Australian Vol. 18 No. 1 July/ August 2006 Editorial Advisory Panel Convener Anne Latreille Members Richard Aitken Paul Fox David Jones Megan Martin Prue Slatyer Christopher Vernon Cover: Dome Elisabeth Murdoch in her much-loved garden Cruden Farm. Photo: Tony Fawcett I n 2003 the NMC began a quiet flow of letters to support the campaign to conserve Recherche Bay, a process that quickened following our request for Emergency Heritage Listing of the area in December 2004. Ours was just one voice among many who ardently called for the conservation of this area of national and international significance. In our last issue you will have read of the wonderful co-operation across a broad political spectrum and the generous loan by Dick and Pip Smith that enabled the purchase of Recherche Bay through the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. Recherche Bay is significant as the place of the very first landfall of the d’Entrecasteaux expedition and where naturalist Jacques-Julien Labiltardiere (pictured right) began collecting for what would become the first published general flora of New Holland. The principal duty of gardener Felix Delahaye was to collect useful seeds and seedlings. Historian Ed Duyker explained in Explorations number 37 2 Australian Garden History July/August2006 V0I.18N0.1 NATIONAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE that Delahaye had also been specifically instructed that one of his tasks during the expedition was to plant seeds “in places which appear to him to be most favourable to their multiplication in New Holland and choose localities where it is probable that European vessels will be able to call”. In May 1792 he planted seeds in a garden 28 feet square as well as having “large quantities sown everywhere in the woods”. For Australian garden historians, this is a place of historical significance but it is not the site of the garden alone that is important. It is the landscape as a whole with its ability to convey some sense of the awe the French explorers experienced at the sight of the “ancient forests” and their enthusiasm at the botanical richness of the peninsula, combined with events that took place over their two visits, that make this an area of exceptional significance. Recherche Bay is a place of outstanding beauty evoking stories of exploration, of scientific and botanical endeavour, of 18th century attitudes to acclimatisation and contact between the French and the Indigenous inhabitants as well as later stories of forestry and activism. The NMC were delighted to approve a donation of $2,000 toward the purchase of Recherche Bay and a commitment to maintaining an active interest in the future management and interpretation of this extraordinary landscape. Ours is a small donation per individual member and so we are pleased to include a form for members to make personal donations to ensure the purchase and management of Recherche Bay for future generations. Visions and Voices, the special 25th Anniversary issue, is a fitting finale to Nina Crone’s years in the role of editor. All our members know that Nina is a most active member and has been an editor dedicated to maintainingthe high standard we have come to expect of our prime publication. Nina’s commitment to the Society continues as she has generously agreed to be co-opted onto the NMC to assist us with publicity, promotion and sponsorship. It is with great pleasure that I welcome our new editor, Tony Fawcett, to Australian Garden History. Editors bring their own experience and strength to subtly shape the journal in a positive way and we look forward to a productive partnership. Colleen Morris 8 June 2006 CONTENTS The case of the missing notebook Colin Mills .4 Conifei charisma David Jones . 8 Dame Elisabeth’s garden haven; the Walling legacy Lyn Johnson . 14 Meet our new patrons.20 For the bookshelf..1.21 Diary dates.22 Around & about.23 25th Anniversary picnic.24 Chair Colleen Morris Vice-Chair Max Bou rke Treasurer Malcolm Paul Secretary Di Wilkins Elected Members Max Bourke ACT Malcolm Paul VIC Sarah Lucas NSW Colleen Morris NSW Stuart Read NSW Christine Reid VIC Di Wilkins SA State Representatives lill ScheetzACT Cecily Dean QLD Wendy loynerSA Ivan SaltmarshTAS Wendy Dwyer VIC Edith Young WA BRANCH CONTACTS ACT/Monaro/Riverina Branch Madeleine Maple PO Box 4055 Manuka ACT 2603 mmaple@netspeed.com.au Queensland Branch Elspeth Douglas 4 Cintra Street Eastern Heights QLD 4305 Ph: (07) 3282 9762 South Australian Branch Di Wilkins 39 Elizabeth Street Eastwood SA 5068 Ph: (08) 8272 9381 di_wilkins@bigpond.com Southern Highlands Branch Chris Webb PO Box 707 Moss Vale NSW 2577 Ph: (02) 48614899 cwebb@cwebb.com.au Sydney & Northern NSW Stuart Read Ph: (w) (02)98738554 stuart.read@heritage.nsw.gov.au Tasmanian Branch Ivan Saltmarsh 125 Channel Road TaroonaTAS 7053 Ph: (03) 6227 8515 ivanof@bigpond.com Victorian Branch Pamela Jellie 5 Claremont Crescent Canterbury VIC 3126 Ph:(03) 98361881 pdjellie@hotmail.com Western Australian Branch Sue Monger 9 Rosser Street Cottesloe, WA 6011 Vol. 18 No. 1 )uly/August 2006 Australian Garden History 3 ^4 fy- case of the MISSING NOTEBOOK A breakthrough discovery sheds new light on one of Australia’s earliest and brightest botanists. COLIN MILLS, the researcher who made the fascinating find, reports J ohnCarne Bidwillarrived in Sydney in late 1838 and spent most of the next 15 years in the colony of New South Wales. He died at Tinana, in the northern NSW district of Wide Bay (now in Queensland) on the 16th of March, 1853, aged 38. He was highly thought of as a botanist, horticulturalist and hybridiser by his friends and contemporaries in Australia, notably William Macarthur and Philip Parker King, and by such English botanical luminaries as William Herbert, Sir William Hooker and John Lindley. Following his death Lindley wrote of him: “As an ardent botanist, his death demands a record in these pages. He was a young man of singularly acute perception, as well as of indomitable energy.” His life in Australia and his botanical and horticultural achievements are well summarised by, among others, Herbert, Mabberley, Blake and Maiden. But his work was known only through his letters to The Gardener’s Chronicle, his own correspondence and that of his friends and colleagues, and his single book. Rambles in New Zealand, published in 1842. His recently discovered horticultural and botanical notebook adds substantially to the hitherto scanty record. Finding the notebook My particular research interest is the plants grown by William Macarthur and I have gained considerable insights from the pencil notations that he was in the habit of making in his books, prompting me to locate his botanical library, dispersed in 1969. Much of it is now held in the Special Collection of the National Herbarium, Canberra, ACT. I found the until-then- unrecognised notebook bound with a first edition of William Herbert’s Amaryllidaceae, the latter signed on the flyleaf J. C. Bidwill, Sydney, 1840. The combined book is inscribed on the spine Herbert on Bulbous Plants. I had assumed that the copy of Amaryllidaceae I was seeking had been William Macarthur’s own but it seems probable that both it and the notebook passed to Macarthur on the death of Bidwill and that he bound both documents into the single volume that exists today. The handwriting of the notebook is unmistakably that of Bidwill. What it contains The notebook consists of 93 double pages plus eight pages of index, although most pages are blank. The period covered is c.1841 to 1853 although the bulk of the notes are for 1841 to 1846 and deal mainly with the Amaryllidaceae, being a mix of commentary and descriptions of species, varieties and hybridisation experiments. There are several cross-references to Herbert’s book Amaryllidaceae. Entries in 1852 and 1853 describe experiments with the seeds of bananas and a comparison of 13 varieties of pineapple carried out at Bidwill’s garden at Tinana. Bidwill’s bent for Amaryllis belladonna Bidwili describes four varieties of A. belladonna growing in Sydney