Julian “Julz” Baillie was born and bred in the Tumby Bay area. He grew up living and working at the family Yanta Sheep Studs farm. A true-blue farmer, Julz can be found at work most days, or enjoying the company of his lovely partner and family.
What is it like living and working on Eyre Peninsula as a farmer?
Living and working as a farmer on EP is a great life. Eyre Peninsula is like one big country town. From my own personal experience I seem to know people from all over EP, which is a network I love having. One thing that does get to me a bit these days is that once upon a time farming was seen as a lifestyle as well as a business, but it seems these days due to the pressured world we operate in, it is very much a business with a small bit of lifestyle mixed in. Things like neighbourly connections are being lost to focus on finances.
What other work have you done and what did you enjoy about it?
Other work I did in my earlier working years was at a local silo at harvest time. I then decided I needed to branch out a bit before settling at the family farm, so I seasonally went interstate and worked at a big cotton growing operation in New South Wales on and off for about five years. I saw this as crucial to opening my eyes to the outside world beyond the family farm, earning my stripes under a number of different bosses and so on.
Do you have a hobby or interest you are passionate about that others may not be aware of?
Unfortunately, hobbies and pastimes became a casualty of my desire to continue to chase my dreams of continuing to build and expand the family operation. Some might say I read too many books of the pioneers of the North!
What are you most proud of?
Apart from being proud of the family that my partner Jacqui and I have produced considering we got together closer to our middle ages – of course I am proud of my 16-year-old daughter River. I am also proud of the fact that between my grandpa, father then myself (alongside wives and partners), we as a family business have survived, maintained and also considerably grown over the years in a farming environment that would be one of the most challenging in the area.
I’ve got clear plans to have the place in a lot more of a turnkey state by the time any of my late-drop next generation potentially take over one day. That’s if they’re interested.
What is your favourite place to relax on Eyre Peninsula and why?
My partner would say I don’t do enough of the “relax” bit. But when I do I’m possibly a bit biased, I’m a big fan of what we have right on our doorstep. Relatively untouched, unpopulated, white sandy beaches in the 30-40 kilometre loop around Tumby Bay itself.
Where is your favourite place to dine on EP and why?
When it comes to my favourite places to dine on Eyre Peninsula, I’m sure there’s plenty of higher-end type stuff, but I very much prefer the standard of dining we get at our local Red Roof Tumby Hotel. If we want to experience a bit of coastal culture it’s on the deck at the Marina Hotel in Port Lincoln, watching the boats cruise past, it’s only just down the road but it makes you feel like you’re well off the farm for a little while.
What is the best holiday you have ever had?
Another casualty of the busy life I’ve created is that the family and I have had very little in the way of holidays, especially in the last decade. That is aside from the Adelaide Show each year, which is a bit of a family tradition over the generations. Other than that I had a couple of very entertaining trips to Bali and Thailand between the ages of 10 and 20. Both times I happened to come home with badly scarring henna tattoos on various parts of my body. This year, me and the family, as well as our neighbours, are heading to Western Australia for a long-awaited caravanning holiday.
What is your favourite song?
I struggle to pinpoint just one, I’m a big fan of eighties and nineties rock and heavy rock at times still.
If you could recommend any movie, what would it be?
My movie tastes are a bit left-field. As most that know me know, the ‘Crocodile Dundee’ movies are a couple of my favourites. ‘Last Call of the Mohicans’ and ‘Legends of the Fall’, ‘The Gods Must be Crazy’, ‘They Call Me Trinity’ are my sort of style. For some reason I’m fairly obsessed with true crime stories so I was right into all the ‘Underbelly’ series too.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Advice I would give to myself would be to keep an open mind to things, have a crack at anything (well, most things!) that presents itself. Chase your dreams and treat people well if they treat you that way. Also, consider that you may be allergic to henna before trying it for the third time, especially on your face!
