Dr Anna Wong at the Lanyon Homestead gardens. Photo: Dom Northcott.
Dr Anna Wong can hardly stomach store-bought jam anymore.
“I often make these jams using these recipes for friends as presents and some of them complain because now their kids refuse to eat store-bought jam,” she says as we stroll through the gardens at the Lanyon Homestead.
“They always want Auntie Anna’s jam. So there is a definite difference.”
It’s true. There’s a sample jar of marmalade in the basket Dr Wong is carrying under her arm, and it is really orange. Donald-Trump-with-saturation-levels-dialled-up-to-max orange.
“I call it a jar of sunshine,” she continues.
“It’s a beautiful golden orange, and you get this wonderful fresh fruit taste”.
The recipes in question were first penned well over 100 years ago by the ACT’s earliest settlers – the families who lived in Mugga Mugga Cottage, Calthorpes House, and where we are today, Lanyon Homestead.
“When we were looking through some of the handwritten recipes of each of the properties, we found some beautiful jam and marmalade and chutney and preserve recipes,” Dr Wong says.
“We know the Calthorpes had an apricot marmalade recipe as well … and the Curleys from Mugga Mugga had a wonderful tomato ketchup recipe, which is beautifully written in Mrs Curley’s handwriting and talked about what to do over a fire stove.
“It gives you this wonderful sort of imagery of the type of kitchen they were in, too.”
Lanyon Homestead was built in the 1850s. Photo: Dom Northcott.
It might not involve a fire stove, but on Saturday, 22 March, Dr Wong is holding a jam-making demonstration at Lanyon as part of the annual ‘Harvest Day Out’ festival.
Put on by the ACT Government’s Cultural Facilities Corporation, the festival is a celebration of all things Lanyon, and came about during COVID as “a way of bringing people outdoors to the site when we had a lot of restrictions about people being indoors”.
The homestead’s gardens, planted by the original Cunningham family, are definitely worth a visit, even if that’s all you see at the site.
“Lanyon Homestead is particularly wonderful because the different families who lived here established various kitchen gardens,” Dr Wong explains.
“We have a lot of seasonal veggies, and our historic fruit trees are from the Cunningham period, so we have apples and pears and apricots, and one of the oldest walnut trees in Canberra as well.”
The Cunningham family was known across the region for their garden produce. Photo: Dom Northcott.
Lanyon Homestead regularly won prizes in the Queanbeyan Agricultural Show for its turnips, cabbages and parsley.
“It’s a really wonderful reflection of how people made do with what they had, on a seasonal basis. And a lot of that is very relevant today – we talk about seasonal eating, and making use of what’s available at the time.”
Dr Wong’s basket is also laden with rhubarb, which she said was sold in the area from the 1850s even if the Cunninghams may not have technically ever grown it.
We do know the Cunninghams grew strawberries here – they were renowned for their strawberries – and would often have fetes in the garden as fundraisers during World War I with strawberry jam and cream scones. I like to imagine they perhaps also had rhubarb.”
A lot of today’s crops find their way into the Lanyon Homestead café, but this time, the produce will be picked for Dr Wong’s demonstration.
“It is the first event that sells out every year for Harvest Day Out, so there’s a huge demand for it,” she says.
“I also show lots of historical photos, showing the kitchens that each of the families was using, as well as the key characters. I’m really just telling stories while I’m cooking – it’s like having a bunch of friends over and having a chat.”
As for the recipe, you’ll have to attend to find out. Participants not only receive a jar of jam, but also a copy of Mrs Calthorpe’s apricot marmalade recipe to try at home – and that’s arguably the best one of all.
Have you ever seen marmalade that orange? Photo: Dom Northcott.
Dawn Waterhouse, the second daughter of the Calthorpes family, is still alive at 101 years old and names the apricot marmalade as her favourite.
“Dawn has beautiful memories of making the apricot jam and having it on freshly baked bread and butter, which was her particular treat,” Dr Wong says.
“They would also bottle peaches in syrup and, for her, that was the best dessert you could ever have.”
Have we just ruined your store-bought jam experience? You’re welcome.
Register for 2025 Harvest Day Out on 22 March at Humanitix.
Loading ...
