ANALIESE GREGORY

Franklin (Hobart, Tasmania)

Analiese Gregory remembers running out of fuel on the drive between Hobart and home after missing the last petrol station for 50 kilometres. She mentions going hiking on her way into work at Franklin, stopping to pick flowers and native ingredients. There were the Sundays when she’d have wine for dinner because she forgot to visit the supermarket and couldn’t bear a two-hour round-trip into town on her day off. Relocating from Sydney, Australia’s largest metropolis, to Hobart, its second smallest, was bound to result in some eye-opening moments. But after moving in the winter of 2017, she’s now a self-sufficient wonder woman, keeping chickens, diving for abalone and sea urchin, and making her own cheese and charcuterie.

“I never meant to do the sustainable lifestyle thing, but it does seem to be going that way,” she says. Perhaps it’s more like a return to her roots: Gregory grew up on a dairy farm in Matamata on New Zealand’s north island, the small town whose claim to fame is being home to the Hobbiton set used in the

The Lord of the Rings. After years living in Sydney, the vibe of Hobart and its friendly, inquisitive locals was a jolt for Gregory. “It’s more about you slowing down enough to have time for them,” she says. Sounds like she’s pulled it off like a natural.