Meet Luke Murphy, the land steward

Luke Murphy has farmed a sloping 1.5-acre block of land in Bulli for nearly a decade. Luke is a private person and not one to beat his own drum, so his friend Naomi Katz contacted the Flame to share Luke’s community-minded, sustainable and local food philosophies.

In 2014, a neighbour bought the block in suburban Bulli, intending to set the land aside for a farm. Farmers By Choice was born. Since then, those involved in the farm have made local food security and the community the priorities, rather than monetary return.

Luke, along with the landowners, established a market garden and chickens, and sold the farm’s produce through its farmgate stall. Today Luke sells honey from his hives and free-range eggs from his 250 chickens – in addition to his nine-to-five job.

Luke is a trained apiculturist, a beekeeper who takes great care of his hives, having built them from scratch. In fact, every structure on the property, including his tiny home, has been hauled down the hill and constructed by Luke.

The farmgate, alongside the local honey and eggs, supports other local producers as well, with jams, chutney, chilli oil and seedlings on offer. There is an honesty system for cash payment or the option for payment via bank transfer. Luke encourages people to drop off jars and egg cartons for reuse.

Luke lives on site and sees every change in the landscape as it happens. Last year’s floods changed everything. The land falls towards Woodlands Creek so the low parts are flood prone. The chickens had to be brought to higher ground. At the time, Luke had five pigs who were, you guessed it, like pigs in mud.

He is a land steward, looking after a piece of land, nurturing its potential for production. His high-quality products sell by word of mouth in the local area. As the chickens age and sicken, they don’t go to waste. They are euthanised and made into a broth.

Luke says, “I’m lucky that the owners saw a chance to make something good and sacrificed potential income to make it happen. Local, quality food is gaining in popularity and it’s great to see more places like this popping up all the time.”

Naomi moved from Mexico to Australia just before Covid in 2019. She comes from a family of artists. Through botanical art Naomi was introduced to the idea of sustainable agriculture and food production which, at the age of 16, became her life’s focus. After arriving in Wollongong to study sustainable communities, she was drawn towards like-minded people and studied and worked in permaculture and biodynamic farming throughout the country. The stars aligned and Naomi met Luke at Bulli and furthered her education in sustainable community food production and food resilience.

Naomi is keen to share her passion for community food production. She hopes to establish her own farm one day, with a focus on regenerating soil.

Luke will continue to look after his urban plot and grow food.

“So many people have land that is badly managed or not used which could easily be made into productive food spaces,” Naomi says.

“This humble block of land surrounded by houses and cared for by Luke is an important cog in the wheel of local food resilience, and one for others to learn from.”