In my last post, I discussed some of my favourite general books on archaeology and the prehistory of mankind. Today, I am focusing on Australian Prehistory, beginning with three books by the celebrated paleobotanist, Mary E White. The Greening of Gondwana and After the Greening are the first two books of her trilogy on the evolution of Australia, the continent and its biota, over 400 million years, the third volume being Listen.. Our Land is Crying. They are all beautiful hardback publications with luscious glossy photographs by Jim Frazier! I am only discussing the first two, as those are the books we own.
The Greening of Gondwana by Mary E White Third Edition 1998
This book tells the story of Australia’s floral heritage from the earliest times, when all life was aquatic; the emergence of the first land plants, 400 million years ago; and the evolution of Australia’s modern flora and the Gondwanan broad-leaf conifer forests, when Australia finally separated from Antarctica 45 million years ago and moved northward.
There are over 400 wonderful photographs of fossils and living plants, as well as palaeographic maps, artist’s drawings and diagram and tables (Geological eras; Linnaean plant classification; Evolution of the plant kingdom; Australia’s fossil pollen record; and Fossil age and locality).
Part One starts with a description of the rocks of the earth’s crust; the dawn of life; the first unicellular life forms: the Western Australian stromatolites (fossil reefs of cyanobacteria, 3 500 million years old) and unicellular algae; and the formation of plant fossils (macro-fossils and microscopic spores and pollen).
The book then goes on to discuss the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics; Australia’s Gondwanan heritage; and the evolution of an Australian flora from the ancestral Gondwanan flora, which developed in isolation for 30 million years without any significant input from migrants, despite Australia’s proximity to South-East Asia.
While Eucalypts and Acacias predominate, 80 per cent of all the plant species and 30 per cent of Australia’s genera are endemic, accounting for the distinctive Australian character of the flora: its leathery, hard, spiny or reduced leaves, an adaptation to the low nutrient status of the Australian soils and the dry arid conditions called scleromorphy, these plants being called sclerophylls.
Australian plants also have many adaptations to fire: thick insulating protective bark or the shedding of outer layers of bark, so there is no build up of inflammable matter; new buds produced along the length of the stem after fire has destroyed the crown of the tree and underground lignotubers; and hard woody fruits and seeds, which can survive intense heat and often need the stimulus of fire to burst open and start to grow.
Part Two examines Australia’s fossil record in detail:
Life in the early seas (Cambrian, Ordovician and Early to Mid Silurian times);
First land plants of the Late Silurian and Early Devonian periods;
Giant club mosses of the Late Devonian and early Carboniferous periods;
Primitive seed ferns of the mid to late Carboniferous and early Permian years;
Glossopteris flora of the Permian period, when cool temperate swamps formed the early coal deposits and early gingkos, cycad ancestors, conifers and tree ferns were abundant;
Dicroidium flora of the Triassic period;
Age of the Conifers and the cycads of the Jurassic period;
Dawn of the Angiosperms (or Flowering Plants) in the Cretaceous Era; and
The sequence of events in the Gondwanan breakup and its effect on the flora.
Australia became an ark with a living cargo of Gondwanan plants (predominated by flowering plants) and animals (marsupials, monotremes, large monitors, penguins and emus, parrots and frogmouths, pollinating honeyeaters, Southern Frogs and Side-Necked Turtles) during the Tertiary period, moving northward and having no outside contact for 30 million years.
Specific families are discussed in the book:
Antarctic Beeches Fagaceae (genus Nothofagus);
Winteraceae, one of the most primitive angiosperm families alive today, which includes native pepper Tasmannia;
Proteaceae (Banksia, Proteas and Leucospermum, Persoonia, Telopea, and Macadamia);
Casuarinaceae (She-oaks, Desert Oaks and River-Oaks);
Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus, Leptospermums, Baeckea, Syzgium and Angophoras);
Salt bushes Chenopodiaceae;
Mistletoes Loranthaceae; and
Wattles of Mimosaceae (genus Acacia).
The final chapters discuss Australia’s modern flora from the Quarternary period on, including vegetation types and a map (alpine, rainforest, wet sclerophyll, dry sclerophyll, woodlands, mallee woodlands and scrub, mulga scrub, desert and semi-desert, salt-bush scrub, grasslands and mangroves), as well as a brief mention of the intrusion of northern plants and animals, which came with man, especially after European colonization.
After the Greening: The Browning of Australia by Mary E White 1994
This book continues the story of Australia’s prehistory and the geological processes behind the rifting (160 to 45 million years ago), drifting (15 to 2.4 million years ago) and drying (2.4 million years ago to today) of the continent to become the driest vegetated continent on Earth.
Two thirds of the land is classed as arid and half is desert, yet it supports an amazing variety of desert-adapted fauna and flora. The last 2.4 million years are particularly significant, as they represent the Age of Man and a time when icecaps had a profound effect on the physical landscapes, climate and biota of Australia.
Aboriginal Australians arrived around 60 000 year ago, but the most dramatic changes have occurred over the past 200 years since European settlement, completely unbalancing our delicate ecological balance through grazing; clearing; and the introduction of feral rabbits, goats, horses, donkeys, pigs, buffalo, camels, cats and foxes, not to mention garden escapees and weeds.
The formation of the Great Dividing Range, Australia’s river system, the Murray Basin, the Great Artesian Basin, Nullabor Desert, Ayers Rock and the Olgas is covered, along with the adaptation of Australian flora to the changing climate; ancient weathered soils; droughts and flooding rain; fire; and salt.
The last part of the book discusses Australia’s vegetation regions in detail, as well as future challenges. Again, there is so much information, supported by beautiful colour photographs, maps, tables and diagrams.
