Heritage Sunday

A series of informal talks on local subjects of historic, cultural or natural heritage. Accompanied by a long table lunch.

3rd October 2010

At The Old Cheese Factory
Reidsdale

Milk Matters: the History of Dairying in Reidsdale
by Jill Clarke

When we think of the history of cheese making in Australia, areas such as Bodalla, Kameruka and King Island spring to mind. Yet, perched on top of the coastal escarpment, about 15km southeast of Braidwood is the farming district of Reidsdale, beneath its modern day tranquility lies an industrious heritage of mostly Irish settlers who played a significant role in the development of the dairy industry in Australia.

Reidsdale resident Jill Clarke has more than a lingering interest in the subject, a keen local historian and teacher, her ancestors have been in the Braidwood district since early european settlement and have a long association with the dairying families of Reidsdale. Jill married a local lad and for the past 30 years has lived at Wivenhoe, the cradle property of dairying in Reidsdale.

The development of the Reidsdale dairy industry is a fascinating chapter in Australia's agricultural heritage. It highlights the hard work and innovation of an underprivileged ethnic community that strived to forge a better life for their children and in the process produced more than its fair share of characters.

Jill will take a look at these characters and the business of Dairying in Reidsdale from its inception to the closure of the Reidsdale cheese factory in 1957.  

The Talk Starts at 11.30am
Followed by a long table lunch incorporating Reidsdale produce.

Long Table Lunch
Reidsdale Roast Lamb with Crab Apple & Mint Jelly
Potato, Parsnip & Herb Gratin
Mixed Leaf Salad with Orange & Fennel
Homemade Baked Rice Pudding with Rhubarb Poached in Sully's Bombay Blackberry Wine

$33.00

A vegetarian option is available on request.

Bookings Essential.
02 48461999, 0407 292 181, milkmatters@braidwoodmade.com.au