Text: John McGregor
Images: John McGregor, Cleveland Clinic
Produce on its way to Market
My great grandfather, William McGregor, (1 / 1 /1846–24 / 5 /1925) emigrated from Inverness, Scotland, landing at Port Adelaide on his 21st birthday. He spent some time doing various manual tasks in the colony, and by 1872 had saved enough money to buy about 15 acres of land fronting what is now Piccadilly Road from the Whibleys. (probably the father of David who became the head gardener at St Vigeans).
On 8th August, 1872, he married Elizabeth Margaret Davie ( 12 / 4 /1845 —/1929) in the morning in Adelaide, and in the afternoon they walked up to Crafers to set up house in the rough cottage that William had built. Some of the land had been cleared of timber, but there was much more to do.
The plan was to remove all the trees and replace them with fruit trees.The soil was fertile and there were creeks that flowed through the property and springs that never dried up.The only flaw in the plan was that fruit trees take some time before coming into full production, and William’s family was growing faster than the fruit trees. It is of note that 2 of the apple trees he planted survive and still bear fruit.
To secure an income and support the family William began growing vegetables. The secure supply of water meant that vegetable growing, where if a crop fails it may be possible to produce a second one , is not as risky as fruit growing, where a failed crop means no income until the next year.
William took his vegetables to market in Adelaide on a trolley drawn by a team of 3 horses, leaving home at about 2am to get there on time. Labour was supplied in part by help from the four boys in the family as they got old enough and strong enough to help. More reliable, though, was the constant stream of run-away sailors who jumped ship at Port Adelaide and headed for the Hills hoping to hide from any officials searching for them. They were happy to work for bed and board and a small wage.
Vegetables grown included potatoes, onions, cabbages, iceberg lettuces, carrots, parsnips, turnips, swedes, beetroot, peas, beans and radishes. Occasionally in the early days bunches of water cress were harvested from the creeks, and when in season blackberries ( sold by weight in tins to jam factories).
When you rush into the supermarket for a carton of milk , do you ever wonder what journey that milk has taken to get from the cow to the carton ? I have to admit to having no knowledge of that, but I do know something of the journey vegetables from our market garden took to get to suburban greengrocers’ shops.
Lettuces were transported and sold in crates and cabbages were sold by the dozen or half dozen.
Onions were left in the ground until their tops had dried down, and then they were pulled up, the roots trimmed off and they were stored in the loft (the top storey of the stable, the solid looking building a short distance along Piccadilly Road from the Crafers School pedestrian crossing [now mostly hidden amongst the trees]). They were stored there until taken to market where they were sold by the hundredweight (or parts of). Attempting to make comparisons between monetary values today and those of 80 years ago is rather pointless, but the record book I have shows that in April 1940, onions were sold at market for 5 shillings and 6 pence (ie 55 cents) a hundredweight.
Potatoes were left in the ground until their tops had also dried off then they were exposed to the surface by ploughing a furrow, the crop collected, the soil washed off and then they, too, stored in the loft until taken to market. They were also sold by the hundredweight or part thereof. A hundredweight of potatoes in 1940 sold for about one dollar.
All of the root vegetables, ie carrots, parsnips, turnips, swedes, beetroot and radishes were sold to greengrocers as bunches, and when ships were at Port Adelaide their bulk orders were in hundredweights, delivered in sacks.
Bunches, usually consisting of 4 or 5, depending on the size of the vegetables, were tied with strips of flax leaves grown on the property. The bunches were stacked in rows one above the other, a little like wine bottles lying on their sides, and the soil washed off with a high jet of water.
There was one exception. Whereas turnips came out of the ground with only a small thin tap root easily cut off, swedes grew with a mat of fibrous roots which came out of the ground with quite a lot of soil, and this had to be trimmed off. Evidence if this trimming can still be seen today on swedes bought from a supermarket.
Peas were sold by the bushel, and the record book shows that beans were sold by the dozen but gives no indication of what these were dozens of. At various times mint and cress, both growing wild in the creeks flowing through the property were sold by the bunch. Entries in the record book that I have only has entries from late 1939, and it shows that the usual price paid by greengrocers for bunches of mint was 5 cents each.
During winter there were no crops to harvest, and so no income. The record shows that for the 1941 — 42 year the total takings were $ 4375, and the year was from November to August with a break then until the next November. The takings had to support 3 families, parents, and children, as well as pay the costs of running the business.
The sale of the vegetables took place between the gardeners and the retail greengrocers at the East End market on East Terrace. Market days were Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday. The week day working day started at first light, with meal breaks for breakfast, a 12 o’clock dinner and knockoff time at nightfall.
After WWII market days were only Wednesday and Friday, and so then my father and uncle with times a little extra help could manage by themselves. Over the years the property had passed from my great grandfather to my grandfather and then to my father and uncle.
Cultivation had progressed from digging by hand with a a fork to ploughing using a horse- drawn plough to replacing the horse with a small tractor.
Irrigation began using furrows from the creeks and wells. Then a bore was sunk and a large tank built on the highest point of the property. A system of pipes was laid over the property and gravity fed sprinklers were used. These were eventually replaced with a larger pump driven system which meant that only one shifting was needed a day.
The property has ceased being a garden and was sold after my uncle died in 1959. It has since been subdivided.
More about The McGregor Family
Do you have memories of Hills Market Gardens? Contact us at mldhsgateways@mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au or drop into the History Centre at the Coventry Library, 63 Mount Barker Road, Stirling.
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