James Jackson's Date Palms at Tibooburra

In March 1911, the Barrier Miner, a newspaper published in Broken Hill, had the following report and photograph -

Mr. Jackson, of Tibooburra, has two date palms growing on his property, which now bear, in season, a good crop of fruit, as may be seen in the picture. The trees are about 20 years old, and are about 15ft. high. For many years the trees have been unproductive, on account of the owner not knowing how to inoculate the flowers of the female tree. This information was however, obtained from an Afghan, and now it is expected that quite two hundredweight of fruit will be obtained from one tree.

As the Tibooburra trees have been 20 years in reaching their present height, it would seem that the trees shown in one of the Crystal Theatre pictures some time ago, which were of great height, certainly not less than 50ft., must have been very old trees, unless they belonged to another variety. If the date palm will flourish at Tibooburra, as appears to be the case, there is no reason why its cultivation should not be successfully carried on at Broken Hill. (1)

Mr Jackson's Date Palms

Barrier Miner, March 29, 1911 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45155385

Tibooburra is a small town in north west New South Wales, 330 kms north of Broken Hill, and 140 kms from Cameron Corner, where New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia met. It was gazetted in 1881 and its growth was a result of the discovery of gold nearby at Mount Browne;  it was also on the intersection of coach and stock routes. Soon after 1881, a Post Office and Police Station were established followed by a School in 1885, a Courthouse in 1888 and a Hospital in 1890. (2) 

Tibooburra in 1925 - as Mr J.B. Jackson would have known the town.

State Library of New South Wales image16A0WQon

A few months later, in June, they had a follow up report, as some locals were sceptical that dates could be grown in Australia - 

Tibooburra Dates. Samples at "Miner" Office - To the average Australia, the date is known only as an exceedingly sweet and sticky preserve that comes from the East in closely-packed blocks, and which some people can't eat with confidence for fear of getting the toothache. 

Residents of Tibooburra, however, and especially those who have visited Mr. J. B. Jackson's residence there, know a little bit more about the origin of the date than that. They know that the date fruit grows on tall palm trees, for Mr. Jackson has some of these trees on his property, and they are thriving exceedingly. Some time ago "The Miner" published a description of these date palms, accompanied by an illustration of the trees. But even then there were people who refused to believe that the date-palm, as grown at Tibooburra, would bear fruit in season. In order that any such sceptics might be put to confusion, and that those desirous of seeing the date in its natural, unpressed state, Mr. Jackson has forwarded to "The Miner" a sample of the ripe fruit, and also a spray of the fruit in the ripening stage. The fruit is healthy-looking, and said to be a good specimen of the product of the date palm. The samples may be seen at "The Miner" office. (3)
 

In April 1914 another photo of Mr Jackson's Date Palms appeared in the newspapers .

Original caption: Date Palms in Nearing on Mr. Jackson's Property, Tibooburra. 

(Each bunch weighs about 351b. or 401b.)

The Australasian, April 24 1914 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article143320837

Tibooburra dates were also displayed in the office of the Western Grazier in Wilcannia and the newspaper had this report -

Dates from Tibooburra.- We have received a well-grown sample of this luscious fruit grown in Tibooburra by Mr J. B. Jackson. The fruit is well-matured and very ripe, and clearly demonstrates the fact that this semi-tropical plant will flourish and produce good marketable dates in these dry regions. The sample also includes a spray of the fruit in the ripening stage. The tree is evidently a prolific bearer for we are informed a huge quantity of fruit has already been sent to Adelaide and Broken Hill, and still about 100lbs remain. Mr Jackson has other trees growing, but the fruit referred to has all been produced by the one palm. The date tree appears to grow readily in the West, there being a few trees in and around Wilcannia but we have never heard of any fruit being successfully grown locally. This is due no doubt to some want in the proper cultivation of the palm. One tree in particular has been bearing tor years, but the fruit does not mature and some hundred weight of half-grown fruit go to waste every year. This we think is owing to the plant not receiving the pollination necessary to the life of the young fruit. We compliment Mr Jackson on the success he has attained in regard to date culture, and the practical object lesson he has given us, and must certainly give Tibooburra the "cake" as far as date cultivation id concerned. Some day perhaps the question of growing the date palm in numbers will be seriously undertaken, and then Tibooburra should become as famous for its dates as Mildura is for its raisins. As our Tibooburra friends seem to think some doubt existed in Wilcannia as to the fact of dates growing there, we have placed the sample fruit on view in our office window which should convince those who were inclined to be a bit sceptical. (4)

Dates were never grown commercially in Tibooburra, despite Mr Jackson's pioneering efforts. All that remains now is to discover who Mr J.B. Jackson was. He was usually referred to by his initials and I couldn't pick him up in the Electoral Rolls, so I looked on Trove and found a reference in 1893 to him being the herdsman at the Tibooburra Common.

Mr Jackson, Herdsman.

New South Wales Government Gazette, October, 17, 1893 [Issue 724],  p. 8131. 

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222197903

The next year, 1894, James was appointed as the Poundkeeper at the Tibooburra Pound, and the notice listed his full name - James Bennet Jackson.

