Robertson, Burrawang and Wildes Meadow are some of the most charming villages in the Highlands. Steeped in history, nostalgia and natural beauty, and on the traditional land of the Gundungurra people. This pocket of picture-perfect landscape is famous for being the location for numerous film and television series including for Babe (1995), Babe in the City (1998), The Appleton Ladies Potato Race (2023), Last Day on Earth (2019), Doppelganger (2023) and The Traitors Australia (2022-23). However, what Robertson is most famous for is their potatoes, specifically Robertson Potatoes. The Big Potato. Delicious, tasty, fantastic potatoes. WEST want to take you on a little adventure.
Robertson Potatoes is synonymous with the Hill Family. Starting back in 1904, for five generations they have been farming potatoes in the region. The rich red basalt soil, cool climate and perpetual fog that drifts in from the escarpment close to the Illawarra make this the very best location for growing the humble spud. Elegant rows of perfectly formed potato plants flourish in the warm days and cool nights. The rolling green hills of this area are the perfect setting for what is very picturesque farmland.
The Hill Family grow for flavour, quality over quantity and to celebrate the vast array of great eating spuds that are grown throughout the year. Market days in the Highlands, South Coast and in Cobbitty near Camden are punctuated by the ever-present Robertson Potatoes stand. Locals know this is the best place to grab the freshest most delicious be potatoes, but what many don’t know is that the family grown specific varieties just for these markets, often harvested just the day before.
Supermarkets can be a dull place to get fresh fruit and veggies, and the LED lights in most supermarkets can trigger the growth of potatoes making them go green. So, for most of us this means a limited range of relatively bland varieties are on offer. You’ll see the Robertson Potatoes in the likes of Harris Farm and IGA in elegant cardboard boxes, not plastic, for just this reason. The Gourmet Potato, endorsed by none other than Neil Perry, knows just how good they really are.
Restaurants love them, not only for the story of the sweet hills from which they come, but again also for the varieties and flavours. The connection to where your food comes from is so important, and knowing they are farmed with regenerative farming practices, integrated pest management and programs to retain and build biodiversity on their farms is critically The farms run a cycle of cultivation and rest, layered with cover crops, cattle grazing and event the recent trialling of sunflowers amongst the rows of potatoes as they grow to encourage lady beetles that eat unwanted pests.
Swathes of natural woodland on the farms are resting places for beneficial insects and are also home to a vast array of wildlife from kangaroos, wallaby and wombats to the melodic black cockatoo or cheeky Gang Gang Cockatoo. The creek line running thought the farm is even home to the critically endangered Fitzroy Falls Spiny Crayfish, which is protected and engaged with a program for revegetation and removal of exotic species in the water ways.
It's a lot to take in, for the humblest of vegetables. So much goes into growing these marvellous potatoes from Robertson and its surrounds. Think you’ve never tried them, well think again. If you have ever indulged in a pack of crips from Snackbrands like Thins, Kettle Chips, The Natural Chip Co or even Red Rock Deli then chances are you have sampled some of the Hills Family, Robertson Potatoes.
Chips not your thing, then perhaps you’ve discovered SoHi Spirit’s Potato Crisp Vodka, that’s right, a premium creamy, textural vodka made on Robertson Potatoes. It’s even found in the Opera House at Bennelong. Five Barrels Brewing in Wollongong brew a Spud Australian Draught, from of course the Hill Family Farms potatoes, Sebago’s to be exact.
Big or small, from market days to the finest of restaurants, one thing is consistent. The Hill Family grow for flavour, quality and taste. Always, always for taste. The nest generation are working on new ways to bring you potatoes, and new ways to develop and showcase the farms. So, if you hear the name Robertson Potatoes, just remember that this one family has been working for you, for the last five generations to perfect their craft and perfect the humble spud just for you.
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