A Journey of Passion and Perseverance
Welcome to My Country Renovation with Edwina Bartholomew – an exclusive new series that follows the transformation of Saltash Farm. Each month, the author, presenter, and soon-to-be hotelier shares the latest updates, insights, and inspiration from her boutique hotel build in Carcoar, NSW.
More from Edwina’s Country Renovation Diaries
– Part I: The planning phase
– Part II: The making of the kitchen
– Everything we know about Saltash Farm
– Subscribe to the My Country Renovation newsletter
If you build it, they will come. How many madcap adventurers have been fuelled by that famous line from Field of Dreams? My husband and I often say it to each other when the gargantuan project of building Saltash Farm in Carcoar feels a little too overwhelming. Is it possible to create a destination in a place that is literally called ‘The Town that Time Forgot’? It helps to know others have taken a similar leap of faith and succeeded beyond all imagination.
In 2007, there wasn’t much of note in the town of New Norfolk in Tasmania. This was well before the boom days of MONA, before boutique breweries populated the Huon Valley or Gourmet Farmer made Bruny Island famous. Tasmania wasn’t yet on the Mainland’s tourism radar, and yet Rodney Dunn convinced his wife, Séverine, to move from Sydney’s Inner West to an old house on the outskirts of a town known only for its mental asylum.
This was the beginning of The Agrarian Kitchen. Now, the brutalist walls of that old asylum protect the delicate vegetables and rare herbs in Rod’s enormous kitchen garden. We wandered through the kitchen garden, tasting berries and ripe tomatoes as he reflected on nearly 20 years of building his dream in the Derwent Valley.
“People think this is genius now, but it was a huge risk,” he says. “There were times when we could clearly see that this had to be the future. But the problem was that we were so far ahead of it we were waiting for it to catch up and questioning whether we were right.”
But Rod and Séverine persevered, and their mad idea took off. “Originally, the idea was to get out of Sydney and just do a little cooking school, just be out in the country, and you know we’d have a few people come by.”
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A few people, and then some more. First in their house and then, when the crazy ideas expanded beyond their four walls, they literally moved into the asylum.
“We could see the bones were here for something to be really great. The joy of what we have experienced over the last twenty years is to see a small town rejuvenated,” Rod says.
It’s exactly what we hope will happen for Saltash Farm and the tiny town of Carcoar, and why this gentle stroll through the kitchen and the gardens, and Rod’s kind words of encouragement, feel even more comforting.
“I used to feel like every person I met, I’d have to qualify the decision to them. But we just came with no promises, we just did our thing and gradually built and got recognition,” he tells me.
We feel a bit mad too, and we don’t have to guess whether others agree; plenty tell us to our faces at the local pub or delightfully on social media. Even more so when just last week, we purchased the cafe in Carcoar to add to Saltash Farm.
We know it’s not possible to build a project like our hotel in isolation. It only works if it’s built with and for the community that it sits within. The town’s shops need to thrive, and the main street needs buzz. People need a reason to turn off the highway, and sometimes a good coffee and a sandwich is a good start.
So this month, we are sharing an unexpected detour; a look inside Carcoar’s new Village Grocer. Like The Agrarian Kitchen, the focus is on local, seasonal produce and really simple recipes. Rod’s cookbook will sit on the shelf where our brilliant cook, Jo, will make your homemade meals.
We open just before Easter, if all goes to plan. Come and say hi.
Keep reading
My Country Renovation with Edwina Bartholomew: the planning phase
Everything we know about Saltash Farm
You can also follow the renovation journey @saltash__farm on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter to receive Edwina’s column direct to your inbox each month.
