MEET THE PRODUCER

Chris Nathanael, Tropiculture, Bees Creek, Northern Territory

In his nursery and orchard at Bees Creek, 35 kilometres from Darwin, Chris grows more than 200 varieties of fruit, including 25 different mangoes. His favourite? The Thai variety Nam Doc Mai. “It’s sold as a green mango, but when it’s ripe, it’s heaven.” Chris bought the eight-hectare block in 1972 and was producing by 1978. He’d moved to Darwin from Melbourne to work as a radio announcer in 1962 and “went nuts over all this weird fruit”. At the nursery’s Saturday morning marketplace, ripe fruit is put out on a tasting table for people to try: if they like it, they can buy it. 110 Horne Road, Bees Creek, NT. (08) 8988 1119.