compiled by Helen Allan
The early minutes of the Clifton Springs Garden Club show that the first meeting was held in the rooms of the then Leopold-Drysdale Pony Club on Tuesday 21st September 1982. The aims of the club were established, Kevin Steen was elected as first President with Veronica Ratcliffe as Secretary and Allayne Russell as Treasurer.
The speaker at this historic meeting was Mr Don Francis who was then President of the Organic Gardening Club, and 15 members were present.
The first membership list which ran through to February 1984 showed 10 members and 8 family memberships, and by February 1985 there were 16 members and 13 family memberships.
The early membership register shows Mrs Florrie Beck as our longest serving current and continuous member, who attended her first meeting in November 1982, closely followed by Mrs Ev Young, Harry and Joyce Waixel, Ted and Mavis Bradbrook, George and Kath Evans, and Joyce Brownhill, who were all members by February 1985.
The second meeting of the club was held on Monday 18th October 1982 at the Clifton Springs Community Centre and this venue was used for several years until rebuilding of the Springs complex made a move necessary.
Several meetings were held in the Senior Citizen’s rooms before we moved to the Uniting Church Hall. Attendances in 1982 were 21 in October, 15 in November and 12 in December.
At the Annual General Meeting on 14th February 1983 Kevin Steen was re-elected as President, Veronica and Allayne remained as Secretary and Treasurer. Foundation member Aubrey Platt became Snr Vice President and Jan Darter and Brenda Platt became Committee Members. Aub Platt was the speaker at this meeting and spoke on drought conditions. It was agreed that Clifton Springs Garden Club join the Royal Horticultural Society at a cost of $15 per year.
Kevin Steen was in charge of the Garden Nursery at the Shire Offices in Drysdale and he arranged for club members to tour the nursery.
23 members attended the Annual Meeting in February 1984 when Aubrey Platt was elected President and Kevin Steen took the post as Vice President, Brenda Platt became Secretary and Allayne Russell remained as Treasurer.
It was agreed that subscriptions would remain at $2.00 single and $3.,00 for family membership. The format of the meetings to include competitions and speakers and the possibility of a Garden Show was suggested.
The first Garden Show of the Clifton Springs Garden Club was held at the Drysdale Community Hall on the 17th November 1984. Show Manager was Aubrey Platt, Show Secretary Brenda Platt and Afternoon Tea Organiser Florrie Beck. The Show was opened by Cr Gwen Madison of the Shire of Bellarine. Brenda Platt took out 1st prize for her entries, Jan Darter was 2nd and Kath Evans 3rd.
As the club did not have trestles, tables etc at that stage they had to be hired from Geelong Garden Club and member Joe Cauchi who at that time was a grower at Marcus Hill, provided a truck to collect them from storage out along the Ballarat Road.
The Garden Club were very lucky to have Aub Platt who at that time was in charge of Parks and Gardens for the Shire of Bellarine. He was also a member of Geelong Garden Club so had a good deal of expertise in the setting up and running of a Garden Show, and very ably backed up by Kevin Steen, Ted Bradbrook and Harry Waixel in particular. At that time, and for some years to come, all the paperwork for entries etc for the shows was done by hand, and committee members spent many hours on the Friday night before a show, hand writing all the entries, item cards etc, after having set up the hall during the afternoon.
In 1985 the Club Executive remained the same, the Club became Incorporated and the Constitution was adjusted. Membership became $3.00 per person with under 16 free. In April of that year the committee decided to look for another venue for meetings as the charge for the room at the Springs had been increased.
Shirley and I were among a number of new members who joined at that time.
The Annual Garden Show was opened in that year by Cr Wally Nairn of Shire of Bellarine in the Drysdale Community Hall, trestles etc were again hired from Geelong Garden Club at a cost of $10.00. Ted Bradbrook researched and organised prize medallions to be given at the show and the club also took part in the Geelong West Garden Expo. The first newsletter was also produced.
