September 22, 2014
Captains Paddock Vineyard on the Booie Range near Kingaroy closed its doors for the last time on Sunday.
The vineyard / cellardoor / B&B has been on the market since Easter when owners Pete Eaton and Maryanne Pidcock announced they would be relocating to Sydney.
Maryanne took up a position as vice-principal living on campus at Sancta Sophia College at the University of Sydney.
At the time, Pete said he would remain at Captain’s Paddock until the business was sold.
However, when a potential sale fell through on Saturday, he decided “enough was enough” and it was time for him to semi-retire.
“It’s still a working vineyard and cafe, just all packed up,” he said.
The house will be put on the rental market.
The property is listed with Ray White Nanango & Kingaroy for lease, rental or sale.
The couple have been at Captains Paddock for 12 years and five months.
Pete said that during that time he had served up 8000 satay chicken filos, 7500 shiraz beef pies and 16,000 bottles of Rosetta.
“This does not include the quantities from functions that were invoiced. We have had weddings, christenings and funerals. Then comes the hens’ parties and chicks’ day out, I have kept a diary. If only I could write a book. Rest assured what happened at Captains stays at Captains,” he joked on Facebook.
The couple bought the property in 2002 from Don and Judy McCallum.
The McCallums planted the first hectare of the vineyard in 1995 and built the cellardoor. Some of the McCallum family’s sculptures remained at Captains Paddock after the change of owners, including the well-known fire-breathing “dragon”.
Captains Paddock was named after the McCallum family’s horse, “Captain Jack”, who used to roam the property until he died at the grand old age of 38.
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Another local award-winning tourism business was also confirmed closed at the weekend.
Kay and Terry Joyce established the “Bunya Forest Gallery and Teahouse” in 2001 adjacent to the Bunya Mountains National Park.
The gallery regularly featured art exhibitions while the cafe showcased bush foods.
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Very sad for a town of this size