A very special moment for our family
I have some very special news to share today 14.10.26
Macadamias Australia and Farmfresh Fine Foods have been named the 2026 Family Business Association Established Family Business – Queensland winner.
And I’m feeling incredibly proud – and very grateful.
When I think about where our story began, I always come back to Mum and Dad.
In 1958, Ron and Marion bought their first piece of bushland here in Bundaberg and set about building a future for their family. I don’t think they could possibly have imagined where that little patch of land – and a lot of hard work! – would eventually take us.
Almost 70 years later, Andrew and I now have the privilege of working alongside the next generation of our family.
There have been plenty of adventures in between.
We’ve grown vegetables and sugar cane, moved into food manufacturing, planted macadamia trees, built new businesses, changed direction, made some very big decisions and learnt an enormous amount along the way.
And like any family, it hasn’t all been a perfectly straight line!
One of our biggest changes came in 2023, when our family went through a major transition and Andrew and I, together with our children, made some very conscious decisions about what we wanted to carry forward.
Macadamias Australia, Farmfresh Fine Foods and our original family farm became the beginning of our next chapter.
Three years on, I can see just how important that moment was.
It gave us a chance to stop, think about what mattered most to us and focus our energy on the businesses we love and the future we want to build.
But perhaps the most precious thing we carried forward wasn’t a farm or a business at all.
It was our story.
That’s why receiving this award means so much to me.
It’s recognition of almost 70 years and three generations, but it’s also recognition of all the people who have become part of our story along the way.
Our wonderful team. Our growers. Our customers. Our suppliers and partners. Our local Bundaberg community. And all of you who buy our macadamias, visit us at the farm, bring your families to our café, follow along from afar and cheer us on.
Thank you.
Mum always believed in having an “attitude of gratitude”, and today feels like a particularly good day to remember that.
We’re incredibly proud of where we’ve come from, excited about where we’re going and very thankful that we get to keep adding new chapters to something Mum and Dad started all those years ago.
And apparently the next chapter involves Darwin!
As the Queensland winner, Macadamias Australia and Farmfresh Fine Foods will now progress to the Australia & New Zealand Family Business Association Excellence Awards in June 2027.
So, for now, we’re going to enjoy this very special moment.
One of life’s little joys indeed. ❤️
Janelle
