Archives: Publications

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Susan Hand interviewed on 17 September 2020 by Lyn Barrett   Synopsis This interview is the story of the development of the garden of “Bangala” by Susan Hand and her husband Ralph Suters in the […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Ralph Suters interviewed on 30 September 2020 by Lyn Barrett   Synopsis In this interview Lyn Barrett explores the role Ralph Suters has played in the restoration and custodianship of “Bangala”, an historic house and […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Laurel Cheetham interviewed on 11 March 2026 by Lyn Barrett   Synopsis Laurel Cheetham has given enormous amounts of her time, talents and energy to gardening in its broadest definition. In this interview with Lyn […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Dr Ian Telford interviewed on 10 October 2025 by Lynne Walker with Elizabeth Chappell   Synopsis Dr Ian Telford of Invergowrie, Armidale recounts his career in botany from beginning at the herbarium of Canberra Botanic […]

Interview Recording Part one (1 hour 56 minutes) Part two (27 minutes)   Interview Transcript Maria Hitchcock OAM interviewed on 6 October 2025 by Elizabeth Chappell   Synopsis Maria Hitchcock OAM describes how her family background and teaching experience in […]

Interview Recording Part one (1 hour 36 minutes) Part two (52 minutes)   Interview Transcript Stuart Read interviewed on 9 August 2025 by Roslyn Burge   Synopsis Born in 1962, Stuart Read grew up in New Zealand – Eastbourne, across […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Simon Grant interviewed on 15 January 2026 by Tim Entwisle Synopsis This is an interview with a private gardener and plant collector, Simon Grant, whose collections of trees and shrubs are of international significance. Simon’s […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Bud Townsing interviewed on 26 September 2025 by Heather McIntyre Synopsis Raised in Western Australia, Bud moved to Canberra, Sydney, Tasmania and finally to Bundanoon and then Bowral. His interests included areas of heritage and […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript John Stowar and Dennis McManus interviewed on 16 March 2025 by Lyn Barrett Synopsis Hillview is a property at Sutton Forest in the Southern Highlands of NSW. It was in years past the retreat of […]

This AGHS National Oral History Collection book presents 13 summaries of interviews from nearly all Branches, to tantalise readers to immerse themselves in the National Oral History Collection on the AGHS website. There are 67 interviews available in audio and transcription […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Carol Westmore interviewed on 14 July 2025 by Jean Elder   Synopsis Since arriving in Tasmania in 1974 with little practical gardening experience, Melbourne born Carol Westmore has achieved two remarkable feats. She has recreated […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Mark Fountain interviewed on 16 June 2025 by Jean Elder   Synopsis In this thoughtful interview, Mark Fountain shares the story of how his creative journey in horticulture and gardening progressed from nurseryman through a […]

Interview Recording Part 1 Part 2   Interview Transcript Juliet Ramsay interviewed on 12 December 2024 by Roslyn Burge Synopsis Juliet Ramsay was born in Sydney and grew up in Goulburn.  After leaving school in Goulburn she studied Nursing at […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Prue Slatyer interviewed on 4 April 2025 by Jean Elder Synopsis Prue Slatyer grew up in Sydney in the 1950s with a deep appreciation for nature, shaped by her parents’ passion for gardening and her […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Marion Blackwell interviewed on 15 May 2024 by Caroline Grant and Patsy Vizents Synopsis Marion was born and raised in the northern New South Wales region of the Great Dividing Range, close to the Queensland […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript John Hawker interviewed on 2 May 2024 by Kate Cregan   Synopsis John Hawker was born in Melbourne and – along with his parents, brother and sister – moved his to his paternal grandparents’ dairy […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Tim Entwisle interviewed on 28 March 2024 by Kate Cregan Synopsis Tim was born in 1960 Nhill in the Mallee of Victoria, to schoolteacher parents, Betty and John (d.1966), and has two younger brothers, along […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Kathy Wright interviewed on 19 March 2024 by Kate Cregan   Synopsis In 1939 Kathy was born at Maffra and grew up in Gippsland, with her parents, maternal grandmother and four siblings, on a dairy […]

Interview Recording Part 1: Part 2:   Interview Transcript Fran and Mal Faul interviewed on 19 April 2024 by Dr Kate Cregan Synopsis Fran and Mal Faul were both born and raised in Melbourne. Fran was born in 1942, grew […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Jerry de Gryse interviewed on 26 April 2024 by Jean Elder Synopsis The interview with America-born landscape architect Jerry de Gryse is a considered reflection on his professional journey and the personal values that inform […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Peter Holmes interviewed in August 2003 by Myfanwy Thompson   Synopsis Peter talks about working as a young man with the noted gardener and garden designer, Paul Sorenson at “Mereworth”, an historic garden in the […]

Interview Recording   Interview Transcript Sally Johannsohn interviewed on 28 August 2024 by Jean Elder   Synopsis Sally Johannsohn’s Hobart home sits in a spectacular cool climate garden in the hills overlooking Hobart.  Surrounded by a forest of Eucalyptus regnans, […]