Mr Jackson appointed Poundkeeper

New South Wales Government Gazette, September 18, 1894 [Issue 617], p. 5923.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220937473

Now I had the full name of  Mr James, we could find other information - he was born in Ararat in Victoria in 1859 and married Mary Agnes Cecilia Fenton in Adelaide in November 19, 1881 - he was 23 and Mary was 19 years of age. They were the parents of Lillian Helen (born 1882), Theresa Maud (1883), Archibald (1884), Clarence James (1885), Evaline Sylvia (1886), Percy Doyle (1888) - all born in South Australia. The family then moved to Tibooburra and had more children - Norman (1890), Reginald Edgar (1891), James Bennett (1891), Harold Francis (1892) and Letitia (1894). (5) A few years after arriving in Tibooburra Mr Jackson planted his Date Palms.

Harold, the youngest son, enlisted in World War One in February 1916; at the time he was a 23 year old station hand; his return home to Tiboonurra was reported in the Barrier Miner. (6)

Harold Jackson returns home

Barrier Miner, July 17, 1919 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45522635

James's wife Mary  died at Tibooburra on January 5, 1934, aged 71, survived by only five of her children. (7)

Death notice of Mary Jackson

Adelaide Chronicle, January 25, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92352229

James Bennet Jackson died on February 27, 1944. (8) This is his obituary from the Western Grazier and it notes that he had a nice garden, ornamented no doubt by his Date Palms.
Tibooburra. Death of an Old Resident - The death of a very old and well known resident of Tibooburra occurred on Friday week last when when Mr. James Bennett Jackson passed away at his home on the northern end of the township. It was by accident that the death was not reported in our last issue. The late Mr. Jackson was well over the three score and ten mark and had been for decades one of the the district's chief residents, interesting himself in all its public affairs. In recent years Mr. Jackson, in view of his advanced age, had been less prominent, but to the end displayed interest in the district's development.

Mr. Jackson knew the whole district very thoroughly, and had served on the Hospital Board. In that Institution he was particularly interested. He had been active in years past in connection with the local school and water supply. He was a trustee of the Tibooburra Common for many years and a herdsman. The late Mr. Jackson took an active part in mining work and prospecting in the district. His home was on the northern end of the township and here for many years he had a nice garden. Deceased's wife died a good many years ago. Daughters are Mrs. Pritchard and Mrs. Stockdale. Both are well known and have reared families here. (9)

Footnotes
(1) Broken Hill Barrier Miner, March 29, 1911, see here; another report was in the Wilcannia Western Grazier on March 18, 1911, see here.
(2) https://tibooburra.org.au/about/

(3) Broken Hill Barrier Miner, June 26, 1911, see here.

(4) Wilcannia Western Grazier, June 10, 1911, see here.

(5) Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Genealogy SA database   https://www.genealogysa.org.au/ ; Index to the New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages. Norman, born 1890 is listed on Ancestry.com family trees, but I cannot actually find any official reference to his birth or his stated death date of 1905.

(6) Barrier Miner, July 17, 1919, see here.

(7) Adelaide Chronicle, January 25, 1934, see here. 

(8) I can't find a death notice, but there was an In Memoriam notice in the Barrier Miner of February 27, 1945, see here.

(9) Western Grazier, March 10, 1944, see here.

Palm Trees planted by Princes in the Botanic Gardens

The Argus in July 1881 reported that -
On Saturday forenoon Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales, accompanied by the Rev. J. N. Dalton, visited the Botanic-gardens. They were shown over the grounds by Mr. Guilfoyle, the director, and in commemoration of their visit each of the Princes planted a palm-tree (Chamœrops excelsa) on the western buffalo grass lawn. (1)

In April 1920, The Herald during another Royal visit, that of Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales. They refer back to the 1881 planting (and incorrectly call Princes Albert Victor, Prince Edward) - 

During his visit to Melbourne the Prince of Wales will plant a memorial tree in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Mr J. Cronin, the director, has selected a site on Princes' lawn, within a few yards of the location of two palms planted nearly 40 years ago by King George and his brother (the late Prince Edward [sic] of Wales), soon after their arrival in Victoria as midshipmen on H.M.S. Bacchante.

It was in 1881, on July 2, that the palms were planted, and they have grown into attractive specimens. Trachycarpus Fortunei, commonly called the Chinese Hemp or Fan Palm, was inserted by Prince Edward [sic], and the King (then Prince George of Wales) planted a tall Hemp or Fan Palm botanically known as Trachycarpus excelsis. On the forthcoming occasion it has been decided that the most suitable memorial growth is an evergreen flowering tree called Stenocarpus sinatus. (2)

The history of the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne's Garden edited by Crosbie Morrison (3),  list the trees planted by the Princes as Trachycarpus Fortunei.

Thus in three reports we have one Prince planting a Trachycarpus Fortunei, the other Prince a Trachycarpus excelsis; the earlier report they both planted a  Chamoeropa excelsa and in the history of the Botanic Gardens book they both planted Trachycarpus Fortunei.  It appears that these three names all apply to the same Palm, the Chusan Palm. (4)

The following photograph appeared in The Argus, in 1923 - it shows the Palm planted in 1881 and the Stenocarpus sinatus or Firewheel tree, planted in 1920. 

