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Fruit Picking Jobs in Australia


Guest The Pom Queen

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Guest The Pom Queen

A lot of our members are not sure where to look for their fruit picking jobs. If you look in the WHV job vacancies section of the site that will provide you with contacts. Below is a list of where the jobs are according to season and area.

 

When & where to go for fruit picking

 

Before you are going to look for a fruit picking job, it would be useful to determine where you would like to go to. There are many possibilities of different fruit picking jobs as Australia is a huge country with numerous different landscapes and weather conditions.

 

Queensland

Queensland grows 1/3 of the nation’s fruit and vegetables. Farmers hire migrant workers, fruit & vegetables pickers and other (experienced) farmhands. Farm work varies across the Queensland region – the farmers grow sugar cane, beans, seasonal fruits and vegetables, also cattle, cotton and wool.

 

In Tully they grow many bananas. Tully is located 180 kilometres south of Cairns and is known for being the wettest place in Australia, receiving an average of 4134 mm of rain per year. In the Tully area there are lots of beautiful beach towns such as Mission Beach and Bingal Bay. The Tully River is also famous among people who are crazy about rafting!

 

From Stanthorpe in the south to the Atherton Tablelands in the far North; more than 120 types of fruit and vegetable are picked and packed in the state every year all year round so new and motivated workers are needed to fill a variety of fruit picking and harvest jobs.

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Dec – Jan: Bananas/ Sugar, Innisfail/ Tully

Feb – Mar: Pears/ Apples Stanthorpe

Feb – Apr: Rockmelon, St. George

Feb – Apr: Ginger, Sunshine Coast

Mar – Dec: Vegetables, Bundaberg

Apr – Jun: Citrus, Gayandah/ Mundubbera

Apr – Oct: All sorts, Lockyer Valley

Apr – Nov: Beans, Mary Valley

Apr – Dec: Tomatoes/ Vegetables, Bowen/ Ayr

May – Oct: Broccoli, Toowoomba

May – Dec: Sugar Cane, Ayr/ Ingham/ Innisfail

Jul – Sep: Ginger, Sunshine Coast

Jul – Dec: Onions, Lockyer Valley

Nov – Feb: Mangoes/ Lychees/ Avocados/ Bananas, Mareeba

Nov – Jan: Plums, Stanhorpe

Nov – Jan: Cotton, Goodiwindi/ St. George

Oct – Jan: Peaches, Stanthorpe

Nov – Mar: Cotton, Toowoomba/ Millerran

Dec – Mar: All sorts, Stanthorpe

 

 

New South Wales

New South Wales is one of best places to find seasonal farm jobs in Australia. The main produce in New South Wales include sheep, cattle, pigs, hay, apples, cherries, pears, legumes, maize, nuts, wool, wheat, and rice. Farmhands, migrant workers, fruit pickers, and vegetable pickers may all find work across New South Wales in fields and on ranches. November to April is the busiest harvest period which peaks in February. However, the harvest differs per crop.

 

For example – Griffith is a thriving agricultural and industrial city boasting the third largest population in the Riverina region and many well regarded wineries. Next to grape picking it’s also possible to do orange picking or onion picking at different times of the year. Griffith is located approximately 600 kilometres west of Sydney. This country town is well known for its food, wine and festivals.

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Jan – Mar: Stone Fruit, Young

Feb – Mar: Grapes, Griffith/ Leeton

Feb – Mar: Pears, Orange

Feb – Mar: Grapes, Hunter Valley

Feb – Mar: Prunes, Young

Feb – April: Apples, Orange

Mar – Apr: Grapes, Tumbarumba

Mar – May: Apples, Batlow

Mar – Jun: Cotton Picking, Narrabri/ Mooree

Sep – Oct: Asparagus, Gundagai

Sep – Dec: Asparagus, Cowra

Sep – Apr: Oranges, Griffith

Nov – Dec: Cherries, Young/ Orange

Nov – Apr: Oranges, Lecton

Dec – Jan: Onions, Griffith

Dec – Mar: Stone Fruit, Tumut/ Batlow

Dec – Apr: Blueberries, Tumbarumba

 

 

Victoria

November to April (peaking in February) is the main season for fruit and vegetable picking jobs in Victoria. There is plenty of work in the central northern areas around Shepparton. The Murray River area is also a great area to look for work; places such as Mildura and Swan Hill often require fruit picking / harvest workers. Main harvests in these areas include orchard fruits, tomatoes, tobacco, grapes and soft fruits.

