History of Fruitgrowing in Nelson

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 98, Issue 1, 15 January 1959, Page 70

History of Fruitgrowing in Nelson

kJ ELSON has been known as a fruitgrowing province for many years, and its fruitgrowing ■ < history dates back to 1865, when the first commercial orchard of an acre of mixed fruits was planted near Riwaka. It is now the major pip fruit growing area in New Zealand and exports considerable quantities of apples. The period over which .fruit has been grown commercially in Nelson covers two distinct eras, the change from one to the other occurring in 1911, when large-scale apple tree planting for production of export fruit began on the Moutere Hills. Before this, orchards were mainly of mixed types and much of the fruit available for disposal was the surplus from farm orchards. N. J. Adamson, Horticultural Superintendent, Department of Agriculture, Nelson, who has had a long association with fruitgrowing in the province, describes in this article the growth of the industry from small beginnings to its present major importance in the economy of Nelson. The article will be concluded in next month's "Journal".

■pRUITGROWING in Nelson Province * has been confined to Waimea County, where the sheltered position, high proportion of sunshine, and welldistributed rainfall provide very favourable conditions for cultivating fruit, tobacco, hops, and tomatoes and other market garden crops. Sunshine frequently exceeds 2,500 hours in a year, and rainfall in the region varies from 38 in. per year to more than 50 in. Frosts are uncommon from the

end of October until mid-April, so that frost damage to horticultural crops is rare. Such a favourable climate encouraged early settlers to grow fruit for their own needs as they could procure the trees; and some enterprising farmers, seeing the encouraging results, planted more than they required in expectation of selling the surplus in the growing towns. In this way fruit-

growing in the province began, but it was about 20 years after the founding of the Nelson colony that the first commercial orchard was planted. Nelson was settled in 1841, when the preliminary expedition of the Nelson colony, under the leadership of Captain Arthur Wakefield, R.N., after much searching for a suitable location for the settlement, finally camped on the site of what is now Nelson City in October of that year. In 1842, 800 immigrants arrived and other settlers soon followed. Spreading out in Search of Productive Land For many years the main activity of the early arrivals was providing the barest necessities for existence. Too many settlers had arrived in the first year and food was scarce. These circumstances probably forced settlers to move out early in a wide search

for productive land. At first the only communication was by ship, as there were no land routes. Small ships built locally from handsawn timber could work small harbours and beaches. Thus a number of the pioneer settlers chose Motueka and Riwaka quite early for their homes, as these places were approachable by sea and the soil appeared fertile. These districts later became centres of horticultural production, and remain so, with fruit, hops, and tobacco the main crops. Early Plantings A number of small wooden ships served Nelson in the early days and the brigantine Comet of 100 tons began trading regularly with Sydney. By 1853 Nelson had services with Sydney, Wellington, and Canterbury. As settlement progressed people soon turned their attention to growingthe trees and. fruits they had known in the Old Land. Their needs were supplied largely from Australia, the nearest source, though the earliest settlers had brought peach stones and fruit pips and trees carefully nursed

on the long voyage. Hop gardens were established in the Nelson township soon after the first landings from sets brought from England. Fruitgrowing apparently progressed more in the Riwaka and Motueka districts than elsewhere in the province. These districts were still centres of much fruitgrowing activity when the first experimental shipment of apples was made to England in 1908 and before the planting boom on the Moutere Hills began in 1910. The record of fruitgrowing in Motueka and surrounding districts is also a record of early commercial fruitgrowing in the province. The first commercial orchard (of 1 acre) was established about 1865 by G. Stevens at Dehra Doon, near Riwaka. It consisted of apples, pears, and plums. Stevens, one of the New Zealand Company’s surveyors, surveyed the Riwaka district. There is no sign of this orchard now, though a very old pear tree still growing in the locality is thought to have been part of it. About the same time an orchard of 3 acres was planted by Robert McNabb

at Sandy Bay. Epps Seedling and Northern Spy were among the apple varieties grown, which included a number now long forgotten. In later years some of these trees produced up to 30 bushels of apples each and fruit was shipped direct to Wellington from the old Riwaka wharf. At that time, with the Motueka River hampering free access to the Motueka area, Riwaka appears to have been the community centre and the main farming area, and it developed ahead of Motueka. Except for the planting of farm orchards, commercial orchard planting did not develop further until the late 1870 s when three orchards in Riwaka and one up the Motueka River valley were planted. These were Clement Bamfield’s (now part of Mr H. B. Everett’s), H. C. Jacka’s (now Mr B. T. Rowling’s), and T. Pattie (now Mr A. Scott’s).