The final book in the trilogy: Listen.. Our Land is Crying examines Australia’s environmental problems: land and water degradation, increased salinisation and desertification, decreasing biodiversity and habitat destruction, water pollution, the greenhouse effect and feral weeds and animals, suggesting possible solutions and highlighting the amazing unique wonders of our continent. While we don’t own this final book, we do have another of her glossy geological books:
Time in Our Hands : Semi-Precious Gemstones: Keys to the Geological Past by Mary E White 1991, which covers many of her previous topics, but mainly concentrates on the semi-precious gemstones of Lune River, Tasmania: the agates, onyx, carnelian and jasper, all forms of quartz gemstones made from silica dioxide, as well as petrified conifers and tree-ferns.
Now for some excellent books on aboriginal prehistory! One of the earliest books on Aboriginal origins and culture was the first edition of John Mulvaney’s The Prehistory of Australia in 1969, with a second edition in 1975. The following book is the third edition with substantial changes in content, while still retaining the orientation and much of the original structure of the earlier books, when Mulvaney was the sole author. John Mulvaney is one of Australia’s foremost prehistorians and John Kamminga, an expert on Aboriginal stone technology.
Prehistory of Australia by John Mulvaney and Johan Kamminga 1999
A very comprehensive guide to the Australian aborigines and their traditional way of life.
Chapters cover the following topics:
Diversity of surviving traces: Surface artefacts; shell middens; caves and rock shelters; earth mounds; ceremonial mounds and rock arrangements; stone and ochre quarries; rock art sites; stone hunting-hides and bird and fish traps; scarred trees; hatchet-head grinding localities; and human burials;
Dating the past;
Changing Australian landscapes: Topography, climate, vegetation, cleaning the land, fire-stick farming, water resources and carrying capacity of the land;
People, language and society: Population estimates, language groups, social organization, the Dreaming; and culture areas;
Subsistence and reciprocity: Mobility and seasonality; Animal and plant food: bulbs and tubers, starch extraction, seeds and the farming debate; Material culture : travelling light, hunting weapons, skin cloaks, bone and stone implements, and stone hatchets; Reciprocity and cultural diffusion; and Aboriginal trade in pituri and greenstone;
Seafarers from Sundaland (South East Asia and Indonesia) to Sahul (the super-continent of Australia and Papua New Guinea) during the fluctuating sea levels of Pleistocene;
Extinction of the Mega-Fauna;
Initial colonization, migration theories and Pleistocene settlement: Kow Swamp, Lake Mungo and Tasmania;
Conquest of the deserts: Willandra Lakes; Lake Mungo; Menindee Lakes; Lake Eyre; Nullabor caves; the Pilbara region; and Central Australia;
Pleistocene artefacts : Wood, bone, and stone tools;
Holocene stone tool innovations;
Coastal aborigines: Kakadu; Aurukun and Weipa; South-East Queensland; Sydney; South Coast of NSW; and South-Western Australia;
Regional challenges and responses: The Snowy Mountains; Murray River societies; the arid zones; trade and exchange networks; and technological developments;
Island settlement of the offshore islands and Tasmania; and a major section on
Rock Art:
- Panaramitee style of engraving from western NSW to Eastern South Australia and northwards to Alice Springs;
- Simple figurative motifs of South-eastern Australia: Simple outlines or stick figures with solid or linear infills and simple geometric designs and stencilling eg the Southern Highlands and the Grampians;
- Engravings and pigment art of the Sydney region;
- Art of Tropical Australia:
1. South-East Cape York: Laura: Quinkan country and Jowalbinna: engravings and painted figurative and non-figurative art; and Koolburra Plateau;
2. Kakadu National Park: Succession of styles and X-ray painting;
3. The Pilbara: Burrup Peninsula engravings;
4. Victoria River District;
5. Kimberley region: Bradshaw figures and Wandjina paintings;
6. Asian and European Newcomers: the Trepang industry; Macassan sites; Chinese and Arab traders; and the Portuguese and Dutch explorers;
This book is an indispensable guide to aboriginal prehistory, especially if travelling around Australia, which we did in 2008!
We found the next set of books by Josephine Flood, another prominent archaeologist, very useful in our travels as well:
The Original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal People by Josephine Flood 2006
This book tells the story of Australian Aboriginal history and culture from their distant beginnings to the present day. She writes for the general public and uses history and culture to answer some of the major questions about the genetic origins of the First Australians; their lifestyle, culture, religion and beliefs; their impact on the megafauna and the Australian environment; and modern problems, including the stolen generation; land rights; the challenges of contemporary aboriginal communities (lower mortality, poverty, poor health, education, alcoholism and drugs etc) and future directions.
Chapters cover:
European discovery of Australia and encounters between the aborigines and Dutch explorers, Macassan traders and Captain Cook;
European colonization and its impact on the original inhabitants, including disease, kidnapping, the treatment of women, confrontation and conflict and severe depopulation between 1820 and 1920;
Indigenous life at first contact: Spirituality; totemism and animism; the Dreaming; Songlines; oral traditions; language (of which there were 250 different language groups); medicine men and women healers; shamans and sorcerers; childhood; initiation ceremonies; marriage and sex; other ceremonies, burials and fertility cults; the wisdom of the elders; law and order; and economy and exchange networks;
Aboriginal origins over the past 50 000 years: Physical characteristics; patterns of settlement; climate change; environmental impacts: the extinction of megafauna and use of the firestick; new technologies and diets; rock art; and language; and
Assimilation and modern day problems and challenges.
Archaeology of the Dreamtime: The Story of Prehistoric Australia and Its People by Josephine Flood 1995
This book covers many of the above topics.
Part One examines stone and bone tools; the first boat people; routes to Australia; migration; life and death at Lake Mungo; the Australoids of Keilor, Kow Swamp and Willandra Lakes; genetic evidence; the peopling of Australia; early sites throughout Australia; Pleistocene rock art: petroglyphs (engravings) and rock paintings, with a discussion of all the major art sites in Australia; and the extinction of megafauna.
Part Two looks at climate changes and rising sea levels; the arrival of the dingo; food resources: Bogong moths; yams; eels and fish traps; processing toxic cycads; and aboriginal trade, religion and art over the past 1000 years.
At the back is a reference list of all the different Pleistocene artefacts, their location and dates.
