Farmer Wants A Wife returns to TV in 2020 with sheep farmer Harry

Sheep farmer Harry Robertson admits he rarely watched TV — let alone dating shows — before appearing in this season’s Farmer Wants A Wife.

Country lads: Harry Robertson (left) and fellow farmers Nick, Sam, Neil and Alex star in Channel 7's new season of Farmer Wants A Wife. Picture: Channel 7

SHEEP farmer Harry Robertson admits he rarely watched TV — let alone dating shows — before appearing in this season’s Farmer Wants A Wife.

“I don’t watch much TV to be honest,” the 29-year-old says.

“I’d rather be looking at the bottom of a schooner glass.

“It will be hard to watch. I’ll cringe when I see it.”

Harry farms 2630ha in Goolgowi (population about 400) near Griffith in NSW. That includes 100ha of wine grapes, 1000 Dorper sheep and — before the drought — cotton.

He is one of five farmers to join the 10th season of the romance reality show, which has moved from Channel 9 to Channel 7. FWAW’s previous nine seasons resulted in nine marriages and 20 babies.

Host Natalie Gruzlewski describes Harry as a “loveable larrikin with a broad Aussie accent who is ready to settle down and have a family”.

He joins sheep and cattle farmer Alex, from Cunnamulla in Queensland; father-of-three Neil, a wool grower from Crookwell, NSW; Nick, who owns a vineyard in Tasmania; and Sam, a third-generation tropical fruit grower from Innisfail in north Queensland.

The farmers met this year for filming, pre-coronavirus, and each chose eight women to date. Each farmer will eventually choose four women to spend a month on their farm. Among the eight chosen by Harry are farm hand Stacey from Grovedale, and Karlana, a food stall owner from Mornington.

Does Harry find true love? “I can’t tell you that,” he says, with all farmers promising to keep the final episode top secret.

So is he glad he joined? “Very much so. I have no regrets.”

Given that he’s not a follower of romance TV, it’s unsurprising there was another agent behind the application to join the show.

Season 10: Farmer Harry.

“My mate’s missus caught me at a weak moment. She did all the work, lodged it in for me and it snowballed from there.” Weak moment? “I was very hung over on a Sunday after a big Saturday night.

“I don’t even remember what the event was. Probably a few loud beers down at the local.

“I’m not the type of bloke to do this kind of thing. I didn’t think I was going to be picked.

“But in the drought not much was going on so I thought I may as well use my time well. It was something different.

“Because I’d never seen the show I went in cold turkey.”

Harry, who plays in the local rugby league competition, says the four women stayed on the farm towards the end of summer, when the gauge cracked 40C and it was “dust storm after dust storm”. “I’m on the flat plains and don’t get much protection so she blows and blows. It was a bit of an eye opener for them,” he says, explaining that the farm now is different to how it appears on TV, thanks to decent recent rainfall that has resulted in new green growth.

“It was always in the back of my mind, whether they’d enjoy it, especially in drought,” Harry says.

The ladies, though, were quite content given Harry has a pool on the property after moving to the farm three years ago, next to his parents’ farm where he grew up.

“They were pretty content sunbathing by the pool in the heat,” he says, adding that the women were also put to work on the farm.

“I’ve lived on my own for a while so I cooked them meals, lamb roasts, that kind of thing,” Harry says.

“I was pretty lucky, the ladies were all go-getters and ripped in. They had a positive energy.”

Harry has three older sisters and loves being an uncle to eight nephews and nieces, and would love to have his own children one day, “but I don’t want to rush the fun part of trying first”. He doesn’t have a type, but is seeking a partner who is “respectful and loyal, easygoing, and loves a laugh”, while he says trust “is without doubt the biggest thing for me”.

Harry says even though he is nervous about how the show will portray him – “I want to do my mother proud” – it was “good to get out of my comfort zone”.

Even before the show is aired, he says he has been recognised in the street by strangers and given a hard time by his mates.

“Someone took a photo of me in Griffith KFC the other day. I’m sure it will get worse for a while.

“It’s mainly friends and family pulling me up and stirring me.

“It’s good for the community, to get people talking, a bit of a buzz, maybe promote the area. Something to laugh and smile about rather than just focusing on the drought.”

● Farmer Wants A Wife premieres on Sunday

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