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NEW INDUSTRY (1929)

"A new industry is so important to any area and especially to new settlers in unimproved districts, offering some means of earning a living, while bringing their holdings into production."

So wrote Mr. Eric McMaster of "Glen Ora", Nabiac in a letter written July 28, 1929 in reference to the Australian Botanical Products Ltd., which conducted business at "Glen Ora" farm, Nabiac.

FERNS AS DRIED FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

Giant Maiden Hair Fern was processed for use in dried floral arrangements.

"It all began," he wrote, "in this way". "The American Artificial Flower Manufacturers at the beginning of the century started improving the goods they produced and to copy the real thing as nearly as possible. They made these of wire and fabric, from pictures of the living plant."

"My present German buyer saw the ferns out here when on a visit and conceived the idea of trying to preserve the natural plant. He dried and pressed some and took them back to Germany where he experimented for years before discovering how to preserve them successfully".

 

USED FOR MAKING POISON GAS?

"It was often stated that the Germans used the ferns to make poison gas. The fact is, that poison gas was used in the first part of the preserving process. The ferns have no substances of commercial value, and would have been mown down and baled up any old way, but as they are used for ornament, they must be handled with greatest care so that they will be perfect when preserved".

 

FOR BRIGHTENING HOMES

"To the Australians, particularly of the bush, the appeal of such an article for the purpose of brightening our homes is small, as we are surrounded with bright sunshine, beautiful green trees, grass and flowers, but in the winters of Europe and North America people are glad to get something to brighten their homes and it is here we send our ferns.".

"The industry brings into Australia about 20,000 pounds ($40,000) of new money every year and for an article otherwise useless and which would simply die or rot away. It gives profitable employment to quite a lot of people. In our business here we use about l5,000 super feet of timber for cases so helping the timber industry, too."

 

PEOPLE AND METHOD

Eric McMaster first came to the Nabiac area about 1908, as a buyer of fern for Mr. Brown of Woy Woy. He stayed and eventually formed his own company. The ferns were gathered from Karuah to Nambucca The fern pickers searched the forests for fern, and cut each carefully selected frond chosen for shape and maturity. They were tied into bundles with forest grass and packed on Hussein carriers, always flat and with care. Then carried out and loaded on flat decked lorries.

Arriving at the fern sheds, the fern bundles were carefully laid out on Hussein racks to dry, and turned at regular intervals. When sufficiently dry the bundles were untied, and each frond graded according to size, from eight inches (203mm) to twenty inches (508mm) into bundles of 50 fronds and again stored on the drying racks. Imperfect fronds were discarded.

The unprocessed ferns were packed under pressure in cases eight feet (2.4m) by four feet (1.2m) by four feet (1.2m) made of eight inches (203mm) by one inch (25.4mm) Ti-tree boards, brought up by drogher from Breckenridge's mill at Failford and bound with hoop iron.

They were loaded on the drogher "Victory" up to six cases at a time and taken to Tuncurry to be shipped to Sydney on the "Allenwood" and from there overseas.

The processed ferns were bleached white, washed, dried and then dyed either green or red/yellow and green. They were then re-sorted and packed in cartons between layers of tissue paper. The process was a secret formula which left the ferns as soft and pliable as the natural fern. Until World War l, only the dried ferns were exported and were processed in Germany.

INDUSTRY REVIVED AFTER WAR

An article in the Manning River Times states:

"Fern Industry Revival. Before the War extensive business was done in the export to Germany of ferns growing along the Central North Coast, where they underwent special treatment. 

Australian Botanical Products Ltd. of which Mr. E. McMaster is the Manager at Nabiac in the Wallamba District, has further developed the industry to enable the ferns to be successfully treated in the district where they are produced."

"A Mr. David Avery, an industrial scientist from Melbourne, evolved the process to be used. They had trouble producing ferns that were pliable and a Doctor, who was a locum for Dr. Parramore at Nabiac, suggested an ingredient which made the process successful."

"Mr. McMaster first conducted the business from sheds at the Bullock Wharf, Nabiac and at Bulahdelah. The Nabiac shed was burnt down and the business was reorganised into a Company and a new shed built at "Glen Ora".

Large quantities of water were needed and easy access to the drogher. At its peak the business employed eight to ten girls as graders and a man to build the cases. Mr. McMaster and Miss Jean McKinnon and later Misses Cath and Marion McMaster did the dyeing."

"Many well known names appear in the list of young women who sorted the ferns: Mrs. Jack Matheson, Misses Melie and Marion Everingham, Nez and Gwen Wright, Edie, Sadie and Elsie Brown, Verna Mann, Pearl Slater, Mabel Toms, Lily, May and Elsie Wallis, Melva and Thelma Smith, Cath Weller and Vicki Tonks. Familiar names too are among the pickers and lorry drivers Messrs. Jim Green, H. Schneider, Gus Paddy and Jim Tonks, W. Holden and several Gooches, Godwins and Saxbys."

"The girls would walk across the paddocks from Nabiac, and then row across the river to "Glen Ora". The wages were collected each week from the bank by either Cath or Marion McMaster on horseback often also taking up the cartons of ferns for local orders. Sprays of Grevillia leaves and Burrawong Palm Fronds were also marketed."

"They were gilded, silvered or painted green."

 

USE FOR WAR TIME CAMOUFLAGE?

"During World War ll the company was approached by officials at Nabiac Aerodrome who proposed to use treated ferns as camouflage. Varieties of ferns from the moor were treated by Miss Marion McMaster, which proved successful but too costly for the quantities required."

 

INDUSTRY CLOSED

"The war again closed the overseas markets, then the Forestry withdrew permission to collect the ferns and so the fern industry closed and so ended part of history...."