The Riches of Ancient Australia: An Indispensable Guide for Exploring Prehistoric Australia by Josephine Flood 1990
This book certainly lived up to the claim of its subtitle, especially on our 2008 travels around Australia, although we discovered that many of the sites described were no longer accessible to the public, due to cultural sensitivities, and many had a policy of ‘No Photography’. After a brief introduction to Australian prehistory over the last 60 000 years and a discussion of Australian rock art, each state is explored in detail.
We used this book at the following places:
Queensland :
1.Lark Quarry dinosaur footprints
2.Cape York:
Quinkan country at Laura:
The Gugu Yalangi Galleries;
Split Rock;
Giant Horse site and Mushroom Rock;
and
Jowalbinna.
3. Riversleigh megafauna
Northern Territory
1.Kakadu National Park:
Anbangbang Gallery;
Nourlangie Rock;
Nanguluwur (Xray style); and
Ubirr;
2.Victoria River District
Western Australia
1.Chamberlain Gorge, El Questro
2.King George River and Mitchell Falls, Kimberley Plateau:
Gwion Gwion figures 20 000 years old;
and the more recent Wandjina figures;
3.Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek
4.Burrup Peninsula engravings: Over 10 000 engravings of humans, animals and geometric figures up to 20 000 years old;
5.Stromatolites of Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay;
South Australia:
Naracoorte Cave megafauna: This is a model of a Diprotodon, the largest marsupial ever!
Victoria:
1.The Grampians;
2.Condah fish traps
We have also used this book at other times:
Carnarvon Gorge and Kenniff Cave, Mt Moffat, in Queensland; and
Mt Yarrowyck, Armidale;
The Warrumbungles; and
Bawley Pt, NSW, with its giant shell middens;
and will definitely be consulting it before our trip to Lake Mungo, Willandra Lakes and Menindee Lakes at some stage in the future!
After our big trip around Australia, my appetite for further knowledge whetted by the large amount of rock art seen, we bought the following books:
Lost World of the Kimberley: Extraordinary Glimpses of Australia’s Ice Age Ancestors by Ian Wilson 2006
We particularly loved the tiny exquisite and ancient Gwion Gwion Figures, also known as Bradshaw Figures, of the Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberley area! It was so exciting searching and finding these delightful artworks under rocky overhangs at the King George River area en route to Mitchell Falls. Because we had limited time, we splurged on a helicopter ride out over the stone circles on the plateau (photo below) and north to the sea, where we saw a mother and baby dugong, then followed the King Edward River back past huge salt water crocodiles lazing in the sun and the Lower Falls to the Upper Mitchell Falls, where we disembarked to explore the falls.
Because we had not walked in, we easily lost the track on the way out, circumnavigationg the area and finding ourselves back at the falls, so if we ever returned to explore the Lower Falls (which we would love to do!), I would definitely use a helicopter both ways!
Apparently, there is a huge body of Gwion Gwion artwork at the Lower Falls, where the salt water meets the fresh water! Given that it is probably very unlikely that we will get back there, it is great to have this book! Ian documents the history of the discovery of this amazing artwork and describes the different artistic styles of Kimberley Rock Art:
Archaic Epoch: Cupules; Grooves; and Stencils;
Erudite Epoch:
Bradshaw Figures: Sash Figures; and Tassel Figures;
Clothes Peg Figures: Stick figures; and
Aboriginal Epoch: Clawed Hands; and Wandjina Period.
He examines the huge range of art sites and paintings, musing on the lifestyles, artefacts and clothing depicted, as well as their origins, not to mention the more enigmatic paintings of reindeer and high-prowed boats, which look very similar to those of the Ancient Egyptians!
Rock Art of the Kimberley by Mike Donaldson and Kevin Kenneally 2007
A record of the proceedings of the Kimberley Society Rock Art Seminar back on 10th September 2005, this book contains chapters by different contributors on a wide variety of topics.
The editor, Mike Donaldson, writes an overview of the Kimberley area: its geology, past climate changes and sea level rises; early European discoverers; the different art forms (cupules; engravings; stencils; beeswax figures; stone arrangements and paintings); the materials used (ochres, charcoal and clays); the subject matter (Gwion Gwion and Wandjina figures; animals; and fighting scenes); and finally, the topic of repainting rock art sites, particularly pertinent to the Wandjina art work.
The latter is further discussed by Donny Woolagoodja, a Worrorra elder and artist, while Denis Callaghan discusses the natural deterioration of rock art sites and Ian Crawford describes the 1960s field work on Wandjina art.
Jim Ross examines evolution and genetics, the migration of the original aboriginal ancestors, climate change, current dispersal theories and the peopling of Australia.
Sue O’Connor describes the different rock art sites and occupation sites in the Kimberley, while David Welch focuses specifically on the Bradshaw Figures.
And finally, Philip Playford explores the aboriginal rock art in the limestone ranges of the West Kimberley: Geike Gorge, Wandjina Gorge; and Tunnel Creek, another area we visited in 2008. Again, beautiful photos and an excellent record of the rock art of the Kimberley region.
Mike Donaldson has since published a three-volume series on the prolific rock art of the Kimberley :
Kimberley Rock Art -Volume One: Mitchell Plateau Area, released in April 2012;
Kimberley Rock Art -Volume Two: North Kimberley, released in October 2012;
Kimberley Rock Art -Volume Three: Rivers and Ranges , released in April 2013.
See: http://www.wildrocks.com.au/ for details.
Mike Donaldson has also produced a lovely book on the rock engravings of the Burrup Peninsula:
Burrup Rock Art : Ancient Aboriginal Rock Art of Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago by Mike Donaldson 2010
See: http://www.wildrocks.com.au/publications/burrup-rock-art-book/.
I would love to see this book one day, as we were so impressed with these ancient petroglyphs, of which there are over 10 000, up to 25 000 years old, at Deep Gorge, near Karratha, Western Australia, and so little is known about them.
