The
Good Life PƐȜƆ lëŕīş ƆĕëƆşŕ ëƐ 0ưĕſĕƆƐ DëſŔ Victoria Cosford
şƆĕǕŕëȜƆ ōëĈĕ ĈëſëưëŕȒĈëĪĕ şŕ ƐIJĕ ćĕëĈIJ ƆĶĎĕ şĪ ƐIJĕ ſƖŕƆ ĪşşƐćſĶĎīĕ If you take a walk across the footbridge over Simpsons Creek in Brunswick Heads and across to the beach you will find Rosefina’s Place, a converted caravan-cafe tucked away in a quiet corner of the busy Byron Shire. Rosefina’s Place is the labour of love for Josie Richardson who came across the opportunity, operating originally as a simple coffee cart, when looking for a food truck to sell her Mexican dishes from. Its wonderful location, so close to the beach, held the greatest appeal for Josie, who started life beyond the tenth creek crossing of Upper Wilsons Creek in an old farmhouse. As a small child she remembers the odd plane flying over and wondering about the big wide world it had come from – the valley was so quiet and remote. Later her father would settle on 15 acres on the outskirts of Brunswick Heads to set up a palm nursery, and this became Josie’s home from which she traversed back and forth to Wilsons Creek and attended local schools in Mullumbimby. www.echo.net.au
Summers were spent swimming in the Bruns River. This all changed though when a relocation of the proposed Brunswick Heads bypass was announced – it had been diverted to run directly over her old home, with the RMS consuming the entire property. Ultimately her father and his wife would relocate out of Byron Shire, and the home that Josie knew and loved was effectively gone. Establishing Rosefina’s Place was an opportunity for her to find a way back home after building a life in Brisbane. Located on South Beach Road, Brunswick Heads, Rosefina’s Place is a tranquil garden oasis that invites patrons to be in the moment with a good book or good
company. It’s a place where children can freely explore the fairy house and discover natural treasures in the surrounding trees and rocks. With a passion for Mexican cuisine, developed over many visits to Mexico from the age of 12 and a stepmother with a wickedly good talent for cooking, Rosefina’s Place offers delicious housemade treats paired with organic Old Quarter Coffee from Ballina. Josie embraces diversity and welcomes all to this laid-back garden which captures the essence of Byron Shire that so many love and remember.
MANDY NOLAN PRESENTS
Isn’t it the quintessential summer fruit? Sinking teeth into the flesh of a mango, juice everywhere, seems to be as much part of the hot summer experience as plunging into ocean waves (often the best idea after eating one). According to Will Everest, it’s a good season. ‘It’s because of the earlier dry’, he explains. ‘Our trees are just laden with them.’ Will guesses there are about 600 of those trees on the hilly family farm behind Murwillumbah, and about seven varieties. It’s Kensington Prides now but soon will come those mammoth R2E2s, then the Valencia, Princess and Keats. ‘Our north-facing dry hills are really conducive to flowering’, he explains, ‘which is crucial to growing mangoes’. These trees were planted about 40 years ago by a neighbour, who eventually sold the property to the Everest family. ‘We weren’t into mangoes,’ Will says, ‘but we inherited them.’ At this time of year it’s all hands on deck to assist with the picking – offspring and relatives. ‘It’s a big job and it’s all on mountains’, he tells me. ‘We took 65 crates the other day, and six people were required.’ I want to know what happens to the excess,
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cows!’ Will says – of course they are! No sprays or chemical dyes are used on the mangoes either. ‘We pick them then sell them – no storage’, Will says. ‘It’s tropical fruit time!’ Q Everest Farm is at
New Brighton Farmers Markets every Tuesday from 8am to 11am and at Mullumbimby Farmers Markets every Friday from 7am to 11am.
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given so many trees, such a good season and such an abundance of the fruit. ‘A quarter of our crop will go on the ground’, Will says, ‘the cows eat them.’ The cows like mangoes too? This is beautiful news to me – just the image makes me smile – but it gets better, because they not only love to eat the mangoes but the excess bananas too. ‘These are happy
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DĕćſƖëſƷ Ǯǽ ǩǧǩǫ The Byron Shire Echo 17