FairView Farm - Our Vision
FairView Farm has welcomed family & friends, members of the surrounding community, visiting statesmen and international guests for 140 years. Purchased in 1885 by John Deans, FairView Farm originally comprised 1,226 hectares. In 1903, the land was sold to WJ Jenkins, the farm named ‘FairView’ and the current homestead was built.
We found FairView in January 2018 and fell in love with the place, the land and its people. The homestead’s gardens had an area of regenerating native trees, massive black beech, the big trees of England and the big skies of France. There are ‘fair’ views to Mt Torlesse, across the Canterbury Plains to Banks Peninsular, and up to the Oxford hills. The house and gardens needed some TLC so we got stuck in, when we visited every second weekend.
Since moving here in December 2020, gardening on weekends has meant some seriously late nights to get things done, but we are making good progress!
Fast forward to 2025, and 2,500 spring bulbs, 100’s of new trees, 5,000 lavender plants, an olive grove, orchard and nuttery, a wild garden, woodland garden, potager style kitchen garden and parterre style paradise garden have been planted, a pump shed, butterfly house, shade house and dining pavilion built, 100s of herbs, flowers, native trees and shrubs propagated, weeds cleared (sometimes with a digger), pastures regenerated, stream and pond restored, and gates reinstalled.
FairView Farm - Our Story
After years living around the world, we were looking for some land we could call our own. We loved living in France for the big sky views and sense of connection with the vastness of the universe. We loved living in England for the trees, sense of history and community.
When we found FairView, it had the trees and the big sky view, a rich history and its own sense of community. That the farm and gardens
came with a house was a bonus!
Chris has worked in high-stress senior corporate roles for years. Gayle has a PhD in stress reduction using landscape design. Through her international research and design consultancy, Gayle has worked with all ages and abilities, from social housing to schools and healthcare to tourism settings.
Together with our 3 adult kids, we understand the importance
of slow living, sustainable practices on the land, and healthy, fresh food.
Our Land - Our Community
To create community, Friends of FairView are supporters who visit on Thursday mornings to help around the garden. They enjoymaking new friends, learning about plants and horticultural techniques, getting some gentle exercise, with morning tea provided in the Club House. Stories,cuttings and seedlings are shared.
At FairView, we are creating a community hub where young and
old can come and discover the joy of being in a relaxing environment. We built the Club House pavilion in the Kitchen Garden, as a place for groups to meet. The first group to use the space will be the Kids’ Friendly Group, a nature-based social, emotional and creative group for rural kids and their mums.
Building resilience, restoring the homestead gardens and regenerating the land keeps us busy. We decided to develop the central block of the farm into Torlesse Lavender Fields to support the social and environmental aims of FairView. Lavender looks like the sunny Mediterranean, is known to reduce stress, is frost tolerant and drought hardy, and attractive to bees and other pollinators. The ‘package deal’ of high benefit to low environmental input fits our vision well.
To make the most of the FairView experience, we offer homestay escapes for up to 6 people. Stay in our home, with us, sharing life on the farm. If you would like to escape the daily grind, to experience the delights of relaxation FairView style, try one of our slow living options, whether for an hour or overnight, please see our Experiences page.
