is also an aquamarine.”

The pair chose simple bands for their wedding rings.

“Sean’s not fussy,” Prudence says.

The wedding planning

The couple wanted to keep their big day “pretty simple“, Prudence explains.

“Sean was very involved, which was really great.

“We had family to help but when it came down to it we both did all of it ourselves.

“We wanted to make sure our guests didn’t go away hungry and that they’d have as much fun as we did. I think they did, which is good“.

Hens and bucks

The couple had their shindigs over the Australia Day weekend.

“Sean went away to the coast in New South Wales for a weekend away,” Prudence tells.

Prudence’s sisters organised an Alice in Wonderland-themed party at Torquay Bowls Club.

“I was dressed up as Alice. I really enjoyed it

“It was heaps of fun and everyone got very into it.

The dress

Prudence had tried on just a couple of dresses when she found ’the one’.

“I knew what I wanted,“ she remembers.

“Marianna Hardwick was the designer and I didn’t have to alter it. It fit perfectly.

“It was done really well. It was too good to be true to fit so well of rack”.

“I was actually a little disappointed I didn’t have a lot of looking around to do for a dress.“

Bridesmaids and groomsmen

“I had two of my sisters as bridesmaids, Bianca and Magenta, and my best friend, Natalie, from kindergarten,” Prudence says.

“Sean had his brother, Neil, and sister, Amanda, and his best friend, Kareem, from primary school.

“Sean wore a tuxedo and the others wore black suits. Amanda fitted in with the bridesmaids.

“I also had my nieces and nephews, Mietta, William and Oliver. They were very well behaved and very cute.”

Photography

The couple called on the services of photographer Louisa Jones.

“We knew her photos were vibrant,” Prudence says.

“We had photos done at my parents’ house and where Sean stayed at an Airbnb in Ocean Grove.

We had photos done in front of a vintage bus that we also used for our transport during the day. We did some photos in the Drysdale Recreation Reserve pine forest, which was just out the back, and where one of my friends grew up over the road.

Flowers

Prudence chose lively blooms of red and yellow

“I’m not a pink girl. We just wanted it all to be bright,” she says.

The flowers included dahlias, some orchids and some billy buttons.

“Florist Courtney also made a ground arbour, which we stood inside to get married.

Prudence re-used the flower arbour later, creating multiple table displays at the reception.

The reception

The couple’s reception was at Flying Brick Cider Co.

“It was so much fun,” Prudence declares.

“We had canapes for the first hour or so and we had shared mains on long tables. It was kind of like a big feast.

“And they made three lots of home-made ice-cream especially for us: honeycomb, white chocolate and fudge brownie. The guests loved it.

“The venue was so open and it was a lovely hot day too.”

The cake

Prudence’s mum and auntie made the wedding cake.

“It took a couple of weeks to make and it was amazing,” she says.

“Everyone said it was one of the best cakes they had ever tasted.

“Because there was so much, I think we will have cake for the rest of the year.

A “lolly bar” completed the sweet treats, Prudence says.

“The peach hearts were up there with the favourites, as were the strawberry clouds.”

Learning to play instruments at the age of five was the start of Olivia Foy’s musical ambitions.

Now 24, the rising country music singer and songwriter first learnt the flute before teaching herself guitar then going on to singing lessons, which inspired her passion for vocals.

By 12 she was writing her own songs, which she began recording in her teens.

“I’ve probably written over 100 songs,” says Olivia, who grew up in Newtown.

“I haven’t recorded all of them but I’ve demoed about 30.”

Formerly a student at The Geelong College, Olivia’s completing a double degree in Melbourne with a major in music technology despite setting out on a different path.

“I initially wanted to major in engineering but decided it wasn’t the right path for me. I actually graduated in science from Melbourne University but I always wanted to do music.”

Olivia initially dabbled in electronic music but felt she wasn’t being “true” to herself.

Then came a course assessment requiring her to write, record and produce a song.

Instead of techno, Olivia went country.

She put together about “90 per cent” of the song, outsourcing contributions from professional musicians in the home of country music, America’s Nashville.

The result, Kiss Me, earned positive feedback from classmates.

“I really liked it, and my classmates thought it was really catchy,” Olivia says, “so I thought, ‘Maybe I’m onto something here’.

