THE PLANTS ARE still covered in dew as I wander early one Sunday morning through a stunning private garden in Mildura, discussing the city’s strong points and positive future. I’m with chef and entrepreneur Stefano de Pieri, known for Stefano’s, his gourmet restaurant in the old cellars of the town’s Grand Hotel, his books and late-’90s television show A Gondola on the Murray.
Archaeologist Mark Grist, a Wergaia/Wamba Wamba and Nyeri Nyeri man, is also here and you could say his close friendship with Stefano is a metaphor for the modern cross-culturalism in this multicultural city on the Victorian side of the Murray River.
Stefano immigrated from Treviso in Italy to Melbourne in 1974, but he could have been born and bred here. In contrast, Mark has been based in this, his home town, after studying in Canberra and working nationally. Mark says their friendship is not so unexpected. He remembers going into the Grand Hotel years ago – still owned today by Stefano’s ex-father-in-law – and finding relatives working there at a time when many people wouldn’t employ Aboriginal people.
Stefano agrees Mildura has changed a lot since he moved here. “[Then] you wouldn’t have been able to buy, I don’t know, a Malaysian belacan,” he recalls. “Now there’s everything here.” This meeting of two friends from very different backgrounds is just one of the many pleasant surprises we encounter during a week in this thriving city, where we come across everything from avant-garde art and a Chinese flying school at Wentworth, to the “Garlic Man” basing his processing facility here.
Denne historien er fra July - August 2023-utgaven av Australian Geographic Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra July - August 2023-utgaven av Australian Geographic Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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SULAWESI SENSATIONS
There are worlds within worlds and marvels untold waiting to be experienced on Indonesia's remote islands.
SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS
Our understanding of where to find ancient life in Australia has been turned on its head by a new appreciation of the country's geology. Now the world is looking to our vast outback as the latest hotspot to locate fossils.
THE HARDEST NIGHT
The first Australian ascent of Mt Everest in 1984 is one of the great feats of mountaineering. Climbed by a small team semi-alpine style, with no bottled oxygen, via the Great (Norton) Couloir, it remains unrepeated 40 years later.
WEDGE-TAILED WONDER
The chance discovery of an eagle nest leads to an extended vigil observing normally hidden behaviours of one of nature's supreme winged marvels.
BURDENED BY BEAUTY
Northern Australia's Gouldian finch survives in huge numbers in cages around the world, but its wild population continues to struggle.
A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE
After a stellar 50 years as one of the country's major scientific assets, the AAT continues to play a major role in keeping Australian astronomy on the world stage.
COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK
This patch of remnant bush on the edge of the West Australian wheatbelt is a place loved by one of Australia's rarest bird species and the man who has studied the site for more than 50 years.
A PIONEERING PAIR
Louisa Atkinson and her mother, Charlotte, were among Australia's earliest authors, and pioneers in women's rights.
THE LONGEST WALK
Lucy Barnard is walking from Argentina to Alaska -the length of the Americas - on an extraordinary journey of endurance and adventure.
SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE
In an era of heightened social isolation, where many of us lead lonely lives, Dangar Island offers the chance to be part of a supportive, connected community.
