A young man and woman hugging outdoors in a grassy field with trees and a house in the background, overcast sky.

In the beginning…

In 2016, John and Jada drove through the rolling hills of South Gippsland, found a dirt track up a hill, and behind an overgrown bush, a view that stopped them cold. Wilson's Promontory on the horizon. Twenty-three acres.

A man is using a long pole with a tool on the end to trim or spray a large olive tree outdoors on a sunny day with a partly cloudy sky.

The Spark — Sicily & the Dream

The land was there. The idea arrived from somewhere older.

A visit to a relative's sun-drenched grove in Sicily confirmed what John had always felt. If not me, who. If not now, when. He came home and ordered his first 100 Frantoio trees.

Two children, a girl and a boy, stand outdoors in a field near a small planted tree. The girl is holding the tree and smiling, wearing a unicorn patterned sweatshirt and rain boots. The boy stands nearby, wearing a gray sweater with a Batman logo and rain boots. The sky is partly cloudy.

Planting Begins — Sophie, the Friendship Grove & Growing Roots

The first trees went in with Sophie, Michael and Alexander at his side. Friends followed, showing up with shovels and planting what would become the Friendship Grove. The grove grew not just in trees, but in meaning

Two men harvesting olives from an olive tree outdoors during daytime, one smiling man with a beanie and one bent over collecting olives into a crate.

The First Harvest — A Rake, Some Friends & Liquid Gold

In 2023, the first harvest yielded 600 kilograms of olives and 80 litres of liquid gold. Not a commercial crop. A confirmation.

Aerial view of a rural farm with fields, orchards, small ponds, and a few buildings surrounded by trees.

Looking Ahead — The Grove Keeps Growing

Eight hundred trees now in the ground, including 333 Picual, a bold Spanish variety that will add a new dimension to Kardella in the years ahead. Olive trees are not a crop for the impatient. For now, one grove, one harvest, one press per year. But the grove keeps growing.