Business
5 March, 2025
Karumba bakery proving popular with locals and tourists
Since re-opening, the seafood and bakery business has gone from strength to strength.
Kaitlin Ward rises before midnight to ensure the residents and tourists of Karumba have fresh bread on their morning plates.
The 20-year-old manager of Karumba Bakery & Seafood only began learning how to bake bread when her parents, Julieanne and Harold “Hog” Ward, opened the business in June last year.
It was during the height of the tourist season and a baker from Cairns had been specially flown across for one week to teach Kaitlin and Julieanne the basics to create fresh bread.
“It was a crazy first few days,” Kaitlin explained.
“Then the baker had to fly home and we were left to kind of fend for ourselves.”
A good bakery is a staple of any community – remove that sort of business and the impact is felt by everyone.
Karumba had been without a bakery for around three years after the previous owner left town following a family tragedy.
The building sat empty on the fishing and tourist village’s main street as a reminder of what once was and what could be.
The Ward family were initially looking for a space to sell their fresh seafood, which was caught off the boat operated by Hog, a lifelong Gulf resident.
Kaitlin said combining a bakery with the seafood business became necessary when the government increased its regulation of the seafood industry, making the family realise they might require a back-up income source.
“We were worried the entire fishing industry in the Gulf was going to be shut down, so we started looking at re-opening the bakery as well,” Kaitlin said.
The bakery began turning a profit from the moment it opened its doors and Kaitlin’s skills in the kitchen have improved to such a degree where the business now offers a range of freshly made cakes and desserts, and a wider choice of bread types.
The bakery’s reputation has grown and people regularly drive from Normanton to buy the fresh offerings.
Karumba is famous for getting cut off during the wet season, but the long-established Gulf family were prepared and had enough ingredients in storage to continue the daily bread-making.
“I think the work suits my personality,” Kaitlin told North West Weekly when asked about her extreme work hours.
“I can just work alone and focus on what I am doing without distractions.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but working in hospitality is something I think I was meant to do.”