Our Garden Shows have always been well supported each year, firstly by members who have put in many hours to make each show a success, also by members of the public who have come along, some who have entered items in the various categories and also purchased plants, cakes etc from our stalls. In the late 1980s a move was made to obtain sponsorships from traders and businesses in our area, either in donations or goods which could be given as prizes at our shows, and this approach has been an outstanding success ever since.
In 1987 it was decided that the club needed trestles of our own, rather than having to hire them each year for our shows. Kevin Steen took on the task of obtaining the timber etc and the first lot were made in his garage by a number of members. A second lot were made the following year so that we have all our needs covered, and in fact we have hired some of them out at times which has brought money into our club.
Projects undertaken by Clifton Springs Garden Club include planting of shrubs etc at the Clifton Springs fountain, forming and planting the garden around the Drysdale Railway station and the Historic Shepherds cottage near the station, and maintaining them until they were reasonably established. Subsequent changes have seen the shrubs and plants removed from around the fountain by City of Greater Geelong and most have now been removed from the front of the station and around the cottage.
The work of the Garden Club in the station area in particular went a long way towards Drysdale being awarded the Tidy Towns Award in 1988. The City of Greater Geelong have now seen fit to remove the board showing the award.
When Ann Nichol House was built at Portarlington, the Clifton Springs Garden Club purchased and donated, then planted, 24 Sasanqua Camellias lining the driveway at the rear entrance to the building. These plantation pink camellias all grew and provided residents of the home a nice outlook.
Since its beginnings in 1982 the Clifton Springs Garden Club has had eight presidents. Kevin Steen for the first two years, Aubrey Platt for seven, Jim Shearsmith for two, Joyce Brownhill for one year and I was privileged to have occupied the chair for nine years, Ron Hebbard for one year, Wendy Hebbard for four years and Lorraine Wickman has now taken on the task in 2008, our 27th year.
We have had a number of dedicated secretaries, treasurers and committee members, and one treasurer who had a big influence on our Annual Shows in particular, was Life Member Stan Baker. Stan had particular computer skills which he used to completely change and simplify the paper trail for our shows, cutting the time taken in producing and controlling the paperwork down to a fraction of the time taken in handwriting each item and producing a much more professional look to our show benches. This approach has been the envy of a number of other clubs and our current Treasurer Suzy Ridgeway is carrying on the good work.
It is 27 years next month since the club was formed, many members have made huge contributions to the successes achieved, many changes have taken place, but the work of two members in particular must be mentioned.
Ted Bradbrook joined the club prior to February 1985, became involved in all that the club was about, all who know him know that he has been the hardest worker for every garden show from that time on, storing and carting all the equipment for every show, organising the layout to suit the entries, acted as Show Manager, has missed very few meetings, ran the show bench at monthly meetings for many years and has always been there when a task needed doing. The white paper used on the show benches at show time has always been obtained by Ted, firstly from the Geelong Advertiser then the offices of the Geelong News, and I am not sure where he gets it from now. On a few occasions when adverse weather made it likely that entries for the show would be down, Ted has always been able to come up with additional entries of potted plants and shrubs to ensure that there was a good display. In the years when we were able to use council buses for trips and tours, Ted was first to volunteer as driver.
Florrie Beck joined the club in November 1982 and immediately became involved with any catering activities, most notably the afternoon teas, lunches etc on the day of the garden shows. In addition to controlling the catering area for 24 years and the 25th one coming up, Florrie has done more than her share serving supper at monthly meetings and has seldom missed putting exhibits on the meeting show bench as well as having her entries in the annual shows.
I have only given you a brief outline of the early history of the club but I hope it will be of some benefit and given particularly our newer members a comparison with the club as it is today.