“That was when I decided I was going to pursue country pop music.”

After the positive initial response to her song, Olivia was keen to take Kiss Me further than the classroom.

“I was concerned with what people might think because in Victoria country music isn’t so popular. It’s more popular in New South Wales and Queensland.”

But she decided to “got for it anyway”, releasing Kiss Me in February.

The song earned airtime on Foxtel’s Country Music Channel, with Olivia also making it available online.

“The song is semi-fictional and semi-true,” she explains.

“It’s about feeling a bit insecure and being scared to go out into the world. I’m quite a shy person, so the song talks about being shy and scared.”

With Kiss Me released, Olivia now wants to “challenge the stereotype” surrounding public expectations of country artists.

In particular, she detects “a bit of underrepresentation” in the country scene, which she describes as having “not as much diversity as there could be”.

“Everyone who hears me tends to compare me to Taylor Swift but they when they see me and learn that I’m from Chinese decent they’re shocked I sing country music,” Olivia says.

“Some people think country music is about having things like long blond hair and having a farm.

“A lot of people don’t fully understand country music today, due to it being very influenced by popular-culture music with a lot of crossovers, too.”

Oliva takes her music inspiration from American country pop star Kelsea Ballerini, who she describes as “an incredible songwriter and artist”.

“Her songs are so catchy. We have a similar way of storytelling and she’s not much older than me, so I feel I can relate to her.”

Olivia hopes to follow in her idol’s footsteps with the help of a newly formed backing band, featuring experienced musicians who play on her second song, Something ‘Bout You.

From the first shots of The Great War to providing one of the region’s most-intiguing tourist attractions, Fort Queenscliff is a jewel at the ocean-side doorstep to our region. JUSTIN FLYNN digs into its past.

Dating back to 1860, Fort Queenscliff is steeped in history.

The first Allied shots of WWI were heard when a gun at Fort Nepean fired across the bow of German freighter Pfalz as she attempted an escape to sea. The orders to fire came from Fort Queenscliff.

Nowadays, the fort and museum is a popular tourist spot, drawing thousands of visitors each year from all over the world.

Fort Queenscliff Museum manager Major Martin Gowling says the fort plays an important part in the local economy.

“Some stay on the Bellarine Peninsula while others are day trippers. In most cases they provide an economic boost to Queenscliff and the greater Bellarine region,” he says.

“To be the custodian of Fort Queenscliff, its historical buildings and its museum is an ongoing learning experience.

“I find it a rewarding and challenging opportunity. At every turn there is a story that needs to be told, and it is told to school children, tour groups and the general public when they visit the fort.”

While the fort played an important strategic role in years gone by, the human faces behind it today do their best to bring the past to life.

Fort Queenscliff Museum curator Sergeant Helen Janner never gets tired of looking at the structure.

“More often than not, when I am here there is another amazing piece of what I call the fort ‘puzzle’ emerges; the vast collection of military items, images, documents and of course the stories that each and every building tells us,” she says.

“So much history – from the 150-year-old lighthouse to the magnificent cannons. Most of the structures here have been here for over 100 years.

“I am learning about them every day – and the view to the bay – priceless! How lucky am I?”

Tour coordinator Liz Fountain has seen the number of visitors to the fort change over the years.

“I have been tours coordinator since 2006, and tourist numbers have slightly increased since then,” she says.

“We expect about 12,000 to 13,000 this year. They come from everywhere in Australia as well as overseas.”

Ms Fountain says heritage venues that enjoy federal funding and promotion get much more national recognition than Fort Queenscliff.

She says the fort is still largely an unknown entity.

“Bellarine residents mostly know we are here, but many have never been on our professionally guided tour. Interstate tourists have a remarkable visit waiting for them if they can venture to Queenscliff on a holiday,” she says.

Keith Quinton is a researcher at fort museum library and was born and raised in Queenscliff.

“As I am one of a small group of historians attracted to the architecture of 19th-century fortifications and the development of coastal artillery defences, Fort Queenscliff has proved a valuable research source for my writings on Victorian coastal defences,” he says.

Although access to the museum is limited, due to Fort Queenscliff remaining an active military base, AAHU Museum staff and AAHU volunteers work to assist with a broad range of inquires related to family research and military history.

