Gidgegannup Info

Welcome to the Experience Gidgegannup web page.

Experience Gidgegannup aims to increase the viability of rural and tourism businesses in Gidgegannup through providing growth and value-adding opportunities.

Experience Gidgegannup Newsletters are now published in the monthly Gidgegram. These are also available on this site electronically – see Home (News) Page. We are also on Facebook. Search Experience Gidgegannup and “Like” our page for regular updates.

Our membership is growing as the community recognizes the substantial benefits that come from such involvement. We do, however, welcome new members to join the Association, come on our committee, if they wish, and help to provide the growth that our local industries need.

We hope to boost tourism in our area for the benefit of everyone, business owners, locals and visitors. We have wonderful support from the City of Swan and, as a result, Gidgegannup is already starting to be recognized as a great place to visit.

We have several events planned for the coming year and are always looking for fresh new ideas for others. See Events..

If you think you may be interested in becoming part of the group please call Penny Morgan on 0427 747 210 or Sally Block on 0418 928 549.

Membership is $55 a year and for this you get a directory entry on the website, space in the EG Marquee at the Gidgegannup Show and at the Small Farm Field Day, and also exposure at our other events. We take part in many initiatives with the City of Swan and other organisations and this information is circulated to all our members.

We also showcase our members on our web page.

The Small Farm Field Day also has an active Facebook Page – search Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day in Facebook to keep up to date.

Let us know your news and views and join us. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month (excluding January).

events

• Small Farm Field Day – Sunday 29 May 2022
• EG Marquee at the Gidge Show – Saturday 29 Oct 2022
• Picnic by the Lake – 2022 to be advised

meetings

Second Tuesday every month excluding January at 7.30 pm at 661 Reserve Road, Gidgegannup.

committee & contacts

a short history

Experience Gidgegannup was initiated by the City of Swan in 2004. At this stage the project was known as “Eat the View” and was funded by a grant from the Outer Metropolitan Community Fund.

An initial seminar “Future of Rural Produce and Tourism Learning & Opportunities” was held on the 14th May 2005. The seminar was attended by a handful of interested locals keen to find out more about the project. The seminar was also attended by two guest speakers, Ric McDonald, project Officer for the Heartland Country Project and Maureen Dorba owner of the Loose Leaf Lettuce Company and winner of the 2005 Rural Woman of the Year Award. As a result of this seminar a Community Reference group was established consisting of 8 community and 2 City of Swan Representatives.

Several meetings were held after this one to try to boost some community interest, but this was not very successful. Together the Community Reference group pushed along with a few initial goals, the first being to develop a logo and slogan and the second being to put together a display and stall for the local Gidgegannup show.

It became apparent after the first few meetings that “Eat the View” was not really an appropriate name for what we were hoping to achieve. A consultant was enlisted to work with us to develop the logo and slogan. We held a brainstorming session to give the consultant a good idea of the physical characteristics of our area and our thoughts in general, on life in Gidgegannup. After consultation with the community the “Experience Gidgegannup in the hills” slogan and logo were developed to replace “Eat the View”.

A marquee was booked at the 2005 Gidge Show and we then had the task of filling it! We all volunteered our time to undertake various tasks to make it happen, and happen it did. Many hours were spent on the phone, on the computer and even visiting people. Out of the woodwork came all sorts.

Marquee at 2009 Gidge Show

Local honey, olive oils, goats cheese, macadamias, Chinese dates and wines, all offered for free tastings. Information on walk trails, bridle trails, wildflower drives, picnic spots and other areas of interest. Crafts people, local businesses and even the local historian all armed with information and goods to try to entice people to come back to our wonderful area. The marquee was jammed packed with produce, products and information that most us didn’t even know existed in our area. There was a great response from visitors and also locals and the EG marquee is now four marquees and has been extremely successful in promoting local businesses, growers and producers.

Late 2005 we saw the launch of the “Gidgegannup Wildflower Drive Brochure” and also the “Natural Beauty of Swan Brochure” which includes Gidge’s natural assets, such as Berry Reserve and Noble Falls. The Swan Valley Tourism Brochure which has 50,000 copies distributed around Perth, includes a page which is dedicated to Gidgegannup.

In October 2006 we had and even bigger and better marquee at the Gidge Show, followed by a stall at the Kulcha Concert in March 2007, a produce stall at the inaugural Mundaring Truffle Festival in August 2007, and a series of networking meetings showcasing local businesses. In 2008 we held the inaugural Picnic by the Lake at Lake Josephine with hampers of local produce on sale and a sell out day at this picturesque location. Again the Kulcha Concert in March and then the inaugural Small Farms Field Day in June 2008.

Experience Gidgegannup is thriving with an active membership and we continue to hold our core events annually of the Picnic by the Lake, the Small Farm Field Day and the EG Marquee at the Agricultural Show.