George McEwin

For his grandson, lawyer and philanthropist, see George McEwin (lawyer).
"Glen Ewin" redirects here. For the village in Saskatchewan, Canada, see Glen Ewen.

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 in Scotland, then in the Liverpool nurseries of M. Skirving.[1] He married Jessie Kennedy (12 July 1810 – 21 September 1884) in Liverpool 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[2] at North Adelaide in 1837. Stevenson was private secretary to Governor Hindmarsh, arriving on HMS Buffalo at Holdfast Bay on 28 December 1836.[3][4]

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,[3] though Charles George Everard and Donald McLean are at least as plausible.[5]

In 1843 he purchased land near Houghton which he named "Glen Ewin", where he planted extensive orchards and settled in 1844.[6] 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.[7] From 1850 he and apple grower William Dunn worked for Anstey setting up the orchard and gardens for his nearby Paracombe Estate.[8]

Around 1863 McEwin founded a jam factory, which he operated with his son Robert McEwin, to make use of excess fruit.[9][10] He sold 20 acres (8.1 ha) of his land to the building firm of English & Brown (later Brown & Thompson) for a quarry, noted for its freestone.[11]

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.[7]

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.[12]

  1. ^ "Exportable Fruits of South Australia". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 December 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  2. ^ Another claimant for first vines is John Barton Hack
  3. ^ a b "Death of Mr. George McEwin, J.P." South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Pioneers Who Brought Beauty With Them". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 October 1936. p. 28. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  5. ^ Kerr, Colin and Margaret Royal Show Stock Journal Publishers, for Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society 1983 ISBN 0 9596833 1 3
  6. ^ "Early Settlement of South Australia.—No. 5". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 August 1884. p. 1 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Glen Ewin". 27 August 2007.
  8. ^ "The Rural Voice". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 May 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Jam Making in South Australia". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 27 January 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  10. ^ "The Land and the Producer". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 July 1911. p. 23. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Glen Ewin Quarry". The Express and Telegraph. Vol. IV, no. 999. South Australia. 29 March 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia. The principals of the two companies were Thomas English, Henry Brown (died 30 May 1881) and Henry Thompson (died 4 March 1890)
  12. ^ "Willabrand Australia".