The Story Behind Our Sydney Rock Oysters of Nelson Lagoon Print
In late 2021, my partner and I were travelling in the car when the road opened up to stunning vistas over the vast rolling green hills of the Bega Valley. This was the moment I knew we were approaching a new home.
The feeling of relief as the knots in my stomach from another stressful covid winter were gone with the view of little cows off in the distance munching on luscious green grass. The country was in lockdown and we had just been forced to leave our winter accommodation.
We were taken in to the home of an extremely generous individual at the last minute with our best friend in the same situation to us. We unpacked our things gazing out over the ocean in Tathra.
Tathra is special. I think the award-winning thing here is the people and the sense of community. Everyone looks out for each other and the kindness didn't stop. A couple of the local businesses gave us a place to work, one of them being the oyster farm Tathra Oysters.
Tathra Oysters is a family owned business who against all odds managed to turn a small estuary into the home of millions of Sydney Rock Oysters. The owners Gary and Jo have worked exceptionally hard to make it what it is today, and their business has taken away multiple Champion Sydney Rock Oyster awards over the years at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, including 2 Golds and 2 Silvers for the 2023 event.
My partner and I work on the farm with their son Sam, who grew up flipping bags and nurturing the baby oysters throughout their lifetime of 4-6 years, ready for top restaurants serving delicious seafood.
The farm is in the Mimosa Rocks National Park, and what a beautiful place it is. We litter picked for Earth Day and found about two tiny pieces of litter in the whole estuary. The waters are pristine and the marine-life abundant. Even a dolphin has wandered its way in before.
As I have come from a country whose sea-life is hard to make out in the turbulent waters of the English seashores, cruising along on a paddle board here whilst flipping bags turns a tough manual labour job into a pleasure.
Sea hares, Octopus, Toadfish, Mussels, Bream, Eels, Jellyfish, Eagle Rays, Stingrays, and Fiddler Rays are just a few of the creatures swimming freely underneath the bags of Sydney Rock Oysters. These creatures have inspired my artwork, along with the mangroves and Eucalyptus trees surrounding the banks.
I showed a draft of my first illustrative pattern to Sam and instantly he grew very attached to the piece. He said that there were certain plants that resonated with him greatly whilst working in the estuary and in the subsequent days following he suggested some plant life that would suit the design against the pearly oysters, bringing me buckets of mangrove seeds to study.
I happily spent my evenings drawing the wiggly roots of the seeds and eventually came to the final artwork you see on Piste & Trail's Sydney Rock Oysters of Nelson Lagoon's Chef Apron and ecoWatershorts. I was happy that Sam was able to contribute his knowledge of the area to my art.
The Tathra Oysters family have been so kind as to take my oyster apparel and have them alongside their delicious oysters in their store. I owe them many times over for nurturing my dream as if they were their own baby oysters.
Cory and I now live in Tathra year round, and we are so excited to begin the next chapter of our lives here.
Pop in at Christmas this year when the shop is open to see our designs for yourself and try some delicious little Sydney Rock Oysters whilst you are there.
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From the Author:
Piste & Trail was born from my adventures with my dear friends and family from all over the world, and has grown into something tangible from the ongoing support of my friends down here on the Far South Coast and further afield.