nectarbrook discovery plantation

Nectarbrook is a sheep station some 30k south east of Port Augusta in Northern South Australia. This property has recently been sold by my son Brian and his wife Bronwyn and is now the hub of a much larger property. Iris and I have retired from the land but have retained the plantation . We now offer our services to all as agricultural consultants specialising in the establishment of Santalums in managed plantations.

This southern Flinders range country is low rainfall with an annual average of 300mm[ 12 inches]. It is good Merino sheep country.

The medium micron wool that this land grows so well has been the basis of Nectarbrook's past success. The poor results from wool in recent years encouraged us to restart premium hard wheat cropping, after a gap of over 80 years, but only when the seasonal conditions allow. Serendipity cropping!

A lifetime interest in alternatives has led us into an experiment, now fourteen years old, in arid land horticulture focussed on the Australian Sandalwood for its high value timber, the potential of the nut, and the Quandong for its superb fruit. It is indeed Australia's premier native fruit. The land with the plantation has been retained for us to take our retirement on.

Iris is the green thumb and has propagated and cared for over two thousand trees up to the time of planting out in the plantation.
I do at times wonder if we would have planted so much had we realised we would have 2000 drippers to clean over seven kilometres of dripper line. Fortunately the project stretched out over four years and now that the trees are established the work load is minimal.
We may again have time to take a vintage car to the occasional rally.