By Beatrice Hawkins
I recently read an article about the death of what was supposedly the oldest apple tree in America. It was reportedly 194 years old and had been grown from 5 seeds given to a young pioneer from the apples in a dessert on the night he left England for the “New World”. When he arrived he planted them at Fort Vancouver, Washington and it gave rise to the flourishing industry in the area. It was a green apple, fairly sour but ideal for baking. Genetic testing has determined that it was unique and no other existed exactly like it but may have been a descendant of the 500 year old variety “French Reinette”.
This had led me to wonder about the history and varieties grown in the Stanthorpe area. So many beautiful apples grown on our doorstep and I have no idea when and how the orchards originated or where to find the information.
I knew apples were brought here with the first fleet and that Granny Smith originated in Australia in 1868 and thought to be a hybrid of the European wild apple. It is named after Maria Ann Smith.
However, Google is my friend, and I found an article about Thulimbah and apples from 1924 extolling the virtues of the area for orchards and vegetable farms. In 1908 the local member Col. J. F. G. Foxton, saw the potential and urged people to take up farms in the area. His recommendations did not go unheeded and by the time the article was written the area was thriving.
When newly married I lived in the Mudgee area of NSW and my wonderful father in law had a great orchard on the banks of the creek. Several varieties of apples grew there, old fashioned green Delicious and crispy red Johnathon, an early maturing variety with pure white flesh, crisp and juicy – still one of my favourites and rarely available these days. They were wonderful for Toffee Apples! Of course there were several Granny smith trees and these kept us in cooking apples well into the winter stored in a concrete room under the tank stand.
If we did run short, it wasn’t far to Orange which, despite its name, was a large apple growing area!
My parents shifted to Tasmania and the Huon Valley on their retirement and helped on an apple orchard there for several years and a whole new range of varieties entered my vocabulary.
Golden Delicious was a particular favourite but there were many different ones. Cox’s Pippin, Gravenstein, Rome Beauty and Bramley are just some that I remember.
When Dad was in Tasmania the majority of the crop was exported to England and this lasted until England joined the EEC.
New destinations had to be found and Japan is where a lot of apples go these days. Their requirements and tastes differ so new varieties have been bred to fill these markets. These days we see Jazz, Pink Ladies, Fuji and a whole new range. Apples are not native to Japan but are a taste that has developed over the years.
Apparently apples, these days, are not meant to be eaten straight from the tree as they have been bred to be stored. With storage the acidity drops and the starch in the flesh changes to sugar.
The experts tell me that when you buy apples from the shop they are ready to be eaten and should not be stored in a fruit bowl on the bench.
Apparently you should definitely not keep them near bananas as they will quickly become over ripe… I certainly am guilty of this! My fruit bowl usually has apples, oranges and bananas on top – oops! The expert advice is to keep them in the crisper in the fridge until you are ready to eat them.
At present the apple trees are starting to bloom around Stanthorpe so the orchards should look spectacular for about the next month and we will be praying that the frosts are finished and the fruit will set unhindered. We are so fortunate to live in such a productive region.
Don’t forget the annual Garden Competition, Spring Flower Show and Floral Window Competition all coming up in October. Schedules are available from Bryson’s Place in Palmerin Street. Pick one up and see what you can enter.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
