2022 Hallucinogenic spinach recalled
In December 2022, more than 200 people were poisoned by eating their greens. The hallucinogenic spinach had been contaminated with… Read More
Growing
2022 Top Australian food companies
In December 2022, Food & Drink magazine published a feature on Australia's 100 top food companies. Of the ten top… Read More
2022 Varroa mite threatens agricultural industries
Varroa mite is a small parasitic mite that attaches itself to honey bees. By feeding, it weakens the bees and… Read More
2021 Alcohol consumption increases during pandemic
In June 2021, Roy Morgan research found that the number of Australians consuming alcoholic drinks had increased significantly over the… Read More
2020 Chinese tariffs hit Australian exports
Beginning in 2020, China hit a range of Australian exports with new tariffs and bans in the guise of "anti-dumping"… Read More
2016 Shark Bay Scampi Caviar released
In 1984, the Melbourne Age ran an article announcing the beginnings of a new fishery on Australia's northwest coast. "Australian… Read More
2016 Free range eggs standard set
In a controversial move, the consumer affairs ministers from the various Australian states and territories agreed in March 2016 on… Read More
2014 Woolworths supports SPC Ardmona
In a PR triumph, supermarket chain Woolworths announced a five-year deal with struggling Victorian fruit packer SPC Ardmona to supply… Read More
2014 GMO legal case – neighbour vs neighbour
It was a landmark GMO legal case. A Western Australian farmer sued his neighbour after losing his organic status, when GM canola seedheads… Read More
2013 Seaweed farm in New South Wales
The harvesting of seaweed isn't new but, in Australia, the actual cultivation of seaweed for culinary purposes is a relatively… Read More
2013 International year of Quinoa
It's touted as a superfood. Quinoa (which we all know to pronounce as keen-wah) is often described as an ancient grain… Read More
2013 Queensland redefines free-range eggs
Despite a growing community focus on the welfare of farmed animals, the Queensland Government changed its legislation to redefine what… Read More
2013 First non-GMO certification scheme in Australia
European certification business Cert ID Europe, with food science consultancy HACCP Australia, launched the first non-GMO certification program for the… Read More
2012 Australian Year of the Farmer
The Australian Year of the Farmer was launched by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, in October 2011 on the… Read More
2011 Greenpeace attacks genetically modified wheat
On July 14, Greenpeace activists in full biohazard gear, broke into a CSIRO research facility in Canberra and destroyed a… Read More
2011 Cyclone Yasi destroys banana crop
Bananas suddenly became a luxury item when Cyclone Yasi ripped through Queensland banana plantations in early February. It was estimated… Read More
2010 134,000 agricultural businesses in Australia
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2010, there were an estimated 134,000 agricultural businesses across Australia operating on… Read More
2008 GM crop moratorium lifted
The NSW and Victorian governments lifted the moratorium on the planting of genetically modified canola early in 2008. With GM… Read More
2007 Australia’s first edible insect farm
In many countries, eating insects is no big deal. Here in Australia, First Nations people have been hoeing into witchety… Read More
2007 Brazilian JBS meat company comes to Australia
As of 2025, it was the second-largest food company in Australia, although few would recognise its name. The mainly Brazilian-owned… Read More
2005 Farmers’ markets turn over $40 million
At the second National Australian Farmers' Markets Conference in Albury Wodonga the first substantive Australian research into farmers' markets was… Read More
2003 GM canola approved
In 2003 the Federal Office of the Gene Technology Regulator approved GM canola for cultivation in Australia. It concluded that… Read More
2003 Australian Farmers’ Markets Association formed
The driving force behind the formation of the Australian Farmers' Markets Association, and its first President, was food writer and… Read More
2003 Chia farm established in the Kimberley
It seems that every generation has its own superfoods. In the past, kiddies lined up for a spoonful of Saunders… Read More
2001 School garden program begins in Melbourne
In 2001, a community group calling themselves Cultivating Community partnered with celebrity chef and restaurateur Stephanie Alexander to found a… Read More
