Freelance writer.
Wannabe olive farmer.
Genuine silly bugger.
Anna Rogan lives in Tallarook, Central Victoria, where she enjoys good food, good wine, good books, clever people and all things regional Australia.
She writes articles, profiles, speeches, websites and award-winning newsletters (among other things).
“Anna is a wonderful writer, a dogged and systematic – in the very best way – reporter and a delightful human. The trifecta. She set a new standard for our flagship weekly newsletter and was a joy to work with. ”
“She translated the brief into prose that struck the all right notes - plus she turned it around fast. She's a talented writer you can trust to just 'get it' and 'get it done' (and she's super lovely too)."
- Lisa CropmaN
“She knows how to write - not just craft a good sentence, but knows how to write for each individual channel and audience combination.”
- SARAH SPENCE
“Besides being a brilliant editor, both technically and creatively, Anna is a lovely, warm, funny human. Her deft touch and deep expertise made a huge difference to my project."
- MARY CAMERON
“She cares about her writing, and takes her time to get things just right. She doesn't just bang it out and hope the pretty words will distract. Anna's a rare breed.”
- Glenn murray
PORTFOLIO
Water
I had imagined our move to the country as an idyll of crackling fires and native wildlife sightings, waking to bird song and long walks in towering gums — I didn’t expect we’d also need a Poo-ologist named Pud on speed dial.
Living regionally comes at a cost
Right across country Victoria our communities are living with inferior health care, lower-than-average educational outcomes and deteriorating infrastructure, and the unprecedented pressure on our resources is being exacerbated by a population shift out of Melbourne and into the regions.
There is an unspoken toll that you pay to live outside of Melbourne, and that toll is a clear disparity in resources and support compared to our city counterparts.
Honey bee legacy
Ann Ross’ unlikely journey from mechanical repair business owner to award-winning apiarist began in 2011 when she and her husband Jeff discovered European honey bees living in the wall of their workshop in Beerburrum, QLD.
Devil in the detail
The world is full of animals so strange or beautiful they really should exist only in mythical stories. Among them narwhals, mandarin ducks, giant squids and the shoebill stork, whose terrifying chatter sounds like rounds fired from an AK47. And also, apparently, the Tasmanian devil, at least according to Warner Bros.
Executives of the entertainment company reportedly didn’t know that Taz, their trademarked Looney Tunes character, was based on a real animal until negotiations with Australia’s newest AFL club over the use of the Tasmanian Devils name brought the fact to light.
Dirty Janes
It’s usually the kind of hobby a person might take up in later life, but the antique bug bit Jane Crowley at a much younger age. With the help of her father, renowned rummager and antique dealer Athol Salter, an eight-year-old Crowley restored her first vintage piece and sold it for a tidy profit.
Through school, university and her early career, Crowley’s side hustle in antiques endured. Finally, in 2008, Crowley opened the Dirty Janes vintage emporium in Bowral with her father along for the ride. The Dirty Janes empire (just don’t let Crowley catch you calling it that) has since expanded to a second shop in Canberra and a third in Orange, NSW, which opened earlier this year.
Panic at the woodshed
Every year during the July school holidays I panic about our diminishing firewood pile and wonder if holidaying in a warmer location might be cheaper than running our woodstove. With a reported 25% of Melbourne households and 35% of regional Victorian households using firewood for heating, I’m certainly not alone. As winter drags on, I’ve noted roadside FIREWOOD 4 SALE signs with no small amount of envy and curiosity. How does anyone have firewood to spare at this time of year?
Data from the Victorian government points to a thriving black market, with illegal tree-felling in protected forests doubling in the past three years. Victoria’s Conservation Regulator — along with Parks Victoria, and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action — are charged with protecting areas of high conservation or cultural significance. The team includes specially trained intelligence staff and authorised officers who investigate, patrol bushland and deploy tactics similar to police sting operations to crack down on illegal felling and theft.