SUSTAINABILITY SHOWPIECE

WOULD NOT BE LIVING ON HIS HISTORIC

PROPERTY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF GOULBURN.

Methodical is practically Doug Rawlinson’s middle name. So the irony of the fact that his life was framed by a five-second encounter is not lost on the former electronics technician turned nurseryman.

“At different times the Kentgrove homestead has been the residence of three of Goulburn’s mayors so the house became grander through the years.”

As Doug tells his story, in the early 1950s his father was living in Cootamundra and desperately in need of work. An offer came up, but he had to go to Sydney to apply for it. “So he rode his pushbike the 400-odd kilometres,” Doug explains. “It took him a week, and when he eventually got to the agency, it just happened that he was standing in line beside Ernie Hyles, who was a prominent Canberra entrepreneur and grazier. As it turned out Ernie