The now-infamous boat sinking scene was filmed there, as was the action-packed country fair, and now Billy'o Bush Retreat in Wongarbon is on the map for more than its quaint farmhouses and idyllic camping spots.
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Mark Woodley, owner of the retreat - located 25 kilometres south-east of Dubbo - hosted the cast and crew from Farmer Wants a Wife 2023 on his property for a week of filming in December 2022, after being called-up "out of the blue" by the producers.
"They rang me out of the blue 12 months prior to filming, the October of the previous year, and asked me whether I had ever heard of the show," Mr Woodley told ACM.
"I said, if I had a dollar for every time someone told me to go on the show, I'd be a millionaire."
The Channel 7 producers travelled to Wongarbon to view the location, but it wasn't until the following year they called on Mr Woodley to shoot there.
"A year later they rang me up and said we're really keen to do it this year. They brought up a busload of people, including the head of lighting, and it all happened," Mr Woodley said.
"It was pretty exciting, we got all the family involved. I got friendly with the site production bloke and they did a shot up at my parent's property next door.
"They did a bit of a thing out the front of the house and a couple of secret dates and then they came up here and did some more dates up here, they did the country fair, and the farmer's games - they were here for about a week."
The country fair episode aired on Channel 7 on Sunday, April 23, after which time Mr Woodley was finally able to share his role in the production with his network on social media.
"It was great to see Billy'o Bush retreat getting shown on tv well done Mark & co for all your hard work," wrote one Facebook user.
Another wrote: "Looks amazing you should be so proud of your achievements."
Mr Woodley said he had been suspicious about the timber boat the crew brought along for the scene in which Farmer Brad and 'new single lady' Shelby were to go on a secret date on the dam.
"They brought a set boat with them - a dinghy with oars. I said to Farmer Brad, have you checked it floats?" Mr Woodley said.
"He said it would make for good TV, and sure enough, it did sink and it made for good TV."
The next day of filming was the country fair, which had Mr Woodley's property "transformed".
"They left most of it how it was and they added a few things," he said.
He thought they chose Billy'o because it was ready made for such a set.
"I've built this place to resemble something that's been here for 100 years. It's all built of recycled material, all rural related. It was an easy set for them ... " Mr Woodley said.
Around 150 people from the cast and crew were on set for filming and Mr Woodley met all the show's stars - including Farmer Andrew from Narromine, who left the show early after making a life-changing confession to contestant Claire. The Cast and crew stayed nearby in Dubbo.
"One day they were filming for 20 hours. There were people here all the time. It's pretty remarkable. It opens your eyes to it," Mr Woodley said.
"I was intrigued to see how it was all done. They had about eight cameras going full time during the country fair. When they put it together there's 15 minutes of footage. Those editing people are super clever."
When asked why Mr Woodley thought his friends had prompted him to go on Farmer Wants a Wife himself, he said "because I'm a single old fella. They say it to every single bloke west of the Blue Mountains".
Alas, Mr Woodley is not a farmer - however he did grow up on a farm.
The bush retreat is on farming property, in between his parents' property, Kurrajong Park, and his brother's farm - which Harry and Megan visited when they were in Australia in 2018 as part of their trip to Dubbo.
"We have three farms in a row, [spanning] five generations. We've been here for 150 years, our clan," Mr Woodley said.
His father, at 90 years old, still restores old cars on his property, which is where Mr Woodley learnt his love for restoring old buildings - or making new buildings look old.
The retreat consists of 15 powered sites and two cabins, which Mr Woodley made with his own hands out of recycled materials.
"I love building out of recycled materials, hence how this palace has evolved," he said.
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"I kept adding things to it because I love creating things that have been here forever. I'm a carpenter by trade ... I spent 25 years renovating old houses, did a bit with the national trust, heritage buildings, that's my love of everything old."
Mr Woodley was excited to have his property on television and share what he's created at Billy'o.
"I was happy for them to come out here, and it's good to see the place on TV. I want people to appreciate this stuff," he said.
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Sarah Falson
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
