For a few moments, as we passed through New Norfolk on our way north west out of Hobart this morning, I thought I had been transported back to Kent for there on either side of the bus were rows and rows of hops. The harvest had already begun since of course autumn is upon the Southern Hemisphere, so some of the poles were bare.
Research from the following website revealed that New Norfolk quickly became a centre of Hop growing thanks to an immigrant Farmer from Kent:
"Twenty miles north along the river Derwent from Tasmania's capital, Hobart, lies the township of New Norfolk, so named by founding settlers from Norfolk Island relocated there in 1803. New Norfolk and its alluvial river flats were to become the centre of a thriving hop industry strongly coloured by its English architectural and cultural roots.
Yeoman farmer, William Shoobridge left Kent in 1822 with his wife and eight children to settle in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), bringing with him cuttings and seed to continue as a hop-grower in his new home. Tragically, three of his family died at sea: his wife Mary, in childbirth, and two young children. Despite such adversity William persevered, and his steadfastness was not lost on his son, Ebenezer, who built on his father's skills and determination.
Wiliam Shoobridge recognised in the Derwent Valley conditions that characterised the flourishing hop farms of Kent and Sussex – flat land, deep soil and ample water. Poplar cuttings were struck and planted to form windbreaks. Tied to bush poles with reeds gathered from the marshes, the hop vines thrived.
Hop harvesting is like hay making; you do it when the sun shines – quickly. Hops had to be stripped from the vines and dried to preserve them. Sunlight was no good for drying because it could spoil their colour. Warm air was needed – and lots of it. Good harvests could be colossal; a successful harvest promised prosperity but the process had to move quickly. Van Diemen's Land was a young colony and its appetite for beer encouraged hop production, as did its ideal growing climate.
Every hop farm needed an oast house for drying its harvest and many beginners built just a basic centre-pole timber shelter. Those taking a longer view built more sturdily, baking their own bricks, as was done at Valleyfield, Bushy Park and Redlands. Some growers built cavernous multi-storey structures with mechanical loaders to lift the tons of hops up to levels where they could be spread for air-drying by massive steam-powered fans. Shingled roofs were the order of the day and shingle-splitters were much in demand. Timber was plentiful; huge eucalypt forests bordered the river and there was plenty of work for millers and pit sawyers."
So, you can see why I thought I was back in Kent although the height of Hop growing in Kent has long passed but we still have 'Hoppers Huts' in the village where I live where whole families from the East End of London would arrive for the summer holidays to harvest the Hops.
Most of the oast houses in Tasmania are square whereas in Kent, whilst many are also square many are round, like the one I can see from my windows.
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