Susanna Freymark
Libby and Robert Dyason have been making tea tree oil for 46 years at their Coombell property, 16km south of Casino.
Libby is at the Casino Lions Farmers Market most Saturdays and she has regular customers who buy tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil and products from the Dyason’s Branch Creek Distillery.
Libby remains enthusiastic about the benefits of tea tree oil.
“We were going to run cattle but there was a crash in the market,” Libby said.
“We looked at our property and there were some tea trees.”
Libby and Robert harvested the trees, put the tea tree into bags on a dray that their draught horses pulled.
“We developed our own technique of growing tea tree,” Libby said.
In 1979, they planted out a hectare with more tea tree.
They mainly supplied tea tree concentrate for agricultural purposes.
“We’d take the oil to Casino Train Station,” she said.
The tea tree that grows is indigenous to the area, Libby said.
“We have 150 hectares of tea trees now.”
These days, they use a mechanical harvester to fill the truck.
The tea tree leaves are put into stainless steel bins, the lids are clasped and the bins are heated, Libby said. The tea tree steam goes through a condenser and into a separator.
The oil is used to make a range of products. The most popular items sold at the farmers market stall are the tea tree surface cleaner, the soap and the pure oil.
Tea tree oil is first aid in a bottle, Libby said.
Three years ago, Libby and Robert started producing eucalyptus as well.
“We found a mallee in Queensland and grew it here and it has been successful,” Libby said.
Eucalyptus oil can’t be produced from trees such as red gum without killing the tree.
A mallee can be harvested over and over again and it survives drought and flood.
Libby believes their tea tree plantation is the oldest working plantation in the world.
The uses for tea tree and eucalyptus oils are listed in a brochure Libby gives customers – from using it for cuts and sores, insect bites, bad breath and a skin balm.
Libby creates creams using tea tree oil and sells a range at her stall.
The eucalyptus oil is great for cleaning, as an insect repellent, sanitiser and solvent. Containers can be returned to Libby and reused.
Order products from Branch Creek Distillery here.
Casino Lions Farmers Market is on every Saturday at 8am–11am at Crawford Square Park, South Casino. Go to their Facebook page here.
