BILPIN NOT AS USUAL

Bilpin orchards affected by COVID 19 regulations leading up to Easter, their busiest time of the year

9th April 2020

For the very first time, William Shield, owner of Shields Orchard, has canceled apple-picking on his Bilpin based farm, the oldest family- owned business in the area established in 1955. He ceased the practice in response to the growing anxiety about COVID 19 and stated that it was not because it was government-enforced but rather: “We felt it was the ethical thing to do to stop the spread of the Corona Virus.” Because food production is an essential service, his operation has not shut down. Instead, he and his wife Julie pick and box the apples themselves and pass them through a window to customers, but they are only selling to those who make an order ahead of time.

When asked about the farms that continued pick-your-own when the COVID 19 threat was known, he stated: “Well back when there was a flood of people coming through Bilpin, I think some places got away with murder.”

Bilpin Fruit Bowl is a farm still operating as usual but with far fewer customers to serve due to travel restrictions. The owner, Margaret Tadrosse, who has been running her business for thirty-five years, had spoken to The Sydney Morning Herald last year about her ordeal losing six-thousand trees to the bushfires, and now more than ever needs customers. When asked about pick-your-own, she stated that it was still allowed and that they have hand sanitizer at the entry, have a one- hundred person capacity limit and are ensuring social distancing.

“Easter is our busiest time of the year, we have had eight-thousand people before, but not this year, we won’t get that,” she stated. “We are hoping that people from the Hawkesbury will come up and support us. Otherwise, our product will go to waste.”

According to both farmers, a lot of customers do come from the city, bringing their families for a day out in the countryside, but are now relying on local customers who are still free to attend.

In early March, the Hawkesbury Gazette reported confirmed cases of COVID 19 in the Hawkesbury and Nepean areas. The risk of contracting the virus was said to be low according to Associate Professor Bradley Forssman, Director of Public Health of the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District. However, as of last week, COVID 19 Clinics have opened in the Hawkesbury, Nepean, Blue Mountains, and Lithgow Hospitals, and now NBMLHD says there is evidence of community transmission.

References

Laura Chung, Pallavi Singhal, & Nick Moir. (2019, 22nd December). ‘Watch it all burn’: Bilpin residents lose homes, businesses in fire. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/national/watch-it-all-burn-bilpin-residents-lose-homes-businesses-in-fire-20191222-p53m9p.html

Sarah Falson. (2020, 13th March). Coronavirus cases confirmed in hawkesbury and blue mountains. Retrieved from https://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/6677930/coronavirus-cases-confirmed-in-hawkesbury-and-blue-mountains/

William “Bill” Shield, Shields Orchard, 2270 Bells Line of Rd Bilpin NSW 2758, (02) 4567 1206, interviewed 1st April 2020

Margaret Tadrosse, Bilpin Fruit Bowl, 2093 Bells Line of Road Bilpin NSW 2758, 0404 061 262, interviewed 9th April 2020

Julie Miller. (2018). On the hunt at shields orchard. Bilpin: TRAVELLER.

Nepean Blue Mountain Local Health District. (2020, 1st April). Coronavirus clinics in penrith, blue mountains, lithgow and hawkesbury. Retrieved from https://www.nbmlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/nbmlhd-news/from-the-expert/coronavirus-clinics-in-penrith-blue-mountains-lithgow-and-hawkesbury