Author : Noel Lindsay (I think)
SIGNIFICANT DATES
Update of Garden Club History – 2016
(Author Helen Allan, Secretary – based on information contained in the minute books)
1982 21st September 1982 First Meeting, Leopold-Drysdale Pony Club rooms, with 15 people in attendance
First President Kevin Steen
First Secretary Veronica Ratcliffe
First Treasurer Allayne Russell1982 Monday 18th October 1982 the second meeting was held at the Clifton Springs Community Centre
1984 17th November 1984 the first Garden Show was held at the Drysdale Community Hall
1985 First Newsletter produced
1986 20th March the Clifton Springs Garden Club became Incorporated
1987 The trestles for the Garden Shows were made by members in Kevin Steen’s garage.
1990 – 1991 : Did plantings in Drysdale for the Tidy Towns Competition
1990 February, $1000 was invested in the Geelong Building Society; July – Building Society put into hands of receiver; Members agreed to put in $10 towards fighting fund which was set up to recover monies from Pyramid – a motion was carried to empower the Treasurer to accept this loan from members to keep the Club financial owing to the freeze on funds in the Geelong Building Society; September – offer of 25% received from Pyramid
1990 Held a Home Gardeners & Landscapers course over 3 months
1991 Planted out the original garden beds at Drysdale Railway Station
1991 Exhibited at the Geelong Garden Expo and Bellarine Agricultural Show (which I think they also supplied volunteers)
1992 – 1994 Bellarine Health Community Centre (Anne Nichol House) was built, the Club planted out the garden and I believe donated 24 Sasanqua Camelias. Anne Nichol House has subsequently been sold and is now Arcare.
1991 December meetings became the Annual Breakup Evening
1993 February 1993 moved to the Uniting Church Hall, Drysdale
1994 Meetings moved to the 3rd Monday of the month; Volunteers required for the Agricultural Show
1994 Traders Festival
1995 Donated camellias to the North Bellarine Hostel for the Aged and planted out the garden
1995 Started using computer programs for the annual Garden Show
1996 Did some planting at the Historical Cottage, Drysdale Railway Station – this garden has been re-designed since this date
2007 Position of Show Secretary was created
2013 March 2013 Simon Schooneman appointed as Meet & Greet person to welcome visitors at general meetings
2013 August 2013 Adoption of New Model Rules for Non-profit Community Organisations – Accepted at the General Meeting on Monday 19 August 2013. This meant the end of the Financial Year would now be 30th June and the Annual General Meeting would be in September each year.
It was also voted to keep the name of the Club as the Clifton Springs Garden Club and the Objectives of the Club were updated.
Under the newly adopted Model Rules, the Committee not required to meet every month; but must meet at least four times per year
2013 New Members brochure updated to include Club’s new objectives created under the new Model Rules
1. To encourage and develop a greater appreciation of gardens by members of the Club and the wider
community;
2. To provide information on gardening and the opportunity of sharing an interest in gardening with like minded people;
The above will be realised by :-
a. providing a meeting place for gardeners;
b. holding regular meetings with speakers who
specialise in gardening topics providing the
opportunity to discuss gardening issues;
c. encouraging members to participate in
organised outings; and
d. arranging Open Days and Events show casing
the Club to the general public.2013 August 2013 Purchased data show projector to assist guests at meeting to do electronic presentations
2013 August 2013 Sale of Club equipment – not required now due to Flower Show being changed to an Open Day with floral displays rather than competition.
2014 Annual Membership fees now due 1st July. Currently $10.00/year
2014 15th September 2014 First Annual General Meeting under the new Model Rules. Elected positions are now held from September to September.
2014 12th November 2014 Clifton Springs Garden Club given Community Organisation status
2016 February 2016 Production of Guidelines for Garden Club documenting protocols to be followed by Committee and members to ensure the smooth running of the Club.
2016 February 2016 Written history of Garden Club updated to end of 2015, based on information contained in the Minute books.
2018 September 2018, group Garden Club Members took plants they had grown to Cobden Garden Club to be given to people affected by bushfires.
2018 Some Garden Club Members went on a trip to Tasmania
2020 Many monthly meetings & outings were cancelled due to COVID lockdowns in Victoria
2020 Annual Membership fee for the 2020-2021 year lowered to $5.00 due to Members not being able to attend meetings
2021 February 2021 Garden Club Guidelines and Brochure for New Members updated and amalgamated into one document
2021 Some monthly meetings and outings were cancelled due to COVID lockdowns
Garden Shows/Annual Plant Sale
1984 From the first formal Garden Show held on 17th November 1984, the Annual garden show went from strength to strength, changing as required along the way.
