Mangoes

Where was the first mango found?The history of mango began thousands of years ago on the Indian subcontinent where, according to legend, the Buddha was presented with a mango grove so he could rest in the shade. Legend aside, fossil evidence indicates that the mango made its first appearance 25 to 30 million years ago in northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. In these areas mangoes have been grown for more than 4000 years and it was probably here, on the Indian subcontinent, that mangoes were first

cultivated for domestic use.

How did mango spread to other countries?According to historical reports, mango plants were taken on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia by Buddhist monks as early as the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Throughout the ages the mango gained popularity and by the tenth century AD Persian traders had taken it to the Middle East and East Africa. With the arrival of the Portuguese in India in the 15th century, it was later spread to South America, the Philippines and to West Africa. By the 1800s, the mango had found its way to Australia where it has been grown ever since. At the present day, mangoes are being cultivated commercially throughout tropical and subtropical areas of Australia and the rest of the world.

The original tree Kensington Pride was grown in Bowen, Queensland (and described in the 1960s), where it was also given the name "Pride of Bowen" and "Bowen Special".

The Australian Kensington Mango

In the latter half of the 19th century Bowen, in North Queensland, was the centre of a thriving horse trading business between North Queensland and India. The crews of the ships coming in from India bought many items back with them, including mangoes.

The Bowen Harbourmaster and Customs Officer at the time, Mr GE Sandrock, collected a quanity of mango seeds from the sailors and planted them on his property "Woodlands" just outside Bowen. As this initial stock came into fruit, seeds from the better quality and better producing trees were separately collected and Mr Sandrock gave these to a friend of his, Mr McDonald, who planted them on his property at Adelaide Point near Bowen.

A local farmer, Mr Harry Lott, selected a good stringless type of fruit from McDonald's harvests and used the seeds to start a small orchard on his property, "Kensington", in the late 1880's.

Mr Lott found that his mango variety sold well at the local markets due its smooth stringless flesh, and attempted to monopolise the variety. Other local growers unfortunately got hold of seeds by fair and foul means, and within a few years this style of mango was widely distributed through the Bowen and Burdekin regions.

The name "Kensington" has remained although this variety is also called "Bowen Special". It is easily identifiable by its large, bright orange colour, often with a red blush, and its deep orange flesh that is free of fibrous strands.

Mangoes are harvested from September to March with the peak of the season being from November to January.

• A mango tree doesn't produce fruit until it's about four years old
• Mangoes belong to the same family as the cashew and the pistachio nut.

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