Point Henry conjures up images of giant power lines, salt works and the now-dormant Alcoa aluminium smelter, writes Ocean Grove historian Susie Zada.

But after scratching a little below the surface, she discovers one of the most fascinating historical sites in Geelong.

Point Henry was a bustling hub of trade and new arrivals in the 19th century, as Victoria’s then second-largest immigration port.

But few remember its opulent tea gardens, a tourist mecca where up to 70,000 a year danced, raced horses and shot pigeons overlooking Corio Bay.

The commander of a brig named Henry, which surveyed Geelong harbour on 16 June 1836, named the point after the ship.

Some historians argue a Navy Lieutenant by the same name was responsible but various references confirm otherwise.

Shortly after, Point Henry was the landing point for sheep from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) for early settlers including Alexander Thomson, Joseph Sutherland, and Thomas Manifold.

In July 1837 first Police Magistrate to Port Phillip, William Londsale, received a request to establish a store and inn at Point Henry.

A lack of fresh water supply curtailed plans for a town in Point Henry but did little to prevent it from becoming a tourist destination.

On 28 June 1849 the Geelong Advertiser announced the opening of Point Henry Tea Gardens for 1 October.

The proprietor had “spared no expense” in creating a “paradise,” according to the announcement.

Visitors would be able to see the ships “gliding majestically on the water’s surface,” to carry wool and Barrabool ore back to “our beloved sovereign,” it read.

At the time Point Henry had become a massive export port due to Geelong receiving free port status in 1841.

Ships from England, Singapore and across the world took advantage of the tariff-free port.

Reports described the new gardens as “picturesque in the extreme”, a resort for invalids and holiday-makers with a “luxuriant growth” of flowers and shrubs.

The gardens operated for more than four decades under names including the Bellarine Tea Gardens and the California Tea Gardens.

In 1871 the Henshaw family planted about 2,000 trees, laid flower beds and built a pavilion and extra bedchambers, renaming the site the Victoria Tea Gardens.

The Henshaws also bought a camera obscura for tourists to capture the panoramic views of Corio Bay and opened a new pier on 9 November 1871 – the birthday of the Prince of Wales.

The new pier became the subject of an amusing accident in December, when a rail gave way dumping 20 patrons into the bay as they waited for their boats.

“Fortunately, it was low tide, the water was only about eighteen inches in depth, and beyond the discomfort of a slight wetting there was little to complain of,” a reporter wrote at the time.

The same month a yacht capsized about half a mile from the beach forcing “five pleasure-seekers and the old boatman” to “swim for their lives,” they wrote.

The reporter neglected to comment on the numerous spectators likely watching in amusement from the gardens on the bluff above.

The Henshaws stocked the cellar with fine wines and built a tank to hold 10,000 gallons (37,000 litres) of rain water.

But the number of visitors on Christmas Day and Boxing Day was “far beyond” their expectations, making their preparations “scarcely adequate,” the reporter wrote.

Picnickers at the gardens ate strawberries and cream and shrimps a la Greenwich while enjoying the panoramic views and the blue waters of Corio Bay.

Activities at the gardens included horse and athletic events, shooting, quoits, music and dancing.

The proprietors reported 70,000 visitors from Melbourne and Geelong some years, despite the gardens only being open for a six to eight weeks some summers.

Owner of the Port Phillip Bay steamer fleet, William Smith, bought the gardens and built the beautiful Bellarine Hotel in 1891.

He also built extra jetties, summer houses and even an aquarium.

The depression of the 1890s saw the demise of the gardens, with Point Henry becoming the home Cheetham Salt works.

Smith built a farm at the turn of the century, growing vegetables and raising livestock to provision his fleet of ships.

In 1940 harbour authorities built a signal station to control the growing shipping traffic and in 1961, after decades of farming, Point Henry became home to the Alcoa smelter.

Today visitors can look north from the signal station to see the same vista their ancestors saw in the 1830s, without the intrusion of modern structures.

To attend one of Susie Zada’s historic presentation phone Kings Funerals on 5248 3444 or visit kingsfunerals.com.au/community.

