Kitchen Vegie Garden
The son of a female convict, William Charles Wentworth was born in New South Wales in 1790. He became famous in 1813 when, along with Gregory Blaxland and Lieutenant William Lawson, he found a way across the Blue Mountains. This discovery gave the colony access to the rich grazing country of the western plains. In 1827 Wentworth purchased a house at Vaucluse in Sydney, and settled there with his wife Sarah and their children.
Garden reconstruction
In recent years the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales has partially reconstructed the kitchen garden at Vaucluse House. The Trust has based the work on documentary evidence such as drawings, photographs, survey maps and family papers and references, as well as a thorough physical examination of the site. Dave Grey, the head gardener, and his team have gathered together a collection of fruit trees and vegetable varieties, which were all available in the mid-nineteenth century.
Heirloom vegies
Wentworth was passionate about gardening, and particularly loved his fruit and vegetable garden. The Australian of 13 January, 1830 states that at Vaucluse "there grows the most delicious fruit in the colony". Today the garden is stocked with many old varieties of fruit and vegetables, including Yellow Pear tomatoes, Lazy Housewife beans, Red Drumhead cabbage, New Zealand spinach, Early Long Purple eggplant, and lettuce varieties such as Cos and Oakleaf. There is a wonderful variety of pumpkin called Turk’s Turban (Cucurbita maxima) which was developed in France before 1818 and was known as Acorn squash in England. It has green, red and white stripes and light yellow flesh. Peter Valder particularly loves the old kinds of climbing beans. His favourite is the Scarlet Runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) which dates from the mid-eighteenth century. It is a vigorous climber, and has large bright scarlet flowers and shiny black and purple seeds.
Kitchen Garden Festival
This unique food and garden event will be held at Vaucluse House this weekend. It will feature:
an archaeological display on the reinstated garden workshops and talks with speakers including historian Keith Smith on historic vegetable gardening, Mary Moody on techniques of creating contemporary kitchen gardens, and Michel and Jude Fanton on heirloom seeds. a fresh produce market with sales and displays of vegetables cooking demonstrations, talks by celebrated chefs and vegetable tastings an exhibition of vegetable paintings and a display of old tools and gardening catalogues
Further details:
The Kitchen Garden Festival – 25 and 26 March 2000
10am-5pm
Entry: $10 adult, $5 concession/members, $25 family.
Enquiries: (02) 9388 7922.
Vaucluse House is in Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW, 2030.