Wendy was born in the small village of Avon Dassett in Oxfordshire, England. She was the youngest of six children. The village remains the same today, consisting of about thirty houses. There are no shops or public transport and the local post office closed down years ago. Yes of course there is one of those lovely old country pubs. The village is also home to two churches dating back to the 17th century.
While still a young child the family moved to Chelmsford in Essex where Wendy completed her formal education. After finishing school, she decided to take up a secretarial career and once she had finished her course she decided to stay in London, gathering money to travel around Europe and Asia, which she did for several years. Coming down to earth, she decided a secretarial career was not for her and entered into the field of teaching at the Lady Winston Churchill College at Oxford. Yet again the travel bug bit and so began her adventure to Western Australia arriving here on Christmas Eve 1973. Again Wendy decided to take up teaching which brought her to Boddington on her long term country practice . Here she met a well known and willing horse riding instructor, Ken Austic (junior) and things haven’t stopped galloping since. They married in 1983 in the local town hall.
Wendy and Ken are currently building their own home on a magnificent site on their small farm, “Warragul Downs” just out of town. Wendy is still teaching at the Boddington District High School.
Wendy’s eldest sister, Thelma was among those members of her family who came from England for her wedding. Thelma still lives in the small village where Wendy was born and, brought with her the traditional recipes to hand down to her and which she would generously like to share with you.
Mint Tea
This is good for headaches and helps to relieve flatulence. It’s also quite a pleasant drink. Put a few mint leaves, dried of fresh, into a cup and pour on boiling water. Cover and leave for a few minutes. For flatulence, add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda.
Carrot Tea
This is supposed to relieve gout. I don’t suffer from it – not yet, so cannot vouch for the cure, but told it is good. Scrub a large carrot and slice thinly, add to 300ml water, boil for 30 minutes. Strain off the carrot liquid and drink a cup of this morning and night.
Plum Wine
Ingredients
3½ plums
1.4 Kg granulated sugar
3½ litres boiling water
1 sachet dried yeast
Method
Choose really ripe plums, clean plums and place into a clean, plastic bucket, pour over the 3½ litres boiling water, stir and mash, add sugar and, dissolve, leave to cool off, add yeast. Cover and leave for one week. Stir every day, make sure room is warm. The wine is now ready to strain into fermentation demi-john. An old flagon is ideal. Muslin is best for straining and syphoning. Once strained, pack the flagon top with cotton wool, allowing air to be released, but no air to enter, contaminating the wine. Fermentation can take between 3 to 4 weeks, you must watch carefully. When fermentation is finished, it is time to put wine into a second sterile demi-john, syphon off the wine with a thin plastic tube, without disturbing the sediments of lees. this process is known as racking. The wine is now left to clear, once clear the wine is ready to bottle. Syphon into your bottles, cork and wax the top of the cork to stop any air creeping in. Date and label your wine. This wine is ready to drink in six months. the longer you leave the wine the better the wine.
Fresh Peach Wine
1.4 kg peaches
1.4 Kg granulated sugar
3½ litres boiling water
1 sachet dried yeast
Method
Choose ripe peaches, clean, cut in half and remove stones. Place the peaches in a plastic bucket, pour over the boiling water, add the sugar and stir. Allow 3 days, covered over, stirring daily before adding yeast. Re-cover and leave alone for one week. Now use the same process as for the plum wine. Ready to drink in six months.