The federal government and Australian Army, through the AAHU (Australian Army History Unit), have provided resources for volunteers attending the museum library and resource centre over the last decade to carefully collate thousands of diverse documents, plans and photographs related to the defence of Victoria and Port Phillip Heads.

“Without this dedicated effort, public access to much of the material would have been lost,” Mr Quinton says.

“I am gratified to be able to foster this continuation of Queenscliff’s ‘garrison town’ heritage.”

Evan Donohue is also a researcher at the museum library.

“For me Fort Queenscliff displays one of Australia’s iconic heritage developments from a bygone era,” he says.

“Most Australians know of Eureka stockade in Ballarat, but Fort Queenscliff completely eclipses Eureka, due to many decades of artillery activity dating from 1860 until 1945.”

Mr Donohue discovered the fort when he began his family history search for unknown ancestors.

He found a great grandfather who sailed from Scotland’s Outer Hebrides Islands to Australia in 1883, and enlisted in the Victorian Permanent Artillery in 1884.

Records at the fort revealed he died within the Fort Hospital in 1899, aged only 35, of a brain tumour.

“I was amazed that this sort of record could still be unearthed in the fort library,” he says.

“This encouraged me to become a volunteer at Fort Queenscliff so I could assist others to find records of long lost artillery soldiers, who also endured the very hardy 1880s conditions of an artillery soldier within the Fort.

“Fort Queenscliff is an amazing place and everybody should take the guided tour.”

Heather McFarlane-Kolb’s Qii House at Lorne has been shortlisted in the Unique category of ​2018’s HomeAway Holiday Rental Awards.

As the new home of Stayz, HomeAway describes the awards as promoting “Australia’s greatest holiday homes”.

“We’d like to congratulate Heather on being shortlisted in the ‘Unique’ category for the 2018 Holiday Rental Awards,” said HomeAway spokesperson Simone McDermid.

“This year’s shortlist features amazing properties from all over the country and we are very proud to include them in the list.”

Qii House and other shortlisted entries were chosen based on a criteria that focused on the quality of the guest reviews, property image quality, holiday home description, hospitality and relevance to the category.

The shortlisted homes will go through to the next round where each property will be judged by a panel of experts including Wendy Moore, Editor-in-Chief of Home Beautiful and host on House Rules, and Charlie Albone, Australia’s most-prominent landscape designer and Selling Houses Australia personality.

“We’re very excited to be shortlisted for the Holiday Rental Awards,” Heather says.

“We work very hard to provide a comfortable and memorable experience for our guests here in southwest Victoria and this recognition is testament to that.”

The Unique category highlights properties with a blend of distinctive architectural design, unusual amenities and comfort that holidaymakers come to expect from holiday homes.

From sleepy holiday town to thriving lifestyle destination, Ocean Grove’s coastal charm remains intact. JUSTIN FLYNN finds out why ’Grovers’ just can’t stay away.

Ocean Grove has long been a favourite destination for those seeking respite from Melbourne’s daily grind.

The town has changed over the years from a sleepy hamlet to a thriving coastal town that has become the epicentre of the Bellarine Peninsula.

New estates have radiated out from what is now Old Ocean Grove and development has taken hold, but the town still retains an unhurried and somewhat relaxed vibe for most of the year.

Summer sees the town’s population swell three-fold from its usual 14,000.

We speak with a ‘long termer’ who has lived in ‘the Grove’ since 1949, a seachanger who made the move a decade ago and a young family who migrated from Melbourne less than a year ago.

THE LONG TERMER

I greet Bill Kelly at a local cafe on a cold early-August morning. He’s wearing a blue fleece and is halfway through a still-steaming mug of coffee.

At 69, he looks fit and healthy and still surfs most days.

A former deputy police commissioner who spent 37 years in the Victorian police force, Bill came to Ocean Grove with his family as a two-year-old in 1949.

Childhood was kind to Bill and his mates. Life was simple.

“We’d get at the top of the hill in our billycarts and go straight down the hill, across The Parade, across The Terrace, and never got killed but should have been,” he laughs.

“Later on we started surfing and there was never any crime here. Everybody left their houses open and their old bombs of cars open. We even left our boards down at the beach for a week. We’d put them in the sand dunes and walk home.”

