A century of improvement in the quality of Australian wheat

The Australian wheat industry got off to an inauspicious start. The first crop of wheat of about six acres planted at Farm Cove in 1789 failed to meet expectations for yield due to drought (Callaghan and Millington, 1956). James Ruse who had completed his sentence in 1789 was granted 30 acres of land at Rose Hill near Parramatta in 1790 where he successfully established crops of wheat and maize.