Clothiers Creek is my town
CLOTHIERS Creek is a very special place.
There are few places in the world where a banana plantation and a tea plantation sit side by side, with a passionfruit farm up the road and cane fields a stone's throw away.
Add the fields of yams, the honey, watermelons and citrus groves and it starts to sound something like The Garden of Eden.
"We are very lucky indeed," said part owner and director of Madura Tea estates Gary Davey.
"It's a real paradise born out of the rich soil of the green cauldron."
Mr Davey said coming to work was a pleasure.
"I'm from Sydney, so you can imagine how much I appreciate the glorious splendour of Clothiers Creek.
"I've moved to heaven for the rest of my life."
Finance manager Doug Lambert said the tea farm had a great family atmosphere.
"With that and the surroundings it's pretty much perfection," he said.
The tea plantation was planted in the 1970s and there are still some of the original staff members working there.
That's a pretty big family with a staff of 51.
The tea plants can yield tea leaves up to 15 times in one season.
With plants that can live up to 90 years, it's a pretty sound investment.
And who doesn't love a cup of tea?
There's a huge variety of teas on offer, too.
"We've come a long way since the discovery of the good old cuppa," Mr Davey said.
"The legend has it that the emperor of China was sitting boiling water under a tree around 2000 years ago.
"A tea leaf fell into the pot and he sipped the brew.
"Voila...the pot of tea was born."
