Maitland and District Historical Society's monthly speaker for May will be Dr Cameron Archer AM, former principal of Tocal Agricultural College.
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Dr Archer is also a patron of the society and a well-known author on matters related to the Paterson Valley and the general Maitland area.
Dr Archer has spent his life immersed in agriculture and the natural environment from growing up on a farm, attending an agricultural high school, undertaking an agricultural science degree at the University of Sydney specialising in botany and plant ecology, working in Northern Australia as a research/extension agronomist and then spending his career in agricultural education.
His talk will be on 'The Rise and Fall of Maitland as a Food Bowl'.
Maitland's location on the western edge of the Hunter River estuary made it an ideal location for Europeans to grow food. The area became one of the state's important sources of food for over 100 years but that is no more the case.
Dr Archer, an agriculturalist by training, will address the question as to how and why Maitland played this role for so long and why it no longer does so.
He will draw on the research of many others as well as his own work on the story of the Maitland area's agricultural history. The story is one of hard work, heart-breaking floods, innovation and enterprise.
Many of Maitland's long-time families are linked to local farms and some are still held by families whose histories in the area date back to the nineteenth century.
Dr Archer's presentation will conclude with some insights into the present land use of the area.
Members of the general public as well as members of the historical society are welcome to attend the talk. The talk will be held at 5.30pm on Tuesday, May 7 at the society's rooms at 3 Cathedral St, Maitland. There is no need to book and no charge will be levied, but the society asks for a $5 donation to cover the cost of supper before and after the talk.
