Zara Lupton and Chris Davies on building the Willunga Basin Walking Trail

Above: Zara and Chris standing in front of one of the vistas on the Chalk Hill Road section of the trail.

Roaming the Willunga Basin

Story by Kate Le Gallez. Photograph by Jason Porter. Chris Davies isn’t quite sure, but he thinks the late Greg Trott (of Wirra Wirra) perhaps described the Willunga Basin best: ‘as you come over the rise near Pedler Creek, you get that ‘ahh’ feeling as you see the view laying out in front of you. That view you see is Willunga Basin.’

Inspired by the ‘freedom to roam’ in Scotland, Chris and his partner Zara Lupton, together with a dedicated group of volunteers, are establishing a walking trail that encircles and crosses the basin. The end result will not only literally connect the diverse terrain found within that marvellous view, but will offer locals and visitors renewed access to the landscape.

The Friends of Willunga Basin, a group dedicated to preserving the basin’s beauty, agriculture and heritage first discussed the possibility of a trail in 2009. It was suggested as a way to define the area, which is bounded by the southern Mount Lofty Ranges as they sweep to the coast at Sellicks, along the coast as it stretches towards Port Noarlunga and framed by the cliffs and hills south of the Onkaparinga River.

With the idea firmly planted in their minds, Zara and Chris left for a fifteen-month trip to Zara’s native Scotland. Their experience changed their perception and understanding of what it means to be able to walk in the landscape. There, walkers have a legally enshrined right to responsibly roam most Scottish land. Returning to Australia, Chris and Zara missed that sense of freedom. ‘I knew there were nice places to walk like the national parks and things, but you had to get in your car and drive there to do the walk.’

The question became, how could they achieve a similar level of access throughout the Basin? They found their answer in unmade road reserves, many of which were laid down in the planning for South Australia in London in the 1830s and have largely never been thought about since, at least until now. But they’re there, plain as day on maps of the region and remain public land in the council’s care and control. By the end of 2012, Chris, Zara and friend Chas Martin had mapped a route connecting the area’s diverse terrain, taking in vineyards, farmland, native bush and coastal dunes. The route makes use of over twenty unmade road reserves with very few private links.

Perhaps like most people, Chris and Zara assumed building the trail would be a matter for the Onkaparinga Council, which approved the route in 2012. That was until they discovered the backlog of trails yet to be built. By their calculations, it would be 27 years before work began. Instead of throwing their hands up, they submitted to council that they be allowed to do the work – a proposal that was accepted. ‘We had won, we were actually going to get on and do it, we’re not going to wait for somebody else,’ recalls Chris.

That initial jubilation has given way to the hard work necessary to put the trail in. And it is a lot of work, becoming almost a full-time job for the retired pair. Since the beginning of 2019, volunteers have joined Chris and Zara at working sessions on the trail three times a week doing everything from putting in signposts and stiles (both designed by Chris) to removing olive trees and building the track itself. A $79,000 government grant helps pay for infrastructure but the volunteers do the work and there will soon be ongoing maintenance as well. Many of the volunteers come from a local walking group and the Willunga Basin Trail Inc. which incorporated separately from the original Friends group. So far, they’ve established 45 of the 130 kilometre trail. The goal is to complete the full track within the next eighteen months.

If you keep an eye out, you’ll start to spot the unassuming signposts with their graphic blue and white logos (also designed by Chris) here and there. Among the walking community it’s certainly getting noticed. The group, and its two humble leaders, were recognised by Walking SA for their work in October 2019, while the Friends of the Heysen Trail have included it in its walks program. Chris and Zara hope the trail will be a place everyone can enjoy for recreation and that the community will feel a sense of ownership over it. A place where all can enjoy the freedom to roam. To find out more or get involved go to: www.wbt.org.au.

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Family, food and farm

Story by Kate Le Gallez. Photography by Heidi Lewis. Styling by Tess Twigden.

Page left and above: Tess’ collector’s eye – inherited from her mum – has seen her style the house with vintage finds. Her knack for putting it all together is just a natural gift.

So often it’s the little things that make a home. For Tess Twigden, it’s the small room just off the kitchen. Originally marked as a study or bedroom, Tess imagined something quite different. It’s her favourite spot in the house: a butler’s pantry of sorts. But where modern homes so often try to hide away the evidence of life behind sleek cabinetry, this room seems to revel comfortably in the everyday good stuff.

The butts of wine bottles protrude from a riddling rack alongside a coffee machine on a vintage workbench. A stand mixer sits ready to fill a tin marked ‘cakes’ and another ‘biscuits.’ It’s a room for the little, important moments of family life.

As a visitor to the home that Tess shares with husband Tom and their two small girls, Marlowe and Mae, this little room eschews the spotlight. It hides behind a reclaimed barn door (a roadside treasure) while the cathedral ceilings in the double-height living and dining area claim centre stage. But spend a little time chatting with the Twigdens and it quickly becomes clear that this little room – alongside the neighbouring kitchen and the big, welcoming table where we sit to eat Tess’ freshly-baked scones – is at the heart of life on Twigden Farm.