1995 A computer program was introduced to help with the running of the show.
2011 Formal Garden shows continued until their suspension in 2011 due to lack of entries from club members and drought conditions. Storage of the show equipment had also become an issue for the Club. Brian & Jan Keeble had agreed to store the equipment at their property.
2012 At the May 2012 Committee meeting a suggestion was put to the meeting that a special public event be held instead of a formal flower show.
2012 27th October The first “Spring Garden Fair” was held. This included exhibits of plants, blooms, potted plants, floral art, fruit and vegetables from members gardens. These exhibits would be under the same categories as the monthly show bench. There would also be a plant stall, cake stall, raffle and morning & afternoon teas.
Information relating to the Club, photos of outings on display, Newsletters and membership forms were available to visitors on the day.
2014 The date was changed to Saturday of Melbourne Cup weekend, and the selling of cakes was stopped. Other groups were invited to exhibit on the day as long as they had a “botanical” theme in the exhibits.
2015 -2017 Open Days were held on the last Saturday in October so that the signage didn’t have to be changed every year. Some years a guest speaker was invited.
2018 February Meeting, members were asked to fill in a Questionnaire relating to the continuation of the Annual Open Day. Members were asked they wanted to continue with a full Open Day, eg Plant Display, Plant Sale, Raffle, Morning & Afternoon Tea; or just a Plant Sale. These days all required Members willing to work as well as donate plants, raffle prizes etc.
It was decided by Members to alternate the Annual Open Day with an Annual Plant Sale.
2019 Plant Sale and raffle was held on the lawn outside the Church Hall using the trestle tables supplied by the Church
2020 Plant sale was held on the lawn outside the Church Hall (with no raffle) and with COVID restrictions in place. Left over plants were donated to the Drysdale Primary School & SpringDale Neighbourhood house to be taken to fire survivors in Bruthen.
Fees
The first fees charged for the Garden Club was a 50 cents entry fee to meetings. Membership fees were due each February for a period of 12 months.
1984 Annual Subscriptions were $2.00 single and $3.00 family, this was changed to $3.00 single and $6.00 family in February 1985.
1992 Monthly meetings fees increased $1.00 payment of this fee entitled club member to two raffle tickets and a 2 cent coin to vote for Popular vote entries on Show Bench.
1999 – 2008 Annual Membership Fees $5.00.
2008 Monthly meeting fees were raised from $1.00 to $2.00 from.
2009 Annual Membership Fees increased to $10.00;
2014 September AGM, Monthly meeting fees increased to $3.00
2019 September AGM, it was agreed that the Monthly meeting fee would stay at $3.00 and the Annual Membership Fee would stay at $10.00
2020-2021 Annual Membership Fee lowered to $5.00 due to COVID restricting meetings
Lucky Door Prizes/Raffles
The first lucky door prize was a cyclamen donated by Jan Darter’s father and was won by Velga Slater. Door prizes were donated by members or vouchers from Van Loons valued at $2.80 were given by the Club. Members donated lucky door prizes/raffle prizes until 2007 when Lorraine Wickman proposed the Club purchase raffle prizes to a value of $10.00 (passed at General Meeting 20 August 2007).
Raffle prizes are still purchased by the Club and are occasionally added to by Club Members.
Newsletter
A Newsletter has been produced over the years covering the activities of the Club. The first one being distributed in November 1985. The Newsletter was produced on an as-need basis; seasonally; bi-monthly and currently monthly. Its production has been dependent upon someone volunteering to take on the responsibility for its publication.
2013 onwards The Garden Gate published monthly, produced by the Secretary. Copies emailed to members on email. Copies of the Newsletter are available at the monthly meetings for Members not on email & Visitors to meetings.
2020-2021 Due to COVID restrictions on meetings, the Garden Gate was posted or hand delivered to all members not on email.
