Apart from contributing to the development of Australia’s best paediatric health service, you will also benefit from a competitive remuneration package and a…
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King of Pippin's Apple Tree Hermitage near Warwick
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
King of the Pippins or Reine de Reinettes (French) is an old cultivar of domesticated apple originating from France, and is still used in its original form as well as in many derivative cultivars that have been bred from it. It was also formerly known as Golden Winter Pearmain, because of its ripening period at late fall. Unlike most apple cultivars it is slightly self-fertile.
Description source: Wikipedia
Image source: Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 27199
Lisbon Lemons, Yamburgan Dirranbandi Line
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
Lisbon Lemon trees have more thorns than other lemon tree species. The trees, which will grow up to 8 metres, are somewhat frost hardy.
The lemons are smaller than other lemon species and have thick, smooth skin with barely discernible pits in them. There will be a nipple on the end opposite where the stem was.
Lisbon Lemons are very juicy and quite tart, with few or no seeds. Each lemon will have an average of 10 segments in it.
These lemons are very popular with home gardeners in Australia.
Lisbon Lemons originated in Portugal. They were introduced into Australia by 1824, and into California by 1849.
Description source: Cook’s Info
Image source: Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 27246
Bananas on Mr Morgan's Property at Cleveland
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
The Cavendish Banana
The popular Cavendish variety was named after Englishman William Spencer Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire. The original Cavendish plants were brought to Mauritius from southern China in about 1826 before being taken to England where they were propagated by the good Duke’s gardener. In the 1840s, plants were taken to Samoa, Tonga and Fiji and eventually, in the 1850s, down under to Australia.
Our Industry Today
Today in Australia, bananas are grown in both tropical and subtropical regions. This ensures the industry is diverse in terms of the geographical location of banans farms, farming practices, the size and type of farms that grow bananas, the varieties of bananas grown and their flavour.
Growing Regions
The tropical banana-growing regions of northern Queensland, mainly around Tully and Innisfail, produce more than 90% of Australia’s bananas. Other tropical production areas are in the Northern Territory and norther Western Australia,
Bananas, Russell Island
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
How The Banana Got Its Name
The original bananas from south-east Asia were small, about as long as an adult’s finger. This led to Arabian traders giving them their name, based on the Arabic word for finger, “banan”. True story!
The First Plantations
Traders from Arabia, Persia, India and Indonesia distributed banana suckers around coastal regions of the Indian Ocean (but not Australia) between the 5th and 15th centuries. In the 15th century, Portuguese sailors established plantations in the Canary Islands and between the 16th and 19th centuries, suckers were traded in the Americas and plantations were established in Latin America and the Caribbean. Banana plants first arrived in Australia in the 1800s.
The First Australian Bananas
We have the Chinese migrant communities to thank for introducing bananas to Australia way back in the mid 1800s. The lucky citizens of Carnarvon in Western Australia were first to taste bananas before
Avocado Pear Tree, Tamborine Mountain
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
Avocado Pear.
For some quite unknown reason the avocado pear, or alligator pear (Persea gratissima), continues to attract very little attention among orchardists throughout Queensland. This state of affairs is the more remarkable when the high quality of the fruit and the fact that certain localities throughout the state are almost ideal for its cultivation. The native home of the avocado is tropical America, and from there it has been brought into cultivation in many parts of the tropical world.
Wilson Popence, in his instructive work dealing with tropical fruits, quotes the Indians of Guatemala as saying “Four or five corn cakes, an avocado, and a cup of coffee – this is a good meal.” One is, perhaps, dubious concerning corn cakes, but concerning the avocado as a contributing factor towards a good meal, one who has had the experience of tasting avocado pears in different parts
Pawpaw Trees in Fruit, Wynnum
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
Pawpaw for Xmas Hampers
The pawpaw is a magic fruit of the jungles of the tropics in northern Queensland. it bears a noble crop in plantations from the Endeavour River to the Tweed, and its ripened golden-fleshed gourds provide Queenslanders with a deliciously refreshing and sustaining fruit of great medicinal virtue. Whilst it is not effectively transported in a ripe state to the great markets of southern cities, when this fruit is cooked and prepared in preserves, salads, and chutneys, its exceeding great value is made to be widely appreciated. The Queensland Preference League by its enterprise in selling Christmas hampers containing various preserves of the golden pawpaw, to be delivered as presents from Australians to their friends overseas, is doing much towards popularising the pawpaw and extending a valuable export trade. With over 20 other products of Queensland’s orchards, fields, and farms a compact hamper
Pawpaw Tree, Manly
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
Originally from southern Mexico (particularly Chiapas and Veracruz), Central American, and northern South America, the pawpaw is now cultivated in most tropical countries. In cultivation, it grows rapidly, fruiting within three years. It is, however, highly frost-sensitive, limiting its production to tropical climates.
Two kinds of pawpaw are commonly grown. One has sweet, red or orange flesh, and the other has yellow flesh; in Australia, these are called “red papaya” and “yellow pawpaw”, respectively. Either kind, picked green, is called a “green papaya”.
The pawpaw is a small, sparsely branched tree, usually with a single stem growing from 5 to 10 m tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk. The leaves are large, 50-70 cm in diameter, deeply palmately lobed, with seven lobes. Unusually for such large plants, the trees are dioecious. The flowers are sweet-scented, open at night and are moth-pollinated.
Seedling Orange Trees, Blackall Range
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
Oranges are the most widely known citrus fruit in the world and are high in nutritional benefits. The most popular product made from oranges is orange juice. Orange juice made with freshly squeezed Australian oranges is widely available across Australia
Oranges probably originated around the south-west China and north-west India regions. They have been cultivated around China for several thousand years. Images of citrus trees were found in the remains of buildings in Pompeii. The illustrations were preserved by the lava from the volcanic eruption that destroyed the city in 79 AD.
Around 1450, oranges were introduced to the Mediterranean basin by Arab traders. The Portuguese then brought better types from China and also took them to Brazil. In 1788 the First Fleet brought orange, lime and lemon seeds from Brazil to the new colony of New South Wales.
Oranges are grown commercially throughout the world and the
Pawpaw Tree at Rochedale
Queensland State Archives posted a photo:
For lush tropical juiciness and sweet flavours pawpaw and papaya, are up there with the best. Originating from Central and South America, these oval-shaped fruit can grow up to 30cm in length. Packed with all kinds of nutrients, including vitamins A and C, potassium and magnesium, they’re a perfect healthy snack.
Papayas have red-orange flesh and a yellow-orange skin and pawpaws have yellow flesh and a light orange skin. Papayas are the sweeter of the two. There are two main varieties of papaya grown in Australia and these are available all year round. Also available is green papaya, which is used mostly in Asian-style dishes.
Choose near-ripe fruit – they’re ripe if the skin is a yellowish orange colour. Also, check that the skin is smooth and unblemished and that the fruit feels heavy for its size.
Ripen at room temperature until the fruit gives slightly when pressed.