Mid North Coast Pioneers - Newcastle to Lismore and beyond

In her book titled "The History of Tuncurry", Elva Carmichael has written:

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 stated:

"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."

Elva also has written:

"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."