{"id":3089,"date":"2022-09-04T15:35:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T06:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3089"},"modified":"2023-02-24T19:52:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T09:22:55","slug":"the-mcgregors-market-garden","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3089","title":{"rendered":"The McGregors’ Market Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Text: John McGregor<\/em>
Images: John McGregor<\/em>, Cleveland Clinic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Produce on its way to Market<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My great grandfather, William McGregor, (1 \/ 1 \/1846\u201324 \/ 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 8th August, 1872, he married  Elizabeth Margaret Davie ( 12 \/ 4 \/1845 \u2014\/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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019 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]<\/em>). 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turnip (top) and Swede (bottom) showing cuts for trimming off roots<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


During winter there were no crops to harvest, and so no income. The record shows that for the 1941 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019clock dinner and knockoff time at nightfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Horse drawn vehicles on East Terrace with carts being loaded and unloaded for the East End Market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The property has ceased being a garden and was sold after my uncle died in 1959. It has since been subdivided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More about The McGregor Family<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have memories of Hills Market Gardens? Contact us at mldhsgateways@mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au<\/a> or drop into the History Centre at the Coventry Library, 63 Mount Barker Road, Stirling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Text: John McGregorImages: John McGregor, Cleveland Clinic My great grandfather, William McGregor, (1 \/ 1 \/1846\u201324 \/ 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 … Continue reading “The McGregors’ Market Garden”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PaNLq6-NP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2075,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=2075","url_meta":{"origin":3089,"position":0},"title":"The McGregor Family; Gardeners","date":"June 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text and Images: John McGregor In the Adelaide Hills, mention of the word \u201cGarden\u201c might well conjure a picture\u00a0 of\u00a0stately homes surrounded by rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and mature trees which have an annual\u00a0 show of bright autumn colours, all growing over a carpet in spring of daffodils, jonquils, snowdrops and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/McGregor-a-adjusted-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2913,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=2913","url_meta":{"origin":3089,"position":1},"title":"Crafers Girls’ Club","date":"April 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John McGregor and Janet Chambers Image: Janet Chambers Crafers Girls Club badge In the early 1950s, Peggy Cossick (whose husband Arthur owned and operated the Crafers grocery store) convened a committee of women whose daughters attended Crafers School with a view to forming a club to give the girls\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220314_185457a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3079,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3079","url_meta":{"origin":3089,"position":2},"title":"Heathfield gets a High School","date":"September 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John McGregorImages: Heathfield High School, speedwayandroadracehistory.com Heathfield High School from Longwood Road In the mid to late 1950s, students in Crafers, Stirling, Aldgate and surrounding areas who wanted to study at secondary level at a public school, had one of several options. These were: travel by train to Unley\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/heathfield-high-school-heathfield-schools-b7ae-938x704-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":688,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=688","url_meta":{"origin":3089,"position":3},"title":"Gardens & Gardeners","date":"March 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Return to Gateways Topics Mt Lofty Botanic Garden Noel Lothian From Famine to Magic Squares The McGregor Family: Gardeners","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Mt-Loft-Botanic-gardens-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1969,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=1969","url_meta":{"origin":3089,"position":4},"title":"Memories of Crafers Primary School","date":"May 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John McGregorImages: SLSA, John McGregor, ridgewayhistory.org.uk The \"new\" Crafers Primary School at its opening in 1928 I began grade 1 In February, 1946. The school\u2019s enrolment was just over 110 students, taught by three teachers.\u00a0 Miss Dangerfield taught grades 1 & 2, and to us who were 5 or\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/school-1928.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2100,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=2100","url_meta":{"origin":3089,"position":5},"title":"Recollections of Sport in past times","date":"July 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John McGregorImages: SLSA, MLDHS My grandfather, William McGregor, and his two brothers, Jack and Davie, all played cricket for Crafers in the late 19th century. Their home ground was Atkinson\u2019s paddock, behind the butcher\u2018s shop, and which was grandly called the Crafers Oval. To me the term \u201cOval\u201d suggests\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/015-Atkinsons-Paddock-C1890a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3089"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3267,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3089\/revisions\/3267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}