Jamie, 52, worked as a mining field assistant, carpenter, sailor, journalist and furniture maker before moving to Margaret River in 1998 to develop a farming and permaculture property with his wife, Lara, and three children Max, Ned and Dan. He has a BA in English and Journalism, a Master Class 5, and completed a PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton.
Jamie’s 37 acre property, Burnside Organic Farm, commercially produces avocados, wine, honey and capers. It also provides their family with all their vegetables, meat and fruit. Cows, pigs, sheep, geese, bees and chickens are used on the farm as an integral part of the farming systems.Part of the property is share farmed with Jema McCabe who runs a market garden.Jamie’s property is certified biodynamic with ACO and has utilised permaculture principles for water harvesting, soil building and nutrient cycling. New work on the farm is approached through permaculture principles with a view towards a future of energy descent.As a result of their self-sufficient lifestyle Jamie has developed a keen interest in nutrition, food preservation and storage, home butchery and meat curing, winemaking and Mediterranean climate appropriate gardening and foods.