Town Talk | Native plant lovers unite in Shepparton

And it is made up of many, many small groups — dedicated to a cause, passionate about what they do and supportive of one another.

From Landcare to Legacy, from pony clubs to music groups, each of them serves a purpose and fills a need.

They strengthen Greater Shepp and I love meeting with them.

In April of 1966, Mayor Alex Rigg organised for a classified ad to run in this newspaper.

He was seeking people interested in native plants to form a local group under SGAP Victoria. (Society for Growing Australian Plants).

More than seventy people gathered in the Alex Rigg Theatrette, decided on inaugural office bearers and laid the foundation for a group that is still at work, 59 years later.

Society for Growing Australian Plants

Martin Goff was the group’s first president and some suspect that Martin may have had the ear of the mayor. He just might have been the driving force.

But there were many.

Laurie and Freda

In 1971, Laurie and Freda Baglin developed a five-acre, native plant garden on their property in Kialla.

It later became the Seven Creeks Native Nursery in Raftery Road.

People came from all over Victoria, and interstate, to learn and to purchase.

Laurie loved to grow plants that were almost unknown — such as the Eucalyptus saxicola from the Snowy River Gorge in East Gippsland.

Even now, it is difficult to find the hakea, but Laurie grew it back in the early ’70s.

Laurie passed away in March last year.

He was 98 years of age.

Gloria

Gloria Thomlinson was a huge asset to the group.

She was president in 1982-83 and was also a member of the Garden Design Group and, along with Kay Dempsey and Jan Hall, loved drawing up plans for members’ gardens.

A native display in the Town Hall was about to be removed and Gloria hurried in to have a look at it.

Here she met Laurie Baglin and other group members. Gloria had found soulmates.

Gloria and Shirley Dixon were looking for the ‘Dookie Daisy’ and had gained permission to explore 30 acres at Dookie College.

Here the daisy was found, although there were only two plants.

They didn’t want to take cuttings, so Gloria elected to draw them in the field and sent her sketches to the leader of the Daisy Study Group in Melbourne.

She was a gifted botanical artist, and her artwork appears in a number of publications including Australian Daisies, Australian Brachyscomes and Australian Everlastings.

Gloria was a good friend to many, until her death in June 2024.

She is dearly missed.

Paul and Barbara

Paul and Barbara Kennedy established 18 acres of native garden, which contained 600 species and was a delight to visit.

Paul was active in the Shepparton group for 17 years.

However, during that time, he also held senior positions in the state and federal organisations.

In 1998, Paul and Barbara received life memberships of Australian Plants Society Victoria and in 2014 Paul received an OAM for his services to the society.

Paul and Barbara moved to a cooler climate, and a less strenuous lifestyle, in 2013.

Rob Slee

Rob’s mother, Myra, was a keen gardener, and Rob grew up surrounded by camellias, daphne, rhododendrons, dahlias and roses.

However, years later, riding her horse in the high country, she began to take an interest in native flora — and, wherever she was living, she was planting natives.

She became involved with the Congupna/Tallygaroopna Landcare group and was busy trying to prove to her mother that there was plenty of colour in native flowers.

It was a natural progression to SGAP. She has been living in Tallygaroopna for some years now and has planted lemon scented gums on the boundaries of her property — and in her garden.

She says her native plants attract many birds.

I should know better!

I have space here for some of the people who have been associated with SGAP for many years.

However, as my knowledge of the group expands, I am becoming aware that I am omitting many excellent contributors such as Mal Erskine (Erskine Brickworks), who is a foundation member and life member.

Please, everyone, accept my apologies for this.

Welcome to Drew

At the annual general meeting of the SGAP, Drew Baglin attended to say that the group had included a Baglin for many years, and he was present to take his father’s place.

The group promptly asked him to be president, and he accepted the position for six months — which means the group will be looking for a new president very soon.

Just as the group is always looking for new members; anyone who has an interest in our native plants.

As one of their former presidents has written, there has been a ‘waxing and waning’ of members over the decades.

The 1980s and early ’90s were particularly strong membership periods, when they were able to stage large and regular exhibitions at St Augustine’s Hall.

However, right now, they don’t have enough people to help with events they have handled easily in the past.

The fact that they don’t have an appropriate meeting place, doesn’t help.

They have moved from a Community House because of the cost.

(However, there has been an offer to accommodate the group, which could be mutually beneficial. As I write, the group has yet to meet on this subject.)

Our small communities give us options

The collective endeavour demonstrated by the people of Greater Shepparton is so very important.

It shows us who we are, who we want to be and what we can contribute to the ongoing task of shaping our city.

The people who have given years to the research and propagation of Aussie natives don’t want to change the world.

They are simply offering options; letting us know that our gardens can be just as colourful and just as beautiful with natives.

In my ignorance, I assumed that Australian plants would be easier to grow — and that is not necessarily true.

The penny dropped for me when I remembered the size of this country, and the varying climates and soils.

Something that grows — wild and beautiful — in the northern suburbs of Perth, won’t necessarily thrive in Tatura.

That’s why we need advice, and the SGAP.

If you wish to contact the group, Jenny Polinelli is the secretary, and her contact number is 0428 538 402.

Cross pollination

There is some successful blending of SGAP and the Congupna/Tallygaroopna Landcare Group.

For example, when the latter worked so hard to turn two very untidy Congupna acres into Pony Paddock, the plants selected were all natives.

The two groups often go on excursions together and some people are members of both.

There has also been a close association of SGAP with the Australian Botanical Gardens; much planting was done on many Sunday mornings.

What stands out, for me, when I contact people who have been working for their cause for 30 or 40 years is this.

They all say “Oh! I haven’t done much. You should talk to X or Y.” One of those people is Leonie Carroll.

I’ve promised Leonie I won’t embarrass her but, by my calculations, she has been a working member of SGAP for 44 years.

I thank her for the time spent with me and for her obvious knowledge and enthusiasm.

Next week

When I was talking with Leonie, she mentioned the name of a very old friend, whom I haven’t seen or heard about for 50 years.

I was incredibly excited to know that he is alive and well and still active in our community — and so was my husband.

I made contact and his text message in reply mentioned that he’d been reading my stories for years and intending to contact me.

As my deadline approaches, we have yet to tie down details — so, I won’t tell you his name.

However, I am very much looking forward to the catch-up.

May it be easy, my friends.

Marnie

Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au

Letter: Town Talk. The News. P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631.

Phone: Text or call 0409 317 187