Palm Trees for Palmerston Avenue, Dromana

In November 1928  the following two articles were published about a proposal to plant a Palm Tree avenue in Dromana. The articles are essentially the same, but have a slightly different opening sentence.

Palm Avenue for Dromana - Messrs A. C. Yandell and Spencer Jackson have each provided 500 palms for planting in Palmerston avenue, Dromana's fine three-chain road. The Dromana Progress Association is designing the lay-out of the road for the council's approval, and the palms will be planted early next year. Eventually they will lead from Pt. Nepean road to the entrance to Arthur's Seat. (1)

Messrs. A. C. Yandell and Spencer Jackson have each provided 500 Phoenix Canariensis palms for planting in Palmerston avenue. The Dromana Progress Association is now designing the lay out of the road for the council's approval, and the palms will be planted early next year, and will eventually lead through from Point Nepean road right to the entrance to Mt. Arthur's Seat. (2)

A.C. Yandell was Augustus Charles Wenmouth Yandell. He died on July 14, 1929 and this short obituary was published in The Argus -

Mr. A. C. Yandell formerly of Castlemaine died on Sunday in a private hospital, in Melbourne aged 49 [sic] years. Mr Yandell, who was a native of Castlemaine was chairman of the Castlemaine Electric Supply Company a member of the Pioneers Association and the Old Schoolboys' Association and a past master of the Orange Lodge. He had been in failing health for some years, and, acting on medical advice took up residence at Dromana three years ago. (3)

His death notice said he was actually 59 years old and that he was the husband of Lavinia and father of Herbert, Cyril, Marjorie, Eric, Charles and Joyce. At the time of his death, Mr Yandell was the acting-President of the Dromana Progress Association. (4)

Spencer Jackson was a real estate agent and a property developer. In 1927 he published the History of Beautiful Dromana a 36 page booklet with a history of the town and a description of all the tourist attractions. The booklet also promoted his new housing estate, the Panoramic Estate, which bordered Palmerston Avenue.  Mr Jackson died on February 28, 1959 aged 67, leaving behind his wife Rene and son John. (5)

The Dromana and District Historical Society has published a facsimile edition of the History of Beautiful Dromana, and the map below comes from this booklet. (6)

Aerial view of Dromana, showing Palmerston Avenue, the location where the Palm Trees 

were to be planted, and Spencer Jackson's Panoramic Estate.

Source: History of Beautiful Dromana (see footnote 6)

Were the 1,000 Palm Trees actually planted in Palmerston Avenue? The newspapers reports note that they were to be planted in early 1929. I do not believe they were planted, perhaps the death of Mr Yandell in July 1929 put the project on hold and then the Depression finished it off. The reason I don't think they were planted is that they are not visible in the two photographs below from the 1950s.

Pier Street, Dromana (which comes up from the Dromana pier) intersects with 

Palmerston Avenue, centre right of the photo. 

There are no trees at all planted along Palmerston Avenue. 

Looking at the development along Pier Street compared to the photo below, this one is 

around 1950, twenty years after the Palms were to have been planted. 

Dromana, c.1945-1954. Victorian Railways photographer.

State Library of Victoria image H91.50/1668  https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/451362 

1955 - This is Pier Street running to Palmerston Avenue, with Jetty Road at an angle 

running top right. The trees on Palmerston Avenue to the right of Pier Street appear to 

be pine trees; there are no Palm Trees.  The Panoramic Estate is only sparsely settled. 

Aerial view of Dromana, October 22, 1955. Photographer: Airspy

State Library of Victoria image H2010.91/541 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4325235 

In spite of good intentions it appears that the 1,000 Phoenix Canariensis Palm Trees, were never planted along Dromana's fine three-chain road, Palmertston Avenue.

Footnotes

(1) The Herald, November 9, 1928, see here

(2) The Argus, November 9, 1928, see here. The same report is in the Sun News-Pictorial, November 10, 1928, see here.

(3) The Argus, July 16, 1929, see here.

(4) The Argus, July 15, 1929, see here;  Sun News-Pictorial, July 22, 1929, see here.

(5) The Age, March 3, 1959, p. 13; The Age, March 3, 1959, p. 3. - on newspapers.com

(6) History of Beautiful Dromana originally  published by Spencer Jackson & Co., in 1927. The Dromana and District Historical Society facsimile edition was published in 2011. 

