This was published 8 years ago
Old-fashioned honesty is key to emerging Queensland country tourism market
Simon Holt discovers that Southern Queensland is an unexpected rising star of the tourism industry. It's as raw as it is affable; as picturesque as it is traditional; as functional as it is approachable.
By Simon Holt
One of farmer Mick Bradford's dogs is sifting through horse manure, coincidentally at the same time Mick is telling how redback spiders used to make their way under the thunderbox.
"They're looking for vitamins," he says of the dogs' social misdemeanour. He then casually continues a tour of what he himself calls his SHIT YARD: "Second Hand Interesting Treasure. Your Attention Required Daily."
A sight of days gone by. This wool carriage is still pulled by five draft horses. Bradford Carriers have been around since the 1850s.
There's an old toilet block, dunnies used as pots for plants, car shells seemingly used for the same purpose, a couple of old coffins, and more than 50 antique pieces of farming equipment, most still in working order. There is also an assortment of carts which come in handy for Mick's 16 draft horses.
Every year, there's a party at Mick's place, a open day which has raised more than $100,000 for Careflight over the past 16 years. Mick cranks up his old equipment, puts his horses to work, and makes people happy.
A chia pudding with fruit, vegetables and herbs.
He's not a tour guide, just a humble farmer of lucerne and grain, who at 81 has no intention of slowing down. That said, he's got more stories than most tour guides, many of them about life on the Southern Downs, his hometown of Yangan and surrounding towns Warwick, Killarney and nearby Toowoomba.
"That's the beauty of this area," says another local from Killarney Lyndall McCormack. "It's not a contrived paddock to plate experience. It's an agricultural region which is borne from honesty and hard work."
See the 40m drop of Queen Mary Falls by all means, she says. But a trip to Southern Queensland wouldn't be complete without a trip to the bull sales, or pig or chicken sales for that matter. And pick up a bacon and egg roll while you're there, she suggests.
Lyndall is sister of acclaimed chef Jocelyn Hancock who has returned to the Southern Downs region after years of work in Europe and interstate. Her home has bee hives and an orchard, primary produce which makes its way into neatly labelled bottles for sale on the shelves of her new West End store, Cake and Bake.
Jocelyn Hancock cooks dinner in her home for 20 guests at Killarney.
She buys eggs from the bloke down the road, Randel Breen, who has an integrated farm – truly organic and truly free range, which means chickens are rotated through grassed paddocks each two weeks.
Agri-tourism is new to the Southern Downs, but it's catching on fast. Characters like Mick Bradford and Lyndall McCormack are part of the fabric. They're also part of the experience.
The view from R on the Downs, overlooking the cottage.
Their neighbours are those farming fine produce. The wines have improved to international standard, particularly in the Granite Belt around Stanthorpe, the beef is sought after by the best chefs in Australia, and integrated farming is on its way up.
The accommodation is also a far cry from the motel or pub rooms. Doug and Liz Phillips researched B&B accommodation for years before building R on the Downs. There are four traditional ensuited B&B rooms in a beautifully-presented palatial mansion.
Mick Bradford has about 50 pieces of antique machinery. Most of it still works.
A separate treehouse and cottage offer seclusion and luxury, and of a standard every bit as sybaritic as much more costly Mt Tamborine retreat. There's one key difference – no neighbours for at least a few hundred metres.
Liz and Doug, a former police officer, have put a spa bath in the living room of each, and there's a small balcony overlooking hectares of farm patchwork.
Another, older spot is Spring Creek Cottages, where Beverley Lake has been serving up hearty meals, including a now-famous pie, for 15 years.
But Bev's having a knee operation, and minding the kitchen is JP Fiechtner. He's not quite a household name, but with restaurants such as Michelin-star rated Bo Innovation, Paris' Le Chateaubriand, and South Melbourne's Lume under his belt, he's local boy done exceptionally good.
He's off to Singapore to open a new restaurant, but in the meantime he's added some six-star specialties to the four-star menu. As humble as those around him, he too points to two key themes: fresh produce and good old-fashioned country hospitality.
"The local farmers might have too much of something, so they bring a box of it up here," he says. "The kiwi fruit and the honey are from the same farm, and the fruit and vegetables are all from around here. It all makes great food."
- Simon Holt was guest of Southern Queensland Country Tourism.