Henry Shoobridge (1874-1963) was the pioneer of organic farming in Tasmania[1]. He was the founder and the president of the island’s earliest organics advocacy group, the Living Soil Association of Tasmania (1946- 1960)ref name=LSAT>Paull, John (2009) The Living Soil Association: Pioneering Organic Farming and Innovating Social Inclusion. Journal of Organic Systems, 4 (1), pp. 15-33.</ref>.[1].
The Shoobridge family had emigrated from Kent, England in 1822 bringing with them the hops cuttings with which they established hops as a successful primary industry in Tasmania. Henry Shoobridge was schooled at The Friend’s School, the Quaker school in Hobart.
The Shoobridge family pioneered the farming of hops in Tasmania, and Henry followed his forebears in this work. At the age of 71 years, Henry founded the Living Soil Association of Tasmania (LSAT) at a public meeting in Hobart on 30 August 1946[2].
The Living Soil Association of Tasmania affiliated with the Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society (AOFGS) which was founded in Sydney in October 1944, and with the UK’s Soil Association which was founded in London in May 1946[3].
The Living Soil Association of Tasmania was wound up in 1960 but organic and sustainable farming has continued successfully in Tasmania.
See also
- Organic and sustainable farming
- Biodynamic Farming
- Sustainable agriculture
- Ernesto Genoni
- Lord Northbourne
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Paull, John (2010) Henry Shoobridge, Tasmania's Pioneer of Organic Farming. Journal of Bio-Dynamics Tasmania, 97: 4-10.
- ↑ Paull, John (2009) The Living Soil Association: Pioneering Organic Farming and Innovating Social Inclusion. Journal of Organic Systems, 4 (1), pp. 15-33.
- ↑ Paull, John (2013) A History of the Organic Agriculture Movement in Australia, In: Mascitelli, Bruno and Lobo, Antonio (Eds.) Organics in the Global Food Chain. Connor Court Publishing, Ballarat, Australia, chapter 3, pp. 37-61.