and presumably used one or more of them in his hybridisation work, although he does not specify which. The varieties were: “common short pink with narrow leaves - early”; “broad leaved pink later”; “broad leaved striped with very tall scape”; “pure white variety-leaves broad - scape short-flowers larger than any of the others not fading to pink, capsule nearly twice as long”. These descriptions are broadly consistent with 4 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 Vol. 18 No. 1 ff‘ V*y naturally-occurring varieties, which vary in colour from deep rose-pink to white, often with darker veining of the segments. Although this note is undated it was almost certainty written in the early 1840s and may be the first reference to a pure white-flowered A. belladonna. Bidwill may have ^ confused other species with A. belladonna * although I think that this is unlikely. Quest for a whole new range of Amaryllis belladonna hybrids Bidwill’s hybridisation covered a wide range of plants and as much of it was carried out in the gardens of friends, particularly William Macarthur, it is sometimes difficult to determine if a particular cross was achieved by him or one of his friends. None of his work has generated as much interest and controversy as his claims to have raised hybrid Amaryllis belladonna with both Brunsvigia josepbinae and a species called by him Brunsvigia multiflora, probably Brunsvigia orientalis (L.) Ait. ex Ecklon, synonym Brunsvigia multiflora Ait., the name used by Herbert in his review of the genus. Q Most late 19th and early 20th century commentators considered Bidwill’s crosses to be forerunners of the multiflora Amaryllis hybrids, characterised by their vigour and hardiness, a large number of flowers per scape on a radial umbel, sometimes 20 or more compared with 10 or less in A belladonna, often more vivid colours than A. belladonna, although ranging from white to almost crimson, a characteristic yellow to almost orange throat, and often, broader segments with more rounded apices. Bidwill describes in the notebook in some detail his first generation crosses between A. belladonna and Brunsvigia species (See extract right). His description of Amaryllis ‘Ameliae’, the most While perhaps puzzling to many, Bidwill’s notes on his A belladonna crosses will likely fascinate hybridisers with a sense of history. (His original notes were handwritten). “A. belladonna by A. josephiniana. This cross is easily affected - a much larger quantity of seeds are borne by A. belladonna when impregnated by A. Josephiniana or Brunsvigia multi flora than are ever produced in a naturally impregnated seed vessel - the seedlings are not very distinguishable from the pure ones of the same plants; there are however many different looking plants among the seedlings so that we may expect considerable variety in the flowers-some are at least 5 times as large as others - some have broad, some narrow leaves - Oct 20/42. At this time their second hibernation is commencing the bulbs vary from 1 by_ to 3 by 1 inch in size. March 1847. Flowered at Camden - see Amaryllis Ameliae pz. Amaryllis Ameliae orjosephini-belladonna (see p. 4) flowered in March 1847. Named in complement to Mrs James Macarthur. Scape 18 inches high, section elliptic, spathe purplish green, rather persistent, peduncles 3-inch]; germen triangular, angles rounded - corolla 4 inches[10.2cm] - segments_ inch wide, 2 uppersepaline segments re flexed as in josephiniana - colour purplish rose variegated with white, but turning dark after expansion - stamens ljnch shorter than segments of corolla, white at base - coloured at tips-Anthers purple before bursting-Pollen hardly (word indecipherable) - Flowers disposed in a somewhat circular manner, but a little inclined to one side.' Leaves (sentence not completed) 2 plants flowered as above a 3d with 19 flowers on a shorter scape - the flowers shorter and wider & an almost spherical germen. Leaves of this plant” (sentence not completed) V0I.18N0.1 July/August 2006 Australian Garden History 5 detailed we have of his A. belladonna/Brunsvigia crosses, is clearly a plant possessing characters of both given parents. The reflexed upper sepaline segments he found particularly reminiscent of B.josephinae. This following brief notice is probably the first public mention of this cross in Australia. Amaryllis ‘Ameliae’ was first listed in the Camden Park catalogues in 1850. The most appropriate name for this plant seems x Amarygia parked ‘Ameliae’. “A beautiful Amaryllis, called Amelia, from A. belladonna and A. Josephinae" was exhibited at the autumn show of the Australasian Botanical and Horticultural Society in 1849, by Messrs J. and W. McArthur, winning the prize for the best hybrid. A plant very similar to ‘Ameliae’ is still grown in Australia under a number of names including x Amarygia parked, and, incorrectly, Brunsvigia josephinae. (See picture opposite). The origin of these distinctive plants, quite unlike the multiflora Amaryllis hybrids, is unknown but the flowers of plants in my own collection, obtained from a number of sources, are similar to Bidwill’s description of ‘Ameliae’. Early published descriptions of the reciprocal cross, Brunsvigia josephinae x Amaryllis belladonna, usually known as x Brunsdonna tubergenii, are somewhat different, with less of the Brunsvigia character but of recognisably similar parentage. Of this cross Bidwill wrote: I have recently examined flowers of several specimens of a first cross between Amaryllis and B. josephinae made by George Davis in Hobart. They are similar to Bidwill’s seedlings as described in the notebook and with the plants in my own collection alluded to here. George has also flowered the reciprocal cross, which from photographic evidence, looks somewhat similar to ‘Ameliae’. In September 1875 The Gardeners Chronicle reported: “We are informed that the Amaryllis exhibited by Mr. Boivell, gr. to Sir H. W. Parker, at the Royal Horticultural Society on August 18, is a seedling raised by Lady Parker in Australia from a cross between Amaryllis Belladonna and Brunsvigia Josephinae. This cross was first effected by the late Mr. Bidwill, and has since been several times repeated by Lady Parker. Some of the seedlings so raised were superior, both in the number and colour of the flowers, to the specimen exhibited on the 18th. ” It is unfortunate that no description is given but in 1889 a plant said to be identical to it and also from the garden of the late Lady Parker, was given to Kew Gardens by Mrs Arbukle who had purchased the Parkers’ Richmond home. In 1898 W. Watson described this plant in some detail under the heading ‘The Kew Belladonna Lily’. This is a typical multiflora Amaryllis hybrid and the type plant for x Amarygia parked. We can only speculate how this plant was produced. It is highly unlikely to be a first cross, all of which retain much more of the Brunsvigia character. It is perhaps a backcross to Amaryllis belladonna, although as most forms of x Amarygia parked set seed readily but the progeny show little of the Brunsvigia character, it is perhaps not this simple. The plants resembling ‘Ameliae’ in my collection are not entirely sterile as, after many attempts, I have succeeded in obtaining a single seed with A. belladonna pollen. It was very small but did germinate, although it subsequently died. I have also obtained a single seedling from the reciprocal cross. This is only in its second season but appears distinctly different from controls, with shorter and broader leaves. Much work requires to be done to establish the parentage of x Amarygia parked, although, as nothing like it is described in Bidwill’s notebook, we can be moderately confident that he did not himself ever see this beautiful plant. The first published record of a plant anything like it was in 1866, a line drawing and description of a plant exhibited by Silas Sheather, ex-gardener to William Macarthur. But perhaps even more significant is the painting (pictured right) of the same year by Miss Fletcher, schoolmistress at the Menangle school on the