Words: Elissa Friday

Mmm, chocolate. ELISSA FRIDAY meets a Geelong man helping our near-neighbours make a living from some of the world’s mostly highly prized cocoa beans.

With demand for chocolate steadily increasing globally, consuming it has become almost second nature for many.

Abundant commercial supplies of cocoa feed the hunger, helping chocolate rival coffee as a favourite indulgence.

And a Geelong researcher is helping feed the demand with his work on cocoa crops in Australia’s nearest northern neighbour, which delivers some of the world’s most highly regarded chocolate.

“Papa New Guinea is known for producing high-flavour cocoa used for speciality chocolate, Dr Philip Keane says.

“But cocoa originated in the Americas, in the Amazon, and was first domesticated by the Mayan people.”

Dr Keane explains that cocoa arrived in Papua New Guinea in the late 1800s when Germany had a colony in the New Britain islands

“It was the Germans who introduced cocoa to PNG, which is the high-flavour type being produced today.”

Dr Keane spends much of his time in Papua New Guinea leading a $5 million, five-year project, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The project, titled Enterprise-driven Transformation of Family Cocoa Production in the East Sepik, Madang, New Ireland and Chimbu Provinces of Papua New Guinea, is all about saving the industry in Papua New Guinea.

Dr Keane says cocoa can be a profitable crop for owners of small landholdings in Papua New Guinea, providing the country with an export commodity and an important driver of rural development.

“The project is intensive training for management of the crop,” he explains.

“The whole family can be involved in it, including women.”

Dr Keane traces his interest in agriculture back to his grandfather, who was a farmer near Port Fairy.

“I was always interested in agriculture and probably would have been a farmer if my father had of been one,” he says.

A native of South Australia, Dr Keane studied at University of Adelaide’s Waite Agricultural Research Institute, completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Honours in 1968 and specialising in plant pathology and fungi.

In 1969 he enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Papua New Guinea. Three years later he completed a doctorate in studies of oncobasidium theobromae, a disease causing dieback in cocoa plants.

“A lot of the cocoa in Papua New Guinea had been badly damaged by it,” Dr Keane remembers.

“About 90 per cent of the cocoa was killed by an epidemic and about 10 per cent of trees had a genetic resistance and survived”.

Dr Keane studied the disease on a scholarship from a cocoa growers’ association, basing himself in a lowlands experiment station.

“During my PhD I did find the cause of the disease, which we called vascular streak die-back. The cause was a fungus that grew in the plant’s conducting tissue or branches, which blocked the plant’s intake of water.

“It was extremely useful to know the cause of the disease and how it spread via spores that blew in the wind then infected the trees while they were growing.”

The solution was relatively straight forward, Dr Keane explains.

“Infected cocoa pods would be cut off and buried”.

Eventually resistant trees were identified and provided to local farmers, with the supply now extending to nearby nations in South East Asia with their own cocoa dieback issues.

“It’s an evolutionary story,” Dr Keane says.

After completing his PhD Dr Keane secured a job lecturing in biology and agriculture at the University of Papa New Guinea. He and wife Tihomila, “a Croatian migrant who came to Geelong just after the war in 1950”, spent the first six years of their married life in the country, during which time they also welcomed the birth of a daughter.

The family left Papua New Guinea later in 1974, with Dr Keane eventually finding work as an associate professor at La Trobe University.

After he led a further three projects on cocoa development in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, between 2001 and 2015.

Dr Keane returned to Geelong in 2007 with plans of retiring.

“I was still working at La Trobe and the train commuting turned out to be a dream for marking papers and doing computer work while travelling.”

Dr Keane retired from lecturing in 2015 but returned to the university as a research fellow, leading to his latest Papua New Guinea posting, which began in 2016 with a funding injection from Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop.

Dr Keane’s project is one of five with the Australian backing, the others including work on helping women find jobs in agriculture and commercialising sweet potato and the galip nut.

Dr Keane acknowledges that cocoa farming has a reputation for providing a meagre living for some communities overseas.

