Captains Creek rises on our farm at Blampied, at the foot of the Kangaroo Hills, and meanders north past the original homestead of Captain Hepburn. Four generations of the May family have run the 80 hectare farm for more than 100 years after my great grandfather, Joseph May, purchased it in 1909.

Over this time, its red volcanic soils have been cultivated for many uses. My father Maurice, who came home at age fourteen to work the farm with his father George, grew mixed cereals, hay, beef cattle and dairy cows until he died in 2012, aged 87.

Today, myself, my brother Greg and late brother Rod’s daughters Stephanie and Carla manage the farm. Rod started the transition to organic farming in the 1980s, leading the way in reducing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We have since established tree-crops of chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and apples, plus native trees and shrubs to provide shade and shelter for livestock. My wife Carolyn and I introduced wine grapes in 1994 with two hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the first harvest in 1998 producing a small quantity of wine that was sold locally. Further diversification into potatoes, carrots, beetroot, parsnip, sweet corn, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbages, lettuce and much more has occurred on a seasonal basis.