When we first started looking, all we could see were huge mullock heaps of red rock, but once you have spotted the first engraving, they suddenly become obvious, covering most of the rocks and depicting animals, birds, marine animals, geometric symbols and strange looking figures.
Here are some more useful websites:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/publications/archaeology-and-rock-art-in-the-dampier-archipelago/ and
http://rockart.net.au/Burrup.htm.
Rock Paintings of Aboriginal Australia by Elaine Godden and Jutta Malnic 2008
Another terrific publication on aboriginal art work throughout Australia and the stories behind the paintings. It discusses the materials and techniques used and their deterioration and conservation. It then focuses on a few specific areas: The Kimberleys, Cape York, Arnhem Land and the Central Australian Deserts, with superb photographs of the art work throughout.
Journey in Time: The 50 000 Year Story of the Australian Aboriginal Rock Art of Arnhem Land by George Chaloupka 1999
This book explores the 50 000 years of Australian Aboriginal rock art of Arnhem Land: its depth and complexity, aesthetic achievements and the life of its creators. This fabulous book is so comprehensive and has wonderful photos.
The introduction starts with a world perspective and a description of :
Rock art in Australia ;
Rock art dating;
Arnhem Land Galleries;
The Land Gulbok: its physical characteristics and climate;
The People: their totemism, language groups and clan territories; and
Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories and mythology, illustrated by examples of the artwork.
There is a large section on the rock art sites; the materials and techniques used; the aboriginal view of the art; a non-aboriginal sequence of the rock art; and
The different art styles and periods:
Pre-Estuarine : 50 000 to 8000 year ago:
Object imprints;
Large Naturalistic Figures Complex: Large naturalistic human figures and large naturalistic animals, including a thylacine (photo), a long-beaked echidna and a tapir-like Palorchestes, now extinct, and a Tasmanian devil, no longer found on the mainland;
Early X-Ray paintings;
Dynamic Figures;
Post-Dynamic Figures: Progressively stylised artwork representing boomerangs, fighting picks, spears and spear throwers, and yam figures.
2.Estuarine : 8 000 to 1500 years ago:
Early Estuarine Paintings;
Beeswax Designs;
X-Ray Art Complex: Humans and animals: fish; crustaceans; fishing spirits.
3.Freshwater Period : 1500 years ago to present day: Paintings of the contact period between aborigines and visitors:
Makassan fisherman from Sulawesi, Indonesia;
European explorers eg Ludwig Leichhardt; the riders and horses of the McKinley Frieze; and paintings of guns and a two-masted lugger.
Chinese gold diggers;
Buffalo shooters; and
Sorcery paintings.
Finally, there is a discussion of :
Particular motifs and themes: East Alligator Figures; Powerful Women; Human Sexuality; Dismembered Bodies; Dilly Bags and String Bags; Crocodiles; Turtles; and Ceremonies; and
Other art forms: Stencilling; Rock Engraving; Earth Art; and Stone Arrangements.
It finishes with appendices of neighbouring rock art (Kimberleys and Papua New Guinea); and a list of international rock art sites.
Given these unique and priceless art sites are outside and vulnerable to deterioration and damage, these books are so important as a record of the wonderful ancient legacy of Australia’s original inhabitants.
For more information about Australian rock art, another book, which we don’t have in our library, but is a classic in the field is: Visions From the Past: The Archaeology of Australian Aboriginal Art by Mike Morwood, an archaeologist, renowned for his knowledge of Aboriginal Art. See:
Australia’s Living History: Arts of the Dreaming by Jennifer Isaacs 2002
Another fabulous book, which celebrates the diversity and richness of aboriginal culture, art work and oral traditions and covers a very broad range of artistic expression.
After a look at the regional variations in cultural expression, a wide variety of aboriginal art is discussed:
Body Adornment and Ornamentation;
Ceremony and Dance;
Fibre Crafts: Spinning and natural dyeing; Basket making; String bags and nets;
Rock Engravings and Paintings: Techniques; Styles; and Regional Examples;
Bark Painting;
Papunya Painting of the Desert;
Contemporary Works on Canvas;
Carved Weapons and Utensils;
Sculptures; and
Future Directions for Aboriginal Art.
In the back is an appendix titled the Antiquity of Aboriginal Art.
My final book is also edited and compiled by this knowledgeable lady:
Australia Dreaming : 40 000 years of Aboriginal History Edited by Jennifer Isaacs 2005
For aboriginal peoples, their artwork is a proud expression of their heritage and mythology, the stories of the Dreaming, the subject of this lavish book. This first aboriginal history of Australia and its people is told through the traditional myths and legends of over 40 aboriginal storytellers from a wide cross-section of communities and areas, showing regional variations in the beliefs of different aboriginal groups.
The stories are accompanied by beautiful photos of the land, people and artwork and are divided up into different themes:
The Reality of Myth: Arrival of the First Australians and their way of Life; Megafauna; Rising Seas; and Volcanoes;
The Creation Era: Desert Ancestors and the Creation of the Desert Tors; the Origin of Lake Eyre; the Nullabor Plain; The Sky-Heroes of South Eastern Australia; The Earth Mother; the Great Serpents; the Wandjina; and the Creation Ancestors of NE Arnhem Land and North-Eastern Australia;
The Great Journeys: that of the Zebra Finch; and the Kangaroo and Euro;
Earth, Fire and Water;
Seasons: Lightning; Thunder; and Clouds;
Sun, Moon and Stars;
Cycle of Life: Men and Women; Birth of the Tribes; Early Years; Passage to Adulthood; Hunting and Food Gathering;
Death and the Spirit World;
Designs from the Dreaming;
The Visitors: Baiini; Macassans; and the Badu Islanders; and
The Invaders: First encounters with White Men; Violence; Spread of Disease; Vengeance of the Spirit Ancestors; and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.
As my last book in my post, it is very fitting that aboriginal people should have the final word on their own prehistory!
Next week is the third and final post on history books in our library, covering the time since written records.
