Major Works

Most of the major works have now been completed at Farm Vigano. The sewer, water  and fire services are complete as is the storm water installation. The tanks and irrigation are working well; we have some 180,000 litres of water stored under the new terrace with more in tanks feeding from the other buildings on the property which means the farm and orchard are self sufficient for water. Water is captured from the house, the terrace and the driveways and will also be captured from the new car park when that is completed.

The main house is complete as is the caretaker's cottage. The sheds have been renovated and extra potting sheds and machinery sheds built on site. The complexity of the site, on a bend of the river, on a very steep slope underlayed with rock and overgrown with weeds made the installation of a garden a massive task. The buildings on site had been built for family use and required a lot of engineering to make them both safe and able to be used for a commercial and public use. And the new terrace is a joy to use and makes the site much more accessible for a variety of use from Jazz on the Terrace to a Greek wedding.

The works that remain to be completed are the installation of a commercial kitchen and public toilets to serve the hospitality/function centre and the car park and associated road works. These works will begin as soon as we have the right tenant in place.

Gardens

Early in the process Mint Inc made the decision that it was impossible to re-create the gardens and orchards which had changed so much over time and left so little record on the landscape. Therefore in order to maximize the full potential of the site it was decided to place a large, fenced orchard at the very rear of the site in the bend of the river where the soil was most fertile and where gravity would help with the watering. The chook shed was built inside this are so the chooks can free range and help keep down any insect pests before they become a problem. Unfortunately our local foxes also free range and we lost 7 chooks in one afternoon while our gardener was away from the site but we persevere.

The orchard has over 500 trees all watered from our tanks and many sponsored in the name of a family or individual. Each tree sponsored is named and that family has the right to come at picking time and pick the fruit from their own tree. More trees are available to be sponsored at a cost of $25 per tree. We have a large range of varieties so that fruit is available from the start of the season until the very end of the season making it easy for a resident restaurateur, for example, to measure their food miles in metres rather than miles. The vegetable garden is flourishing and supplies any visitors and local families who come to enjoy the gardens.

What Happens Next?

We are in the process of selecting an appropriate tenant who will value the history of the site and use it in an appropriate manner. The grounds will always remain open to the public but the main house may become a restaurant or convention centre or be focused on some sort of hospitality venture. A comprehensive process has been undertaken by our agents and we are close to making a decision which will enable us to move forward with the completion of this project. In the meantime we are opening the site for private parties and small events with all catering being brought it until the kitchen is finishes.

This has been a major project for Mint Inc. We have raised over $5 million dollars to complete this project, monies raised from our successful management of other government owned properties, and we glad to see our visitors appreciate the work that has been done.

You are welcome to visit anytime in daylight hours and enjoy the gardens, pick some fruit, watch the chooks scratch around, play a game of tennis on the courts and just enjoy the peace and serenity of this little farm so close to the more built up areas.