Attempts were made to ship salmon ova from England to Australia and Tasmania in 1849, 1852 and 1862 but none reached the colonies alive.
After experiments on freezing salmon ova for 100 days by Mr Frank Buckland, the noted English fish culturist, a further attempt was made in 1864.
The eggs were packed in perforated wooden boxes made of one inch pine, measuring 12″ x 8″ x 5″. At the bottom of each box was a layer of charcoal, next a layer of broken ice, then a layer of living moss. On this the eggs were lightly distributed, covered by another layer of moss and the box topped up with a layer of broken ice.
The ship the “Norfolk” departed London on 21 January 1864 and arrived at Melbourne on 15 April 1864 with 3,000 trout and 100,000 salmon ova.
The trout ova were transported to Hobart, Tasmania in the steamship “Victoria” and transported to hatching boxes and breeding ponds that had been prepared in the River Plenty.
On the 4th day of May 1864 the first trout hatched in Australia.
The trout ova were transported to Hobart, Tasmania in the steamship “Victoria” and transported to hatching boxes and breeding ponds that had been prepared in the River Plenty.
Last modified: July 18, 2026