Wake up to the sound of chirping birds in a 3-bedroom fully renovated and self contained cottage. Boronia Farm is a family-friendly organic farm stay located 11km from Donnybrook. Join in all the different farm activities and pick fruit in season directly from the trees, wander through the permaculture vegetable garden and taste the seasonal produce.
The farm is 160 acres, 60 acres of which is protected bushland and is set in the Argyle State Forest. The property features a dam on which you can canoe and plenty of wildflowers and wildlife.
Doonas, pillows, blankets and electric blankets are provided for your comfort. The well-equipped country kitchen has a large fridge, gas stove and microwave and there is a gas BBQ outside with outdoor furniture.
In winter, why not spend the evening watching the flames in the wood fire or, in summer, enjoy the cool nights on the verandah.
Barry and Dale Green are the owners of Boronia Farm, a property located approximately 50km south east of Bunbury. Boronia Farm is a certified organic property with the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASSA) and a wildlife sanctuary offering eco-friendly farmstay accommodation.
Boronia Farm covers 64 hectares in total with approximately 25 hectares of bushland dedicated purely to conservation. Vegetation consists mainly of jarrah-marri forest – with Eucalyptus marginata and Corymbia calophylla as the dominant species – and swamplands.
Wildlife known to inhabit the property includes western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus), brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus), bobtails (Tiliqua rugosa), racehorse goannas (Varanus gouldii), superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) and Carnaby’s (Calyptorhynchus latirostris), Baudin’s (Calyptorhynchus baudinii) and red-tailed (Calyptorhynchus banksii) black-cockatoos.
This sanctuary is featured in Wildlife Lands 19!
Boronia Farm lies within the Argyle State Forest, near Donnybrook in southwest Western Australia. Our 65 hectare farm, named after the brown boronia (Boronia megastigma) that grows wild here, was taken up in 1931 and was about 60% cleared when we bought it in 1988. Soon after we bought the property we fenced the remnant bush, including the boronia swamp, to exclude cattle and preserve the bushland.
In the protected swamplands and forest you can see the amazing ability of the bush to regenerate itself, given time to do so. The bush is mostly jarrah, marri and blackbutt eucalypts, but bullich, Kingia and southern grasstrees are also found in the regenerated areas. A variety of native wildflowers are also in the forests and pastures throughout our property. The previous owners could remember tammar wallabies in the bush, but sadly they are no longer there. We still have bandicoots, brushtail possums, phascogales and yellow-footed antechinus, and occasionally we see western quolls. Many bird species such as red-tailed and white-tailed black cockatoos regularly visit the farm. We have used netting to prevent any damage to our orchards that these birds cause, and enjoy seeing them fly over on their way to more natural food.
While we value our bushland immensely, we also want to be able to produce organic food. Our whole farm is certified organic with the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture of Australia. We also incorporate holistic grazing and management principles which help to build deep soils, and exclude kangaroos from some pastures to allow grasslands and soils to recover from grazing. As part of our stability through diverse economic and environmental management, guests are welcome to explore the natural forests and swamplands and take part in the production activities of Boronia Farm.
Visitors can stay in the newly renovated farmstay cottage, which is sustainably supplied by rainwater and green energy sources. Visit us at www.boroniafarm.com.au
Contact the owner
This sanctuary has been listed by Barry and Dale Green who can be contacted by phone on (08) 9731 7154 or relax@boroniafarm.com.au