The caption reads - The planting of in acacia in memory of the late director of the Botanic Gardens

(Mr. J. Cronin) on Saturday has revived the interest in two historic trees on Prince's

Lawn. On the left is the flywheel tree planted with the same space by the Prince of

Wales in May, 1920, and on the right is the fine palm tree planted by His Majesty

the King when on his first visit to Australia as a midshipman on the Bacchante.

The Argus, September 4, 1923 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1983184

Who were these Princes? Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales who planted the Palms in 1881 were the two sons of  Edward VII (1841-1910) and Queen Alexandra (1844-1925). Edward VII was the eldest son of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Prince Albert Victor, also known as the Duke of Clarence, was born 1864 and died in 1892 (5), and thus his younger brother Prince George (1865-1936), succeeded to the Throne after the death of Edward VII - he ruled as George V.

The Princes were only 17 and 16 years old when they visited Australia, they are pictured below.

Prince George and Prince Albert Victor in 1881, the year they visited Australia 

and planted the Palm Trees.

State Library of Victoria image H96.160/1850

The Prince who planted the 1920 tree was Edward (1894-1972) the eldest son of George V and his wife Queen Mary (1867-1953). At the time he was known as the Prince of Wales. His time on the Throne was short-lived; he ruled as Edward VIII, but abdicated after less than a year due to his relationship with Mrs Wallis Simpson. His brother George, then became King (known as George VI); and he was the father of Queen Elizabeth. (6)

The Botanic Gardens actually has a Royal Spade and it was used by the Princes in 1881 and the Prince of Wales in 1920, as well as the Duke of York in 1901, who planted an Indian Cedar Tree (Cedrus deodara), various Governors and Dame Nellie Melba, who planted a Golden Poplar (Populus canadensis) (7)

Caption: The Royal Spade is one of the treasures of the botanical museum. Three successive Kings of England have used it to plant trees in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, and many others of Royal blood, Governors of Australia and world-famous personages are associated with it.

Image: Melbourne's Garden edited by Crosbie Morrison, p. 26

Footnotes

(1) The Argus, July 4, 1881, see here.

(2) The Herald, April 30, 1920, see here.

(3) Melbourne's Garden; a description and pictorial record of the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne edited by Crosbie Morrison (Melbourne University Press, 1946), p.144

(4) Royal Horticultural Society https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/18291/trachycarpus-fortunei/details

(5) Duke of Clarence's obituary - Australian Star, January 15, 1892, see here

(6) All Royal information from The Golden Age of Royalty: Photography from 1858-1930 by Trevor Hall (Coombe Books 1981)

(7) Melbourne's Garden, op. cit. p.26 and p. 144.

The Date Palms at the Hermannsburg Mission in the Northern Territory

Louis and Theodore Harms, Lutheran Pastors, established the Hermannsburg Mission in the mid 1850s, and named it after the village in Prussia where they lived. Their object was to establish Christian Missions throughout the world and they had sent missionaries to Africa, India and other locations. After discussions with the Lutheran population in South Australia, in 1875 they sent two men, both ordained pastors - Hermann Kempe, who had been a blacksmith and Wilhelm Friedrich Schwarz, who had trained as a baker - to establish a Hermannsburg Mission on the Finke River in the Northern Territory (at the time it was still part of South Australia) to work with the Aranda, also known as the Arrernte people and to bring Christianity to them. The two men were specifically selected for the role, due to their previous occupations, which both required them to cope with and endure heat. (1)

Pastor Kempe and Pastor Schwartz stayed in the Barossa Valley after their arrival in South Australia where there were many German Lutheran settlers. Before they set off in October 1875 from Bethany, near Tanunda, on  their 900 kilometre journey to the Finke Valley, they were both authorised as officiating ministers to perform marriage services.  It  took them one year and seven months to reach their destination and as they aimed to be self-sufficient they took horses, cattle and 2000 sheep with them. By August 1877 their first house at the new settlement was ready for occupation. (2)

This passage from Mary Webster's 1930 history of the Mission, as published in The Argus, gives an idea of conditions they faced trying to bring European farming practices into a harsh, dry environment -
In the spring of 1878 some land was ploughed, and barley, oats, wheat and maize were sown. The results were not satisfactory. Seeds of fruit trees, peas, melons, and other vegetables were planted. Baron von Muller [sic]  sent them seeds from Melbourne. There was a good fall of rain in 1879, and everything shot up quickly. But after October everything withered with the heat. During the winter they were generally able to have a good supply of vegetables, but during the summer everything shrivelled up, and the water supply near at hand turned brackish. The permanent springs of sweet water were more than a mile from the mission. Very slowly the mission work went on. (3)

Of interest to us, as this is a blog about Palm Trees, are these references to Date Palms (Phoenix dactylifera) at the Hermannsburg Mission on the Finke River.

