There aren’t many general managers whose daily to-do list of meetings and paperwork also includes crutching sheep and taking care of abandoned lambs.
But that variety is part of the joy which Tiff Turner finds in her role at Island Pure Sheep Dairy at Cygnet River, Kangaroo Island.
Previously an earth mover and panel beater in Western Australia, Tiff holidayed on Kangaroo Island and fell in love with the natural surrounds.
“I looked at the countryside with its mix of rural landscape and ocean views and decided this was where I wanted to be,” Tiff says.
Her first role at Island Pure was as a part-time milker, a job she did alongside earthmoving, operating rollers and a water cart as part of a road grading team.
Tiff Turner with Coco at Island Pure Dairy.
During the Christmas/New Year period one year, when road grading is put on hold because of the annual influx of visitors, Tiff took on the milking role full-time.
She was an excellent fit for the company, so the owners asked her to stay on full-time.
Working her way up into the role of general manager, she makes a point of staying hands-on and connected to the animals and the farm.
“If I am not careful, my role can get bogged down in paper and office work,” Tiff says.
“So I try to spend around three or four hours each day with the animals, and make sure I continue to be involved in all the roles including front-of-house, tours, the dairy and factory.
I like to be immersed in everything I do, and I wouldn’t ask my staff to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.”
The business, owned by Geoff Rischbieth, encompasses a dairy, cheese making factory, cellar door, permanent food van and soon, a micro-brewery.
Pure Island Sheep Dairy is not only a production facility, but an interactive tourism experience. It’s also soon to launch a micro-brewery.
Kangaroo Island Beer Co, as it will be known, is awaiting the final pieces of paperwork to come through, and the beer should be flowing in a couple of months.
If you visit before then, you’ll have to be satisfied with tasting the new cheeses that are on offer, including a Jersey Cheese, made with 100% Jersey milk from Fleurieu Milk Company.
A camembert and curd are also on offer, in addition to a red wine cheese made by repeatedly “drowning” the Island Pure kefalotiri in Kangaroo Island Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, drying it and ageing it.
“It is a unique cheese – not hard, not soft,” Tiff says.
“People who have tried it, love it, and they keep coming back for more.”
The products are available from the Island Pure online store, in IGA supermarkets, the Adelaide Central Market’s Kangaroo Island Stall, and at the Wayville Farmer’s Market.
“It is great to see the increase in visitors to Kangaroo Island,” Tiff says.
“Even better, people tell us they are staying for longer periods, or that they will be back to see us on their next holiday.
“The island is a beautiful place, and I love sharing that beauty and peacefulness with everyone who visits.”
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