Sydney once produced its own food – but urban development has devoured the city’s food bowl

A 1970s photo of farmland in Glenorie, around 45 km from the Sydney CBD. Spatial Services NSW, CC BY-NC-ND

For much of Sydney’s history, the city supported its population with crops, orchards, dairies, abattoirs, oyster beds, wineries and market gardens scattered across the basin.

In 1951, New South Wales’ soon-to-be premier Joseph Cahill saw the development pressures building on the city’s food bowl. In parliament, he promised Sydney’s rural areas would be preserved “for vital food production […] soil conservation, irrigation, afforestation”.