Extinct' Rymer Apple Found Thriving on Australian Farm

For 70 years, Rudi Stachow ate apples from three colorful trees in his family's orchard near Majors Creek, NSW, never knowing he was tasting a piece of history experts thought was lost forever.

The Rymer apple, a large English cooking variety with smooth skin and yellowish flesh, was believed extinct before 1995. Between then and 2005, the UK-based Marcher Apple Network found just eight trees worldwide: six in Wales, one in India, and one in the United States.

Then in 2008, local cider maker Gary Sully visited the Stachow property and recognized something special. "I just thought it was nice to have these trees, so I planted some for myself," said Sully, who calls himself an "apple nerd."

But confirming the discovery required more than intuition. Last year, Sully contacted the Marcher Apple Network to verify the trees' identity through DNA testing.

The process involved cutting leaves from the Majors Creek trees, storing them in tea bags with silica gel, and shipping them overseas for analysis. Meanwhile, Stachow traced the trees' history back to 19th-century settlers Frederick and Richard Routley, who likely planted them around 1895.

Late last year, the results came back positive. Australia officially became the fourth country in the world with living Rymer trees.

"I think of all the varieties we have accredited, it was the one that was far and away the most clear cut," said Dr. Ainsleigh Rice from the Marcher Apple Network. The confirmation brought Stachow, a Vietnam veteran, to tears as childhood memories flooded back.

The Ripple Effect

The discovery means more than just preserving history. Sully has been propagating dozens of Rymer seedlings in his backyard, racing against time as the three original trees at Majors Creek show signs of rot in their trunks.

"By getting these old varieties back, you are giving plant breeders an extra arrow in their quiver," Sully explained. These rare apples could help scientists breed new varieties resistant to climate change and disease.

Sandra Rayner, who bought the former Stachow orchard in 2015, had been eating the rare apples for years without knowing their significance. "It's mind-blowing to be honest," she said, and she's happy to help whenever Sully needs fresh supplies.

Stachow accepted an invitation to the UK to celebrate the accreditation, where he told scientists, "You can form a love affair with these apples because they are so beautiful."

Thanks to one man's childhood memories and another's curiosity, a piece of agricultural history gets to grow for generations to come.