Why I Travel (With Thanks to Ned Kelly)

This piece about my motivations for travel was commissioned by a magazine in 2014, but never published for space reasons. Here it is at last, for your enjoyment...

I travel to connect the dots.

I’ve always been fascinated by history – I even gained a degree in it from the University of Western Australia – but I don’t want to only learn about it through books.

There’s nothing I like more than actually visiting the place where a great historic event took place, something that people still talk about today.

Even better is to link together a number of places connected to a famous person or happening, and step in the footprints of those who were there at the time.

One of my favourite journeys was a retracing of the life of Ned Kelly, the notorious bushranger whose gang robbed banks and fought police in northeastern Victoria in the late 19th century.

Whether they think he’s a hero or a villain, everyone knows about Ned’s famous showdown at Glenrowan, when he confronted police in the dawn light in a home-made suit of armour.

But not many know about the green sash he was awarded at the age of 11 when he saved a drowning child from a river in Avenel. Exploits from his short but eventful life are scattered all along the signposted Ned Kelly Touring Route.

I went one better in 2011 when I visited the tiny town of Moyglass, two hours from Dublin, Ireland in County Tipperary. Nowadays the village is basically just a cemetery and a pub, but what a pub.

The Ned Kelly Village Inn is festooned with Kelly memorabilia, and for a very good reason. In 1840 Ned Kelly’s dad, John Kelly, was working as a farm labourer here and stole two pigs.

Caught, he was sentenced to transportation to Australia, thus starting the journey that would lead to Ned and his dramatic fate. I felt pleased and privileged to have been to both ends of the tale.

On other trips I’ve linked together such major events as the sinking of the SS Titanic, visiting the Belfast shipyards where it was built, and later the cemetery in Halifax, Canada where many of its tragic victims lie.

I’ve visited Roman ruins stretching from England to Egypt, via Italy and Hungary and, of course, Rome. I’ve wondered at strange architectural relics of Eastern Europe’s communist era, from Poland to Slovenia.

And I’ve been to all three corners of the so-called Polynesian Triangle, Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island, amazed at the ancient Polynesians' navigational skills.

Once I’ve been there, it’s not just dusty old history to me. It’s a story, of real people and their lives.

Why do you travel? Feel free to comment below.

The Unpublished 12: Sunday Lunch in Benalla

Last year, The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia revamped its travel section, cancelling the Sunday Lunch column which I'd had the pleasure to contribute to from time to time. One of my country lunch reviews was left unpublished, so here it is now for your foodie pleasure...

Sunday Lunch: North Eastern Hotel

Passing beneath the elegant art nouveau lettering on the facade of the North Eastern Hotel in Benalla (about 200km northeast of Melbourne), we’re pleasantly surprised to find an expansive, relaxed interior, with lots of dark timber detail and natural light.

To one side there’s an area of low-slung lounge chairs, to the other a spacious dining room next to a bar topped with redgum timber.

The North Eastern’s menu is “a touch of fusion, towards gastropub,” according to co-owner Tony Ashton, crafted by himself in collaboration with young chef Sehan Waters. As the "Northo" only serves Sunday lunch once a month, followed by a blues session hosted by Neale Williams, we’re looking forward to a treat.

My house-smoked Atlantic salmon ($17) is just the ticket for this warm sunny day, flaked through a salad of orange, pickled fennel, chilli and snow pea tendrils. It’s fresh and tasty with a smooth smokiness, though the tendrils are a little unwieldy. Narrelle’s oysters ($18.50), finished with the “Northo Way” Asian-inspired dressing, are superb.

The sunshine is making us hanker for a bold white wine, so we share a bottle of the Mt Pilot Estate 2010 viognier chardonnay ($54) from Eldorado.

For main course, Narrelle’s selected the master stock duck Maryland ($32), whose richly flavoured and tender meat neatly contrasts with the crunch of the crispy egg noodles and wok-tossed vegetables beneath.

