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Matt Pecar with a delivery of tomatoes for the markets 1950s
Glasshouses with vegetable garden in the foreground, Warriewood c1930
Ivan Vujanovic and Ivan Antunovic with containers of tomatoes, Warriewood 1934
George Jovanovich and his five children on the farm at Warriewood 1933
The Market Gardeners of Warriewood Valley were part of a cosmopolitan community which not only enriched the area economically but also culturally and socially.
From the late 1920s migrants from Italy and former Yugoslavia began arriving in the Warriewood Valley to become part of the developing tomato farming industry.
The area expanded as a farming district and was known as ‘Glass City’, due to the valley being covered with approximately 3,500 glasshouses during the peak of production between 1947 and 1954.
From the 1960s market gardening declined as produce shipped from other states became cheaper.
Today some of the street names in the Warriewood Valley are tributes to the varieties of tomatoes which once grew on the same land, Jubilee, Daydream, Apollo, Ponderosa and Prosperity.
To hear more about this fascinating era, join the Local History team on Harmony Day (Tuesday 21 March) for a special talk at Mona Vale Library from 10-11am. Find out more.
Aerial map showing glasshouses in Warriewood 1961
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians, the Gayamaygal and Garigal and their Country on which we gather today. By these words we show our respect to all Aboriginal people. We acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging and the spirits and ancestors of the Clans that lived in this area.
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