Katherine Hynes - LA Story

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To win a copy of this book fill out thecoupon and tell us one of places Kenwas stationed. Send your entry toThe Daily Examiner by next Wednes-day. A winner will be announced innext week’s Clarence Life.

win.

WINNER: WINNER: The ImmortalLife of Henrietta Lacks was wonby Sura Jenks of Grafton. Bookscan be collected from The DailyExaminer office.

S EPARATED by war butbound by love, Eileenand Ken McFarlanewrote to one another

every week of his six-year ser-vice in a war hospital duringWorld War II.Their letters, since inheritedby their daughter, are both funnyand moving, a richly descriptivereflection of the experience ofbeing separated from those youlove for a lengthy period of time.Stationed first in Victoriabefore being sent to Syria, Pal-estine and New Guinea, Kenvividly conveys the physical andemotional hardship of wartime,his yearning to be reunited withhis family never far beneath thesurface of his writing.Eileen’s letters, equally mov-ing, tell of the challenges somany war wives faced, adoptingthe role of breadwinner andcaring for their families on theirown. Taking up poultry farmingto provide an income, she mustlearn to build chicken sheds,deal with recalcitrant chooks,quell family tantrums and con-trol her two precocious daught-ers.Bringing the Australian homefront to life, Au Revoir My Dar-ling is a movingand entertain-

ing tale of a love

that lasted asix year sep-aration underthe hardest ofconditions,told firsthandthrough theletters thatkept thatlove alive.

Lettersof loveand warTitle: Au Revoir MyTitle: DarlingAuthor: HeatherAuthor: HaughtonPublisher: New HollandPrice: $26.95

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L ately at work NewZealand seems tobe the flavour ofthe month. Every

second person walkingthrough the door wants toinquire or go to New Zea-land. So I thought it wouldbe a good chance to write alittle bit about our nextdoor neighbours and whyso many people are in-terested in holidayingacross ‘the ditch’.What do you think ofwhen you hear someonemention a holiday in NewZealand? Do you think it isfor the ‘older’ generation?One that is happy to sit ona coach and be taken fromtown to town visiting bo-tanical gardens and in bedby 9pm? Or is it a placewhere you land at theairport, jump in a car orcampervan and head out toexplore what the countryhas to offer? Maybe yousee New Zealand as a placewhere you go for a skiholiday. Whatever youbelieve one thing is forcertain, it has got some-thing for everyone.If you like the greatoutdoors and adventurethen New Zealand hassome of the finest walkingtracks around. The pictu-resque Queen Charlottetrack, the challengingMilford track are but twoof many. I had friends comeback from walking theQueen Charlotte track atChristmas and the photosthey took of the scenerymade me want to jump ona plane and head thereimmediately. They said thewalk was not hard andthey only averaged about 8to 10 kilometres a day forfive days. Some women Iknow would do that in asold day’s shopping. Thefriends stayed in accommo-dation, got up in the morn-ing and enjoyed a heartyBreakfast and then set offto the next stop along thetrack. These people havealways enjoyed adventureholidays, walking andbackpacking through manyoverseas destinations.They thoroughly enjoyed

their New Zealand walkingholiday and what has be-come known as the ‘Flash-packer’ experience.If you are not into ad-

venture holidays and pref-er a slower paced break soyou can recharge the bat-teries then the Marlbo-rough District of NewZealand might be for you.It is well known for its finewines and excellent cui-sine. It’s a bit like the Hun-ter Valley with a wineryevery few kilometres. Theyoffer wine tasting toursand a cellar door for you tosample and purchase theirwares. Accommodation ismainly B & Bs where youwill get to know the localswhile you relax in yourown little cottage or roomoverlooking the vineyardsand mountains in the back-ground. You might evenfeel you are in Franceinstead of New Zealand.For me, a trip to New

Zealand involves seeing asmuch as I can with thetime available and if therewas a chance for a game ofgolf then I wouldn’t say no.Driving through the everchanging countryside,seeing mountains withsnow covered tops,streams and rivers that arecrystal clear, stopping insmall towns, and meetingthe locals at the villagehotel in the evenings iswhat makes a good holidayfor me.The best thing is New

Zealand is not an expen-sive destination for usAussies to visit thanks toour exchange rate and withit only being about three tofour hours away by planeyou can travel there for ashort break or a month.Whatever you do I’m sureonce you’ve had a taste ofwhat New Zealand has tooffer, you’ll keep goingback for more.