Chapter 4 describes global stretching, resulting in the formation of rift valleys 1700 million years ago; mountain building and the development of continents, the evolution of multicellular organisms and the Age of the Bacteria.
Heritage Parks are such a wonderful way to get a feel for the past, especially for kids. See: 
We visited another open-air museum at the Prehistoparc, Tursac in the Dordogne (See: 
The National Museum of Prehistory at Les Ezyzies (
We bought the following book there to learn more about the Prehistory of the Perigord region, especially since all the cave tours were in spoken French!
Walter was born in Adelaide in 1939, though his family roots were the grazing property of Hughes Park, Watervale, South Australia, owned by his family since 1887 and now run by the sixth generation. He inherited his love of roses from his mother, Rose.
In 1976, he established a rose and cut flower nursery called ‘The Flower Garden’, later trading as ‘The Rose Garden’, based at Hughes Park and supplying thousands of bare-rooted roses and cut roses to nurseries and supermarkets all over Australia for 24 years. He retired from the nursery in 2000.
He has won a number of awards for his exhibits, including the Banksian Medal twice from the Royal Horticultural Society, United Kingdom, and five Grand Champions.
Walter has written numerous articles, including their culture, cultivars and propagation, some of which can be read at : 
He has been actively involved in the development of many prominent rose gardens in South Australia, including the old rose section of the Adelaide International Rose Garden and the modern rose garden at Carrick Hill.
Walter is a highly respected rosarian, both here in Australia and internationally. He was Winner of the Australian Rose Award in 2007 and the TA Stewart Memorial Award and Distinguished Service Award from the Heritage Rose Society in 2008.
Hughes Park
Walter had his nursery and rose display garden at Hughes Park for many years and featured in many magazine articles, as well as Susan Irvine’s book ‘Rose Gardens of Australia’.
Beyond the display garden were extensive nursery beds in open paddocks. Walter sold over 100 000 roses each year. He used Dr. Huey 1915, a vigorous thornless rose which grows easily from cuttings, as his understock and flew his budder out from England every year. Walter ran his nursery from 1976 to 2000.
The Heritage Garden 136 km North of Adelaide (1.75 hours drive)
When Walter and Kay bought the 9 ha property back in 1999, it was just a bare paddock with a rundown 140 year old cottage, originally owned by Agnes, Polly and Jack McCord, who had an orchard and a reputation for growing the best chrysanthemums in the Clare Valley.
He designed a house, similar in style to the old place, but adapted to modern style living with a large open-plan kitchen and family room at the back of the house.
The decorative cast-iron verandah railings are swagged in Mme Grégoire Staechlin 1927 (also known as Spanish Beauty) and the stone walls are covered in ivy, connecting the house with the garden.
Other walls are covered with a Chinese Wisteria Wisteria sinensis, Mme Alfred Carrière 1875 and Lamarque 1830 , under-planted with erigeron, forget-me-knots and aquilegia, and Bonica 1982 and the Edna Walling Rose 1940.
Once they had built the house, they turned their attention to the old sandstone cottage, converting it to bed-and-breakfast accommodation by 2002.
It has two living areas, a wood fire and a cosy bedroom.
Kay is a keen quilter, so her beautiful quilts can be seen in every room.
We stayed three nights for the price of two, a very generous offer, especially given the provision of a full breakfast, a complimentary bottle of Clare Valley wine, and port and European chocolates, as well as wonderful vases of fresh roses from the garden!
Breakfasts was eaten out on the front patio near the old chimney ruin, covered with R. brunonii.
The cottage walls are covered with Noisette roses Céline Forestier 1842 (1st photo) and Crépuscule 1904 (2nd and 3rd photo).
The fence is covered with a huge yellow Banksia Rose, which blocks the southern wind and there are two arches of Phyllis Bide 1923 at the entrance to the cottage on McCord Lane.
and colourful garden beds, full of roses, perennials and annuals: the garden to the left of the garden entrance from McCords Lane with its rugosas; 
The garden to the right with its golden Kordes Shrub Rose, Maigold 1953;
And the riot of colour in the garden bed at the back of the main house.
Walter and Kay designed a 2 ha (6 acres) English-style garden with a backdrop of the Australian bush.
In 2012, Catherine O’Neill painted a watercolour plan of the garden, showing the main sections of the garden.
Walter and Kay used the existing trees as a starting point: a 70 to 80 year old walnut tree; and gnarled old plum and fig trees.
They planted a quick-growing row of poplars, which are now 40 feet high and provide shelter from the north, as well as birches and prunus.
At the side of the property, they planted a quince orchard (Smyrna Quinces) with 200 trees, the fruit used by Maggie Beer for her famous quince paste. I loved the statue at the end of the quince orchard.
These hardy, drought-tolerant free-flowering, fragrant, pastel roses have an even growth habit and look a bit like David Austin roses. They include Sonia Rykiel 1991; Paul Bocuse 1992 (photo below); William Christie, bred before 1998; and Gene Tierney, bred before 2006. Knight’s Roses are now the agent. See: 
Behind the Guillot rose patch is a vegetable garden and a contemplative area with a gravel courtyard, wellhead, candle pines and a claret ash.
However, it is the front of the house, which is the highlight, with a 200 foot long archway, transferred from Hughes Park, extending from the front gate to a wedding pavilion near the house.
The 22 arches are spaced 4 metres apart and support Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison.
The arch is narrowed in the middle by two urns, giving the tunnel an illusion of increased length.
It is such a romantic beautiful sight in full bloom!
On one side of the fragrant avenue are deep beds of Tea Roses including : Nestor; Maman Cochet 1892; Triumph de Guillot Fils 1861; and Monsieur Tillier 1891.
Walter has over 2000 roses, including Species Roses; Rugosas; Gallicas; Albas; Damasks; Centifolias; Bourbons like Mme Isaac Pereire 1881; Teas; Noisettes and David Austin Roses like Golden Celebration (2nd photo).
