Listening to Country with composer James Howard, and the Stiff Gins celebrate 25 years
The Stiff Gins are 25 years into what they hope is a lifelong partnership. Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson and Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman Kaleena Briggs look back at a quarter century of making music together, from their first meeting at Eora college, to the changing landscape of language and touring. Back in 2023 they chatted to Andy and performed two songs live in The Music Show studio.
The Stiff Gins new album Crossroads is out now. And they're touring across Vic, Qld, NSW, SA and ACT. Find the full details here.
Australian Dance Theatre have upcoming performances of Marrow in Sydney, Wyong, Albury, Canberra and Alice Springs. More info here.
Music in this program:
Title: Raki Part 2
Artist: Daniel Wilfred, Paul Grabowsky, Peter Knight
Composer: Daniel Wilfred, Paul Grabowsky, Peter Knight
Album: Raki
Label: Earshift
Title: Cycles
Artist: James Howard
Composer: James Howard
Album: Marrow
Label: Independent
Title: Nyirrimarr Ngamatyata / To Lose Yourself at Sea
Artist: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Wyatt (conductor)
Composer: James Howard
Concert recording courtesy Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Title: life doesn't move through time, time moves through life
Artist: James Howard
Composer: James Howard
Album: Variations on Country
Label: Independent
Title: Happy This
Artist: Stiff Gins
Composer: Kaleena Briggs and Nardi Simpson
Performed live in The Music Show studio
Title: Burruguu
Artist: Ensemble Offspring
Composer: Nardi Simpson
Album: To Listen, To Sing: Ngarra Burria - First Peoples Composers
Label: ABC Classic
Title: Bear & Bee
Artist: Stiff Gins
Composer: Kaleena Briggs and Nardi Simpson
Performed live in The Music Show studio
Title: Yarladhu
Artist: Stiff Gins
Composer: Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs
Album: Crossroads
Label: Independent
The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country
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SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
In a burgeoning $82 million Aussie industry, some are being left behind
Food has always been a language for Brisbane-based chef Chris Jordan — a way to connect, share and tell stories beyond the plate. After spending two decades in commercial kitchens across Australia and the United Kingdom, it wasn't until he began working with native Australian ingredients that he truly found his calling. Discovering the richness of native foods — from earthy wattle seed to zesty lemon myrtle and nutrient-packed Kakadu plums — helped the 35-year-old Koori chef define his purpose. Now, Jordan is sharing that passion with young Indigenous apprentices. As they gather around a small outdoor grill, he stands over smoking sea mullet, the rich scent rising from gidgee charcoal. "Make sure the grill is super-hot so the fish doesn't stick," he said. For Brisbane-based chef Chris Jordan, food has never just been about sustenance — it's been a gateway to culture, connection, and identity. Source: SBS / Jesmine Cheong A legacy of native flavours Watching Jordan cook is a flavour-packed journey of discovery for these emerging Indigenous chefs, including 26-year-old Terelle Cobbo. As sea mullet sizzles, Jordan serves up more than just techniques — he's firing up their curiosity and seasoning each moment with cultural knowledge. "This is one way to connect with my culture and I really enjoy it," Cobbo said. Giving the next generation a real taste of connection with the country, Jordan said one the reasons he focuses on native ingredients is sustainability. "Bush foods are drought resistant, well adapted to this country, and really, really good for you — nutritionally potent," he said. "Using native ingredients can also help to combat climate change." Koori chef Chris Jordan teaches young trainees how to prepare traditional native foods using bush ingredients. Source: SBS / Jesmine Cheong Sharing Jordan's perspective, Dr Francis Wyld, who teaches Aboriginal studies at the University of South Australia, said bush foods offer many environmental advantages. They are also rich in nutrients and have the ability to thrive in a range of Australian climates, she said. "They require less water or pesticides, because they are well adapted to the Australian environment," she said. "These foods have sustained Aboriginal people for 60,000 years and many are full of things like vitamin C." The University of Sydney estimated Australia's bush food industry was worth $81.5 million in the 2019-2020 financial year, and is growing steadily. Yet Jordan said only a few Indigenous growers benefit from the booming sector and a growing demand for native ingredients. "Less than three per cent of Australia's bush food industry is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned, and I think that really needs to shift," he said. "We need to make sure that the money goes back to the community. It is one reason we collaborate with a lot of different restaurants and cafes." Jordan buys bush food and ingredients from local growers, with the help of Food Connect Shed in Brisbane. Food Connect Shed CEO Robert Pekin