“Cocoa has got a bit of bad publicity, mainly in the Ivory Coast, where things are not controlled, in truth,” Philip says.

“It’s a low-input, low-production crop. It’s often grown by small-holder farmers who are also often very poor and the profits are made by middlemen.

“The farmers will have another job because they’re not paid enough to grow the crops well, which is the problem in global production. The farmers can’t afford to spend a lot of time on their crop, so they can’t afford to give it the attention it requires.

“Cocoa is still a colonial enterprise, in a sense.”

Dr Keane’s project aims to improve farmers’ livelihood through enhanced yields while also increasing productivity on existing farms to avoid the need for clearing rainforest.

“With the new demand for coconut products, such as palm oil, we’re encouraging a double crop of cocoa growing under the coconut trees on existing plantations,” he says.

However, Dr Keane believes that Papua New Guinean cocoa farmers also get a relatively raw deal on their product.

“The chocolate industry could certainly pay farmers more,” he says.

“Chocolatiers go to other places, like Vanuatu, and pay the farmers’ fairer for their chocolate.”

While his work might seem daunting enough, the tropical climate of Papua New Guinea presents its own challenges

“I’m weary of malaria,” Dr Keane says.

“It’s become resistant to malaria tablets. My wife got malaria a couple of times.

“Gastro’s also a concern.”

Then there’s the heat and humidity, usually 31C and 80 to 90 per cent respectively each day.

“A lot of people wouldn’t enjoy it but I put up with being hot and sweaty. I’m not naturally adapted to the wet tropics, like cocoa is,” Dr Keane laughs.

Words: Elissa Friday Pictures: Lousia Jones

“I love all fruit and vegetables – we love food,” declares Lovely Banks’ Debbie Parsons.

“And because we’re so sustainable we can access pretty much anything here that we need.”

For the past 11 years Debbie and husband Kevin have worked full-time at Magic Meadow, their farm on Geelong’s northern doorstep.

The couple grow a variety of vegetables including corn, pumpkin, zucchini, beans, eggplant and capsicum on the “85 per cent self-sufficient” property, Debbie says.

The farm is an extension of the pair’s long-time interest in fresh produce.

“We grew up growing all of our fruit and veg in the backyard,” Debbie says.

The Parsons have been selling produce direct from Magic Meadow for seven years with the help of some part-timers while also sourcing additional supplies from “other like-minded farmers”, Debbie says.

The couple opens Magic Meadow to the public, except during school holidays, so visitors can stock up on fresh produce or attend workshops on growing their own.

“Growing vegetables doesn’t need to be complex,” Debbie advises.

“If people see it that way then it just becomes all too hard to do.”

Debbie encourages a community aspect to the production of backyard fruit and veg, along with greater support of Australian farmers.

“If you can grow one thing and your neighbour or family member can grow other things then if you have too much produce you can swap it over.

“Why are we buying imported? In Australia we have lots of different varieties available throughout different seasons.

“Transported fruit and veg tastes different. Pineapples and bananas are still grown in Australia but now a lot of citrus is imported.”

Debbie believes that consumers need to think about seasonal variety rather than expect to find available “everything used on a cooking show”.

Now’s the time to cook with vegetables like pumpkin, zucchinis, beans, corn and silver beet, she tips.

And don’t worry too much about cosmetics, either, when shopping at supermarkets, Debbie says.

“When we grow produce in our gardens we’re not looking for it to be perfectly shaped, so why do we want it that way in the supermarkets.

“Supermarkets are dictating to us that we need a cauliflower that’s perfect or is the perfect weight.

“People will put up with it if it’s from their own garden, so why then when we go to supermarkets do we want the perfect zucchini?”

Debbie says the onset of cooler weather is also the right time to capitalise on the annual seasonal abundance of tomatoes.

“That’s the time to make relish and tomato sauce, with the option to preserve it for later in the year.

“Your best time to plant tomatoes is over Melbourne Cup weekend. It’s the best time because the weather is right, you get rain you get sun, and things just start going crazy.”

Debbie has lots of top tips for efficient growing of various plants.