2001 – 2008 Millennium drought
The worst drought in living memory hit Australia’s south east and south west, impoverishing farmers and increasing food prices. The… Read More
2000 Gene Technology Act
The Australian Federal Government passed the Gene Technology Act in December 2000 to regulate the research, use and release of… Read More
1999 Broccolini first grown in Australia
Broccolini, a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale, was invented by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan in 1993.… Read More
1998-9 Egg consumption declines
n 1968 the American Heart Association announced a dietary recommendation that you should eat no more than 300 mg of… Read More
1996 First Australian buffalo mozzarella
Buffalo mozzarella has its origins in Italy, especially in the Campania region, where the local version, mozzarella di bufala campana,… Read More
1996 Community gardens get organised
The Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network was set up in 1996. The Network was started by Dr Darren… Read More
1994 First genetically engineered food
The FlavrSavr tomato became the first genetically engineered food to be commercially grown and licensed for human consumption by the… Read More
1993 Truffle farming starts in Tasmania
Two Tasmanians started Perigord Truffles of Tasmania, the first truffle farming operation in Australia. They inoculated the roots of oak… Read More
1991 Organic certification introduced
At the request of the organic industry, the Australian government sought to establish a national organic standard for production and… Read More
1991 The National Food Authority founded
The new National Food Authority promoted cooperation between governments, industry and the community to provide a safe and wholesome food supply.… Read More
1987 Commercial snail farming in Australia
The first serious attempt at commercial snail farming in Australia began in the mid-1980s and, by 1987, Sonya Begg of… Read More
1986 Mad cow disease identified in Britain
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was first identified as a major problem in 1986 and traced to the practice of feeding… Read More
1985 Sydney’s first community garden
Sydney's first community garden, Glovers Community Garden, was created on 600 square metres of north-facing, sloping land when the Rozelle… Read More
1984 Atlantic salmon farming begins in Tasmania
Commercial Atlantic salmon farming in Tasmania began in the mid-1980s through a partnership between the Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority and… Read More
1980 Kangaroo meat sales legalised in S.A.
Even when it became legal to sell kangaroo meat in South Australia this local game was slow to find its… Read More
1978 Mussel farm at Beaumaris
Mussel farming has a long history. As early as the 13th century, the French gathered mussels from poles driven into… Read More
1977 First Australian community garden
There had been community gardens in the past, during times of war and depression, but the first Australian community garden… Read More
1974 Pink Lady apples developed in WA
Pink Lady is a promotional name for an apple variety known as Cripps Pink. The apple was developed by horticulturalist… Read More
1973 Britain joins European Economic Community
The United Kingdom acceded to the European Economic Community in 1973 beginning a new focus for Australian exporters. The formation… Read More
1972 Marron farming begins in WA
The marron (Cherax cainii) is a large fresh water crayfish native to the south western areas of Western Australia and… Read More
1970 First commercial emu farm in Australia
The earliest emu farm in Australia appears to have been operating in the 1930s at Dromana, Victoria. It was pictured… Read More
1970s Permaculture concept developed
The permaculture philosophy of farming and sustainable living was developed by Bill Mollison and David Holgrem in Tasmania. Mollison was… Read More
1969? Commercial crocodile farming begins
Although there were earlier "crocodile farms" it appears these were essentially zoos, whose major purpose was to attract tourists. The… Read More
1969 Beginnings of canola industry in Australia
These days, we call it canola but back in the 1960s it was known as rape seed. And what is… Read More
1968 Luv-a-Duck founded in Nhill
It was August 2016 and we were headed for the Dimboola Food Festival. An unlikely destination, perhaps, but among the… Read More
