Robyn Rogers & Trevor Shard

It might seem like it’s been a long wait for us to see how the restorations at The Old Macaroni Factory have gone but imagine how it’s felt for The Jens having to live it every day for the last 3 years.  The ‘Jens’ – Jenni Wilmoth and Jenny Draper – have lovingly restored The Old Macaroni Factory to highlight and maintain the history, the artwork and the atmosphere that has existed from its inception. 

Let’s go back three years to when The Jens first bought the Factory.  It had been some time since it had been used and needed a lot of work to bring it to the standard that The Jens envisioned for it as a functioning event space.  Not only was there a huge amount of work involved but there were many restrictions on performing the restoration they envisioned.  It would involve long discussions and negotiations with Heritage Victoria, long waits for permits and then the need to find the appropriately experienced tradies to bring about the final result.  Certainly, a lesson in patience!

Three years down the track and they are now ready to open for business.  So how exactly will the space be used?  We don’t want to give too much away in this article – we want you to hear directly from them in our most recent podcast, That’s where you can find out exactly what’s on offer and how you can hold an event there or even stay there and become part of the new history of The Old Macaroni factory.

It’s been a joy to watch this lovely old building – the oldest Italianate building in Australia – come back to life.  And not only the building – the garden has been restored as well and provides a lovely calm space to wander or just sit with a glass of pinot grigio and pretend you are in Tuscany.  In fact, just walking into the building makes you feel like you have walked into a little piece of Italy! 

The Jens, while opening the space to the public for events, will also be holding occasional functions for the locals of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs – the first one is scheduled for mid-November – as they realise how loved this building is locally.  Locals can also look forward to some wine dinners that are currently under discussion so there will be plenty of opportunities to experience the Factory at its best.

Listen to a podcast of the interview with the Jens on the HEPFM SoundCloud. There’s more on the podcast.

Related Stories:

A Labour of Love at the Old Macaroni Factory
Macaroni Factory Gets a New Lease on Life

Trevor Shard and Robyn Rogers are presenters on HepFM (88.0). Robyn rogers is a member of The Wombat Post editorial committee.