GALAH (2025)

14/12/2025

Tonight, let’s revisit one of our favourite stories, a visit to chef and husband Michael Robertson’s cottage in the NSW Blue Mountains.

wrote this story for Issue 2 with photography by . Sean and Manoo have since sold this property, but I still return to these photos again and again.

Among the many special parts to this story, the painted walls and bed on the verandah have stayed with me the most. Magic.

About those walls, Ceri wrote:

“In the midst of all the uncertainty, Sean found an outlet for his creativity, painting produce from the garden directly onto the dining room walls. ‘I needed to nest. I felt like I’d lost control, and it was my way of coping.’ The result hovers somewhere between the crumbling frescos of Pompeii and a textbook of horticultural diagrams, featuring asparagus tied with string, multicoloured rhubarb, zucchini and their flowers, and many more.”

And about that bed.

“Then there’s the bed on the verandah. Fully made up with sheets and pillows, it was transplanted from one of the bedrooms, and now lounges under the tin awning, shrouded in a puff of mosquito netting. Their old friends Den and Sheila were the inspiration. ‘They had a place out at Ilford, and they slept every night outside,’ explains Sean. ‘Even in the snow, they just put more blankets and a beanie on. I love that romance. It just made your heart sing.’”

11/12/2025

Because it’s (almost) Christmas, we’re giving away a free copy of Galah when you spend over $90 in our online shop.

So, if you place an online order of $90 or more between today and midnight Monday, 15 December, we’ll also send you a free back issue of Galah.

Coincidentally, one of our most popular bundles - Issue 13 and the Galah Book - happens to cost exactly $90 (plus shipping). That could be three presents in one purchase, or one really terrific gift for one lucky person.

Imagine all that lovely summer reading they’ll be doing with two copies of the magazine and our beautiful big book.

And two quick updates: we’re almost sold out of Issue 13 (about 100 copies left) and for delivery before Christmas, please order before 16 December.

Thanks as always, Annabelle x

Any questions, send us a message. Otherwise head to the shop via the link in our bio or tap in shop.galahpress.com

08/12/2025

Here’s one of the top stories from the latest Galah Weekly news round-up. To read our newsletters in full, please head to the link in our profile.

Hives in jeopardy

NSW apiarists and orchardists say varroa mite infestations are driving up costs, pushing people out of the beekeeping industry, and increasing the price of food.

NSW Apiarists Association president Matthew Skinner, who owns about 700 hives, said he expected to pay up to $40,000 a year for extra labour and treatments to control the parasite, which can devastate beehives. Some commercial apiarists run up to 10,000 hives.

Almond Board of Australia CEO Tim Jackson, whose industry already spends about $60 million on pollination services each year, said costs had risen by about $50 a hive since varroa mite was detected in Newcastle three years ago.

Why it matters Skinner said one in every three mouthfuls of Australian food relies on bees for pollination. At least 300,000 commercial hives are needed to pollinate the national almond crop alone. Apple orchardists have already reported declining pollination.

Meanwhile, SA apiarists are being advised to check their hives more frequently after new varroa mite detections in areas that include apple and cherry orchards.

Image - Kim with black cockatoo, by Mudgee artist , in A Nest In The Hills © the artist.

04/12/2025

Dear Galahs,  Monday 16 December, is the last day to place any orders to arrive before Christmas. After that date, our Galah elves can’t guarantee delivery in time for the 25th.
 So, if you’re planning to gift a Galah subscription, a book, or a current or back issue this Christmas, there’s no time like the present.  We have under 150 copies of Issue 13 left. She’s such a beauty. If you haven’t picked this one up yet, skates on.

Tap to shop or head to the link in our bio.

Thanks so much,
 Annabelle x

03/12/2025

What’s on and coming up around the country?

The Garden
Artist Lae Oldmeadow presents a contemplative and tactile installation in which nature and culture intertwine in totems and wall sculptures crafted from palm fibre, organic cotton and ultramarine paint. At , Armidale, NSW, until 1 February.

New Directions
This exhibition explores the creative responses of Australian women artists to the cultural and socio-political shifts that affected their lives in the second half of the 20th century. At , Vic, until 22 February.

Flowering and the Blue Abyss
Based on the NSW far south coast, works with photography, sound and language. This exhibition of photographs made in 2021 highlights her work with plants and explores how “medicine transmits through frequency, silence and shadow”. At Studio, Bermagui, NSW, until 17 January.

Head to the link in our bio to read our latest Galah Weekly in full, and if you know of something we need to share in a future Galah Weekly, please comment or send us a DM, and we’ll make sure it lands on editor Dean Southwell’s desk.

Image: Lesley Dumbrell, Azzuium 1987, colour screenprint; edition 20/100, Geelong Gallery, Gift of Guy Abrahams in memory and celebration of the life of Christine Abrahams, 1999, © the artist

01/12/2025

Here’s one of the top stories from the latest Galah Weekly news round-up. To read our newsletters in full, please head to the link in our profile.

Rent squeeze

Queensland remains the state with the least affordable regional rents, draining more than 30% of the average income.

The SGS Economics snapshot of the national rental market shows even regional areas with strong employment growth such as Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Cairns and Townsville remain unaffordable for most renters.

