Our History

Anthony Hannaford, or Tony as he prefers to be known, comes from a long line of orchardist that run back to the south west of England around the time of the Napoleonic wars.

Tony was the first in his family to focus on cherries. Having taken over the family orchard from his father in 1974, he wanted to expand the business and move into a specialty market area.

Cherries provided Tony with that opportunity but, as it turned out, the family orchard that had produced apples for 120 years and provided exports to England, Germany and South Africa, simply wasn’t best suited to producing cherries.

Tony took the courageous step of moving to a new property in 1985, a property in the Torrens Valley, protected from the wind and slow to warm during the summer with pockets of cold air trapped in the crevices of the hills. Tony’s new orchard was perfect for growing, ever so slowly and gently, full flavoured, sweet and succulent cherries.

It was on the quality of the fruit from this orchard that TVO grew its reputation.

In Australia, cherries are an integral part of Christmas celebrations. It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without cherries on the family Christmas table. But Tony wanted Australians to be able to enjoy premium quality cherries all through the summer. So, he acquired orchards in Birdwood and Barmera, each with their own specific microclimates, planting a number of different varieties of cherries to provide a much longer ripening season.

“We have 20 premium varieties of cherries and three different regions”, says Tony Hannaford. “This is what allows us to have quality cherries available for such a long season.”

Tony has invested significantly in both scale and technology at his orchard. His packing shed in full flight is quite captivating. The packing line incorporates some of the latest technology. Multiple output heads allow more grades to be separated, providing a higher level of discernment in the grading process.

“This is where scale and technology work together to provide a better outcome for our customers”, says Tony. “We can pick, pack and ship within 24 hours meaning our customers get beautiful crisp fresh produce. Our sophisticated grading systems mean that we can deliver consistency of quality; every time you open the box, it will meet your expectation.”

Everything they do at TVO is about delivering quality.

As an orchardist, Tony draws on a long family history and experience handed down over the generations. As an innovator and businessman, Tony is always looking to learn more about how he can improve the business, staying in touch with the advances in horticulture internationally and learning from the viticulturalists and other farmers in the Torrens Valley.

“A packing shed is not a hospital”, says Tony. “We go to great lengths to get things right so that we can guarantee our quality. We know what we do today will have an impact on the fruit we grow for years to come.”

Despite the commitment to science, technology and scale, it is still clear that much of the magic is found in the orchard.

“We are in the Torrens Valley; our flagship orchard is also our home”, says Tony. “People can come here, meet us and see what makes our cherries so special. The valley holds the cool on warm days, it will hold the morning mist, it gives us cool nights; it’s perfect for cherries … actually, it’s just perfect.”

FAMILY TREE

Susannah Hannaford
(Hatchlands Estate – Devon, England)

George Williams Hannaford
(Hatchlands Estate – Cudlee Creek, South Australia)

Fredrick Hannaford
(Mt Bera – Cudlee Creek, South Australia)

Elliot Hannaford
(Mt Bera – Cudlee Creek, South Australia)

John Hannaford
(Mt Bera – Cudlee Creek, South Australia)

Anthony Hannaford
(Torrens Valley Orchard – Gumeracha, South Australia)