From 1893 - Twelve fig-trees ripened a fair number of figs, and two date palms bore for the first time dates, while many other date-palms promise well. The date palms were raised from seed presented by Baron von Muller. Unfortunately I have not been informed of the quality of the dates. (4)

 Frieda Strehlow, wife of Pastor Carl Strehlow, standing in the Date Palm plantation at 

Hermannsburg Mission, c. 1895

State Library of South Australia image B 42428

From a 1901 report on a trip to Hermannsburg Mission by L. Kaibel, Head of the Lutheran Mission -

Beautiful date palms, some already bearing, raise their stately crowns, and the pepper trees grown to big trees give shade. (5)

Date Palm at Hermannsburg, c. 1910

State Library of South Australia image B 42458

In 1924, Vilhjalmur Stefanssen, visited the Mission and wrote - 

On its nine hundred square miles the Mission, now has some 3,000 cattle and 1,200 horses, besides an excellent irrigated vegetable garden and 40 date palms, with single trees giving as much as 2cwt. of dates per year. (6)

A 1931 report by a visitor, Archer Russell, noted that - 

We went up through a shady grove of date palms to the principal's house, and paid our respect to the missionaries. They spoke delightedly of our coming, and bade us welcome, and we felt we were welcome. The palms, they told us, were planted in the early days of settlement, and had for years fruited prolifically. (7)

Gathering dates in the mission garden at Hermannsburg.

The Australasian, December 18, 1937 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141812814

In 1941 Dr George Stewart, Turnbull Trust Preacher at Scots' Church, Melbourne from Connecticut, U.S.A visited  the centre of Australia and Hermannsburg and noted that the 'Dead Centre' of Australia was not so 'dead' after all that it could not produce the finest bunch of dates he ever tasted, from the palm groves of Hermannsburg. (8)

Date palms at Hermannsburg, Northern Territory, c. 1946

National Library of Australia image 4803008

From a 1947 report on a visit to Hermannsburg Mission -

There are date palms growing at the mission. They bear well enough, but the crows, which are numerous and troublesome, steal them before they are ripe. (9)

What we can establish is that it is likely that the Date Palm seeds were given by Baron von Mueller as early as 1878.  Baron von Mueller (1825-1896) was Victorian Government Botanist and, from 1857, the director of the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. (10) We can also establish that the environment at the Hermannsburg Mission was very suitable for growing date palms as they require - Date palms need a long, hot growing season. Low humidity and the absence of summer rain help in the production of high quality fruit. (11)

What became of the Date Palms at Hermannsburg?  An  Australian Heritage Database paper on the Hermannsburg Mission from 2005 noted the garden site contained remnant date palms. (12) Given that the life span of  a Date Palm seems to be from 100 to 150 years it is unlikely that any of the palms grown from the seed supplied by Baron von Mueller would still be alive, but later plantings may be part of the remnant date plants as just mentioned.

Date palms at Hermannsburg, 1955. Photographer: Ellen S. Kettle 

Image: https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/731882

The Mission closed in 1982 and there is an informative website Hermannsburg Historic Precinct https://hermannsburg.com.au/ which looks at all aspects of the Hermannsburg Mission - the history, living on the Mission and  Arranta culture and creativity, including the watercolour school of Hermannsburg, of which Albert  Namatjira (1902–1959),  who was born on the Mission Station, is perhaps the best known of these artists.  As a matter of interest is the fact that Pastor Kempe was the author of the Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of the Aborigines of the MacDonnell Ranges, the first time the Arrernte language was recorded in written form. (13) Pastor Friedrich Adolph Hermann Kempe died in 1928, aged 83 and Pastor Wilhelm Friedrich Schwarz in 1920, aged 78. (14)

Footnotes

(1) Webster, Mary The Hermannsburg Mission: a Brave Pioneer Effort in The Argus, December 6, 1930 see here; Hermannsburg entry in The Australian Encyclopaedia, v. IV (Grolier Society of Sydney, 1963), p. 489.

(2) Webster, op. cit; Adelaide Evening Journal, October 22, 1875, see here; Hermannsburg Historic Precinct https://hermannsburg.com.au/stories/establishing-the-mission

(3) Webster, Mary The Hermannsburg Mission: a Brave Pioneer Effort in The Argus, December 6, 1930 see here

(4) South Australia Register, January 23, 1893, see here.

(5) Adelaide Register, August 6, 1901, see here.

(6) West Australian, July 30, 1924, see here.

(7) Sydney Morning Herald, March 28, 1931, see here.

(8) The Herald, February 25, 1941, see here.

(9) Weekly Times, December 10, 1947, see here.

(10) Baron von Mueller - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mueller-sir-ferdinand-jakob-heinrich-von-4266

(11) Northern Territory Government Agnote on the Date Palm - https://daf.nt.gov.au/publications/publications-search/publications-database/primary-industry/fruit/686.pdf

(12) Australian Heritage Database - Hermannsburg Historic Precinct, 2005 https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/hermannsburg.pdf 

(13) Webster, op. cit.

(14) Genealogy SA website https://www.genealogysa.org.au/

Tamar, the Hebrew name, meaning the date fruit or the date palm

The name Tamar, a Hebrew name, means the date fruit or the date palm. (1) There are two women in the Old Testament named Tamar, but I had actually never heard of the name or the women until recently. The  Biblical Tamar stories were clearly considered to be too graphic (or have 'Adult themes')  for children and thus not mentioned at my Sunday School at the Iona Presbyterian Church and the Pakenham Presbyterian Church in the 1960s and early 1970s [and clearly I haven't studied the Bible since then or I would have been aware of the Tamars.]

