Dairy farmer Merv Williamson has called Whittlesea home for more than 60 years. In that time, he has watched the dairy farms turned into subdivisions, with his family’s farm the last one standing in the area. He talks to Laura Michell.
How long have you lived in Whittlesea?
I have lived in Whittlesea since 1954 on a dairy farm. Part of our 300-acre farm belonged to my wife Mary’s family.
How has Whittlesea changed over the past 62 years?
I have seen a lot of changes over the years. There has been a lot of subdivision. The Whittlesea township has gone through big changes. Most of the old buildings are gone, but it doesn’t worry me; I quite like it. There have been big improvements over the years.
When we got married 57 years ago, we only had gravel roads and power had just arrived in the area. We are also the only dairy farm left in the area. Fifty years ago there would have been about 100 dairy farms in the area, but now surrounding farms have been turned into small subdivisions of 20-30 acre lots.
What do you like about living in Whittlesea?
It’s a great place to live and we have good neighbours. It’s a great community. We also like the weather here. If you go further north it gets a bit too hot.
What does a typical day involve for you?
Living on a dairy farm keeps me busy. When we get going, we probably milk about 60 cows. There are also lots of odd jobs that need doing.
What challenges do you face running the farm?
We could do with more rain. This has been the driest year since 1967-68. Back then, we didn’t get useful rain until around Anzac Day in 1968. Last year was similar to 1967 in terms of rainfall. It meant that we didn’t have enough green feed and had to buy in our hay … but we just keep at it.
