(Co-establisher of the garden and co-founder of Karrawingi Park Garden Events).
Until 1993, apart from the larger trees, little of the present garden existed. After ceasing to run the property as a commercial orchard in 1990 and selling all but 7.5 acres of the original 60 acres, Doug and myself realised that we now had time for a previously impossible pastime. So the garden began to evolve.
With the exception of the gazebo, we managed to do all the work ourselves, where possible with recycled material. We are indebted to the late Reg and Betty Unthank and their family for allowing us to use material from an old house (believed to have been built around 1870). The incredible old bush poles, the rough cut timber, the cedar weather boards and hand made bricks have been used extensively throughout the park and in particular, in the construction of the 'Honeymoon Shack' featured above. There was no grand plan followed in making the garden; rather it was like the ripple made when a pebble is thrown into a pond. It continued to expand out over the entire acreage. We have now completed the major work and, with a bit of luck, we can sit back and watch it mature. We have shared the work needed to create Karrawingi Park, Doug being responsible anything made of timber, plus the construction of the lakes and lagoon. The creek was also carved out by him. All this was done in his “spare time” as he was still working full time. I being responsible for the landscaping, all work done in rock and stone, the crazy paving, the murals and the majority of the maintenance. As you can see, it has definitely been a team effort and we are pleased with the overall result. The time has come to hand the reigns over and we are incredibly confident that our son, Steve and his wife, Vicki, will continue the legacy we have established over more than 25 years. Doug and myself remain in residence on the property in our retirement, as such, we are looking forward to observing this for ourselves. If you choose to have your wedding at Karrawingi Park, I am sure, that like us before them, they will be enthused to do everything in their power to make your day a special one.
