William Bailey - Orchardist of Malvern and Narre Warren

In the 1890s William and Frances (Fanny) Bailey settled in Narre Warren North and established the first commercial orchard in the area. William was born in Harrow in England, the son of a farmer (1). William had arrived in Victoria in 1861 for the purpose of learning the nursery and horticultural business from his uncle, who owned the well-known Coles' Nursery at Hawthorn. For ten years Bailey worked for his uncle and then bought what was the first plant nursery in Malvern on land adjoining Elizabeth Street (2). William Bailey's plant nursery was called Malvern Nursery, and it was on the aforementioned Elizabeth Street and Toorak Road. 

Coles' Nursery was operated by his uncle, Mr Thomas Cornelius Cole (1810-1889), the brother of William's mother, Annie Cole. Two of Mr Cole's sons also had nurseries - John Charles Cole (1838-1891) had the Richmond Nursery and Henry Ungerford Cole (1843-1904), a Hawthorn Nursery. Another son, the Reverend Thomas Cornelius Cole (1836-1879) was the vicar at Malvern. The Reverend Cole inherited an interest in horticulture and his rose garden was envy of rosarians. He also planted many choice shrubs in the church grounds. The surroundings of the fine church were beautified by the artistic groupings of the trees. The church garden appeared to harmonise with the church buildings (3).

John Cole's Richmond Nursery catalogue from 1868. 

John Cole was the first cousin of William Bailey.

The State Library of Victoria has the full catalogue digitised, here.

Along with the nursery, William also had a farm in Malvern, which he acquired in 1872. This article from The Leader in December 1875, had this description  of the farm - 

Mr. Bailey's garden is situated about five miles from Melbourne, on the Toorak-road; the property, consisting of 25 acres, occupies the angle formed by the Toorak and Auburn roads: it is a portion of the old Gardiner's station, and the creek that bears his name runs through it. Mr. Bailey resides in the old house, which is one of the oldest in the district. The garden is situated on the west side of the ground, and has a rather steep slope towards the creek, with an eastern aspect; it contains 10 acres, occupied with fruit trees, the other 15 acres, including the creek, being used as a paddock for the horse and cow. A rich alluvial flat which lies between the garden and the creek was formerly under cultivation with vegetables, but in consequence of the frequent floods it has been laid down to grass, with the exception of about half an acre of the best portion, on which the vegetables and young fruit trees grow luxuriantly. The garden is in two portions, old and new; the latter, which adjoins the road, contains about three acres; the trees have been planted five years, they are mainly pears, are in a fine thriving condition, and just about beginning to bear. In the other portion the trees are about 20 years planted, some of them are of large size, we measured an apple tree which was fully nine yards across and of proportionate height (4).

The article lists the huge varieties of plants grown, including this list of apples and pears, none of which appear to be available in supermarkets these days -

Margaret, Quarrenden, Ribston Pippin, King of Pippins, Adams' Pearmain, and Scarlet Nonpareil; Lord Nelson, Allan Bank Seedling, Kentish Fillbasket, and Stone Pippin. Pears: Doyenne d'ete, Citron des Carmes, Jargonelle, Williams's Bon Chretien, Capiaumont, Durondeau, Beurre Bosc, Vicar of Winkfield, Winter Nelis, and Josephine de Malines. (5).

There was another article in The Leader in November 1886, which lists the variety of other plants grown by William Bailey and mentions his faith in the use of night soil as a fertilizer - 

The lower part of the ground, however, a flat bordering the creek, and used as a tree nursery is alluvial, easy to work, and producing capital young stuff. On this ground is an acre or so of lucerne which is worthy of notice, as there are different opinions current as to the proper time of sowing, some considering autumn the best season while others prefer the spring;  this crop was sown in the early part of May, and although the frost has been unusually severe, especially in river valleys, the lucerne has not been injured in the slightest and some of it is now 15 inches tall. A crop of oats alongside is also in excellent condition. A striking instance of the value of night soil as a manure is afforded by these crops, it having been applied to a portion only of the ground, and on the manured part the oats are stronger, several inches taller and of a far deeper hue of green. Asparagus also does well on that part of the ground. Mr. Bailey has a high opinion of the value of night soil and uses it also for his fruit trees, dressing them with it every third year. Strawberries and vegetables of various kinds are grown on vacant spaces for which the stable manure is used. About a quarter of an acre of rhubarb has already brought £11 this season. Near to this is a little over a quarter of an acre of Yorkshire Hero peas, as fine a crop as can be seen, being estimated to produce a ton weight of green peas, valued at the rate of £40 per acre. Other vacant slips are cropped with tomatoes, capsicums, maize and melons, but the latter have to be resown, the seedlings having gone off through the cold. Strawberries, as in nearly all other gardens, have all but gone off, so that the crop is certain to be light this year. (6).

