Friday 27 November scheduled a half-day excursion to the Florentine Valley and the Growling Swallet cave mouth. This involved an hour’s drive followed by an easy three-quarters of an hour’s walk each way. The number of Members attending (about 65) meant that two groups were required. The first group met at the Giants Table (Junee Road, Maydena) by 1.30 pm, ready to move on in as few cars as possible. On their return to Maydena, at the Junee Cave, they inspected the outlet of the Junee River that flows into the Growling Swallet. The second group, including some Members who arrived later in the day, left Maydena about an hour later than the first.

In the evening there was a meet-and-greet at 6.30 pm at the Giants Table – a soup/sandwich/quiche type meal, followed by a presentation introducing some of the history and landscapes to be seen.

Saturday 28 November was an exploration into South-West Tasmania. This was a long day, out to Red Knoll at the end of the Scotts Peak Road, but the only significant walk was an about three-quarters of an hour around the Twisted Sister circuit. This trip required an early start, so Members were prepared to leave Giants Table at 8.30 am. Beautiful flowers, plants and views were enjoyed all day.

The APST Annual Dinner at the Summit Restaurant required Members to meet at the Maydena Bike Park (on the main road) ready to catch the buses at 6.30 pm. The view from the Restaurant was magnificent with a glorious sunset and the meal was excellent. The co-ordinators of the Get-together, Sib and Keith Corbett gave talks about their experiences in the south west and early days in Maydena.

Sunday 29 November was more leisurely, with a complete change of scene to Mt Field National Park. Members met at Lake Dobson Car Park ready to start walking at 10 am. It took about 30 minutes to drive up the hill from National Park to the Lake, and all cars needed a Parks Pass. (Obtainable from the Parks Office at the entrance carpark.) A walk around the beautiful Pandani Grove circuit area was followed by lunch in the large shelter shed at the Lake. Later, Members who hadn’t headed for home enjoyed a talk about dolerite and the effect of ice on it, then a walk down the rock river track below Lake Fenton before departing.

For a more detailed and beautifully illustrated report on this Members Get-together, download the report.

 

Sadly, I (Bruce Champion) report that my dear friend and one of the founding Members of the Society for Growing Plants Tasmanian Region (now APST Inc.) died after he fell and bumped his head on 16/9/2020. Alan had been my mentor and botany expert/mate since I asked him for help to find Acacia derwentiana in the ‘wild’ to photograph for the Endemic flora page on this website in early January 2015. Since then we had made over 30 field trips together, just enjoying each other’s company and more often than not, finding more species to photograph for the Endemic and Seasons pages for the website. Alan’s experiences with the Tasmanian Herbarium meant that he knew where to find most species that we were seeking. We also spent time down at the Hobart Group nursery, propagating seed that Alan had acquired and wished to grow. Alan was very instrumental in helping to produce the species lists for the Hobart and Environs Tours that were conducted for the ANPSA 2018 Hobart Conference. In January 2017, we went to all the National

Parks that the Tour would visit and listed as many species as we could find flowering at the same time as the Conference was to be held in 2018 so that we knew which species would be in flower and other species of interest to Conference delegates. Alan was one of the botanists during the Harts NP Tour.
In 2019 Alan was nominated for Honorary Life Membership of APST Inc. as he hadn’t been a Member for many years. He was made an Honorary Member at the 2019 Hobart Group End of Year lunch at Randalls Bay. The following is based on the citation for his Honorary Life Membership.

‘Alan Gray was the founder vice president for the Tasmanian Group of the South-East Region of the Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP) Victoria, first appointed 26 May 1969. He and Kay Geeves had been corresponding regularly with Thistle Harris (Stead) and Kay worked with Alan and others to form the Group, then in 1971 to establish SGAP Tasmanian Region.
Alan spent many happy hours in the bush in the early days of SGAP with people such as Margaret Allen, Jeanette Closs and Kay Geeves, finding new species and identifying them.
Alan conducted fortnightly botany classes in Members’ homes.
In 1978 Alan was appointed as a part time consultant for three years to assist teachers in fostering an interest in native plants under an Australian Schools Commission plan. He contacted over 20 schools, had an education kit published and a film about Australian plants made for showing in schools. He was contracted for 20 hours/week but in fact, had worked closer to 35. The ASC Plan was later changed to teach teachers instead of particular groups to provide better continuity.
In 1980 Alan mounted the main display at the Hobart Group’s Annual Wildflower Show.
Alan was Secretary of SGAP Tasmania in 1981-82 and became custodian of the Region’s first mulcher that was available for hire to Members.
In 1983, Alan was nominated for the Australian Plants Award and was highly commended. He was renominated for 1984.
In 1987, Alan, George Wade and Cree Allen prepared a management plan for Snug Tiers.
In 1997, Alan was awarded the Australian Plants Award: - Professional section, the medal and citation being presented to Alan by Jennie Lawrence at a State Get-together in Coningham.

Alan had a diverse career in horticulture:

• He started work in Chandler’s Nursery as his mother was a Chandler,
• He spent some time at UTAS with Prof Jackson,
• He did about 3 years of teaching Australian Plants in Primary Schools in the late 1970’s,
• He worked in Canberra for the Forest Research Department (of CSIRO?),
• He worked at some stage for Forestry Tasmania,
• He worked for Greening Australia several times,
• His daughter said: “There may have been a few minor contracts as he and mum ran their little business "Environmental and Botanical Consultancy" up until Mum's death”, and,
• He had, more recently, worked as an Honorary Botanist in the Tasmanian Herbarium for 20+ years.
  

Over the years, Alan identified and described the following species as listed in the Tasmanian Vascular Plant Census 2019:

• Richea X curtisiae,
• Sprengelia sp. Mt field = Sprengelia minima,
• Acacia derwentiana
• Eucalyptus brookeriana,
• Eucalyptus nebulosa,
• Limonium australe var. baudinii,
• Vittadinia burbidgeae with Rozefelds,
• Pomaderris pilifera subsp. talpicutica with Wapstra,
• Pimelea leiophylla with M. Baker, and
• Hymenophyllum applanatum with R.G. Williams

Alan also revised accounts of families in Flora of Tasmania Online including:

• Dilleniaceae, version 2009: 2, 11pp;
• Convolvulaceae, version 2009: 2, 11pp; and
• Stylidiaceae, version 2009: 2, 9pp.

According to The Australian Plants Journal Index for volume 1 - 8, Alan has contributed at least 39 articles on Australian plants especially Tasmanian, covering many of our endemic species, Tasmanian Eucalypts, Wattles, conifers, climbers and propagation techniques.’

Alan had recently revised his key to the Tasmanian Eucalypts and, at the time of his death, was working on a revised key to the Tasmanian Acacias.

Vale Alan, my friend, you will be greatly missed.

Why not give that special person a membership to the Australian Plants Society Tasmania Inc. and some Tasmanian/Australian plants from one of our native plant nurseries. An Ideal present for someone who is interested in gardening, especially if they are interested in growing Austrealian Plants or a bush garden.

Becoming a member doesn't require the person to attend meetings unless they are particularly interested in the topic being presented or discussed that month (see the Calendar page for what's on). Garden visits are often offered so that members can see how plants grow in gardens, and field outings allow members to appreciate plants in their natural state and learn their names and habitats.

Download a membership form now and make that special someone very happy!