Further info.
Yahl is near Mt Gambier, seems there was quite a hop industry there.
"An Essay on South East Hop Gardens
In May 1868 the Editor of the Border Watch observed that the cultivation of hops at Lobethal had been "attended with complete success"and suggested to farmers in this district the desirability of "forming upon their lands some plantations forthwith."
Mr T. Williams, Dr Browne's manager at Moorak, claimed he was responsible for its introduction into the district in 1868 and at times he made up to 50 per acre off the land - not, however, reckoning for the cost of production:
We hear that Mr Thomas Williams is about to try the experiment of growing hops in the Yahl Paddock. He has just received a parcel of 1,000 prime plants from Tasmania and these will be set out on a suitable piece of ground under the direction of an experienced hop grower. The result of this trial will be watched with much interest.
However, Mr James Kilsby contended he had grown hops at Bentleyville, out past Glenburnie, since the early 1860s and in 1880 had 10 acres under cultivation from which, at times, he obtained a yield of up to 17 cwt. to the acre, when at that time the average yield was 7 to 8 cwt. per acre.
Mr Thomas Williams commenced hop picking at Yahl Paddock on 18 March 1870 and his produce was commented upon favourably by the Adelaide Press:
These Yahl hops are in excellent order and have the most fragrant odour... [He] has arranged for the sale of the whole of his season's growth at two shillings and two pence per pound... If other agriculturists do not follow his example they deserve to have their pockets empty forever. Their is no fear of overstocking the market.
His success was such that in 1871 several nearby farmers were induced to commence cultivation and, accordingly, 10,000 poles [were] carted this season from the Kilbride Run, 25 to 30 miles distant, for the hop gardens here.? By 1872 he had built a double drying kiln on his property, measuring 38 by 18 feet on the floor at a cost of 300, and ?we should like to see the experiment Mr Williams has carried out so patiently and satisfactorily taken up and worked out in other likely localities." The picking was done by women and children who were paid at the rate of three pence per bushel and they earned about five shilling a day.
With this success other farmers took up the challenge and, when the industry became established, the hop gardens were situated within the limits of the Mount Gambier East Council and within the area of the volcanic ash. The yield in a single year was sometimes worth 40 to 50 per acre - equal to the price of the land. The climate was favourable and, although hop yields were uncertain, a good average crop was far more to be depended upon than in the county of Kent and other districts of the old country. But, unfortunately, the cost of production an in-gathering was great and the industry failed to develop to any great extent. In the 1870s it was thought that fortunes were to be made but the total district yield in 1879 was only 229 hundredweight as against 18,000 tons of potatoes.
A visitor to the district in 1875 was impressed with the numerous hop gardens, some consisting of small plots of half an acre near farm houses and others extending upwards to 16 acres. The largest was at Moorak under the management of Mr Williams while the Bentley Hop Gardens owned by Mr Kilsby produced about 1,500 lbs. per acre on his eight acre holding of a "silver grape" variety obtained from Tasmania. At this time it was thought that fortunes were to be made but the total district yield in 1879 was only 229 hundredweight as against 18,000 tons of potatoes."
FROM HERE
