Leslie Brunning, a grandson of George, revised and enlarged the original edition of W. Adamson’s “Australian Gardener.”As “Brunnings Australian Gardener” it became well known throughout Australia and ran to over 30 editions. The Start at Somerville William Brunning, the third youngest of the Lowestoft family, sailed from England on the “Royal Charter”, arriving in Melbourne on 28 December, 1858. He began working in St. Kilda with his brothers but, as the nurseries expanded, there was insufficient room to grow enough fruit trees to meet the demand. Accordingly, in 1865 William sailed from Melbourne to Schnapper Point from where, accompanied by his four year old son, John, he walked overland to Somerville. There he bought two lots: one south of today’s One Chain Road and another on the south-east corner of Bungower and Lower Somerville Roads. More blocks were taken up by settlers around Somerville and in 1866 William cut his ties with “St. Kilda Nurseries”, establishing what became known as John Brunning and Sons “Somerville Nurseries.” As well as supplying the nursery at St. Kilda with fruit trees, they also supplied their own customers throughout Australia and worldwide including Argentina, England, Mauritius, India, New Zealand, Burma, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and parts of Africa. The business grew to be one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. A list of customers which has survived since 1918 shows that in that year, the war time manpower shortage notwithstanding, John Brunning and Sons supplied 53 customers scattered across Australia. Apart from George Brunning and Sons in St. Kilda (4,463 trees) private orders ranged from D.Kane of Shepparton (5,440 trees) to McAppes Bros. of Pakenham (8 trees). Above: Brunnings seed and bulb manual, 1911. Left: The Australian Gardener, 1924 edition. Below: George Brunning and Sons Nursery, Brighton Road, St. Kilda.
E ssence
80 | PENINSULA
November 2016
William Brunning, Shepherd and Sons and Thomas Thornell, all from Somerville, sent cases of apples to England by boat in 1886 for the “Colonial and Indian Exhibition” in London; this was the first consignment to be sent to England. William Brunning had married Ellen Holmyard and they brought up their four children in Somerville. Although two of the girls (Lucy and Elinore) were to remain involved in the fruit industry after they married, it was left to the only son, John, to further develop the business. The third daughter (Annie) did not marry. William Brunning died at Somerville in 1890 at the age of 49.