Mr. Doug Whitten
Mr. Doug Whitten spoke about "Life on an Orchard Fifty Years Ago". Mr. Whitten, a retired orchardist and well-known member of a district pioneer family, told of the arrival of his forbears from England and outlined the development of the fruit growing industry in these parts from its inception in the early 1850's.He described the land as the pioneers found it - hillsides covered with such timbers as Messmate and Yellow Box. One such tree survives to this day on land that was once part of his family property. Mr. Whitten showed how the pioneer orchardists, by trial and error, found what varieties of fruit were best suited to local conditions.
Their problems and difficulties were many. Not the least of these was the battle against root borers and birds. As a means of helping to eradicate these pests, children in the locality were offered threepence for every hundred they could collect.
He also made mention of the innovatory measures adopted by the early orchardists to turn failure to success. One such innovation was the laying of wooden agricultural drainage pipes through orchards and in some areas the remnants of these drainage networks can still be seen and felt today. Mr. Whitten told of the great value of organic manure to orchardists. Rarely did they return from the trip to market without a load of manure for use around their orchard trees.
In the concluding part of his talk Mr. Whitten described how fruit growers spread their fruit on the ground between layers of pine needles in an effort to keep it longer. Later cold storage was invented - a great discovery for the orchardists. Fruit could now be preserved from one season to the next with little or no loss. Mr. Whitten also referred to the propagation of many well-known varieties of fruit by local orchardists.
1978 05 Newsletter
John Whitten
Among those with experience on the land were John Whitten from Ireland...
PEACH VARIETIES: WHITTEN’S PALMERSTON:- 1900, J. Whitten. Late, yellow fleshed...
The late Palmerston came from a sport on a tree in Whitten’s orchard. John Petty and Edwin Wilson both took cuttings from it and propagated an improved variety that had the advantage of ripening late and extending the harvest season.....
In 1932, Doncaster growers formed the Southern Victorian Pear Packing Pty. Ltd., to organise and standardise the export of pears and apples to the United Kingdom and Europe. .... Later A. J. Noonan, D. Whitten and R. J. Tully joined the board.......
The name was later changed to Blue Moon Fruit Co-operative Limited. The co-operative operated from a building in Blackburn with facilities for storage, fruit packing, manufacture of cases, and the sale of spray materials and other orchard supplies.......
Extracts from: THE ORCHARDS OF DONCASTER and TEMPLESTOWE by
IRVINE GREEN. Published by DTHS and available for sale.
DP0007 | Title: Doncaster in 1907 | Brief Description: View of Doncaster looking south-east from the Doncaster Tower, in 1907. Shows Tom Petty's home"Bayview"and fruit packing shed, and John Whitten's home in Whittens Lane. Note:"Bayview"originally built by Alfred Hummel who also built the Doncaster Tower. | Place: Doncaster | Date: 1907 | Photographer: Thiele, Henry
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