Apples have been an important crop in Tasmania since European settlement. They were exported all over the world, particularly to Europe, with the industry at it’s peak during the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Although exports declined over the decades, when Britain joined the European Common Market in 1973, the export industry collapsed. Today, it is a $40 million industry, still growing a wide range of apple varieties.

Tasmania, as an island, has a natural quarantine advantage, which is strictly enforced. If you buy Tasmania apples in Melbourne, you can not bring them back into Tassie, on a flight or on the ferry.

I took these photos at the side of the road, along the edge of an orchard, farmed by four generations of the same family. Their apples are delicious, organically grown since the 1990’s. They make good cider too.