
George McEwin (29 January 1815 – 8 August 1885) was a gardener and orchardist in the early days of South Australia, remembered today as the founder of Glen Ewin jams and preserves.
McEwin was born in Scotland, and worked in the gardens of the
Duke of Buccleugh at
Drumlanrig Castle
Drumlanrig Castle is situated on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The category A listed castle is the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. As of September 2023, the castle itself is open to t ...
in Scotland, then in the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
nurseries of M. Skirving. He married Jessie Kennedy (12 July 1810 – 21 September 1884) in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1839. They emigrated to South Australia on the ''Delhi'', arriving in Adelaide on 20 December 1840. He worked as head gardener for
George Stevenson, and planted what may have been South Australia's first vines at North Adelaide in 1837. Stevenson was private secretary to
Governor Hindmarsh
Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.
Family
His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Coni ...
, arriving on ''HMS Buffalo'' at Holdfast Bay on 28 December 1836.
He visited Sydney and collected a large number of fruit trees and vines, which he planted on Stevenson's extensive property between Melbourne and Finniss streets, and which thrived under his care. He planted a small plot with wheat; arguably the first in South Australia,
[ though ]Charles George Everard
Dr Charles George Everard MD (29 August 1794 – 30 March 1876) was a physician, pioneer farmer and Member of the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council, in the early days of South Australia.
Early life
Charles was born i ...
and Donald McLean are at least as plausible.
In 1843 he purchased land near Houghton which he named "Glen Ewin", where he planted extensive orchards and settled in 1844. He worked for George A. Anstey (1815–1895, for whom Ansteys Hill is named) establishing the garden and orchards of his Highercombe Estate, now part of Tea Tree Gully. From 1850 he and apple grower William Dunn worked for Anstey setting up the orchard and gardens for his nearby Paracombe Estate.
Around 1863 McEwin founded a jam factory, which he operated with his son Robert McEwin, to make use of excess fruit. He sold of his land to the building firm of English & Brown (later Brown & Thompson) for a quarry, noted for its freestone.
At the height of their business they employed over 100 people and purchased much of the fruit in the region. Besides the Glen Ewin brand, their jam was also marketed as Kingurli, Viking, Anchor, Arab and Far West. In December 1962 Sir Thomas Playford unveiled a plaque commemorating 100 years of jam making at Glen Ewin. The business failed in the late 1980s; the factory closed in 1988, and the property deteriorated considerably. The Glen Ewin name was revived in the 1990s for a range of jams made by Henry Jones IXL, which was bought by SPC Ardmona in 2004 but none of these products was made at Houghton.[
In 1991 the Wauchope family bought the property and began resurrecting Glen Ewin as a fig orchard in 1994. Their company Willabrand now supplies fresh figs locally, interstate and overseas.
]
Other interests
*He was for many years connected with the Agricultural and Horticultural Society, and its President in 1862.
*He regularly attended the Houghton Congregational Church and was for twenty eight years a personal friend of its pastor, the Rev. W. J. Webster.[
]
Public life
*He was appointed a Justice of the Peace.
*He acted as Returning Officer for the district of Gumeracha
*He was a member of the Central Road Board
*He was a member of the Forest Board
Publications
*In 1843 he published by subscription the South Australian Vigneron and Gardeners' Manual which passed through several editions.
*He contributed a monthly "Farmers', Gardener and Vignerons' Calendar" for the ''Advertiser''.
*He frequently commented in the press on the culture of various trees and plants and other subjects.
*In 1881 he took a journey up the River Murray and wrote a report of his trip for the South Australian Register
''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and ...
.
*In 1884 he visited Port Lincoln
Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...
and wrote an article for the ''Register''.
*He wrote the ''Farm and Garden'' calendars for the ''Register'' and ''Observer'' Almanacs. He was succeeded as their agricultural reporter by Albert Molineux.
*He wrote an article on Australia's native forests for the Scottish Arboricultural Society.[
]
Family
He was a brother of Robert Daniel McEwin (1820 – 13 November 1900) of Golden Grove. Their father John McEwin (ca.1792–1855) died at Heidelberg (Victoria ?)
He married Jessie Kennedy (1810 – 21 September 1884), who was born at Dumfrieshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
In terms of historic counties it bor ...
, Scotland.
They had six children:
*Mary Bartlett McEwin (17 August 1839 – 1889) married George Philip Doolette (later Sir George) (24 January 1840 – January 1924) on 9 November 1865. George made a fortune in gold mining with George Brookman at Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...
and retired to England. He married a second time, to Lillie Dale of Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
.
*Margaret Hester (11 January 1842 – 13 April 1864) married William Duncan on 30 July 1863. She died giving birth to twins.
*Jessie (25 July 1843 – 17 October 1925) married Frederick Joseph Lewis (ca.1841 – 2 July 1911) of Gumeracha
Gumeracha ( ) is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens. The region relies heavily on gra ...
on 12 October 1867 homes Georgetown, Joslin
*Elizabeth ( – 17 August 1894) married John Tasker (ca.1840 – 15 November 1921) of Norwood on 13 February 1868
*Rev. John McEwin (1845 – 9 May 1894) married Agnes Henderson (1850 – 15 May 1936) daughter of Rev. James Henderson in 1872, lived in North Adelaide. Their children included:
:* George McEwin (1873 – 5 August 1945) married Evelyn Jones (1876 – 11 February 1949) on 28 April 1906.
:*Eliza Ramsay McEwin (1875– ) married Robert Bruce ( – ) in 1899.
:*(James) Guthrie McEwin (1878– )
:*Jessie McEwin (1880– )
:*(John) Oswald McEwin (1883– )
*Robert McEwin, JP. (23 November 1847 – 20 September 1929) married Emily Longbotham (1851 – 5 November 1939) in 1872. He was chairman of George McEwin & Sons and Superintendent of Houghton Sunday School.
For some years he was in poor health, and prior to his death he was confined to his room for two months, suffering from a heart condition, but his death was somewhat sudden and unexpected.[
]
Recognition
*For the report he wrote for the Scottish Arboricultural Society he received in 1881 the Society's silver medal.[
]
Bibliography
* South Australian Vigneron and Gardeners' Manual published by James Allen 1843. Originally sold by subscription, and revised 1864, but was long out of print when a second edition appeared in 1871.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEwin, George
1815 births
1885 deaths
Settlers of South Australia
Australian gardeners
Australian orchardists
Australian jam and preserved fruit makers
19th-century Australian businesspeople