They are planted on arbours, arches, along swags and up pillars and under-planted with foxgloves; delphiniums; erigeron; forget-me-knots; iris and poppies to create a total picture.
Climbing Lorraine Lee 1924 is one of the first roses to flower in Spring, then continues right into Winter.
The Mutabilis 1894 against the house is enormous!
The scent from Rugosa, Mme Lauriol de Barny 1868, is superb!
In Winter, Walter prunes over 200 roses from the third week of July to early August. He fertilizes them twice a year with Sudden Impact, just after pruning and at the end of February of early March for an Autumn flush.
The grass parrots used to nip the new rosebuds, but he has deterred them by an ingenious, safe and effective arrangement of fishing lines.
The dry hot Summers of South Australia are ideal for roses, but necessitates lots of watering and vigilance against bush fire risk.
Other garden features include a bridge over the creek; an aviary and chookhouse; a fountain on the front lawn; topiaried trees and statues, providing focal points.
The Heritage Garden was the 2004 winner of the Most Outstanding Garden in the Clare Valley in the New Tourism category. We feel very privileged to have been able to stay there and enjoy the garden on our own for three full days!
For more photos and information, including an audio tape and television interview by Sophie Thomson on Gardening Australia (Series 28 Episode 6; from the 10:33 to 17:24 part of the 27:30 long program) with Walter Duncan, see the following links:
If you are in the area, it is also worth exploring the local countryside with its rustic architecture and heritage villages, like Farrell Flat, Burra and Mintaro (photos below), 
as well as a number of wineries like Skillogalee Winery, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch. (
The next three posts will be covering some of our favourite history books in our library, starting with archaeology and anthropology, followed by the prehistory of Australia and finishing with some general history books.
Noisettes originated in America, when John Champney, a rice grower from Charleston, South Carolina, crossed a China rose, Parson’s Pink, which he had been given by friend and neighbour, Philippe Noisette, with the Musk Rose, R. moschata, to produce the very first Noisette rose, Champney’s Pink Cluster 1802, which is still with us today (photo below). The Musk rose parent gave the Noisettes their broad shrubby habit and scented large clusters, while the China rose parent contributed the pink colouring, larger flowers and continuous flowering pattern.
Champney gave the resultant seedlings as a thank you gift to Philippe, who made further crosses, sending both seeds and plants to his brother Louis in Paris. Louis named the first seedling ‘Rosier de Philippe Noisette’, which was shortened to ‘Noisette’ or ‘Blush Noisette’, also still available commercially. Redouté painted Blush Noisette under the name of R. noisettiana in 1821. Blush Noisette was later crossed with Park’s Yellow China to produce the yellow Noisettes. A cross between the early Noisettes (Musk X China) with Teas produced the Tea-Noisettes. The rose below is Desprez à Fleurs Jaunes at Werribee. 
Noisettes are vigorous, free growing climbers, with clusters of flowers, which bloom later than the Bourbons, with many of them repeat or continuous flowering for the whole Summer. They provided a new range of colour, especially yellow, to the climbing and rambling roses of the day. The flowers have the true old rose form- a rosette formation with silky petals and good fragrance.
It has large flat and quartered rosettes of pale lemon-cream with a superb fresh lemony fragrance.
Lamarque also has copious light green foliage and few thorns.
Madame Alfred Carrière Schwartz, France, 1879
It can be grown on a south-facing wall (coldest aspect in Australia) and still blooms reliably.
It will grow up to 6 metres in height and has few thorns.
Alister Stella Gray (also known as Golden Rambler) AH Gray, but introduced by George Paul in 1894
Alister Stella Gray bears small sprays of small scrolled yolk-yellow buds, which open out flat into double quartered gold flowers, which fade to a creamy-white with age. They have a Tea rose scent.
It can be grown as a climber or a large arching shrub, with few thorns and dark green foliage, reaching 4.5 metres on a wall.
Rêve d’Or (Golden Chain) Ducher France 1869
The fragrant blooms are shapely double buff-yellow with pink shadings, fading with age.
It has strong growth and dark green foliage.
Desprez à Fleurs Jaunes (Jaune Desprez) Desprez France 1835
Its medium-sized warm yellow-peach double blooms open flat and quartered with a strong fruity fragrance, many silky petals and a button eye. The colours are more intense in Autumn with the cooler weather.
Crépuscule Dubreuil France 1904
Its prolific continuous display, bronze coloured young foliage, few thorns and strong sweet musky fragrance make it a favourite with many people.
We grew it on the front verandah railing (below) and the vegetable trellis (above) in our old garden.
Walter Duncan grows it on the back of his guest cottage at Heritage Garden (photo below) and it forms an impressive display in full bloom over 100 metres of fencing at the Flemington Racecourse.
Céline Forestier Trouillard France 1842
Cloth of Gold (Chromatella) Coquereau France 1843
Next week, my post is devoted to Walter Duncan and his wonderful rose garden, the Heritage Garden, at Clare, which we were fortunate enough to have visited in 2014.
Most of the salvias in the Moon Bed, a large area of agapanthus slope (1st photo) and the giant bamboo and the pots of succulents, daisies and aloe vera were also hit, and even the pink rock orchid (2nd photo) and the elkhorn (3rd photo), both of which should have been safe in their relatively protected positions! Luckily, they are both tough and show signs of recovery.
Heavy frost certainly sorts out your plant selection! Only the tough survive!!
Winter frosts also mean blue and gold sunny days and cold Winter nights and while the Winter Garden takes a holiday from blooming, we still did plenty of work in the garden, preparing for the new season, as well as exploring the local area and enjoying the Winter fires (both in the house and a friend’s bonfire night) and indoor activities.
June saw the end of the Autumn foliage (1st photo above of the Japanese Maple), a bounty of ivy berries for the bowerbirds (2nd photo above) and the last of the late roses. The photos below are, in order: Stanwell Perpetual; and David Austin roses, Heritage and LD Braithwaite.
from which I made my birthday bouquet below: David Austin Roses: Heritage; Eglantyne; Fair Bianca; and William Morris; Feverfew; purple and white Dames’ Rocket; violets; Ziva Paperwhites and Buddleja foliage.
