Interview Recording
Interview Transcript
Carol Mansfield interviewed on 29 July 2020 by Patsy Vizents
Synopsis
After a brief introduction to her early life and involvement with gardening as a child in the UK, Carol described how she met her husband Frank Mansfield and along with two daughters, she arrived in Perth, Western Australia in 1965. The family moved to Collie in the South West of Western Australia where Frank took up the position of GP. This was where Carol was introduced to the glories of wild flowers in the bush and especially the orchids. She speaks glowingly about the bush surrounding Collie and her first forays into unknown vegetation, the glee she experienced when discovering orchids and how naïve she possibly was when it came to thinking about gardening in the southern hemisphere. The Mansfield family moved to Bunbury and then eventually to the metropolitan area of Perth.
The main body of the interview is dedicated to the properties in the Perth Hills areas of Kalamunda and Carmel where Carol and Frank established family homes and expansive gardens. Her involvement in the Kalamunda Historical Society and the Australian Garden History Society enabled Carol to learn and explore the new culture and landscapes she now lived within and she describes her contribution to AGHS through participation on the WA Branch Committee, organising garden-oriented events for members, attending National Conferences and writing for the AGHS Journal. She was a writer, researcher and explorer in Garden History and was a member eagerly awaiting the latest edition of the Journal up until her death in May, 2022.