OUR HISTORY

The MMDHS is one of the oldest garden clubs in Victoria having started in 1922.  In that first year, the Horticultural Society began opening gardens on Mt. Macedon for the public to view.  It was the first organisation in Australia to do so. 

The Horticultural Society has approximately 150 members and holds regular monthly meetings with guest speakers on all sorts of topics relating to gardening and horticulture. It is not unusual for more than 50 members to attend our meetings.  

Over the years many projects and organisations have benefited from our help including the local CFA, BlazeAid, Macedon Ranges Health and alike.  The Gisborne and Macedon Historical Society started life as a subcommittee of the Horticultural Society.  The Horticultural Society assisted the local Macedon Ranges Shire Council to develop street tree planting schemes as well as assisting local schools with horticultural events. 

Our hall was built as a joint project with the Golf Club after the Horticultural Society lost its hall to a fire in 1983. The hall was built with Horticultural Society money and a well-run CEP Scheme which trained several people who then found employment locally. 

The Horticultural Society runs several important events that bring tourists and garden lovers into the district, which benefits all local businesses.  These events include the nationally recognised Garden Lovers' Fair in the Spring. 

The Horticultural Society is the largest and most inclusive of all the service clubs in the district and has had a remarkable impact on all things horticultural in the area, including a Botanic Art Group.  Recently, no fewer than four of its participants have had works selected for exhibition at the Royal Melbourne Botanic Gardens biennial art show, which is the nation's most prestigious.