From Malta to the Hawkesbury
At Hi Quality Turf you can most certainly say farming is in the blood. Charlie Muscat aged in his late teens decided to leave his family farm in Malta and follow his 3 brothers Jimmy, Joe and Dominic to chase bigger and better things by migrating to Australia in 1964.
Charlie was blown away by the vastness of the open land before him, so different to the rocky landscape he was used to back home. It didn’t take Charlie long to begin farming with his brothers on their first parcel of land at Pitt Town Bottoms on the Hawkesbury River. There they were the Muscat brothers doing what they do best.
By 1980, Charlie had bought out the land with his wife Maria and their young family and were farming 30 acres growing potatoes, lettuce, cauliflower, watermelon and cabbage. Eventually, Charlie’s boys David, Richard and Jason grew up and of course, wanted nothing more than to join their father full-time on the farm and one by one that is where they ended up.
It was in the late 90’s after many arduous years of veggie farming, that the family recognised the potential of the growing turf industry and decided to make the transition from veggies to turf in 1999. Planting crops of Kikuyu, Couch and Soft Leaf Buffalo on the 30 acres initially.
Hi Quality Turf was established in 1974 by Keith Smith a local of the Hawkesbury that grew and harvested turf at Pitt Town Bottoms. As his business grew, he resorted to buying all his turf from local growers including Charlie and the boys, who eventually were his exclusive supplier.
After a few years of farming and supplying turf to Keith, the opportunity arose to purchase the Hi Quality Turf business.
In 2001 Charlie, David, Richard and Jason jumped at the opportunity and were excited to take on the new challenge. Even back then the fundamentals of the Hi Quality Turf brand was built on high standards in product and service, which shows in the longevity of the business and clientele, some of which have been customers of Hi Quality from the outset.
Since the takeover in 2001, farm expansion has gone from 30 acres to 180 acres and an increase in commercial services provided by Hi Quality to include supply and installation of maxi rolls, washed turf, turf planting and field surface renewal. Gone were the days of arriving at a job barefoot and hand unloading an entire load of turf to the kerb side.
In 2009 and 2010 Hi Quality Turf was proud to be the sole supplier of turf for the Breakfast on the Bridge event in Sydney where 10,000m2 of turf was laid to cover the entire span of the Harbour Bridge to have over 6000 people attend and enjoy breakfast. It was quite an experience.
Other noteworthy jobs include installing turf at the Prime Minister’s residence at Kirribilli House, the field renovation works at the Cronulla Sharks stadium, supplying turf to various charity events like the reconstruction of the local soccer fields at Pitt Town Sports Club and working with Hogs for Homeless returfing several regional sports grounds in Central West NSW.
The soil at the turf farm alongside the Hawkesbury River is some of the best turf-growing soil you will find anywhere. The evident drawback of being so close to a major river system is the obvious threat of flooding, which has unfortunately happened several times since 2020. The worst was in July 2022 when flood levels exceeded 13.5m breaking the largest flood record for 50 years, resulting in a total loss of crops and production, major loss of infrastructure and riverbank erosion making some parts of the farm unrecognisable.
However, during this tough period, it was nice to witness new business relationships being forged and the industry coming together to support each other. This played a major role for turf farmers across the Hawkesbury being able to sustain their businesses and get through.
Then in 2023, the prospect of joining Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) transpired and after consideration among the family, they knew it was an opportunity that could not be missed. Knowing that by joining LSA, Hi Quality Turf would be able to streamline its production varieties into premium LSA brands that have the backing, research and support that will allow them to move forward as a company. In early 2024 Hi Quality Turf became LSA’s newest Member and was accredited by AusGAP a short time later. This was followed by the planting of Sir Walter DNA Certified in January 2024, TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda in February 2024 and Zoysia Australis planting in early spring 2024.
David, Richard and Jason still actively manage Hi Quality Turf. Charlie, who you can find in the mowing tractor most hours of the day during spring and summer continues to work on the farm also. They are joined by their sister Sue who runs the office and a small team of personnel getting the job done.