1960 Australian Wine Centre opens in Soho, London.
After World War II, wine exports to Britain resumed. To capture more of the British market the Australian Wine Board… Read More
1959 First Australian meat chicken breed
According to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation, until the late 1950s chicken meat in Australia was mainly a by-product of… Read More
1957 Global warming first mentioned
The first use of the term global warming was in The Hammond Times in Indiana USA. The article, on 6… Read More
1956 Tuna fishing industry in Port Lincoln
The southern bluefin tuna is prized by gourmets, particularly in Japan, where it is valued for sushi and sashimi. In… Read More
1955 Sunwhite Rice launched
In 1924, eight farmers in the Murrumbidgee irrigation area of New South Wales produced the area's first commercial rice crop.… Read More
1951 Experimental aquaculture in Queensland
Aquaculture in Australia traces its history back at least 8000 years, to a time when indigenous people in Western Victoria… Read More
1947 Golden Circle cannery opens
By the mid-1940s, the pineapple industry was well established in Queensland. To provide marketing and financial stability, a cooperative was… Read More
1946 Baiada moves into poultry processing
In 2025, Baiada ranked as the fifth-largest food company in Australia and was the only one of the top five… Read More
1944 Frozen vegetables first processed in Australia
Amidst the food rationing of the war years, imported quick frozen vegetables became available in Australia. The first Australian plant… Read More
1944 World’s first organic farming society in Sydney
The Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society (AOFGS), founded in Australia in October 1944, was the world’s first organic farming… Read More
1942 Women’s Land Army formed
When the Japanese entered World War II and young Australian men joined the armed services or war industries, there was… Read More
1942 Call for Victory Gardens
During WWII, a combination of labour shortages, drought and the difficulty in importing goods led to the threat of food… Read More
1937 Narooma fish cannery opens
The Narooma Fish Cannery was opened at the suggestion of Theodore Cleveland Roughley, an economic zoologist from the Technological Museum,… Read More
1937 First frog farm at Euroa
It was touted in American magazines as a money-making enterprise. Henry Jacka and Sydney Willson imported 'breeding stock' of bullfrogs from… Read More
1934 Introduction of the ute
According to legend, in the early 1930s the Australian branch of the Ford Motor Company received a letter from a… Read More
1934 Pearl meat industry begins
Pearl meat is the adductor muscle of the pearl oyster and is a by-product of the pearl and pearl shell… Read More
1933 Brahman cattle imported
Although other strains of Bos Indicus (Asian cattle) had been imported earlier, the breed now known as Brahman was first… Read More
1933 Australia’s first commercial mushroom farm
In Europe, people were cultivating mushrooms as early as the 1600s and, in the 19th century, commercial cultivation of "Paris… Read More
1930? Queensland bans peanut butter
It seems the dairy industry objected to the word “butter” being used for anything other than the dairy product. In… Read More
1929 Wine Overseas Marketing Board established
In 1929 the Australian government set up the Wine Overseas Marketing Board. It was financed by a levy on all… Read More
1929 Ginger industry established at Buderim
In 1929, a number of Buderim ginger growers formed the first Ginger Growers' Association with a view to developing the… Read More
1926 Edgell begins canning asparagus
Gordon Edgell and Sons of Bathurst launched their canned asparagus in 1926 after 18 years of experimentation in growing the… Read More
1925 The Empire Christmas Pudding
It started as a marketing idea. The original recipe for the Empire Christmas Pudding was published in an advertisement developed… Read More
1924 Kangaroo Butter shipped to England
From the 1920s to the 1970s, when UK shoppers bought Australian butter, they could be excused for thinking that we… Read More
1923 Mountain Maid brand introduced at Batlow
Batlow is a small New South Wales town nestled in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. It's famous for apples.… Read More
1921 Group Settlement Scheme in WA
The Group Settlement Scheme in the south-west of Western Australia was a government venture designed to establish a dairy industry.… Read More
1921 Nellie Kelly passionfruit developed
The Nellie Kelly passionfruit is one of the most widely grown varieties in Australia, particularly in the southern states. It… Read More
1920 Streets Ice Cream in Wollongong
Streets Ice Cream was founded by Edwin (Ted) Street in Corrimal, a suburb of Wollongong, where he and his wife… Read More
1920s Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey sold at Strahan
It was one of the first Australian foods to be included in Slow Food International's Ark of Taste - a… Read More
1918 Inghams Chicken founded
Inghams Chicken was founded by Walter Ingham in what was then the rural area of Casula in New South Wales,… Read More
1915 Murray River Waters Agreement ratified
The Murray River, Australia's longest river, is bordered by three states: New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. This has… Read More
