Brian Ahmed’s connection to Werribee South is generational. It was where his parents settled after migrating to Australia and it’s where he chose to raise his children. The egg farmer and owner of Wyndham Cache speaks with Adem Saban.
When did your family come to Australia?
My mum Julie migrated to Australia with her family from Cyprus in 1951. She was about 13 at the time. Her father had come ahead of the family, working on the Werribee South vegetable farms until he had enough money to bring the rest of the family. My father, John, came out in 1949 on his own, without having any friends or family. My parents didn’t know each other in Cyprus – they met in Melbourne.
Did they stay in Werribee South that whole time?
When they were married, they moved to Kensington. Dad worked a number of jobs. He was a mechanic by trade and started his own business carting clay from quarries for Boral Bricks with a friend and his brother-in-law. Mum was working in the factory on a sewing machine. After my brother Hilmi and I were born (1959 and 1961 respectively), they wanted to live on a farm.
So back to Werribee South?
Werribee South is what my mum knew; she had an attachment to the area and still had family and friends here. In 1969, they bought this farm with the sole purpose of starting an egg production business. We slowly built the business up. It started with a free-range barn system – little sheds with a few chooks running around. Back then, it was a regulated industry – all you did was produce eggs to supply the Victorian Egg Board. Then the board wanted cleaner, more uniform eggs, so we needed to go into cages. In the 1980s, we got our licence to market our own eggs and went out independently.
What was your Werribee South childhood like?
Great. The mansion was like our cubby house. We’d run up and down the stairwells and climb around on the roof. I remember my brother and I would grab a fishing rod and go down to the back of the Werribee River and go fishing, catching red fin. But we still went to school and had our chores. Every morning, we’d get up and feed the chickens and the same after school.
Who runs the business today?
My brother and I. We were selling eggs out of a tin shed initially, and then we started selling honey, jams, other local produce. It kept growing, and we’ve now got the Wyndham Cache Deli and Cafe here, to service locals and tourists. My wife, Nuge, and daughters Danyel and Renay are now working here full-time and have plans of taking over one day. We have no plans of leaving.
What do you love most about Werribee South?
It’s still a down-to-earth community with real country people. If you need help, you ring a friend or neighbour. If you need a tractor, you borrow one – you don’t buy one. People are here to help each other.
