An 80-year-old apple tree stands at Bolonia Farm outside Donnybrook, Western Australia (Mars Domestica) It is the center of the global industry.
This tree produced an apple that no one has ever seen or tasted, now called Lady Williams. Without Lady Williams, there would be no apple cultivars such as Sundowner, Pink His Lady, Bravo, etc., who, along with Lady Williams, have contributed so much to the world apple industry.
Bolonia Farm’s apple trees are now listed on the National Trust Register, but the woman behind Lady Williams is lesser-known. Yet, as her son Bob recalled, Maud Williams was important to the story of this tree and the apples it produced.
Featured Chance Seedlings
Since the 1930s, Maud, her husband Arthur, and their two boys Bob and Ron have grown apples and stone fruits and 40 cows on a 12-acre orchard.
Maud collected ideas for growing plants from catalogs and women’s magazines, testing her taste for the unusual, her son Ron remembers. Maud wasn’t content with roses and petunias, growing feijoa and hydrangeas instead.
Witnessing the novelty of gardening, it was perhaps not surprising that she identified the very special qualities of the tree in the bright red apples that unexpectedly sprouted next to the tank stand on the side of her house.
The fruit was firm and crisp, suitable for long storage and ideal for the Australian export market. The Williams family fetched a good price for cases of apples grown from this tree and, over time, propagated new trees from the original tree.
The tree was an accidental sapling, a spontaneous creation whose parent cultivars were likely Granny Smith and Rockwood.
Some of our most common apple varieties started out as accidental seedlings.
Apples frequently produce accidental seedlings. However, many factors come into play when a seedling is produced and becomes known as a variety. Especially those who recognize the value of unique apples in modern conditions.
Only a very small chance of a sapling turning into a cultivar that impacts the fruit industry. To do that, you need people who make the necessary investments of care, time, or money — just like Maud did.
In an inconvenient location, the unfamiliar apple tree was nearly cut down many times, but it survived thanks to Maud’s protection and care. I remember receiving a harsh excuse from my mother: “Stand up again, bandage up, take off again.”
The apple was given the name Lady Williams, reflecting Maud’s importance in creating this new variety. This was the name Lynette Green, a girl who lives on the farm next door, used for Maud.
Maud’s recognition of the quality of the fruit of this tree and her initiative to protect it was about to enable an amazing new phase for the Australian apple industry.
Pink Lady’s parent, Lady Williams
The Lady Williams Apple was introduced commercially in 1968, the same year Maud died. By the early 1970s, Lady Williams had become the focus of attention for the Washington State Department of Agriculture and its new apple breeding program. There, a team led by horticulturist John Cripps was experimenting with a combination of Lady Williams and Golden Delicious.
In a 2010 interview conducted as part of the Apples and Pears Oral History Project, Cripps said the mating process required intense physical labor, a high degree of dexterity, and immense endurance. rice field.
In 1984, one of over 100,000 experimental seedlings produced attractive fruit. It was bright pink, refreshing, flavorful, and kept for a long time. Cripps was responsible for the names of both Cripps Pink and its trade name, Pink Lady®. It was the first apple variety registered as a trademark.
From the same breeding program came Sundowner® and most recently Bravo® in 1992.
The Lady Williams, Pink Lady, Sundowner and Bravo trees around the world all share DNA with the original tree Maud Williams grew many years ago.
Writing Women’s Agricultural Contribution
Women’s contributions to the agricultural sector have often been made outside of their professional roles, as is the case with Maud. They don’t always fit easily into the traditional profile of innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, or the standard narrative of Australian agricultural development.
Documenting the work of Australian women in agricultural innovation faces considerable challenges. Amazingly, until just 30 years ago, the Australian Census did not recognize women as farmers.
Visualizing women’s success and innovation in this field is key to providing role models for the future. It also increases the diversity of participation in Australia’s future decision-making about the lands on which we live and work.
You may need to look up or hear about the history of these women in various places. What we know so far about Maud’s role has been gleaned from interviews with members of her family and the community in which she participated. We can think of ways to make our history more inclusive by thinking about how to make the .
Today, many women work in the orchard industry in the Southwest. We lead farms, pack apples, test new varieties and peak bodies in the industry. They are heirs to the dynamic industry that Maud He Williams helped create.
A new podcast from the State Library of Western Australia delves into the role of women in the Western Australian apple industry.
Susan Bloomhall is Director of the Center for Gender and Women’s History Studies at The Catholic University of Australia. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.