Promoting Native Plants for Six Decades
Author: Lawrie Smith, AM - former Displays Officer
Published: Journal March 2022
Image above: Western Suburbs Branch display at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in the 1970s
Background
The 2020 Spring Wildflower Show, was planned to be a very special event to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the voyage of discovery along Australia’s east coast, by Captain James Cook and botanist Joseph Banks, in the barque Endeavour. Unfortunately the COVID pandemic intervened making it impossible to stage the planned event. However, undaunted we determined to use the same theme for the flower show one year later. The pandemic still raged in 2021, strict lockdowns were invoked by the government, and so once again the event had to be cancelled.
NPQ Council was undeterred and a decision was made to instead stage a smaller one-day Spring Plants Markets at Belmont Rifle Range. This was successful but signalled the end of the annual Flower Shows as our members and the public alike have known them over the past five decades since the first flower show in 1969. Consequently, my time as Displays Officer was also at an end, and others would now take up this important responsibility which I had enjoyed doing officially since 2009, and also earlier as a member of the Displays Committee.
In relinquishing the position of Displays Officer, I was determined to look back through my records as well as the Society’s archives of notes, minutes, annual reports, newsletters, the Bulletins and the Journals, to prepare a chronological historic story of our many displays and flower shows. These events have always been the principal activities that the Society uses to share the diversity and significance, as well as the beauty and suitability of our Australian flora for growing in home gardens, parks and urban environments.
This research has revealed a huge bank of knowledge, experience and expertise in growing Australian plants that was shared by members within these thousands of pages. This resource cannot be repeated, must never be lost, and should be used to extract and republish the many and varied botanic and horticultural aspects that have been observed, trialled and researched by our members over so many years. The species records are particularly relevant, because basically every one of the plants that we still use in gardens today were first collected, propagated, grown in gardens, their performance recorded and shared by our early members through the pages of these historic SGAP / NPQ documents.
This is the appropriate time to record a huge vote of thanks for so many wonderful and talented members who have been an integral part of the overall planning, design, establishment and management process for those 50 wonderful Spring Flower Shows and other displays we have staged together. Not forgetting the numerous other members who were responsible for many other similar displays throughout Queensland, dating from the formation of SGAP in 1959. These are the fundamental reasons why we all remain dedicated members of this unique Society!
How it all began
Not surprisingly the records show that since its inception our Society has used many ways to display and promote Australia’s flora to the public. The inaugural meeting of SGAP in Queensland was 14 June 1957, when Harold Caulfield, Curator of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, was elected the first President. One year later, 1958, the Melbourne City Council sent a request for native flowers to display at the Moomba Spring Festival. This was the first of many interstate donations.
Our members decided the best way to promote native plants to the community was to create displays at local horticultural events, and records indicate that 1962 was the start of many very busy years. Firstly, the members agreed to a request from SGAP Victoria for Cooktown Orchids to be displayed at their September Flower Show. Then brochures on cultivation of native plants were prepared for use in the Royal Horticultural Society display, as part of the Brisbane Warana Spring Festival.
In mid 1962, an exhibit was prepared for the Red Cross Chelsea Flower Show in the City Hall auditorium. This, the first SGAP display at Chelsea, must have been remarkable judging by the description:
“The display was organised by six members, the site was 4m x 1.5m and included: a shallow plastic pool backed by a rainforest; a clear plastic sheet protected the floor; construction used sawdust mulch, gravel, coolite, cast iron garden edge, a rock or two and various other garden elements; embellished with 27 potted plants of different species:
Syzygium luehmannii, Vitex purpurea, Hymenosporum flavum, Pittosporum sp., Schefflera actinophylla, Melaleuca nodosa, Leptospermum sp., Callistemon sp., Westringia fruticosa, Thryptomene, Melaleuca thymifolia, Baeckea jucunda, Dampiera stricta, Pimelea, Carpobrotus, Kennedia, Bauera rubioides, Plectranthus, Goodenia, Grevillea sp., Cassia sp., Phebalium glandulosum.”
Soon after, our fledgling Society also participated in the Warana Spring Festival, by creating in the City Hall basement, a simulated courtyard exhibit involving a small brick patio, raised timber deck 1.2m x 1.2m over a garden bed, with table, chair, books and floral arrangement. The garden included rocks, leaf litter and a large terra cotta urn with trailing plants; species included: Hibbertia scandens, Callistemon sieberi, Hymenosporum flavum, Melaleuca sp., Westringia, Rulingia, Graptophyllum, Plectranthus, Viola banksii, Cordyline, Ferns, Eriostemon, Grevillea, Pongamia pinnata.
Margaret Vickerman recalled: “We staged this display garden not realising it was for a competition. A big rock to be the focus, was carried in on a hessian bag with poles each side. It was taken very carefully down the white marble steps off Adelaide Street under close caretaker scrutiny.”
Not surprisingly SGAP was awarded the First Prize Banner!
