About Us

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The Beginning

Sergio Rorato arrived from Italy in 1961 in search of a new beginning, ambitions of being a farmer and creating a future.

Leaving Europe and arriving in Australia with no money or ability to speak the English language, he set forth adopting this new land working hard around NSW on various farms with his brothers. With hard work and determination under their belts, life brought Sergio to Griffith NSW where he met his wife to be Sylvia.

Six years later the couple moved to Jerilderie NSW where they bought a small piece of land. Being predominantly stock and grazing land, Sergio was criticised for wanting to work the land to grow vegetables. Rorato Bros was established as an un-founded green fields operation. Wanting to succeed, Sergio grew various crops and drove 10 hours to the markets in Sydney every week to sell his produce. Sergio was unsatisfied with the use of tomatoes seeing so much waste. He then worked towards opening his own small factory using recipes from his wife Sylvia, wanting to share his passion for good food and that rich Italian flavour that we all love.

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The Family

Presently Rorato Nominees trading as Billabong produce grow 150ha of tomatoes producing approximately 15000 tonnes of raw tomatoes per annum. This is converted through the processing plant and overseen by family members from farm to factory.

The Rorato family have a combined experience of 90 years . Italian family values which have been passed down from Sergio and Sylvia are fundamental within the company. Sons Glenn and Allan, daughter Sandra along with her two children Jenna and Marcus work together overseeing every facet of business. From seed to factory quality control is assured as we love what we do and only wish to provide the finest product on the market.

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Billabong

The Rorato Family are proud to call their company and product, Billabong Produce, all Australian.

Set on the banks of the Billabong creek our tomatoes are grown on Aussie soil and our business is 100% Australian owned which means that the profits generated stay in our economy! We love farming and are fiercely proud of the sauces that we produce. Quality and taste are paramount and we aim to provide our customers with the best. Our sauces are made from 100% fresh, Aussie tomatoes which are harvested on the very same day that they are processed, just like our grandparents made it.

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Location

Jerilderie is located in Southern NSW also called the ‘Southern Riverina’.

Known as the food bowl of Australia, our location is well suited for tomato production due to the climate. We have an abundance of sun, availability of water and adequate rainfall. Jerilderie is renowned for its agriculture and well known for the Billabong Creek, which is the longest creek in the region.

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© 2020 Billabong Produce. Another collaborative project by Compusult and Ellis Creative.