The first Tamar was successively the wife of Judah's elder sons, Er and Onan, but she did not become pregnant with either man. When Judah refused to marry her to his third son, Shelah, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked Judah into sleeping with her. She became pregnant, and gave birth to  twins, Perez (or Pharez) and Zerah. The story of Tamar is in the book of Genesis, chapter 38. (2)

Judah and Tamar by Arent de Gelder, c. 1680-85.

Image: The Leiden Collection https://theleidencollection.com/artwork/judah-and-tamar/

The second Tamar was the beautiful half-sister of King David's son Amnon,  who fell in love with her, enticed her into his chamber and raped her. He then cast her out, but she was avenged by her full brother Absalom, who murdered Amnon two years later. The story of this Tamar is in the book of second Samuel, chapter 13. (3)

The Rape of Tamar by Eustache Le Sueur, c. 1640.

Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436858

I heard about the name Tamar in connection to Tamar Ebden, the wife of Charles Ebden, and I have now belatedly discovered that Tamar was a name used quite consistently in Australia and England in the past, according to the thousands of references which appeared in my search of birth records on Ancestry.com. Charles Ebden built a house in 1856, south of Brighton overlooking Port Phillip Bay, and named it Black Rock. The house gave the suburb its name. Charles Hotson Ebden, born in 1811 in what is now South Africa, settled in Sydney in 1832 and a few years later moved to Victoria, where he purchased land at the first land sale held in Melbourne in June 1837 and later acquired and sold many other properties.  He was also at one time a member of the Legislative Council in New South Wales and later the Legislative Assembly in Victoria. (4)

Charles Ebden married Tamar Harding, the daughter of Archdeacon Hardy of County Cork, Ireland. They had the following children - Kate (January 1844 - May 1853), George (September 1847- October 1847), Marian born in June 1849;  Antionette in April 1851 and son Charles in 1853. It appears that Charles and Tamar married in January 1850, after the first three children were born; they married at St Peter's Eastern Hill in Melbourne.  Charles died in October 1867, aged 56 and left an estate of over £100,000.  Tamar Ebden died in London in February 1899 aged 75. (4)  

Black Rock House still stands and is open to the public on occasions and Tamar is remembered by Tamar's Tearooms, where you can indulge in a Devonshire tea - see here for all details - https://www.blackrockhouse.org.au/

As a matter of interest the Tamar River in Launceston, Tasmania was named in 1804 by Lieutenant Colonel William Paterson in honour of Governor King who was born at Launceston, which is on the river Tamar in Cornwall, England. (6)  Tamar, the river in Cornwall, seems to mean 'dark river'; but to be honest I cannot understand the meaning as described, below, from The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names by Eilert Ekwall,  (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1947). However, it does not seem to be named after the women called Tamar in the Bible.

River Tamar meaning

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names by Eilert Ekwall,  (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1947)

Footnotes
(1) https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6951262/jewish/What-Does-the-Name-Tamar-Mean.htm
(2) Metford, J.C.J Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend (Thames and Hudson, 1983) and Calvocoressi, Peter Who's Who in the Bible ( Penguin, 1990)
(3) Metford, J.C.J Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend (Thames and Hudson, 1983) and Calvocoressi, Peter Who's Who in the Bible ( Penguin, 1990)

(4) Black Rock House: built for Charles Ebden in 1852, Sandringham Historical Series, No.2, published by City of Sandringham, March 1983; Charles Ebden entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography  https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ebden-charles-hotson-2018

(5) Black Rock House: built for Charles Ebden in 1852 (see footnote 4); From Ancestry.com - Melbourne General Cemetery transcriptions;  St Peter's Eastern Hill Marriages and Baptism records; London Church of England Death and Burials 1813-2003;  and England and Wales National Probate Calendar.

(6) Kennedy, Brian Australian Place Names (ABC Books, 2006)

A shortage of Palm Fronds for Sukkot

In September 1990 the following short report was published in the Australian Jewish News -
Palm problems - Caulfield Council has limited its supply of palm fronds for religious purposes following concern that trees are suffering from excessive pruning - on Succot for Jews and Palm Sunday for Christians. The Council voted to provide up to 100 fronds for each church and synagogue. Residents who want more will be referred to other councils. (1)

Palm supply problems

Australian Jewish News September 14 1990 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article261340974

Palm supply was not normally an issue for local government but the City of Caulfield had a high population of Jewish people; in fact, in 1990 half of Melbourne's Jewish population lived in the City of Caulfield (and now since local government amalgamations over half live in the City of Glen Eira). Thus palm fronds were doubly required for both Christian and Jewish purposes. (2) 

Palm Trees in Caulfield. Perhaps these are some of the trees which supplied fronds for 

Palm Sunday and Sukkot.

View in Park Gardens, Caulfield. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co.

State Library of Victoria image H32492/1039

What is Sukkot (or Succot as it is spelt in the article) and why were palms required? This explanation is from Chabad.org -  https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4784/jewish/What-Is-Sukkot.htm - 

Sukkot is a week long Jewish holiday that comes five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection G-d provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. We celebrate Sukkot by dwelling in a foliage-covered booth (known as a sukkah)...... For seven days and nights, we eat all our meals in the sukkah and otherwise regard it as our home. Located under the open sky, the sukkah is made up of at least three walls and a roof of unprocessed natural vegetation - typically bamboo, pine boughs or palm branches. (3)

Were the 100 palm fronds provided by the City of Caulfield per Church and Synagogue enough? I would hazard a guess that it was more than adequate for a Church, but not enough to distribute to all the families who attended each Synagogue. But I am no expert on Sukkot or the construction of a Sukkah. 