My bruschetta-style veal parma ($23.75) is a delicious upmarket take on the popular pub dish, with pesto, locally-sourced double-smoked ham and a speckled topping of tomato salsa along with house-made rosemary potato chips.

The other half of the Ashton duo, Helen, delivers a verbal dessert menu and we order the vanilla bean pannacotta ($10) and the mocha semifreddo with chocolate Cointreau sauce ($10), swapping plates halfway through.

It’s all excellent, and we’re full. Bring on the music.

Reviewed by Tim Richards, who was hosted by V/Line and the North East Victoria Tourism Board.

North Eastern Hotel, 1 Nunn St, Benalla, 5762 7333, serving meals 12-2.30pm Wed-Sat (and 2nd Sunday each month), 6-8.30pm Tue-Sat.

To stay nearby: Top of the Town Motel (topofthetown.net.au), Belmont B&B (belmontbnb.com.au), Glen Falloch Farm Cottage (glen-falloch.com.au).

The Unpublished is a random series comprising my never-published travel articles. For previous instalments, click on the The Unpublished Topic tag below, then scroll down.

Tea for Dessert in the High Country

Tea for afters, anyone?

In last week's blog post, Naomi Ingleton of The Butter Factory in Myrtleford shared her recipes for goat stew and strawberry and buttermilk panna cotta. 

But she's not finished yet. For that clean, sweet finish to a memorable meal, try whipping up this memorable parfait... 

Green Tea Parfait

Ingredients
2 tablespoons green tea powder
4 tablespoons milk
500ml cream
5 egg whites
300g caster sugar
3 tablespoons water
30ml vodka
Juice of 1 lime
1 Granny Smith apple
1 cup caster sugar

Method
Make a paste with the green tea powder and milk.

Beat cream until thick, then refrigerate.

Line a terrine tray with cling film (I find it helps to lightly oil the tray and push the wrap into the corners).

Place 300g sugar and water in a pot and bring to 130°C.

Whisk egg whites to a stiff peak.

When sugar reaches the above temperature, add the lime juice and vodka and bring to boil again. Slowly add this to egg whites, keep whisking until egg white mix cools (about 5 minutes).

Add green tea paste to the egg whites and mix thoroughly, gently fold in the cream. Place in the mould and freeze overnight.

Slice the apples very thinly and brush with lemon juice. Place on a wire rack and put in a cool oven for at least 8 hours, until dry.

Make a caramel with the sugar and dip the apple chips into the liquid caramel and put straight into iced water to set, remove immediately and drain on rack.

Unmould and slice parfait to desired size, and place apple chips on top. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Guest recipe blogger Naomi Ingleton is owner and chef at The Butter Factory, 15 Myrtle St, Myrtleford. 

To read my article on the food and wine of Victoria's High Country region in the January 2011 issue of Virgin Blue's inflight magazine, click here (then jump to page 62).

[Photo credit: By たね, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

The Goat in the Pot in the High Country

Lick your lips! In the course of researching a feature article on the fantastic food and wine of Victoria's High Country region, I contacted wunderchef Naomi Ingleton of The Butter Factory in Myrtleford to ask if I could reprint a few of her recipes. 

In the end, the magazine I was writing for didn't use them - but Naomi has kindly given me permission to reproduce them here. Fire up the stove, get out the olive oil... and don't forget to pick up goat for our very first dish...

Nug Nug Goat Stew with Grilled Vegetables & Spaetzle

Ingredients

Stew
500g primal goat cuts, diced
1 brown onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
2 bulls horn peppers, red
2 green zucchini
½ cup fresh green peas
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine
1 litre goat or chicken stock

Spaetzle
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk

Method
In a heavy based pot fry onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Add goat and fry until browned, deglaze with white wine. Add the stock and bay leaf, cover and simmer until meat is tender, add the peas at the end.

Halve and seed the peppers, quarter the zucchini and grill.

