STORY BY MAHMOOD FAZAL, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

The modern olive tree’s history is rooted in ancient Persia and Mesopotamia, spreading towards Syria and Israel in the Mediterranean Basin where it was cultivated and later introduced to North Africa. Today, situated on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, just outside the picturesque township of Hepburn, Lithia Springs offers a family run grove producing exquisite olive oil.

“Everyone calls our home the pink house on the hill. I spent some time in Mexico so we built it after an Adobe South-American style, it’s mud brick and concrete with a thick shell on the outside,” says Claire, as we walk along her scenic property. “Our plan was to just have a holiday house and then eventually Andrew and I would retire up here.” Weekends became four-days long and eventually they decided to move. “We’re on 80 acres, 20 acres under cultivation and we’ve left the bush untouched - it stretches up over the hill.”

From the outset, Claire and Andrew decided they didn’t want to produce something that had to be cut down or slaughtered. “So we were left with fruit trees, nut trees or olive trees,” she quips. “The olive trees grow for a very long time. There’s lovely stories in the Bible about the olive trees being 1000 years old. It's a nice tree to have because once they’re in, they require very little maintenance.”

Lithia Springs is a family owned and run olive grove producing organically grown extra virgin olive oil. “The first five years took a lot of work because we grew them organically, there was a lot of work around weed management. But they’re incredibly enduring. And they’re beautiful.” The olives are hand harvested and locally pressed. Claire writes, “Frantoia along with a mix of other olive varieties produce a distinctively fresh and lively olive oil with a characteristic peppery flavour and with a grassy aroma ‘verde’.”

And it’s during harvest, when friends from across Melbourne visit the pink house on the hill to help with the picking, that the essence of Lithia Grove comes to life - as a celebration of community and land.

Extra virgin olive oil is an especially healthy fat that retains its beneficial qualities during cooking. However, the versatility of olive oil has a rich history of being used as a skin care remedy. Since the time of the Pharaohs, Egyptians would use olive oil with beeswax as a cleanser, moisturizer, and antibacterial agent. In Ancient Greece, olive oil was used during massage, to prevent injuries and relieve muscle fatigue.

“The trees take eight years before they mature and you get fruit on them. It was a very gradual transition. It's actually incredibly labour intensive turning it over every day to get the right texture and flavour,” smiles Claire. “To be honest it’s an act of love. It’s about educating people about good food and good oil. This tastes very different to the olive oil you buy in the supermarkets.”

Digging her heels into the soil is one of many jobs Claire juggles in her spare time, “I work as a psychologist. I have a clinic in Melbourne that’s still running and then I started the clinic in Ballarat around ten years ago and I still run that.” For Claire, the love of olives has become spiritually satisfying.

“There's something about the open spaces that's incredibly good for your psyche,” she explains, gazing out toward the sunset. “I’ll come home from work, seeing eight patients a day and just walk along the trees. The space is so incredibly soothing. I get home and go for a long walk or just jump on the horses and go for a long ride.”

Lithia Springs Olive Grove

lithiaspringsolivegrove@gmail.com

www.lithiaspringsolivegrove.com