1915 First soldier settler legislation
During and after WWI, soldier settler schemes were initiated to provide a livelihood for returning servicemen. Five years after the… Read More
1910 Chicago-based Swift & Company enters Australia
Swift & Company was founded in Massachusetts, USA, in 1865, when the 16-year-old Gustavus Swift opened a butchering operation. The… Read More
1910 Bulla Dairy Foods founded
Bulla Dairy Foods was first established by Thomas Sloan as the Bulla Cream Company in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne. Thomas had… Read More
1908 Quarantine Act passed
The passing of the Quarantine Act 1908 and its implementation in 1909 provided a national approach to the prevention and… Read More
1907 Australian Dried Fruits Association formed
In 1907, the Mildura Raisin Trust and the Renmark Raisin Trust joined to become the Australian Dried Fruits Association (A.D.F.A.).… Read More
1906 Rice cultivation begins in SE Australia
The first person known to have planted rice in south-eastern Australia was Jō Takasuka, an import/export merchant who had previously… Read More
1903 William Farrer’s Federation wheat
William Farrer bred various strains of wheat to resist the common crop disease of rust. After many years of cross-breeding, he… Read More
1903 First Australian barley cultivar
Wheat is the dominant grain grown in Australia. About 25 million tonnes is produced annually. According to the Australian Grains… Read More
1901 A population of farmers
Australia's 1901 Population Census recorded around 14 per cent of Australia's total population as working in the agricultural and pastoral… Read More
1901 Peanut industry begins in Australia
As early as the 1860s, Chinese immigrants were growing peanuts in North Queensland. Commercial farming began in 1901 when Samuel… Read More
1900 Beginnings of Dairy Farmers brand
The Dairy Farmers Co-operative Milk Co. Ltd was among several dairy co-operatives formed in the late 19th and early 20th… Read More
1899 Cairns Coffee Growers Association formed
While coffee seed arrived with the First Fleet, the sprouted plants soon withered in the Port Jackson climate. Experiments with… Read More
1897 Maffra Beet Sugar factory begins production
When we think of sugar production in Australia, we think of the cane fields that stretch from Mossman in North… Read More
1896 Scallop fishing in Tasmania regulated
Although scallops are found in coastal waters all around Australia, it's in Tasmania that they first became a regional specialty.… Read More
1895 Packham Pear developed in Molong, NSW
The Packham pear, which today accounts for approximately 60 per cent of Australia's pear production, was developed by Charles Packham… Read More
1895 Norco founded in Byron Bay
Norco is Australia's last 100 per cent farmer-owned dairy cooperative, with a $651 million turnover as of 2023. It was… Read More
1893 Finger lime plants received at Burnley Gardens
The finger lime (Citrus australasica) is among the bush foods Australian chefs began rediscovering in the 1980s. But horticulturalists were… Read More
1892 Commercial prune production first recorded
Prunes (dried plums) were a part of English diets as far back as the Middle Ages, with the majority being… Read More
1891 Italian labour for the cane fields
Much has been written about the Italian influence on Australia's cuisine as a result of post-WWII immigration. That period, thanks… Read More
1891 Chickpeas recommended to Australian farmers
It came as a surprise to me to read that Australia is the world's largest exporter of chickpeas. But we… Read More
1890? Chokos introduced to Queensland
There's no telling exactly when chokos arrived in Australia. The plant renowned for scrambling over backyard chookhouses and dunnies is… Read More
1890s Frozen rabbit industry takes off
The introduction of refrigerated railway cars made it viable to ship frozen meat, including frozen rabbit, to major cities and… Read More
1888 Rice mill in North Queensland
Chinese prospectors attracted to north Queensland's goldfields were responsible for the first successful cultivation of rice in Australia, seeking to… Read More
1887 Tasmanian apples shipped to England
The introduction of refrigerated shipping allowed more primary produce to be transported around the world. The first cargo of cool-storage… Read More
1887 Yates seeds in Australia
Arthur Yates established his Australian seed business in 1887 as a branch office of the Yates business in Auckland, New… Read More
1886 Chaffey brothers’ irrigation schemes
George and William Chaffey were Canadians who had worked on irrigation schemes in California. They were invited to Australia by… Read More
1885 Bee sanctuary created on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island in South Australia is believed to be home to the world's only remaining colony of pure bred Ligurian… Read More
1883 Cattle overlanded to the Kimberley
The northward expansion of Western Australia’s pastoral industry initially took place by sea, with sheep shipped to the De Grey… Read More
1883 Australia’s first agricultural college
Australia's first agricultural college was founded at Roseworthy, 50km north of Adelaide in 1883. It was followed in 1886 by… Read More
