In our weekly interview about objects, the classic Australian singer tells us about her sprawling acreage in northern NSW, and the family heirlooms she left overseas
As part of her setlist, Matthews will perform The Day You Went Away in French – a nod to her childhood in Montreal. Matthews was born in Canada but left home as a teenager to join her first band, eventually landing in Australia in the early 80s. She has called Australia home ever since and now lives on a ten-acre property on the north coast of New South Wales.
One item – a Bunnings trolley – is vital for the upkeep of that large block of land. Here, Matthews tells us about this gamechanging purchase, as well as the story of a few other important personal belongings.I would save my Pendleton Navajo blanket collection – because if you lose everything in a fire, you’ll need a comfortable bed somewhere. And these are irreplaceable. They’re things of beauty.I’ve now got about six, which I bought slowly over the years.
To me, there’s something special about things that have had a long life before I met them. They have a past. I find the blankets to be incredible quality as well. They’re beautiful wool or cotton-wool mixes and the patterns are amazing. And I think it’s important, for me anyway, when I sleep, to sleep on a beautiful bed. It’s inspiring.I live on 10 acres with my dog and there’s a lot of work for just one person. And I know that many, many things have been told they’re a girl’s best friend.
I move furniture with it sometimes, or things that I work with like whipper snippers and ride-on mowers. When there’s no other human around to help you grab the other side of a sofa, a trolley just makes life so much easier.Once upon a time, I had a small storage space in Los Angeles. I was the keeper of the traditional women’s things in my family – a box of my grandmother’s jewellery, some of her silverware and other items that were really important to me at the time.
I still think about things that were in those trunks. Sometimes I’ll remember an item that was in there and go, “oh god, no, I wish I didn’t remember that!” Because there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. I can replace bits of jewellery and things but they’re never going to be my grandmother’s and they didn’t live with my mother through her life either. Really, it’s not so much the stuff itself as the fact that tradition is very important to me.
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