Palm Trees in Coburg, Victoria

These are some reports about Palm Tree planting in Coburg, Victoria, in the 1920s and 1930s. The Palm Tree seemed to be the favoured tree in Coburg and by 1934 it was reported that over 1000 had been planted.

Palms Will Wave In Streets of Coburg - Where strips of earth between paths and kerbs are wide enough in some Coburg streets, the council will plant palms instead of trees.

(Sun News-Pictorial, July 27, 1928, see here)   

Palms For Coburg Streets. Coburg Council adopted a recommendation by the curator last night

that in streets where the nature strip between the paving and the channel was wide enough, palms should be planted instead of trees.

(The Herald, July 26, 1928, see here) 

From a report of a Coburg City Council meeting - Beautifying Streets - From in Mr. A. W. Morris, offering to plant and maintain two palm trees in front of his property in Murray street, provided the council will supply the trees—Referred to the curator.

(Brunswick and Coburg Gazette, September 20, 1929, see here.) 

From a report of a Coburg City Council meeting - Consideration was given to a communication from the North-East Coburg Progress Association requesting that trees or palms be planted in Anzac avenue. It was decided that small flowering guns or eucalypts should be planted. The curator reported that as the nature strips were only 8 feet wide there would not be sufficient room for palms to expand.
(Brunswick and Coburg Gazette, October 23, 1931, see here) 

Murray Street Palms - At its last meeting, the Coburg council decided to comply with the request of interested residents that palm trees should be planted in Murray street from High street to Montifore street. The southern portion of Murray street has been planted with palms for some time.
(Brunswick and Coburg Courier, July 7, 1933, see here) 

Beautifying Coburg Streets. Following a report from the Curator relative to tree planting, Coburg Council intends to enter upon a scheme of replacement where tree guards are not required. Palms are to be planted in streets where the nature strips are suitable for such planting. The Curator will be asked to prepare a list of streets in which the planting of trees could proceeded with without the necessity of using guards. Planting in privates streets will also be undertaken.
(Brunswick Guardian, June 8, 1934, see here)  

Ornamental Palms For Coburg - Mr. A. T. Latham, secretary of the Victorian Society for the Protection of Animals, has presented Coburg Council with a large number of ornamental palms for street plantations and city beautification.
(Sun News-Pictorial, August 25, 1934, see here) 

Tree Planting at Coburg. Coburg council received a report from the curator that 1000 palms had been planted on the wide parkins in various streets and in the reserves. Already 2000 street trees and palms, as well as a number of shrubs, had been planted in the season.
(The Age, September 21, 1934, see here)

Two of Coburg's Palms outside the Town Hall, in Bell Street, you can just see the trunk of 

one on the left, behind the gun. 

Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. Undated, but c. 1940s/1950s.

State Library of Victoria image H32492/7879

The Coburg Town Hall is bottom left, Coburg State School is bottom right and the building on

 the other side of Bell Street is Coburg High School, pre 1937 as that was the year the High School 

was extended with a new facade. (1)   

The  Palm Trees, War Memorial and the two guns are in front of the Town Hall. 

Palm Trees also line Bell Street and the path through the park to the oval. You can see this better

 in the high-res version here  https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/2043

Coburg looking south over Bell Street, pre 1937

Photographer: Airspy. State Library of Victoria image H91.160/1603

Coburg High School, c. 1940s. The extension and new facade of the School are from 1937, and you can clearly see the original building and the Bell Street Palm Trees.

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 10516/P0001, Coburg High School

https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/7BC24D76-F7EA-11E9-AE98-BBE0984B5566?image=1

Another view of the Coburg High School and Bell Street Palm Trees c. 1940s. 

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 10516/P0001, Coburg High School

https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/7BC24D76-F7EA-11E9-AE98-BBE0984B5566?image=1

This image is from July 1957 - the Town Hall is bottom left, Coburg State School is bottom right

 and the building opposite is Coburg High School, with it's 1937 extension and facade.   

The War Memorial and the two guns are in front of the Town Hall, however the two Palm trees, 

seen in the image above, are no longer there and the Palm Trees along Bell Street have also gone.

Detail of Aerial view of City Oval, Bell Street, Coburg, Victoria, looking south, July 14, 1957.

Photographer: Airspy.  State Library of Victoria https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4223253

It would appear from these photographs that Palm Trees were planted in Bell Street in the 1920s/1930s no doubt some of the 1,000 planted by 1934, however they had been removed by 1957.

Footnote
(1) The Herald, September 29, 1937, see here.

