Australian Country Homes – September 2019

62 Australian Country HOMES

This page: Edwina and John are the seventh generation of Macarthurs to have lived at Camden Park.

was probably the most important plant

nursery in Australia,” Edwina says. “In

addition to the table and wine grapes, the

orchard contained 47 diff erent varieties

of apple, 23 kinds of quince, as well as

apricot, plum, pear, cherry, chestnut, fi g,

hazelnut, mulberry, peach, nectarine,

guava, loquat, almond and all manner of

citrus trees.”

Even today, Camden Park’s garden

remains one of this country’s most

important and well preserved colonial

exemplars and still spreads over 16

acres (6.5ha). Notable among its many

exotic plantings is the Camellia japonica

Aneomifl ora, also known as the Camden

Park, or Waratah, camellia, which is

Australia’s oldest surviving camellia. The

grounds are maintained by a devoted

group of green thumbs, which includes

three part-time employees and an

affi liation of volunteer locals, family

members and former employees, some of

whom visit weekly and all of whom join

a three-weekly working bee. The Camden

Park Preservation Committee, another

voluntary body of experts in everything

from colonial history, architecture and

›

gardening to archiving and cataloguing,

also helps John and Edwina manage the

property and its collections.

“We are extremely lucky to be

supported by a great sense of community

and respect for what Camden Park

represents,” John says. “It’s the

combination of the architecture of the

house, the historic grounds including

outbuildings, furniture, household items,

the library and the fact that it has been

continuously lived in by the family for

all these years, that makes the property

truly exceptional.”

The library alone is remarkable for

the breadth of its contents ranging