The actress, model, director and activist launches the T Australia List – a weekly curation of what T Australia editors and tastemakers are noticing and coveting right now.
Actress, model, director and activist Phoebe Tonkin has spent the last decade living in Los Angeles, performing in hit television shows “The Vampire Diaries”, “The Originals” and “Westworld”. Today, she is back in Australia filming the small screen adaptation of Trent Dalton’s 2018 coming-of-age novel, “Boy Swallows Universe”.
Taking advantage of her homecoming, T Australia tapped the creative and tastemaker for our debut T Australia List. Here, Tonkin shares the five things on her radar at the moment, from the Australian Netflix drama that’s topping global streaming charts to a luxury body serum that doubles as a mist.
Watch This: School’s In at Heartbreak High
“I binged through “Heartbreak High”, which I thought was incredible,” says Tonkin of the 2022 remake of the Australian cult classic series. Created for Netflix by Hannah Carroll Chapman and directed by Gracie Otto, Adam Murfet, Jessie Oldfield and Neil Sharma, the show retains the set of the 90s original, rebooted for the Gen Z era, and features a refreshingly diverse extended cast anchored by the friends-turned-enemies dynamic of central characters Amerie and Harper. The series accrued a staggering 18 million hours viewed in one week, and featured in the top 10 most watched shows in 43 countries around the world on Netflix. Away from the gates of Hartley High, Tonkin dipped back into the world of Sally Rooney’s insufferable yet captivating characters. “I rewatched “Normal People” again recently, and just finished “Conversations with Friends”.”
Wear This: A Carry-All Bag and a Serum That Doubles as a Mist
A long-time Chanel ambassador, it reasons that Tonkin’s everyday heroes are favourites of the house. “I have been traveling back and forth from Sydney to Brisbane a lot lately, and I love my Chanel 22 handbag as it fits everything I need for a quick day trip. A book, my wallet, snacks and my makeup bag,” she says. Beauty-wise, she’s currently wearing the brand’s new red camellia-infused N°1 De Chanel Revitalizing Body Serum-In-Mist – its first body product within the N°1 De Chanel range. “I have been spraying this beautiful serum throughout the day.”
Eat This: Home-Style Dining on the Rooftop of a Brisbane Hotel
“I have been living in Brisbane for the last six weeks. I love Hellenika, and I am excited to try sAme sAme. Both are in the very gorgeous Calile Hotel,” says Tonkin. Serving simple, home-style Greek food, Hellenika’s second home at the Calile offers a warm yet polished hotel dining experience on the rooftop of the swanky James Street outpost. The generous menu features old favourites including golden saganaki, vibrant taramosalata and veal dolmades, alongside off-the-grill souvlakia, lamb ribs and a sizeable wagyu tomahawke and a page-long fish market selection.
Visit This: A Lovingly Restored Farm in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales
“I stumbled across the Rosedale Farm online, and I am dying to go stay there for a weekend,” says Tonkin of her dream escape. “It looks beautiful.” Aesthetics are certainly a drawcard at the 120 acre property in New South Wales’s central tablelands. Nestled at the base of a hill 7km outside Orange, neighboured by an abandoned mine and cherry farm, the luxurious, sustainability-driven estate is split between two properties – Rosedale Residence and Farm Stay. Each lovingly restored to echo its 1877 glory, with contemporary appliances and European-style furnishings. The shaker style kitchen serves as the heart of the estate, equipped with dark khaki cabinetry, brass hardware and Arabescato Vagli marble benchtops.
See This: An Australian Star takes on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”
On Tonkin’s list of tickets to secure, Sydney Theatre Company’s “The Tempest” (starring “Rake” lead Richard Roxburgh) is number one. Her other recommendations: “I recently experienced the Chiharu Shiota exhibition at GOMA, which was incredible, [and] am devastated to have missed “The Picture of Dorian Gray” at the Sydney Theatre Company. I will be keeping an eye out for the show when it makes it to the West End or Broadway overseas,” she says. “And I am hopefully seeing Nick Cave and Warren Ellis either in Melbourne or at the Opera House.”
Published October 5, 2022
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