To make the spaetzle, sift the dry ingredients, make a well in the middle and combine with the milk and eggs. If you do not have a spaetzle maker (like a cheese grater with a dough catcher) you can use a piping bag over hot water to make the little dumplings.

To serve the stew, add a little of the noodles to a bowl, drape the stew over the top and arrange the grilled vegetables.

And for dessert...

Strawberry & Buttermilk Panna Cotta

500ml buttermilk
250ml cream
3 gelatine leaves
¼ cup strawberry puree
2 tablespoons sugar
Strawberries for garnish

Soak the gelatine leaves in water to soften, do not use hot water. Warm the buttermilk (if you do not have access to buttermilk use pouring cream instead), cream and sugar in a heavy based saucepan and add the softened gelatine.

Mix in the berry puree and pour into Dariole moulds, or you could use teacups if you do not have the moulds. Refrigerate overnight.

Run a small knife around the edge of the mould and gently tip the set panna cotta onto a plate. You can decorate with some berry coulis or just the strawberries.

Guest recipe blogger Naomi Ingleton is owner and chef at The Butter Factory, 15 Myrtle St, Myrtleford. 

To read my article on the food and wine of Victoria's High Country region in the January 2011 issue of Virgin Blue's inflight magazine, click here (then jump to page 62).

Shadowing Ned Kelly

When you've had enough of travelling to tick off major landmarks, travelling to a theme becomes attractive.

Whether it's an itinerary built around food, history or a love of Elvis, a theme provides a "shaping mechanism" for the journey, livening it up and adding interest. There's also the fun of piecing together a puzzle as the fragments of the theme come together, creating understanding.

I had that feeling last week, as I joined the dots on the Ned Kelly Touring Route. Based in the High Country region of northeast Victoria, Australia, the route is a collection of places associated with the Kelly Gang.

For those unfamiliar with the legend, Ned Kelly was a young man from an Irish Catholic background, whose family of poor farmers was frequently in trouble with the law in the late 19th century British colony.

After an uncorroborated incident in which Ned was said to have shot at a policeman visiting the Kelly house, Ned and his brother Dan went on the run.

Joined by their friends Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, the Kellys emarked on the life of bushrangers (the Australian term for highwaymen), involving bank robberies, police deaths, a network of sympathisers, a sensational siege in their now-iconic homemade armour, and Ned's execution by hanging in Melbourne.

It's a breathtaking story, and the Touring Route takes you through some impressive places while contemplating it, from regional cities to isolated bush settings. And because I had to come to terms with the story in a "full immersion" way, actually visiting the sites personally and engaging people with what they thought of this complex man who's been called both a hero and a villain, it was a fascinating, fulfilling experience.

Some highlights, by location:

• Benalla: Seeing the green sash the 11-year-old Kelly was presented with, after he'd saved a younger boy from drowning. He was discovered to be wearing it under his armour when captured after the siege. Seeing it in a simple glass case, still stained with his blood, was deeply moving.
• Glenrowan: Walking around the historic sites and imagining the events of the siege: the near-derailment of the police train; the hotel alight; Kelly emerging like a metal-clad ghost in the pre-dawn light, bullets bouncing off him.
• Beechworth: Seeing the metal gates of Beechworth Prison, the same gates which replaced the timber gates when Ned's mother Ellen was jailed, as authorities worried that she might be broken out by protesting locals.
• Stringybark Creek: Standing in the eerily quiet clearing where the crucial gun battle took place in 1878, that led to the deaths of three policeman and the official declaration of the Kellys as outlaws.
• Mansfield: Standing in the morning light at the local cemetery in front of the graves of the slain police, being challenged in my inclination to see Ned as a folk hero.
• Beveridge: And finally, standing outside the humble, decaying, fenced-off house just north of Melbourne where Ned lived as a young boy, his large family around him and his father still alive.

It was an intriguing week, and I feel like I've learned so much from being there, rather than just reading about Kelly's life in a book. The facts are essential, but the emotional connection creates a lasting personal link to those historic events.

Tim Richards travelled courtesy of Tourism Victoria.