Barcarolle / Matthew Hoffman
General Information
Property / Station / Farm / Company Information
450 Jersey Cows dairy farm
Who are we?
I operate a dairy farm milking around 450 Jersey cows in partnership with my parents Ruth & Adrian. My wife Lauren isn’t active in the farming business but runs her own ecological consulting business that covers a fairly large area and a broad range of large and small clients. Lauren and I have two children being Isabella (6) and Ethan (4).
As our farm has expanded in size we have employed both local and international people over the past 25 years. In all we have probably averaged hosting 8 to 10 international people per year for the past 10 years. With current visa conditions we tend to find a lot of people want at least 88 days to qualify for a second year visa, but it is not unusual for people to stay with us for six months also.
We generally have at least two people working for us at any time during the year. During the calving period which occurs twice a year, I try to have a third person here so that will spread the workload more.
5. Accommodation – two cabins established on farm with a third bedroom built in between.
a. Full kitchens and bathroom facilities (with toilets & vanity basin) in both cabins.
b. Cabins also include heating / cooling, TV and DVD player. There are a range of DVD’s in cabins also. The library in Timboon also hires out DVDs’.
c. If there is a person in centre room, they will share facilities with one of people in a cabin (depending on sex ie Male / female). There is a basic kitchen set up for the centre room and toilet located in the laundry.
d. Workers are encouraged to share cooking & cleaning but we set the cabins up so that wouldn’t be necessary if some people want to do their own thing.
e. There is a laundry also in the centre area with clothes line outside.
f. It is our desire to build a common camp kitchen into the facility to allow easier sharing of cooking etc…
g. All gas, water and power included in rent of $280 per fortnight.
h. No bond requested. We expect the cabins to be kept in reasonable order during your stay with us – especially the common areas. Workers personal area must be cleaned properly before finishing employment. We generally ask that the common areas be cleaned properly by all staff when a person is leaving so that any new people coming in won’t have to clean up after someone else and they will see the living areas as they should be.
i. There is phone and internet signal at the cabins. Some people go into the library in Timboon and use the free wifi in there. We have internet at our house if people want to use that. Other people have gone and bought their own prepaid dongles from Timboon. Plenty of options available.
6. Food is not included in the rent figure, but we provide a nice welcome pack of food and other items for each new employee. We try to have staff over for dinner on a regular basis and Ruth & Adrian do the same although more regularly than us.
See notes above.
The closest town is Timboon which is about 7km away. Full services available there with supermarket, chemist and medical clinic/hospital included. The area is right near the coast with plenty of tourist type sights to be seen and enjoyed. Some people take full advantage of this while others don’t. Warrnambool is the nearest major centre (35,000 people) and that is about 45 km awa
Vehicle – we do provide a car for workers to use. $.25c per km with a logbook.
Where are we?
Our actual address is 820 Timboon Curdievale Road, Timboon Victoria 3268.
We are located near Timboon in Western Victoria about 45km from Warrnambool (the closest city of over 35,000 people) and about 10km inland from the Port Campbell which is near the 12 Apostles and Great Ocean Road.
Timboon is a town of about 1,000 people but is unique in that it services the immediate area with a sporting centre, hospital, doctors clinic, chemist, supermarket and a range of shops. The Timboon area has a range of food experiences and there are a number of popular walking trails.
Port Campbell has a safe beach and is a very popular back packing area. The area is growing increasingly popular with tourists over the past 20 years with the 12 Apostles and Great Ocean Road being especially well known internationally.
The Otways are nearby to our East and they offer further hiking trails and camping opportunities. It is a very pretty area to drive in.
Warrnambool To our West is Warrnambool that has a lot to offer in terms of beaches and local sporting facilities. Plenty of pubs and clubs also if that is what you like. It’s a nice city with pretty much everything you could expect to find. Among other things, our current workers have been swimming at the indoor heated pool and going to the Cinema.
The Grampians are to our North West (about 1hr 40min) and they are also a popular destination for camping and hiking experiences.
Contact Information
Matthew Hoffman
Mobile phone Matt 0439038773/Lauren 0427290379
Phone 0355 983252
Email barcarolle1@bigpond.com
Address
Barcarolle
AK RY & MR Hoffmann
820 Timboon Curdievale Road Timboon 3268 VIC
