Welcome to our humble, little farm…

Gilmore Valley Grove is a small, family run farm situated in the alluring Gilmore Valley, 2 hours west of Canberra and in between the beautiful towns of Tumut and Batlow. Our cold winters and hot summers provide an excellent climate for our olives.

Truly starting from the ground up, the small tube stock trees we planted, all by hand, are now flourishing. We had our very first harvest in 2020 and The Rusty Bus Extra Virgin Olive Oil was born. We are very proud of our Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Our olive trees receive loads of TLC which reflects in the fresh, fruity, delicious flavour in our oil.  We choose to harvest our olives a little earlier, sacrificing bigger yields to enable us to provide a fresher, more flavoursome oil with bigger health benefits.

The grove management has been no easy task. The trees were planted just prior to one of the worst droughts recorded in NSW. Then, in 2020, we were surrounded by the Black Summer bushfires and fortunately, the only loss was our ute, which burnt in the fires. In 2022, we went through La Nina and even though all effort was used trying to drain water away, it had us beat and we ended up losing some of the younger olive trees. Being in the horticulture game, we also fight the battles against pest and disease, which, too, can be quite the challenge.

Then, we were rewarded after we entered our EVOO in The Australian International Olive Awards for the first time in 2023 and were absolutely thrilled to have received two gold medals and Reserve Champion in the Other Varietal Category we entered! Proof that our EVOO is of high standard and some of the healthiest and tastiest oil in Australia and around the world.

At the grove, we also grow a small commercial quantity of chemical free garlic which is grown with tender loving care. Sown, mulched, weeded, harvested, cleaned all by hand and cured naturally to deliver a quality product to our garlic loving consumers. Our current varieties include Australian White, Australian Red and Purple Stripe and Monaro. Our garlic salt range was developed and continues to run from our humble, little kitchen. The garlic, herbs and lemon added to our flavoured salts are all grown right here on our farm. The four varieties of garlic salt can be found in our online shop with a description and ideas on where to use them.

We hope that you’ll try our delicious EVOO. If you already love olive oil, you’ll appreciate The Rusty Bus. If you’re new to using olive oil, you’ll be amazed at the way it enhances the flavours of other foods. The best part? Not only does it taste good, it’s so good for you!

Paul and Chrissy