Today, the Bellata Gold farms and mills are owned by three families all descended from the same New South Wales farming settlers. The daughters of Doug Cush, their partners and families are bringing another generation of enthusiasm to produce the famous durum semolina products.
The Bellata Gold story begins with Fredrick Carlton Hills in 1908. A farmer from England, he settled in north-west New South Wales and gathered the local agricultural knowledge that was passed on to his descendants.
Bellata Gold’s durum wheat specialisation began in 1975 when Hills’ grandson, Doug Cush (pictured), started growing durum in the Bellata region. Not content with Australian market prices for his premium produce, he started exporting to Italy. While in Italy, he met a pasta-maker’s grandmother who tasted pasta made with Doug’s durum. She said she had not tasted pasta that good since she was a little girl as most pasta is now made with bread wheat and lower quality durum wheat.
The grandmother’s comment inspired Doug’s passion to add value by transforming his prized durum wheat into high quality semolina perfect for fresh pasta. He purchased land on the outskirts of Tamworth and imported a state-of-the-art, computerised durum mill from Italy – at the time, the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere. It was completed in 2007 and set Bellata Gold apart as a boutique miller with a semolina that gives fresh pasta makers a product of perfect taste, colour, texture and consistency.
Doug’s legacy is a vision that continues to inspire his adult children (and emerging grandchildren) who follow the family tradition with pride.
The company’s philosophy is simple:
to grow the best, mill the best and provide the best.
Bellata Gold works sustainably to respect the rich land and ensure it can continue to produce the best durum.
The current generation of the family is working hard to continue to improve processes for greater efficiency and cost competitiveness, while preserving all that has made Bellata Gold famous.
As we are still very much a family business ourselves, we understand other family businesses and we know the pressures that food producers, restaurants and retailers face in today’s world.
We are determined to continue to honour the legacy of Doug Cush and ancestor Fredrick Hills by ensuring Bellata Gold is an undisputed leader for quality and by continuing to champion the farming heritage of the Durum Golden Triangle.
