Interview Recording
Interview Transcript
Edith Young interviewed on 22 October 2025 by Patsy Vizents
Synopsis
Edith Young was raised in Kirup in the South West of Western Australia. She had a childhood that was surrounded by natural bush and orchards and although not a gardener as a child, appreciated the plants and gardening rhythms through life in a food producing area.
The family moved to the city (Perth) when Edith was 12 years old and she was educated at Perth Modern High School but did not choose a career until after she graduated from TAFE and travelled. She tried many office jobs while travelling and seeing the world and considered she might become a photographer except for being attracted by butterflies and nature. She undertook a gardening career even though she had been rejected by Jean Verschuer, Curator at UWA for the position of groundsman. She then went to Curtin and was accepted by the then Curator, Vern Andrews and was the only woman employed at the time as groundsman. She studied a Certificate IV in Horticulture at Mount Lawley TAFE for three years part time while working in the gardens of Curtin University.
Edith describes the role that gardeners had at Curtin and some of her favourite places on campus. She also described landscape designers who contributed their skills as the University developed as an institution. She also worked at the City of Swan and finally with the Town of Victoria Park but by that time, she was more in the administration rather than operations to do with gardens.
Edith pursued natural native gardens in her private life and was most interested in conservation issues when she joined AGHS, hoping that there would be some active conservation work available through the Society. Although she enjoyed the garden visits and activities of the society and worked on the WA Branch Committee with conferences in 1995 especially, she was disappointed that there was not the perceived commitment to conservation and when she relocated to Albany, she did not renew her membership. Edith joined the Wildflower Society in Albany so she could work in the Herbarium and go on walks where she has been exposed to the local habitat. She is glad there is a Garden History Society but is not interested in joining any group other than the wildlife conservation group, Free the Bears.
Advocacy for conservation is something that she raises in her interview as being the main reason for being involved in volunteer groups, rather than gardening as such.