By Ethan Benedicto
The Friends of Wilson Botanic Park will be turning a new leaf on Wednesday 24 April, when the community group’s members will gather at the park’s visitor centre for a day of camaraderie and recounting past events.
The high tea event will be held from 1pm to 4pm, where food and beverages will be accompanied by conversation about the group’s and park’s history as the first step of the Friends’ history project.
Paula Taylor, who has been a member of the Friends for over 18 years said that the new project is dedicated to the foundation of the park and serves as a reminder of its roots and how it came to be.
In a more technical sense, another reason for the project was the eventual transition of park duties to Casey Council; where the Friends were once the keepers of the park, they now serve as the chronicle of its experiences and journey.
For Ms Taylor, the change is a big one, considering that “the Friends had a lot of autonomy and responsibility before,” but are “very supportive of the council”.
“This all started because the council went paperless and we had to take all of our records away from here and get them sorted.
“Then we had this idea when we were sorting out all our materials, we decided that we were turning it into a historical project; one of the things we thought we should do was some oral histories.
“We thought that having a little get-together would give people the opportunity to talk formally about their memories,” she said.
While the Friends have hosted countless events in the past, such as a Valentine’s Day picnic and fashion events at the park, the high tea also serves as the group’s first of many new activities involved in their new phase.
Caroline Humphreys, a local resident who has been part of the Friends for the last two years said that the idea for the high tea “stemmed from the work that [the Friends] have been doing”.
“Gathering the history and really trying to build oral history into what is a lot of materials that have been maintained over the years.
“It’s filling in a lot of those gaps but also being aware that we’re in a time of transition, a lot of people who were originally part of the Friends are getting older.
“It’s really important for us to be able to understand the history and what has led to the park being what it is,” Ms Humphreys said.
In consideration of their new role and relationship with the council, Ms Taylor said “We have a lot more communication in terms of understanding and we give advice too.
“We do a lot of work towards applying for grants, we also work with the staff in the park for certain activities like mapping all the plants, and we conduct guided tours of the park as volunteers,” she said.
Lex Nieboer, a former member who had been with the Friends for over 30 years recalled the beginning of the group in 1992 and expressed the importance of keeping those memories alive for not just future members, but for park-goers as well.
“When we started it was only myself and two labourers and my sister and a few others got together and did a video of the park and just tried to get as many of the locals involved in it, so that worked out really well.
“The locals were really for it, they donated thousands for the front gates, the rotundas and such, the amphitheatre and all that; they were all sponsored by families.
“With the local papers, we had two or three and they were all supportive of it too; we tried to get sponsorship for the trees that we planted and the garden was sponsored as well,” Mr Nieboer said.
While they were previously a “club of gardeners” according to Ms Taylor, the group is now looking towards keeping the history and spirit of the Friends alive.
Though still in the works, a nursery is planned for the park, where a sale of fauna grown on park grounds will be held twice per year.
The upcoming high tea will be part of this initiative, and while the members are unsure if it is going to be an annual event, they guarantee that the Friends’ presence will still be felt not just throughout the park, but in the community as well.