The Motueka Valley orchard, long since disappeared, was planted by Bartholomew (“Barty”) Lloyd, whose 5-acre mixed orchard supplied most of the fruit used in a local jam factory. Apples from this orchard, which had been greatly extended, were later included in some of the first trial shipments to England.

Further orchard plantings in Riwaka followed soon after those mentioned above, the next being those of S. Starnes (later F. Hamilton’s, but now pulled out) and H. Everett’s. R. Chapman planted a small orchard (now pulled out) at Shaggery. Most of the trees in these orchards were grown on seedling stocks raised by Chapman and Grooby, who had the first tree nursery in the province.

Replacement and Removal of Trees

Though the earlier-planted pip fruit trees have disappeared, it was not because trees died or became diseased and unthrifty, but because the varieties grown became out of date or the land was required for other purposes. The seedling stocks of that time proved just as vigorous as the best grown at present,. and trees in some of these older orchards were 70 years old and still bearing abundantly when pulled out.

Stone fruit orchards were eliminated mainly on account of the ravages of brown rot, which appeared in the early 1900 s and caused havoc among stone fruit crops, each year. Because of this many trees were pulled out about 1910 or 1911. Infection in the blossom stage was apparently the worst feature of the disease and it was said that stone fruit would not set even after prolific flowering, the blossoms merely dying and only very poor crops being carried to maturity. At that time the blossom infection was not recognised as being brown rot. Fairly good control of blossom infection has been achieved since and stone fruit is being produced abundantly. "

The varieties of apples planted in the first orchards are practically out of existence today, having been replaced by a relatively small number of more acceptable commercial varieties with better appearance and better transport and storage qualities. Here is a list of first plantings: Ribston Pippin, Lemon Pippin, Pear Pippin, Northern Spy, Epps Seedling, London Pippin, May Pippin, Rymer, Corncluster, Brownlee Russet, Nonpareil Russet, and Keswick Codlin.

The early pears consisted of sugar pears and a dry and woody type called locally Dog-choker, a name probably very descriptive of its quality.

Many of the old English plums were grown, including Blue Orleans, Yellowgage, Greengage, Victoria, Magnum Bonum, Damson, and Blue Diamond. Peaches and apricots of unknown varieties, mostly seedlings, were included in most orchards.

Though commercial fruitgrowing in Nelson Province began at Riwaka, it

has not developed rapidly in that district during the past 50 years. The suitability of the land there for hops and later the interest in tobacco growing have resulted in land being used for these crops at the expense in some instances of fruitgrowing. The major development of pip fruit growing has taken place on the Moutere Hills, and in stone fruit production in parts of the Waimea Valley. Later, fruitgrowing received attention from settlers in the Lower Moutere district. J. and D. Drummond planted the first commercial orchards, now owned by Messrs L. Drummond and A. R. Franklin, in 1895, and substantial plantings by Messrs Holdaway followed in 1896. Varieties of apples grown were Blenheim Orange, Spitzenberg, Lord Wolseley, Rymer, Reinette du Canada, Emperor Alexander, Quarrenden, Munro’s Favourite (Dunns), and Hoover. Most of these trees were obtained from Australia and some from Hale’s nursery in Nelson. About this time a Mr Farley of Lower Moutere established a pip fruit nursery. Trees raised here provided the nucleus for the Lower Moutere district during the 1913-16 planting boom. In other parts of Nelson some progress had been made in fruitgrowing,