Macarthurs’ vast Camden Park estate, of a plant from the gardens of Camden Park. This is clearly a form of x Amarygia parked and very similar to clones still growing there. “I could never keep the seedlings alive which I raised from Josephinae, by Belladonna, and the one is produced very sparingly. ” He commented further in his notebook: “A. Josephiniana by A. belladonna. A. Josephiniana does not bear much seed in Sydney but seed is produced just as readily by pollen of A. belladonna as by its own. The plants produced at the same time as those mentioned (of A. b by A. J. written above) are (Oct 20/42) not a quarter the size of those in the same soil and alongside one another-Oct 25. could not find one of these bulbs. ” 6 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 Vol. 18 No. 1 From a long line of professional gardeners, I the author, Colin Mills, holds degrees in Veterinary Science and Genetics from the University of Liverpool (UK). Following a career in veterinary practice, agribusiness 1 and quality management consulting he now divides his time between furniture building and restoring, gardening and garden history research. Fie is working on an in-depth study of the plants grown by William Macarthurfrom c.1820 to 1861. Acknowledgments: The author thanks John, Edwina and Quentin Macarthur-Stanham of Camden Park, the staffs of the National Herbarium, Canberra, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, the Mitchell Library, Sydney, which gave permission to reproduce Miss Fletcher’s painting, and the National Library, Canberra. This story has been abridged due to space constraints. y . /„,/r'r.'>rnF ( / Av/V K> ■*// . . — » S/y * " «- i \ vawv Above: x Amarygia parkeri'tKmeWae'. This rare plant conforms very closely to Bidwill’s description of Amaryllis Ameliae. Above right: Miss Fletcher’s painting of 1866. A note on the back records it as being the first Amaryllis hybrid to flower at Camden Park. This presumably means the first hybrid of the multiflora type, because ‘Ameliae’ certainty preceded it. Reproduced courtesy of the Mitchell Library. Right: xAmarygiaparkeri form growing at Camden Park, very like the form depicted by Miss Fletcher in her painting. V0I.18N0.1 July/August2oo6 Australian Garden History 7 Conifer charisma One of South Australia’s best preserved historic gardens and possibly the largest private mature pinetum in Australia, Forerst Lodge, which AGFIS members will have the chance to tour in October, is rich in conifers from around the world By David Jones orest Lodge consists of an extensive large Victorian styled property with ‘hill-station’ residence and intricate parterred garden within a pinetum, located between Stirling and Aldgate in the Adelaide Hills. The pinetum is the largest conifer collection in South Australia, and one of the largest and most mature in Australia. The austere Victorian Baronial style residence was constructed by Walter C. Torode to a design by architect Ernest Henry Bayer creating a grand two-storey freestone structure characterised by a three-storey castellated tower, terracotta chimney pots, with associated bathhouse and water tower. Later additions maintained this architectural style. Changes to the landscape design between the 1890s to the 1930s introduced a northern Italian design style under architect Waiter Bagot but did not compromise the original Victorian character and plantings. Forest Lodge possesses representations of three main design accomplishments demonstrating both individual design competency as well as effective integration with each other irrespective of form or period. The place demonstrates merit for each representation but also the collective nature ofthese representations. Main picture, opposite: This cast-iron fountain in the lower garden at Forest Lodge formerly resided at Ayers House on North Terrace. Opposite, top: A plant glass house. Opposite, second from top: Path through the trees. Opposite, third from top: The Italian allee in the lower reaches of the Forest Lodge garden, with the tazza terminating the vista edged by Italian Cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens). Opposite, bottom: Bronze statue of a boy and a swan. Right, above: A view along the middle portion of the carriage driveway of Forest Lodge, passing through the Conifer Arboretum, with the distant lawn opening in front of the main residence. Right: Forest Lodge viewed from the south-east. All photography in feature by David Jones The Garden’s worth The garden is possibly the largest private mature pinetum in Australia. It is an extensive representative of the 1890s but also includes a renovation in the 1930 S- 40 S that transformed part of the character of the garden to reflect a northern Italian garden without compromisingthe design layout or the extant collection of plants. The formal Victorian garden was laid out especially to the requirements of John Bagot to display his prospective conifer collection. Significantly, layout and planting started in 1889 before architect Bayer was commissioned to prepare drawings for the new residence that was erected in 1892. The upper garden possesses an intricate geometric parterre circulation system typical of English and German- influenced Victorian gardens of the period, as laid out by gardener Ernst Menzel, featuring Edithburgh limestone and Hills quartz-edged crushed-sandstone covered paths, with V0I.18N0.1 July/August 2006 Australian Garden History 9 specimen trees and Rhododendron spp as focal points, a spring-sourced irrigation system, extensive garden beds, and an adjacent specimen woodland or arboretum. Walter Bagot renovated this garden creating the Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) allee in 1917 (the only one with this plant species in South Australia), re-crafting the upper lawns to accommodate a croquet lawn, and further planting including Rhododendron ssp, northern Italian conifer species, and three feature Copper Beech [Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea ) specimens. There are few large intact Victorian gardens remaining in South Australia, the majority being in the Adelaide Hills. Forest Lodge is the most intact Victorian garden of this collection that includes Wairoa (1893), Beechwood (1890), St Vigean’s (1881-82), Glenalta (1880), of which Wairoa has some similar associations due to proximity, species interests, and the gardener’s families. Forest Lodge is additionally significant as possessing one of the most intact 1920-30S northern Italian garden styled landscapes in the Adelaide Hills, which is also displayed in Raywood (1930s), and Broadlees (1930s), the latter on which Walter Bagot had exerted some design influence. Significant components Like otherVictorian style gardens ofthe period, whether on the Plains or in the Hills, various garden furniture and components were added as visual features, aesthetic themes, or symbols to the Forest Lodge garden. In the 1930s Walter Bagot rekindled this approach adding several additional features that enhanced the aesthetic and culture ofthe garden. In addition, the garden was laid out in several compartments including a main garden, a woodland, southern lawn, eastern lawns, and a conifer driveway. (See page 12.) Since 1910 In April 1916 Walter Bagot commissioned architects Woods Bagot Jory & Laybourne Smith to design and supervise alterations and additions to the rear ofthe residence as well as castellated decorative finishes to a concrete watertank. Walter also engaged in correspondence with various east- coast USA and English plant nurseries seeking seeds to add to the garden. During the Second World War the Bagots opened the house and property to serve as a Field Regimental Headquarters. In 1943 Conservator of Forests in Canberra, Lane Poole, visited the property, with Adelaide Botanic Garden conifer expert EG (Ted) Booth, and concluded that Forest Lodge possessed the “most complete” private or public conifer collection in Australia. Post-humourously Josephine Bagot penned: “What else shall I say ofthis home of mine in the hills, which I