On 24 September, more than twenty family members and teachers of the finalists joined delegates at the Australian Garden History Society’s 46th Annual Conference in Orange (25–27 September 2026) to hear the results of AGHS’s short story competition. Click on […]
Dr Marion Isabel Blackwell died on 22 August 2026 in Perth aged 98. This tribute was written by Caroline Grant and Craig Burton. Caroline Grant interviewed Marion Blackwell for the AGHS national oral history collection in 2024. Craig Burton worked […]
It is 25 years since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center: a time to reflect on the effects that day has had on the world order. The story of the callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) at the site […]
Our annual conference, Fruits of Orange, is less than three weeks away, with all our speakers and garden visits locked in. Registration closes on 18 September, with fewer than 20 places for the full conference and optional day tour to […]
If you can’t get to the 46th annual conference in Orange from 24–27 September 2026, you can still view the lectures, which will be live streamed and available as a recording after the conference. See which set of lectures you’d […]
A film where the ‘hero’ is an ancient tree set in a medieval German town is to be watched alone in quiet contemplation. Silent Friend (2hr, 27 min) is a truly amazing work of both art and science. The hero […]
hoto Trevor Pitkin AGHS members will be saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Barrie Gallacher at the end of May. Barrie graduated as a Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Melbourne and […]
The July 2026 issue of Australian Garden History is now available. Details of the articles appearing in this issue can be found here. Members can login and download the journal here. Non-members can purchase printed or digital versions of the […]
This is Erica Wright, pictured with her daughter, in the garden of Cintra, a late 19th-century house in Maitland. In May 2026, Erica received the National Trust’s Young Achiever Award, for the work she did during her 2025 Vera Deacon […]
Helen May Leach, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology (Otago University) ONZM, AHRIH (née Keedwell), was born in New Plymouth, Taranaki in 1945 and died in Christchurch, New Zealand in January this year. Her long academic career began at the University of […]
A memorial to honour Gil Teague, founder of the Florilegium bookshop, will be held on Friday 27 March at the Petersham Bowling Club, Sydney. RSVP: mmjteague@gmail.com This tribute to Gil was written for the April issue of Australian Garden History: […]
The Australian Garden History Society (AGHS) is opposed to the installation of plastic grass because it contravenes our mission to conserve significant gardens and cultural landscapes. You can read our policy here: AGHS Policy on Plastic Grass Feb 26. In […]
Richard Stringer with a Sinar X camera, Toowong, 2000, State Library of Queensland In the 2026 Australia Day honours, photographer Richard Stringer was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). I wrote an article about Stringer’s exquisite […]
Launch of The man who planted Canberra at the Canberra Arboretum, September 2025, photos Tony Maple One of Australia’s most prolific and respected authors and journalists, Robert Macklin, has died at 84 after a long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary […]
The bad news The mortality rate of trees in forests from Tasmania to the Top End is increasing as the world warms, according to a new study published in Nature Plants. To establish mortality rates for Australian forests, Professor Medlyn, a […]
Welcome to the New Year! In 2026, the Australian Garden History Society will have a particular focus on trees: on the significance of old trees and their preservation and the importance of planting new trees, especially in our cities and […]
Prue Slatyer, Trish Hodge and Tim Jarvis at the launch of Palawa tunapri Trish Hodge’s book Palawa tunapri topped her publisher’s (Fuller’s) bestseller list this week, having been launched in Hobart last week. On Monday 17 November, Tim Jarvis of […]
Clive Lucas, Caroline Bray, Prue Anthony, Penny Holden, Dave Anthony at The Barn, photo Annie Smith If you couldn’t make the conference in Mount Gambier, you can now read a summary of the lectures and visits here: https://www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au/publications/2025-annual-national-conference-mount-gambier/ Richard […]
On the 25 July, two peninsular parklands on Sydney Harbour, Balls Head Reserve and Yurulbin Park and Foreshore, were added to the State Heritage Register (SHR) by the Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, Minister for Heritage. This occasion was momentous. Their […]
Eugène von Guérard, Crater of Mount Gambier South Australia, 1867, colour lithograph, National Gallery of Victoria Have you booked to attend AGHS’s 45th annual conference in Mount Gambier? If not, the full program of speakers and excursions is now […]
Mounts Bay Road, Perth after the removal of Moreton Bay figs infected with the polyphagus shothole borer, photo Caroline Grant Euwallacea fornicatus (polyphagous shothole borer – PSHB) is a tiny beetle. It bores into tree trunks, stems, and branches and […]
Ryde College of Horticulture, 2021, photo Rowena Slater, an AGHS member, who has taught horticulture at Ryde TAFE for 40 years Delve into the Australian Garden History Society’s national oral history collection and you’ll find mention of the Ryde […]
The Draft Ballarat Botanical Gardens Master Plan, which sets out a 20-year vision for the Gardens, is open for community consultation until 5pm on Sunday 13 April 2025. An interactive map (pictured) allows you to see what changes are proposed. […]
Image: pigface and wattle, Trisha Hodge The latest grant from the Australian Garden History Society’s Kindred Spirits Fund has been awarded to Trisha Hodge, a Palawa woman living near Nipaluna/Hobart for her book project, palawa tunapri – Tasmanian Aboriginal knowledge. […]
One of the benefits of membership of Australian Garden History Society (AGHS) is the opportunity to explore a place more closely than the casual visitor. What lies behind that hedge or that avenue of stately trees or old dry stone […]
The Australian Garden History Society is pleased to provide you with the AGHS Annual Report 2023-24
The Australian Garden History Society is delighted to announce the winner of the essay competition for QUT Landscape Architecture students. The competition arose out of a collaboration between AGHS and QUT to encourage interest among landscape architecture students in the […]
The Australian forest and environmental history communities have lost one of their pioneering figures: the eminent forester and historian John Dargavel. who died in July 2024. Dargavel was a long-standing member of the Fenner School of Environment and Society at […]
Australian Ambassador to Ukraine, HE Bruce Edwards (second from right), inspecting the Wollemi pine in November 2023 What follows is an edited version of an article by Greg Johnson (AGHS ACT) that appeared in the International Society for Plant Pathology […]
The AGHS Annual Conference is a highly anticipated event. While we wait for the 2024 National Conference in Bunbury, WA (18–20 October 2024), recordings and details of the recent conferences in Hobart (2022) and Ipswich (2023) are now available to […]