particularly at Stoke and Brightwater, where several small mixed commercial orchards were providing fruit for the Nelson townspeople and also shipping it to Wellington and sometimes to Onehunga for the Auckland market. There were farm orchards from which surplus produce was sold to townsfolk and to a local jam factory, but the first major plantings were those -of H. C. Jacka in 1900 (now part of the estate of H. E. Stephens) and A. Gilbert (1907) at Stoke. With the extensive pip fruit planting on the Moutere Hills and bright export prospects, the wave of enthusiasm extended to Stoke and Riwaka, where a number of new orchards were established from 1912 to 1916. Trial Export Shipments of Apples By 1908 fruitgrowing was showing signs of expansion and even with the relatively small acreage of commercial orchards at that time growers were becoming conscious of a need to seek further markets for their fruit, which up to that time was shipped , to Wellington and occasionally when opportunity offered to Auckland, but distribution from these centres was limited. At this period New Zealand was seeking to expand its export trade in

every way possible. Tasmania was already shipping apples to South America and obtaining satisfactory returns; at the same time there was a promising market in the United Kingdom and Europe. Why could Nelson growers not participate in this trade? E. Buxton and Co. pioneered the first trial shipment to England in 1908, when 1,236 cases of apples were exported under a Government guarantee of Id. a pound net for fruit. The packing material used was locally made tow from native flax (Phormium tenax). The cases were of the Tasmanian or dump type.

F. O. Hamilton of Buxtons, who visited Tasmania in 1908 to gain information on Tasmanian methods, arranged for his firm to import woodwool and apple wrapping paper, the first of these materials brought into New Zealand. Hamilton also brought back the design of a fruit loading tray used in shipping.

In “The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture” of July 1910, T. W. Kirk, Director, Division of Orchards, Gardens, and Apiaries, stated that the building up of an export trade in fresh fruit was of great importance to New Zealand and the establishment of a regular export trade at an early date should be encouraged in every possible way.

Guarantee Renewed

To encourage export of apples the Government in 1910 authorised the renewal of a guarantee of Id. per pound on all New Zealand apples sold in Europe. Conditions attaching to the guarantee were as follows: “Shipments to be approved by the Departmental officers; to be packed in the Tasmanian or Peacock cases; and shipped in cool storage, the shippers to make their own arrangements for shipping and for sale at destination; the Produce Commissioner in London to examine and report on the shipments”.

A shipment of 4,499 cases of apples was made under these conditions from Nelson by the s.s. Paparoa at the end of March 1910. A consignment of 26 half cases of pears was also forwarded.

The shipment was managed by Buxtons, who brought from Australia an expert fruit packer, a Mr Rowlands, to instruct growers in grading and packing for export and to assist in the preparation of the shipment. For the first time Nelson growers saw fruit being wrapped and lined into cases in rows after being sized.

That New Zealand fruit could secure good prices in London was indicated by the satisfactory returns for certain lines. There were faults in packing, temperatures in refrigerated stowage were regarded as too low, and charges were higher than expected, but the results were quite encouraging.

During, 1910 T. W. Kirk wrote to prominent fruit brokers in Great Britain and Europe and the British consuls in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Montevideo inquiring

about prospects of an apple and pear export trade. Many of the replies gave useful information, and all gave encouragement to a trade being developed. In January 1911 the Minister of Agriculture stated that the Government would again guarantee exporters of apples to Europe against loss on terms similar to those of the previous season. The total amount of the Government’s liability was not to exceed £315, the amount claimed for the 1910 shipment. Another Export Shipment The next shipment under Government guarantee was loaded on to the Rimutaka at Nelson on 6 March 1911. The shipment was a decided advance on that of the previous year in that it was loaded earlier and the prospects of its reaching a relatively bare market were very good. The shipment consisted of 5,500 cases, of which 4,000 were passed by Government inspectors and carried the guarantee, the balance being forwarded at the growers’ risk. Buxtons had shipped 757 cases of apples and 20 cases of pears to Monte-

