“We were a good business before the signs were taken down and we won’t be destroyed.”

By Melissa Meehan
FACING financial hardship and the decision to lay off staff, the Garfield Berry Farm has resurrected its signs, defying VicRoads in a bid for survival.
Dramatic scenes ensued last month when co-owner Francesca Ferraro, better known as Nonna, was taken away in an ambulance after what her family described as a heavy-handed approach by VicRoads to remove their signs along the Princes Highway.
The family says they now have no choice but to risk a fine and return their signs to their position.
But a spokesman for VicRoads said under their policy for advertising on, over and adjacent to declared road reserves, consent must be sought for all signs in the road reserve on arterial roads.
Daughter and co-owner of the business, Maria Doherty said in the past two weeks the Garfield Berry Farm had lost more than 50 per cent of its business.
“It’s better to put the signs back up and regain our customers and risk a fine than to be forced to close up shop,” Ms Doherty said.
“We were a good business before the signs were taken down and we won’t be destroyed.”
The families say their repeated calls for assistance against the removal of the signs have all fallen on deaf ears.
“Apparently it’s in the hands of Pallas and Holding at the moment,” she said.
“But this can’t keep lingering.”
Faced with an already difficult economic climate, Ms Doherty said her bank had already been supportive over the past few weeks but she was concerned with penalty interest if her business continued to be affected.
“Hopefully the bank has corporate compassion and empathy to forgo the penalty interest so we can stay alive after this situation has been forced onto us by VicRoads over the past year,” she said.
While the signs were down, Ms Doherty said a number of their customers drove past thinking they had closed down.
“It doesn’t look good,” she said.
“Especially since they did it over the long weekend – sure locals know what we are going through, but the visitors from Melbourne, they might not understand.”
She said that over the Labour Day weekend, the berry farm lost thousands of dollars worth of fruit.
“We are dealing with super perishable items, we cannot afford to lose that much in one weekend,” she said.
While the act of defiance will keep the Garfield Berry Farm open for now, Ms Doherty does not expect the fight to be over – but she says she will not lie down.
“If bullets were flying at you, would you stand there or dodge them?”
“I’m not going to move, they will not destroy us.”