On this day in 1862...

Isaac Westcott began his career as a market gardener by winning first prize for his cabbages at the Ballarat Agricultural Show on the fourth of April 1862. A humble stonemason from Somerset, when Isaac first stepped off the barque Orient in 1840, he hardly expected to become one of the colony's leading market gardeners and its first name in jam manufacturing. His time was initially spent building the original Geelong Grammar School and some of Victoria's earliest churches. But when gold was discovered at Ballarat in 1851, tarpaulins were thrown over the unfinished masonry and Isaac joined the rush.

By the end of the rush and with the completion of the buildings, Isaac had enough capital to establish an orchard near Ballarat at Lal Lal. He went on to grow a huge range of award-winning fruit and vegetables and manufacture the finest export-quality jams. The Ballarat district has been the family home ever since, and a zeal for agriculture and horticulture is something Isaac has shared with every generation of his family to the present day.

Subscribe below and automatically receive a free packet of Savoy Green Vertus cabbages with your next order! This is a wonderful old French heirloom variety that was first introduced in 1859.

(This offer is open during the month of April 2023, to subscribers who are residents of Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, and ACT only.)