Scents of place

On a sheep property beneath the shadow of Victoria’s Grampians, Shannan Martin is turning flowers, memories and the smell of the Wimmera landscape into handcrafted perfumes.

Story Terri Cowley Photo Neil Newitt

The orange dust hangs in the air after the ute has passed. And along the road to Concongella in western Victoria, river red gums lean over the track like old sentries, their pale trunks momentarily obscuring paddocks dotted with Merinos. Beyond them, the blue-grey outline of the Grampians rises. At the end of the road sits Watta Wella Park, home to Shannan Martin – sheep producer, mother and perfumer.

Inside the farmhouse, the scent hits. Rose and jasmine. Wattle and sandalwood. Toasted coconut steeped in cherry rum. Lemon blossom. Mulberry. Incense. The house feels less like a country homestead and more like a cross between an artist’s studio and an old-world apothecary.

Shelves groan beneath cloudy bottles and jars filled with flowers suspended in oils and alcohol. Tinctures line the walls like specimens in a science lab. In the centre of it all sits Shannan’s main workbench – a pool table topped with a sheet of plywood – where perfumes are filtered, tested and blended. “It’s a bit chaotic,” Shannan says. “But I know where everything is.”