Tess and Tom moved to their Ashbourne home in 2014. In a complete lifestyle u-turn, the couple, who both grew up in Adelaide, bought the property after returning from a stint in Sydney. ‘I was going to be the editor of Vogue,’ jokes Tess, then a freshly-minted journalism graduate, of the Sydney move. ‘And the fashion magazine industry wasn’t what I thought it was, just wasn’t for me. We had to find out the hard way. We missed family, missed friends and Sydney was just so big and busy. We kind of wanted the complete opposite lifestyle.’

After a year of searching, they fell in love with the double-storey rammed earth house tucked away down a tree-lined drive. ‘I remember driving up the driveway and a sentimental song came on the radio,’ says Tess of their first visit to the house. ‘And there was a piece of furniture that my dad had restored that the lady had purchased off him in one of the rooms. There were just all these little things.’ And of course there were big things too: those high ceilings were breathtaking on first viewing. >

Page left: All baked fresh for us! Country Women’s Association scones, a tarte tatin and a family biscuit recipe called Auntie Sis’ Biscuits. All delicious! Above left: Tess is happiest when in the company of family and friends at a table filled with delicious food. Right: The charmed life of Marlowe and Mae.

It’s a long way from the inner suburbs of Sydney, but that’s the point … the farm is their place to intentionally slow down and dream their ideal life into existence.

Built in 1997, the house came complete with its original nineties’ colour scheme with dark benchtops and tiles in the kitchen and stained timber ceilings and balustrades. Tess and Tom’s first big project was painting every inch of that huge ceiling with its exposed rafters white. The job took four months and required two coats, the first painstakingly by (mostly Tom’s) hand, while the second could fortunately be sprayed.

They made other aesthetic updates as well. Vinyl floors were ripped up and replaced with floating floorboards. They kept the original kitchen cupboards, but painted them white and added a new splashback, farmhouse sink and white marble benchtop (‘our luxe item’ says Tess). Upstairs they’ve created a haven for Mae and Marlowe, knocking out a wall to create a large bedroom for the girls to share once they’re a little bigger and a playspace overlooking the downstairs living area.

Tess’ collector’s eye – inherited from her mum – has seen her style the house with vintage finds sourced from Gumtree and eBay. ‘Gumtree’s my best friend,’ she says. ‘I feel like our whole house is Gumtree. And from my mum. My mum’s really into older antiques and things. Anything that she gets tired of, I’m like ‘I’ll have that.’ I guess that’s where the love for the old stuff came from.’ Most recently, it’s a pair of French-made, 125-year-old timber beds that will soon be for Marlowe and Mae. They come layered in history, ready to absorb the stories and experiences of their newest owners.

It’s a long way from the inner suburbs of Sydney, but that’s the point. While both Tess and Tom maintain working lives away from home – Tom works as a fireman and civil engineer, Tess at a fashion boutique in Adelaide – the farm is their place to intentionally slow down and dream their ideal life into existence.

That dream comes with a long list of jobs. They’re part way through transforming a shed into a romantic getaway which they hope to finish this year (‘it’s going to happen! Good vibes!’ says Tess). Then there’s the empty slab just down from the house that enjoys the same views of the summer-baked hills around Ashbourne as the main house. Tess pictures a rustic barn where they can host weddings and events. ‘That’s just a big beautiful dream I have. But, we’ll see,’ says Tess. ‘We just love walking around and thinking about all the things we could do.’ >

Top: The cubby house comes complete with a full kitchen and verandah. Bottom left: The style and collections are everywhere – all carefully curated by Tess. Bottom right: Tom and Mae on their way to the cubby.

While their few sheep keep the grass down, Tom has a list of trees he wants to plant so long ‘it’s not even funny’ and is also looking to establish a permaculture garden. ‘We’ve done the whole driveway, that was just bushes and a few ornamentals,’ says Tom. ‘Now that I’ve got into it, I just enjoy it. It’s nice to see things grow.’ Tom’s also the cook in the family. He describes his style as ‘rustic’: ‘it doesn’t have to be fancy it just has to taste good,’ he says. Barbequed meat. A mound of roasted potatoes, their crumbled edges crisped to just the right shade of golden. Greens picked fresh. That sort of thing.

Today, it’s pillowy scones peeking from a tea-towel cocoon. Marlowe declares she likes both the apricot jam and the cream equally, and sneaks a lick of the spoon. Little moments around a kitchen table are also the important moments that family life is made of. Follow Tess @twigsandvines on Instagram.

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The Waterhouse Natural Science

Art Prize Satellite Exhibiion opening June 9th 2020

During Autumn and Winter, the Strand Gallery will be supporrng the South Australian Museum and promoong the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize 2020. This major exhibiion at the gallery will include works acquired by the Museum and more recent work by past winners and finalists.