IN THE BEGINNING – ERNIE APPLE TREE SENIOR
In 1953 my parents moved to the Tasmanian farm I grew up on. It was four miles from the coastal town of Ulverstone
In the back garden (out on sight in the photo) was an old apple tree. Unfortunately it’s just out of view in the B/W photo at left.. Strangely enough I don’t remember climbing it. I think my siblings and I realized how precious it was even then.
APPLES EVERY WAY!
The tree produced an enormous crop of cooking apples. Its name of ‘Ernie’ derived from Ernie Townsend, the elderly batchelor who owned the property before us.
Because the fruit had a squat, ‘big bottom’ shape we assumed the tree was an English Bramley. The apples were wonderful keepers and my mother used them all winter; in apple sponges, apple and blackberry pies and in baked apples stuffed with raisins and brown sugar. When baked, the cooked pulp foamed up over the skins.
My sister Robbie was famous for eating the apples raw, but naturally they are a bit sour. After my brother’s children came up one day we found dozens of them in the adjoining paddock with a bite taken from each one. The kids had thrown them away in disgust.
Our favourite apple dessert was steamed Southport Pudding. My mother’s recipe came from the old Central Cookbook, used in Tasmanian schools for generations. I once wrote to Southport in the UK about its origins, but nobody had heard of it…has obviously been lost in the mists of time!
The earliest mention I could find of Southport Pudding was in a Tasmanian newspaper dated 1927. It was a good depression era pudding, as every larder contained the necessary ingredients.
Tassie has always been famous for its apples; hence being dubbed The Apple Isle. Sadly, most orchards in the Huon Valley and Spreyton have disappeared; freight charges across Bass Strait to the mainland simply became too much. We used to attend the annual apple festival at nearby Spreyton, where they had case making and packing competitions etc. When I was a child in the fifties everyone had a tree in the backyard as well.
My only dolls’ house was an upturned apple case and no doubt they were used for countless other purposes, even split up as kindling for the fire.
Here is the steamed pudding recipe;
SOUTHPORT PUDDING
6 ozs fresh breadcrumbs
6 ozs cooking apples
6 oz sugar
1 gill milk
1 dessertspoon light brown sugar
3ozs shredded suet or butter
2ozs candied peel or raisins
2 eggs
2 small teaspoons baking powder
Grease a pudding basin and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Peel, core and cut apples into small pieces. Place in a bowl with candied peel (or raisins), sugar, baking powder, suet (or melted butter) and breadcrumbs. Add well beaten eggs and milk. Mix well. Place in padding basin and cover with greased paper. Steam two to two and a half hours. Serve with cream and boiled custard.
Delicious and comforting in a chilly Tasmanian winter!
My mother also made a simple dish by laying scone mixture over stewed apple in a saucepan. The lid was put on and the dough steamed and swelled. Even I can make this!
THE NEXT GENERATION
My brother took over the remains of the original farm and a few years ago he took some grafts from the apple tree, then over a hundred years old. Co-incidently, the farm was owned much earlier by my great-great-aunt, Maryanne Eastley, who may well have planted it. In late winter 2005 my brother Kenny kindly posted my little tree to the Blue Mountains, bare rooted. He had wrapped the roots in damp sponges, encased the whole tree in cardboard then bound the parcel with so much packing tape it resembled a small Egyptian mummy. It was delivered Express Post early one morning and my husband Rob brought it into the bedroom with my cup of tea and porridge.
Not long afterwards the original tree died, after it was struck by lightning.
PRODUCE…ALBEIT NOT PROLIFIC
It has grown quite a bit since then.
A year or two later my little tee was in blossom and produced a dozen pea sized apples. A friend advised me remove them until the tree was bigger but I couldn’t bring myself to (nature intervened and they fell off anyway). I have since had a small, but ‘proper’ crop.
The tree is a bit too big to move now. It will break my heart to leave it if we ever sell up in the Mountains.
****UPDATE……August 2015. Oh dear, we suddenly have to move the tree as it needs more sun. This will be a challenge. It’s winter, but there are already buds forming.
By the way, there is another lovely thing about apple trees. They are a favourite place for beautiful little European goldfinches to nest in. These birds were introduced to Australia in the 19th century; originally as caged songbirds I think. A family used to build a nest in our tree every year. The collective name for them is a ‘charm’ of goldfinches…how appropriate.
Our own apple tree is a favourite perching spot for Eastern yellow robins. We successfully moved the tree today, and the little birds don’t seem to mind.
OCTOBER 2017
A decent crop this season, there must be at least 50 little green apples. I’ll have to work out how to protect them from my dear bowerbirds and parrots.
Oh yes!! Stewed apple for breakfast.
Back in Tassie my poor brother lost his crop to hungry possums!
DECEMBER 2019 —- Just received an early Christmas gift from brother Kenny. He had some wood left from the original tree in Tasmania and carved me a little Scotty dog as a memento. So sweet.
COMMENTS CAN BE LEFT IN THE BOX BELOW. THERE IS A SIMPLE ANTI-SPAM SUM TO COMPLETE BEFORE PRESSING ‘SUBMIT’.
I have very sour memories of these apples and grandmas voice admonishing us children for wasting good fruit
But thanks for writing this.
Ha ha, yes I though it was your lot who threw them over the fence! How is the tree going? xx
Sadly the tree took a lightening strike a few years ago but dad did manage a few grafts from it. I climbed the tree many times over the years but being young children we didnt realise the significance back then its only as I’ve become older I think back to those days and how lucky I was.
Ooh, struck by lightening…well a fittingly dramatic end I guess. Is Kenny’s graft in the same spot? Answer me on FB if it’s easier. xxx
Sadly the tree took a lightening strike a few years ago but dad did manage a few grafts from it. I climbed the tree many times over the years but being young children we didnt realise the significance back then its only as I’ve become older I think back to those days and how lucky I was.
I loved your story about the apple tree. Your great, grey Aunt must have been one of the early settlers as my family was in Queensland. I can’t remember what modern measurement would equal a ‘gill’. I love making ordinary baked apples,. It’s all the ingredients with the exception of the eggs. Your recipe sounds lovely, too.
Hello Heather
Well the eggs were only in the steamed pudding. A friend just reminded me that a gill is a quarter of a pint, or 142 ml. My earliest relatives in Tasmania were convicts, in the 1840’s. If you search for Shadbolts on my website you will find their story.
Looks lovely. People in foreign climes who eat exotic fruit only do it because they can’t grow apples.
Ha ha, or raspberries and strawberries! Spoken like a true Englishman Mike. Do you know where the Granny Smith Apple came from?
What a wonderful blog about an apple tree – and it’s off-spring. I was immediately transported back to my childhood where there was an apple orchard right behind out home. We children were only allowed to pick up apples that had fallen into our garden, so we made a point to climb as high into the closest tree that we could, and then shake the limbs and branches until apples fell. Oh – and they were tart tart tart… made our mouths pucker…. but my Mother would make some lovely desserts from them. Blackberry and Apple pie was probably my favourite, but the Apple Charlotte was also heavenly. Now I have a craving to make a pie today.. Thank you for your wonderful writing Pauling – you are able to transport back in time and resurrect memories that I thought were long gone.
Ha ha, I love the enterprise you showed in shaking the apples off Susan. But surely ‘stolen’ fruit tastes sweeter?? The day after I wrote this blog there was a huge discussion about apples on sale here in Australia. So many old varieties have vanished, including Cox’s Orange Pippin. No Bramley apples. I might sell my Ernies at a roadside stall!
Delightful story and beautiful photography!
Thank you Anon.