After working in the Singleton mines for many years, Peita Heffernan and partner Matt Carroll were after a sea-change. So they up and moved to Old Bar and purchased Brighton Oysters at Manning Point at the end of 2020.

The couple had only opened for business for five days before the March 2021 floods hit, resulting in the Manning River being closed to oyster farming indefinitely.

"We have had the worst year of our lives," Peita said. "We were actually buying in oysters elsewhere (during and after the floods) just to keep our original customers."

Peita said it has been "crazy" trying to navigate running an oyster farm during a one in hundred year flood event, as they jumped into the business with no experience to begin with.

"If we ever get another flood at least we know what to do," Peita joked.

The couple said they are passionate about educating people on how oysters are grown and harvested in the Manning River.

"Our business model is 'grown by the farmer, harvested by the farmer obviously, processed and sold by the farmer'," Matt said.

They will incorporate this by having farmgate sales at Brighton Oysters in Manning Point. Get in touch with Peita and Matt on Brighton Oyster's social media.

When the couple purchased the oyster business, they decided to keep the name Brighton Oysters because Manning Point used to be called Brighton back in the day, Peita said.

Brighton Oysters are stocked across the Manning region, including Flow Bar, Club Old Bar and Manning Point Bowling Club.

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