Until 1889, all fruits, including apples, were typically transported in a hodgepodge of containers from casks and barrels and, in some cases, used even recycled motor spirit cases.
Tasmanian export agent W.D. Peacock designed what became known as the “Tasmanian Dump Case” in 1890, which was then adopted in the act of parliament to become the standard export case used by most Australian states and New Zealand.
Peacock’s design without a middle partition made it easier for packers to insert both arms when packing fruit into boxes. Moreover, the case was lighter and stowed better than any other design in a ship’s hold and transported to England for 6 pence per case, cheaper than other crates.
Conversely, as the production of apples increased, the industry required more packing boxes and the number of sawmills in orcharding districts multiplied to respond to demand. In some cases, orchardists like Percy Tucker of Scottsdale also ran a dedicated sawmill to cut the timber to produce the apple boxes.
By the 1930s, the 40-year-old “Tasmanian Dump Case” was not meeting the advancements in marketing requirements for export fruits due to its rough-sawn hardwood appearance, which was not aesthetically pleasing at the time. Consequently, the search was on for a new design. As well as other requirements to improve the packaging of Tasmanian apples were enforced in the 1930s, including the necessity to only use adequately seasoned timber at the time of packing. Therefore, many orchards constructed wood sheds where timber could be kept dry and facilitate the construction of apple boxes.
The solution was the introduction of the Canadian Standard Case, also known as the Standard Apple Box, which used a standard thickness of timber and had aesthetic attributes since they were decorated with attractive labels or neatly stencilled.
The pickers traditionally carried out the construction of apple boxes in the evening after dinner. Apples were individually wrapped and boxes lined with wood wool or corrugated strawboard liners on the top, bottom and sides.
Today Tebrakunna Holdings Pty Limited’s creative art business unit carries on this tradition of hand-making apple boxes based on the original Tasmanian Dump Case designed by W.D. Peacock in 1890. One Off Art apple boxes are with custom labels and utilised as Christmas hampers by many of our clients.
Orders for Christmas edition custom apple boxes close on September 30 each year.
(Information sourced from; The History and Heritage of the Tasmanian Apple Industry – A Profile. Published December 1999).
