Inspiring Local Stories

Wagner’s Rose Nursery has been growing roses for over 60 years, starting in Adelaide in the ‘50s, moving to Port Noarlunga South and then McLaren Vale and finally in Kalangadoo, in the South East of South Australia, 20 years ago. After a youth spent surfing and skiing in New Zealand, Brian took over the family business in the early ‘80s. Bria...

Meet Pete and Sal, two of the six crew members from The Side Project, who produce genuine craft cider made from 26 varieties of English and French cider apples grown in their orchard in Kalangadoo, South Australia. It took eight years after planting their orchard in 2006 to produce their first cider – using three Breville juicers – and ...

Meet Jamie, the park ranger at one of South Australia’s most impressive caves, the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park. This spectacular cave, set into a cliff face is believed to have been exposed by the constant pounding of the ocean. Over time the sea has retreated leaving behind a cavern of interesting shells, pebbles and seal bones. Today...

The Balnaves family have been in the Penola/Coonawarra district since the 1850’s when Jane Balnaves set up as a storekeeper in Penola after emigrating from Paisley in Scotland.  Doug, Kirsty and Pete are direct descendants of Jane and now own and operate Balnaves of Coonawarra. The family have unique Wine Room which overlooks a tranquil pond fu...

Meet Lola and Jamie, the owner/operators of Stillwater Paddleboards in Beachport, South Australia. When the duo started the business back in 2015, they originally planned to sell paddleboards locally in central Victoria. After coming to the realisation that sales was not for them, they were approached by Surfing Victoria to run a series of programs...

Meet Tim, Gaynor, Gordon and Mel of the Whittaker Family, who’ve been the owners of Adelaide Direct Stationers since 1995. At ADS you can always put a face to a name and the siblings all play their part. Gordon started the business, and Tim is the managing director, and he makes sure the same family values that have been so successful continue ev...

When Natasha started Tashly consulting back in 2000, she was a sole trader who helped small local businesses make sense of the newly introduced tax system. As technology has changed in the years since, Natasha saw the opportunity to embrace new online accounting solutions which has allowed the team at Tashly Consulting to service clients nationwide...

Jackie and John decided to venture out and start Winenutt in 2019 to share their love of South Australia’s local wineries with the rest of Australia. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit just 6 months after their launch, meaning the couple had to postpone many of the functions and tastings they had planned, while also increasing competition as more st...

Since 2001 Brad and his wife Narelle have run Transmutation in Robe, South Australia. Initially established as a transport and consulting company, Brad pivoted in 2016 to a relief management service, before settling down as a craft recycling and manufacturing business with a focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly products. They were f...

When Amy initially opened Bella Yorke Boutique in 2015 as a homewares store, she had just one clothing rack “just in case”. Seeing the demand for local apparel, Bella Yorke started transitioning from a homewares store into a clothing boutique over time. Amy made the decision in April 2020 to close temporarily after the pandemic struck, making u...