said his long-term objective is to bring First Nations food into the mainstream Australian diet. Source: SBS / Jesmine Cheong The hub's CEO, Robert Pekin, said the shed is owned by approximately 540 people and most are local residents. "One of our big long-term objectives is to get First Nations food into our diets in a mainstream way," he said. "Native grains and native foods are really beneficial for the country." It's a view shared by Aunty Dale Chapman, an award-winning chef who first mentored Jordan in cooking with native ingredients after he returned from London in 2017. "I am extremely proud of where Chris has started, and his journey is still happening, and it'll go on for a long, long time," she said. Jordan learned more by visiting country with his great-uncle and elders, and has also studied Indigenous philosophy at the University of South Australia. However, he said finding a mentor in Chapman changed his life and gave him a purpose. "I vividly remember really, really low points in my life where I was asking for guidance and I was asking for someone to help me and give me a reason to live," he said. "And the biggest reason for me getting sober was meeting Aunty Dale. She has been in the bush food industry for 35 years and is an amazing chef, an amazing educator and someone who is passing the torch with her education." Aunty Dale Chapman is an award-winning chef based in Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon Chapman, who was born at Dirranbandi in south-west Queensland on Yuwaalaraay and Kooma tribal lands, celebrates native foods in her cooking. She said Jordan has elevated the use of native ingredients, and his dedication to sharing his knowledge with young people is vital to preserving the Indigenous food legacy. Mentoring through food Jordan now mentors young chefs as he teaches in schools across Queensland and also supports Indigenous youth at risk of contact with the justice system. "A huge percentage of our First Nations youth are incarcerated. So, it is really important to build a connection to culture and also create pathways to employment," he said. Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found First Nations youth are 27 times as likely to be in juvenile detention compared to non-Indigenous children. The AIHW said the vast over-representation of Indigenous youth in the justice system reflects a history of trauma and cultural dispossession. While Jordan is proud to mentor young people through bush foods, accepting and celebrating his own identity has been a far more complex journey. Growing up in northern NSW, he learned little about his Aboriginal heritage or his connection to Kamilaroi Country. "When my grandmother was growing up, she was told, 'If anyone asks, say that you're Italian'. So, there was a lot of shame in the family," he said. "It is amazing in my lifetime I have seen that shift, and now my extended family are so proud of who they are." Chris Jordan (left) as a young man with his mum and sister near Denman, NSW. Source: Supplied / Chris Jordan Jordan named his catering business in memory of his father Joseph, a refugee from former Yugoslavia who died when he was a baby. "I don't have any memories of him at all," he said. "So, it is one reason I named my [catering] business Three Little Birds. "It was his favourite song by Bob Marley, so I guess it's a message of positivity in our family." Chris Jordan's father, Joseph, arrived in Australia in 1950. Source: Supplied / Chris Jordan A 'powerful' journey of rediscovery and connection Jordan said learning to cook with native foods has helped him find a deeper meaning in his life and identity. "I left home at a young age and went down a path where I ended up having to get sober and really clean my life up," he said. "And learning about native ingredients and becoming proud of who I am was really, really powerful." Chapman said by shining a light for other young Indigenous chefs, Jordan is passing on knowledge from one generation to the next. "We want to give that information, because that is ultimately what our ancestors have done for thousands of years," she said. "Understanding where the plant, the fruit, the herb, the spice actually comes from is really, really important. "And let's face it, it is our birthright and we should know how to use, how to sustain, how to thrive using First Nations foods." Dylan Kerslake works as an apprentice chef in Brisbane. Source: SBS / Jesmine Cheong Wiradjuri man Dylan Kerslake is one of Jordan's mentees and works as an apprentice at a high-end Brisbane restaurant "Chris encouraged me to become a chef and helped me to get my first job," he said. "I started by helping him out in the kitchen, and I really enjoyed it, and from there I kept on cooking." But for Jordan, it's about more than employment — it's about sharing the wealth of Indigenous wisdom through the craft of cooking and helping young people build a future through food. "I didn't connect to culture until later in life. "So, passing on knowledge about bush food and sharing my experience and how it saved my life, I think it's a really strong message." NAIDOC Week is celebrated from 6-13 July. This year's theme is: 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.'