Childhood was full of billycarts, canoes, surfboards, footy and spud picking at the potato farms that are now the Kingston and Oakdene estates.

Bill says Ocean Grove has changed – obviously – some of it for the better and some worse.

“It’s sort of the same but it’s different,” he says.

“Old Grove is still the core of Ocean Grove and everything else has grown around it.

“It’s a shame to see progress in a way but it’s inevitable. I think the people who grizzle about it the most are the ones that just can’t accept it. You just have to accept it. You look at the main street and all the cafes and everything else, and it’s a great place.

“People don’t appreciate what they’ve actually got.”

However, Bill laments that most new backyards lack enough space for children to play.

“I saw a guy the other day putting tiles on a roof and the houses are that close together that he was standing on the roof of the house next door handing the tiles to his mate,” he says.

“You walk out the back door and your nose is up against the back fence.”

When Bill was a child no one worried about him going out without adult supervision.

“We’d go out playing and mum would say ,‘See you at tea time’,” he recalls.

“If you weren’t home for tea, the cop from Barwon Heads would come over and give you a kick in the arse and then you’d get another one from the old man.”

THE NEWCOMERS

The Stubs family moved to Ocean Grove just in time for Christmas last year.

Hen, Rich and their three children Maddie, 12, Sam, 10, and Harry, 6, packed up and made the seachange from Murrumbeena in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs.

“I have had a holiday house in Barwon Heads since I was born, so I’ve always loved the area,” Hen says.

“My mum has since moved to Point Lonsdale and my sister and her family live in Barwon Heads. We also have a few close friends that have lived here for a long time.

“We were sick of the traffic and the hustle and bustle in Melbourne. My husband grew up in the Dandenongs and has always had space around him.”

The family quickly settled in, enrolling the children at Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary School.

“My sister’s children went there. We absolutely love it – it’s a fabulous school and such a beautiful community,” Hen says.

Maddie now plays netball for the Grubbers, Sam pulls on the boots for Surfside Soccer Club, and Harry loves getting involved in Auskick for the Cobras.

“We take walks along the beach, go surfing and enjoy the great cafes and restaurants,” Hen says.

“We love the laid back lifestyle and the community feel. The beaches are so beautiful and it’s just so relaxing.

The old saying that you have to be in Ocean Grove for at least more than 20 years to be considered a local hasn’t rung true for the Stubs.

“They have been so welcoming and friendly,” Hen says.

“Everyone’s settled in from day one – it’s the best place ever.”

THE SEACHANGERS

Peter Garrett grew up in Essendon and met wife Eileen in Ireland.

They moved their family of five children to Benalla in northeast Victoria and lived a rural life, operating a cleaning business for 20 years.

Peter had always wanted to learn to surf and when the kids grew up and moved to the big smoke, the family bought surfing lessons for his 60th birthday.

“I spent most Sundays driving to Ocean Grove, leaving at 5am,” he says.

“Some days I’d drive the four hours and if it was no good I’d just drive back home.”

Peter and Eileen bought a holiday house in Ocean Grove in 2006 but moved in permanently two years later.

Peter, in his 70s, surfs almost every day. Any day he doesn’t enter the water he will still be at the beach several times a day, just watching.

“It’s a real community down at the beach among the surfers; a mix of the old surfers who have been here forever but a lot of newcomers that discovered it later in life,” he says.

Peter loves chatting to everyone who walks past as he watches the waves roll in.

The beach is the hub of the town, he says.

“There’s always people around walking their dogs, backpackers pulling up in their vans, someone interesting to talk to,” he says.

“People complain about getting a car park and how crowded it gets in the water in peak summer but I doesn’t mind as I’m usually back home by 8am.”

Three of his five children now live locally.

Peter has travelled a lot, interstate and abroad.

He thinks the beach at Ocean Grove is the best he’s seen.

He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

“The only thing I’d change here is I’d make the winters a bit shorter,” Peter laughs.

“But if you think it’s cold surfing in Ocean Grove, try surfing in Ireland.”

Geelong’s hottest venue has something for everyone with its restaurant and vibrant front and rooftop bars.

Built in 1855, Murphy’s is Geelong’s only Irish pub and the original home of the Cats.

Four mates bought the hotel in 2016, spending nearly $ 1 million restoring the iconic venue.

