To join the extended family of Doug and Brenda Sarah for Cockington Green’s 40th birthday celebration was to realise how its success and longevity is due to this formidable family and their amazing team, who have created an icon of private enterprise with tenacity that is continually evolving and bringing a unique experience to so many locals and visitors to Canberra.
The early days epitomised that tenacity, and the family stories tell a happy tale of how it came to be.
Based on a village in England called Babbacombe, in Torquay, Doug and Brenda returned from England with an idea to create their own version, despite the assertion of the then Department of Territories that is was ‘not expected to succeed’.
My neighbour ‘handled the legals’ for the Sarahs, and I was very familiar with the hard yards and determination of the whole process to create this Canberra treasure.
His efforts for a back lawn to match Cockington Green’s perfect lawns never quite realised, however.
Many of the originals involved in the early days joined the celebrations to acknowledge their contribution and enjoy the sheer pleasure of this magic miniature place, where Lilliputlian life prospers and the gardens make you want to steal the gardeners and take a slice of Cockington Green for your own backyard.
An absolute must for every visitor to Canberra.
