The rolling hills of the Adelaide Hills, usually synonymous with picturesque landscapes and bountiful harvests, have thrown their fair share of challenges at Chris, 39, and Emily Shipway, 34. Yet, as the last of the autumn apples blush on the trees at their Lenswood Pick Your Own orchard, a remarkable story of resilience, grit, and the enduring spirit of the land is ripening alongside them.
For Chris and Emily, both registered nurses who bravely traded hospital scrubs for orchard boots just four years ago, the past year has been a relentless gauntlet. The end of 2024 brought the devastating news of Chris’s cancer diagnosis, necessitating immediate surgery followed by a gruelling four-cycle chemotherapy regime that commenced in January.
But the trials didn’t stop there. As Chris bravely underwent treatment, their apple orchard became a prime target for an unprecedented influx of birds. Despite investing thousands in deterrents, the feathered foragers wreaked havoc, leaving the couple with the daunting prospect of spending tens of thousands more on essential bird netting, sourced only interstate.
Adding insult to injury, this surge in bird numbers across the Adelaide Hills was attributed to a curious combination of a booming bat population in the city parklands and a scarcity of natural food sources for native birds.
On a day already fraught with logistical nightmares – Emily was coordinating the delivery of that crucial netting from Victoria – fate dealt another blow. En route to collect their younger daughters, Charlie, 4, and Lucy, 1, from childcare, Emily and their eldest daughter, Daisy, 11, were involved in a significant car accident. While thankfully sustaining only minor injuries, their family car was written off.
In those dark days, the very real possibility loomed that the couple’s fourth pick-your-own apple season might never come to fruition.
Yet, with the unwavering spirit that seems to define this determined duo, February 15th saw the orchard gates swing open for the first day of the 2025 apple-picking season. With Emily often needed elsewhere, the daily operations rested on the shoulders of a newly formed team. This included their own 11-year-old daughter, Daisy, two local 14-year-old lads embarking on their first taste of work, and Darian, a sixth-generation apple grower from the area.
Despite a predicted slow start due to lingering chill, once autumn truly took hold, families flocked to Lenswood in astounding numbers, eager to wander amongst the laden trees and hand-pick their own crisp fruit. Beyond the family fun, @Lenswood Pick Your Own has also cultivated significant growth in their educational school program. Welcoming over 70 school groups this year, the excursions offer students a valuable behind-the-scenes look at apple production, cleverly linking their learning back to the Australian Curriculum and promoting the value of local agriculture through the Lenswood Apples cooperative.
Their community spirit extends beyond education. Anzac Day saw the orchard continue its tradition of giving back, donating over $2,300 to the Lobethal RSL, bringing their total contributions over the past four years to an impressive $13,000.
As apple season draws to a close in the coming weeks – a particularly long season this year due to the drought – the orchard is on track to welcome an impressive 30,000 visitors for their autumn harvest. This incredible result, on top of Chris receiving the all-clear from his oncologist at the start of April, has given the family an immense sense of relief.
This couple, who traded intensive care nursing for the unpredictable world of farming in 2022 with no prior experience, are working harder than ever. Their motivation? A deep-seated desire to create a place where happy memories are made, a sentiment particularly poignant for Emily, who lost her own mother to cancer at just 38.
“It’s important that we as a consumer-facing business promote South Australia’s agricultural industry – we can have the conversations with consumers that farmers can’t,” they explain. “It’s also incredibly important to us that we show our three daughters that no matter what life throws at you, be resilient, keep trying, and put one foot in front of the other, and you will sort it out.” In the face of adversity, The Shipways are not just growing apples, they are cultivating hope and demonstrating the remarkable strength of the human spirit amidst the challenges of the land.
@Lenswood Pick Your Own
Where: 122 Harris Rd, Lenswood SA 5240
When: Open Hours: Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays 10-4 and weekends 9-4 (until the season ends, most likely at the end of May)
For more information, click here.
More News
