Since living at Newenham for six months now, our very own marketing, community and sales director Olivia Burke says the grass really is greener on the other side; the tree change is everything she and her family had hoped for.
“We’re absolutely loving it and we’ve finally started to settle in and spend the time up here enjoying it now that we have a little more time up our sleeves,” Olivia says. “The kids have taken to it like ducks to water, chucking their gumboots on and heading out exploring straight away.”
Moving from Adelaide, she says while much of their social life is still in the city, they are really starting to immerse themselves in the community now; an enormous drawcard for the family in making their move.
“You notice when you’re up here that it’s an incredibly friendly place to live. People are very welcoming and community-minded, and they’re eager for you to join their football or netball teams. With three little sporting fanatics at home we are exploring these opportunities.”
While the family are looking forward to being more involved in the beautiful Hills community, Olivia said the other lifestyle benefits are already very apparent.
“My husband has been building a fantastic cubby house with the kids in the backyard scrub, something we simply wouldn’t have even thought of doing in Adelaide. There’s even some neighbouring dams with trout and red fin fish where we would love to take our kids to throw in a line.”
Olivia says it’s all about the simple things in the Hills. “Simply looking out and having a vista of gum trees and being able to look up and see a koala, smell the smoke from the fireplaces, chopping wood…once we’re here, we definitely feel as though we’re on a bit of a mini holiday.”
Upon falling in love with the land and the heritage properties which make up the community village here, Olivia recently held her wedding on the Newenham grounds. A stunning rustic backdrop for her naturally romantic Hills wedding, the old barn and stables proved the ideal setting.
“Having been a part of the restoration of the barn, the garage and the old cottage there, I felt that it was really fitting that I was married there. It really is such a beautiful setting – we had the ceremony at the perfect time of day when the sun begins to set and you get that gorgeous dappled light through the gum trees.”
The reception was held in the rustic old barn, while tents and dance floors were set up around the property, adorned with flowers and festoon lighting. “It was a very romantic setting, and it was fantastic for the kids because they had so much space to run around and have fun.”
“Years of passion and energy have gone into Newenham, and to bring it to life with my wedding seemed like a really tangible expression of our commitment to the project and the future community. It shows how beautiful we really think Newenham is, and it really lived up to our expectations – it was everything we thought it could be.”
Many others are seeing the benefits of Newenham, with a number of requests for events hosted on the site. Most recently, the popular Adelaide music events company Porch Sessions held their annual Porchland festival on the grounds which was an enormous success.
While Olivia says events are certainly something they would love to support, increasing the community vibe and utilising the space, she says residents will always be priority. “We do want to create a place that is considered a destination and that has an authentic vibrancy around it, but we are also very sensitive of the community and the needs of that environment.”
Sooner rather than later, residents will begin to make their way into the grounds, with stage one and two predominantly finished construction and stage three now well underway. “We now have titles so people can really settle on their land, and residents are beginning to build their homes. It’s very exciting.”
With the main entry and boulevard completed, Olivia says the village is really starting to take shape. In the coming months, the shared linear park walkway will begin to take shape, as well as the landscaping around the entry boulevard and the linear park.
“You really get a feel for how beautiful it is and the way we’ve utilised the natural contours and leveraged off the surrounding environment. Street trees are being planted and people are really seeing our plans take shape here. We can’t wait to see more unfold.”
If you’d like to see the beautiful grounds at Newenham or talk to our friendly sales team about securing your future here, visit the Sales & Information Centre, open daily from 12 – 5pm at 164 Flaxley Road, Mount Barker or call on 8210 7660.
We look forward to welcoming you to Newenham soon.