“For example, when your corn reaches 30cm high plant climbing beans around the base.

“It doesn’t stop your corn growing. You just have two fruits growing but are only watering one lot of plants.”

For first-timers, garlic’s a simple option, Debbie says.

“Simply go and get a bulb of garlic, take all the cloves apart, plant them in a pot, water them and watch them grow. It’s that easy.”

But, for Debbie, it all comes back to the basics.

“Look at the climate you’re in and grow things in their right season,” she advises.

Name: Sandeep Kaushal

Venue: Tandoori Cuisine & Bar, 17 Pakington St, Geelong West.

‘I’m a big foodie.

I have 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry and five years running my own restaurant before taking on Tandoori Cuisines & Bar. We’ve got our own tandoori oven and all the bread is made in our clay oven.

Butter chicken, without doubt, is the most popular item on the menu. We do 400 orders a week just for butter chicken.

Tandoori chicken is also popular and we’re one of the few places in Geelong that serves goat curry.

Customers love our chilli garlic naan. We throw on some fresh garlic and chopped chillies.

Once a year we do a $5 curry day special just to thank our loyal customers. We do at least 3000 curries on that day.

It’s just a little thank you to all our customers.’

Murray McKinnon was just 22 when he opened his first Impressions in Hair salon.

“I wanted to work for myself so I could create a salon with a difference,” he says.

But he never dreamed he would own four salons three decades later, the latest of which opened in Pakington Street West six weeks ago.

Impressions in Hair cater for men, women and children of all ages and can do just about anything hair-related.

“We’ve got staff that do everything from hair extensions to perming and we have a highly experienced barber in the Pako salon.”

“We have the four locations now, central Geelong, Highton, Herne Hill and Pakington street for a lot of people’s convenience,” the Highton local says.

“We like this spot in The Strand on Pako because we’ve got parking – all our locations have great parking.”

He and business partner Jan Cahill, who joined him four years ago, have more than 30 years in hairdressing each.

And now they’re determined to pass on that knowledge and expertise to the next generation of stylists.

“We’re dedicated to getting the best young hairdressers we can,” Murray says.

“The talent is as good here in Geelong as anywhere.”

Murray and Jan have lots of in-house training to keep their employees’ skills sharp and regularly send them to industry events including Melbourne Fashion Week, competitions and national and international conferences

“Our staff have great opportunities,” Murray says.

Their diversely-skilled employees range from 17 to 60 in age, including multiple The Gordon TAFE award-winner Rebecca De Bruin.

Murray and Jan use stylist-exclusive, high-performance Goldwell products to make your hair look its best.

Waurn Ponds mother Katrina Harmon saw great potential when she purchased 40-year-old business Design & Decorate Interiors three years ago.

“I saw the opportunity to reinvent it, which is what we did,” she says.

“It had the largest range of wallpaper books in Geelong and it continues to do so.

“I have many clients coming in saying we bought from here 10 or 20 years ago – that’s been really great.”

Katrina studied interior decoration and has a history in the building industry.

Buying Design & Decorate Interiors allowed her to take her practical skills and creativity to a whole new level.

“It’s allowed me to give it my own personal touch,” she says.

She started by renovating the store itself, which had remained much the same for decades in Pakington Street.

“That’s what I do and I had to apply it to the shop,” she says.

Her family pitched in for the project, including her husband and her son, who works as a builder.

Katrina provides advice on interior decoration and a wide range of products including window furnishings, wallpapers and custom-made furnishings.

“I’m a one-woman show,” she says.

“I love the creative side and working with clients.“

Katrina goes above and beyond for her customers, who are a mixture of renovators and home builders.

“Just seeing the joy and pleasure that it brings them is amazing,” she says.

“They’re more than customers. They become friends, they let you into their homes.”

She also supports Geelong manufacturers and suppliers, selling local blinds, drapes, cushions and lampshades.

“I love being able to deal with local people, we have a lot of talented people within our region.“

A year and a half has flown by and the success of Salon Meraki Colour Specialists feels like second to none for owner and operator Vicky Polyzos.

