Queensland’s first horticulturalists keep the fire burning

Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers recognise First Nations Australians as our first horticulturalists, and we continue to learn from and listen to their sharing of knowledge about Country and Community. 

Last week we celebrated NAIDOC week, and it was an apt time to reflect on our engagement with Indigenous growers, and First Nations businesses that work with native horticultural crops throughout the supply chain.  

The message we’ve heard is clear: efforts to grow the Indigenous food industry need to take a collaborative approach, but steps must be taken to ensure the benefits of the sector’s growth stay with Indigenous owned and operated businesses and Community.  

We have visited First Nations growers throughout Queensland and are inspired by their products using native ingredients and their passionate work in advocating for a culturally safe and fair future for the native bushfoods industry. 

We acknowledge, however, that we have only touched the surface of this emerging and vitally important industry.  

On Mamu Country in Far North Queensland, we met with Leah and Brad Pepper of Misty Mountain Mushrooms. Leah is a First Nations grower, and along with her husband, they sell fresh mushrooms, as well as mushroom-based value add products including tapenades, pickle, and chilli sauce.  

In the west on Yuggera Country in the Lockyer Valley, we visited Doug and Tracey Goebel at Native Oz Bushfoods, where we were treated to a tour of their educational garden, sampling the vivid flavours of Old Man Saltbush and Lilly Pilly. Native bushfoods are not only tasty, but nutritionally rich.  Opportunities to incorporate them into various dishes and products abound! 

Doug and Tracey also took the opportunity to remind us that without policy support, the Indigenous bushfoods industry could be lost to non-Indigenous and foreign interests before it truly has a chance for Indigenous people to grow it themselves.  

A visit to the Davidson family who is behind the successful FigJam & Co in Magandjin (Brisbane) alerted us to a need within the industry to secure a reliable and consistent supply of native bushfood ingredients to sustain their catering and condiment production business. 

Allies, like Lara Wilde at QLD Food Incubator and interested commercial growers, are responding to this need. Lara used a Future Fields funding grant to establish a First Nations Foods database to ensure growers like the Davidsons, Goebels, or Pepplers can ensure a steady supply of ingredients for their products.  

First Nations horticulture. What a privilege it is to be a part of its homegrown journey into the hearts and homes of food lovers everywhere!