David purchased the land in 1996, with the intention to develop a permaculture property based on tree crop agriculture. His criteria when looking for a suitable site were for ‘food growing land next to a village with potential for a dam site’. There was also a family connection to the area as at that time his parents had a sheep farm 11 kms away.

Any permaculture land development project is a combination of the landscape characteristics, and the characteristics of the people involved. People and place, or place and people. More about David’s background here.

Site

The site is a 200m x 400m rectangle at the west end of the Violet Town main street, made of alluvial soil from Long Gully and Honeysuckle Creeks. The parent material of the foothills just 2km away is Violet Town Volcanics. The property is at the beginning of the riverine floodplain that extends 600km downstream to the west and north west.

Long Gully creek, artificially excavated to take town storm water, just cuts across the South East corner of the property. 75% of the area is a slightly raised loam, the South East quarter is a slightly depressed flood way, heavier clay with some sandy seams through it.

Floods like the one pictured below do not happen every year.

Establishment timeline

1996 site purchased, 200 Eucalypts and 20 fruit trees planted, chicken house and compost yards constructed. Site surveyed with dumpy level at a 25m x 25m grid, scale contour map produced. Start-up capital exhausted, tree planting/ design and development business commenced to give money to live on, and finance further farm development. Felix was born.

 1997 dam constructed, land sub-soil plowed with Yeomans plow, rock dust mineral fertilisers spread – lime, crushed basalt rock dust from local quarry. Sea minerals fertiliser sprayed over pasture. We moved to rent the house diagonally across from the farm gate, and began managing the farm as if it was the large backyard of the rented house.

1998 water tower constructed – welded by Jack Goutzoulas – and plumbed to pump at dam. Initial landscape design conceived. 2.7km of direct seeding of acacia and tagasaste around boundaries and orchard edges

1999 Landscape plan further developed. Grace was born.

2000 Winter. Irrigation network installed, main tree planting of entire property completed – orchard, Priola (alternate) rows of olive grove, low irrigation tree crops, shelter trees and shrubs, and wetland forest. Planting work and irrigation installation done by David with Jack Goutzoulas, Campbell Holt, and Matthew Lewis, who had been doing this kind of projects through David’s planning and contracting business.

2001 Autumn olive grove planting completed

2003 Farm studio/office/shed building constructed, and our young family moved in

2006 Annabelle moved to Marraweeny, in the nearby hills

2012 Goat night yard and sleeping/ milking shed constructed

2013 began regular Farmers’ Market stalls

2015 Cob studio walls and roof constructed. Foundations and walls by workshop participants lead by Dani Wolff, Adam Hickman, Justin Dudley and Campbell Imray

2015 November, the first Murrnong PDC begins, prompted by Donna Winter-Irving’s request, and her promise of at least six participants to get it started.

2016 Cecilia Lundmark came to live here

2018 Felix was based here, and took responsibility for the finishing of the cob cottage

2020 Began selling produce online through the Open Food Network at Strathbogie Local and Wangaratta Farmers’ Market Hub