World Records at ‘Greenhill’

..stands in weathered solitude near the packing shed door, holding its ground through the change of seasons and extensions to the buildings which have grown around it. We don’t know exactly when the tree was planted, but probably early in the history of the Yeomans family on ‘Greenhill’, which was settled in 1865. Clarrie Yeomans’ (1913 - 2012) earliest memories are of a big, established tree. Sometime in the 1920’s the Dept of Agriculture grafted up to 17 varieties onto the tree, a few of which still remain.

Visitors enjoy taking photos with the Old Pear Tree.

Ken Yeomans holding the biggest pear grown at ‘Greenhill’ - at least, the biggest officially recorded!

‘Greenhill’ has twice held the record for the world’s biggest pear –1979 and 1999. The pears were grown on the oldest pear tree on the property, which is well over 100 years old. The variety of pear is Uvedale’s St Germain, (also known as Pound pear) a very old variety with origins before 1690 and possibly back to Roman times. This variety naturally grows large pears, best suited for cooking. The world record pear was 2.13kg ( 4lb 8oz) and harvested in April, 1999.

A perfect replica - the plaster cast model is the same size and shape, but even heavier than the original pear.