Roseworthy College

Rural Assistance Commissioner Peter Toohey.

A time capsule sealed 50 years ago at South Australia's then Roseworthy Agricultural College is about to provide a unique insight into how cereal crop diseases mutate.

The capsule holds the first samples of the then-emerging Septoria tritici blotch, a now common wheat disease.

Plant pathologist Dr Tara Gerrard is from the South Australian Research and Development Institute.

now the Roseworthy campus of Adelaide University, I should say.

It was at Roseworthy Agricultural College 50 years ago and they put away some things they thought might be of interest in 50 years' time and we'll hear a little bit about what they uncovered over the weekend.

Also, we'll head to Keith for the offshore sale as well.

Prices were very realistic.

It just feels like a moment where we can finally breathe.

That was Isabella Kelly speaking there with Mieging Turner from South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, reflecting on what the agar bloom has meant for the oyster industry across South Australia, particularly on the Eyre Peninsula.

Now we're going to take a bit of a trip back in time to 1976 Roseworthy Agricultural College.

On Saturday, a 50-year time capsule was unearthed offering a rare glimpse into campus life and agriculture at the time.

Sure.

Um, I, uh, went to Roseworthy College at 17 straight from high school.

Wasn't really sure about the whole thing, uh, because when you get your, um, when you do matriculation back in the day, you get a job, your first job between leaving high school and going to college, and I got a job as a kitchen hand up at the Crafers Inn, uh, when it was owned by the Spain family.

And, um, I went from cutting up water buckets of hot chips and the vegetables for the Sunday roast to making prawn cocktails in two weeks.