Gidgee Estate
Article & Photography by ALICE ARMITAGE
Gidgee Estate is a story of perseverance forged by reinvented through creativity, and offers to the community something generous and sustaining.
When Kathy Heinjus and her family moved here in 2011, it was water security that first drew them. Years of consecutive dry seasons had shown them how volatile broadacre farming could be. On this twenty-acre block, with its strong dams and proximity to Temora township, they saw not just survival but possibility. What began with a daughter’s wedding in the garden evolved into something larger: a patchwork of gardens and event spaces, all surrounded by a menagerie of animals now serves as a floristry hub, and outdoor classroom.
Children who join her “Day in the Dirt” programs learn not just how to dig up carrots or take home sweet potatoes, but how food grows from the ground they live on. For adults, weddings and events in the gardens are more than just backdrops for photographs — they are immersive reminders that beauty and practicality can live side by side. Goats wander in with their stubborn charm, ducks scatter across the dam, and floral arrangements feature edible blossoms pulled straight from the beds outside.
Platters at events often feature their own pickles, relishes, and edible flowers — the kind of hyper-local flavour that makes a gathering unforgettable. Now also with a nursery open by appointment, offering plants suited to the region’s climate so visitors can replicate Gidgee’s hard-won lessons at home.
Gidgee Estate embodies the principle that endurance doesn’t always come from scale but from imagination. “I love that I can still be a teacher here, just in a different way,” Kathy says. “Kids and families come out, get their hands dirty, and learn that what we grow here is what will grow in their own backyards. That’s the magic of the Riverina, it’s beautiful, but it’s also practical, resilient country”.
This piece has been developed with the support of Visit Riverina – www.theriverina.com.au