Olive trees have been in Australia since the early 1800s throughout the southern parts of the country. Over the decades, some olive trees have sprung up from seed, rather than being propagated by grafting.
Olive trees were first planted in Adelaide in 1838. In 1856, Adelaide City Council started planting olive trees on city parkland; by the 1890s, there were over 30,000 alone on this city parkland. In some parts, olive trees grow wild along roadsides, though various governments over the years recently have been cutting them down.
Opinions vary on the worth of these wild olives: government officials and producers aren’t crazy about them, because the oil yield can vary and be low. Food writers and gourmets, though, say that though Australian olive oil can be bland in general compared to European oils, oil from wild olives has a really good taste, so pronounced even that it is best used in small quantities as a flavouring oil.