On Thursday 24thMay the bus left ‘Chambly’ to head to Wandin and the Katandra Gardens. The weather was uncharacteristically mild and the sun was shining as we made our way out to the Yarra Valley. On out arrival we were met by the owners of the gardens, Dot and Bob O’Neill, who bought the property in 1975 as an 8 acre cherry and plum orchard. They gave us a very interesting talk on how the property had evolved over the last 30 years into a delightful native garden, through endless hours of enthusiasm and hard work. The name ‘Katandra’ is an aboriginal word for “Song of Birds” and it is easy to see that it is aptly named. The property now boasts 3 bed and breakfast cottages, with another currently being built. Bob was awarded ABC’s Gardening Australia’s “GARDENER OF THE YEAR 2005”
After morning tea and biccies eaten in the warmth of the sunny terrace, we set off on a tour of the gardens. The collection of plants includes; a wide variety of acacias, banksias, hibbertias, grevilleas, dryandras, eucalypts, and correas. We spent a leisurely hour exploring the different areas, from the ornamental lake to the Bush foods garden bed.
After leaving the gardens, we headed to the hotel at Worri Yallock. The refurbished historic hotel has magnificent views over the Yarra Valley and proved a very picturesque backdrop as we ate our lunch.
Heading back towards the big smoke, we had one more stop, the William Ricketts Sanctuary on the Mount Dandenong tourist road. This is a most amazing place; one of peace and spirituality.
William Ricketts was a sculptor, born in Melbourne, who moved to Mt Dandenong in 1934, where he began producing sculptures of Aboriginal figures set into the natural environment. The sculptures are beautiful and seem to appear out of the trees and surrounding bush.
We only had about 45 minutes in which to explore the sanctuary and discover the many intricate sculptures hidden in the many recesses in the bush. By about 4 o’clock the sanctuary was in deep shade and was starting to become quite cool, so everyone was glad to jump back onto the bus for our trip back into Melbourne.
