Ooray Orchards
Ooray
Orchards was first registered as a business on the 1st November 1999.
Originally Ooray Orchard possessed a Wild Harvesters licence from the
NSW National Parks Service to collect Davidsonia fruit from wild trees
and two suckers from each Davidsonia johnsonii
population (with conditions). Whilst collecting wild harvested fruit in
1998 - 2000 for wine production, the owner of Ooray Orchards and another
local Davidsonia and native plant enthuasiast traversed every square
Inch of the Brunswick and Tweed lowlands area in search of Davidsonia
populations. This avid interest unvailed many populations, the majority
which are now lodged on the government database. Both NSW Davidsonia
species are listed as Endangered under the NSW Threatened Species
Conservation Act 1995 (TSCA) and Commonweath Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Living Genebank
Since its interception the orchard has expanded to include an estimated 2000 trees of all Davidsonia species with the first plantings in February 1999. The orchard is unique in that the specimens are a collection of many wild populations which are represented in rows and cataloged. Some of these collections are distinctive and offer surprising prospects for superior forms to be developed for horticulture. The orchard is a germplasm bank offering ex-situ conservation as a couple of collection sites of Davidsonia jerseyana no longer exist due to clearing for development. In 2002, one particular development in west Murwillumbah was allowed to clear Davidsonia jerseyana trees because the Development Application was approved in 1994, prior to the TSCA 1995 being signed off on. Davidsonia jerseyana easily has more trees within cultivation, even within its natural range than occur within the wild. The vast majority of wild trees exist at sites with threats from cattle grazing, weed infestation, roadside maintenance, exposure and predation from exotic rodents and King Parrots which occur in high numbers due to supplementary food sources by humans. Genetic pollution is likely to occur from nearby planted specimens however little is understood in relation to the long term affects.
Endangered Species
Ooray Orchards collection of Smooth leaved Davidsons Plum Davidsonia johnsonii represents the largest assemblage of living genotypes of this species in existence with 18 of the 28 known wild sites growing in the orchard. The most widely available genotype is that which originated in an easily accessible site at Hogans Scrub, north of Murwillumbah. It is easily dicernable by its narrower leaflets, pronounced veins, often paler colour and small grape sized fruits.
Farm Grown fruit
To help keep the collection in a manageable condition, Ooray Orchards has for sale:
Living Genebank
Since its interception the orchard has expanded to include an estimated 2000 trees of all Davidsonia species with the first plantings in February 1999. The orchard is unique in that the specimens are a collection of many wild populations which are represented in rows and cataloged. Some of these collections are distinctive and offer surprising prospects for superior forms to be developed for horticulture. The orchard is a germplasm bank offering ex-situ conservation as a couple of collection sites of Davidsonia jerseyana no longer exist due to clearing for development. In 2002, one particular development in west Murwillumbah was allowed to clear Davidsonia jerseyana trees because the Development Application was approved in 1994, prior to the TSCA 1995 being signed off on. Davidsonia jerseyana easily has more trees within cultivation, even within its natural range than occur within the wild. The vast majority of wild trees exist at sites with threats from cattle grazing, weed infestation, roadside maintenance, exposure and predation from exotic rodents and King Parrots which occur in high numbers due to supplementary food sources by humans. Genetic pollution is likely to occur from nearby planted specimens however little is understood in relation to the long term affects.
Endangered Species
Ooray Orchards collection of Smooth leaved Davidsons Plum Davidsonia johnsonii represents the largest assemblage of living genotypes of this species in existence with 18 of the 28 known wild sites growing in the orchard. The most widely available genotype is that which originated in an easily accessible site at Hogans Scrub, north of Murwillumbah. It is easily dicernable by its narrower leaflets, pronounced veins, often paler colour and small grape sized fruits.
Farm Grown fruit
To help keep the collection in a manageable condition, Ooray Orchards has for sale:
- Dried fruit (dehydrated).
- Frozen whole fruit.
- Frozen halved deseeded fruit.
- Frozen puree.
- Fresh fruit in season (Dec-Jan & March-August).
- Native Rainforest Plum potted plants.
Where we are...
We are located in Upper Burringbar, Far NE NSW, half an hour south from the QLD border.
Contact Ooray Orchards via email or phone (02) 66771466
Contact Ooray Orchards via email or phone (02) 66771466