Benevolent Asylum Palms are moved from North Melbourne to Cheltenham

The Melbourne Benevolent Asylum opened in November 1851 in North Melbourne in the block bordered by  Abbotsford, Elm, Curzon and Miller Streets. The objectives of the Institution were to relieve the aged, infirm, disabled or destitute, of all creeds and nations, and to minister to them the comforts of religion. By the 1880s there was a movement to relocate the building from its inner city location to a more rural site. In 1904, 154 acres of land was purchased at Cheltenham; the foundation stone of the new building was laid in 1909 and the inmates began the move to Cheltenham in March 1911. In 1970 the building was renamed the Kingston Centre.

The North Melbourne building was demolished and the grounds cleared for housing; however the palm trees were removed to the new building at Cheltenham. The Weekly Times published these two photographs in July 1911.

Caption: Removing Palms from the Benevolent Asylum, North Melbourne, to the new home at Cheltenham.

Left caption: A Date Palm (Phœnix Canariensis), 25  year old, ready for removal.

Right caption: Getting a  four-ton load under weigh.

Image: Weekly Times, July 15, 1911 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224087433

 A Date Palm (Phœnix Canariensis), 25  year old, ready for removal.

Image: Weekly Times, July 15, 1911 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224087433

Getting a  four-ton load under weigh.

Image: Weekly Times, July 15, 1911 

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224087433

The State Library of Victoria has a number of photographs of the Benevolent Asylum in North Melbourne, it was a very imposing building with formal gardens, however I cannot see a Palm Tree in any of the photographs.

Melbourne Benevolent Asylum, c. 1870s.

Photographer: Charles Nettleton. 

State Library of Victoria image H92.375/10

The Cheltenham Benevolent Asylum was, as we said, on 154 acres and some of the land was used for market gardening, which you can clearly see on the left in the photograph below. I can see four palm trees in the photo, whether they are the North Melbourne one or not, I cannot tell.

Aerial view of buildings including Melbourne Benevolent Asylum, Cheltenham, c. 1950s.

Photographer: Airspy.

State Library of Victoria image H2008.32/43. 

 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/97839

Palm Trees in the same image as above, are circled in blue.

Acknowledgement: The history of the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum comes from the Public Records Office of Victoria http://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/VA1278

Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Synagogue Palm Tree

The Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Toorak Road, South Yarra, on corner of Arnold Street, replaced their earlier Synagogue in Bourke Street, Melbourne (I have written about this here) The Toorak Road Synagogue, is a grand building with seating for 1,200 and a towering copper dome and was consecrated on May 25, 1930. (1) It was designed by architect Nahum Barnet (1855-1931). (2)

Of interest to me, as this is a blog all about Palm Trees, is the palm planted on  the Toorak road frontage of the property. When was it planted? It doesn't appear in the image from the newspaper report of the opening, see below, which may have just been the angle it was taken. However, looking at Sands, McDougall Directory (3)  it appears to have been a vacant block when it was acquired  by the Congregation, around 1927 (4),  so I am sure the palm was planted after the building was erected.

The Synagogue in May 1930

Hebrew Standard of Australasia, June 6 1930 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121838003

Then there is this photograph, below, from the State Library of Victoria (SLV) by photographer Victor Edward  Charnley (c.1880-1962). SLV have it dated 1914-1933, quite a broad range and is obviously post 1930, so if the original date range is accurate it must have been taken 1930-1933. No palm tree and it is an interesting perspective as you can't see the front steps of the Synagogue. Also of interest is the bluestone building at the left, which is in Bromby Street and part of  Melbourne Grammar School.

Synagogue, but no Palm Tree.

Synagogue, Toorak Road, South Yarra, 1930-1933. Photographer: V.E. Charnley

State Library of Victoria image H32028/28  https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/15514

The  State Library of Victoria has another image of the Synagogue and Palm Tree, see below. It is a Rose Series postcard, and the SLV dates all these as c.1920-1954. The car number plate is JA then some numbers and this style of plate (2 letters, 3 numbers) was issued between 1939 until 1953, so 1939 is the earliest this photo could have been taken. (5)  However, the car appears to be an Austin with the Flying A hood ornament, which was introduced in 1947 (6) so this gives us a new earliest date for the photo and indicates that the Palm Tree was perhaps planted mid late 1930s.

The Synagogue and the Palm Tree, sometime after 1947

Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Synagogue. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co.

