The Barossa Old Rose Repository : With Lisa McAskill in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia

The rose has been an enduring symbol of love and passion throughout history. In the backblocks of the Barossa Valley, many an early settler was passionate enough to plant reminders of home.

And so it was for Mrs Willhameena Heggie of Eden Valley, a German pioneer who built Almerta in 1901 and immediately set about planting her rose garden. Current owner, Jen Light is the custodian of Almerta Homestead and it's century old rose bushes.

"The garden has survived with no water, no feed and basically on total neglect," said Jen. "It used to get eaten by the sheep but I've had it fenced off because I think it's worth preserving. It's just an absolute mass of bloom and the blooms can change from pink to yellow to gold, depending on the seasons and the weather. It's a remarkable thing that has done very well for a very long time.''

That got Jen and others wondering just how many other, Mrs Heggies Red-T roses still survive in the Barossa.

Today as motorists cruise through Angaston's main street, they inadvertently pass a piece of Barossa Valley gardening history - a repository for floral gems.

"The roses are all cut and grown from original roses planted by the region's settlers. Many of the mother plants are no longer in existence so that makes the Old Rose Repository at Angaston a very special place, " said enthusiast, Patricia Toolan.

Established in 2002, the repository is the passion of Jen and Patricia - a couple of plant detectives who are always in search of interesting varieties in old gardens, cemeteries and along roadside verges.

"I believe this plant came out with the early settlers," said Jen about one variety. "They originally came from Bulgaria and were used for attar of roses."

From Bulgarian varieties to Mrs Heggies Red T Rose - which has yet to be formally identified - they're all here... with room for plenty more.

"We wanted to have place for the public to come and enjoy some of these special old roses that are no longer commercially available," said Patricia. "It's really quite a unique part of the Barossa because there's nowhere else in Australia where you can see some of these very old roses in a public space and of course it's free."

The Barossa Old Rose Repository is just off Hannay Crescent at Angaston near the Village Green.

The Barossa Old Rose Repository
Off Hannay Crescent
Angaston
Near the Village Green
Barossa Valley
Open Daily
Free Admission

Published 18th Feb 2007