The salon has won two competitions, including Best of the Bay Best Hairdresser of 2017, and recently hired new apprentice Taylor, who has exceeded all expectations.

“Taylor will be a great asset to the company,“ Vicky says.

“Taylor is what I’ve been looking for in an apprentice. Her love and passion for this industry is growing daily and I’m enjoying taking her under my wing and teaching her all I know.”

Salon Meraki Colour Specialists prides itself on offering every client a personal and unique service from the moment they are guests in the seat to the moment they walk out with a glamourous new do.

“As summer has come and gone, clients are very conscious about their hair condition and want to bring life back into their hair,” Vicky says.

“We love to make clients hair feel beautiful here at the salon and at home, so we only use the best brands and products to ensure our clients are happy with their hair.

As a promotion for May and June, Vicky is offering all clients to try L’oreal Smart Bond in every colour service for only $25.

Smart Bond is a unique system that protects hair during technical services and helps prevent colour fading.

“Smart Bond is amazing,” Vicky says.

“The results are amazing and the condition it leaves the hair in is incredible”.

Salon Meraki Colour Specialists is open from Tuesday to Saturdays. Appointments are essential.

Each client is greeted with either coffee or tea when they arrive.

More information is available on the salon’s Facebook page, at salonmeraki.com.au or by phoning 5298 3465.

Military antiques collector Graeme Acton feels that his luck with a rare Japanese Samurai matchlock cannon finally changed when it arrived after nearly seven months stuck in Customs.

Around 94cm long, the cannon is about 300 years old and dates back to the early Edo Period of Japanese society, says the owner of central Geelong’s Armor Antiques Military Museum.

Words chiselled into the underside of the barrel read: Yahata daimyojin Chikuzen juno Nobukuni Kichiyoshi.

“Kichiyoshi was a gunsmith of the Chikuzen Nobukuni School. This school was employed by the Kuroda family until the early Meji Period in 1912,“ Graeme explains.

He’s thrilled to have the cannon finally on display in his museum after the long wait.

“There are some great people working at border force and perhaps sometimes red tape and unusual conditions can delay or even make what should be a normal straight forward decision take way too long,” Graeme says.

“As the law stands in Australia, there’s no restriction or law against owning the cannon as a genuine antique over 100 years old. It does not have to be licenced.

“However, if the calibre size is too large then depending on the situation it may not ever be allowed to be imported into Australia.”

Graeme buys and sells all sorts of relics and gear at his two-storey shop and museum.

Some of the antiques on display include swords, guns, helmets, badges, uniforms, medals, and books.

Graeme also stocks a large range of authentic Samurai armour.

Armor Antiques Military Museum is at 200 Moorabool Street, Geelong.

More information is available by visiting armorantiques.com or by phoning 52218662 or 0416 941 566.

Illusion Gas Log Fires senior salesman Chris Waldie still remembers when an executive recruited him from another company.

“I was pretty straight forward with what he was after and gave him the information he was looking for,” the 42-year old from Bannockburn says.

“I think that’s why I’m here now.”

For three years the father-of-two has taken pride in selling Illusion’s quality wood and gas fires made just up the road in Dandenong.

“As an independent manufacturer we make everything you see in our showroom,” he says.

“That’s what the company prides itself on.“

Illusion has manufactured high-quality heaters for more than 30 years.

The company can provide direct to the public in three weeks – from manufacture to installation.

“We don’t have any third party involvement – so any profit that we make goes towards making products better for our customers,” Chris says.

Providing customers with the most accurate and up-to-date information on heaters is essential, Chris says.

“Word of mouth travels very quickly across Geelong – so we want to make sure our customers know we’re providing all the correct information and finding a product that’s suitable for them.”

Illusion caters for gas and wood, both of which have advantages for different homes and properties, Chris says.

“With wood you get a warmer burn. With gas, it’s a little cleaner and you don’t have to worry about storing wood.”

With winter coming up, now is the “silly season” for heaters, Chris says.

But with people in Geelong “building 12 months of the year” there are always customers coming through the door, he adds.