State Library of Victoria image H32492/612  https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/65489 

In the two photos above, you can see the house next to the Synagogue,  which from 1914 until his death in 1937 was owned by Joseph Montague Pyke, a commission agent. (7) After his death it became the Blackney Chiropractic and Naturopathic Institute; the owner, Mr Blackney, came from a family of Cornish bone-setters and studied in San Francisco. (8) The address of this house was 274 Toorak Road, and it was some time between 1955 and 1960 that the road was renumbered and 274 Toorak Road became 10W Toorak Road. (9) The Synagogue is numbered as 8 Toorak Road. 

I bought the photograph (10), below, on EBay, because of the Palm Tree (and hence this post). It wasn't dated. Compared to the Rose Series postcard image above, does the palm tree look taller, or is it just the angle the photo is taken on? Not sure, but I am dating it to the 1950s. 

The Synagogue and the Palm Tree, undated, maybe 1950s.

The next image, below comes from the City of Melbourne collection, and is dated c. 1969-1970. The Palm Tree had grown taller. You can just see Mr Pyke's old house peeking out between the Palm Tree and the block of flats.

The Synagogue and the Palm Tree, c. 1969-1970.

35A-78b Image showing a forked road at Toorak Road and Toorak Road West c1960-70. 

Photographer: Engineering branch, City of Melbourne.

https://citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au/35a-78b-image-showing-a-forked-road-at-toorak-road-and-toorak-road-west/

This is the Synagogue and our very tall Palm Tree in May 2022; it is also a good view of Mr Pyke's lovely house.

Image: Google Street View. 

This is our Palm Tree in December 2025.

Image: Google Street View. 

In conclusion, I believe the Palm Tree outside the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Toorak Road, was planted md to late 1930's, which makes it 85 to 90 years old.

Footnotes

(1) Hebrew Standard of Australasia, May 30, 1930, see here; Hebrew Standard of Australasia,  June 6, 1930, see here;  Australian Jewish Herald, May 29, 1930, see here.

(2) Nahum Barnet - Australian Dictionary of Biography entry

https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barnet-nahum-62

(3) Entries from Sands & McDougall Melbourne and Directories - on-line at the State Library of Victoria - for the Synagogue block and Mr Pyke's property.

(4) The Argus, May 6, 1927, see here.

(5) Number plates - 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Victoria

(6) Austin cars - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Motor_Company

(7) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Sands and McDougall Directories; Mr Pyke's death notice The Age, December 14, 1937, see here.

(8) The Advocate, June 24, 1943, see here.

(9) See Sands and McDougall entries in Footnote 3

(10) The back of the photo, just in case it gives you any hints as the the date of the photo.

Removal of Palm Trees at Sloss Street Reserve Melbourne

In August 1934, The Age published this scathing report on the removal of trees, including Palm Trees, along part of St Kilda Road, at  Sloss Street. The removal of these trees was considered especially egregious as Victoria was about to celebrate its Centenary and Prince Henry, the  Duke of Gloucester, was visiting the State in connection to these celebrations. St Kilda Road was one of Melbourne's premier boulevards and would have been traversed by the Duke and many considered the once hidden buildings in Sloss Street were unattractive.

Sloss Street no longer exists - it was named after a City of South Melbourne councillor, John Sloss and was closed in 1961 to allow construction of the Victorian Arts Centre. (1)

 You can see Sloss Street at the top of this map, running parallel to St Kilda Road, and you can also see the tree reserve, the subject of this article. 

Collins' Melbourne and suburban street directory, 1922

State Library of Victoria https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/288556

The Tree-felling Orgy. St. Kilda-road Defacement. A Regrettable Misunderstanding. 

Move to Have Trees and Palms Replanted.

Strong criticism is likely to be expressed at to-day's quarterly meeting of the City Council with regard to the tree-felling orgy in which the parks and gardens committee has been freely indulging at the St. Kilda-road - Sloss-street reserve. The parks and gardens committee met yesterday, but this very contentious subject was "merely mentioned." It will be "mentioned" again at to-day's meeting - but without the gentle modification that is implied by the "merely." Many members of the City Council yesterday protested that when they voted for the cleaning up of this reserve they had no idea that so many beautiful trees and palms would be ruthlessly sacrificed. Indeed, the mention of tree felling was cunningly omitted from the memorandum submitted by the parks and gardens committee to the City Council when this "beautification" scheme was recommended. The committee's memorandum referred to the cutting down of a mound. There was nothing about the cutting down of trees and palms. So members of the council will seek an explanation from the chairman of this committee (Alderman Stapley) about the whole matter.

