Ray Choate
Ph: 8267 3106
Email: ray.choate@adelaide.edu.au
Chair:
Ray Choate
Vice-Chair:
Richard Nolan
Secretary:
Alan Betteridge
assisted by Helen Livingston
Treasurer and NMC Representative:
Ray Choate
Programme Committee:
Richard Heathcote & Di Wilkins
Committee:
Richard Heathcote
Jeff Jenkinson
Richard Nolan
Di Wilkins
Activities for 2010 are being finalized at the moment, and are expected to include:
The dates are still being confirmed, and the membership will be informed by the newsletter and email.
A mini-conference is planned in association with the Annual General Meeting, probably in August. It is intended to have up to 6 papers or talks on the theme of ‘The Backyard’, followed by the AGM and lunch. The Branch Committee will be pleased to hear from members concerning proposed papers.
An essay prize of $750 will be offered this year. Unlike previous years, it was decided to set a theme for the papers. It has been decided to ask participants to research and write about a ‘lost’ garden of Adelaide or South Australia. A list of gardens will be developed, and writers can select one of these for their research and essay.
We have two new co-secretaries – Alan Betteridge, assisted by his wife Helen Livingston, have undertaken the duties of the secretary and also will edit the branch newsletter. We welcome them to the Committee. Before moving to Adelaide a few years ago, Helen and Alan operated Garden Street Books in Geelong, a garden specialist bookshop which many of us knew and used.
The Branch Committee is reviewing the newsletter, its content, and its publishing schedule. Suggestions from Branch members will be appreciated.
Christmas Drinks Function
The annual Christmas Drinks was held on Sunday, 6 December 2009 at the beautiful and historic Adelaide Hills house and garden of St. Vigeans. About 80 members and guests attended this function, and enjoyed the gardens of St Vigeans on a splendid early summer evening. We are most appreciative of the generosity of the owners, Gillian and Jeff Jenkinson. The garden is in two sections, non-contiguous, but only about 5 minutes walking between them.
Mt Lofty Botanic Garden
Several hardy members visited the Mt Lofty Botanic Garden on Sunday afternoon, the 22nd November, arguably the coldest day in November but no members were complaining after the record-breaking heat of the previous week. There had been some rain the previous evening, and the garden was refreshed. Janie Smylie guided the group through the lower sections of the gardens, discussing the history of the area, lake, plantings, and of the gardens in general which were first opened in 1977. There are 97 hectares of gardens, on the slopes of Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills. Most of the garden is native trees and plants, but rhododendrons and other cooler climate trees and plants have been introduced into the gullies and valleys. The Garden is one of the three gardens of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.
Book Launch
Hung Out to Dry: Gilbert Toyne’s Classic Australian Clothes Hoist (co-authored by Cas Middlemis and Peter Cuffley) was launched at Unley Town Hall on Sunday 15 November 2009. It was a celebration to launch the book but also the coming together of a number of clothes hoist families in recognition of their contribution. Lois Clark flew in from Canberra. Her parents had made Toyne rotary clothes hoists in Adelaide from the 1920s. Lois very generously decided to hand over the few remaining documents from her father’s business to the State Library of SA. The State Library’s Collection Manger, Tony Leschen, was there to receive them. This was particularly exciting as very few Toyne-related business documents are held in public archives so it is wonderful to have this material return to SA. Professional historian Dr Susan Marsden launched the book in what proved to be an excellent laundry drying day with the temperature topping 40°C!
