You and your wife Barbara moved to the small rural town of Boonah from Brisbane around ten years ago. What inspired your tree change to the Scenic Rim?
We are both incurable romantics. Barb actually comes from a farming background and she always wanted to move to some sort of acreage. We have had smaller properties in the past, but we wanted something that was around 30–40 acres. Barb and I were from the Sunshine Coast originally and Barb had a promotion to Brisbane, so we moved down there for a while to Chapel Hill. We got so fed up with the traffic every time we went to visit friends on the Sunshine Coast, so we decided to start exploring out here instead. Like a lot of people in Brisbane, we had never really heard of the area – it wasn’t even called the Scenic Rim then – but we came out and just fell in love with the place.

We hear that planting olive trees just started as a weekend hobby – how did that progress to become Scenic Rim Olives?
We were both semi-retired and we wanted to do something that we loved, but that also generated some income as well. One of the reasons why we bought the block was because the soil was particularly good – it is what is known as scrub soil, which is quite unusual soil for Australian climate. Most Australian soils are acidic, but this scrub soil is actually a neutral PH, which suits Mediterranean crops like olives. The farmers out here also had their own water board, which means there is untreated irrigation water going past the front door. So we knew that if we wanted to do something, we would have the chance to water things and get things growing – when we got the block it was entirely bare, just a rolling paddock.

How have you seen the farm and the business evolve over its lifespan?
One of the luckiest things that happened to us was becoming friends with Ian and Dot Roy from Coolana Olives in Minden. They have been mentors to us – Ian is the president of the Southeast Queensland Olive Association and has passed on a lot of his industry knowledge and experience, which has been a huge help. When we first got the block in 2004, we weren’t sure what would grow well out here, so we planted a trial plot of about 40 trees of eight different varieties to see how they went. Once we realised what type would bear fruit – because a lot of olives that have been planted around here either don’t bear fruit at all, or don’t get any fruit for the first ten to 15 years – we started planting about 100 new trees every year. We now have approximately 700 trees.

Environmentally friendly farming practices are a huge part of your ethos. What are some of the practices you have in place to ensure this?
It basically just started because we didn’t want to poison ourselves! So although we are not certified organic, the property is largely organic. We don’t use any pesticides or chemicals like that, and the fertiliser we use is organic as well. Fortunately with olives there are only a couple of things that can go wrong with them around here.

As well as table olives you produce extra-virgin olive oil, tapenade and dukkah. Do you have a personal favourite product?
The extra-virgin olive oil as it comes straight out of the press is pretty hard to beat. Usually we will bake some bread ourselves at home here and try the oil straight as it is coming out of the press – that is definitely my favourite. Especially knowing that you have done it yourself, that is a pretty good feeling.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Scenic Rim Olives, please set the scene …
We have spectacular views here. If you look out to the west you can see Cunninghams Gap and all of the range running along there. When you look to the south you can see Mount Barney and then you can swing across and see Mount Tamborine, and when you swing back to the east you can see Flinders Peak and those mountains out there. It’s quite beautiful.

You also have a bed and breakfast on the property?
Yes! About two years ago we moved an old Queenslander onto the farm and did it up, so we now have what we call host farm accommodation. We started off as a bed and breakfast, but we found that people like to rent the whole cottage. It’s great – if people want a country holiday, the Scenic Rim is only an hour out of Brisbane.

What is a typical day like for you?
I usually like to do a bit of work before breakfast, especially in summertime. I will get up quite early and be out and doing things by 6:30 am. When you have acreage, there is always something to do. The cycle with the olives starts with pruning after the harvest, then you fertilise. After that you have a little break before spring when the flowers come on. Around Easter time the picking season starts, and then you are harvesting and pressing … and you start all over again! Probably the most exciting time is waiting for spring to see what amount of flowers we are going to get. We are always hoping for a lot of flowers in spring.

You will be at the Winter Harvest Festival on July 4 as part of Scenic Rim Eat Local Week from June 27 to July 5. What can visitors to the festival expect to see from Scenic Rim Olives?
This is a huge event for the region; we are really looking forward to it. We will have our full range of products there, including extra-virgin olive oil, a whole lot of infusions – lemon myrtle, blood orange, lemon lime, rosemary lemon and garlic – and then we will have a variety of table olives. The cracked green Manzanillo with garlic and lemon will be there – it is one that Barb has just done this year and it has been really popular. Lots for people to try! I think I will also be doing a short talk on olive oil over the week as well.

What’s your idea of complete happiness?
Barb has just called out, “A holiday in Provence!” I am happiest in winter. I have finished the harvest, I have finished doing all of the pruning, mown and got everything tidy in the grove, and I know its not all going to grow back in five minutes. This is the time I look forward to – a little bit of a break before spring comes on.

What do you believe is worth fighting for?
What you are going to hand on to your children is probably the most important thing in life. That could be the environment or something you own, but just making sure that you are handing something on that is as good or better than when you started out.

How do you personally define success?
I personally believe it is feeling that you have achieved what you are capable of and not feeling any regret that you didn’t do something you could have. I read the biography of Australian artist Margaret Olley a while ago, and her attitude to life was just so fantastic. She kept painting and producing and doing things up until almost the last minute, and she had this saying: ‘hurry, hurry last days’. Instead of having a negative attitude to life and thinking that it was all over, her attitude was to just make it count until the end!

Finally, any words of wisdom to share with our audience?
Get out into the beautiful Southeast Queensland country and enjoy.