BACK in the 80s, tomatoes were such a prized commodity and farmers in Bundaberg were making so much money, they were rumoured to be smoking $50 bills. While things are a little more sedate these days, the optimism and innovation that prevailed in this Southern Great Barrier Reef region continues to flourish.

Four charming characters you should meet in Bundaberg North Burnett.

A fixture in the Bundaberg culinary community, never far from a degustation, always eager to share his expertise and passionately waving the 'eat local' flag, Anthony Rehbein, recognisable as the face of Winterfeast 2018, runs One Little Farm and BundaGinga with his with wife Kate in the coastal regions of Bundaberg. 

Fourth generation farmers, the family created One Little Farm to bring their farm to locals. Whether it's beautiful flowers for your table, fruit for your next delicious dessert, or vegetables and micro herbs for family dinner on a Sunday night, One Little Farm is a one stop shop. 

Building a legacy takes much more than just hard work and grit, it takes team, it takes a family. Today Macadamias Australia is a grower and worldwide exporter of macadamias, sourced from their expansive orchard comprising 2500 acres. In 1958 Ron and Marion Steinhardt saw an opportunity and purchased their first farm, an unworked piece of bushland. Early days saw the growing of a variety of crops from peanut and corn to tobacco and sugar cane, and later to tomatoes and zucchinis before eventually finding their footing in macadamias. Nowadays the farm sits under the watchful eye of their children, Janelle, Trevor, Kevin and their partners to carry on the legacy.

Clint Luke is a local builder and a family man with an unusual hobby – beekeeping. What started out as a way to keep up with the family demand for honey has now evolved into a small, successful family business known as Bundy Honey. Swept up in the swarm Clint went from one backyard hive to multiple hives at multiple sites in a few short years with more expansions on the way. With his passion to keep growing and learning about bees, the hive numbers grew continually, and the family could not consume the amount of honey being produced so when the opportunity arose to service a retired beekeeper's customers Clint jumped on it.