Buffalo mozzarella has its origins in Italy, especially in the Campania region, where the local version, mozzarella di bufala campana, has DOC or protected origin status. The Italian water buffalo is a distinct breed and its milk has been used for cheese making at least since the 12th century.

In 1995, Roger and Sue Haldane imported Australia’s first Italian milking buffalo and established a herd on their property at Purrumbete Homestead near Camperdown in Victoria’s Western District. It took further research and a trip to Italy to acquire the knowledge and techniques for making this particularly tricky cheese, but the first local buffalo mozzarella was produced on a small scale in 1996. Originally marketed under the Purrumbete brand, the name was changed to Shaw River when manufacturing moved to a new factory in Yambuk on the Great Ocean Road.

By 2019, the company had branched out into other buffalo milk products, including yoghurt, curds, a pecorino-style cheese, smoked buffalina and a buffalo ‘feta’. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic challenges forced the business to close in 2022. In 2025, new owners bought the abandoned Yambuk factory, enticed one of the original cheesemakers, Andrew Royal, to return, and Shaw River Buffalo Mozzarella was relaunched.

Meanwhile, many others in Australia had begun producing buffalo cheese. Among these was Mitch Humphries’ Australian Dairy Buffalo Company at Millaa Millaa in North Queensland which, at its peak, was milking 239 buffalo. However, the operation was relocated to Koroop in Victoria and the north Queensland dairy ceased operating in 2020. The company bought the Shaw River milking buffalo herd in 2022.

Another significant producer of buffalo mozzarella is Burraduc Buffalo Dairy on the mid-New South Wales coast, owned and run by Andrei and Elena Swegen. Their cheese is produced on farm, and they also supply buffalo milk to other cheese makers.

Much of the cheese sold in Australia as mozzarella is made from cow’s milk, has the appearance and texture of yellow plastic and will last indefinitely in its shrink-wrapped packaging. The buffalo milk version is essentially a fresh cheese and should be consumed as young as possible. It will never be a mass-market product. It’s best eaten at room temperature, accompanied by high-quality olive oil, basil leaves and good tomatoes.