Ross O’Reilly is the visionary behind High Valley Dawn, a 140-acre seaside off-grid property nestled in the Capricorn Coast in Queensland, of which the Darumbal people are the traditional custodians. Established in 2016, it has the optimal climate for growing food, allowing Ross to work faithfully to core permaculture ethical principles: land care, people care, fair share.
Ross, Judy and their family had a vision to create ‘an ever evolving, self-sustaining community model nurturing love and joy in harmony with nature for the greater good of all’. High Valley Dawn is cared for by a team of volunteers, working among free-ranging animals: cows, chickens, ducks, horses, sheep, turkeys, geese and pigs, as well as resident working dogs, all living in harmony together. It offers a dynamic eco-business model that includes farm tours, education, events, and its nearby paddock-to-plate restaurant, Beaches.
The farm also features a natural biofilter desalination plant, a powerless cold room, solar irrigation systems, an upcycled solar-powered house, a solar-powered education centre, and a mud brick pizza oven.