 

Fruit picking in Cobram – “Cobram is a large fruit growing area situated on the Murray River just 250 kilometres north of Melbourne. This region is well known for its irrigated fruit and dairy with large areas of stone fruit varieties. The small farm area expanded after WWII , when a significant number of Italian immigrants arrived and established themselves in the farming community.

 

Fruit picking Yarra Valley in Victoria – “This valley is about 40 kilometres north east of Melbourne. A large variety of cool climate crops have traditionally been grown in the Valley and there are more than 80 vineyards and wineries in the Valley with many different selections of wines.”

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Jan – Apr: Pears/ Peaches/ Apples, Ardmona/ Shepparton/ Tatura/ Cobram/ Invergordon/ Kyabram

Jan – Apr: Tomatoes, Ardmona/ Shepparton/ Tatura/ Kyabram/ Echuca/ Rochester/ Elmore

Jan – Apr: Tobacco, Ovens/ King & Kiewa Valleys

Feb – Mar: Grapes, Lake Boga/ Nyah West/ Swan Hill/ Robinvale Sunraysia Area

Feb – Apr: Grapes, Ovens/ King& Jiewa Valleys

Mar – Apr: Apples, Buckland Valley/ Stanley/ Wandilong/ Red Hill/ Main Range

Sep – Nov: Asparagus, Dalmore

Oct – Dec: Strawberries, Silvan

Nov – Feb: Cherries/ Berries, Wandin/ Silvan

Nov – Feb: Cherries, Boweya/ Glenrowan/ Wagandary

Nov – Dec: Tomato Weeding, Echuca/ Rochester

 

 

Tasmania

Tasmania is all about apples. It grows almost a fifth of the apples in Australia, approximately 55,000 tonnes every year. The main areas are in the Huon district South of Hobart. Tasmania has a relatively short fruit picking season, generally from December to the end of May, fruit picking and harvest jobs are available all around Tasmania. As well as picking apples there are also pears, stone fruits, hops, grapes, berries and much more.

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Mar – May: Apples, Hunter Valley/ Tasman Peninsula/ West Tamar

Dec – Jan: Soft Fruit, Channel District/ Huon/ Kingborough/ Derwent Valley

Feb – Apr: Grapes, Huon/ Tamar Valley

Mar – Apr: Hops, Scottsdale/ New Norfolk/ Devenport

Jan – Feb: Scallop Splitting, Bicheno

 

 

South Australia

South Australia offers fruit and vegetable picking jobs all year around e.g. picking citrus and soft fruits such as raspberries and strawberries around the Riverland area. February to April work is available around The Barossa Valley picking and packing the grapes.

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Jan – Mar: Dried Fruits, Riverland

Feb – Apr: Apples & Pears, Adelaide Hills

Feb – Apr: Grapes & Peaches, Riverland

Feb – Apr: Grapes, Barossa Valley

Feb – Apr: Grapes, Southern Vales

Feb – Aug: Brussels Sprouts, Adelaide Hills

Jun – Aug: Oranges, Riverland

Jun – Sep: Pruning, Riverland

Sep – Jan: Oranges, Riverland

Oct – Feb: Strawberries, Adelaide Hills

Dec – Feb: Apricots, Riverland

 

 

Western Australia

Fruit picking and harvest jobs are available in the Southwest of the state. From October to June you can harvest grapes and orchard fruits. March to November there is also fishing and processing work available for crayfish, prawns and scallops between Fremantle and Carnarvon. From May to October head northeast, around Kununurra for harvest jobs and fruit picking.

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Jan – Mar: Grapes, Margaret River/ Mt Barker/ Swan Valley

Mar – May: Apples & Pears, Manjimup/ Pemberton/ Donnybrook

Mar – Oct: Prawning & Scalloping, Carnarvon

May – Sept: Zucchini & Rockmelons, Kununurra

Apr – Nov: Melons, Coorow

Jun – Dec: Melons & Tomatoes, Carnarvon

Jul – Aug: Bananas, Kununurra

Jul – Dec: Wildflowers, Coorow/ Muchea

Oct – Jan: Mangoes, Kununurra

All Year: Fishing, Broome

Nov – Jun: Rock Lobster, Fremantle/ Kalbarri/ Dongara Geraldton/ Broome

 

 

Northern Territory

May to October picking melons around Katherine and Darwin is popular. From October to November head to Katherine and Darwin for mango picking and packing jobs as well as citrus and bananas which are grown all year around there.

 

Harvest / Crop / Location

 

Mar – Oct: Melons, Katherine/ Darwin

Oct – Nov: Mangos, Katherine/ Darwin

All year: Citrus, Katherine/ Darwin

All year: Bananas, Katherine/ Darwin

All year: Asian vegetables, Darwin

All year: Cutting wildflowers, Darwin

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