Newsletter: The 16 robots operating a Tinamba West dairy

Plus Boolarra Folk Festival finishes up after 22 years and a heated council debate about glamping pods on farmland.

Author

Jacob Wallace
October 31, 2025

⏱️ This Friday edition of our newsletter is a 6-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob.

✍️ In this edition of our newsletter we’re looking at:

  • How Tinamba West farmer Alister Clyne transitioned from a 50-unit rotary dairy to become one of Australia’s largest robotic milking farms,

  • A heated debate at a Baw Baw Shire council meeting over whether glamping pods should be built on farm zoned land

  • Boolarra Folk Festival’s final days after 22 years of good times.

🎤 Yesterday, I spoke to South Gippsland Shire’s Deputy Mayor Sarah Gilligan about a story I’m writing on the impact increased flooding is having on house prices. More to come on that story, which comes after research from the Climate Council and PropTrack found flood risk has cost Australians $42.2 billion, with one in six Australian homes now under threat.

❝

What I had thought was my intergenerational equity to my two sons, the idea of passing the family home onto the children, I've had to let go of that.

Sarah Gilligan, South Gippsland Deputy Mayor

🤖 Definitely check out the story I put together on my visit to Clyne’s farm in Tinamba West.

  • Clyne told me the 16 robots he has installed are changing how he approaches farming and improving his quality of life, reducing the amount of intensive labour, fatigue, injuries and stress he experiences day-to-day.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

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🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns, local interviews and silly videos!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

When Alister Clyne’s great-great-grandfather David first stepped onto the family's farm in Newry, in 1873, the land was dense with gum trees and bush.

In the 140 years since then, the farm has gone from milking cows by hand, to utilising a rotary dairy. Now, Alister is taking it to the next stage: Robots.

The backstory: In July 2023, Clyne decided to move from a 50-unit rotary dairy to become one of Australia’s largest robotic milking facilities. The Gippsland Monitor visited the farm in September, as part of the Gippsland New Energy Conference.

  • “My economy basically became the robot economy,” Clyne said. “Back then a robot was about $200,000 to $250,000. I’d think to myself: ‘What do we need to do on the farm, a new building or irrigator? That's one and a half robots.”

How many does he have? Clyne installed 16 DeLaval VMS V300 robots. These robots are operational 24 hours a day and milk the 1,150 cows on his dairy farm.

How do the robots work?

The dairy shed in the middle of the farm has 16 DeLaval boxes which cows can freely enter when they want to be milked. 

  • The cows are able to stand inside the boxes as automated arms from the machines latch onto their udders and extract the milk.

  • Once they’ve been through the machine a microchip in the cow is scanned and they are directed to a new pasture based on a computerised plan.

When Eli Fratkin purchased 11 hectares of steep grazing farmland in Baw Baw Shire he thought he'd found the perfect spot for his eco-tourism dream. Instead, he found himself in a planning policy minefield.

What happened? A proposal for two accommodation pods on farming land in Mountain View has exposed deep divisions during a Baw Baw Shire Council meeting on October 22.

The disagreement: Fratkin had proposed to build two glamping pods - compact cabin structures that provide an alternative to camping - and a shed, which he claimed would cover less than 500 square metres of his 11 hectare property in Mountain View. 

  • The pods would be able to accommodate four people at a time.

  • However, councillors disagreed on how the farming zone should balance agricultural protection with rural tourism.

  • Farm zones are areas focussed on protecting and promoting agriculture. They are designated by state and local governments.

After more than two decades bringing thousands to a small valley town, the Boolarra Folk Festival has played its final note in the face of increased administrative burdens and rising financial requirements.

But the festival committee says live music is still on the agenda.

What happened: The Boolarra Folk Festival has ended after 22 years, but the community's music tradition will continue with a new project converting the 100-year-old Boolarra post office into a live music venue. 

Latrobe City Councillor Leanne Potter said the festival’s last general meeting was a great way to commemorate the event’s place in local history.

🗣️ “A great moment to celebrate 22-years of outstanding achievement but also a sad time. For more than two decades this community event has brought the community together,” Potter said.

  • At its peak, the festival attracted over 10,000 visitors.

  • The festival was run by 60 local volunteers and contributed more than $2 million to the local economy.

Potter recognised the work of the festival founders, Ray and Wendy Stewart, as well as Rick Teychenne and the committee who continued the tradition after the Stewart’s stepped away from organisation eight years ago.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Here’s a story from the National Account that got my attention: The disappointment in the BOM’s new website across the political spectrum.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud said locals in his regional Queensland electorate of Maranoa can no longer enter GPS coordinates for their specific properties, with searches now limited to towns or postcodes.

“As a result, families, businesses and farmers are unable to access vital, localised data such as river heights and rainfall information,” he said.

🎥 WATCH: One of Australia’s largest robotic milking farms 🐮

Take a look at a video I made using footage of the 16 automatic milkers at Alister Clyne’s farm.

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this issue and I hope you all have a very spooky halloween.

I might not be back in your inbox next Wednesday due to the Melbourne Cup being on next week — but I hope you all have a great weekend and make the most of the public holiday.

As always, if you have something you’d like to share with us, whether it be an idea for a story, some local knowledge or photo you’ve taken of Gippsland then send it through to [email protected] and it might end up in this newsletter next week.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team