Header Image Credit: Posh Photos International
When owners Cate and Brenton Wildman first stumbled across their beautifully hidden Adelaide Plains property, there were sheep roaming through the cottage and rusty, drooping corrugated iron roofs.
Nevertheless, the husband-and-wife duo saw the potential, and five years of planning, hard work, and a deep affection for the landscape, the farm is thriving. For a year or so now, it’s been hosting a unique combination of events that strangely enough, accompany one another quite nicely. The venue’s spacious, rustic charm naturally lends itself to weddings, but Cate and Brenton’s combined creative spark means it’s also host to blacksmith classes and macramé workshops, and is even an official SALA venue.
When they first landed on the property, Cate and Brenton found a barn, which would eventually become the wedding and events venue, and a cottage, which would be their new home.
The couple spent nearly two years restoring the cottage to a liveable standard. Cate, an interior designer, had already envisioned an extension, which is now underway. “We’ve had the plans for ages,” Cate said, “but it’s been tough finding a builder, or at least not one that wants to charge an obscene amount of money,” she laughed.
Instead, they’ve channeled their inner Grand Designs and taken on the colossal project themselves. The extension will be linked to the limestone cottage by a breezeway, creating a clear visual distinction between the original structure and the new, modern colourbond addition.
While the home renovation continues, it’s the barn, once overrun with a “jungle in the roof,” that’s drawing the attention.
“We’d only just moved in and were still working on the place when our daughter got engaged,” Cate said. “She said she wanted to get married on the lawn in front of the barn, but at that stage the barn was a complete wreck and there wasn’t really even a lawn.”
It took them about 18 months to renovate the building for the occasion, and after a beautiful, intimate day, it was clear this is what the barn was destined for. Now, the space is open for micro-weddings and other celebrations of around 50 guests.
Two old grain silos have also been transformed into striking gazebos, as seen in the header image.
The barn also took on a second life during August this year, when it was converted into a gallery for SALA Festival. Both Cate and Brenton are artists in different forms, Cate working in textiles, and Brenton a blacksmith. The couple hosted both their own work and pieces from fellow Adelaide Plains artists in the scenic barn gallery.
Beyond weddings and exhibitions, the pair has begun introducing workshops, including blacksmithing, corded basket-making, macramé, and more. Brenton specially built a forge on the end of his shed, where he has started hosting blacksmithing workshops to help share the craft with interested visitors. The pair’s hope is to build a creative calendar that fills the quieter months, especially when summer fire bans put a pause on blacksmithing and the blazing sun invites fewer weddings.
“We’re very hands-on people,” Cate says. “The workshops and events are just who we are. It’s a way to share the space with others.”
For many visitors, the first surprise is the landscape itself. Although the Adelaide Plains is often overlooked in favour of more established tourism regions, Cate says people are struck by its charm once they turn off the highway. Hidden pockets of bushland, waterways, and farmland make the area far more scenic than most expect.
“It’s unusual, and people don’t know much about it,” Cate says. “But when they actually come out here, they’re surprised by how pretty it is.”
With its mix of art, craft, weddings, and ongoing restoration, Wildman Farm is becoming a destination shaped by personality rather than a single purpose. While there’s plenty more to come for the farm, Cate and Brenton are over the moon at how it’s turned out so far, Cate saying, “It’s just us!”
Wildman Farm
Where: 141 Conrad Rd, Korunye
For more information, click here.
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