Gippsland 1900-2007: One Bag in Six – Onion Growing
Australian History Agricultural History Memoir Cultural History Biography Regional Studies Microhistory Rural History
Gippsland 1 9 0 0-2007: One Bag in Six tells the remarkable true story of how a single crop—onions—shaped the identity of Leongatha and the wider Gippsland region. In only 97 generously illustrated pages, local historian John Murphy distills interviews, farm ledgers, and newspaper clippings into a fast-paced memoir of the families who coaxed ‘one bag in six’ of Australia’s brown onions out of the district’s volcanic soil. Young adults and adults alike will find the chapters on Depression-era market stalls and 1950s co-op trucks as engaging as any adventure novel, while history buffs will treasure the rare photographs of horse-drawn ploughs and steam trains loading produce at Leongatha station.
What makes this copy special is its pristine condition: crisp, unmarked, unread, from a smoke-free home, with all period photographs and maps as sharp as the day the Leongatha District Historical Society printed them in 200s7. No previous owner’s bookplate, no inscriptions—just a tight spine and bright pages ready for your shelf. As a textbook-length micro-history, it’s perfect for classroom use, local research, or gifting to anyone curious about how a humble vegetable built a town’s economy and culture for over a century.
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