Criticism has become so strong that it was proposed yesterday by leading members of the council that the only way to repair the artistic damage thus done to this reserve is to replant trees and palms on the flattened reserve. This course will be proposed by a member of the council at to-day's meeting, and the proposal may be agreed to.

The most regrettable part of the whole business is that the position has been misunderstood, even by members of the parks and gardens committee, and there is a strong feeling that the City Council was actually misled by the diplomatically worded memorandum which accompanied the recommendation concerning the "beautification" plan for this reserve.

The bareness of the reserve, now that the trees have been removed, is sufficient to make anyone, even only remotely threatened with a sense of beauty blink. Instead of lovely trees and stately palms there is a nerve-shattering vista of a conglomeration of structures which would easily earn special awards in an ugly buildings competition. There they stand on Crown land in the municipality of South Melbourne, in all their drab unattractiveness without a tree to decently shield their naked ugliness. And the parks and gardens committee calls this "beautification." No wonder the City Council will demand the replanting of trees and palms at to-day's meeting. 

Silence is the strongest weapon of the curator of the City Council's parks and gardens (Mr. J. Smith) in refuting the arguments of his critics, but yesterday he said that all he wanted was time. That requirement is just what cannot be conceded to him. The Centenary celebrations will be commenced in a very few weeks from now, and what ever is to be done to remedy this regrettable disfigurement at such a time of the famous St. Kilda-road avenue must be done quickly. (2)

Sloss Street

The following images all referred to the ugliness of Sloss Street

Caption: Today's Picture Of The "Perfect" Sloss Street View

"Let Trees Grow as God Intended," will be the request of the Victorian Town  Planning  Association, when it forms a deputation to the City Council garden committee. The use of the axe in the plantation which separated St Kilda Road from Sloss Street, South Melbourne, will probably be criticised. In this picture, the view unsightly buildings, which was objected to when the work began, is now nearly complete. The 15 trees which were removed concealed this area from beautiful St. Kilda Road.

The Herald, August 22, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243104678

Caption: "The Wreckers" in Sloss Street.

Progress on the "beautification" of the St. Kilda Road plantation. This work caused a great public outcry. For illustrations of the extent to which this scheme has spoiled the beauty of the city's approach, see Back Page.

The Herald, October 4, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243060884 

Caption: The Duke will see Sloss Street.

Those responsible for tearing down the plantation between St. Kilda Road and Sloss Street said the view of unsightly buildings would be veiled when the trees were in leaf. The top picture shows the

"beautification" scheme practically complete, but the leafy trees are unequal to the task of hiding the eyesore. Beneath, Burns statue (seen also above) set in the "spinney" which originally extended for the whole distance.

The Herald, October 4, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243061026

Footnotes

(1) This site - Arts Centre Melbourne, see here, gave me the information about Cr Sloss and the date of closure, however it incorrectly states that  Sloss Street linked Sturt Street to Grant Street, it clearly did not; John Sloss obituary - Emerald Hill Record, June 22, 1918, see here; 

(2) The Age, August 9, 1934, see here.

The Palm Tree in the Parliament House Gardens Melbourne

In September 1933, the Sun News-Pictorial published this blurry photo with the following caption-
This Giant Palm Tree which had a girth of 11 feet, was uprooted and cut up for removal from Parliament House gardens yesterday. The gardens will be remodelled.

'

Sun News-Pictorial, September 12, 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article277060759

So, clearly the photograph tells us nothing, but it is interesting that its removal was deemed to be news-worthy; however I have found photographs of this Palm Tree.

A young Palm Trees, peeking over the fence and the hedge

Parliament House, looking up Spring Street, dated c. 1900-1925. 

Photographer: S.J. Jones. 

State Library of Victoria image H82.43/108  https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/76742 

Elevated view of the Palm Tree and garden

Federal Parliament House, 1923-1925. Photographer: C.M.H. 

State Library of Victoria image H2010.18/4 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/68769 

The Palm Tree and gardens.

Parliament House, Melbourne, c. 1920s - 1933. Photographer: Carl Reinhold Hartmann. 

State Library of Victoria image  H2009.143/227 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/108065 

The Parliament House Garden, without the Palm Tree and the hedge, in 1942.

Locations and Buildings in Melbourne, 1942. No photographer listed. 

