Interview Recording
Interview Transcript
Prue Slayter 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 mother’s involvement in bush regeneration and National Trust projects. Her early interest in architecture was motivated by observing her family home being built by her father and attending occasional architecture workshops during her time at Cheltenham Girls High.
Prue began architecture studies at the University of Sydney before transferring to Hobart’s Tasmanian College of Advanced Education. There, she joined Barry McNeill’s progressive Environmental Design course, which emphasized self-directed, interdisciplinary learning across architecture, planning, and landscape architecture.
A role working with Denton Corker Marshall in Hong Kong fostered Prue’s interest in landscape architecture. Inspired by this and by her aunt Jean Verschuer – a pioneer in Australian landscape architecture – she returned to Sydney to formally study the discipline.
In 1990, she moved with her family to Tasmania, where she lectured in Environmental Design and joined the University of Tasmania’s campus planning team. She later completed a Masters degree in Environmental Studies, focusing on sustainable buildings, and an Honours degree in History.
Prue became involved with the Australian Garden History Society (AGHS) initially contributing to the AGHS journal’s Editorial Advisory Panel. She formally joined AGHS around 2007 and has served in various roles at both branch and national level, including on the National Management Committee and, since 2024, as Chair. She continues to shape the Society’s advocacy work, climate awareness and recognition of cultural landscapes.
Notably, she organized key events for the Tasmanian branch and led the successful 2022 National Conference in Hobart after COVID-related delays.
With over 30 years of experience across landscape architecture, heritage, planning, tourism, and small-scale architecture, Prue continues to champion Tasmania’s landscapes, including her vision for a walking trail through the Midlands to help understand its cultural and environmental history.