Since 1948, the Gardiner family have been pouring their hearts and souls into their award-winning, Cardinia-based stud, Avonlea Holsteins. Over the years, they have proven themselves as the ‘creme de la creme’ when it comes to dairy farms, having taken out many a top prize, but now they’re hanging up the gum boots and moving on to a new chapter in their lives. GABRIELLA PAYNE has more.
Nestled among the rolling green paddocks of Cardinia on the urban fringe of Melbourne lies a slice of rural bliss – the Avonlea Holsteins dairy farm and homestead.
Tucked into a corner of this growing shire, the highly acclaimed stud has been home to the Gardiner family and their prize-winning herd for over 50 years now – but it seems all good things must come to an end.
After much consideration, John and Cherie Gardiner have decided to close the book on one chapter of their lives and open it on another, as they prepare to shut up shop and disperse the herd in the coming months.
The pair may be making tracks out of the dairy industry and moving on to greener pastures (so to speak), but they certainly weren’t going to leave without a last hurrah – and that they did.
In true style, the family cleaned up the awards at Bendigo’s recent Victorian Winter Fair, with the Gardiners being named both premier breeder and exhibitor at the show – a fantastic achievement and one that left the couple a little speechless.
“We had quite an amazing show, it was a bit overwhelming to be honest,” John Gardiner said.
“You go hoping to do well, but you never really know how you’re going to go until it happens, so it was a wonderful achievement for us.
“We couldn’t have written the script any better – put it that way!”
Not only were the Gardiners named the premier breeder and exhibitor at the show, but they also owned or part owned the senior and intermediate champions and the reserve intermediate champion as well – truly an incredible sweep.
“As far as the main milking herd goes, this was the last real show we exhibited at in the current form,” John said, “so being named champions was quite a remarkable thing to happen for us.”
Cherie Gardiner agreed with her husband.
“It was just amazing, just the timing of it and because dairying is such a hard thing for us to get out of, so it was a real lift,” she said.
“Yeah, because it’s been our life basically,” John said, reflecting on his childhood growing up on the farm.
“My father started the farm or the herd in 1948 so there’s an extensively long history, so for us to come to the place we’re at now where we’re selling the cows has been a major decision, and it’s the right one for us as a family, but it’s going to be hard letting it go because it’s been our life,” he said.
“It’s just hard to explain and put into words.”
Having spent the majority of his life on the beautiful property, it’s no wonder John is feeling mixed emotions about moving on.
From a young age, John began helping out on the stud, his family farm, and as soon as he finished school, he pulled on his gum boots and got stuck into work as a dairy farmer.
Gruelling but rewarding, John said that he had loved his time working in the industry and would miss it, but at the same time, he knew this was the right decision for the family to be making and he was looking forward to having more time on his hands.
“It’s going to be different and it’ll take some time to adjust, but I’m looking forward to not being on call 24/7,” he said.
Cherie agreed, saying it would be great to have some more quality family time together.
“I’m looking forward to John not being tied down as much with those set milking times – and not being as tired,” she said.
“He gets in at night and basically closes his eyes and he’s gone!” she laughed.
John admitted that while it had been hard yacka, dairy farming was also an incredibly rewarding industry and one that he would miss after he and his family had moved on.
“There has to be a lot of dedication and passion to be committed to that sort of work load, but there’s also a lot of personal satisfaction and reward to see the cows develop to be able to do what you do,” he said.
After receiving numerous offers for their property over the years with the increased interest in the area, the Gardiners decided it was finally time to shut up shop, sell the property and disperse their herd – and will be doing so later this year.
Having bought a new farm in Nar Nar Goon, the family will continue to rear the herd’s heifers and sell them for the next few years, as they transition into a beef farming venture.
They may be moving on, but the Gardiners certainly went out with a bang and their Avonlea cows will no doubt be in high demand at the upcoming dispersal.
