Gardening in the Tweed Caldera The first two decades 1998-2018 Our garden, the magnificent Tweed Valley, northern New South Wales The Uki Garden Club aims to: build friendships through gardens and gardening; share knowledge of plants and gardens; promote environmentally friendly practices; participate in humanitarian endeavours. Contents Our Code of Conduct 2 Tweed Shire and UGC member location map 3 Introduction and history of Uki Garden Club 1998-2018 4 Presidential roll call 5 Executive roll call (Vice Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers) 5 Growth of the club 5 Life members 6 Memorable moments 6 Media moments 9 Wise words 11 Community outreach 12 Welcome to the world 15 Rest in peace 16 Australia’s Open Garden Scheme 16 Bus trips 17 Members’ leisure activities 18 Special thanks 19 Meetings and hosts’ gardens 21 Images from our gardens 24 Our Code of Conduct 1. Treat all members with honesty, respect and consideration. 2. Respect access given to private gardens, observe directions given by owner and ask before taking cuttings or other material. 3. Treat all members equally with courtesy and without discrimination of any kind, regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, religion or lifestyle. 4. Allow for alternative points of view to be expressed and show tolerance of the views held by others which are different from your own. 5. Carry out functions within the club well and in good faith. 6. Maintain confidentiality when required of meetings. 7. Maintain civil conduct during all meetings and not abuse or harass other members by word, act or deed at any time. 8. Not bring the name and reputation of the club, its members or office bearers, into disrepute. 9. Not criticise publicly the role or past performance of the club. 10. Committee members have an obligation to be independent in judgement and action and to take all reasonable steps to be satisfied as to the soundness of all decisions taken by the Committee. Compiled by A Deen. Printed by Poster Paradise. © Uki Garden Club 2018 2 The Uki Garden Club welcomes people from all over the Tweed and beyond. Credit map source: Tweed Shire Council My Local Native Garden © 2017 Additional locations in Tweed Shire of UGC members 2018. 3 Introduction and history of Uki Garden Club 1998-2018 ust before I moved to Uki in December 1997 I opened my tiny inner city garden in Sydney to the public through Australia’s Open Garden Scheme. Despite torrential rain J I had 450 people through, including many neighbours I had never met before. I was determined not to make the same mistake in my new home so in August 1998 I started the Uki Garden Club. The Club’s aim was, and still is, to provide a venue for like-minded people – whether newcomers to the area or long-standing residents – to enjoy each other’s company, exchange gardening advice, swap plants and seeds and visit great gardens. The following year the Club became an incorporated body, the first office bearers were elected and it joined Garden Clubs of Australia (CGA), an umbrella organisation linking groups across the nation. What started as a small group of 11 people meeting in my house has grown to over 120 in the last two decades with members from all corners of the Tweed Shire. Together we have enjoyed bus trips, guest speakers, social events with other garden clubs, movie outings, flower arranging mornings and working bees. It has given me enormous pride, pleasure and satisfaction to see how the Club has thrived over the years. Julia Hancock, founder Erskineville, inner city Sydney Corymbia, Uki 1998 – 2009 Above and right: Murwillumbah 2009 to present 4 Presidential roll call 1998-2001 Julia Hancock (founder) 2011-2012 David Lintern 2001-2002 Lyn Reid 2012-2015 Fran O’Hara 2002-2006 Cathie Miles 2015-2017 Jenny Kidd 2006-2008 Jenny Wein 2017-2018 Jan Brooks 2008-2009 Barbara Waters 2018- Gillian Woodward 2009-2011 Don Capner Many of the above members have also held Executive and/or Ordinary Committee Member positions at various times over the years. Executive roll call Every President needs a Committee – the following members have held positions of Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer since the incorporation of Uki Garden Club Inc on 8 July 1999 to the present. We also acknowledge and thank every Club member who has assisted in a myriad of ways as Ordinary Committee Members. June Barker, Kate Botham, Bonnie Buzolic, Richard Buzolic, Alexsandra Deen Dot Francis, Graeme Gough, Marilyn Gough, Leonie Jennings, Mic Julien, Lorraine Lintern Barry Longland, Helen Madden, LaVerne Marshall, Nellmary McEwan, Di Morrison Jean Nuttall, Lynn O’Hara, Pamela Payne, Margaret Pichelmann, Peter Pichelmann Anne Pryke, Trish Reynolds, Pippa Smith, Tony Stanhope, Dianne Stevenson, Beryl Vear Lyn Webster, Philip Wilson Growth of the Club NB: One membership covers a household; theoretically the Club could have well over 100 attendees FY2017/18. 