The last paragraph of 1886 Leader article is very interesting -

Mr Bailey and his fruit have obtained such a good reputation that he has no occasion to stand the market with it, fruiterers and others being willing and anxious to take more than he can supply, knowing that his fruit is always of good quality, and his cases honestly filled. But owing to the inexorable demands of an increasing population be is about to be deprived of a large portion of his orchard which is destined to be cut in twain by the Glen Iris railway, which is to run diagonally across it, a chain and a half in width. This will not only divide the land, but on account of the slope of ground the cutting on one side will be so deep that crossing it will be impracticable (7).

The building of the railway though his property is no doubt the reason that in 1891 William Bailey purchased 50 acres at Narre Warren, and began planting out his orchard, although it appears that the family did not move there until after the birth of the last child, Ivy in 1893. The Narre Warren property was called Bona Vista, in Bailey Road (8).

William's family was a large one.  In 1872, William had married Frances (Fanny) Godwin and they had ten children, all born in Malvern - Annie Frances (1873-1944,  married Charles Brown in 1896); George Robert (1875-1960, married Florence Emma Toe in 1901); James William (1877-1962, married Lucy Agnes Webb in 1903); William Henry (1879-1942, married Christina Cameron in 1905); Rose Emmeline 'Minnie' (1881-1891);  Alfred Percy (1883-1966, married Margaret Josephine Coxon in 1910); Charles Cornelius (1885-1965, married Lilian Mary Mickle in 1911); Charlotte Myrtle (1891-1979, married Edward Percival Krummeck in 1932); Violet Emma (1891-1952, married Edward George Hill in 1915) and Ivy Edith May (1893-1941, did not marry) (9).

Some of William and Fannie's children remained in the Narre Warren area after they reached adulthood - their eldest son, George (1875-1960), was an orchardist and also had a General store in Narre Warren, operated by family members until the 1970s. George and his wife Florence built Brentwood (later called Clarinda Park) in 1904. In 1993, the address was 271-299 Narre Warren North Road, I don't think it still exists.  Another son James married, as we said,  Lucy Agnes Webb, the daughter of Anne and Sidney Webb. He was also a fruit grower and involved in many industry bodies such as the Victorian Fruitgrowers' Central Association, James was also a driving force in establishing the Narre Warren Cool Store, which you can read about here. James and Lucy built Araluen in 1903 and their daughter, Lucy,  lived there until she died  in April 1997 and the land was sub-divided. Araluen, at 301-331 Narre Warren North Road, burnt down in mysterious circumstances some years ago. (10)

William died December 29, 1922 aged 81 and Frances died May 28, 1929, aged 78. They are buried at the Boroondara Cemetery along with their daughters Minnie and Ivy.

I don't have a photograph of William Bailey, 

but this is his son, James Bailey with his son, Sidney James Bailey, taken c. 1918,

 in their Narre Warren North orchard.

Casey Cardinia Libraries collection

William Bailey's horticulture enterprise at Narre Warren was also the subject of reports in the newspapers. This one is from the Weekly Times of April 15, 1899 (see here)   Once again, it mentions a huge variety of fruits which are no longer grown commercially.

FRUIT GROWING AT NARRE WARREN (By Our Agricultural Reporter.)

The Weekly Times of April 15, 1899

The cultivation of fruit has not been extensively carried out in the Narre Warren district, but a splendid object lesson is afforded, as to the possibilities of the district, by Mr W. Bailey's Bona Vista orchard, about 4½ miles from the Narre Warren railway station and 1½ miles from old Narre Warren township

The orchard is pleasantly situated on the side of one of the numerous hills to be found in the district. When Mr Bailey first started the land was heavily timbered and covered with dense scrub. He was laughed at when he stated his intention of planting fruit trees, and was told failure was bound to ensue. Being a practical orchardist, he formed his own opinion about the matter, and from the results there is no doubt as to the soundness of his judgment.

Although the orchard has only been started eight years, the growth made is simply marvellous. Pinus insignis, planted for breakwinds, would, from the growth made, lead one to suppose they had been planted at least twice that period. What strikes one on first entering the orchard is the uniform size of the trees - one tree would serve as a model for the whole of any particular plantation. The soil is of a granite nature, and at the first glance would not impress one as to its fertility.

The orchard has a north and westerly aspect, which seems to suit the trees admirably. Remarking on the size of the trees, Mr Bailey explained that he followed out a system of summer pruning, so often advised in "The Weekly Times", for by this means all the available growth is directed into the proper channel, instead of making rank growth, which has to be cut away in the winter pruning.

The whole of the orchard has been thoroughly drained by means of either tile or charcoal drains, but for efficacy Mr Bailey prefers the former. Although no insect pests have yet made their appearance, spraying is regularly carried out during the winter months as a preventive, Bordeaux being the mixture chiefly favored.

