agriculture

Banana Tree Flowers The female banana flower emerges out of the top of a stalk. These produce the ovaries that develop into the "hands" that are part of every stalk of banana fruits. Needing no pollination, they develop into the iconic seedless fruit found in every supermarket in the United States. Once the fruits have all appeared, the flower elongates, producing a long tail with a large, red bud hanging upside-down at the end. This bud contains the male organs. All these parts have their own botanical names: The thick stalk that attaches to the pseudostem and supports the female flower is the "peduncle," while the rough, elongated tail emerging from the bottom of the bananas is the "rachis." The fruit itself is simply the "bunch." From Banana Flowers to Fruit You may be dreaming of harvesting your own bananas, but unless you have at least 18 months of continuous warm weather in your location with no frosts or freezes, you merely have an ornamental banana in your landscape. Banana flowers and their accompanying fruit usually appear in late summer and then winter over, ripening in mid-spring, according to California Rare Fruit Growers, but an unexpected freeze will abort the process. Sometimes, banana stalks appear in summer instead and ripen before winter. Harvest the entire banana fruit stalk at one time when the bananas are still green, but plump; then hang it in a cool, dry location and cut off the "hands" as needed. Alternatively, harvest individual hands for tree-ripened fruit. Be careful, however, because ripe bananas are perfect bait for rodents, who are adept at eating the insides and making it appear as if the fruit is untouched. To encourage faster ripening, cover the stalk with a plastic bag. Source: homeguides.sfgate.com/banana-tree-bloom-stages-57944.html

This exposition was held at Wembley, London, England. Henry Mobsby designed the Queensland Court and travelled as State representative to London to supervise the construction of the layout, design trophies, and formulate a colour scheme. He travelled with his wife and daughter on the ‘Ormuz’ arriving in London on 8 March 1908. While in England, he exhibited Queensland products at Newcastle, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire and also at Aberdeen in Scotland and Dublin in Ireland. He and his family returned to Australia on the 'Ophir' in October 1909. Source: picryl.com/media/australian-pavilion-franco-british-expos...

The announcement regarding the staff to be sent from Queensland to work at the exhibition was made in December 1907 and under the leadership of John Campbell, Henry Mobsby was appointed as the display officer and asked to design the state’s Court in the Australian Palace. In area, Queensland secured the second-largest court within the pavilion and it was located in a prime position. The Mobsby family, together with the other exhibition staff and their families, traveled in a second-class cabin according to the ship’s passenger list. The Ormuz sailed from Pinkenba wharf traveling south to the Australian ports of Sydney, Melbourne, and Fremantle before crossing the Atlantic for England. Onboard the ship were 120 cases of Queensland exhibits, 152 of which contained bottled wine. Unfortunately, pilfering went on during the voyage because the wine cases ended up being 57 bottles short and it was also noted that both Henry’s luggage and that of another staff member, had been opened and articles extracted. Altogether Queensland sent over 1,593 boxes of exhibits to display at the fair, including 380 boxes of pamphlets, 30 boxes of pictures and albums, and 27 boxes of postcards, 155 the majority of which would have been produced from Henry’s photographs taken during his travels around the state. These pamphlets and postcards proved to be a very useful tool for attracting visitors to the Queensland Court, and one which the other states lacked. Henry designed the Great Pagoda, the centerpiece for the Queensland Court, and it was made up of sixteen varieties of native timbers and built by the Ipswich Railway Workshops. The different product displays (known as trophies) were Henry’s design and this was the first time Queensland had used the skills of a professional artist in this regard. The trophies were distinctly original and based on the principle that they should be formed out of the various exhibits, rather than elaborately designed structures upon which exhibits were placed. They received much praise from everyone. The first and foremost section of the Court was devoted to agricultural and pastoral exhibits. Source: HENRY WILLIAM MOBSBY (1860 – 1933) “....a most valuable officer” Published – January 2017 By the Author Kaye Mobsby espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_418596/HenryWMobsby_biog...

trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164287965# - this pic appeared in a photographic montage in the Sydney Mail on 7th December, 1910. trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165395904 - a very similar pic...taken on the same occasion...appeared in the Sydney Mail on 15th April, 1908...the location appears to have been Haywood brothers' farm, 'Oaklands', near Pambula, on the NSW South coast.