26 June, 2015

175 Roses Planted In Celebration Of Adelaide's 175th Anniversary

Lord Mayor Martin Haese will join Councillors and selected residents in Brougham Gardens, North Adelaide on Saturday from 10 am to plant 175 City of Adelaide roses in celebration of the City of Adelaide’s 175th anniversary.

“Adelaide was the first Australian capital city to have a rose named after it and the City of Adelaide has more public rose gardens than any other capital in the nation, so I think it’s fair to say we love our roses,” said Martin.

“We sent our invitations to all of our rate payers and the first 50 respondents were given the chance to join the Councillors, my wife Genevieve and me in the planting set for Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty with others who are passionate about gardening and about Adelaide,” he said.

Adelaide is known as the rose capital of Australia and the City of Adelaide’s namesake, the City of Adelaide rose, has a wonderful deep salmon pink bloom set in tidy clusters.

Long-time Council employee Lorraine Oldrey was part of the team that initiated the City of Adelaide Rose after a Council resolution in September 1991.

“A resolution was passed that administration pursue the concept of making the City of Adelaide, the Rose City of Australia with a joint undertaking by the Rose Society of Australia and Council to host a Rose Festival in 1993 to coincide with the Australian Rose Championships, it was all very exciting really,” said Lorraine.

“A number of the original committee members are no longer with us so it is wonderful to be able to honour the idea during the Council’s 175th anniversary celebrations.

“The first City of Adelaide rose was released in April 1993 during the Adelaide Rose Festival in Veale Gardens at the main entrance on South Terrace.

“The rose was selected based on its flowering habit, the style of its bloom and its robustness and it has proven to suit the Adelaide climate very well. It also has the added bonus of a light fragrance. It has glossy, deep green foliage which off-sets the rich colour of the flowers beautifully.

“The Festival Committee was able to raise over $5,500 from that first Rose Festival, which was quite a sum at the time and the proceeds were donated to the Children’s Research Foundation Appeal,” she said.

The rose planting will be followed by High Tea complete with scones and tea for participants to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the City of Adelaide.

For more information on how to get involved with Council’s 175th anniversary, visit: www.175adelaide.com

Rebecca Draysey