Speeches
Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Reception for the Chrysanthemum and Floral Art Society 110th anniversary
I am delighted to welcome you to Government House to mark the 110th anniversary of the Chrysanthemum Society.
I am particularly pleased to do so as His Excellency Sir Henry Galway, the 17th Governor of South Australia was the Society’s first patron; and now, thanks to Neil and Derek, we have a dedicated chrysanthemum garden here at Government House.
By any measure, 110 years is a significant milestone: 110 years of passionate and dedicated people sharing their love of these magnificent blooms.
And yet, it is but a small part of the long history of the chrysanthemum, which goes back at least two and a half thousand years to China, where the flower was cultivated as a flowering herb.
For many cultures, including the Chinese, the flowers hold symbolic value and are often used in ceremonies and funeral ceremonies as a symbol of remembrance and mourning: I well remember when I was the Australian Ambassador to China, seeing chrysanthemums adorning graves across the country.
In that context, there is a special chrysanthemum here at Government House, a new, deep pink flower with yellow centre called GH: Jennifer Cashmore, named after my dear late mother and a lovely tribute to her memory.
I am told that the emergence of such a new cultivar is uncommon. It transformed from a plant sent from Western Australia and Derek and Neil tell me there are new seedlings emerging in the bed. My family and I eagerly await their blooming.
In Japan chrysanthemums became a symbol of the Emperor and the imperial family – representing the longevity of the Chrysanthemum throne.
As for us in Australia, more prosaically but no less sincerely, we give them to our mums on Mothers’ Day, we drink chrysanthemum tea, and they often feature in presentation bouquets.
We all love growing flowers and it’s a great pleasure to see Derek and Neil tending to the garden or nipping spent buds and chatting about the flowers.
I understand that our hot climate and abundance of sunshine makes South Australia a good place to grow chrysanthemums.
Not only are they, in the words of Neil, plants that are “tough as”, they are easy to grow and strike easily from cuttings but require understanding to achieve those perfect blooms.
Friends
I thank the committee members and members of the Chrysanthemum Society past and present for sharing your love of the flowers with others and for playing a role in maintaining classified chrysanthemums in their original form, including some from the early 1940s.
Thank you for staging the flower shows, keeping the society going and your commitment to their cultivation and appreciation, alongside nurturing collaboration with other enthusiasts.
It is wonderful to know that a Society such as this has such longevity and relevance to the modern age; an age when nature and slowing down becomes ever more needed.
The 16th century philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon said: God Almighty first planted a garden: and indeed it is the purest of human pleasures.”
Whether we take that statement as a literary reference or a theological one, I think we can all agree with his sentiment.
I wish you well in your quest to grow the Society’s membership. It’s always a challenge with people being time poor these days.
Again, congratulations on your 110th anniversary. May there be many more.