July Meetings
Over the history of the Garden Club the “July” meeting has taken on several different forms.
From 1983 until 1995, a normal monthly meeting was held in July. In 1995 it was decided to hold a social evening in July which included inviting the Portarlington and St Leonards Garden clubs.
1995 – 2005 The July meeting formats included Dutch Auctions; Christmas in July; Casserole dinner & movie nights; Show & Tell nights and a Garden Party.
2006 – 2010 Social dinner at Clifton Springs Golf Club
2011 – 2015 Social dinner at Leopold Sportsman’s Club
2015 onwards a dinner meeting in July has been held at a variety of locations within the Drysdale/Portarlington area.
Membership
1982
2019
Monthly Show Bench
A Show Bench has been run with two perpetual trophies being awarded to the winners. Club Members are encouraged to bring along plants, flowers, vegetables, fruit from their garden to exhibit.
2021 Due to COVID restrictions the Show Bench has been temporarily suspended
Trophies
Clifton Springs Garden Club Aggregate Perpetual Trophy : given to Club Member with the most points for the year – originally from the North Leigh Challenge Cup/Kent Elms Gardening Allotment Holders Society. This cup was brought out from the UK by Ed and Ada Pynen and donated to the Club as the Aggregate Perpetual trophy in 1987.
Jim Shearsmith Trophy – Show Bench Popular Vote : The Jim Shearsmith Perpetual Trophy for the Show Bench Popular Vote was dedicated to the memory of Jim Shearsmith in January 1996. Jim was elected on the Committee in 1991 and as President in 1992. He held this position until his death in August 1995.
Annual General Meeting
1983 The Club’s first Annual General Meeting was held in February and was held in February until 2012. In 2013 the Annual General Meeting was changed to March.
2014 September first Annual General Meeting held after the Club adopted the New Model Rules set down by Consumer Affairs Victoria
2020 September Due to COVID the Club held their AGM for 2020 via Zoom with the appropriate number of people participating.
Donations
The Club has a long history of donating money to local charities. The first donation recorded in the minutes was May 1984 for an amount of $25.00, only two years after the Club’s first meeting.
Up until the end of 2019 (when the COVID virus interrupted normal meetings), monies made from raffles run at the Garden Shows/Plant Sales, were donated to local charities and organisations up to $500 each, sometimes donations were made to more than one Charity/Organisation in one financial year.
Presidents
Kevin Steen 1982 – 1983
Aubrey Platt 1984 – 1991
Jim Shearsmith 1992 – 1995
Noel Lindsay 1996 – 2002
Ron Hebbard 2003
Wendy Hebbard 2004 – 2007
Lorraine Wickman 2008 – 2012
Eddie Loughnan 2013 – 2014
Karla Ramseyer 2015 – 2016
Simon Schooneman 2016 – 2019
Gordon Richardson 2020 –
Vice Presidents
Aubrey Platt 1983
Kevin Steen 1984 – 1993
Joyce Pattison 1994 – 1995
D Williams 1996
Pam Timms 1997
Pat Williams 1998- 2000
Wendy Hebbard 2001
Robyn Flett 2002 – 2003
Lorraine Wickman 2004 – 2005
Max Proctor 2006
Barbara Batters 2007 – 2009
Marie Rigby 2008 – 2009
Marlene Clarke 2010 – 2012
Simon Schooneman 2013 – 2015
Morris
Keith Pettigrew
Keith Winter 2020 –
Secretarys
Veronica Ratcliffe 1982 – 1983
Brenda Platt 1984 – 1986
W Gregg 1987
B Bulmer 1988 – 1989
Ted Bradbrook 1990 – 1996
Doris Baker 1997
Win Brett 1998 – 1999
Geoff Pretty 2000
Win Baker 2001 – 2003
Robyn Flett 2004 – 2006
Rae Cashmore 2007 – 2012
