Although a small military contingent set up camp at Albany in 1826, the first permanent residents did not settle there until 1831. The Swan River Colony, which was to become Perth, was pioneered by free settlers who were required to show that they had ‘improved’ their land before being granted title. However, beyond the immediate margins of the Swan River, the soil proved poor and the colony struggled for some decades. More
Dairy Australia asserts that the first commercial cheese factory in Australia was that of the Van Diemen’s Land (VDL) Company in Tasmania in the 1820s. However, there is no mention of that company’s cheese until 1830. Cheese-makers in Bathurst, NSW, were certainly producing commercial quantities of cheese, including the famous Rankin’s cheese, by 1826, establishing the area as Australia’s first cheese region. More
Damper, the traditional bushman’s bread originally made from flour, water and salt and cooked in the campfire, was first mentioned in Memoirs edited by Barron Field, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1817 to 1824. According to the Australian Dictionary Centre the name is derived from a Lancashire expression meaning “something that damps the appetite”. Modern recipes often include baking soda or self raising flour, beer, butter or powdered milk.
Around 1823, ex-convict Bartholomew Broughton planted vines and fruit trees at Prospect creating what became Tasmania’s first commercial vineyard. By 1827 he was advertising “grape wine made in imitation of champaigne”. After Broughton’s death, a new owner, Captain Swanston, produced wines that were recognised internationally and on the mainland. More
Although vines arrived with the First Fleet, Gregory Blaxland (one of the conquerors of the Blue Mountains) made the first wine exports from Australia. The red wine he sent to London in 1822 was awarded a silver medal by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce, later the Royal Society of Arts. More
The Agricultural Society of NSW was formed in 1822, holding its first Show the following year. The Shows, known originally as ‘Exhibitions’, were initially held at Parramatta, then moved to Prince Alfred Park. The Society became the Royal Agricultural Society in 1891, an honour bestowed by Queen Victoria. More