Wilga Station And The Wool Store
Hamish Keith
A Generational Legacy Reimagined
Where It All Began
For over 70 years, Wilga Station has been part of the Keith family’s story. Nestled just outside Bathurst in the Central West of New South Wales, this 260-acre sheep station has seen three generations work the land — through droughts, shearing seasons, and changing times.
My grandfather first ran sheep on these rolling hills. My father followed in his footsteps, raising a family while navigating the ups and downs of life on the land. As a boy, I spent my childhood roaming the paddocks, riding motorbikes across country, and absorbing the rhythm of the seasons. The land taught us resilience, humility, and pride — values that shaped who I became, even when I left.
A World Away — and the Call to Come Home
After leaving Bathurst, I spent over 15 years working in event production and brand experiences — from Sydney to Singapore to New York. I led international teams and collaborated with clients like Gatorade, ESPN, Jaguar, and Time Warner, producing events that spanned continents and industries.
It was exhilarating — fast-paced, high-stakes, deeply creative. But even in the middle of Manhattan, a part of me remained tethered to home. To Bathurst. To Wilga.
Eventually, Hamish and his wife, Mez - who was working at the United Nations, and I knew it was time. Time to raise our two children in the country. Time to return to the land that raised me. And time to turn Wilga Station into something new — not in place of the past, but in honour of it.
Return to Bathurst and Mayfield Garden
In 2016, Hamish and Mez, returned to Bathurst, seeking a lifestyle change and a connection to their roots. Hamish took on the role of CEO at Mayfield Garden, the largest privately owned garden in the Southern Hemisphere, a position he held until 2019. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in expanding the garden's offerings and enhancing its reputation as a premier international tourist destination.
Wilga Station: A New Chapter in a Family Story
In 2020, we bought the family farm and his dad Peter, retired after 50 years of farming.
What followed was a reinvention — not of the land, but of how people could experience it. Today, Wilga Station remains a working sheep farm, but it’s also a destination. We’ve introduced two bespoke farm-stay experiences — The Shearers Hall and The Farmers Hut — designed with sustainability, storytelling, and comfort in mind.
We built using repurposed materials from the farm, drawing on the raw elegance of rural Australia. Guests walk the willow-lined creeks, breathe in the silence of open paddocks, and sit under skies that never seem to end. What they find here is not just luxury — but authenticity. A connection to place.
Hamish and his family have also learnt about connection to country after Hamish discovered hundreds of marking down by their beautiful flowing granite rock creek and invited local Wiradjuri elders to be on country; who have declared it a site if aboriginal significance, and is now visited regularly by the local aboriginal community and guests who stay at Wilga Station…making Hamish, Mez and his two girls even more connected to Wilga.
The Wool Store: Reviving a Landmark
That passion for heritage and place extended beyond the farm. In 2022, Mez and I acquired The Wool Store c. 1875 in the heart of Bathurst — a long-forgotten but iconic building that once stood at the centre of the region’s pastoral economy.
Where others saw rust and ruin, we saw potential. The Wool Store has now been meticulously restored it into a hub of regional creativity, offering six inner-city apartments, including a New York-style penthouse. The Wool Store now serves as a venue for events and a home for local makers, contributing to Bathurst's cultural revival.
It’s a natural extension of everything we believe in — honouring what came before while building for the future.
Family at the Heart
None of this would be possible without Mez, whose creative eye and unshakable vision bring heart to everything we do. Together, we're raising our two children on the land I grew up on — giving them the same sense of space, a connection to country and freedom.
They’re growing up alongside the lambs and the creek lines, learning the values passed down from their grandparents and great-grandparents. And they’re watching what it means to shape something new from old foundations.
Why We Came Back — and Why We’re Staying
Wilga Station and The Wool Store aren’t just projects. They’re part of a broader belief: that regional Australia deserves investment, creativity, and care. That legacy is not something you hold onto — it’s something you live into.
We returned to the Central West not to slow down, but to build something lasting. Something real. We’re here for the long haul — for the land, for the stories, for our family and the families who’ll follow.
Because this place has always been home. Now it’s our future, too.
Yinaagalangbu, gibirbangbu, buraaygalangbu gawaymbanhadhu nginyalgir Wiradjurigu ngurambanggu.
Ladies, gentleman and children welcome to Wiradjuri and to country.