Helen Allan 2013 –
Treasurers
Allayne Russell 1982 – 1985
P Fisher 1986 – 1987
M Bulmer 1988 – 1989
G Davies 1991
June Hogg 1992 – 1993
Stan Baker 1994 -2003
Suzy Ridgeway 2004 – 2016
Chris Malkin 2017 –
Show Secretary
Ted Bradbrook 1997 – 2000
Robyn Flett 2004
Suzy Ridgeway 2005
Show Bench Co-Ordinators
Max Proctor 2005 – 2007
Ken Deppeler 2006 – 2015
George Evans 2008 – 2011; 2013 – 2015
Barbara Poole 2008 – 2009
Barbara Batters 2010
Eddie Loughnan 2010 – 2012
Graham Mourney 2012 – 2013
Karla Ramseyer 2018
Suzy Ridgeway 2019 – 2020
Colleen Wilson 2020
Lila Gore 2020
Trading Table Co-Ordinators
Marie Rigby 2009 – 2012
Marlene Clarke 2013 – 2014
2014 onwards – To be run on a roster system
Supper Roster
Barbara Batters 2005
Pat Duch 2007 – 2009
Aileen Cook 2010 – 2011
Mae Gardner 2012 – 2014
Val Loughnan 2015 – 2020
Sue Richardson 2020 –
Meet & Greet Person
Simon Schooneman 2013 –
Outings Co-Ordinator
Keith Winter 2019 -
Committee Member Years Served Committee Member Years Served
Jan Darter 1983 – 1987 Wendy Hebbard 2000; 2003
Brenda Platt 1983 Ken Deppeler 2000 – 2013
Jackie Stribley 1984 Ron Hebbard 2001 – 2002
Ed Pynen 1984 Suzy Ridgeway 2001 – 2002
B Noy 1985 Max Proctor 2002 – 2005; 2007
Ted Bradbrook 1985 – 1989; 1996 Floss Proctor 2003 – 2007
Florrie Beck 1985 – 1988 Rae Cashmore 2003 – 2006
Keith Evans 1986 – 1988 Murray Spencer 2003
W Gregg 1986 Pat Duch 2005 – 2012
A Russell 1986 Marie Rigby 2005 – 2007
Noel Lindsay 1987 – 1990; 1992 Marilyn Lloyd 2006
J Waixel 1987; 1995 Colwyn Lloyd 2006
Joyce Pattison 1988 – 1993;
1996 – 2000 Jan Keeble 2006 – 2011
Lorraine Wickman 2007; 2015 – 2020
P Fisher 1988 Marlene Clarke 2008 – 2009
Mavis Bradbrook
1989 – 1990
1992 – 1995
1998 – 1999 John Clarke 2008 – 2010
Barbara Poole 2008 – 2009; 2011
Susan Duncan 2008
E Young 1989 Irene Wemyss 2009 – 2010
J Derran 1989 Brian Keeble 2009
Shirley Lindsay
1989 – 1991;
1994 – 2002 Aileen Cook 2010 – 2011
Ellen Mourney 2010 – 2012
H Waixel 1990; 1992 – 1993
1996 Mary Peace 2010
Chris Malkin 2011 – 2017
Linda Bindar 1991 – 1992 Glenda Guest 2011 – 2013
Fiona Brown 1991 – 1992 Mae Gardner 2012
I Dean 1991 Jill Tilton 2013 – 2016
Jim Shearsmith 1991 Gaby Valkenburg 2013 – 2019
J Waixel 1992 – 1993; 1996 Val Loughnan 2013 – 2020
M Moxen 1992 Karla Ramseyer 2014 – 2015
Y Coates 1993 Sue Richardson 2014 – 2018
G Davies 1993 Marie Kelly 2014 – 2018
Doris Baker 1993– 1994; 1996; 1998 Eddie Loughnan 2015 – 2020
Suzy Ridgeway 2017 –
Stan Baker 1993 Colleen Wilson 2019 –
Kevin Steen 1994 Lila Gore 2019 –
June Hogg 1994 – 1997;
2005 – 2013 Keith Winter 2019
Marlene Clarke 2019
Pam Timms 1994 – 1996; 1998
2001 – 2002 John Clarke 2019
Jim Drever 1994
Pat Williams 1995 – 1996
R Bowkett 1995 – 1996
Margaret Scouller 1998
Robyn Flett 1998 – 1999
Doug Williams 1999 – 2000
Barbara Batters 1999 – 2006
Betty McDonald 1999
Win Brett 2000
Life Members
1997 – Ted Bradbrook – joined the Garden Club in 1984, was elected to the Committee in 1985. Ted held the position of Secretary from 1990 – 1996 when he took on the role of Show Secretary from 1997 – 2000. Ted was made a Life Member as acknowledgement of his hard work, time and effort given to the Club in 1997
2003 Noel Lindsay – joined the Club in 1986, was elected to the Committee in 1988, took on the role as Vice President in 1995, and was President from 1996 – 2003. According to the Minutes of General Meeting dated 17 March 2003 Noel was nominated for Life Membership. There is no record of him being presented with his Life Membership.
