The Borough Dept. Store in Korumburra is Tamsin Carvan’s latest food project

Rather than showcasing local produce on her farm, Tamsin Carvan has now opened The Borough Dept. Store in Korumburra

Sweet treats: Tamsin Carvan in the Borough Dept. Store in Korumburra, where she sells cakes and other local produce and goods. Picture: Chloe Smith

KORUMBURRA, on the South Gippsland Highway, has for decades been a town drivers pass through on their way to Wilsons Promontory.

But Tamsin Carvan thinks Korumburra is on the brink of being discovered.

“It’s the best kept secret in Victoria,” Tamsin says.

“We didn’t have the gold rush so there’s not the architecture of Daylesford or Beechworth, for instance, but we did have a coal rush and that brought a lot of money, so buildings here are grand and statuesque.

“It’s the gateway to Gippsland, nestled in a beautiful valley, surrounded by green hills, with a strong community.”

It’s in one of those grand old buildings that Tamsin in 2018 launched The Borough Dept. Store, showcasing local and specialty international produce in a providore section, as well as her own renowned homemade cakes and meals.

“The building (circa 1939) was originally a department store, a Coles Variety, then Fosseys, before it was more recently a gift shop with everything from crockery to musical instruments,” says the 49-year-old.

“Locals come in here and say they remember the lolly counter or the haberdashery section, and so in starting the business we wanted to honour those memories.

“Ultimately, post-COVID, we’d like to rejuvenate the idea for a department store, but right now people can come here, get meals or buy the ingredients to make their own.”

The Borough Dept. Store in Korumburra. Picture: Chloe Smith

The providore features such local treats as Snowy River Black Garlic, Butterfly Factory yoghurts and cheese, or Hill Top Hives honey, as well as Melbourne-made products such as pates, terrines and hot sauces.

With a full-time staff of three, open seven days a week, Tamsin also makes the likes of lasagnes, curries and chilli con carne for takeaway meals, as well as signature “subtle and delicate” cakes such as brandy and almond, or chocolate and hazelnut.

She says it is a model that will hopefully sustain the business in the tough economic times of the pandemic.

“We want to slow down cars and give drivers a reason to stop in Korumburra. To do that we need to raise the bar and do something great. More and more that is happening.

“The brewery has recently opened up and we want to create a critical mass of businesses, to encourage people to spend money here, especially since there is less wealth creation from agriculture.”

The mum-of-one’s own agricultural journey started with limited knowledge.

She quit her advertising job in Sydney to study philosophy, “to find meaning, to find something purposeful”. But after three years “I left that with more questions than when I started”, she says.

Her next job involved working with farmers on water, land management and bushfires and Tamsin quickly realised “I was homesick for a farm I didn’t even own”.

“I knew then and there that that was what I needed to do: get myself a beautiful property.”

Moving to Poowong in Gippsland in the early 2000s Tamsin says she found joy and “a meaningful” life on the land.

When The Weekly Times profiled Tamsin in 2013, she was running her hugely popular self-sufficiency workshops from her 45ha farm in Poowong.

Called Tamsin’s Table, the workshops and events celebrated the farm’s seasons and bounty, attracting participants from around the nation — from growing and cooking artichokes, to making foods from rose petals.

However, when her partner, Allan, became sick, Tamsin closed the Tamsin’s Table business and then, with no income, had to sell the farm, opening The Borough Dept. Store in the midst of this turmoil. Allan passed away last year.

With emotion apparent in her voice, she says it has been a deeply tough few years, not helped by the pandemic-related economic restrictions.

“I miss the farm and I find it hard to talk about. Lives take turns and we make the best of it.

“I’m very grateful to live in one of Korumburra’s old vintage homes. I’m a simple soul.

“I just love sitting on my veranda, looking at the trees, the light and the birds.”

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