video in 1910, and on 23 March 1911 a further shipment of 310 cases of first-grade, well packed apples was made to the same market. This fruit was carried as ordinary cargo and both shipments were a success. The Government renewed the guarantee against loss on shipments of apples in the 1912 season, increasing the maximum sum payable to £415. This encouragement from the Government had a very' important influence on the expansion of apple growing in Nelson and the development of the Moutere Hills orchard lands, which at that time were receiving much attention from people interested in land development. This brought a good response from growers, so a third endeavour to test on a commercial scale the British apple market was made in March 1912, when 5,493 cases of Nelson apples and 11 cases of pears were shipped on the Kaipara. Of the apples, 5,411 cases were eligible for the guarantee. Motueka district growers provided 4,629 cases and Nelson growers (mainly Stoke) 864 cases. Before and during packing, demonstrations were given by two officers of the Department of Agriculture, J. H. Thorp and

G. Stratford, Thorp having recently come from Tasmania to join the Department as an instructor and Stratford from British Columbia.

A large part of the shipment was packed by Rowlands, the Tasmanian packer brought to Nelson by Buxtons.

Varieties were Jonathan, Dunns, London Pippin, Alfriston, Sturmer, Cox’s Orange, Cleopatra, Reinette du Canada, Lord Wolseley, and small quantities of some 16 others. This trial shipment consisted largely of the most popular export varieties today (Jonathan, Cox’s Orange, and Sturmer).

The apples were landed in good condition, but prices were rather low because a coal strike and . earlier dislocation of transport caused an accumulation of Australian apples, which were not all sold, and more shipments were due.

Extension in Planting; a New Era Begins

The successful export shipments and Government guarantees gave fresh impetus to planting for the production of export fruit in Nelson and other fruitgrowing districts. “The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture” of February 1912 noted that orchard areas in New Zealand had increased by over 5,000 acres in the 3 years 1909 to 1911 and that Nelson had contributed 1,300 acres.

The increase in Nelson Province would have been accounted for by the expansion on the Moutere Hills just being opened up for settlement by orchardists and the beginning of a new era in fruitgrowing in areas nearer Nelson. Though several commercial orchards of then recognised exportable varieties had been planted at Stoke, most orchards in the province were of mixed varieties, many of which were unsuitable for, shipping.. A. Gilbert had planted an orchard at Stoke on modern lines in 1907 and H. C. Jacka. previously of Riwaka, had extended a 2-acre orchard to 10 acres about 1900. This orchard is now part of that of Mr E. Stephens.

Moutere Hills Development

After F. O. Hamilton’s visit to Tasmania in 1908 Frank Walker, a prominent Tasmanian orchardist and nurseryman, visited the Nelson district on Hamilton’s suggestion. He gave valuable advice to growers on locations for orchards and best varieties of apples and pears for export.

Both Walker and Hamilton after his trip to Tasmania were impressed with the possibilities of the block of land now known as Tasman for producing high-quality fruit for export. The prospects were discussed at a meeting in the home of A. McKee, who later established the well known orchard at Tasman, originally of 100 acres.

Later McKee took options over properties at Tasman and formed the first land syndicate interested in the sub-

division of Moutere Hills land for fruitgrowing and settlement. He subdivided a 300-acre block at Upper Tasman, previously Nutalls, retaining an area where he established a variety-testing area of 1 acre. This became 'a centre for demonstrations and discussions for some time and assisted the new orchardists to obtain a knowledge of varieties and to choose what to plant. In 1911 McKee floated a company known as the Tasman Fruit Lands Ltd. It acquired 2,000 acres purchased from a Mr Brown and the residue of McKee’s first subdivision at Upper Tasman. The first extensive planting in this area was in 1911, but rapid progress was made in the Tasman district between 1912 and 1916.

There followed closely a number of large subdivisions in the coastal strip of the Moutere Hills extending from Mariri to Appleby and running back to the main highway through the Moutere Valley, and at Upper Moutere and Redwoods Valley. The major subdivisions included Bronte, Mahana (Bell Estate), Stewart Estate, Tasman West (Harakeke), Tasman North, and Broadlands. A number of smaller - subdivisions were also made. The Mildura Orchard block at Upper Moutere of 300 acres was developed at the same time, the intention being to subdivide and dispose of bearing orchards. Tasman Fruit Lands Ltd. formulated a plan for settlement which became the general pattern for all other syndicates. They undertook to

supervise the clearing, planting, and maintenance of orchards for absentee owners for 5 years and to employ an experienced orchard supervisor for that purpose. F. E. Nottage, an Orchard Instructor in the Department of Agriculture, resigned from his position to become the agent and orchard supervisor for the Tasman syndicate.

