Bella Lavender Estate: Ron enjoys the smell and colour of this wonderful flower in the Riverland region of South Australia
The local football club and the pub are pivotal parts of any community. They are where many of the players and supporters congregate after a game.
Today Mario Centofanti spends a little less time at both as he tends to his lavender plants on a former fruit block in the back streets of Winkie - a little town in the Riverland about 220 kilometres from Adelaide. Back in 1960 Mario Centafanti was drafted into service as a Ruckman for the Barmera Monash Football Club.
And from that came an offer from the Manager of a nearby pub to take on another job that occasionally could be just as rugged.
Mario Centofanti, Bella Lavender: "He reckoned I wasn't much good at football. He reckoned I was too slow so he said 'Why don't you try security Mario? I reckon you would be better at that than kicking a ball around' And that was the day that I started."
That was back in 1969. He still spends some time at the pub but his true passion is here amongst the sweet smelling lavender and the customers who come to buy he and his wife's lavender products and the exceptional platters and pizzas on offer under the outdoor eatery.
Having spent forty years as a pub bouncer and security manager, Mario saw Bella Lavender Farm as a safer way to secure his family's future. He and his wife Lucy transformed this acreage with 2,500 plantings of 20 different varieties of lavender.
For guests at Bella Lavender, the pizza's, platters and coffees - along with the fragrant soaps and other lavender products are new and popular attractions in a region, which has usually been associated with bulk wine and fruit production. But Mario could see times were changing.
Mario Centofanti: "I could see it happening. It was just that there were too many grapes, too much of everything so we said righto the water situation is starting to get bad … and lavender plants use maybe one tenth of what the vineyard will use."
It seems the Centofanti's have always been quick to read a mood for change and adapt accordingly.
Mario Centofanti: "My father came here in 1939 and he was in the African War and all that and he got good advice from high ranks in the army. They said 'look there's gonna be a great war coming soon - so if possible get out and come to Australia or America' - so he decided to choose Australia."
The Centofanti's eventually settled in the Riverland and when you see the family and friends at work, you realise this region is all the better for this little touch of Italy the Centofanti's have brought to this part of South Australia.
While for many us, Bella Lavender is all about taking time out to smell the obvious, for Mario, there's work to be done, cutting lavender and extracting it's essence for the array of products inside. From Mario's specially-designed still, the lavender oil is collected and finally makes it's way into the backroom where the soaps and other products are made. And it's while working here, that the true transformation from pub bouncer to soap maker is complete. Here it's a case of mixing and getting the perfect balance of ingredients.
From pulling beers to pouring lavender oil, it's been an amazing journey for the pub bouncer Mario and his wife Lucy as they bring the fragrance of lavender to the Riverland and beyond. Bella Lavender Estate is located on Dalziel Road in Winkie. It's open Friday through to Monday or by appointment. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Bella Lavender Estate
Dalziel Road
Winkie
10am-4pm Fri- MonPublished 27th September 2009