2004 Stan & Win Baker – when they joined the Club cannot be verified, but Stan was elected as Treasurer in 1994, a position he held until 2004. Win Baker was elected as Secretary in 2003. Stan & Win Baker were nominated for Life Membership at the Committee Meeting dated 8 March 2004, they were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and Life Membership at the General Meeting dated 15 March 2004 for their commitment to the Club over the past number of years.
2008 Florrie Beck – joined the Club in 1983-84, the second year of the Club. She was elected to the Committee in 1986 and according to the minute books was heavily involved in the Annual Flower Shows and running the kitchen for suppers. Florrie was nominated for Life Membership at the Committee Meeting dated 27 October 2008 and was presented her Life Membership at the Annual Flower Show November 2008 in recognition of her outstanding service and dedication over many years.
2016 Barbara Batters – joined the Club in September 1993 and was elected to the Committee in 1999 – 2007. Barbara was Vice President from 2007 – 2009. During her time in the Club Barbara has been involved in many aspects of Club activities from Supper Roster, Bus trip co-ordinator, Annual Show to have her own “gardening” segment at monthly Meetings up until 2013. Barbara was presented with her Life Membership at the first Meeting for 2016 – the February General Meeting.
2016 Suzy Ridgeway – joined the Club prior to 2001 and was on the Committee in the 2001-2002 year. She became Show Secretary in 2005 and was Treasurer from 2004 until 2016. Suzy was heavily involved in the Annual Shows, as well as over the years I believe she has done over and above what is required in the role as Treasurer. She is also the longest serving Treasurer in the Club’s history as well as being the longest serving Committee Member. Suzy was presented her Life Membership when she handed over the Treasurer’s role at the Annual General Meeting September 2016.
2018 June Hogg – joined the Club around 1991. She served as Treasurer in 1992 & 1993, served on the Committee from 1994-1997 and again from 2005-2013. The Committee had nominated June in 2016 for Life Membership, for her commitment to the Club in various roles on the Committee and her long standing assistance in running the Annual Garden Shows. Due to ill health June was not able to be presented her Life Membership until the March 2018 meeting.
2021 Ken Deppeler – joined the Club in the 1990s and served on the Committee from 2000 – 2013. Was also very involved in the Annual Garden Show for many years and assisted with the recording of the Monthly Show Bench results from 2008 – 2016. Ken was one of those Members who was always there if something needed to be done. He just gone on with things quietly, no fuss. Ken was nominated for Life Membership at the May 2016 Committee meeting, but due to health and personal reasons he did not return to the Club. Ken’s family was presented with his Life Membership after his passing at the April 2021 General Meeting.
2021 Lorraine Wikman – joined the Club more than 20 years ago, has been on the Committee for most of her Membership, and was President for 5 years up to 2012. She has for some years presented at each General Meeting “Lorraine’s Segment”, presenting useful and interesting information with humour on all thing gardening, and has assisted with other aspects of the Club over the years. She was nominated for Life membership at the Committee Meeting of 5 October 2020 and presented with her Certificate of Life Membership by Suzy Ridgeway July 2021. Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control Lorraine was not able to be presented with her Life Membership at a Club meeting.