Heritage Roses Sydney Group was first formed in 1979. Esmond Jones and Heather and Roy Rumsey were among the first people to respond to Trevor Nottle’s letter in 1978. Trevor was looking to establish an informal network of Australians who were collecting old roses and seeking answers to questions about them. Esmond Jones set up the Sydney group and became the first Sydney Group Coordinator.
Sydney Group as at September 2024 has 64 financial members. Although the majority of our members live in the greater Sydney area we also have members north of Sydney such as in the Hunter Valley, NSW North Coast and New England area. Our area therefore covers from Sydney up to the Queensland border. The reason for this extended area is because these people north of Sydney, with their small numbers, do not have a regional group. They are therefore part of Sydney Group and consequently receive newsletters and any relevant communication.
Sydney group meets every month except January. We usually plan our year so that during the winter months we have guest speakers and during the autumn, spring and summer months we primarily visit gardens. A major part of our activities are working bees. We work at Barbara’s Garden in Rookwood Necropolis at least once a month and have a day each July when we help with the pruning at The Rumsey Garden, Parramatta Park. We also have a member who has taken on the responsibility for the National Trust, Grossman House garden in Maitland. Our group in New England, as members of the Australian Garden History Society, are very much involved with the Heritage Rose Garden at the National Trust property Saumarez. We have recently met with the Curator Manager of the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens to discuss their plan to make changes to their rose garden which will introduce heritage roses with the aim of telling the story of the rose.
For information about our region and upcoming events, please email our Regional Coordinator:
Glennis Clark
News and Reports from the Coordinator
Welcome to spring and our roses are blooming and also welcome to new members. At our August meeting we were given a very interesting PowerPoint presentation on the highlights from the World Federation Rose Societies 15th International Heritage Rose Conference held in Belgium 2023.
Our September meeting was changed and a small group of us had a lovely visit to the rose garden in the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden. The changes planned for this garden are exciting and we look forward to continuing communications with the horticulturist responsible for the rose garden and its expansion and the Curator Manager of the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden. We will have further updates on this project as it develops.
Event Calendar
Dural NSW Garden Visit
12 OctoberVisit to member’s garden in Dural. Contact Group Coordinator for details if you are interested in ...
Rookwood NSW Working Bee
19 October @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm AEDTA special working bee at Rookwood to do a general tidy up. In other words weeding and dead heading. ...
Rookwood NSW Rose Society Visit
30 October @ 9:30 am - 3:00 pm AEDTWe will be hosting a visit to Rookwood by the NSW Rose Society’s Regional Groups. The day will inv...
Wentworth Falls NSW Garden Visit
15 November @ 10:30 am - 3:00 pm AEDTVisit to a garden in Wentworth Falls. We will be meeting with the Blue Mountains and Nepean Group. P...
Gordon NSW Rose Society New Regional Group Launch
16 November @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm AEDTLaunch event for a new regional group of the Rose Society. Venue – Meeting Room 1, Gordon Libr...
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