5 Life members Sandra and Don Capner Pamela Payne and Merle and Kevin Munsie Keith Heckenberg Julia Hancock Anne Pryke Jenny Wein Stella Wilkie Memorable moments 2000, June: Jenny Wein receives an Order of Australia medal (OAM). 2001: Maris Morton inaugurates the Food Group (right). 2002: Dot Francis initiates the Seed Bank. 2002: Julia Hancock, Sue Phillips and Penny Watsford plant a native garden in the Sweetnam Park play area, Uki (below). 2004: Penny Watsford and Margaret Elliott publish Grasses of the Tweed Valley of NSW (right). 2004: Murwillumbah Show, numerous prizes won by Julia Hancock, Barry Longland, Heiti Miller, Cailean Reid, Lyn Reid and Jenny Wein. 6 2004: Jayne Parrott and Barbara Waters’ prize-winning gardening tips appear in the August edition of Gardening Australia magazine. 2005: Congratulations Margaret and Peter Pichelmann awarded First Prize for Best Rural Garden and Best Water Feature from Tweed Shire Council (right). 2006: Penny Watsford and Margaret Elliot publish Plants of the Forest Floor (left). 2006: Murwillumbah Show, a swag of prizes won by Julia Hancock, Lisa Harrell, Barry Longland, Heiti Miller, Cailean Reid, Lyn Reid, Dianne Stevenson, Jenny Wein and Liliana Morgan. 2007, October: Congratulations to Don and Sandra Capner and Lyn Reid who were winners in the Tweed Shire Council garden competition. 2007: Alan and Perri Wain publish Mount Warning moments of magic (right). 2007, November: Murwillumbah Show blighted by rain so entries were down. Julia Hancock, Barry Longland and Jenny Wein won prizes. 2008, November: Julia Hancock inaugurates the annual Images of Uki exhibition featuring works by local artists (right). 2008: David Lintern, Lorraine Lintern, Julia Hancock, Barbara Thomas and her partner Glen create the Uki Garden Club banner (left). 2008, August: the Club celebrates its 10th birthday at Gwen Rayner’s property at Burringbar. 2008, December: Ida Daly delights children at the Uki Residents Association Christmas party by donning a Santa outfit and handing out healthy lollies to all the kids; thanks to Barbara Thomas for putting together the lolly bags. 2010: Maris Morton wins the Scribe Fiction Prize and publishes A Darker Music (right). 2010, May: Penny Watsford and Margaret Elliott publish Forest Bountiful: Settlers’ Use of Australian Plants (left). 2010, June: Club members organise a stall at World Environment Day selling seeds, answering gardening questions, displaying examples of home grown and preserved foods; Linda Brannian provides information on birds. 7 2010, November: Club members outdo themselves at the Murwillumbah Show! Members entered exhibits in many categories, triumphant in most. Lyn Reid - 2nd for herb basket; 3rd for seasonal herbs; 2nd for collection of herbs; 1st for basket of natives; 1st for collection of natives; 1st for container of flowers. Lyn also received three Champion of Show awards, suffering a case of sash rash (Lyn Reid, right). Rosemary Baxter - 1st for mixed citrus marmalade and orange marmalade. Fran O’Hara - 2nd for guava jelly and 2nd for banana cake. 2010: Alan Wain is selected as a finalist in the Olive Cotton Award for photographic portraiture. 2011: Julia Hancock publishes Gardening in Tweed Shire (left). 2011, December: Alex Mitchell publishes Come the Revolution A memoir (Julia Hancock and Alex Mitchell, right). 2012, July: Several members join a large group to plant trees in the park at the junction of Glenock Road and Kyogle Road, Uki to commemorate National Tree Day. 2013: Costa comes to town! Julia Hancock grabs him for a squeeze (Julia and Costa Georgiadis, left). 2015, August: Julia Hancock organises a giant garage sale to raise money for humanitarian projects in Laos with the assistance of many members who donated goods and worked on the day. 2015, October: Lewis Hancock cleans up at the Murwillumbah and District Garden Club Flower Show winning a truckload of awards. 2016, May: Club member artists including Jo Armstrong, Don Capner, Julia Hancock, Zahra Martin and Judy Stanhope merge into a subgroup called Botanicus and show their art in the Murwillumbah Art Trail 2016: Art Seedings (Zahra Martin and Julia Hancock, credit photo source Tweed Daily News) 2016, July: Emma Jewry wins the $250 Shirley Kennedy Encouragement Award for her painting Sitting Woman 2015 in the Border Art Prize. Judy Stanhope and Jo Armstrong also submitted works. 2016: Julia Hancock receives the Garden Clubs of Australia award for ‘Outstanding contribution by an individual to Gardening and/or Horticulture’ (right). 8 2016, 6 December: Stella Wilkie turns 100! (right) 2017, May: Faye Martin volunteers at the Woodford Folk Festival site annual tree planting. 2017, May: Don Capner, Jo Armstrong and Julia Hancock display their work in the Murwillumbah Art Trail. 2017: Murwillumbah’s It Takes a Town Seed Project (part of the Thrive 2484 initiative) is supported by many members who donated seeds while Sheila Stevenson, Sue Yarrow, Sue Holzknecht, Hartmut Holzknecht, Nellmary McEwan and Julia Hancock fill 200 envelopes with seeds.