Site 12 – Bill (Willy) Lum Gum’s Market Garden
In the early years of Burren Junction, fresh fruit and vegetables were not always easy to obtain. Before refrigeration and modern transport, country towns relied heavily on local growers to supply fresh produce for families, hotels and businesses.
During the early 1900s, fruiterers such as William Battman and later George Battman supplied fresh produce to the community. Another important contributor was Bill (Willy) Lum Gum, a Chinese market gardener who established his vegetable garden on this site between Alma and Corunna Streets during the 1920s and 1930s.
Like many Chinese market gardeners throughout rural Australia, Bill Lum Gum grew fresh vegetables that were sold locally and supplied families, hotels and businesses throughout Burren Junction. Although no photographs of the market garden are known to survive, the site remains an important reminder of the contribution made by Chinese Australians to rural communities across New South Wales.
One of the most touching memories of Bill Lum Gum comes from local resident John McGee in My Childhood at Burren Junction 1925–1943:
“The house belonging to Tom Atkinson was on the block, which was originally the Chinaman’s garden of Willie Gum. He would receive records from China and play them on our wind-up gramophone – a hilarious experience for me. He was one of my mother’s ‘lame dogs’ – anyone who needed a hand was helped by her, irrespective of class, colour or creed.”
This wonderful recollection reminds us that Bill Lum Gum was far more than a market gardener. He was a respected member of the Burren Junction community whose friendship and contribution were remembered long after the gardens had disappeared.
Today, a private residence occupies the site where fresh vegetables were once grown. Although the market garden has long since vanished, this location remains an important reminder of the hardworking Chinese Australians who helped sustain rural communities and contributed quietly, but significantly, to the development of Burren Junction.
Historical information sourced primarily from Visions of the Plains – A History of Burren Junction and District (2nd Edition) by Judy Field and My Childhood at Burren Junction 1925–1943 by John McGee, together with local community recollections.
Photographs
Photo
The Site Today
The former site of Bill (Willy) Lum Gum’s market garden as it appears today. A private residence now occupies the land where fresh vegetables were once grown for the Burren Junction community.
Photo
Historic Photograph
The house that later occupied the former market garden site. Although no photographs of Bill Lum Gum’s vegetable garden are known to survive, this image preserves the history of a location that once played an important role in supplying fresh produce to the town.