Pictures: Rebecca Hosking

Gatherings By Crow owner Mandy developed a love of all things vintage while operating two market stalls at North Geelong.

Mandy already had a passion for finding old wares, unusual pieces and items others may have disregarded but the time spent selling antique goods inspired her to open a “unique” shop of her own.

“I’ve always loved to source and collect unusual items,” she says.

So in October Mandy opened Gatherings by Crow, on Geelong’s Mercer Street.

“I came up with my business name because crows fossick for things and are gatherers, so I thought it combined perfectly with my floristry aspect,” she explains.

Gatherings by Crow sells antiques, industrial-style furniture, floral and farmhouse “finds“, Est soaps and beauty products and fresh flowers.

Also a qualified florist, Mandy supplies creative flower arrangements for functions and intimate weddings.

“I can also use my vintage pieces as part of the arrangement for any occasion, making it unique and one-off.”

Mandy is stocking even more interesting vintage wares at her shop.

“I’m also stocking a new range of hair circlets made with vintage jewelry for your next event, the races, hens night or 21st birthday party,“ Mandy says.

To find many of the items that feature in her shop, Mandy regularly visits auctions and has a network of dealers who source products for her.

Gatherings by Crow is at 82 Mercer Street, Geelong. Inquiries can be made by phoning 0488 862 639 or visiting Instagram Gatherings by Crow.

There’s really only one place to go when a home or office space is in need of a spruce up.

Shades of Geelong has been operating for more than four decades and offers quality and customer service that’s unmatched anywhere in Geelong, the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula.

Shades of Geelong has top-of-the-range curtains, blinds and awnings with a huge range of colours, designs and materials to fit any type of decor. Whatever design you have in mind, you can be sure that the team at Shades of Geelong will have the right product for you.

All work is guaranteed and with a local factory and showroom, you can be sure your business is staying in Geelong.

Shades of Geelong will guarantee a written and online quote within two working days and Saturday and after-hours appointments are always available.

With quality products and friendly, expert service, the next home or office renovation is made easy by the team at Shades of Geelong.

Some of the products and services on offer are: Norman plantation shutters; sheer curtains; blockout and privacy roller blinds; preferred supplier of zip tracks; traditional and casual Roman blinds; panel glides; honeycomb blinds; woodstyle Venetians; drapes; and motorisation.

Give the showroom a visit at 62 St Georges Road, Corio, check out shadesofgeelong.com.au or phone 5275 3801.

Geelong’s Independent Cabinet Makers (ICM Geelong) welcomed over 100 guests to its annual trade night in the Moorabool Street store of E&S Trading.

Guests were treated to drinks and canapes as they enjoyed a special presentation when E&S’s Rob Sinclair interviewed ASKO Ambassador, interior designer and television personality Shaynna Blaze.

Shaynna, who stars on the The Block and Selling Houses Australia, won plenty of new fans when she revealed she was a Geelong Cats supporter.

“I’ve barracked for Geelong since I was two years old … it’s a love, I’ve got to say”, she said to applause.

Shaynna gave numerous insights into latest design trends, such as the move back to positioning ovens at eye level and “hiding“ appliances behind clever cabinetry.

She also had plenty to say about finishes.

“Gun metal, polished chrome and stainless steel are coming back,” she advised.

“We’re also seeing a real contrast of black matte and gloss at the moment.”

For practicality, suppliers such as Laminex now offer a black ultra-matte surface that does not show finger prints.

ICM Geelong hailed the evening as a great success while praising the participants including host E&S Trading.

ICM Geelong is a group of qualified local professionals, each with their own businesses, who have banded together to highlight the skills and quality of products manufactured by Geelong’s cabinet-making industry.

The group’s wide range includes everything from kitchens and bathrooms through to custom entertainment units, bookcases and desks, all at competitive prices.

All ICM Geelong members strive to meet a code of ethics that sets them apart as the best in their field using quality hardware and materials with superior workmanship.

Builders and home renovators who choose ICM Geelong secure industry-leading products at the right price while supporting and growing local jobs.