Well, I’ve gone back to my trusty old yellow-paged gardening book, more than 50 years old now, to dig up a story worth sharing.
Back in 1973, the world felt very different. Men wore their hair long, pink T-shirts weren’t unusual, and plenty of people dreamed of early retirement in communes –places where like-minded souls could live simply and in harmony.
The Nimbin Aquarius Festival brought many of these dreamers together, all searching for a way out of what they saw as the rat race.
Around that same time, a young couple set up a retreat on the edge of Lamington Nation-al Park.
It began as a kind of youth hostel, a place to gather people who shared their vision. They invited others to become part of it – shareholders in a lifestyle, not just land – working together to care for farmland along the rich soils of the Great Dividing Range.
It was a practical kind of idealism. Cows grazed the paddocks while goats took care of the tougher weeds.
Hens, ducks and chickens provided eggs and meat. Gardens flourished.
Bees were kept for honey, later discovered to be remarkably good for treating burns. In those days, nature was the medicine cabinet.
They even made wine from wild berries growing nearby.
Looking back, it’s a reminder of the appeal of a simpler life – free from the clutter and complications of modern living.
The belief was clear: the only truly worthwhile work is what you do for yourself. Everything else was part of a system many felt was broken.
It was the philosophy of a different time.
And perhaps, in many ways, we’ve drifted a long way from it. That simple, productive way of living is mostly gone now – something we might dream about, but rarely reach.
Still, it’s a nice dream to revisit.
Till next time.
