When the Bunya Tree Decides It’s Time

Celebrating a rare harvest, a remarkable tree, and the community it brings together.

There are moments in distilling when you feel less like you’re in charge, and more like you’re responding to nature’s schedule. This bunya season has been one of those moments.

On the western side of the distillery car park stand three massive bunya pines. They are tall, ancient, and usually content to quietly watch over the place. This year, however, they made their intentions very clear. The cones began dropping without much warning, hitting the ground with a thud that quickly reminded us why bunya season commands respect. Branches underneath took a beating, the ground became a no-go zone, and suddenly collecting fruit became a job that required a construction helmet rather than a basket.

It’s not every harvest that involves head protection.

A rare and powerful season

Bunya nuts come from the bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii), a tree native to South East Queensland and northern New South Wales. These trees can live for hundreds of years and don’t produce heavy crops every year. When they do, it’s usually every two to three years, often between January and March, depending on the season.

This year has been exceptional. Across our three trees, nearly 200 large bunya cones have dropped. Each cone weighs between five and nine kilograms and contains between 80 and 100 chestnut-sized nuts. It is our biggest harvest in over a decade, and one that is impossible to ignore.

When they fall, they fall hard. It is a reminder that this harvest is dictated entirely by the trees, on their own terms.

A tree with deep roots in community

For thousands of years, bunya season was a time of gathering for First Nations people. Groups travelled long distances to feast, trade, celebrate, and renew relationships. The bunya nut was not just food. It was a reason to come together.

Standing under our tree this season, helmet on and eyes up, it’s hard not to feel connected to that history. There’s something about bunya season that naturally draws people in, sparks conversation, and invites sharing.

Our first bunya harvest and a first for the distillery

This season marks a milestone for us: our first-ever bunya harvest turned into a drink.

But not just any drink.

Rather than using dairy, we’re creating a milk from the bunya nuts themselves, drawing out their natural creaminess to form the base of our first-ever cream liqueur made entirely with non-dairy milk. It’s a slow, hands-on process and very much an experiment, but one grounded in respect for the ingredient. Bunya nuts are naturally rich, gently sweet, and beautifully textured. Turning them into milk allows the flavour to lead, rather than being softened or masked. It feels like the most honest way to let this ingredient speak.

Over the last week, we trialled this new Bunya Nut Cream Liqueur with a few brave “guinea pig” customers. The verdict was clear. We are onto something special. Think Baileys-style comfort, but deeply local, seasonal, and entirely our own.

A true community batch

Because the bunya season has always been about sharing, we’re treating this as a community batch.

Locals with bunya trees, and more nuts than they know what to do with, are welcome to bring them by the distillery and contribute to the harvest. All contributions go into a shared batch, helping shape a very limited and very seasonal release.

Contributors will be added to our customer list and invited to follow the journey as the liqueur comes together, with a taste of the final liqueur offered in line with the size of their contribution.

This isn’t about transactions. It’s about celebrating a rare season, a remarkable tree, and a flavour that belongs right here.

Capturing a fleeting moment

Bunya season does not last long. The cones fall, the ground clears, and the trees return to stillness, sometimes for years at a time. Our hope is to capture this moment in liquid form, something to open later and remember this season by.

► Taste the season! Our Bunya Cream Liqueurs are ready to be discovered.