The pub now offers a Dublin-meets-Fitzroy vibe, retaining many of the drinks, fare and subtle quirks that made predecessor Irish Murphy’s so popular.

The new owners have added modern flair with the Rooftop Bar, featuring a pizza kitchen, craft beers, cocktails and great views.

Co-owner Shaun Aspinall says he and his mates purchased the venue for its rich history and their mutual desire to revive Geelong’s much-loved Irish pub.

“After a short period of operating Irish Murphy’s we realised the potential of the venue and got to work on designing the best customer experience we could while bringing something unique to Geelong: a great local pub with a vibrant rooftop bar.

“We went to over 50 venues in Melbourne and overseas, taking notes, pictures and talking to people about what they loved about each venue. The brand-new Murphy’s is a culmination of two years of research into what makes a good venue a great venue.

“The biggest, most exciting change to the venue is the rooftop bar, which includes a rooftop terrace and sky deck with views of Corio Bay, the You Yangs and even Melbourne. It also has a dedicated pizza kitchen, and chef Enzo is from the birthplace of pizza, Naples, Italy.”

More information is available at murphysgeelong.com.au.

Low-volume builder Howard + Wade hopes to wow the public with its display home at Torquay’s Quay 2, says Lee Howard.

Howard + Wade builds only around 10 to 15 homes each year, he says, allowing it to focus on “absolute quality“.

“Our homes start as a complete package, we don’t build our home from the bottom and keep adding and adding, it comes as a complete package.”

Lee’s confident the display at the enviable Quay 2 estate will impress.

“It becomes apparent when most people step in that it’s a quality home,” he says.

“Hopefully they think it’s a beautiful home full of a lot of textures that they normally wouldn’t find in a volume product.”

The home is fitted out with Neff kitchen appliances which describes as “the Porsche of appliances”.

Quality is paramount, Lee says. From the vaulted ceiling to the stainless steel, four burner Beefeater barbecue that comes as standard.

“From front to back across the home in 20, 30, 40 years it will still be standing strong,” Lee says.

With land at a premium in and around Torquay, Lee says Quay 2 represents a great opportunity to get into the market.

“It’s two seconds away from the Surf Coast Highway so whether you want to go down the coast to the beach or go into town to Geelong, it takes you two seconds to get onto the highway,” he says.

“There’s schools, ovals, a shopping centre and there’s some nice parklands. It’s a great location.

“Available land is actually diminishing in Torquay so there’s not a lot of approved subdivisions. Land in Torquay is running out.”

Savvy home hunters will be wowed by the quality, Lee says.

“Especially from the educated buyer’s point of view who have gone through the buying process, they immediately notice the quality,” he says.

“That’s not to say first-home buyers wouldn’t be able to purchase one of ours, but ours is more targeted towards the subsequent home buyer who have already been in the housing market who appreciate quality and they see through all the smoke and mirrors.

“Even though we are a new entrant to the marketplace, my business partner (Steven Wade) has had a family business for 50 years so he’s been around just as long as the other big volume builders and I’ve come from a development background.”

With its second birthday in November, Salon Meraki Colour Specialists has achieved early success that’s second to none.

After winning Best of the Bay’s award for Best Hairdresser of 2017 and then employing first apprentice Taylor, the small salon on Vines Road is expanding again.

“I’m so excited to welcome Hannah to our salon family,” says owner Vicky Polyzos.

“Her bubbly personality, her beautiful smile and the passion and love she has for her hairdressing was exactly what I was looking for when searching for the right stylist to join my team.”

Vicky describes Hannah as a “girl of many talents”.

“She’s a fully-qualified hairdresser as well as a waxer and spray-tanner. I’m so excited to be introducing waxing and spray tanning services in my salon and just in time for the spring carnival season.

“With spring here, clients are very conscious about their hair condition and want to bring life back into their hair.

“We love to make clients’ hair feel beautiful at the salon and at home, so we only use the best brands and products.“

Salon Meraki Colour Specialists prides itself on offering every client a personalised, unique service right from arrival to the moment they walk out with a glamourous new do.

The salon is open Tuesday to Saturdays but appointments are essential, with each client greeted with coffee or tea on arrival.

More information is available at salonmeraki.com.au or by phoning 5298 3465.