The Tamborine Mountain Garden Club hosted its first outside "The Biggest Morning Tea" in the Botanic Gardens on Tuesday 17th May to raise money for Cancer Research.
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| Maureen Penwright and Monica Gordon enjoying some of the delights of The Biggest Breakfast |
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Leonie Rowe, Secretary of the Garden Club said: "We decided this year to take it outside."
"Surprisingly, many of our members don't have a chance to get to the Gardens as often as they would like."
"We thought we would combine it with a worthy cause, Cancer Research, as we did earlier in the year to raise money for the Premiers Flood Appeal, said Leonie."
The Australian Cancer Coucil organizes the 'Biggest Morning Tea' event every May. The event can be held at any time in May with the culmination on the official day of the event is 26th May.
The funds raised from Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea help The Cancer Council to continue its work in cancer research, prevention, education and support services.
Last year, Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea raised over $10 million!
The Garden Club members made sure that the tables in the Pavilion were groaning with delicious home-made cakes, sandwiches and other delicacies.
Leonie said, "Even though the 'Morning Tea' is a free event, we asked that the guests donate a gold coin for the Queensland Cancer Council."
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President or the Tamborine Mountain Garden Club, Ron Gordon with Botanic Gardens Honorary Curator, Brian Davison |
"Several other garden clubs including Boonah Garden Club, Beaudesert Garden Club and Jimboomba Garden Club were invited to join the Tamborine Mountain Garden Club for morning tea in the beautiful Botanic Gardens.
The weather was kind and the autumn colours were on full show.
President of the Tamborine Mountain Garden Club, Ron Gordon welcomed the assembled crowd and wished them an enjoyable morning in the Gardens.
Guests were given the option of strolling through the gardens on a guided tour with Botanic Gardens Honorary Curator, Brian Davison or they could just relax and enjoy a cup of tea and cake and then taking a turn about the Gardens at their own pace.
Brian Davison outlined the history of the gardens and thanked all volunteers (over the nearly 28 years!).
It was these individual volunteers who are responsible for the transformation of the area from a swamp to the stunning vistas we see today.
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| Guests set off on the guided tour through the rainforest section of the Botanic Gardens |
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"We are now at a point where most of the hard work has been done and the infrastructure is in place and we have the luxury of "polishing and maintenance of the Gardens," he said.
" We are of course always looking for new volunteers so if you have a particular area of expertise such as Japanese Gardens, we are keen to hear from you and if necessary we will guide and teach you."
The guided tour set off from the Pavilion.
Brian spoke to the enthusiastic visitors about many aspects of the Gardens including the story of how the ancient cedars, native to the area, were logged and transported down the mountain to the coast.
They strolled through the rose garden wherehe said that the volunteers "have to work quite hard to keep the roses blooming as they normally do not thrive in our cool temperate climate in a sub-tropical zone."
"Here we have to put a lot of time into keeping the roses going," said Brian Davison, "But if you love roses it's worth giving it a go."
On to the magical Japanese Garden where Brain said: "We have a 'Tory Gate' which the Japanese use to keep out bad spirits. If however, the bad spirits manage to get through the gate they would be deterred by the curvy paths which are a feature of traditional Japanese Gardens."
The Tamborine Mountain Botanic Garden's Camellia Garden was in full winter flower with pink, white and red flowers - some large and showy and other small, compact and perfect.
"We have one the biggest plantings of Camellias in Australia," said Brian.
The tour then took in the many rare and ancient rainforest plants. It was like a walk through the history of the Tamborine Mountain rainforest.
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| Brian educating visitors during the guided tour of the Botanic Gardens |
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At the end of a fascinating information-packed tour with Brian the crowd strolled back in the perfect autumn sunshine to the Pavilion to have a well earned cup of tea.
Brian, like the volunteers who make the Gardens such a special place, is passionate about the unique flora and fauna of the mountain and is determined to keep improving and adding to what is there.
Leonie Rowe told the Daily Star the following day that "The Biggest Morning Tea in our beautiful Tamborine Botanic Gardens raised $252.95 for the Queensland Cancer Council."
"Most of us know of someone close to us that has been touched by cancer, said Leonie. "My hope is that in raising funds for the ongoing research we can eventually unlock the answer to cancer, she said."