Myrtleford - Historic Log Tobacco Kiln
The log tobacco kiln is located at Rotary Park which has a playground.
This log tobacco kiln was built by Pizzini Bros of Eurobin in 1957 and was typical of kilns built during the 1930's to the early 1960's.
Tobacco leaves were tied onto a stick using string and approximately 500 of these sticks would be hung on the racks in the kiln. The kiln was heated by wood burnt in one or two furnaces located outside the rear of the kiln. The heat from the furnace was piped by flue pipes into the kiln. The temperature started at 30 degrees C and finished at 74 degrees C. Humidity was manually controlled by the size of the fire, the opening of exhaust vents in the roof and fresh air vents at floor level.
The leaf would take approximately 7 days to cure and would yield about 500kg and be worth about $3,000 (yr 2000).
This kiln was kindly donated by Alf Pizzini of Eurobin and was relocated to Rotary Park in Myrtleford in 2000.
The following signage is inside the kiln:
Myrtleford's Tobacco Industry
Myrtleford was the centre of the country's tobacco production when tobacco farming ceased in Australia in October 2006. Its long history in the region helped establish communities and enabled them to prosper.
The Industry
- Growing commenced in Victoria in the 1850's.
- When the industry shut down, 95% of all tobacco grown was produced in the North East Victoria.
- The only operating sales floor and process plant in Australia was located in Myrteford.
- 4,000,000kg of tobacco was produced per year
- There were 1Z35 growers
- 80% of growers were of Italian origin
- 263 families were directly involved
- 700 seasonal workers were employed
- $90,000,000 was added to the local community
Introduction
Tobacco was an important crop in Victoria with 135 growers producing an average of four million kilograms each season.
The tobacco was produced on approximately 1400 hectares and equated to a farm gate value of $27 million (2006).
The flow-on effect to the regional community was significant All of the tobacco grown here was used domestically.
Tobacco was first grown shortly after the first fleet arrived in Sydney, but these early attempt were largely unsuccessful The Chinese grew tobacco in this area during the gold rush days of the 1850's. Interest in tobacco growing increased in the early 1930's following the introduction of American flue cured varieties.
Areas with suitable soils and climate were identified and considerable expansion occurred. Both State and Federal Governments encouraged this expansion in the 1940s, '50s and early '60s.
Many migrant families (mainly Italians) settled in this area in the 1950s and made a significant contribution to the local community.
Growing Areas
In Victoria, tobacco was grown along the river valleys of the Ovens, King and Kiewa Rivers and their tributaries. Tobacco is a member of the Solanaceae, the same family as potatoes and tomatoes. Tobacco was a high value row crop and it could grow in a wide range of climates and geographic areas given the right soil type, water quality and warm growing conditions.
Seedling Production
Tobacco seed is very small with 10-14,000 seeds per gram. Growers used to produce their own seedlings, which would be transplanted to the paddock. Over time, seedling production switched from outdoor seedbeds to a greenhouse based system.
Field Preparation & Planting
In Victoria, seedlings were planted approximately 45cm apart in rows 1.2m apart. This gave a plant population of approximately 18,000 plants per hectare. Soil preparation involved working the ground until it was a fine tilth. Planting was partially mechanised, with two or four people working on a tractor-drawn or self propelled planter. Planting occurred in Victoria from late October through to the end of November. Once the crop was planted, the land was cultivated regularly to control weeds and to allow heat and water to penetrate. Fertilizer was added both before and after planting to add the required nutrients for maximum quality and yield.
Irrigation
After planting, the crop did not require much water for the first 4-6 weeks, as it is small and establishing. After this time the crop grew rapidly and it was important that water was not lacking. The majority of irrigation systems used in Victoria were permanent overhead fixed sprays. The crop's irrigation requirements depended on seasonal conditions, variety and soil type. Irrigation systems were also used for frost protection late in the harvesting season.
Harvesting
There are a number of different styles or leaf positions on a tobacco plant. These leaf positions include lugs, cutters, subleaf, leaf and tips. These leaf positions are classified by the shape and size of the leaf and the stem as well as chemical attributes.
Tobacco is picked when leaves are 'ripe'. Leaves ripen progressively from the bottom of the plant to the top, so lugs are picked first and tips picked last. Typically tobacco is picked six times, with three leaves taken per pick and six leaves in the final pick. Picking commenced in February and finished in late April to early May depending on the seasonal conditions.
Picking was done using a "taxi-harvester". Four to six people rode on the harvester and picked the leaves by hand. Leaves were picked with the tips of the leaves all facing the same direction. These leaves were either put into hessian bags on the machine and transported to the kilns, or placed in racks on top of the machine and transported to the kiln. Labour for picking relied on casual and itinerant workers.
Curing
Tobacco is unique compared to almost all other agricultural commodities as some processing of the raw product occurred on farm. This processing was in the form of curing. Curing refers to changes undergone by harvested fresh tobacco leaves under regulated conditions of temperature and humidity.
The basic purpose in curing was to produce a stable product of suitable physical and chemical composition for use in cigarette manufacture. Up until the mid 1940s, tobacco leaf was cured in kilns shaped like this one. Heat was applied at the bottom of the kiln and distributed throughout the kiln by upward convection currents. In the early days wood fires were used as the heat source but these were later replaced with oil or LPG. These systems were very inefficient as there was no recirculation of air and heat loss through the top of the kiln was considerable. Bulk curing kilns replaced the original kilns. These kilns were airtight and heated air was recirculated under pressure through and around the leaf. A much greater quantity of leaf could be cured in this way and temperature and humidity control was more accurate. These later curing units used diesel, LPG, or recycled oil products as the fuel source.
The curing process could take from five to eight days to complete. Moisture was then added to the leaf to allow handling.
Processing
Once the bales of tobacco had been sold to the manufacturing companies at the TCV selling centre, the leaf had to be processed ready for cigarette manufacture. Threshing was the next stage of the process prior to cigarette manufacture. This process was undertaken at the Tobacco Co-operative of Victoria site in Myrtleford. Bales of tobacco were firstly preconditioned, then the tobacco passed though numerous threshing units to separate the stem from the lamina. The threshed product was then pressed into 200kg cases and packaged ready for delivery to the cigarette manufacturers in Melbourne and Sydney.
Marketing
Up to seven sales took place from March through to September, each sale being three days in duration. In the weeks before each sale, tobacco was brought in hessian bales to the Tobacco Co-operative of Victoria selling floor in Myrtleford. Bale presentation was a very important part of marketing with bales weighing approximately 105kg. The price of tobacco was based on a grade and price schedule negotiated by the Tobacco Co-operative of Victoria and the manufacturers at the start of each season. Each grade was defined according to the plant position, colour and quality. In 2005 there were 30 different prices and approximately 85 grades ranging from $8.64 to $1.50 per kilogram of tobacco.
Location
4396 Great Alpine Road, Myrtleford 3737 Map
