Although a small military contingent set up camp at Albany in 1826, the first permanent residents did not settle there until 1831. The first WA settlers arrived in the Swan River Colony, which was to become Perth, in 1829. They were 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
Although some reports indicate that the first pineapples were brought to Australia by German missionaries who had travelled to Australia via India, The Australian reported in 1826 that several pineapple plants from South America had been received into the Government garden. Pineapples were widespread in the tropics by that time. They were distributed by Spanish navigators after Colombus first encountered them in Guadeloupe in 1493. 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, although the company was founded in 1825 there is no record of their 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Damper, the traditional bushman’s bread originally made from flour, water and salt and cooked in the campfire, was first mentioned in Memoirs edited by Barron Field, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales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
Although there were earlier attempts to import European honey bees to Australia, most sources agree that the first successful introduction was in 1922. The Isabella was a merchant ship transporting convicts from England and the captain, John Wallis, brought seven hives to Sydney on the ship’s second voyage. The hives were auctioned the following week. 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
In her book Bold Palates, Barbara Santich writes that Kangaroo Steamer was first described by naval officer and author Charles Jeffreys who, in 1820, published Geographical and Descriptive Delineations of the Island of Van Diemen’s Land . The dish was very popular in colonial Australia and was comprised of kangaroo meat with pork or bacon and various spices, packed into a tightly sealed jar and steamed in a cooking pot. The fatty bacon or pork compensated for the rather dry texture of the lean kangaroo meat. More