Produce map
Market gardeners carting produce to market were reliant on fair weather to keep roads passable, often travelling an average distance of 3,500 to 4,000 miles annually and losing no fewer than 875 hours in productivity (equivalent to 100 working days/year) to travel time. The introduction of the rail and motor transport allowed market gardeners to reduce travelling time to 175 hours (equivalent to 22 days/year) and regain almost 2/3 of the time previously wasted through road transport.
High speed transportation by road and rail, from station to shipping point, also lowered production costs by replacing slower bullock teams. Paddle steamers were the primary means of taking produce to market before the spread of the railway. Transporting wool from up as far west as Bourke during the shearing season, river boats carried a wide assortment of cargo including livestock and passengers and settlers living along the river relied on these floating emporia for everything including clothes and food supplies.
In the 20th century, faster and cheaper modes of transport have allowed the radius of market suppliers to widen from 25 to 100 miles from any metropolis.
