Federation Farming

Life as a wheat farmer in 1888
(Student worksheet)

William Hughes was a wheat farmer. He was poor and had to sell his crop as soon as it was harvested to pay off debts. William owned only 150 hectares in the northern area of Victoria. However, to earn a reasonable family income, you needed at least 300 hectares. 

There were seven girls and two boys in the family. The two oldest girls went out to work as household servants. The oldest boy, young William, worked with his father on the farm. Mrs. Hughes made some extra money selling eggs and butter in the town. Young William and his father cut and sold timber for firewood and fencing. Despite this, they were barely surviving. 

The farm was in poor condition. The paddocks had stumps, which often damaged the plough. This problem for farmers led to the development of the stump jump plough. In very rough patches, they harvested with a sickle. Other times they could use the scythe. The stripper was old and heavy. It needed four horses but they had three. 

Times were really tough. Young William saw that farming could not go on as it was. He read the newspapers and learnt of different farming methods being used. He told his father that he should plough deeper and not to burn the stubble. After many arguments about ploughing, young William kept silent. 

He planted sorghum, tobacco, maize, capsicum and date palm - new crops that he had heard about. They all failed. Young William still thought that farmers were foolish to rely on wheat alone. 

One day, William read an article in the newspaper, which caught his eye. It told of a new chemical called 'superphosphate' which would increase production. It sounded too good to be true, but William was eager to try. 

Young William started to use the fertiliser on a small plot of land. However, his father would still not agree with him. In a drought year he got three times more wheat than his father did. Slowly his father was convinced. In the next five years they were using superphosphate on the whole crop.

Young William's determination to try new methods of farming had eventually paid off. 

Activities:
1. Imagine that you are young William. Write a letter to your friend in England, describing your life on your father's farm. 
2. Life as a wheat farmer today is very different from farming in William's day. Greater knowledge is available about how to care for the land, farming methods changed and machinery has become high tech. Research life on a modern wheat farm and write a letter about it. 
3. List all the equipment used on the Hughes farm. What equipment would be used for this work today? 

Bonus Question:
"Which Melbourne suburb gave its name to the wheat harvester made by H.V McKay"? **

Facts to help you:
. Hectare = 10 000 square metres 
. Sickle - a tool used for cutting grain and grass. Consists of a curved blade with a short handle. 
. Scythe - a tool with a long, curved blade. Used for mowing grass by hand.
. Stripper - a machine that strips the heads of grain from the stalks during harvesting.
. Stubble - the stalks of the crop left in the ground after harvesting.
. Sorghum - a type of cereal grass. 
. Maize - Indian corn. 
** Answer to Bonus Question: Sunshine 

(Taken from 'Pride in Victorian Farming' - Julianne Sharp & Elizabeth Gardiner, Food &Agriculture in the Classroom, DNRE 1996)