Ways of Seeing is a project that aims to give insight into these often subtle and untold stories.
WHEN THESE MOUNTAINS SPEAK
Vumbaca & Sons, Peats Ridge
Year: 2023 Photographer: Jeremy Hudson Words: Adrienne Ferreira
The Vumbaca family have been on the land at Peat’s Ridge since 1973, with farming roots that stretch all the way back to Italy. Salvatore was born in Calabria and came to Australia when he was twelve. As the eldest son, he made the voyage alone to join his father in 1951. They had land in Calabria and grew olives, but the region was poor and overcrowded, and the Vumbucas were part of a wave of post-war migrants in search of better opportunities abroad.
In Sydney, Salvatore and his father lived on his aunt's farm in Eastwood. His first job was selling flowers at the railway station, then he got work in a fruit shop. His father grew flowers and worked a second job in a factory, eventually saving enough money to bring his wife and six other children to Australia. It was nine years before Salvatore was reunited with his mother and siblings.
Salvatore opened up a fruit shop in Seaforth when he was nineteen. Later, he bought another bigger shop with some of his brothers in Dee Why. Shirley came to work there and that was how they met. They bought at Peats Ridge when they were in their thirties, at a time when land here was much more affordable. Together they’ve been growing, selling and transporting fresh produce between the Central Coast and Sydney ever since.
‘We had ten thousand strawberries in the bottom paddock, where the original house was,’ said Shirley. ‘Strawberries got too much for us. You’d be out picking all day and packing all night before he went to the market. One day, Sam was in the market and saw the tomatoes and wondered how they’d go. So he brought them home and put a sign above the front. The cars started coming in and we had to open up the fence to let the cars go out. This was when it used to be the main highway. Next thing I knew, he came home with counters and benches and we opened up a fruit stall in the old shed here!’
Settling on the Central Coast wasn’t easy. Although Salvatore and Shirley knew their neighbours, they didn’t feel a sense of belonging in the beginning. ‘We didn’t communicate with people very much at first because we were too busy working, said Shirley. ‘But if it was a customer, they knew you.’
"I left school and went to Sydney to work for a bit, but I couldn’t wait to get back up here. It’s the quietness, the open space… It’s three generations here now. I can’t say I want to go anywhere else."
- 'Young Sam' Vumbaca.
They grew sunflowers, carnations and tuber roses, and sold produce from other farms nearby. ‘They used to get oranges from Mrs Watts,’ said Anita. ‘Everyone along here grew something.’
The opening of the expressway brought dramatic change to Peats Ridge. Travelling time to and from Sydney was greatly reduced, but so, too was passing traffic. The Vumbacas closed their fruit stall. Salvatore continued working in the shop in Dee Why and had a few cattle on the farm.
Working with the land and the seasons has been a way of life on both sides of the family for generations. Now Salvatore’s son, ‘Young Sam’, has taken over the business. ‘I left school and went to Sydney to work for a bit,’ Sam explained. ‘But I couldn’t wait to get back up here. It’s the quietness, the open space’.
Over the years he diversified, transporting local produce to Sydney markets. ‘Today we mainly grow grass for the cattle — meat cattle. We always had thirty, forty head. Last year I decided to build it up a bit, invest a bit more in equipment, start the paddocks to produce more grass. So now we can run about eighty breeders here a year here on 120 acres, which is pretty good. Hopefully we might find a bigger place, move the cattle from here to there. But we’ll always keep this place.’
Sam’s happy his sons are able to enjoy the same kind of childhood he experienced. ‘It was fun growing up here. Dirt bikes all the time. Freedom. We had permission to ride around everybody’s properties up to Central Mangrove. It was good. Provided we went slow around the chicken sheds and didn’t rip up their paddocks, they were happy!’
Sam’s older son Matteo is showing an interest in farming. ‘He helps out. Gets on the tractor and does a lot of slashing. It’s three generations here now. I can’t say I want to go anywhere else.’
Anita said they are lucky at Peats Ridge, because of the coastal rain they receive. ‘But we had the drought, then all the rain, and it was bad. It did not stop. It washed away the topsoil, and roadways collapsed. The poor growers. They put in crops, lost their crops. They had a break, put in more crops and then it hit again, just as they were about to pick. Then Covid prior to that—it’s just been a really tough couple of years. That’s why Sam went more into cattle, because the growers were affected so badly, and transport, too. There was a lot of government support and we were able to manage. But some of the transport work from markets to restaurants just closed their doors and didn’t go back into it. They couldn’t survive. The whole world has changed.’
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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, work and play. We pay our respects to the Elders, past, present and emerging and recognise their continued connection to these lands and waterways. We acknowledge our shared responsibility to care for and protect our place and people.
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