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Aussie celebrities' most bitter, expensive divorces exposed
Like the rest of us, Australia's celebrities and billionaires aren't immune from bitter divorces and expensive payouts. It seems like every second day, there's a fresh 'divorce shock'. Aussie divorce settlements don't come close to the global record $US38bn ($55bn) that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had to pay his ex, MacKenzie Scott, in 2019, including two Beverley Hills mansions — not surprisingly, the pre-nup signed by his latest bride, Lauren Sanchez, specifies a lump sum with no access to Amazon shares. But readers still crave every detail, from commentary pieces about who's to blame through to paparazzi shots of each 'without wedding rings' and potential new flames. Also of interest is the carve-up of their often huge property portfolios. Here are 10 Aussie bust-ups of the rich and famous: 1. Hugh Jackman and Deborah-Lee Furness When Hollywood hearthrob Hugh Jackman and Deborah-Lee Furness announced their separation in 2023 after 27 years, it was all about 'journeys shifting' and 'gratitude, love and kindness', but by April this year they were 'embroiled in a bitter dispute over their $250m family fortune', according to Women's Day. And a month ago, Furness was talking 'betrayal' over her man taking up with Sutton Foster, his female co-star in The Music Man on Broadway. Their New York penthouse, bought for $US21m in 2022, is reportedly for sale $US39m; but no sign yet of a listing for their Hamptons beach house; the North Bondi penthouse bought for $5.9m in 2015, now reportedly worth about $12m; or the Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat near the Gold Coast that they co-own with entertainment guru Paul Dainty. 2. Holly Valance and Nick Candy MORE: Brad Pitt's neighbours shock blame for invasion Becoming equally bitter, is the split between Holly Valance and billionaire property developer Nick Candy, with the former Neighbours star vowing to 'take every penny'. Candy's mega £1.4bn ($2.93bn) fortune includes a two-storey penthouse in his family's $2.5bn One Hyde Park development. That's been for sale for four years for $366m. There's also a $142m home in London's Chelsea; a $100m Los Angeles mansion; an $18m Oxfordshire estate; and a six-floor Mayfair office bought for $27m ... and then there's superyachts and a range of luxury cars as well ... clearly she's not going to need to line up for a Neighbours gig again anytime soon. 3. Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen Also in the news recently is actor Isla Fisher all smiles' at Wimbledon having finalised her $120m divorce from comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. 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Amber, meanwhile, is slumming it in Denis Savill's Paddington art gallery, which she bought for $5.3m in 2021 and has since converted into a home. 5. Shane Warne and Simon Callaghan The late cricket legend's divorce settlement, finalised with the sale of his Brighton mansion 'Melville' for $8.75m in 2007, reportedly cost him $10m. He loved the single-level Victorian mansion, with pool, spa, tennis court and 3014 sqm of landscaped gardens, that he bought it back for $14.25m in 2016. He sold it again for $18,888,888 two years later. Warne died from a heart attack in Bali in 2022, with the two most important women in his life, his ex and former fiance, Elizabeth Hurley, receiving nothing — most of his $20.7m fortune went to his three children, Brooke, Jackson and Summer. 6. Karl Stefanovic and Cassandra Thorburn Channel 9's Today show host Karl Stefanovic split with his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn, in 2016 and his $6m divorce settled 10 months later. His ex got their $8m Cremorne waterfront, which she sold in 2019 for more than $9m, and she receives a payment of $35,000 a month. They have three children together. Stefanovic married designer Jasmine Yarbrough in a lavish ceremony in Mexico in 2018, and they live in Castlecrag in a home bought for $3.2m in 2021 that they renovated for $4.5m. 7. Mike Cannon-Brooks and Annie Cannon-Brookes Billionaire Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon Brookes married his fashion designer wife Annie Todd in 2010, having met at the Sydney airport Qantas lounge three years earlier. He was flying to San Francisco and she was on her way home to Michigan. 'She thought I was someone else,' he said at a talk in 2017. 