Meet Austin Curtin, a second generation macadamia grower in the beautiful Northern Rivers region of NSW (Australia). “I grew up on this farm as a kid with my big brother and my three younger sisters. We’ve been growing macadamia nut trees here since the late 1980s.”
His father and mother started the farm and Austin says it’s great to be part of a family that’ve been replanting native Australian bush food trees back into the landscape. “I’m really proud to do what we do, which is to cultivate this country with one of those original species of trees that produce such a unique and valuable product. It’s a real icon of Australia, and certainly an icon of this region.”
Austin says he waits with anticipation for the harvest season to start, “it’s a real joy to turn the tractor on for the first time and hear those nuts being picked up”.
Family is a key factor within this macadamia farm. “Macadamias are at the heart of our family. “It’s great to be part of a family business in agriculture and macadamia nuts. My father started the farm. I learned a lot of what I know from him. We’re trying to do much the same now for our kids. The kids love living here, and I see that every day in the smiles on their faces.”
When Austin is not working hard in the orchard, living in Northern NSW means he’s never too far away from the ocean, “the climate’s lovely, coast is a stone throw away. I get the opportunity to throw a board on the roof and get down and get away to the beach, and enjoy everything that beautiful east coast has to offer, and then to be able to sneak back home and get a day’s work in.