RNA 1979: One of the early SGAP displays at the ‘Ekka’, always simple and dramatic
Displays at the ‘Ekka’
In 1963 Don Greer supported a suggestion that SGAP take part in a flora display on the first Friday and Saturday at the RNA Exhibition. Don was already doing the Junior Farmers exhibit there each year. We accepted the RNA offer of a site 3m x 5m and a donation of 25 pounds ($50) for the whole 10-day period, and 1964 was the commencement of more than three decades of presenting displays of our flora at the ‘Ekka’.
RNA ‘Ekka’ display memories from Margaret Vickerman:
“Each year we strived to make a new display theme, generally simulated gardens. Cut flowers were hidden in containers, arranged naturally in height and density. The display was staffed constantly needing 56 persons for the period, and information pages were distributed. Members staffing the displays were initially nervous about giving information to observers.
Observers were amazed that all the flowers were from Brisbane gardens, not the bush! After several years the display gardens were changed to display boards with named flower specimens – far more effective. These boards have since been used in countless places for simple displays, and often boards and gardens were used together.”
RNA 2002: The ‘Ekka’ displays were quite large and had to be designed to be attractive for almost a week
RNA 2003: Our SGAP design team always ensured that the message about native plants was obvious and attractive
RNA 2009: The team who created the Ekka displays – Claire Shackel, Peter Jurd, Lawrie Smith, Ray Baxter, Don Greer, Noreen Baxter, Barry Jahnke
RNA 2009: In this display we celebrated the unique botanic discoveries by early explorers and botanists
RNA 2010:Creating and maintaining interesting displays of both potted plants and cut flowers was time consuming
RNA 2011:This display of bush foods and native plants with garden potential was the first to allow entry into the display
Widely spaced specimen displays of native flowers with easily legible names impressed observers at the ‘Ekka’
Early Displays
The 1964 Royal Horticultural Society annual Autumn Flower Show was held in conjunction with the British Trade Show at McDonnell and East Department Store in George Street. It appears that we may not have been able to participate as, according to records, the Society was already having trouble finding enough flowers for staging the regular concurrent displays at the RNA ‘Ekka’ and at the Red Cross Chelsea Flower Show!
Obviously 1964 was another very busy time with despatching interstate flower requests for Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. In addition, our first display at the Queensland Field Naturalists Wildflower Show at the Queensland Museum included local flowers and others from Western Australia, Myall Park, Beerwah, Cairns and the Wallum. This display was well received and it was agreed to continue support for the Queensland Naturalists over the next four years at least.
By 1966 staging numerous displays in spring must have become too much for members and their gardens, so it was agreed that despite five successful year’s exhibiting at the annual Chelsea Flower Show our participation would be discontinued, primarily because of the time conflict with the RNA ‘Ekka’. Although Chelsea displays were staged again from 1987 to 1990.
During the eleven years since SGAP was formed, in 1957, the Society continued to stage exhibits of native plants at the RNA, the Queensland Field Naturalists Wildflower Show in the Museum, and the Royal Horticultural Society Spring Display, and even one for the YMCA Autumn Flower Show. It was because of all of this activity that in 1968 the Seed Curator, Bill Tulloch, gently prodded members to stage our own SGAP Flower Show! It was formally decided that we would hold the first Spring Flower Show in September or October 1969. Bill encouraged members to immediately commence to grow small plants for sale.
First Flower Show 1969
The first Flower Show, a one-day event, was staged on Saturday, 18 October, 1969, at the Toowong RSL Hall. It was pouring rain, the small hall was crowded, the entry fee was 20¢ and the proceeds were $960. Ann Hamilton was responsible for the layout, the coordination of the various sections and helping to publicise the show. Members agreed it was an outstanding success, and immediately decided that this would continue to be an annual event.
Excerpts from a report by President Merv Hodge indicate that our first flower show commenced the process with a very strong concept to engage public interest, something that has continued throughout the decades since.
“Flowers were received from local, country and interstate members, as far away as Western Australia. Members from Goondiwindi, Toowoomba and Bribie Island brought flowers to Brisbane and attended the show. Lance Cockburn of Brookvale Park near Oakey brought a large number of beautiful inland blooms. The interstate exhibits drew a number of sighs when people saw species of flowers they had never seen before. The Queensland grown plants drew their share of attention and people took note of the local plants they could possibly grow in their own gardens, each individually highlighted on display boards. The flower exhibits, floral art, dried arrangements and paintings showed very attractive uses of native flowers for decoration and competition. The Wildlife Preservation Society was represented. The plant propagation demonstrations and slide photo programs were well attended, all continuing non-stop throughout the day. Plant sales were popular and the attendants were kept very busy throughout the day, but their voices were noticeably affected by the end of the show.”
Just before the gates open at one of our Plants Markets held at Grovely TAFE
Researching the history of the many and varied displays organised by the Society since 1957 has been illuminating and fascinating. It is obvious that the fundamental reason we have prepared all of these displays has been to follow our SGAP founders concept to share members' detailed knowledge and research about growing Australian plants with the general community, and thereby increase recognition of the significance and value of our native flora. You have just read the first instalment of the displays history, but this covers only the first twelve years! The rest of the story is even more interesting and will follow in the next issue of the Journal, in June 2022.