Ralph Levesque – Market Gardener and Inventor
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“It may not be generally known that we have in our district a gentleman who may well be termed a tomato specialist, in the person of Mr R S Levesque of Hautapu. Mr Levesque has made a careful study of tomato culture, from all its various aspects for many years now, and has been signally successful in his work, the result of which speaks for itself.”
Waikato Independent, 4 October 1921
And to prove it, we have the photos! Bruce Wiseman has donated early images of Ralph Levesque working inside and outside his stove-heated and unheated glasshouses in Wiseman Road, Cambridge.
The Waikato Independent 4/10/1921 reported that Levesque planted his tomato seeds in boxes and placed them in heated glasshouses to germinate. After a few days, they were “picked out” and transplanted, giving them room for robust growth. They were soon shifted to unheated glasshouses, making them hardy wherever they were finally planted.
CM4783/5: Boiler used for heating the glasshouse
CM4783/6 Steam rising from “the sterilisation of the ground” according to notes on the back of this photo.
Ralph and wife Edith married in c1903 and began their nursery by growing gooseberries and strawberries. In 1919, they switched to tomatoes, and flowers which Edith sold in her jointly owned (with Mrs T Mitchell) florist shop on Victoria Street, Cambridge.
Ralph Levesque was an innovator. Client E Griffiths of the Goodwood Jersey Farm wrote in a letter dated 13/9/1920: “Mr R S Levesque installed for me on my Hautapu farm early in January, one of his patent Wind-mills. Since installation it has continuously pumped water for upwards of 40 head of cattle, and has never given a moment’s anxiety. It seems to run in the lightest breeze and does not race in a gale. It is practically noiseless and has given entire satisfaction.” In our photograph (CM4783/12) of the windmill, we can see written on one of the blades “R.S. Levesque’s Patent 1918”
CM4783/12: Windmill. On one of the blades is written “R.S. Levesque’s Patent 1918”.
Ralph and Edith had no children. Ralph passed away in March 1970 in Tauranga, where the couple had moved to retire.
Ralph’s brother James Levesque, with his wife and family, also lived for many years in Cambridge. James farmed, grew strawberries and tomatoes, and later took on the Fencourt mail run. In 1965, James returned to Cambridge after retiring in Tauranga. He said that, apart from the trees growing bigger, Fencourt hadn’t changed at all in 25 years.
Written by Karen Payne for the February 2026 newsletter for the Cambridge Historical Society.