love so dearly? Built of fair white stone upon a hilltop, it rises high above the lawns and flower borders which surround it, its porch green with ivy and its steps with moss. The garden or grove descends the hillside with steep walks and steps, past rhododendron and azalea thickets with sheets of lilies- of-the valley, to a bridge and more marble steps leading to the culminating feature, a cypress avenue carpeted with daffodils. At the lowest point ofthe vista stands a replica of the Medici vase on a high pedestal against a background of cypress and a single tall-stemmed ancient White Gum tree (Josephine Bagot, Reveries in Retrospect). In 1980 landscape architect Rodney Beames and horticulturist Tony Whitehill reviewed Forest Lodge as part ofthe South Australian Historic Garden Survey (1980). As a consequence ofthis Survey, Forest Lodge Garden (not includingthe house) was registered by the Australian Heritage Commission on 21 October 1980. The Stirling District Heritage Survey (1984-85) recommended that the overall property (including the Gardener’s Cottage) be registered on the State Heritage Register. The Stirling District Heritage Survey (1997) recommended that the overall property (including the Gardener’s Cottage) be registered on the State Heritage Register proposing the following Statement of Heritage Value: ‘Forest Lodge; House, other buildings and garden Main picture, opposite: Detail ofthe Edithburgh limestone grotto, now covered in lichen and mosses, with the fountain above. Opposite, top: A view ofthe southern flank ofthe Forest Lodge residence looking eastwards across the Croquet Lawn towards a c.i875-planted Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus torulosa ) line of trees in the background, with a c.i875-planted Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparisobtusa) in the middleground. Opposite, second from top: Boy and serpent marble statue; one of a very few extant statues left in the Garden today. Opposite, third from top: Tazza-a copy ofthe Niobe Vase by Medici sitting atop a concrete pedestal. Opposite, bottom: Detail ofthe cast iron fountain that Josephine Bagot (nee Ayers) acquired from her childhood property Ayers House prior to its sale and transfer. 10 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 V0I.18N0.1 WHAT MAKES FOREST LODGE SO SPECIAL Woodland/Arboretum: an extensive open woodland arboretum planted 1890-1930S Japanese bridge: an elegant timber arched red-painted footbridge constructed in 1895 Grotto: a large Edithburgh limestone finished grotto - 1892-94 by Menzel Main fountain: cast iron and Victorian style, originally located at Ayers House Garden seats: two singles and one seat bench in cast iron, William Morris patterns Eastern Croquet Lawn: established as formal flower garden and lawn by John Bagot in 1892, transformed in 1911, features two Hinoki Cypress ( Chamaecyparis obtusa ) specimens Tennis Court: an open grass court erected in 1923 by Walter Bagot and surrounded by 60 Norway Spruce (Picea excelsa) Italian Allee: of Italian Cypresses ( Cupressus sempervirens) planted in 1917 from seedlings obtained in northern Italy by Walter Bagot Tazza: a large terra cotta replica vase sourced in Italy, a copy of the NiobeVase by Medici, set atop a large inscribed concrete pedestal formed in 1919, featuring the Judgement of Ajax, and carrying the Bagot family motto “Antiquum Obtinens” or “of great antiquity” Former Shadehouse Garden: a large multi-level intricate garden space in a semi-formal geometric pattern for propagation and cultivation of Rhododendron ssp, Azalea ssp, Camellia ssp, and palms Main Driveway: of sweeping crushed rock and leading from front gates to the residence, passing through the front conifer plantation area ‘Jacobs Ladder’: a pathway feature of about 20 timber- edged steps descending on the western side of the grotto Plantations: two of Californian Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens) and Oregon ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) planted in 1923 and 1915 respectively from 130 seedlings each, that flank the Italian Cypress ( Cupressus sempervirens) allee Front Gates: with pillars topped with Aloe sp filled cast- concrete urns - hanging wrought iron gates erected by Walter Bagot in the 1930s Galvanised Fencing: dating from 1900S-20S, as originally erected in the Adelaide Park Lands and probably sourced from there after its dismantling - located along Arboretum fenceline ‘Boy and a Swan’: a bronze statue fountain in the turning circle of main driveway, originally from Ayers House Southern Lawn: large and expansive, sloping southwards, featuring three Copper Beech ( Fagus sylvaticaf. purpurea) planted in 1913. ‘Boy and a Swan’: a bronze statue fountain in the turning circle of main driveway, originally from Ayers House Southern Lawn: large and expansive, sloping southwards, featuring three Copper Beech ( Fagus sylvaticaf. purpurea) planted in 1913. SIGNIFICANT PLANTS Forest Lodge contains an extensive mature conifer collection that is the largest in South Australia. It is unique in Australia in terms of its extensiveness and maturity, and is only comparable to several gardens in the Mount Macedon Ranges of Victoria. The following specimens or groupings have been identified as being of national or state significance. Araucaria angustifolia (Candelabra Tree) Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Lawson’s Cypress) Cupressus sempervirens (Italian Cypress) Librocedrus chilensis (Chilean Cedar) Abies veitchii (Veitch Fir) Pseudotsuga menziesii (Oregon) Pseudotsuga menziesii var glauca (Blue Douglas Fir) Tsuga diversifolia (Northern Japanese Hemlock) Dacrydium cupressinum (Rimu) Phyllocladus trichomanoides (Tanekaha) Sciadopitys verticillata Oapanese Umbrella Pine) Torreya nucifera (Yew) Nothofagus cunninghamii (Myrtle Beech) Quercus suber (Cork Oak) Apart from the above specimens, there is an extensive collection of Rhododendron ssp in the garden that were planted in the 1890S-1930S. 12 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 V0I.18N0.1 exhibit a high level of significance in a number of categories. It is an example of the grand houses and gardens constructed for Adelaide’s wealthy in the Hills in the nineteenth century. Remarkably this house is still associated with the family responsible for its construction and is perhaps unique in this respect. The Bagot family constructed the house and developed the garden. The garden of this house is particularly significant as it is said to be one of the best conifer gardens in Australia.” Above left: Front entry pillars and driveway into Forest Lodge. Above: The former Gardener’s Cottage of Forest Lodge with its intricate timber fretwork and detailing. Bottom: Moss and lichen-covered brick steps through the lower garden. With the passing of Walter Bagot in 1963 the property passed to one of Walter’s two remaining children, barrister John Bagot, in trust for devolution to his children. John and Helen (1913-2002; nee Bakewell) Bagot continued a strong interest in maintaining the garden and property. In 2003 the family sold the property. To date, the house and garden are included on the Register of the National Estate, but the house and garden are not included on the South Australian Heritage Register. Acknowledgements: John & Helen Bagot, Christine & Milton Bowman, John Hawker, Tony Whitehill, Isobel Paton, Roger Spencer and Nigel Turner. Associate Professor David Jones is Director of the Landscape Architecture Program in the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design in the University of Adelaide. He serves on the Editorial Advisory Panel for Australian Garden History. Vol. 18 No. 1 July/August 2006 Australian Garden History 13 Right: Today Cruder: Farm is overseen by Dame Elisabeth Murdoch with the support of her long-time gardener and friend Michael Morrison. Above: The renovation plans of Harold Desbrowe Annear saw the “farm house" transformed into a grandiose country house. 