Land ofplenty to do

The vineyards of Marlborough, New Zealand, justone of the diverse country’s attractions. PHOTO: AAP

GRAFTONTRAVEL

Corey Bertalli

you need to learn how to doyour make-up’ – I was crushed.“So the next thing he hands

me the name of the make-upartist that I have to go and see,then he hands me this cardand said ‘this is Anastasia ofBeverley Hills. She does Ma-donna’s make-up and I wantyou to go to her’.“That’s how I got a start in

this market.”Katherine said it was the

experience she got while work-ing as a radio announcer at2GF that helped get many ofher roles, particularly herlatest role as a newsreader inEmpress Vampire.“I can’t tell you how many

times I’ve auditioned and it’sbeen because of my voice andthat training on air,” she said.Despite her success in LA,

Katherine said her childrenkept her feet firmly on theground.“They give you a lot of ba-

lance in your life,” she said.“Even though I’ve got scripts

to read and things to do work-wise, my main concern is ‘whatam I going to do for dinnertonight?’.”No discussion with Kathe-

rine Hynes would be completewithout talking about theJacaranda Festival documen-tary Purple Haze that broughther infamy among many inGrafton who objected to theway it portrayed the festival.Although many loved it,

others didn’t and she admitsshe is still surprised by thereaction.“I’m very sensitive and

really sorry that some peoplewere upset about the filmbecause I just know that pe-ople who know me know that Iwouldn’t intentionally go outto send somebody up or hurtsomebody,” she said.And finally, what do you buy

at a Brooke Shields Tupper-ware party?“You buy as much Tupper-

ware as possible and whileyou’re there you also have acouple of pina coladas from aTupperware tumbler and makesure you grab some of thoseyummy cucumber boatsstuffed with lobster. Oh boy,did I have a great day thatday?” ■

an agent or agents – an essen-tial ingredient to success inLos Angeles.After sending out about 150letters, headshots and resumesshe got a call from one of thebiggest commercial agents inLA, the Daniel Hoff Agency,and auditioned alongside 150others in front of camera andthought she would hear nomore.Then she got a call askingher to meet Daniel Hoff andthis time there were only twomore in the office.“He said every month hewould get about 2000 submis-sions from want-to-be actors inLos Angeles, he said ‘I chooseup to 200 people to audition,sometimes I would choose zerofrom that pile and sometimes Iwould choose up to three, andyou’re my three for thismonth’,” she said.“He said ‘Katherine Hynes,

America and something wentoff in my head and I thought‘she’s right and that’s some-thing I’d like to do with mylife’,” she said.“I couldn’t leave it alone, itwas just this thought in myhead and I said to my husband‘would you ever be interestedin moving to Los Angeles?’.“I’ll pursue acting and youpursue your directing and wethought about it for a few daysand thought ‘you know what,let’s give it a go’.”So they both entered the‘Green Card lottery’ to getapproval to work in the UnitedStates and three years laterwere in Los Angeles lookingfor work.It is four years this monthsince they made the jump andthe experience has been‘amazing’.“I guess if you are embark-ing on something as drastic asthis you are opening yourselfup to all sorts of things – goodand bad – but I thought I don’twant to get to age 80 and neverhave given it a go,” she said.“So even though I think webecome adults, we get marriedand we’ve got kids, I think it’sstill important to have someaspirations or some dreams, orjust wanting to get more out oflife and I’m so glad I’ve donethat.”But you can’t just land inHollywood as a stranger andhope for the best. To get workrequires work and Katherinesoon realised she had to learnthe lay of the land in order toget into the industry.When she arrived in LosAngeles Katherine enrolled inacting school and startedtalking to people who ranthose schools about how to get

THE voice on theother end of thephone, half wayaround the world,

was unmistakable.Even a decade after most inthe Clarence Valley last heardof her and close to two decadessince her voice was familiar inkitchens around the ClarenceValley, there was no mistakingthe assured, clear and culturedvoice of Katherine Hynes asshe spoke of her leap of faithinto the Los Angeles actingscene.It is a leap that, for now atleast, is paying off.Going to Tupperware par-ties on the beach with BrookeShields, lining up with the nowdemure former Sex PistolJohnny Rotten and gettingacting roles in commercialsand movies has meant the 1986Jacaranda Queen is findingher feet in the world’s mostcut-throat show businessscene.And she credits a large partof that success to the educa-tion and training she receivedwhile in the Jacaranda City.Katherine, now married tofilm director Ian Stevensonand with two children – AmiraStevenson-Hynes, 11, and NoahStevenson-Hynes, 9, got theinspiration to move to theUnited States while doingacting training in Sydney.The lecturer asked whowanted to work in filmand most students putup their hand only tobe told if they want-ed a career in filmthey were in thewrong country.“She saidyou needto be inA promotional photo of former Jacaranda Queen Katherine Hynes.

As a newsreader in Empress Vampire. Katherine Hynes in EmpressVampire.

Katherine and family with formerSex Pistol, Johnny Rotten.

Katherine Hynes with BrookeShields.

With Maureen McCormick akaMarsha Brady.

Former JacarandaQueen and 2GF announcer Katherine Hynes is slowly carving out an acting career in one ofthemost competitive places in theworld. Katherine’s former colleague andDaily Examiner editor DavidBancroft recently caught upwith the aspiring actorwho says her days at 2GF have come in pretty handy...

I can’t tell youhow manytimes I’veauditioned(and got therole) ...because of myvoice and that(2GF radio)training on air.

David Bancroft

Reporting fromHollywood

User: david_bancroft Time: 03-25-2010 09:43 Product: EDE PubDate: 20-03-2010 Zone: All Edition: Main Page: CL_LIFE_04 Color: CMYK