The city of Dunedin from a hill on the penninsula (to see this image in greater detail (larger memory size), click on this medium image...
FROM: Dave Cannan, Publicity, Heritage Roses New Zealand
Fran Rawling is in countdown mode! After more than two years of planning, the 10th International Heritage Roses Conference is now less than eight months away.As president of Heritage Roses New Zealand, Fran heads a 20-strong organising team which will host the event in Dunedin, New Zealand on December 8 to 11, 2005. And, if all goes to plan, up to 500 visitors from around the world will travel to the southern city, all expecting a high-class programme and entertainment. But if such expectation has created a heavy burden of pressure on Fran, it doesn't show, even if she has been averaging almost one meeting a day for the past few hectic months in relation to the conference.
"Yes, it's certainly been full-on, even busier than I expected it to be, but the conference is coming together really well," she said. "Everyone has worked really hard so far and while there's still plenty of work to be done, we are aiming for it to be the best conference yet."
This pursuit of excellence has meant countless hours of work for her and the organising committee in finalising the all-important conference programme, notably the four keynote speakers and the content of 30 seminars scheduled over three days.
"Getting the balance of the programme right is crucial and I think we've managed to get a good range of subjects covered," she said. "Of the 23 seminar presenters, 13 are internationals and we are thrilled to have such a large overseas representation. We want the people who come to the conference to feel like it's been a real treat; that they've been spoiled."
The keynote speakers are Michael Shoup (USA), Roger Phillips (United Kingdom), Tina Miljanovic (Australia) and Sally Allison (Christchurch). Mr. Shoup is a prolific writer and photographer of Old Garden Roses who, in 1984, opened the Antique Rose Emporium, which specialises in the re-introduction and distribution of historic roses. Mr Phillips is also a photo-journalist who works closely with Martyn Rix in producing books about roses, the latest being "A Rose Guide", published last year which gives advice on what they consider the best (about 900) of more than 10,000 roses available today.
Ms Miljanovic has, for the last 23 years, worked in the 97ha Mt Lofty Botanic Garden near Adelaide, South Australia, which houses Australia's largest botanical collection, including roses. And Mrs Allison, who fell in love with old roses more than 40 years ago, is now one of New Zealand's foremost experts, having travelled the world to research, study and photograph them for books and other publications.
Three major meetings are also scheduled to be held during the conference, which will be based in the plush St David St lecture theatre complex at the historic University of Otago. The first meeting will be held to examine the creation of an international heritage rose organisation charged with taking responsibility for future international conferences and other events; to act as a clearing house for information passed on by national bodies and to act as a link for all national bodies. This will be chaired by Dr Rex Thomson, of Auckland and formerly of Dunedin, who, ironically, was instrumental in getting the conference held in Dunedin when he successfully campaigned at the 2001 conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
The second significant meeting is being held by the World Federation of Roses' Specialized Conservation Committee, which meets six monthly. President Helga Brichet, of Italy, is also a seminar presenter at the conference. "Helga has especially requested that the conservation committee's meeting be open to the public, which is quite an honour for Dunedin, " Fran said. The Lost Beauties New Zealand Charitable Trust is also meeting during the Dunedin conference.
As well as the official conference programme, much time and planning has been dedicated to organising the associated events and entertainment. This includes garden tours, a banquet at the Dunedin Town Hall, and an evening train trip on the award-winning Taieri Gorge Railway, complete with a sheep dog demonstration (especially for overseas guests) and a barbeque.
Once the conference is over, a tour to Central Otago and Queenstown has also been organised. This will include the opening of a heritage rose trail in Arrowtown, which has been planted by local members of Heritage Roses New Zealand. There have been more than 200 "registrations of interest" in the conference from around the world so far, Fran said, and the official registration form is now available on the conference website --www.heritagerosesconference.org.nz .
"We can cater for up to 500 people and I wouldn't be surprised if we have to close off entries at that number," she said." The interest is high." In the meantime, the organising committee continues with it's monthly meetings as the run-down to December intensifies. "We've already broken the back of what needs to be done. Now there's the fine-tuning and no doubt there will be things that we haven't even thought of yet which we will have to deal with. But, as I've said, we are determined to make this the best conference yet."