A young family standing outside the modest sukkah they built for the holiday, Israel, 1949; 

with their limited means, the Aberyels built a sukkah to celebrate the holiday 

in the traditional manner in Abu Kabir, near Tel Aviv.  

I can't find a photo of an Australian Sukkah, but this is such a positive photograph; 

I hope the family had a long and happy life. 

Image and caption: By Government Press Office (Israel), CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22806585

This undersupply of palm fronds seems to have been an on-going problem in Australia - the Australian Jewish News of  October 6, 2006 (see here) reported on the issue -

Sydney still facing schach shortage - Sydney's  Jewish community is this week feeling a shortage in the supply of schach (palm fronds) ahead of the festival of Succot.  According to suppliers, they can only provide approximately half of the palm fronds required for the Sydney community, which has used up to 8000 fronds in past years.

“In Sydney, the situation is a little harder [than Melbourne], with the problem not so much the price as it is the scarcity of stock,” said Adass Israel member Benny Jacobs, who supplies the majority of schach to the city. “We have enough to supply the schools and shuls, but not much for the public.”

In Melbourne, Chabad Youth’s Moshe Kahn, who coordinates the main schach supply, said that they

were able to source extra supplies from South Australia at a “cheaper” price than local suppliers were demanding. “The [local South Australian] council came on board,” Kahn explained. “It all happened at the last minute.”

But in Sydney, Jacobs said that not only was the community having to source schach “from further and further away” in northern NSW and Queensland, but that trees closer to home were just not replenishing fast enough to satisfy the community’s needs. Two weeks ago, Kahn told the AJN that due to tighter council regulations governing the removal of palms, a disease affecting palm leaves and a rise in petrol prices, Melbourne suppliers had doubled their costs of palm leaves from $2.50 to $5 a piece. [article continues here.] (4)

Footnotes

(1) Australian Jewish News September 14 1990, see here.  

(2) Australian Jewish News, July 4, 1989 see here;  Jewish Community profile https://www.vic.gov.au/jewish-community-profile 

(3) Chabad.org -  https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4784/jewish/What-Is-Sukkot.htm

(4) Australian Jewish News of  October 6, 2006, see here.

"Palms" for Palm Sunday - where the Irish "Palms" come from

In  a previous post I reproduced an article written in 1909 by J.N. Kelly, which you can read here.  He pays tribute to the Palm Tree and amongst other things, encourages people to plant them in their gardens.  He also discusses the Palm Tree in connection to Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter) honours the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem when palm branches were strewn in his path. Thus on Palm Sunday, palms are used to decorate churches or carried in holy processions. However, as he notes - as it is not possible in many places to obtain the real palm, substitutes have to be used. Speaking for myself, I may say that I never saw a palm tree in Ireland, yet I know that branches of the Irish yew tree were used as substitutes on Palm Sunday. 

The following article from the Catholic Press of  June 8, 1916 (see here) talks further on the substitutes the Irish had to use in lieu of real palms for Palm Sunday.

"Palms" for Palm Sunday. Where the Irish "Palms" come from.

Palm Sunday in war time, says our London correspondent, suggests many things. To take the superficial things first, one could not help noticing this year that many more people than usual seemed to be carrying home palms at midday from the churches. A generation ago the distribution of palm was confined to Catholic churches, but the ritualistic section of the Church of England imitated the custom, and it has spread from them to such an extent that it is quite a common feature in Protestant places of worship in the large towns, at all events.

Thirty or more years ago the "palms" distributed were not real palms. As an old North of Ireland man said the other day: "When I was a boy we had what was called sally-rods." They were branches of a kind of early-flowering willow, which is variously known as the common sallow, the goat willow, and the palm. The English name of sallow, and the Irish saileach are possibly both derived from the Latin salix, but this word or its equivalent is common in all European languages. The traditional custom of calling this tree a "palm," and using it on Palm Sunday, is also very old and very common; but its origin I do not know.

However, it was not until about 30 years ago or a little more that genuine palm leaves began to be imported for use in the churches on Palm Sunday. I remember the query being raised when Turkey joined in the war whether this would prevent the supply of palms coming as usual. Obviously it has not, but the majority of the imports probably come from Italy, and not from Palestine. What is more surprising, perhaps, is that they were not more interfered with by the increase in freightage.

.............................................................................

Jesus entering Jerusalem,the crowd are waving palms.

This is a card my husband's great aunt, Thelma Edney, received at Sunday School. She was born 1907, and lived at the  time at 66 Mary Street in Richmond.  As you can see from the back of the card, below, this was produced in 1914. Other cards that she had were produced in 1916, so this would have been the time frame in which the cards were  given to Thelma. Thelma died in 1982. 

