Living the farm stay dream

The old dairy shed on the Winkleigh property that Simon and Renee Jordan bought in 2020 would have been, for most people, a demolition job.

Built in the mid-60s, it had long been abandoned as a place for milking and was used mainly as a chicken coop and goat nursery.

But in their quest for a new lifestyle in the country, the Jordans not only fell in love with the 20 hectares of land just a short drive west of Exeter on the West Tamar, but they also saw possibilities wherever they looked.

“We decided to not only renovate the house on the property, but also the dairy,” Renee said.

“The idea was to have some self-contained accommodation for family when they stayed over and also to rent it out as an Airbnb.

“As it turned out it was all asbestos, so it turned into a huge job and the budget was quickly blown, but we managed to salvage the cattle yard and loading ramp to repurpose as a deck and we kept the old exterior timber cladding to use inside, and a couple of the brick walls were able to be saved.

“It’s now rustic, comfortable, one-bedroom accommodation, ideal for a couple, and we’ve had plenty of interest in it over the past two years.”

Kim Curtis from Complete Renovations and Constructions took care of the structural work and framing and then when Simon was made redundant from his work as production manager at an asphalt plant, things started to ramp up.

“We pushed to get the accommodation finished in the five months leading up until Christmas in 2023 to help with income,” Simon said.

“I started a small excavation business to work part-time, and we tried to do as much of the interior work as we could ourselves.”

The sloping floor, designed for washing out the dairy, was levelled and the Jordans layed the unique recycled tongue and groove flooring boards themselves.

“It took us three days to glue and pin them to the floor and we are thrilled with the result.”

Simon also used old fence posts, complete with moss still attached, to make a unique glass-topped kitchen table.

Right throughout the rebuild, and outside in the yard, there are nods to farm life and the dairy’s history.

The Jordans have embraced country life despite both being brought up in the Launceston suburbs.

Up until a few years ago Simon was actually living in Melbourne and he and Renee were doing the “long distance relationship”.

Moving back to Tasmania, starting a family and buying a hobby farm was like a dream come true for the couple.

They bought 50 Wiltipoll shedding sheep, a strong, hardy breed known for non-selective grazing and being grass seed, fly and lice-resistant.

“The also don’t tend to get foot rot, but like most shedding sheep, they rub against absolutely everything!” Simon said.

And then came the highland cattle.

From Somerset to Rowella to Sheffield, they travelled around to buy some of the long-horned, shaggy stock, starting with Maverick the black bull.

Next came Geraldine, an older cow and Teddy the bull and Oliver the steer.

Since then they’ve bred another five calves on the property.

“It’s been a learning curve,” Simon admitted.

“But we love seeing them grazing on the plain, and over the past two years our guests have loved seeing them too.”

Simon is now back working as a project manager, contracting to Hazel Bros and Renee, who for many years was a familiar face at a Kings Meadows pharmacy, is happy to work part-time as a teacher’s assistant at Exeter Primary School while running the farm-stay.

“We have lovely neighbours but they’re not too close. We have space and privacy and it’s an amazing place for the girls to live,” Renee said.

“We might not be big time farmers but we love our animals and being able to learn more about breeding cattle and sheep.”

The Jordans have also joined the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Program, committing to locking up sections of their land for the next 10 years and planting more native trees to help keep the species thriving.