Report Of The Commissioner Of Inquiry On The State Of Agriculture And Trade In The Colony Of New South Wales

"Report on the State of Agriculture and Trade in New South Wales" is the third report by English judge and royal commissioner John Thomas Bigge on the state of affairs in the colonies. His inquiry started as several wealthy landowners, mainly John Macarthur, complained about the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie. The latter was famous for his policies of remediating ex-convicts back into society, creating a lack of a cheap and free workforce for the landowners. Bigge's reports condemned Macquarie for his emancipated views and support of ex-convicts, which led to Macquarie's resignation and turned the colonies into dreaded places of isolation and punishment for the convicts.

Before 1950, Australians were the world’s highest consumers of tea per capita. This book tells the story of how tea emerged as the national beverage in the Australian colonies during the nineteenth century, and explores why Australians consumed so much of the beverage for so long. Special attention is devoted to analysing the evolution of the Australian tea distribution network, especially the marketing strategies used by the tea traders to promote their products. Other topics examined here include the development of tea rituals such as afternoon tea and high tea and their role in Australian society, the local manufacture of teawares, the establishment of tea rooms and the emergence of a tea growing industry in Australia after 1960. The first comprehensive account of the history of tea in Australia, this book will be of particular interest to individuals interested in Australian history, economic and social history, and food history.