When Twiggy met Nicola — The early days of one of Australia’s most powerful couples

When this photograph was taken in 1989, on the banks of the Ashburton River, the young lovebirds had known each other less than two years. But it was the beginning of what would become a formidable team. Since then, Andrew and Nicola Forrest have nurtured an almost 30-year marriage, raised three kids, been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows — and ultimately built a business and philanthropic empire worth billions of dollars. This exclusive image was taken during the then-Nicola Maurice’s first visit to her future husband’s beloved Minderoo Station, outside Onslow. A country girl from NSW, she now considered it a second home. “If I am up at Minderoo for more than a week, I cry when I leave,” she told STM in a revealing interview. “There is something about those open skies and the red dirt, working hard and being part of something bigger than yourself.” Mrs Forrest opened up about her businesslike approach to giving at the Minderoo Foundation, the family’s $2 billion philanthropic vehicle, her passion for the arts and her pride watching their children, Grace, Sophia and Sydney, work hard to forge their own paths. Those close to her described her as largely unchanged by her family’s fortune; friends jokingly call her the Undercover Billionaire. Sculptures by the Sea founder David Handley, who worked with Mrs Forrest on the Cottesloe event, said there seemed to be “a part of her that is a little bit surprised by the position she and Andrew find themselves in”. Grace, head of anti-slavery organisation Walk Free, said her “salt of the earth” mother was “a fantastic role model”. “One lesson most formative in how I live my life is that the standard you walk past is the standard you accept, that we have the power to change things we don’t like and we can’t wait for someone else,” she said.