Fifty dollars and a dream
When Gary Gill arrived in Australia in 2005, he had fifty dollars in his pocket and a dream that had been growing since childhood. He grew up in a farming family in Punjab, India, where his great-grandparents, grandparents and parents all worked the land. By the age of six, Gary was helping on the farm. As he puts it, “farming is truly in my blood.”
During university term breaks, Gary travelled to Griffith in the Riverina region of NSW to work on his cousins’ farms. That, he says, is where his Australian farming story really began. Before returning to the land full time, he and his wife Shikha built a successful hospitality business in Sydney, opening Kurrajong Curries in 2010, followed by several restaurants and cafes. But the dream of owning his own farm never left him. In 2018, he decided it was time, and the family made the move to Leeton with their two young children.
Why Leeton and why citrus
The Riverina already held a special place in Gary’s heart. It was where he first worked on Australian farms back in 2005, and his cousins are still farming near Griffith today, so the choice of region felt natural. Leeton sits in the heart of one of Australia’s finest growing regions, with beautiful soils and a climate well suited to citrus.
The Gills bought their first citrus farm at Cudgel and in 2022 they purchased a beautiful citrus property at Leeton with a home on it, which finally allowed the family to live right among their trees. That was always the dream, Gary says, not just to farm but to wake up every morning surrounded by your crop. As he describes it, citrus chose them as much as they chose it.
Fifty acres and a rare find
The family now farms 50 acres of planted citrus across their properties, growing a wonderful diversity of varieties through the seasons. In summer there are Valencia and Salustiana oranges, lemons and summer mandarins. As winter approaches, the harvest moves into Navelina, Washington Navel, Cara Cara, blood oranges, Lane Navel and a range of mandarins. They also grow a rare and special citrus called the lemonade fruit, which looks just like a lemon but tastes beautifully sweet and tangy.
Gary’s personal favourite is the Navelina. It is an early variety, completely seedless and incredibly sweet.
The peace of the orchard
We asked Gary what he loves about farming.
“There is a peace and a connection out there that is hard to describe. I truly believe the trees love the grower as much as the grower loves the crop.”
After generations of farming in his family, being out on his own land in Leeton feels like coming home, no matter how far it is from Punjab.
“The hardest part is the unpredictability. Farming is at the mercy of weather, water, nature and supermarkets, and a late frost or dry season can undo months of work. But that challenge makes the rewards sweeter.”
From the tree to your table
Gary and Shikha do supply through commercial channels, but the Farmers Market, he says, is something entirely different. He wants his customers to experience the freshest, purest fruit possible, picked on Thursday and Friday, packed the same day and on the table at the Capital Region Farmers Market by Saturday morning. No wax, no degreening gas, just honest fruit straight from the trees to your hands.
It comes down to the people
What Gary enjoys most about the Market is the people. He loves standing at the stall and talking to customers, telling them about the farm, the varieties, how the fruit is grown and why buying direct from farmers matters. There is a real exchange that happens at a farmers market, he says, that you simply cannot get anywhere else.
You will find Gill Citrus at the Capital Region Farmers Market on Saturdays. Come and say hello to Gary, taste the difference a few days off the tree makes and pick up a bag of winter’s brightest fruit.