The area devoted to Peaches at the present time is about two acres, and these trees look remarkably well, with the exception of a few worked in the almond stock, and these have proved far from satisfactory, while a few have grown as freely as those worked in the peach stock. The majority are dwarfed and stunted. Why this should be Mr. Bailey is unable to explain, but it should serve as a warning to all intending planters in the district. The crops this season have been very fine, and have given good returns. The varieties most favored are Briggs Red May, Hale's Early, Early Crawford, Fosters Royal George the Comet.  The trees have been planted 15ft x 15ft. apart, and this, Mr Bailey finds, is far too close.

There are twelve acres devoted to the cultivation of apples, and these have also made very free growth. In some instances the outer growths have been brought into a horizontal position, thus causing lateral shoots to grow out, besides utilising the exuberant growth, the size of the trees has been considerably extended. This system has been more particularly observed with trees having a tendency to grow into close pyramid form. 

The following varieties give equally good results: - Rome Beauty, Jonathan, King of Pippins, Reinette du Canada, Summer Scarlet Pearmain, London or Five Crown Pippin, H.U. Cole's Prince of Pippin, and Cole's Rymer. The latter is an enormous cropper; its only fault is that it comes into bearing the same time as Jonathan. The apples are planted 20 x 20 feet apart.

The Rome Beauty apple, one of the varieties grown by William Bailey.

This illustration, dated March 1881 was done by John Charles Cole of the 

Richmond Nursery, the first cousin of William Bailey. 

State Library of Victoria Image H96.160/2075

The three acres of pears show remarkably clean growth, and the fruit is of excellent quality. Williams's Bon Chretien, Souvenir de Congres, Bailey's Bergamot, Keiper's hybrid, Beurre d'Angon, Doyenne du Bossoch and Vicar of Winckfield are the principal sorts grown.

Plums also receive attention, but not to such a large extent as the other fruits, but from the success attained Mr Bailey would feel quite justified in the area devoted to them. Orleans, Washington, Black Orleans, Fellenberg, and Golden Drop have given the best returns. Whilst on the subject of plums we must not forget the Japanese variety, Kelsey. This kind is an enormous bearer, and is especially useful for private use. The blood Japanese Mr Bailey would advise grown as a weeping, ornamental plant, for planting on the lawn or elsewhere.

Apricots seem as much at home as the other varieties of fruits, but only the following varieties are grown to any extent: - Ouillen's Early, Moorpark, and Campbellfield's Seedling. The strawberry plantations are by no means the least important item at Bona Vista. The returns from this source have been excellent. The plants are placed in double rows, 2½ feet apart, and 15 inches in the rows. This enables the horse hoe to work readily between the rows.

The Jonathan apple, another variety grown by William Bailey.

This is a wax model, made in the Melbourne Museum

by Joy Dickins in 1950.

Image: Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/385107

Mr Bailey remarked that, to grow strawberries successfully, cultivation of the soil must be carried out the whole of the year, and not, as many growers do, leave the plants untouched directly the fruit is gathered until the following spring The manure used for this crop is principally bonedust and stable manure. The following are the varieties grown: - Marguerite, Edith Christy, Trollope's Victoria, and Arthur. The latter does exceedingly well, but, unlike the other varieties named, does not produce a second crop.

Mr Bailey has a clean lot of young fruit trees, suitable for planting this season. The collection comprises all the leading kinds of peaches, apples, pears, plums, strawberries, etc. Besides the orchard, Mr Bailey has about [illegible] acres devoted to the growth of tomatoes, peas, pumpkins, maize, and other crops, suitable for feeding purposes. (Weekly Times of April 15, 1899, see here)

Sadly, the Bailey orchard has also gone and for the same reason as William Bailey's Malvern farm - the inexorable demands of an increasing population. 

Trove list - I have created a list of newspapers articles on the Bailey family, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) William's obituary in The Argus of January 3, 1923, see here, says he was engaged with his father in fruit growing. An article in The Leader of February 23, 1907, see here, says he was the son of a strawberry grower.
(2) Cooper, John Butler The City of Malvern: from its first settlement to a City (Speciality Press, 1935), p. 124.
(3) Quotes about the Rev Cole's garden from John Butler Cooper, p. 122 (see footnote 2). Information also from Thomas Coles' entry, written by Richard Aitken, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here and information about the Nurseries in The Australasian, August 19, 1876, here.

(4) The Leader, December 11, 1875, see here.

(5) The Leader, December 11, 1875, see here.

(6) The Leader, November 6, 1886, see here.

(7) The Leader, November 6, 1886, see here.
(8) William Bailey is listed as owning 50 acres from the 1891/1892 Shire of Berwick Rate Books. As all the children were born in Malvern I am assuming they moved after the birth of Ivy in 1893. This is confirmed by the fact that William is listed in the Malvern Rate Books (available on Ancestry.com) in 1893, but not 1894.

(9) Information from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages 

(10) Heritage of the City of Berwick: Identifying and caring for important places by Context P/L (City of Berwick, 1993)  

This is an expanded version, with new material, of a post which I wrote and researched, which appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.