He developed an orchard of his own at Tasman, where he resided until 1955 and was actively engaged in fruitgrowing.

The pattern for development was sound, as it made possible the establishment and maintenance of young orchards by persons who could carry on their normal business in other centres and supply needed capital, and also assisted others with limited resources who had settled on their holdings to secure a livelihood during the lean years of development by undertaking the pioneering work of clearing, planting, and orchard maintenance for absentees.

Some prominent horticulturists and professional men and businessmen took up blocks in Tasman. Among these were T. W. Kirk, then Director of the Orchards, Gardens, and Apiaries Division of the Department of Agriculture, Thomas Horton, prominent Hastings nurseryman, Mr Justice Chapman, E. H. Williams, Hastings solicitor, H. R. Duncan and Dee Bros., Nelson, and T. L. Austin and C. H. Tucker, both well known Dimedin businessmen. The four last names are still associated with fruitgrowing in Nelson.

Second Lot of Pioneers

Those who settled on their holdings and engaged in orchard development were pioneers in every respect. From Mariri to Redwoods Valley by what is now known as the coastal route and the whole of the coastal strip were unroaded and very sparsely settled with not more than five homesteads. The area was mainly scrub covered, but it provided some scanty grazing for sheep in parts, with a few small flats grassed. It was uninviting country which could be described as marginal land.

Some of the early arrivals in the area lived in tents until they could provide more adequate shelter. Communication with Nelson and Motueka was difficult, but employment was plentiful and people entered into their new life with great enthusiasm, though residents in the more settled areas of Nelson predicted failure and financial ruin for those “poor misguided settlers”.

Clearing, reading, and planting went on apace between 1911 and 1916, but by 1916 the effects of the First World War were being felt. Young men had left for overseas service and the future looked uncertain; consequently planting came to a halt.

During the boom years upward of 7,000 acres were planted in fruit trees. With such extensive planting, especially by people, inexperienced in

fruitgrowing and its requirements, much indiscriminate planting was unavoidable and a percentage was doomed to failure. The cost of development and time taken for orchards to come to maturity were miscalculated. This led to many people becoming discouraged or short of funds and finally having to abandon their holdings. For a number of years, therefore, abandoned orchards were not uncommon. However, there merged from it all a flourishing industry which has stabilised at about 2,500 acres of apples and pears located on Moutere Hills and another 1,050 acres of orchard, including stone fruits, on the flats of Riwaka, Moutere, Stoke, and parts of the Waimea Valley. Breaking in of the country was very laborious compared with present methods and less effective. Scrub was cut by hand and burnt and the land broken up by horse-drawn singlefurrow ploughs of the shortmouldboard type. For cultivation relatively light horse-drawn . implements were used. No time was allowed for fallowing, and on such a raw clay soil insufficiently prepared for planting growth response was poor. In recent years heavy scrub has been bulldozed, burnt over roughly,

and ploughed deeply with a tractordrawn swamp plough, or broken up with giant discs and given sufficient time to fallow. With heavy implements and the use of tractors this same land can be given good preparation for planting, which is reflected in tree growth. Fruit Export The Moutere Hills orchards had been planted mainly to produce fruit for export. Growers were not well placed geographically for individual distribution of their produce within New Zealand, so naturally concentrated on developing, with Government backing, an export trade. After the First World War Nelson was becoming vitally interested in fruit export, as it was expected that orchards planted between 1911 and 1916 would attain maturity between 1924 and 1930. Trial shipments before the war encouraged early arrangement of resumption of exports and in 1920 about 34,000 cases of Nelson fruit were sent to London. Government Guarantee on Export Fruit Up to and including 1926 the Government continued its export guarantee of Id. per pound net for fruit to

the grower. However, after a very heavy payment on the 1926 crop due to losses arising through a general strike in Britain the guarantee was amended to cover only the cost of preparing and transporting fruit from orchard to overseas markets.

