Goulburn Roses
Goulburn in New South Wales is two and half hours’ drive south of Sydney on the Hume Highway. Until recently it has been best known for the tourist attraction, the Big Merino. More recently it is becoming known as the City of Roses.
The concept of Goulburn as a place to feature roses was launched about five years ago by the City of Goulburn Council at the time of the opening of the Goulburn bypass. The plan was to offset the negative effects of the bypass on the town by providing an asset to attract visitors to Goulburn and a major amenity for the local community.
Len and Jane Pockley of Goulburn and the local rose society have also been instrumental in establishing Goulburn as a centre of roses.
Peak viewing times for Goulburn’s roses are late spring and early summer (October to December) and in autumn. A rose festival is held in March to celebrate the city’s roses.
Roses in Goulburn
Since Goulburn became the City of Roses a rose has been named ‘City of Goulburn’ rose. It is a warm apricot pink with scallop-edged petals. Royalties from the sale of the rose are a source of funds for the Goulburn committee’s work. The rose has proved to be a very hardy and vigorous growing floribunda type which thrives in Goulburn’s inland climate and which has above average resistance to disease.
Where to view roses
Roses grow well in the Southern Tablelands region of NSW of which Goulburn is a part. There are stunning private displays of roses throughout Goulburn. Local businesses have joined in the spirit of the event, beautifying their buildings by planting rose gardens, as has the Council by planting around public buildings. Even the local police station has a beautiful rose garden planted with the ‘City of Goulburn’ rose, ‘Scarlet Queen Elizabeth’ and red ‘Olympiad’.
Victoria Park in the centre of Goulburn is massed with roses. A feature is the Ben Swane Rose Walk named after rose expert Ben Swane of Swane’s Nursery at Dural in Sydney. The nursery has supplied roses for Goulburn’s plantings and distributes the ‘City of Goulburn’ rose.
Goulburn Courthouse, a historic courthouse, built around 1885, has a magnificent rose garden. It features the apricot ‘City of Goulburn’ rose in its front garden. The colours of this rose complement the warm tones of the building with its locally produced cream and pink bricks. The courthouse also has a striking Australian coat-of-arms above its front entrance.
St Joseph’s Convent, a school in Goulburn, has a large rose garden which includes a section known as the Mary MacKillop Rose Garden featuring the shell-pink ‘Mary MacKillop’ rose, named for the woman who may become Australia’s first saint.
Cost and availability
The ‘City of Goulburn’ rose costs around $15.95 for a 20cm (8″) pot and is available from nurseries in the Goulburn area. Alternatively the rose will be available by mail-order from Swane’s from May 1998. Send four 45 cent stamps to Swane’s Nursery, PO Box 29, Dural, NSW, 2158 for a catalogue (include your address). Swane’s also stock the ‘Mary MacKillop’ rose. Orders for bare-rooted roses can be placed by mail, phone or fax following the information in the catalogue. Phone: (02) 9651 1322.
Further information
There is a Rose Festival held in Goulburn in early March each year with a display of some thousands of rose blooms. There is a competition for the best display of roses in a private garden setting and the gardens are open to visitors. For more information on the festival or other attractions in Goulburn contact the Goulburn Tourist Office on (02) 4823 0492.