The Palm Tree by J. N. Kelly

This interesting article, by J.N. Kelly, on Palm Trees appeared in The Advocate, on June 26, 1909 (see here) The writer is, I believe, John North Kelly, but I am not sure which one. There was a John North Kelly who died at Euroa  on 1923, aged 84 and he was an engineer; you can read his obituary in The Advocate of December 20, 1923, here. He had a son also called John North Kelly, who was at one time Shire Engineer at Euroa, he died in 1949, aged 75;  you can read his obituary in The Advocate of August 25, 1949, here.

The article celebrates Palm Trees generally and discusses the Palm Tree in connection to Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter) honours the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem when palm branches were strewn in his path. Thus on Palm Sunday,  palms are used to decorate churches or carried in holy processions. Mr Kelly suggests that the original palm, which gave us the Palm Sunday name, was the Phœnix dactylifera or the date palm. He also suggests that people visit the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne to see the different palms, gives hints for growing palms and encourages people, especially Catholics to plant palms, if for no other reason then that would ensure a plentiful supply of real palm branches for our churches. 

The Palm Tree. Some remarks on the Palm Trees and its Varieties.

By J. N. Kelly.

The growing taste for the cultivation of the palm by private persons and public bodies in and about Melbourne is not only remarkable, but commendable, and it has occurred to me that as this is the season for tree planting, a few remarks on the palm, even from an amateur, might not be out of place, and would, perhaps, tend to create or awaken a desire on the part of country people, particularly Catholics, to emulate Melbourne citizens in that direction.

It is pretty generally admitted that of all the plants of the vegetable kingdom none can compare with the graceful palm. The roughest configuration and poorest vegetation are beautified by a judicious interspersion of this magnificent plant - the prince of sylvan scenery; and we need go no further than the Melbourne Botanic Gardens for a confirmation of this assertion.

Mr Kelly suggests a visit to the Melbourne Botanic Gardens to view the varieties of palms. 

 Botanical Gardens, Melbourne, c. 1890s. Photographer: Adam Rechberg.

State Library of Victoria image H2009.48/11

In Arabia, Ceylon, Persia and Syria, and many other countries the admiration of the palm borders on veneration. Catholics understand very well why they respect and love the palm, they know that when Jesus was approaching Jerusalem the people went out to meet Him, and spread their garments and

palm branches in the way to honour Him.

Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all refer to that memorable event. The three first-named are not specific as to the kind of branches used on that occasion, but St. John is very clear (John xii., 12, 13.):
12. "And on the next day a great multitude that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem:"
13. "Took branches of palm tree and went forth to meet Him ; and cried : Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel."

In regard to the species of the palm referred to by St. John, it is popularly supposed to be the "date palm" (Phœnix dactylifera) and which is (I understand) the palm sanctioned or approved by the Catholic Church for use on Palm Sundays throughout the world - if possible. But as it is not possible in many places to obtain the real palm, substitutes have to be used. Speaking for myself, I may say that I never saw a palm tree in Ireland, yet I know that branches of the Irish yew tree were used as substitutes on Palm Sunday. It is quite likely that the palm may have been cultivated in stone houses, and such places in Ireland, England, and Scotland.

In Australia we very rarely see a palm branch in a country church. I understand that it is common
enough to see great quantities of the branch of the date-palm (Phœnix dactylifera) sent every year from Syria to Rome and other large cities in Southern Europe to be blessed and given to the people, and used for decorating the churches
"In Rome upon Palm Sunday,
They bear true palms.
The Cardinals bow reverently,
And sing old psalms.
Elsewhere those, psalms are sung
'Mid olive branches,
The holly branch supplied their places
Among the avalanches.
More northern climes must be content
With the sad willow.
—Gothe.

It appears that the northern limit of the palm in Europe is 43 degrees; that parallel would pass through the north of Spain, south of France, and further east through Rome. In Asia and America the limit would be, about 34 degrees of north latitude; that parallel would pass through about the middle of the United States, thence north of the Canary Islands, and further east through the north of India. The palm limit in South America is through Chili, or about 36 degrees of south latitude. In Africa, 34 degrees, south also; and in Australia and New Zealand, about 38 degrees. In Australia its northern limit would be, of course, Torres Strait.

The palm is at its best in Arabia, Ceylon, Persia, Sumatra, the Philippines, Borneo, Java, and New Guinea. At the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, under the able curatorship of Mr. Guilfoyle, may be seen specimen palms indigenous to various countries, all of them looking remarkably healthy, although so far away from their habitat. Gentlemen in the country desirous of beautifying and giving a tropical effect to their homes would do well, before sending to the nurseries for supplies, to pay a visit to these beautiful gardens ; for, there they will see nearly all that is lovely in the vegetable kingdom gathered together from different parts of the world for man's pleasure, guidance, and profit.

Mr Kelly suggests a visit to the Melbourne Botanic Gardens to view the varieties of palms. 

Botanical Gardens, Melbourne, c. 1910. State Library of Victoria image H2009.48/11

Phœnix, a name given to this genus of palm by Theopheastus over 2300 years ago, are all fairly hardy and well adapted for beautifying the garden and lawn. When these palms are from six to ten to fifteen years old, they present a pleasing and elegant appearance; their branches curve so gently and gracefully that it would be very difficult to find the centres from which to draw them, with the best instruments, as they appear to the eye.