14 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 V0I.18N0.1 d&r^ttv iucvwv Cruden Farm is testament to the garden knowledge of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. But at the start there was another great gardener involved, Edna Walling. So who was responsible for what in this fine garden? T he legacy of Edna Walling's garden designs holds a unique place in the cultural history of Australian gardening, particularly in Victoria. Devotees of Walling tend to accentuate elements such as the magnificent stonework at Mawarra in Sherbrooke, or the village aesthetic of Bickleigh Vale in Mooroolbark. Walling’s personal life has also been written about, or speculated upon, and her own writings on roadside vegetation and land care are celebrated as precursors to the ecological concerns of today. Perhaps even more important though is the prolific collection of writing that Walling published on garden design between the 1920s and 1950s and the delicate watercoloured plans she produced for her clients. Her publications of Gardens in Australia in 1943, Cottage and Garden in Australia in 1947, A Gardener's Log in 1948 and The Australian Roadside in 1952 have become highly regarded amongst gardening and cultural enthusiasts. Preceding these publications, Walling was writing for Australian Home Beautiful as early as 1926 and this enabled herto reach a wide and appreciative audience beyond the clientele who engaged her services. By the 1940s articles such as “Lets talk about Australian trees and shrubs” enlightened the public about the multitude of Australian flora that Walling was beginningto introduce into hergarden designs. The suburban garden was becoming a synthesis of ‘old’ and ‘new’, incorporating her philosophy on the integration of the home and the garden. Walling’s garden designs have become By Lyn Johnson Photography: Lyn Johnson, Tony Fawcett part of the historical cultural fabric of Victoria and are well documented both through literature and the reproduction of many ofthe watercolours. However, little attention has been drawn to the garden of Cruden Farm in Langwarrin, for which Walling laid down plans for the walled gardens, driveway and garden design in 1929 and 1930. More often than not, Cruden Farm is given an obligatory listing in any analysis of Walling’s work, noted now more for its famous ownerthan anything else. Unfortunately much ofthe original garden was lost to a fire in 1944, and it seems that any association of Walling with Cruden Farm is now just as scant. Walling’s legacy? So how much are the famous gardens of Cruden Farm, as they are known today, in debt to the original designs ofWalling? By the 1930s Edna Walling was carving out a career and reputation as the garden designer ofthe day, due to her ever-growing list of clients from the Who’s Who of Melbourne and her regular columns in the press. It isn’t any wonderthat on both counts she caught the attention of Keith Murdoch (later Sir Keith). Sir Keith had recently married in 1928 and purchased a property in Langwarrin for his new bride, Elisabeth (later Dame Elisabeth), and while on holiday overseas had engaged the services of the architect Harold Desbrowe Annear to renovate the tired cottage. Unbeknown to the Murdochs, Desbrowe Annear undertook some grandiose renovations to the “farm house”, including an austere facade of columns, not at all in keeping with the comfortable rambling appeal ofthe original cottage. For Dame Elisabeth, more alarming was the plan for an elaborate formal Italian-styled garden to replace the honeysuckle and creeping roses that had grown over the original verandahs. Luckily the Murdochs returned from their travels in time to halt any preparation work beginning on the garden. Uncompromising ideas Sir Keith enlisted the services of Walling to plan a garden more sympathetic to the Australian countryside, and also more in line with the personal feelings of Dame Elisabeth who detested any showings of extravagance. Unfortunately for Dame Elisabeth that is where Sir Keith’s role started and finished. Dame Elisabeth was left to deal with Walling who had already earned a reputation for designing gardens to her own criteria, coupled with a rarely compromisingviewpoint. Although Dame Elisabeth acknowledges that Walling’s reputation at the time made Walling the most obvious garden designer to employ, she recalls to this day how difficult Walling was to deal with. As a 20-year-old bride, Dame Elisabeth was given little consideration by Walling. Dame Elisabeth was too young, and perhaps inexperienced, to deal with such a strongand independent careerwoman as Walling and the garden went ahead as perthe original plans ofWalling. V0I.18N0.1 |uly/August 2006 Australian Garden History 15 Formal touches The plans for Cruden Farm by Walling from 1929 and 1930 are representative of Walling’s earlier style in that they are fairly formal in their design and structural layout and the selection of most of the trees is European. A formally proportioned rose garden was originally situated to the south-west of the main house with a tree-lined curving driveway leading from the entrance off Cranbourne Road to a circular drive at the front of the house. The plans also show a walled-in garden area directly south of the main entrance, and to the north, small areas of lawn enclosed by beds for cut- flowers to separate the lawn tennis court from the main house. The walled-in garden was made from local stone and while it would seem a fair assumption that Eric Hammond would have supervised the stone work given the date of construction, there is no evidence to support this. The stables, which were built two years later, were also of local stone but these were designed by Percy Meldrum. Due to the Depression, locally unemployed men were given the work of building the stables, and it has been suggested that these same men had built the walls of the rose garden and the long low-running wall that winds along the driveway. Between 1930 and 1944 Dame Elisabeth laboured to maintain the garden according to Walling’s concept. The walled-in garden had rows of fruit trees espaliered along the walls with crab-apple trees running along both sides of a centre flagstone path. The heat generated from the walls and path proved to be a continual hindrance for the garden to flourish to its full potential beyond the blossoming season. This would seem an unusual error in judgement on Walling’s behalf as she had placed the garden in the direct path of the summersun, when itwould reach its peak at midday and right throughout the afternoon. Even more damaging was the radiating heat off the walls into the adjacent rose garden. Dame Elisabeth spent most mornings throughout those summers cutting off the heads of the roses that had been burnt the previous day. Fire brings change In 1944 a ferocious bushfire swept through Langwarrin, including virtually all of the existing garden at Cruden farm. It was only by a miracle that the house was saved by Dame Elisabeth and friends with only garden hoses to defend themselves and the house. The fire swept all around the house, the only refuge available being the expanse of lawn that was the tennis court. The only remaining area of the garden, except for the plants directly adjacent to the house, were the lemon scented gums that lined the driveway. Although fire ravaged, with a few not surviving, the majority remained intact enough that with nurturing they have matured into one of the most famous canopied driveways in the world. The original decision to use lemon scented gum trees has been credited to Walling by Trisha Dixon and Jennie Churchill due to the inclusion of them on the original plan to replace an existing hedge of broom. However, Dame Elisabeth attributes the actual choice to her friend Sir Russell Grimwade and recalls planting them herself with Sir Keith. Sara Hardy argues that while it may not have been Walling that chose the variety of gums, itwould not have been out of character for Walling to have made the actual choice, as her earlier plans were akin to the Arts and Crafts movement which favoured a garden that extended into the natural pasture beyond