Welcome to Nguurruu
A place we have created to share our biodynamic farm, near Gundaroo on the Southern Tablelands of NSW.
Nguurruu is a luxury two bedroom, self-contained barn in the middle of a working cattle farm. Where native grasslands stretch to the horizon, a river meanders its way gently between ancient hills and where a billion stars blaze at midnight. It's a place to unwind, relax and explore.
Modern heritage
Designed by award-winning architects - AMC, the barn has been converted from its horse stable origins to a luxury rural retreat where you can immerse yourself in the gentle rhythms of the Australian bush, learn about regenerative farming or just unwind around a fire to billions of stars in our night sky.
Made from rammed earth quarried on site, the barn’s vaulted ceilings, beautiful bathroom and a muted palate of the finest imported linens, leather, wood, stone and copper invite you to slow down and absorb your surroundings.
The barn is fitted out with a full kitchen, breakfast provisions, wood heater, air conditioning, outdoor fire pit and direct access to the adjacent in-ground heated swimming pool.
Quiet, comfortable and a world away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
What’s in a name?
“Nguurruu” is the Walgalu word for “camp”. It was chosen for us by Ngambri Walgalu custodian, Paul House out of respect for the many bush camps that have existed on the banks of the Yass River down through the ages. These camps were places to rest, to share food, to connect and tell stories. For at least 20,000 years, the Ngambri, Wallabaloa and Pajong people used these camps as they moved through this landscape with the seasons, harvesting only what they needed and using traditional fire techniques to regenerate the land and its resources. Today we accept the awesome responsibility for carrying on that regeneration work.
For us, the name is both beautiful and eternal. It comes forward from the deep past, from an ancient language and it speaks to us of the temporary nature of our time here. In a sense, we are all just camping....
We invite you to come and “camp” with us
“We are all visitors to this place, this time. We are just passing through. our purpose here is to learn, to grow and to love…and then we all return home”
ABORIGINAL PROVERB
Meet the farmers
Michelle, Murray, Maddy and Tilly..
Michelle, Murray and two daughters, Maddy and Tilly, are the current custodians of this landscape. “Nguurruu” is a 220 acre, diversified agriculture business where we graze and breed Belted Galloway beef cattle, and produce rare breed Silver Grey Dorking chickens and eggs, fruits and vegetables.
We hold a deep responsibility to look after this land and to eventually leave it in much better condition than when we found it. Working under the guidance of Dr Charles Massy, one of Australia’s leading experts on regenerative farming practices, we are on a journey to regenerate the land, restoring landscape function and biodiversity through the use of biodynamic farming principles and rotational grazing of our livestock.
Our mission is to grow healthy food from healthy landscapes and to make a wider contribution to healing the planet by incorporating the latest thinking together with ancient wisdom.
Follow our story
The history
First Australians
For at least 21,000 years the Ngambri, Wallabaloa and Pajong people moved through this landscape with the seasons, feasting on the Bogong moth, native fish and a wide range of roots, fruits and seeds.
They were in complete harmony with the landscape, harvesting only what they needed and using traditional fire techniques to regenerate and manage the resources they needed to thrive and survive.
If you find a quiet place on our farm and you close your eyes, we encourage you to sense their ancestral presence in the remnant big trees, native grasslands and meandering river.
In far more recent times, Europeans came to the Southern Tablelands, led by explorers, Charles Throsby and Joseph Wild who in 1820, struck out on an expedition to open up the interior of NSW to sheep grazing to create the meat and fibre needed for the growing colony.
Arriving on the Southern Tablelands they discovered thousands of square miles of eucalypt forests, woodlands and grasslands and decreed that it was highly suitable for sheep grazing.
Our philosophy..
For the next 150 years, the Southern Tablelands of NSW was Australia’s premier lamb and wool fibre producing district, the meat feeding the nation and the wool feeding the mills of Europe. Australia made a fortune off the sheep’s back and this land formed the basis for the country’s first economic boom.
However it was not without consequences. Like much of Australia’s agricultural land, decisions and practices of the past have created long-lasting ecological challenges to this day.
But by adopting a philosophy of zero agricultural chemical inputs and the adoption of organic and biodynamic farming practices, we are working with Mother Nature to heal the land and return it to its original health.