ABC Wide Bay / By Brad Marsellos 2021
Nearly 100 years ago, an orange tree was planted on the banks of the Burnett River near Gayndah in south-east Queensland that would grow into a story of love.
Walter Benham planted that tree in 1924, and four generations later the legacy continues with a family partnership and around 70,000 citrus trees.
Like something from the pages of a Spanish romance novel, rolling plains filled with fruit-heavy trees and the occasional rocky outcrop, the Beyenda Citrus farm remains home to the Benham family.
The family now grows grapefruit, lemons, mandarins as well oranges for export and the Australian market on the picturesque property.
Rachael Benham was not born a citrus farmer like her husband and fourth-generation grower, Matt. She grew up on a western Queensland livestock farm.
The couple met at university and Ms Benham went from animal science to living on an orchard.
Eleven years and two children later, Ms Benham still feels she has a lot to learn from the family with "orange juice flowing in their veins".
"Trees are a little different, they don't move and they don't kick, run away or need mustering," she says.…