the home. However, Hardy goes on to point out that at that point in her career Walling still favoured exotic plantings over natives, especially as the main feature. It would seem that Hardy is trying to satisfy both sides of the claim. The fire though was to be blessing for Dame Elisabeth. It gave her the chance to rework the walled-in garden, move the rose garden and ‘loosen up’ the formal structure that Walling had imposed on the garden. The rose garden was moved to the other side of the house and now incorporates the picking and vegetable gardens, and the original walled area now acts as a secluded retreat for the pool. The flower beds to the north and the heath area at the side of the circular driveway, which Dame Elisabeth notes were too closely planted by Walling, made way for more relaxed plantings of lavender, magnolias and forget-me- knot, set against a seemingly random mix of copper beeches, pin oaks and spotted gums. Although Walling would go on to embrace a more natural approach to her designs, the original concepts she had set out for Cruden Farm were still more in debt to 16 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 Vol. 18 No. l Right: Cruden Farm’s famous curved driveway of lemon scented gums. Top: Following a fire at Cruden Farm Dame Elisabeth took the opportunity to give the Walling-designed walled garden a more relaxed feel. Above: The entrance to the walled garden as it is today. Opposite: A continual program of tree planting of both natives and exotics has broadened the appeal of the Langwarrin garden. Vol. 18 No. 1 )uly/August 2006 Australian Garden History 17 AA Above: In all directions pleasing vistas open up at Cruden Farm. Left: The initial design was Edna Walling’s but in the walled garden today much of the influence belongs to Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. Below left: A keen plantsperson, Dame Elisabeth works closely with Michael Morrison to ensure there is always visual interest. Below: In summer the garden is at its best Opposite: Combination plantings abound. a formal English garden than an Australian country property. Perhaps this might help explain the misjudgement of the placement of the waiied-in and rose gardens. Dame Elisabeth’s influence Just as Walling would develop a theory that had a predilection for an integrated garden design that both reflected and enhanced the natural landscape, so did Dame Elisabeth in her decisions of what species to plant for the future of the garden and surrounding bush. Between 1944 and 1952 Dame Elisabeth had laid the ground plans forthe rebuilding of the garden but it wasn’t until she moved there permanently in 1952, after the death of Sir Keith, that she could really cultivate the garden to its full potential. With the expert knowledge of Michael Morrison, who was employed at Cruden Farm in 197a and still remains the gardener today, Dame Elisabeth has nurtured a garden that is world renowned. It is a mixture of exotics and natives that work together to create a harmonious vista from which ever angle of the property one looks. All 140 acres have been utilised to achieve the best result for the landscape and garden as a whole, with continuous planting of companion trees to take the place of the aging ones. Since 1944 the garden has rightly been attributed to the keen and sensitive eye of Dame Elisabeth but walking through it today one can easily trace the footprints of Walling. The stone steps that were put in place in the late 1980s to lead down into the picking garden are reminiscent of those favoured by Walling with their broad sweeping expanse, softened by baby tears along the edges. Morrison states he often has to correct visitors when he overhears them incorrectly presuming that the stone steps were designed by Walling. The garden beds and walled-in garden now display rampant gatherings of hostas, daffodils, rock cyclamen, snowdrops, daisies and forget-me-nots, the latter of which Walling described as a favourite plant of hers which “crept about unobtrusively to the delight of everyone who beholds it”. Mulching regime Walling was also an advocate of ground preparation when planting her gardens, with mulching a vital ingredient to impede the need for over watering. Dame Elisabeth and Morrison have both been avid supporters of this approach and most ofthe matured pin oaks and beeches were well mulched when planted and survived on a minimum of water in their first years; what Morrison claims is the secret to the often used term “drought resistant”. A new grove of oaks has recently been planted using this method and Morrison recalls how Dame Elisabeth patiently counted how long it took to fill three buckets with water being dripped at a certain rate. This allowed Dame Elisabeth to time herself when watering in the new trees by hand, one by one, over summer. The hose was extended to reach beyond the back ofthe lake so she could hand deliver her three buckets’ worth of water. Natural allure The curving avenue lined with the mature gums, surrounded by the spotted gums which extend the immediate surrounds into the adjacent natural bush, reflects Walling’s philosophy that driveways should follow the natural curvature ofthe landscape, and where possible, the natural bush be incorporated into the garden. The trunks ofthe gums form a rhythmic pattern as you wind along the driveway, and as you near the house, the shapes ofthe gums are echoed in the white columns ofthe facade. The low lying stone wall that mirrors the curve ofthe driveway on the side that extends from the walled garden is testament to Walling’s statement that low “stone walls when simply constructed are always charming”. Cruden farm is still a work in progress and the garden has matured into one ofthe most admired institutions in Australia, as has its owner! While Dame Elisabeth admits her relationship with the autocratic Walling was brief and not as successful as she would have liked, she acknowledges that Walling was “the pioneer of landscape gardening here and she must hold a very special place in the history of gardening in Australia”. Walling’s view of an ideal garden can clearly be seen in Cruden Farm today- “One always hopes to find a garden full of surprises: grassy glades leading to pools, outcrops of mossy boulders clothed with soft- coloured rock plants, an alpine path where an occasional shrublet makes it twist and turn, a dry-built wall shielding primroses, and a lawn bounded and shaded by trees.” Lyn Johnson is Executive Officer for the Public Galleries Association of Victoria. This feature is based on a paper written as part of her Masters in Australian Art. Pictures from the AG HS 25th Anniversary picnic at Cruden Farm-back page. V0I.18N0.1 July/August 2006 Australian Garden History 19 Meet our new patrons Life away from Victoria’s Government House brings a welcome historical slant for John and Lynne Landy John and Lynne Landy didn’t need to think hard when they were asked to become patrons of the Australian Garden History Society. Both garden lovers and fascinated in garden and architectural history, it seemed a natural move for them after five years as Victoria’s vice-regal couple. Besides, they are keen for new chapters to open up in their lives away from Victoria’s Government House. The Landys, who replace AGHS foundation member and former Chairman Margaret Darling who retired as patron late last year after many years of generous support, are also looking forward to doing a good deal of gardening themselves-and being a little more anonymous than they have been in recent times. “We’ve only been out of office for about six weeks so really we haven’t got started on our next life and getting the house organised,” says Lynne who contends making the transformation is “as simple as putting on a pair of jeans rather than the fancy clothes” they have recently been wearing. For John, an avid naturalist (he has authored two natural history books, Close to Nature, 1985, and A Coastal Diary, 1993, and is still remembered by many as a former Olympian and world record-holding 1500-metre and mile