The tobacco curing kiln, one of the reasons of settling in Goulburn in the early days was to grow tobacco.

The first award ever given by the (Royal) Agricultural Society was to Jonas Bradley for a hundredweight of his Negrohead Tobacco (1822).

The first instance of government protection of industry was to assist Bradley’s fledgling tobacco industry when a bounty or tarrif of six shillings per pound was imposed on imported tobacco. Imported tobacco was selling for 3 pounds 10 shillings per pound in 1791 when Jonas Bradley arrived in Sydney on the 3rd Fleet.

The Bradleys’ tobacco knowledge saved the wool industry from extinction in the 1850s. Historians say that their contribution to the wool industry in this respect ranks as of equal importance with William Farrar’s in finding a cure for rust in wheat. Bradley’s sheep-dipping regime and his land use management practices were adopted throughout Australia.

Historical ‘First’

The Bradley family (Jonas, his wife Catharine, and sons Thomas and William) were the first successful commercial growers of tobacco in Australia. They came to this district in the early 1820s - for land better-suited to growing tobacco. Tobacco was grown in this district for 100 years. 1.5 tons of locally grown tobacco was harvested and processed here in 1836.