News Image

Saturday 3 May 2008
9am - 4pm

Witness nature’s fireworks with the brilliant display of red, orange and yellow hues as Mount Tomah Botanic Garden erupts into spectacular autumnal colour.

This visual feast will be complimented by a culinary one when the Garden stages the 5th annual Autumn Harvest Food & Wine Fair on Saturday 3 May.

A celebration of the regional produce of the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury Districts, set against the beauty of this stunning cool climate garden, the fair has built a strong following with food and garden lovers alike.

With over 20 stalls displaying their wares, visitors will not be left wanting. Locally grown fruit, nuts, vegetables, proteas, jams, honeys, sauces, pickles, chutneys, ciders and vinegars are a small sample of the abundance of produce on offer. There will also be wine tasting stalls, live music, a live radio broadcast, jewellry sales and spinning demonstrations. A gourmet BBQ, a glass of wine and a selection of easy listening music from the 60's, 70's and 80's sets the stage for a very enjoyable afternoon.

Free guided tours run by the Garden's valuable volunteer guides will depart from the Visitor Centre on the hour. The tours will focus on the seasonal autumn highlights in the North American Woodland and Brunet Meadow as well as herbs and other edible plants in the Formal Garden.

For the young (and young at heart), the Garden also has on offer the Buzzabout Adventure Quest. This self-guided family activity takes about an hour to complete. A small fee applies and each completed quest wins a small prize.

To find out more, visit www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au or contact Mount Tomah Botanic Garden on (02) 4567 2154.

Greening The Silver City - Seeds of Bush Regeneration

News Image
The Great Divide

Thursday 15 May - 19 June
10am - 4pm

This exhibition tells the remarkable story of how the denuded landscape of Broken Hill was repaired by a bush regeneration scheme in the 1930s.

When we think of Broken Hill it conjures images of a mining town on the edge of the outback in western New South Wales. Not many have known its significance in environmental history, as a site of one of Australia’s earliest green actions. In 1936, the Barrier Field Naturalists Club led by Albert Morris, an assayer, enlisted the help of a mining company and through the process of native revegetation, defeated the drifts of sand that were swallowing the outskirts of the town, also reducing the effects from dust storms.

The Broken Hill revegatation site was the first example of successful bush regeneration in its broadest sense within Australia. It improved the standard of living of residents as well as conserving plant and animal biodiversity. The regeneration reserves are now National Trust listed.

Albert Morris’s legacy does not limit itself to Broken Hill as he amassed a collection of about 7,000 plant specimens and his collections are represented in several of Australia’s major herbia. More than 1,000 of these are held in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. His methods were applied to other mining towns in Australia and the improvement of living conditions in Broken Hill were quoted world wide. Albert also photographed the flowers and landscape of the surrounding area. These black and white slides were hand coloured by his wife Margaret Morris and are represented in the exhibition.

This is a Powerwhouse Museum touring exhibition in collaboration with Broken Hill City Council and community, and supported by Movable Heritage NSW.

Mention the Garden Clubs e-newsletter when you visit the exhibtion for a free limited edition postcard commemorating this remarkable exhibtion.

To find out more visit www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au or phone Mount Tomah Botanic Garden on (02) 4567 2154.