runner, there are plans to return to his favourite pastimes of butterfly collecting and landscape photography. Already he has invested in a new digital camera outfit and expects to spend much time out of the city. In October they will visit their two children, one in New York and the other in London, and then they will devote as much time as possible to being private citizens at their get-away country cottage in the goldfields area of Central Victoria. “It’s an interesting part of the world,” says Lynne obviously warming to her less-formal lifestyle, “but the gardens up there are shocking at the moment because we have been so dry. We’re putting in more tanks because of the dire situation, and we’ll have to replant because a lot of the plants died last summer. It’s a pretty sad scene really. We’re having to rethink the garden completely. We can really only garden around the cottage and let the rest go, and put in a lot more native plants.” Then for Lynne there is Greatconnections, a web-based organisation that links smaller not-for-profit groups with professional people who are no longer working fulltime and of which she is founder and patron. The catalyst for the organisation, recalls the former journalist, was a lunch she had with a friend. “I asked how she was enjoying her new leisured lifestyle. ‘I hate it,’ she said. ‘My brain seems to have gone to sleep, I feel dull and I miss the feeling of being needed and the stimulus of the workplace.’ Her words remained in my head and in the middle of the night, I pondered on how to tap into this group of talented, experienced and wise people.” The result was Greatconnections, which Lynne compares to a matchmaking organisation. She hopes people will be excited by the idea of joining a team of volunteers who want to lend their skills, talents and life experiences to worthy organisations. Each week there is a wish list from the not-for-profit organisations put on a website (www.greatconnections.com.au) and people who are registered as volunteers can apply for the positions. - Tony Fawcett 20 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 Vol. 18 No. 1 The Forgotten THE STORY OF THE LAST MARKET GARDENS IN WILLOUGHBY AND NORTHBRIDGE NSW, Ian Rannard gardening families, their networks, their flowers and their vegetables. He reproduces some 70 notable photographs from family collections, documenting the folk, their houses, their environment and most of all their gardens. Means of cultivation are well represented: the Chinese used hand tools only and a good deal of watering was still regularly done by cans on a yoke, both by Anglo-Australians and Chinese Australians, carrying water endlessly from Sailors Bay Creek, supplemented by small dams and ultimately by pumps and by reticulation. THE FORGOTTEN GARDENS: THE STORY OF THE LAST MARKET GARDENS IN WILLOUGHBY AND NORTHBRIDGE, NSW Ian Rannard Parker Pattinson Publishing (2005) IBSN 0646 43274 5 RRP: $ 26 plus postage Available from Parker Pattinson Publishing, PO Box 30, Douglas Park, NSW 2569 E-mail: parkerpattinson@ozemail.com.au Reviewed by Ian Jack Noel Rannard was the last of the market gardeners in the valley of Sailors Bay Creek, maintaining his garden until his death in 1981. His son Ian has compiled an extraordinarily valuable history of the 10 market gardens which flourished in this valley where the North Sydney suburbs of Willoughby, Castle Crag and Northbridge meet. Although there had been other gardens in the Willoughby area from the late 19th century until the 1930s, these 10 were the only ones to survive the Second World War. Six of these 10 gardens were occupied by Chinese Australians, four of them members of the family of William Ah King, who had married an Englishwoman in Queensland in 1872 and had bought his own market garden in Willoughby in 1885. Phoebe, one of William King’s large family, married Ernest Young who had come from China to Australia in the 1890s, ran a garden in Chatswood and in 1904 moved close to Phoebe’s family in Willoughby. Three sons of Ernest and Phoebe Young assisted in the King gardens and one son ran his own flower nursery in Northbridge during the Second World War. Most of the gardens operated by Anglo-Australians opened in the Depression and Noel Rannard’s was the most Although the early gardens began by specialising in vegetables, all (except a single garden run by a group of anonymous Chinese men who did not speak English) diversified into flowers as well from the 1930s onwards. Some gardens then remained with mixed produce, while others grew exclusively vegetables or exclusively flowers. Ian Rannard recalls how: “While these gardens flourished, the valley of the upper part of Sailors Bay Creek was a pleasant sight. Orderly terraces of vegetables in different shades of green contrasted with the warm orange, yellow and red pastels of the Iceland poppy crop during winter, or with the cool pink of salamander carnations and vividly coloured dahlias in summer.” Flax grew beside the creek to provide the binding for the bunches of poppies. One of the King granddaughters remembers: “Poppies were harvested just before the buds opened and the women of the family sat for many hours gently peeling back the pods so that a hint of colour showed through. My grandfather used to get annoyed with me because I tended to open them too far, so I was given the task of splitting the flax instead, a very boring job for a five-year-old. I think this is why I have an aversion to poppies even now.” The book is full of such intimate material, well crafted into an illustrated text. The use of aerial photographs of 1930 and 1943 is outstanding and the wealth of privately owned photographs and family reminiscences make this a book which will reward members of the Australian Garden History Society. Vol. 18 No. 1 July/August 2006 Australian Garden History 21 22 Diary dates JULY 13 Thursday Victoria, Melbourne Second Winter Lecture Series (8pm Mueller Hall, National Herbarium, Botanic Gardens) - Local historian Paul Fox-'Plants and People’; what inspired him to write about the six gardeners in his book Clearings. $2o/members $15. Details: Pamela Jellie, pdjellie@hotmail.com 3oSunday Western Australia, Guildford AGM 2pm, Woodbridge House, talk on Charles Harper & property by Carol Mansfield. 25th Anniv. planting by lohn Viska. Contact: Sue Monger 93841575 susanmonger@yahoo.com.au AUGUST 1 Tuesday New South Wales, Sydney AGM Sydney & Northern NSW Branch and Winter Lecture (6.00 pm for 6.30pm), Observatory Hill - Annie Wyatt Room. Talk by Leigh Stone-Herbert on Gravetye Manor, England, both his and William Robinson’s former home. $io/free for members. Details: Stuart Read, stuart1962@bigpond.com.au - bookings leanne Villani 9997 5995 - Jeanne@Villani.com 13 Sunday Southern Highlands AGM and Winter Lecture Bowral, Annesley Ballroom at 10.30am. Guest lecturer Genevieve Jacobs - “Australian artists and their gardens”. Followed by AGM, lunch and local garden visit. 19 Saturday Queensland, Brisbane AGM, Seminar Room, Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens at noon. Plus talk by art historian Susanna de Vries on Georgiana Molloy, an early botanical collector from Western Australia. 22 Tuesday Victoria. Melbourne AGM (7.30pm) and Final Winter Lecture (8pm) - Prof. Bill Kent; “Paradise is a most pleasant garden (Lorenzo de Medici): Gardens and Villas, Politics and Society in Renaissance Italy”. Mueller Hall, National Herbarium, Botanic Gardens. $2o/$i5 members. Details: Shirley Goldsworthy, dsgoldsworthy@optusnet.com.au 26,27 Saturday-Sunday Tasmania, East Coast Open garden & plant stall. Historic property of “Marlbrook” with colonial-Georgian style house. Within a frame-work of mature trees, a beautiful formal garden of drought 81 frost resistant plants has been created over past 15 years. SEPTEMBER 2 Saturday Queensland, Brisbane Ashgrove Sesquicentenary, walking tour with Ashgrove Historical Society & garden visits 2 Saturday Victoria, Westernport region Spring excursion Churchill Island & newly-developed Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. Details to follow. 