Paul van Reyk March 2024
One of the unexplored areas of Australian culinary history is the place of colonial nurserymen (and the documentary evidence is that they were all men) in developing the precondition for all that fruit that was eaten – fresh, jammed, preserved, stewed, pied, souped, roasted and chutneyed – and the orchards, home garden or commercial enterprises in which to cultivate the fruit.
I stumbled across Thomas Shepherd and his Darling Nursery and wrote about him as The Oldest Professed Gardener in The Colony. Writing it I came across other nurserymen/gardeners/seedsmen, the earliest being George Suttor in 1804.
TO BE SOLD, At Mr. SUTTOR’s NURSERY, Baulkham Hills. A Variety of Young FRUIT TREES, &c, consisting of Apples, Pears, Early Peaches, Figs, Apricots, a few Almonds of a particular fine sort from the Cape, Pomegranates, Lemons, Locusts, Raspberries, large Chily Strawberries, Bearing Quinces, Willows, &c. N, B, Orchards Planted if required.
Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 20 May 1804 p.4
I determined to bring to Australian culinary histories what I could find about these men and their enterprises. This article is the result of my investigation. I have limited my research to the fruits cultivated by the nursery men, though some also sold vegetable, herb and flower seeds.