State Library of Victoria image H2017.275/89 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4218202

Source

• The Sun News-Pictorial, September 12, 1933, see here

Honor Your Uncle The Palm by George Maxwell

The January 28, 1950 issue of  the Sun News-Pictorial, published this tribute to Palm Trees and the Date fruit, written by George Maxwell (of whom I can find no other information.) 

Honor Your Uncle The Palm

Those succulent looking dates, protected by a cellophane wrapper, are something more than just an after-dinner munch - they serve as bread to thousands of our Asian neighbors, and have a legendary history as old as time itself. 

The dish had stayed in the middle of the table all through dinner. Now, as I sat back and reached for my cigarettes, my host pushed it over and said, “Have one.”
"Those look as though they might have been dates,” I said. "What are they, Bob”?
"They are dates - ginned dates.”
"Ginned dates, eh?" I exclaimed.
"That’s a new one. I thought dates were only good for throwing into puddings and things."
"That’s all you know about dates," my host replied.

I confess it was, almost, but I know more now. I know, for instance, that dates are as old as creation. Legend claims that some time before the apple episode, Adam cut his hair and nails and buried the 

cuttings in a corner of the Garden of Eden. A tree loaded with ripe dates immediately grew on the 
spot. Adam fell prostrate with surprise and adoration. Whereupon, the Angel Gabriel appeared and designated the fruit as Adam’s future food. "You were created of the same material as this tree which shall nourish you," the Angel said.

The date palm is almost a sacred institution to the Arab. It is the chief means of existence for hundreds of thousands of the Semitic race. Nomadic tribes in the deserts of Arabia have been known to subsist for weeks at a time on nothing but dates, washed down with water or milk. In many parts of Irak, dates are used to an even greater extent than bread and potatoes.

The Prophet Mohammed during his lifetime consecrated the palm with these words: "There is among the trees one tree which is blessed. It is the palm. Honor your Uncle the palm. It resembles man by its upstanding bearing, by its separation into two sexes, and by its necessity for the pollination of the female. If its head is cut off, like man it dies. If its heart is exposed to too great a strain, it perishes. If its limbs are cut off, it cannot grow others in the same place. It is covered with a fibre analagous to the hair of man."

In the Bible, the date palm is mentioned as being used only for ornamental purposes. This is because the climate of Palestine is not conducive to the ripening of the fruit. It was very prominent in all the carvings that covered the walls of Solomon's temple. A palm sheltered the stable in which Mary gave birth to the Christ Child. Later, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on that memorable Sunday, He carried a date palm in His hand as a sign of authority.

The foremost appeal to mankind has been more mundane than ethereal. The date contains a big percentage of carbohydrates, fats, salts and proteins. Dates have a calorific value of 283, compared 
with 194 for mutton, and it is no mystery that they have become a most popular food the world over.

Irak, which produces nearly 80 per cent. of the world date crop of 350,000 tons, exports 120,000 tons annually. Curiously, the main port of Irak, Basra, is only a few miles from what is believed to be the site of the Garden of Eden - the legendary birthplace of the date. The Irak groves extend about 120 miles inland along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, to a depth of one to three miles. The whole area is pierced by over seventy canals averaging two miles in length, 120 feet in width and 15 feet in depth. These canals are used exclusively for irrigation and transport. Irrigation is carried out almost entirely by tidal action, the impact of the sea tides causing the river to rise and fill the inland arteries with fresh water twice a day.

Iraq. River scenes on the Euphrates taken at Hilla. Sun rays through a palm grove, 1932. 

Photographer: American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department. 

Image has been cropped see original here Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2019706905/

An interesting anomaly of the date trade is that countries like Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa, which themselves produce and export dates, import large quantities of the Irak product. The reason for this is that Basra dates keep in perfect condition in their containers for periods as long as twelve months. The North African climate being insufficiently hot and moist to dry the dates on the trees before picking, the Tunisians and the Algerians have to shin up their palms like telephone linesmen and cut their crops while they are still fresh. Such dates keep only for a short period of weeks before they turn sour and ferment.

You’ve been wondering, of course, how to prepare ginned dates. Well, here’s the recipe. Put one pound of whole dates, with stones, in a jar or pickle bottle. Add gin, whisky and rum. Cork the bottle or jar for three weeks until well matured. Then uncork and hoe in. Simple? Yes, but very delicious.

Source

The Sun News-Pictorial, January 28, 1950, see here