Many Canberrans will be familiar with the row of Tocumwal houses on Miller Street in O’Connor.
The Precinct is listed on the ACT Heritage Places Register as the weatherboard cottages were
built in early 1942 for a US Army Air Corps base at Tocumwal on the NSW side of the Murray
River. Due to the acute housing shortage in Canberra after WWll, the Commonwealth government
began transporting 200 of the houses to the Capital and many of these houses in O’Connor were
grouped around a central reserve.

The tree-lined park is behind eight cul de sacs and a Canberra Tracks heritage sign is printed with
old photos and reminiscences from family members of the Tocumwal houses. In the past there
were paddocks with horses and a farm with wandering sheep on surrounding land.

The convenor of additional plantings in the O’Connor Communty Orchard is Claudia Guszich, who
has lived in the area since 1999. In spring 2014 that Claudia started a Landcare Group to help care
for the plants within the park’s sensory garden and gum tree walk.

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) offered funding for Craft Your Park Play
Space makeovers which promoted opportunities for creative play using natural elements. The park
(off Finn Street) was chosen as one of three recipients. Local landscape architects SpaceLab
worked with AILA and the ACT government and engaged the O’Connor Cooperative School and
local community to come with ideas for a nature play space design. The opening Parties in the
Park was held last August. Along a winding pathway are fruit trees, play equipment of logs, a
curving river-stone dry creek bed with wooden bridge, and an amphitheatre of flat rocks as seats.
Towards the eastern end of the park is the orchard. The original plantings, thirty-eight years ago,
include an apricot, plum tree, three almonds, two olive trees, an old quince, three Nashi pears, one
Packham pear tree and a more recent fig tree.

A grant from the ACT government Sustainability Program and donations from the local O’Connor
community meant that new fruit tree plantings in the orchard area include four extra plum trees, an
apricot, cherry trees, two more almond trees near the amphitheatre and a loquat.

Claudia Guszich said the old orchard was brought back to life over two months through
coordinated working bees held several times on weekends. Everything is well mulched. Money
raised through door knocking the local Tocumwal houses and donations received from O’Connor
Community Inc and BodyRite Mobile Personal Training, provided new fruit tree plantings including
four extra plum trees, an apricot, cherry trees, two more almond trees near the amphitheatre and a
loquat. The adjacent O’Connor Cooperative School after-school care group is taken into the park
and some school lessons are held there.

Last year’s ACT government Community Gardens Grant means all the orchard trees are also
surrounded by companion plantings and pest control plants, with edible ground-covers and silver
beet, snow peas and herbs. They were chosen to be compatible with the trees and to add an extra
splash of colour. Thirty community members have adopted a tree and do the planting and watering
which has been an opportunity to meet other locals and chat. Some come with watering cans,
wheelbarrows filled with water containers or two-litre milk bottles.

The plants have to be hardy as possums live next door to the park which is also filled with hungry
birds. The community is welcome to take some fruit from time to time but when there was recently
a good crop of olives, after harvesting by five families, the olives were offered to the community for
home brining and curing.

First stop on your way to the park could be Sonoma bakery in Braddon. Their flat white is made
from the Body Blend beans which seems like a good way to start an exploratory outing. Buy a
savoury tart and half a loaf of (sliced) Miche bread, their malted barley sourdough loaf. Then you
need a topping.

At home in O’Connor, Claudia’s partner, Geoff Gilfillan, tends a beautiful garden with apricot, peach
and Japanese plum trees so each year they make jam with the fruit. The couple uses a Breville
Breadmaker BBM800 for easy jam making and the novel recipe supplies three jars of delicious
conserve.

500g chopped fruit (apricot, peach or plum)
one-and-two-thirds cup sugar
1.5 tbsp Jamsetta

With the jam mixing blade in position inside the bread pan, add the ingredients to the bread pan.
Insert the bread pan into position inside the baking chamber and close the lid. Press 'Select' to
access the 'Jam' setting. Press 'Start/Pause' to commence operation. After pre-heating, the jam will
be heated and mixed for approximately 50 minutes. The entire setting takes 65 minutes. Press
'Stop'. Use oven mitts to remove the bread pan. Pour the hot jam into warm, dry, sterilised jars.
Seal immediately, and label.