The Phœnix Dactylifera (date palm) of Arabia, Persia, and Syria is of no commercial value from a date-producing point of view in Australia; but, associated, as it has been, with the religious services of the Catholic Church for about nineteen hundred years, it is, and always will be, thought highly of and appreciated by Catholics.

The Phœnix Rupicola, Phœnix Canariensis, Phœnix Sylvestris, Phœnix Tenius, and Phœnix Reclinata all present a very beautiful appearance in the Botanic Gardens. I prefer the Rupicola, Canariensis, and Reclinata, of the Phœnix tribe, for giving tropical effect to the garden and lawn. Chamæops, from Chamai, on the ground, or dwarf; and ehops, a bush, established by Linnaeus, is found further from the Equator than any other palm.

The Livistona Australis, or cabbage palm, of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, a fan palm, having flat leaves, is also thought very highly of, but is better suited for the lawn than the garden.

With regard to the cultivation of the palm, a few words may be said. Fairly sheltered positions should be selected;  ordinary black soil - not too stiff or rich loam is needed - which must be well trenched, say not less than thirty (30) inches deep, and from 4 to 6 feet in diameter. If the ground has not natural drainage, sloping, say, 1 in 10, or thereabouts, a small drain should be made from the bottom of the shallow side of the pit, extending outwards to the grass, and then filled with small stones or large gravel. This trench
should, and will, suffice to properly drain the pit - to keep stagnant water away, which the palm cannot tolerate. Should the ground be level, or nearly so, and difficult and expensive to drain, it will be better to bank up two (2) to three (3) feet high, by about 6 feet diameter: surround with large stones to keep the earth in place, then plant the palm in the centre. The mounds and palms will look A1 in a few years.

I now wish to make a suggestion, which would I think, have the effect, if carried out, of improving, still more, the gardens and grounds of all Catholic churches, presbyteries, convents, schools, and Catholic homes in the country, and about the cities and towns as well. 

The grounds and gardens of many such places are already very nicely laid out and planted with beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers; nevertheless, I would like to say, do not let this planting season pass away before ordering a suitable supply of the palm tree for planting purposes. In the course of a few years these palms will improve the appearance of the gardens, lawns, and grounds immensely. We will then have a plentiful supply of real palm branches for our churches; we will then have a real Palm Sunday every year, with children carrying palm branches (as they did at Reading, in England, lately), and singing "Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel."

The Palm Trees outside the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works building

The Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) was established in 1891. It had two objectives - build a sewerage system in Melbourne and take over the reticulated water supply. (1) In August 1903 the MMBW moved its operations from rented premises into the old Sailors' Home, on the corner of Spencer Street and Little Collins Street. The MMBW paid £10,000 for the building and then spent £15,950 on renovations and alterations. (2)  As the name suggests, the Sailors' Home, which opened in February 1865, provided accommodation for sailors when their ship was in port and after selling this building to the MMBW they moved to a new facility in Siddeley Street. (3)

By the 1960s the MMBW had outgrown this building which required extensive maintenance. They demolished it and built Melbourne's second largest building after BHP House in terms of usable floor space. This building was completed in August 1973 at a cost of $16.5 million. (4)

The Sailors' Home, as it looked when the MMBW purchased it.

Sailors' Home Spencer St., Melbourne. Photographer: Charles Nettleton. State Library of Victoria image H4340

At some time two Palm Trees were planted either side of the Little Collins Street entrance of the building. As to whether they were planted during the time of the Sailors' Home or after the MMBW took over the building, I cannot say. The only photograph I can find of them was taken during the First World War.

The MMBW offices during World War One, with a Palm Tree either side of the entrance. 

Image: Vital Connections - Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works 1891-1991 by Tony Dingle and 

Carolyn Rasmussen (McPhee Gribble, 1991) p. 109.

These Palm Trees were removed in May 1937, as the Sun News-Pictorial reported -
Sparrow's Home to go with removal of City Palm Trees
Two tall palm trees which have stood in front of the Board of Works building in Spencer Street for about 40 years, providing shelter for innumerable birds, are being removed. Workmen began cutting one of them down yesterday. Hundreds of sparrows will have to find new homes, but, after all, they have only them selves to blame. It was because they were such a nuisance that the trees are being removed. The palm trees probably will be replaced by smaller trees. (5)

Sun News-Pictorial, May 6, 1937 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article277380822

It seems a very trivial matter to report, but the newspaper must have assumed that many Melburnians would firstly, be aware of the Palms and secondly, interested in their removal.  Ninety years down the track the article inspired this blog post.

Footnotes

(1)eMelbourne entry Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works by Tony Dingle https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00924b.htm

(2) Dingle, Tony and Rasmussen, Carolyn Vital Connections - Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works 1891-1991 (McPhee Gribble, 1991) p. 91.

(3) The Leader, February 28, 1903, see here; The Argus, February 13, 1865, see here;   Peter Andrew Barrett - Architectural and Urban Historian, Writer & Curator's Post Facebook post of April 30, 2018    https://www.facebook.com/100045427796115/posts/sailors-homespencer-street-melbourneopened-in-1865-the-sailors-home-was-situated/1711973825555169/

(4) Dingle, Tony and Rasmussen, Carolyn, op. cit, page 341.

(5) Sun News-Pictorial, May 6, 1937, see here.