1881 Australia’s first dairy cooperative
The first dairy cooperative (and Australia's first agricultural cooperative), the South Coast and West Camden Co-operative Ltd., was formed by… Read More
c1880 The Furphy water cart invented
Not every business can brag about their name going into the language, but that's the case for J. Furphy &… Read More
1880s Macadamia nuts commercially grown
Aboriginal people had been eating the native macadamia nuts for thousands of years, but they were not eaten by white… Read More
1878 Banana plantations in Queensland
The banana is believed to be indigenous to the Malaya Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Guinea, but has been… Read More
1878 Great Artesian Basin discovered
The Great Artesian Basin is a natural underground water resource covering thousands of square kilometres in inland Australia. Natural springs… Read More
1877 Phylloxera affects Australian vines
Phylloxera, an aphid-like root louse that destroys grapevines, devastated up to 70% of Europe's vineyards at the end of the… Read More
1876 The first Ekka in Brisbane
It wasn't called the Ekka then, of course. The Intercolonial Exhibition of 1876 was the first exhibition of the National… Read More
1876 Stump Jump Plough invented
South Australian Richard Bowyer Smith developed the first Stump Jump Plough in 1876 and took out a patent the following… Read More
1872 Oyster farming begins in Sydney
With the depletion of natural oyster beds through dredging, attempts began to farm the Sydney Rock Oyster. According to the… Read More
1871 First milking machines in Australia
Modern dairying would be impossible without milking machines. But it took a century after the first such machines were invented… Read More
1871 The original kelpie working dog
For farmers, their working dogs are as important as their tractors. And, in Australia, around 60 per cent of the… Read More
1870 Chicory on Phillip Island
According to the Phillip Island & District Historical Society, chicory was first grown on Phillip Island in 1870. It was… Read More
1870 First commercial olive oil production
Although olive trees were introduced to Australia in around 1800, it wasn’t until the 1840s that experiments in commercial olive… Read More
1870s Chinese abalone fisheries in Tasmania
Abalone was an important food source for Aboriginal people in Tasmania. Europeans called abalone mutton fish and found it nearly… Read More
1868 Granny Smith apple appears
The Granny Smith apple is named after Maria Smith, an orchardist in Ryde, Sydney. Maria discovered the apple growing on… Read More
1865 The Goyder Line
The Goyder Line is a line of reliable rainfall in South Australia. It separates land suitable for crops from general… Read More
1864 Trout introduced to Australia
In the mid 1800s, a group led by James Arndell Youl made several unsuccessful attempts to import live trout and… Read More
1864 ‘Meeting of the whistles’
A railway line to Bendigo was constructed by the government-owned Victorian Railways Department and opened in 1862. In 1864, it… Read More
1862 First viable sugar cane plantation
Although sugar had previously been refined in Australia from imported raw sugar, the move to local production began in 1862… Read More
1861 First Acclimatisation Society
The Victorian Acclimatisation Society was founded in 1861, largely through the efforts of Edward Wilson, editor of The Argus. Its… Read More
1860 First of the Land Acts
The Victorian Nicholson Act of 1860 was the first of several Acts passed in the 1860s with the intention of… Read More
1859 Wild rabbits released by Thomas Austin
In December 1859, the Geelong Advertiser reported that grazier Thomas Austin had imported "a considerable addition to the sporting livestock… Read More
1853 Paddle steamers on the Murray
River navigation became an important way to transport goods and supplies to and from farming districts. The first of the… Read More
1852 Vegetable garden on Victorian goldfields
As men deserted their farms to try their luck at the goldfields, production of food in Victoria fell dramatically. Food… Read More
1847 Chinese labourers arrive in Adelaide
Labour shortages were an issue in mid-19th century Australia, particularly in rural areas. Importing Chinese workers was much discussed as… Read More
1846 Corn law repeal favours wheat exports to Britain
In the early years of the Australian colonies, the focus was on producing enough grain to feed their own populations,… Read More
1843 Ridley stripper harvester
John Ridley migrated from England to South Australia in 1840. He became a miller and wheat farmer and in 1843… Read More
1839 Beerenberg family farm settled
It was to be 132 years before the farm gained its current name. But the property which was to become… Read More
1839 Elders agribusiness founded
Elders Limited, Australia's longest-established pastoral agency, dates its founding to 1839, when Alexander Lang Elder arrived in the new settlement… Read More
1836 Almonds planted on Kangaroo Island
Almonds arrived in South Australia with the first ship to bring European settlers to the colony. The Duke of York… Read More
1834 First colonial farmer in Victoria
In November 1834, six months before Melbourne was first settled, Edward Henty arrived at Portland Bay on the south coast… Read More