However you choose to celebrate, I’d like to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to all the mums this Sunday. A wise person once told me that every day is mother’s day so I, like many, will celebrate with a phone call then enjoy togetherness as a family when we are allowed.
I have been sent some photos to share with you. They are from Patrick taken where he walks in Mernda. A round trip from Mernda, Woollies to home, and called it Patrick’s walking trail. Not far from Patrick’s home he shared this special park where both he and Marg take their granddaughter when they are allowed.
As it may be the beginning of the end of the complete lockdown I have found another Whittlesea gem you may wish to add to your visiting list.
Farm Vigano.
Farm Vigano has not only a link to Mario’s restaurant in Exhibition Street Melbourne but also Mietta’s restaurant.
Farm Vigano is on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung land, situated in South Morang not far from the Le Page homestead, and on the bend in the Plenty River on land of the Wurundjeri people. The Plenty Gorge has been a food bowl and transport route for millennia and is rich in Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Still today it has an Italian cuisine which Mario Vigano pioneered in Melbourne through his restaurant Mario’s in Melbourne. With his wife, artist Maria Teresa Vigano, the couple purchased the farm in the 1930s to supply their restaurant and to escape the restaurant chaos. During the 1950s they transformed the original cottage into a grand brick and weatherboard residence that reflected their attitude to hospitality and family life. Farm Vigano is steep in history and is a link to the emergence of Italian culture in Melbourne – of food, music, art and family.
The Vigano’s descendants, including Patricia and Mietta O’Donnell, continued the food traditions the Viganos brought to Melbourne in the 1930s.
To supply their restaurant with fresh produce during the 1950s they transformed the original cottage into a grand brick and weatherboard residence that reflected their attitude to hospitality and family life.
Working Heritage began managing Farm Vigano in 2005. The property had been neglected, vandalised and was being considered for demolition. A lot of work and significant resources brought the place back to life, and have made it into a place used and valued by the community. Whittlesea U3A had a small part of this re-emergence. Work was undertaken and restorative planting of the orchard was got off the ground by the community. Many community organisations purchased the fruit trees which were then planted and the fruits of the orchard were available to all. Whittlesea U3A planted three fruit trees, a plum, pear and peach. Last time I visited Farm Vigano the landscape had been changed and I could no longer find the orchard.
Late 2016 the building was updated and was a special place to celebrate or enjoy the Italian cuisine. Their address is 10 Bushman’s Way South Morang.
Note: – the site is steep, but there is plenty of parking at the top and limited parking at the bottom. During the COVID-19 times they are having limited takeaway. Tel 9407 1212
Until next time, Mary Renshaw