The Jobs of Donnybrook
I arrived in Donnybrook, a small agricultural town 2 hours south of Perth, with about $120 in my pocket and was desperate to get to work as soon as possible. I had just finished 6 weeks worth of pear picking two weeks earlier and was only working again out of absolute necessity. It's amazing how quickley my $1200 of hard earn pear money went, and I was not at all looking forward to this next stint in fruitland.

I had been advised from a fellow pear picker to stay at the Brook Lodge in Donnybrook, as opposed to the Railway hotel or the Donnybrook Hostel. Bruce, the owner of Brook Lodge, also runs the local harvest office which is the source of most of the work for backpackers in Donnybrook. You have to pay a fee of $25 to join this harvest office which is a pain, but is soon forgotten when you see how organized the working system is.

What happens is your name is put onto a waiting list at the bottom of the work list. The work list has a variety of different employers (around 20) and the names of the people that are or will be working for them. Jobs are starting and ending all the time, but during the season there are many jobs which last a month or longer.

It can be frustrating at the beginning because you can wait for around a week without work if things are slow, but not usually longer than this. Every night at 9pm, an updated list is posted in the common room. Bruce has some baffling system which assigns jobs to people, but it usually works out being pretty fair. Some people are luckier than others, though, and might get better jobs.

Bruce takes care of the people who have been around awhile, so if you feel like you're getting a bit slighted at the beginning, things will start going your way after a couple weeks. For this reason, it can be a frustrating place if you're only looking for a wee or two of work, but a very lucrative place if you're intending on staying a month or two.

I was extremely lucky during my stay here. I ended up staying seven weeks in total, and miraculously wasn't once on the waiting list. I somehow lucked out and got two days of work on tomotoes on my first two days to fill in for someone who'd gone to Perth. When that person returned and wanted their job back, I was moved to grape trimming for two weeks on Spot Trigwell's farm, a really relaxed job with a nice boos who works alongside you. Then I got the best paying job of the lot doing plum tree grafting for an average of $130/day after taxes for only 9 hours of work - though it was hard on the back. Finally, I spent my last few weeks picking apples for a wage for a really nice lady called Geraldine Derbyshire. Definately try to get onto Derbyshire Orchards if you're in Donnybrook for the apple season.

In seven weeks at Brook Lodge, I was able to save $1800, and could have saved at least $200 more if I wasn't treating myself to nice dinners every night and a few day trips. It wasn't just the moeny that made my time at Brook Lodge great. The owner, Bruce, is a really nice guy and goes out of his way to help you out. He even waits up for us to return from the pub on Friday nights... although this is usually to tell us all to shut up and go to bed instead of staying up into the wee hours, playing guitars and chatting like usual.

The people I met there also made things fun. The hostel holds about 80 people (which can seem like too much when you're trying to find a frying pan) in a few six bed, but mostly three bed dorms. Because of the nature of the job system, you'll find yourself working with lots of different people, making it exceptionally easy to meet lots of people. The Lodge bus gives rides to work and arranges ride shares for people with cars, so you're always in contact with lots of different people, all in the same penniless situation as you. Most people seemed to stay for over a month so you've got lots of time to establish friendships.

The Friday nights in Donnybrook at the Railway hotel are the stuff of legend. I have never experienced so much debauchery in one place in such a short period of time. Friday nights are like a high school party gone wrong, and the gossip the following day is usually scandalous. They made the long, hard work week all worthwhile.

If you're over on the west coast between around November and May and need money (or even if you don't) and want a great experience, head to the Brook Lodge for awhile. Donnybrook is a beautiful area, the hostel is nice, and it's a great place to get a taste of the wonderful world of fruit and veggie picking.

Kirsty Henderson
April 2002