Glen Luna, Tilba Tilba

Glen Luna, Princes Highway, Tilba Tilba

‘Mountain Valley’ is one of the most fertile farms in the Tilba area. It was an amalgamation by John Young, a Tilba area selector (a settler who took out a licence to farm small holdings in response to the Land Acts of 1860s that allowed freehold occupation of up to 320 acres), of two holdings – the first, of 320 acres which he purchased in 1876 for £1,320, and the second of 150 acres which he acquired in 1895.

As was often the case on South Coast dairy farms, a cheese factory was built on the ‘Mountain Valley’ property. And then, in 1900, a creamery was built on the property for the NSW Creamery Butter Company that also has butter factories in Bega, Mogilla and Cobargo. John Young subsequently bought the Tilba plant and equipment and turned it into his farm factory. It operated until 1911 after which the milk from the farm was supplied to the nearby ABC Cheese factory.

When John Young died in 1903, the property was divided between two of his sons – Jim taking ‘Ocean View’ and John acquiring ‘Mountain Valley’. New houses were built on both properties the following year – ‘Glen Luna’ being the homestead on ‘Mountain Valley’.

The Glen Luna residence therefore has historic significance for having been associated with the Tilba Tilba dairying industries and for its links to early land selection in the Tilba area.

Today, ‘Mountain Valley’ is home to the Jersey herd that supplies the milk to Tilba Milk.