Beneath the Weatherhead Range lies Peppermint Ridge. Max Weatherhead named it. He loved the peppermint trees. Peppermint Ridge was part of the Weatherhead family farm.
In the 1890s the farm produced eucalyptus oil. Max and his daughter Julie showed others how to do it in the 1970s. They used a still at their Cornucopia home farm. They sent oil to Melbourne in 20-liter drums. The oil was used to make eucalyptus lollies. This was one of Tynong North’s first industries. Sawmilling was another. For many years Peppermint Ridge was also a grazing property for beef cattle.
Julie and Anthony acquired Peppermint Ridge in 1983. They wanted a sustainable lifestyle. They created a sustainable management plan. Their goal was to restore the habitat. They aimed for polyculture farming using permaculture. This meant productive agriculture in harmony with nature.
Their five-year plan involved fencing bushland and waterways. They created biolinks. This protected paddocks with windbreaks. These were planted with indigenous species. The plantings created new native habitats. They attracted native birds mammals reptiles and amphibians. These provided ecosystem services. The extra vegetation improved the farm’s ambience.
The farm now has many native species. Echidnas wander the gardens. Bower birds arrive in autumn. Kangaroos graze in the evenings. The polyculture includes sheep. There’s a eucalyptus plantation for oil chooks a large vegetable garden and orchard. Bush food gardens and timber plantations are also present. The plan took longer than five years to complete.
In 1996 Julie and Anthony started an education centre. They wanted to inspire sustainable land management. In 1997 they bought the Nar Nar Goon North schoolhouse. Built in 1928 it had been moved to Pakenham Consolidated school in the 1950s. Julie had been a student there. The schoolhouse was moved to the farm. It opened in 1997 with over 1000 people attending.
They established a Registered Training Organisation. They offered landcare and conservation diplomas. They pioneered a unique weekend workshop study mode. They also ran a free-range egg farm with 600 hens. Their interest in bush foods grew. Julie wrote a recipe book. The schoolhouse became a cafe and a training centre. They offered classes in organic vegetable gardening and bush foods. They researched bush food plants for temperate zones. Now they have monthly lunches dinners and bush food cooking classes.
In 2011 they opened the Living Heritage Centre. This is located at the original Weatherhead family property at Cornucopia. The exhibition focuses on Australia’s environmental history. It highlights the important place of Aboriginal people in that history. Peppermint Ridge Farm acknowledges the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land. They pay respects to elders past and present.