15/05/2026
What's on the history menu - Pumpkins. Eat Your History, seven course degustation menu on 6th June. www.heritageventures.com.au/eathistory Pumpkins were grown widely in the early colony and along the Hawkesbury River as a crucial staple food. Transported on the First Fleet in 1788 they thrived in the climate, while other crops struggled. Marine officer Watkin Tench described them growing even in Sydney 'with unbounded luxuriancy'.
Pumpkin Point is downstream from Gentleman Halt and at the entrance to Pumpkin Point Creek. What's in the name? Pumpkins may have been grown up Pumpkin Point creek and thus so named. Another suggestion is that the name derives from pumpkins and other produce from the market gardens further upstream being stuck at this point.
Early settlers used pumpkin in various ways, including in pies. However, this was often a savory application rather than a sweet dessert. By the late 19th century, a related dish known as 'gramma pie' using a type of squash or pumpkin became common, particularly in New South Wales. An 1885 recipe for this included boiling the fruit, placing it in a pie dish, and adding lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and milk.
Riverboats such as SS Surprise picked up and delivered produce such as corn, watermelons and pumpkins stopping at wharves along the river, including along Pumpkin Point Creek.