'More than a decade later, I'm incredibly happy that she is now my wife and we have four amazing children together.' They separated in July 2023 and it's still unclear how their $31bn+ fortune will be split, or if it needs to be. It includes $22bn in Atlassian shares and a $360m property portfolio. That includes the Fairwater mansion in Point Piper, bought for a then record $100m in 2018 and numerous Southern Highland properties (his favourite location) and Dunk Island plus multimillion-dollar homes in Double Bay, Palm Beach and Newport (she prefers the beach). 8. Paul Hogan and Noelene Edwards and Linda Kozlowski Actor and comedian Paul Hogan was only 19 when he met his first wife, Noelene Edwards, in 1958 at a Sydney swimming pool where he was a lifeguard. They soon married and had five kids. They got divorced in 1981, only to remarry a year later. But then he was bedazzled by his Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski — the star reportedly didn't speak to Edwards for 17 years after their second divorce. Hoges married Kozlowski, 20 years his junior, in 1990 and they had a son, Chance. But there was no second chance for their marriage, with the couple divorcing in 2014 after 23 years of marriage. She received a lump sum of $6.25m and was able to live in their Venice Beach home until 2018. Now she reportedly owns several of her own properties there. 9. Alan Bond and Eileen Bond Last week's death of Eileen Bond, affectionately known as 'Red', brought to mind her 1992 divorce from controversial businessman Alan Bond after 37 years of marriage and four children. The terms were never made public. He went bankrupt in 1992 with debts totalling $1.8bn, but a report in 1993 described the Bond family as 'seriously rich', with gross assets of $24m in residential property, $15m in rural and commercial property, $20m in business assets and $21m in personal assets. Much of this was hidden in a network of trusts and trustee companies, and Eileen Bond sold one of their properties, a mansion in Perth's Peppermint Grove, in 1995. In August 2020, it reportedly sold for $27.5m. Alan Bond died in 2015. 10. Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore The New York-born but Aussie-raised actor Mel Gibson is famous for his roles in Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, but perhaps also for losing $617m — half of his estimated $1.2bn fortune — in his divorce from his wife of 31 years, Robyn Moore. It was believed to be the biggest celebrity divorce payout in Hollywood history. Getting a prenup wasn't something he considered when he met his dental nurse wife in the late 1970s, when they were both tenants in a house in Adelaide. They had seven kids together. Gibson is known to have invested heavily in real estate, including an island in Fiji he bought for $15m in 2005. People reported reports that Moore was also entitled to half of any film residuals Gibson receives for the rest of his life. By way of comparison, director Steven Spielberg paid $US100m to Amy Irving in their 1989 divorce.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Ocean Vuong and Fleur McDonald reimagine Connecticut and Kalgoorlie
US poet, Ocean Vuong says when he was growing up "being a writer was like being a unicorn" but now he's published his second novel The Emperor of Gladness. Plus, Esperance based author Fleur McDonald reinvents herself in the harsh WA landscape of Kalgoorlie with her novel, The Prospect. The Emperor of Gladness is the latest novel from the Vietnam born, American-based writer Ocean Vuong who made his name with his 2019 novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. His new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, takes you to a forgotten, rundown town in Connecticut called East Gladness which is a place of overgrown lawns and trampled weeds, of potholes and roadkill. Ocean shares why he thinks his latest book is self-indulgent (and that's ok), how he came to writing from business school and why his mother never knew that he dropped out of college to study literature. Australian novelist Fleur McDonald is 25 books into her writing career but as well as writing page-turning novels, she's also lived an incredible life and founded the WA organisation DV Assist which is aimed at rural victims of domestic violence. Fleur is based in Esperance - on the southern coast of Western Australia - but her new book, The Prospect, takes the reader inland to Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town, which even today holds tight to its frontier sensibility.
