by Chris Tate
Instead of downsizing and retreating to a couch in front of the tele, Barbara Connell and David Doepel became co-custodians of the historic Melville Park. A small farm on the South West Highway in Brunswick, just 90 minutes’ drive south of Perth.
That was in 2021 at the height of Covid and possibly not the best time to embark on a new lifestyle in a small regional community.
David says it was the right decision to move to the country. They don’t have children or grandchildren so they are instead looking after livestock and growing fruit, vegetables and milk.
David said that they wished they had made the move years ago, as they are really enjoying the challenges and are learning much. They did have some previous experience making cheese and David was a hobbyist wine maker.
He was previously employed at Murdoch University and Barbara was at Screen West and Edith Cowan University. They have lived in large cities in America and Australia and have travelled extensively overseas but decided to make a sea-change.
One of the first things Barbara and David did at Melville Park was to turn the disused dairy into an artisanal cheese factory. Here, artisanal cheeses, including a traditional French-styled Camembert, a Gouda, a Cheddar, and one or two seasonal cheeses are created. They source fresh, local milk from the Halls family dairy, whose cows are also agisted at Melville Park.
Barbara and David are also restoring the stables, building the distillery, tending the herb garden, making brandy, and looking after the cattle that are helping manage their paddocks. Not to mention, selling produce and hosting events.
The heritage barn with its solid, jarrah-block floor will become the barrel-ageing room for Melville Park’s small-batch distillery, producing apple brandy from locally grown apples, whiskey and a traditional vodka from Barbara and David’s sugar beets and potatoes.
Barbara and David have been hard at work understanding the farm’s soil, installing an irrigation system, and planting heirloom vegetables [less seedy, more flavoursome and sweeter than hybrid veggies], fruit and herbs including a heritage apple orchard.
They have re-established a market garden after nearly a century’s absence on the property prioritising fruits and vegetables and utilising agro-ecological farming principles. Then there’s the raised-bed herb garden and asparagus garden.
“We are currently growing are at least 20 heirloom varieties of tomatoes, chillies, capsicum, pumpkins, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchinis, summer squash, corn, beans, okra and melons, for starters,” said David.
Barbara is also pursuing her passion for growing flowers.
The property has previously been a horse stud, potato farm and a dairy. The original farm was sub-divided and is currently 70 acres. Barbara and David have owned the property for almost three years but found it too small to operate as a dairy farm.
The driveway off the South West Highway to the homestead is lined with large, white eucalypt trees and runs through paddocks that are a lush green in winter for the small herd of grazing cattle.
The couple are currently in the process of establishing a commercial, licensed kitchen which will allow them to produce pickling preserves, jams, and produce on a commercial scale for sale. Other local producers will also be able to share the facility.
Melville Park uses growing methods that are eco-friendly and sustainable: “We use below-ground drip irrigation, with water sourced from the Brunswick River and a certified compostable plastic mulch,” David said.
The farm has already begun supplying seasonable fresh produce to local hospitality outlets and is working with researchers from Murdoch University where the students are growing experimental plots of vegetables investigating the microbiomes of avocado, tomato and potato.
Melville Park also regularly hosts markets and events such as Christmas in July, Thanksgiving, High Tea, Lost and Found Festival, Homestead Stories and a Long-table Lunch among others.
I was there as part of the South West Plein Air (painting outdoors) group. Not only did Barbara and David offer great hospitality but we were supplied with home-made cake and tea or coffee. The buildings and surrounding vistas were well worth the visit and the group plan to return in the near future.
History of Melville Park
Brunswick was one of the first farming districts of the Western Australia colony. Melville Park was settled shortly after 1849 by the Flaherty family and then taken over by Alfred Moore.
There have been many landowners, including: (1880) David Eedle, then his son-in-law Robert Heppingstone; (1882) James Moore of Bunbury, then his brother Arthur; (1890) John James Sharp of Brunswick; (1900) Samuel Peter Mackay of Roebourne; (1912) William Grant Forrest of Perth; (1922) Arthur George Heppingstone of Brunswick; (1923) William Charles Hill of Guildford and, in 1926, John Shine.
The homestead and impressive two-storey barn were built by Sam McKay. The State Farm rented Melville Park from 1894 to 1919.
In 1948, the homestead was extensively renovated, which included replacing the bull-nose iron roof with tiles.
Homestead Stories
In honour of the National Trust Australian Heritage Festival, Melville Park is offering Homestead Stories, a heritage themed Fair on the grounds of Melville Park, September 7, 11am – 4pm, Includes tours of the homestead, heritage crafts, animals, food – a family friendly event.
David said: “We’re swapping retirement for ‘the exuberant enjoyment of life.”
Melville Park sells its fresh fruit, veggies and cheeses direct from the historic barn on South West Highway, Brunswick, open on Saturdays 9am -12 noon and by appointment.