From then on, it was vases of violets and Winter bulbs: Galanthus; Erlicheer and Ziva Paperwhites, all of which are flourishing in their new positions and naturalising well.
Other June bloomers included: Primulas and Primroses; 
Winter Honeysuckle and Winter Jasmine;
and Japanese Anemones and Wallflowers. Lots of whites; purples; lemons and yellows, with sharp sweet clean scents! The bees just adore the wallflowers!
There were also the richer colours of gold and red in the Hill Banksia and the Grevillea. 
The first crop of our citrus was also very encouraging, though I should have harvested the limes and lemonades earlier before the frost damaged them! Seen below are photos of our lime tree; lemon crop (cumquats in background) and lemonade tree.
I was very impressed with the sweetness of our first and only Navel Orange!
In July, I was also very excited to see the emergence of our first Winter Aconite, which I had bought at great expense from Moidart Rare Plants last Spring, planted in the Treasure Bed and then waited for signs of life for months, resigning myself to the thought of having totally lost it! Now, it needs to multiply, then I will try naturalising it in the bird bath lawn with the Galanthus, which enjoys similar requirements.
By late July, the leucojums (photo above) and hellebores had joined in. The first photo below is the corner of my neighbour’s garden by our shed. I can’t wait till our hellebores spread like that!!
While I love the single form of Helleborus orientalis (above), I’m rather partial to the double forms: Purple, White and Red;
as well as the rarer species hellebores: Helleborus x ballardiae ‘Pink Frost’.
The japonicas, daphne and camellias also really picked up their game in early August, having been a bit shy to shine this year!
I felt they bloomed much earlier last year with its milder Winter. The first photo below is the view from our bedroom window!
I was delighted to have more flowers for the house.
While June and July can sometimes feel a bit long, I love the quickening pace of August with its increasing day length, resulting in miniscule changes in the garden, which gives such a sense of hope, anticipation and excitement: The tiny leaf buds swelling on the trees (photo is the quince tree), shrubs and roses;
The shooting of tulips and iris in the cutting garden, naturalised bluebells, crocus and Poets’ daffodils in the lawn and hyacinth and grape hyacinth in the treasure bed;
and the celebratory blooming of miniature Tête à Tête daffodils and golden Winter Sun;
Magnificent golden Wattle;
Early Spring blossoms: Crab Apple; Plum and Birch;
And the blooms of forget-me-knots, golden-centred white paper daisies and begonias.
The birds are also revelling in the return of Spring!
While the Winter trees were full of Currawongs, Crimson Rosella and Grey Butcher Birds (photos above in order), the tiny Striated Pardalotes have returned to the Pepperina tree, where their beautiful song marks the return of Spring.
Eastern Spinebills and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are also enjoying the August sun.
The Bowerbirds have been feasting in great numbers on the new loquat crop, stealing a march on the Summer flying foxes!
They also enjoy a swim in the bird bath, when not picking off my erlicheer blooms!
The magpies have been busy building their nest high in the Pepperina tree since late July. Can you see it up there?
Despite their vicious swooping assaults on any large bird foolish enough to come anywhere near their territory, they are incredible quiet with us, often waiting patiently within a metre of us while weeding for an easy meal.
I was very excited with the return of last year’s baby White-faced Herons, to check out the old family home in the cottonwood poplar. 
We are crossing our fingers that they will nest there again, despite the magpies’ plans to the contrary! They seem to think that they own all the trees in the garden – in fact, quite possibly our house as well, though Oliver (2nd and 3rd photo below) might have something to say about that!
The nurturing aspects and bird-viewing potential of our neighbour’s giant tree makes up for its vigorous, and dishearteningly constant, propensity to shoot out roots deep into the soil under our vegetable beds! Raised vegetable beds are definitely part of our future garden plans!
Winter is a great time to clean up the old garden and prepare for the new season! Weeding has been a major job: the aforementioned battle between the cottonwood poplar and our vegetable garden; the Cutting Garden ( 1st photo); the Soho Bed (2nd photo) and Moon Bed; and the new Shed Garden.
We pruned all the old messy and dead growth: the feverfew and dames’ rocket in the Cutting Garden and the salvias and Paris daisy in the Moon Bed; the hydrangeas in late June and all the roses in late July; 
and lastly, all the old dead wood of the feral and incredibly prickly Duranta, creating a new semi-shady area to grow a white shrub bed, as well as lots of work, cleaning away all the lethal spiky offcuts! We transplanted the Viburnum mariesii plicatum, which was struggling in its old position in full shade; the white lilac, which really was out of place and would have eventually been too large for its location, and four Annabel hydrangea rooted cuttings from my sister’s garden at Glenrock.
The neighbour’s cats were fascinated by this brand new garden, but I’m not sure how their feet fared! The tubs were protecting my Galanthus from being demolished by trampling feet as well!
We also transplanted the pomegranate and red azalea from the bottom of the garden to the entrance of the main pergola and the red border of the native garden respectively to make room for a future garden shed, which will hopefully be built in the next few months.
Winter is a great time for garden planning and reorganization, as well as for building structures!
Ross has built a fantastic rose frame, using steel posts and weld mesh from old gates, against the old shed wall to support and effectively control our Albertine ramblers, which would otherwise take over the camping flat completely!
I can’t wait to see the future wall of salmon pink roses!
We dug up the area underneath for a mixed dahlia bed, the plants hiding the bare legs of the climbing roses and blooms taking up the baton after the Albertine has finished. 
This decision has also freed up the old dahlia bed for a future Brassica crop, though we have reserved the front third for Iceland poppies!
We also finally put up the weld mesh on the top of the Main Pergola to support this year’s Summer growth of the climbing roses!
