Sydney

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 December 2024 had 60 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 members 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 (AGHS), were very much involved with the Heritage Rose Garden at the National Trust property Saumarez Homestead. The garden began in 2012 and was planted, catalogued and maintained by AGHS, including HRIA members, until 2024. Since late 2024 the control and maintenance of the Heritage Rose Garden has been solely with the National Trust NSW. 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.

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