Transformation

DPI officers surveying contour bank, Murgon District, 1958. Slides by John Thun, Collection of the Centre for the Government of Queensland

Soil

I used to put my dairy herd in that paddock, and if all of the cows stood in the bottom of a gully at the same time, you couldn’t see a beast in the paddock!

Pick prickly pears when deep purple. Use LONG BBQ tongs to pick and long sleeves to protect against cactus thorns. Half of a large grocery bag is enough to start with. Wash pears well - hold each pear with tongs (NOT fingers). Cut in half with sharp scissors. Fill a large pan no more than half full. Cover with water and boil until pears are soft and mushy. Run the pears through a ricer, food mill or force them through a sieve. Strain juice through cheesecloth.

25 October 2010

Before and after treatment of prickly pear in the Chinchilla area, by cactoblastis moth, May 1928 - October 1929. Collection of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

Collection of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland images API-101-01-001, API-101-01-002

This photo taken near Chinchilla about 1920 illustrates how much of a hindrance prickly pear was to settlers and why properties were often abandoned.

Collection of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland image 152651

Carting prickly pear during the 1920s drought near Kingsthorpe, for use as cattle fodder. Collection of the State Library of Queensland

Collection of the State Library of Queensland image APE-056-0001-0002

Common pest pear (Opuntia stricta var. stricta), Spiny pest pear (Opuntia stricta var.

Prickly pear, 1925

1 January 1925

25 October 2010

Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board

Map showing main prickly pear areas of Queensland and New South Wales, 1925. Australia Prickly Pear Board, The prickly pears acclimatised in Australia, Sydney, Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board, 1925

Prickly pear

The introduction and spread of exotic plant and animal species in Australia has impacted on the environment, native biodiversity and local communities, transforming the landscape.