June 13th, 2024King’s birthday honour for gardens friend

Long standing secretary of Friends of Daylesford’s Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens Patrice O’Shea has received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the environment and secondary education in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

Ms O’Shea said she did not “feel entirely worthy” of the honour but it was a “lovely and generous thing” for someone to nominate her.

For many years Patrice O’Shea lived near the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens in Daylesford and she and her children would enjoy the surrounds of the Victorian-era gardens.

Following her retirement in 2009 she joined the Friends of Wombat Hill Gardens where she has been secretary since 2010.

Over that time the Friends have made an enormous contribution to the garden. They have funded projects and lifted the garden’s profile with the council and the community, advocating for its maintenance and development.

The fundraising, garden projects and weekly activities including weeding and pulling out blackberries give the volunteer group a chance to contribute to the community by maintaining the historic and beautiful gardens.

“You keep saying you will give it away when you have done everything that needs to be done, and that hasn’t happened (at the gardens) yet so we are still soldiering on,” she said.

“It’s a place that is enormously beautiful and it gives people who visit the gardens great pleasure.”

Patrice has been much loved and admired driving force in the Friends activities.

Patrice is also honoured for her contribution to secondary education. She taught at Ballarat Grammar for nearly three decades as an English and history teacher. She led a school house and became assistant head of the school.

Words & Image: Supplied