From White Sands to White Hills

Growing up in the small rural town of Tavua, Fiji, Samir spent his formative years working on his family’s sugar cane farm.

Despite his agricultural roots, Samir had set his sights on the sea and undertook a marine engineering cadetship with the Fiji Marine Department.

It was during this cadetship that he was awarded a scholarship to study a Bachelor of Technology in Marine Engineering at the University of Tasmania’s Australian Maritime College.

“When I first arrived in Launceston in 1995 as part of a group of students from Fiji studying at the Australian Maritime College, I thought, ‘it would be nice to have a place in Tasmania to live, and have an agricultural pursuit,’” Samir said.

It was almost 30 years later, after travelling the world as a marine engineer, becoming a leader in his field, and the Chief Engineer at Woodside Energy, that this idea bore fruit – or, more specifically, grapes.

“I'd always envisaged myself living in the country and in the open spaces of a place like Tasmania,” he said. “Funnily enough, in 1995, I had flown right over the property that we own now.”

The property, 50 acres in White Hills, just outside Launceston, has been lovingly transformed into the iconic Sen Vineyard, with luxury accommodation: The Cloud.

“After so many years away, I said, ‘Let's go back and explore the opportunities.’ I wanted to try to make something that benefitted the local community, not only the residents of Launceston, but most importantly the 500 residents of White Hills,” Samir said.

“Growing up in Fiji, we lived a communal lifestyle and did a lot with very little. "

"We helped each other, and that's the philosophy I brought to the local community.”  Balram 'Samir' Sen

The idea behind this project was to create something truly special, something that would stimulate the local economy and highlight the natural beauty of Tasmania, but it wasn’t without its challenges.

“At the time, a lot of people tried to naysay the idea, saying ‘Tasmania has a slow economy’ and ‘Why would anyone want to spend any capital there?’

“Or they’d say, ‘Tasmania is too cold and frigid.’ And I’d think to myself, people visit and live in other beautiful places like Northern Europe with ankle deep snow and no one whinges about that.”

A testament to the old adage “build it and they will come”, Sen Vineyard stands as a catalyst for the region, with Samir’s investment causing a ripple effect in the small community of White Hills.

“Once we were up and running, the local business ecosystem started flourishing with us,” he said.

“The local florists, celebrants, events planners, caterers, bar staff and housekeepers all started to come to us to collaborate and share in the benefits of the property.”

Today, more than a year into operation, Samir’s pride in his team, his gratitude to his community, and the satisfaction of a dream come true cannot be understated.

“I have a fantastic team. From viticulturalists to housekeepers, we all have the shared goal of seeing the project succeed.”

Samir’s vision has drawn praise and attention to White Hills, with the launch event attended by Premier Jeremy Rockliff.

“Recently, we hosted an Agritourism event called ArgriCULTURED, where we showcased our boutique wines and regenerative farming practices.

“We’ve got the Jazz Under the Stars event coming up, which was held at Cataract Gorge last year,” Samir said. “To think that Sen Vineyard and White Hills are now mentioned in the same breath as the iconic Cataract Gorge makes me very proud.”