ABOUT US
Your Hosts
At Mewburn Park we love to help create a day to remember, and that includes attentive service offered from the first viewing through to breakfast in our bridal suite the day after!
Be assured, you’re in good hands with Julia & Adam’s track record - with over 200 weddings at Mewburn Park Homestead.
A bit about us …
JULIA Born into a family that had run a gourmet deli and catering company for generations in Germany, and herself working in the TV and music industry hosting some of the world’s top pop stars at some of the biggest concerts and stadium events; Julia knows how to take care of you and your big day! Her attention to detail and wedding knowledge is immense.
From the initial email through to getting you ready to walk down the aisle, Julia and the team will be there for you!
ADAM With Mewburn Park as his family home, Adam’s background in Hospitality Management and his various jobs in catering, hotels, restaurants, stadiums and bars across Melbourne has you covered. Rest assured that the level of service provided by staff at Mewburn Park will impress!
Adam is also the resident gardener, striving to match those Pinterest gardens!
To top it off both Adam & Julia are Graphic Designers so they love being on the hunt for the next trend for Mewburn Park.
About Mewburn
View our video to get an idea of our property and what we offer. Please note, the video was made in 2020 - so we’ve had a few upgrades since then. The property, not botox. Please reach out to organise a viewing.
Our Team
Here at Mewburn Park Homestead we pride ourselves on attentive & excellent customer service. From your initial contact with us in the office, to serving Nana her ‘tea with a dash of milk’ in the marquee after speeches.
We’re often looking for new staff to join the team, if we are somewhere that you’d like to work then please reach out, we would love to meet with you.
History
Mewburn Park Homestead has a rich history, and it has always been a daunting task to provide all this information. It’s not only a place of significance for our locals, but it’s also our family home for 2 generations - so - if we get tied up with boring details, we apologise in advance!
First of all, we would like to acknowledge that Mewburn Park Homestead exists on the traditional lands where the Gunaikurnai People are the Traditional Owners of the land and have lived for many thousands of years here. We honour their ongoing connection to these lands and strive to respect the traditional custodians in our work.
In 1842, 38,000 acres were leased by Dr Alexander Arbuckle, Thomas Macalister and Lachlan Macalister.
Our name “Mewburn” derives from Thomas & Lachlan’s Scottish Mum’s maiden name - we call her … Lady Mewburn.
In 1847 a Norwegian Captain, John Johnson-Boe (Knud Olai Boe), purchased the property and built the first dwellings. And pretty well too! The original part of the Homestead, including the Servants Quarters & Stables is still standing!
Why the name change of the Captain? In his earlier days , he arrived in Liverpool without knowing English, so a shipping master who couldn’t understand his name, which was Knud Olai Boe, recorded his name as John Johnson, and he was always known afterwards by that name. Side-tracked, sorry!
The purpose of Mewburn Park Estate was to develop a grazing property, where they would eventually deliver beef to the penal colonies of Tasmania & New Zealand via Port Albert. Mewburn Park Estate was a clever purchase for the Norwegian Captain, as he owned several ships running from Port Albert.
When the township of Maffra was laid out, the main street of Maffra was named after him, Johnson Street.
Captain Johnson’s Son-in-law purchased the property in 1905.
In 1917 the 2nd family purchased Mewburn Park. The Gilder’s were a renowned farming family owning other Estates in the area. They further developed the Homestead to what it is today.
In 1919 Maffra’s first golf course was developed on the estate. Starting with a 9-hole course with sand scrapes. But that was just the beginning of the club’s ambitious vision. By 1928, the course expanded to a fully-fledged 18-hole wonder, enchanting golfers with its scenic beauty.
However, fate had its own plans, and the club faced challenging times during the tumultuous years of the First and Second World Wars. In the 1950s the club was later moved to it’s current site in Maffra.
In 1985, John & Julie Vardy purchased Mewburn Park Estate at Auction. The Vardy family had been on a neighbouring farm down Mewburn Park road for 4 generations, so Mewburn Park was already in their blood. The farm was then developed from a grazing farm to a dairy farm. Over the years the Vardys were able to renovate the Homestead back to it’s glory that we see today. Extending the grounds and extensive planting of trees have also help regenerate the homestead gardens.
In 2016 Adam & Julia Vardy moved back from Germany to pursue their dream of keeping Mewburn Park in the family and running a wedding venue from the homestead. There is a massive future for Mewburn Park, and we love helping this homestead grow and transform into something better each year.
Mewburn Park is not only a passion for us all, but also our family home - where we love to welcome guests from all over the world.