17 Sunday Southern Highlands, Bowrat/Mittagong Bush Walk on Mt Gibraltar to view work of Mt Gibraltar Bush Care Group & visit old trachyte quarries, an integral part of Bowral’s industrial history & cultural landscape 19 Tuesday New South Wales, Sydney Book treasures 81 conservation day: Library of Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, (6.00 pm for 6.30pm). Librarian Miguel Garcia showcases library holdings and Branch’s conservation project to repair rare and valuable garden history books. Members $io/guests$i2. Bookings: Peter Cousens9550 3809, petercousens@bigpond.com 23 Saturday Tasmania, Pontville Open garden & plant stall. Historic property of “Marlbrook" with colonial-Georgian style house. Within a frame-work of mature trees, a beautiful formal garden of drought & frost resistant plants has been created over past 15 years. OCTOBER 7 Saturday Queensland, Brisbane Visit to remnant beachfront rainforest at Narrowneck & Gold Coat Botanic Gardens. 7 Saturday 818th Sunday Western Australia Weekend visit Wongan Hills area. Contact: Sue Monger 93841575 susanmonger@yahoo.com.au 14 Saturday New South Wales, Sydney Tour of Chinese Gardens, Darling Harbour, at 10am followed by optionalyum cha at a venue close by. Details/bookings: Jan Gluskie 9428 5947 jangluskie@ihug.com.au 20-22 Friday-Sunday South Australia, Adelaide 27th Annual AGHS National Conference (see right) 29 Sunday Southern Highlands Goulburn garden visit to historic Kippilaw & one or two other significant properties. Details to come. NOVEMBER 4-7 Saturday-Tuesday Victoria, Melbourne Edward LaTrobe Bateman-themed tour of Western District with visits to Chatsworth House, The Gums and other properties. More details to follow. 10,11,12 Fri-Sun Southern Highlands Weekend tour to Orange & surrounds visiting historic gardens & places of interest. Details to come. 11-12, Saturday-Sunday Tasmania, Weekend in historic Chudleigh Valley. Lecture & tour by John Hawkins, “History of European settlement from Deloraine westward as a result of Van Diemen's Land Company Grant at Woolnorth in 1826.” Visit historic properties, nursery, native garden and Alum Cliffs. 19 Sunday New South Wales, Central Coast Self-drive garden tour of Kulnura area & visit to garden of designer/plantsman Michael Cooke’s garden, Hawthorn Stud and Bob & AGHS member Derelie Cherry’s nursery-Paradise Plants. BYO picnic lunch. Details/bookings: Jeanne Villani 9997 5995 Jeanne@Villani.com VIC WORKING BEES Contacts for all: Helen Page (03) 9397 2260 helenpage@bigpond.com Third Wednesday of each month: Bishopscourt 120 Clarendon Street, East Melbourne. JULY 29 Saturday and 30 Sunday Castlemaine Working bees - Tute’s Cottage (Sat) (Vicroads 287 7O) & Buda (Sun) (Vicroads 287 4Q) OCTOBER 7 Saturday Birregurra Working bee - Turkeith (Vicroads 92 6E) Australian Garden History 26th AGM The 26th Annual General Meeting of the Australian Garden History Society will be held on Saturday 21 October 2006 at 8.30am at the National Wine Centre, cnr Hackney and Botanic Roads, Adelaide. Items for the agenda should be posted to the AGHS office. Branches are asked to nominate their representative to the National Management Committee and to inform the Secretary, Dianne Wilkins (c/- AGHS office) by 1 September 2006. There will be two vacancies on the NMC this year. Colleen Morris has served one term of three years and needs to stand down but may choose to renominate. Nina Crone has been serving as a co-opted member since July 2006 and, as a co-opted member, is required to stand for election to remain on the committee. Nominations open on 2 August 2006 and close on 8 September 2006. To obtain a nomination form contact Jackie Courmadias on 03 9650 5043 or toll free 1800 678 446. Elections offer an opportunity to participate in the management of the Society. Each year the Committee holds three face- to-face, full-day meetings - in February, June and prior to the annual conference. These are interspersed with three one-hour telephone link-up meetings in April, August and December. Elected members serve for a three-year term and are eligible for re-election for a maximum of one additional term. An allowance to alleviate travel costs for the meetings in Sydney and Melbourne is available if required. July/August20o6 V0I.18N0.1 Around & about Garden ephemera ...save those nursery catalogues At the research forum held by the Sydney and Northern NSW Branch in 2005 Richard Clough spoke of his work in identifying nursery catalogues in the State Library of NSW. He entertained with an overview of the challenges in locating what is a very large but scattered number among the vast holdings of the State and Mitchell Libraries and their collections. Richard explained the importance of what many regard as garden ephemera: An historian researching an old garden may find a variety of material on its design but, in the absence of a detailed plant list, which is very rare, is forced to rely on accounts derived, in part, from nurserymen’s catalogues for its planting. Seed and plant lists reflect changes in taste with particular plants occupying more and more space as they increase in popularity, and then less and less as they fall from fashion. Dated catalogues provide this information and from them accurate accounts of changes in planting can be developed. This is only one purpose for which a garden historian can use plant and seed catalogues. While for the practising gardener they are only useful fora limited time, forthe serious student they will always retain value. The Historic Houses Trust Colonial Plant Database is testament to their value. Richard proposed that the Society, and particularly state branches, gradually collect catalogues. They could then be deposited in the garden archives we are establishing with libraries around Australia. It would only require a willing volunteer (with a small amount of storage space) from each branch. Early this year a Tasmanian member dropped off a small parcel at our Melbourne office. It contained nursery catalogues, an eclectic selection that includes some gems like the one pictured above. I marvelled at the synchronous thought across our membership. -Colleen Morris Lighter side of history History has its humourous side, at least judging by the mirth of Richard Heathcote and Helen Botham (pictured above) at the Melbourne launch of Helen’s new book La Trobe’s Jolimont: A walk around my garden. Jointly published by the C.J. La Trobe Society and AGHS, the book is based on sketches of Lieutenant Governor La Trobe’s garden by his cousin Edward La Trobe Bateman. While Governor La Trobe’s prefabricated house still exists after several moves, the garden is long gone. But its romantic mood and many English-style plantings can be experienced through Helen’s book, which can be bought by AG HS members at the discount price of $24.95 (order via www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au/branches/victoria/index.shtml). Packers’ patch Thanks to Beverley and John Joyce, Mary Chapman, Ann Miller, Laura Lewis, Sandi Pullman, Jane Johnson, Georgina Whitehead, Ron Jones, Sandra and John Torpey, Beryl Black, Susan Reidy, Helen Botham, Kathy Wright, Nina Crone and Pam Jellie for their hard work in packing the last issue of the journal And crsons 1957 GARDEN BOOK 9/ 4 UP cm r* to c 0£ Mm Vol. 18 No. 1 July/August 2006 Australian Garden History 23 1. Old friends are reunited. 2. jean Williams, Sarah Guest and Peter Watts. 3. Dame Elisabeth and admirers. 4. Georgina Whitehead. 5. Elizabeth Walker, Stuart Read and Pat Lanham. 6. Dame Elisabeth and Prof. Catherin Bull. 7. Sue and Francis Ebury. 8. Helen Page and Grace Fraser. 9. Campbell and Christine Penfold and Celia and Ian Jones. Gardens are as much about enjoyment as anything and AGHS certainly enjoyed Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’s Cruden Farm earlier this year for our 25th Anniversary picnic. There were familiar faces from all states, as this round-up of shots from the day attests. 24 Australian Garden History July/August 2006 Vol. 18 No. l