Our town is pick of the crop

Today those pear trees are still producing and grandson Philip Pullar and great grandson Dean, who continue to run the family business, are busy planning the company's April centenary celebrations.

Mr Pullar said he considered the approaching centenary a great milestone in an industry that had endured many turbulent times.

"My grandfather had a background in carpentry so fruit growing was a big change for him," he said.

"In the early days the fruit was dried and sent back to England then the canning business took over."

These days the Pullars have more than 100,000 fruit trees on the 215 hectare property.

"We have survived many downturns and setbacks in the fruit industry and many growers have disappeared over the years," Mr Pullar said.

"But we have battled on and I still enjoy producing top class fruit which is because of the excellent soils and climate of the area."

Pullars Orchards, the oldest fruit-growing business in the area, grows peaches, pears, apples, plums and cherries that are sold throughout Australia and exported.

Mr Pullar who received an Order of Australia medal for service to agriculture, the community and the sport of diving, is a great supporter of the town

He said his son Dean, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics for diving, trained at the local pool.

"Cobram has always been a progressive town and I have seen it grow over the years into a vibrant regional town with great facilities and services," he said.

A long time member of the Cobram District Hospital board Mr Pullar said Cobram, unlike other small regional towns, had no problems attracting general practitioners.

"We are very proud of our medical services here and work on providing excellent primary health services to keep people out of hospital," he said.

"We have many doctors and a great health service and when you offer a service like that it keeps people away from hospitals.

"It should be used as a model for medical services across regional Australia."

Mr Pullar said newcomers were also attracted by great schools, excellent sporting facilities, such as the golf course, and the river.

"It's a great place to live," he said.