Ross is getting very organized in the vegie garden! He has defined the edges of the vegetable and cutting garden beds with old weatherboards;
Confined all the raspberry plants to their own bed near the compost heap; planted two more blueberries, all in different stages (leaf bud; flowers; and Autumn foliage!);
Transplanted the rhubarb, asparagus and Russian tarragon to the new perennial vegetable garden (the northeast bed, which grew tomatoes and raspberries last year) and the snow peas to the corner of the compost heap, allowing some to stay and climb up the raspberries; pruned the old raspberry canes, transplanting the new Heritage runners to their own run and extending the old run with the Chilcotin and Chilliwack varieties; and sown Calendula seed at the front of the bed.
In the remaining space of the perennial bed, he will plant pumpkins and zucchinis, letting them rambler down the bottom corner. He will then rotate between the two old main beds, which will grow potatoes (with later cucumbers) and beans, carrots, beetroot, with the current parsley and rocket in one bed; and kale, silverbeet, shallots, snow peas and lettuce and the two new ex-cutting garden beds, which will house early Spring brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts), and solanums (tomatoes, capsicum and aubergines) this year, though he has promised to allow any self-sown sunflowers or zinnias from the old beds to co-exist. Here are photos of our Winter vegie bed, with kale; ornamental chard; snow peas; broccoli; Spring onions and carrot seedlings just up!
Meanwhile, I have been busy with the flower beds! I have transplanted overcrowded self-seeded rose campion and catmint to their new positions in the Moon and Soho Beds; planted gold and soft purple Bearded Iris to the back of the shed beds;
and created a complete silver ring of Lambs’ Ear to define the border of the Soho Bed. Stachys lanata is so tough, it didn’t even miss a beat on division and transplantation and, once established, will certainly make it difficult for any external invasion of weeds and grass! I love the downy soft feel of its foliage!
We planted our new roses from Thomas Roses in the Shed Bed (Mme Hardy; York and Lancaster; Rosa Mundi and Chapeau de Napoleon); on the flat (Maigold) and on the Main Pergola (Souvenir de St Anne).
Ross also dug up an area on the terrace under the Pepperina tree and divided the old clivia clumps, so we can enjoy a swathe of orange in Summer.
This month, we have started sowing seed in punnets under a plastic poly-tunnel on the warm path for plants to be later transplanted after the frosts: Heartsease (already up) and Scabiosa; Aquilegia and Honesty; Green Nicotiana and Gaillardia, which has already emerged at two weeks; Yarrow and Echinaceae; and Sea Holly and Green Wizard Coneflower, though we should have read the fine print on the latter, as we later discovered that they need a constant 20 degrees Celsius to allow them to germinate! In lieu of an incubator tray, we have been carting them in and out of the house each day!!!
We have also sown seed directly in the garden: Nigella, Miss Jekyll Blue, and pink oriental poppies, Princess Victoria Louise, in the Soho and Moon Beds (photo below); Cerinthe major and burgundy-blue-and white mixed cornflowers (‘Fireworks’) in the shed garden; and Iceland poppies in the cutting garden (and third of the potato bed, as they are one if Ross’s favourite flowers!!!) You can see why I can’t wait for Spring!!!
The Winter kitchen has also been a hive of activity with a first batch of lime cordial, made from our very own limes;
28 jars of cumquat marmalade from 6.6 kg fruit, with still more setting and ripening on the trees!;
and making lemon cupcakes for a birthday, as well as lots of warming Winter soups!
On the colder, greyer days, I have enjoyed embroidering diatoms on a felt;
discovered the joys of making cords using a Kumihimo disc;
learnt to crochet a flower chain;
and made another embroidery roll for a friend.
The majority of the days have had blue-and-gold days, as in sunny blue skies, perfect for exploring our beautiful local area:
Canoeing on the Murrah River to the Murrah Lagoon and the sea, where architect, Philip Cox, built his holiday home;
Exploring Bombala and Delegate, platypus country and part of the ancient aboriginal pathway, the Bundian Way;
Visiting On the Perch, Tathra, with its amazing range of birds, organized into their different environments, including this Emerald Dove and Maud, the Tawny Frogmouth; Zoe loved feeding all the birds!
Hiking from Bittangabee Bay to Hegarty’s Bay, part of the Light to Light Walk from Boyds Tower to Green Cape Lighthouse in the Ben Boyd National Park;
Discovering Penders, the property owned by businessman Ken Myers and architect Sir Roy Grounds, which was donated to National Parks in 1976 and is now part of Mimosa Rocks National Park, with its amazing views from the Bum Seat, photographed below, of Bithry Inley and the sea;
and fascinating history and built environment, including Roy Ground’s tepee–like outdoor eating area, The Barn, and his geodesic dome structure;
the magnificent Spotted Gum and Macrozamia forests and old orchard, with huge old camellia trees in full bloom;
as well as the beautiful coastal walk to Middle Beach, with golden banksias against the blue blue sea and our first ‘echidna train’.
Apparently, during the mating season in July and August, one female will be followed by two to ten males, until she tires and the first in line gets lucky! According to the ranger on the track, echidnas are also very active just before rain and sure enough, three days later, it did rain! This quiet Swamp Wallaby kept us company over our picnic lunch.
Other Winter highlights included my birthday (What a cake!!! Thank you, Chris!);
and a visit to Canberra for an interesting woodcut exhibition at the National Library of Australia, ‘Melodrama in Meiji Japan’ (see: 
We finished the Winter with a local orchid show at Merimbula with some stunning plants and an incredible range of form and colour.
Next week, I am returning to one of my favourite rose types, the Noisettes. I will leave you with a Winter miracle, the humble spider’s web!
This book has two themes: the quest for personal contentment and a better simpler quality of life; and the need for a more frugal lifestyle (due to the consequences of overpopulation, homogenization of our cultures, waste and dwindling resources) and a more equitable distribution of wealth.
In his final chapter, Suzuki offers hope, with suggestions for meeting these basic needs and creating an ecologically sustainable, fulfilling life, as well as stories of people, who have put their beliefs into action to create such a life.
Here is the artist’s succinct statement:
