Our Nagami Cumquat Orchard is located on Rawdon Island on the Mid North Coast of NSW.
About Us
Our Farm
Our farm is located on Rawdon Island on the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia. In addition to the cumquat orchard there are two hardwood plantations and grazing country for agisted black angus steers.
The Orchard
Planted in 1998, the cumquat plantation was originally much larger. Over the years the number of trees has dwindled. In 2018 our family purchased the farm with the last remaining cumquat trees. Considerable work was required to restore the orchard, which had become overgrown with lantana, mistletoe, acacias and other weeds. So far a little over 500 trees have been restored back to a pickable state.
A Family Affair
Our three children have enjoyed getting involved with activities such as fencing, fire-weeding and of course harvesting cumquats! They also enjoy exploring the farm with our dog, swimming in the river and having picnics with tasty snacks!.
Making use of all the cumquat
In order to make our Confiture we cold press the cumquats. The residue which includes the skin, pith and seeds is fed to the cattle who quite enjoy their citrus snack.
The 2021 Flood
March 2021 saw the Mid North Coast hit with heavy sustained rainfall. Mt Seaview received 1083mm of rain over seven days, leading to major flooding of the Hastings River. The entire farm spent some time under water. Although fences were lost and trees collapsed into the river, the cumquats fared well and haven't looked back.
The Bridge Saga
Following the devastating flood in March 2021, it was discovered that the Rawdon Island Bridge was unsafe and in need of urgent repairs. This happened to coincide with our first harvest. We certainly built up our fitness walking each and every cumquat back across the bridge to be transported away for processing. In 2021 we harvested 1/3 of a tonne.