Even under the adjusted guarantee export increased, and though otherdistricts in New Zealand came into the picture at this' time, Nelson continued to contribute the larger portion of export fruit shipments.

The New Zealand Fruit Export Control Board took control of export in the 1926 season and retained it until the outbreak of war in 1939, when further export of fruit looked impracticable. The Government then accepted responsibility for marketing New Zealand grown apples and pears.

Because the Nelson district was producing principally for export, fruitgrowers there were not as seriously affected by the economic depression of the 1930 s as were fruitgrowers in areas which depended more on local markets.

Pre-war Exports

From 1927 to 1939 Nelson contributed 9,020,090 cases of apples out of a total of 14,638,071 exported and 438,069 cases of pears out of 1,083,853 exported. The peak year was 1934, when more than 1 million cases of apples and pears were exported from Nelson. The South American trade, resumed in 1922, reached its peak in 1929 and 1930 with these markets absorbing over 150,000 cases. After 1930 this trade declined steadily as the countries’ own production increased. A market in Canada was developing, however, to compensate for this loss and Europe was absorbing substantial quantities, the 1939 shipment exceeding 200,000 cases.

During these years substantial progress had been made and growers were reaping their reward for many years of effort and privations. Orchards were becoming better equipped, homes were being improved, and prospects seemed brighter. The outbreak of war in 1939 changed the whole outlook. New Zealand could not absorb the whole of the local apple and pear production at economic prices, and the question was could Nelson orchards, the worst placed for local distribution, survive?

A marketing scheme involving at first straight-out Government purchase but later giving place to the functioning of a Fruit Marketing Council assisted by Government subsidy enabled Nelson orchards to carry on. However, during the war, production declined owing to shortages of labour, equipment, and fertilisers.

Because of rising costs and marketing difficulties, there being no export except of fruit sold to the United States Joint Purchasing Board for troops in the Pacific, the subsidy was considered inadequate to enable pay-

ments to growers high enough to meet production costs. In 1947 a cost survey for pip fruits was made and standards derived from it were accepted by the Government and adopted in regulations made under the Apple and Pear Marketing Act 1948. The New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board, established under this Act, has been responsible for the marketing of the whole of the apple and pear crop since the 1949 season. Cost adjustments are made each year and an average overall price based on costs is paid. All this has had a very important bearing on the progress of pip fruit growing in Nelson. Stability has been achieved and settlement of ex-service-men on orchards has been acceptable to rehabilitation authorities. This led to great progress in apple growing areas after 1946, reaching a peak in the 1951 season. Fruit export resumed in 1948, though a small export to the United Kingdom had been made in 1946. In the 1950 season there was a resumption of fullscale export, when Nelson contributed 676,000 cases, but all this fruit was transhipped in Wellington, a severe handicap. Since then part of the export fruit has been shipped direct from Port Nelson each year, but not to the extent necessary to achieve the best results. Direct shipments and total export figures for Nelson from 1950 to 1956 are:

Total Direct export loadings cases . cases 1950 . . . . 676,000 1951 . . . . 580,000 404,000 1952 . . . . 795,000 485,000 1953 .. .. 881,000 441,000 1954 . . . . 767,000 294,000 1955 . . . . 856,000 288,000 1956 .. .. 955,000 455,000

There was a great advance in fruit, handling in the 1950 season with the introduction of pallets on which the cases are stacked and then moved by fork-lift trucks, thus eliminating practically all handling of individual cases after they leave the orchards until they are stored in ships’ holds. Production has been influenced-not only by the better economic position of the industry but by better management resulting from experience and research, which has largely been responsible for increased yield and improved growth of trees. Though many orchards are over 45 years old and some trees show deterioration, production from others is building up. Replacement of worn-out trees by others on more vigorous stocks, such as Mailing XII and selected seedling stocks, has been successful, and by judicious replanting the economic life of Moutere Hills orchards and others in the district should be extended for many years. (To be continued.)