A place of harmony and connection
A place of inspiration, where art and design create an energy and beauty that touches the human emotions. Sculptures co-exist with the horses and nature.
A place where horses are free to reconnect with their wildness and to live in a herd and build deep and meaningful relationship.
A place where nature is allowed to take care of itself, and the natural processes shape the garden and the land and repair damaged ecosystems.
Wildness determines the rhythm of life at Moon Mountain
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About Us
A life beyond the all-consuming power of work has enabled Lynn and Ron Scott to fulfill a dream and vision of creating a place of beauty and inspiration based on wildness.
Dreams reach reality through passion and commitment. Lynn and Ron’s legacy will be a farm where art, nature and horses show it is possible to live harmoniously. It is a legacy based on thinking about lifestyle farms in a way that celebrates the contribution of people, art, nature, and animals to create a place based on re-wilding principles.
Now in their 70’s. Lynn and Ron are passionate about starting a conversation that explores these connections. In 2014, they bought a farm in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast Australia, a left-over relict from the dairy and beef farming days.
Read MoreArt and Design
Art takes many forms at Moon Mountain. Layered with this is the human search for beauty through creation. Sculptures dot the land, and each piece is carefully placed with the energy and forces of the sculpture and life forces guiding the creation of the Moon Mountain sculpture park.
The collection of sculptures created by both Australian and International artists is scattered throughout the farm. The visitor is led on an exploration of art that flows with the environment and enhances the natural energy of the land and can simply bring a moment of pleasure and inspiration to people’s lives.
The sculpture park started in the social isolation of Covid. Artists invited to Moon Mountain were chosen for their whimsical approach to life to show that life could still be joyous and fun. Now the artists invited to be part of Moon Mountain sculpture park are asked to bring a different interpretation of life to the collection.
Read MoreA Garden based on Wildness
Gardens represent the ultimate control of nature by humans. Gardens reflect the driving desire for people to control, change manipulate to create beds of flowering beauty. Such order pleases the human eye.
Such controlled order doesn’t exist in the wild and the garden at Moon Mountain has taken its inspiration from the wild ecosystem on the Sunshine Coast.
Who does a garden exist for? The human inhabitants or the wildlife in all its living forms? A garden for humans relies on order, mass plantings, weed eradication, swathes of water hungry lawns. An English parkland or cottage garden springs to mind.
Read MoreArchitect Notes
Peter Ireland from AJC Architects
The original Victorian farmhouse and sheds sit atop a high point on the site, offering expansive views and an established garden. We decided to reinforce this existing group of structures by adding new 'sheds'.
The new house sits below the old house, turning its back on the old house and opening to the north. It has a more utilitarian character that evolves from a simple barn-like form shaped in response to the site’s context. The roof pitches up to form a shallow gable, allowing views of Mt Cooroy.
Lynn's brief was to be in the house while still having direct contact with her horses. We managed this with the level change on the front verandah; she can sit on the steps with the herd all around her, and there is space for the horses to relax. Combining the house, the garage, and the existing sheds has created a horse-free enclosure that requires little fencing.
There was a lot of design detailing in the house; one example is the movable timber screen on the western verandah. I spoke with Lynn about using some live-edge timber slabs but didn't know how to source them.
Lynn, in her usual 'can-do' way, tracked some down at a local sawmill. They had been sitting there for years, seasoned and waiting for a project! We laid them out and selected their positions or order. I then designed a mechanism to support them and allow them to be rotated to shield the hot western sun. Such a joy!
The stable is unusual in the horse world as it is turned ‘inside out’ with no stalls, but a simple sheltering roof. It took its inspiration from a large shade tree and from watching how the horses behaved under it.
There were no constraints on their movement around its base; if there was an argument, there was room to withdraw. The stable allows the equine social hierarchy to unfold without barriers or the risk of injury.
This has been a wonderful project to be involved in, with great clients — Lynn and Ron — and an excellent builder, Ron Scholes. I like to think of it as the first piece of sculpture at Moon Mountain.