The report shows rental affordability has declined again in the past year. Regional SA is one of the few states that offers what could be considered affordable rents.

It also shows parts of regional NSW, particularly on the coast, are comparable to Sydney for low affordability.

Meanwhile, home buyers are still feeling the pinch. Property research firm Cotality has found Australian households are spending twice as much of their income to service mortgages compared with five years ago.

Image - Bare Earth 2, one of a series of paintings by WA artist capturing the human impact of drought.

30/11/2025

This Sunday, let’s go to Bruny Island and stay over at .newman.morris’s century-old beach shack.

Imagine holing up here for the whole of summer.
This dream-like scenario is actually a reality for Tess and her family, who decamp to their cottage on the island every summer.

Amanda Ducker wrote this story for Issue 13, with photography by .

“It’s a mission to get to Fairweather. From their Macedon Ranges home, the family drives to Geelong to embark on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry for a 12-hour overnight Bass Strait crossing. ‘My daughter has her last day of school and we’re usually on the boat that night,’ Newman-Morris says. ‘Packing our life for the summer feels like something from a previous generation, or an Alison Lester storybook. Getting on the boat feels like a giant exhale’.

“Arriving at dawn at Devonport in Tasmania’s north, they drive three hours south to Hobart. After stocking up on provisions, they head another half-hour’s drive south to Kettering and catch a small car ferry across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, a 20-minute ride on which their excitement builds. The final leg is a 45-minute drive south through farm and bushland, an isthmus called The Neck and, at last, a meander down the coastline. There’s just one more stop – at a couple of vintage refrigerators filled with fresh sourdough loaves, set up as a roadside stall by the Bruny Baker. Sometimes Newman-Morris keeps butter at hand to slather on their favourite sultana loaf for the final stretch to Fairweather.”

Read the full story in Issue 13. Now on sale around Australia and from our own online store (link in bio).

27/11/2025

It’s getting busy out there. But Galah is here to help.
We’ve mined our archive of Galah food columnist ’s menus and pulled out a collection of recipes that might just save your skin in the festive weeks to come. Among these is a most delicious slow-roasted beef recipe.

This is my go-to when I’m short on mental capacity, but still want to cook something delicious for a big group of people. It’s a breeze and always works.

We’re sending this to our newsletter subscribers tomorrow morning, you can sign up via the link in our bio.

Annabelle x

Illustration by Recipes by Belinda Jeffery.

26/11/2025

What’s on and coming up around the country?

Figure and Field
Three artists from northern NSW and south-east Queensland – Lucia Canuto (), and Meg Stoios – each explore the human figure in their work, highlighting three perspectives born of local life. At , Murwillumbah, NSW, until 15 February 2026.

Before Dawn
Galah Issue 13 takes readers into sculptor ’s Portland studio, where she casts bronze figures. Her monumental and smaller works feature in a solo exhibition at NSW, 28 November 2025 — 28 February 2026.

Overland
Wangaratta-born explores power structures and historical narratives through painting and sculpture. In Overland, Harris considers the lasting impact of colonisation. At , Vic, until 18 January 2026.

Calico Ceilings
Bellarine Peninsula artist Linda Gallus immersed herself in the Central Goldfields/Djaara landscape, engaging with historians and combing the archives to reimagine stories of women in the gold-rush era. At , Maryborough, Vic, until 8 February 2026.

Head to the link in our bio to read our latest Galah Weekly in full, and if you know of something we need to share in a future Galah Weekly, please comment or send us a DM, and we’ll make sure it lands on editor Dean Southwell’s desk.

Image: Much of artist Harrie Fasher’s work centres on the “mental and physical pow
: Much of artist Harrie Fasher’s work centres on the “mental and physical power of the horse. An image by Jennifer Leahy/Silversalt featured in Galah Issue 13.er of the horse”. An image by Jennifer Leahy/ , featured in Galah Issue 13.

23/11/2025

Here’s one of the top stories from the latest Galah Weekly news round-up. To read our newsletters in full, please head to the link in our profile.

The $1 House

One house sold for $1 and others went for as little as $5 at an auction in the NSW Northern Rivers last week. At another auction this week, a Lismore home sold for $50 and another went for $100. So what was the catch?

The 21 homes offered at the Lismore and Murwillumbah auctions were flood-damaged buildings being sold by the NSW Reconstruction Authority, which had taken ownership through a buyback scheme after the catastrophic 2022 floods.

The top price paid at Lismore was $125,000, while the 11 homes offered at Murwillumbah went for a grand total of $14,871.

Six other similar auctions were held earlier this year and another three are scheduled before Christmas, with houses sold without a reserve. One of the sale conditions is that the new owners must remove the buildings from their flood-prone sites and relocate by 30 November next year.

New owners face relocation costs that can be more than $150,000 but for successful bidders, such as Jaya Roche and her family, it seemed like a dream. They paid $200 for the house they had rented in 2022. Roche said even the relocation costs seemed cheap compared with a potential $600,000 loan to buy her own home.

Buyers might be looking for something different in another part of NSW, with a building claimed to be Australia’s most haunted house on the market in Junee.

Sculptor in her foundry studio in Portland’s former cement works. Fasher features in Galah Issue 13 and this week’s What’s On. Photo: Jennifer Leahy/

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