The following business received a 2015 Generational Lord Mayor's Commendation.
The Talbot family
Business name: Rj + Ka Talbot
Business address: Stand 400 542 Footscray Rd, West Melbourne 3003
Telephone: 0407 558 804
Business email: talbot_35@hotmail.com
Company began: 1856 / Three generations
Everyone knows the saying, ‘Eat your vegetables’ but for Robert and Wayne Talbot, vegetables are a family lifeblood going back 159 years.
Rj & Ka Talbot is a vegetable grower and wholesale business which had its beginnings in the gold rush era in the 1850s. Selling vegetables to goldminers in Gippsland was successful for a while, but the gold supply eventually diminished. The Talbots moved from Rawson to Mount Waverley and continued to sell their produce to markets in Melbourne.
After a stint at the Queen Victoria Market as wholesalers, the business was relocated to its current position in West Melbourne in the 1970s. Talbots continues to supply fresh vegetables to greengrocers and other markets including the Queen Victoria Market, all within 18 hours of harvest.
Robert Talbot became proprietor 50 years ago, and now works alongside his son Wayne. Robert enjoys meeting new generations of customers who tell him that his grandfather supplied produce to their grandfathers. It’s highly likely that most Melburnians have in fact eaten a Talbot vegetable, with inner city fruit shops regularly supplied with locally grown cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce from Talbots.
Son Wayne became co-proprietor in 1997 and works alongside his father, having been involved in the business since he was 12. For Wayne, harvesting the benefits of loyal relationships among customers and greengrocers continues to be a highlight. While the lure of the goldfields may have been an attraction for the Talbots of old, it’s clear that growing and selling vegetables has served them with a long-lasting, healthy family business.