Interview Recording
Interview Transcript
Kathy Wright interviewed on 19 March 2024 by Kate Cregan
Synopsis
In 1939 Kathy was born at Maffra and grew up in Gippsland, with her parents, maternal grandmother and four siblings, on a dairy farm in Glenmaggie, until they moved to Heyfield when she was ten. She also spent time with her maternal grandparents in Morwell. Kathy’s mother, maternal grandfather, maternal great aunt, and paternal grandmother were all keen gardeners of ornamentals and vegetables.
After matriculating from Sale High School, Kathy lived in the Women’s College and studied at the University of Melbourne to become a science teacher. She took botany in first year, inspired by her mother’s botanical drawings from her own studies to become a pharmacist in the 1920s, and majored in mathematics. Kathy married in her first year of teaching at Canterbury Girls High School and continued there until she and her husband travelled to the UK in 1966. While Kathy visited and was interested in the gardens then, it was not a major focus for her. They returned to live in Brighton, Victoria, and had three daughters between 1967 and 1970.
During the busy years of raising children, gardening was mostly a matter of keeping on top of the lawn and the weeds. Kathy returned to teaching when her youngest was five, initially taking up a position at Brighton Technical College and then moving to Star of the Sea in Gardenvale. In 1980, Kathy’s husband Bruce died suddenly of an aneurysm.
At this time Kathy’s friend, Lorrie Lawrence – early member of the AGHS, landscape gardener and former social worker – suggested they landscape the garden at the Brighton house. This was a hands-on project with Kathy and Lorrie working side by side. Starting out, Kathy ‘didn’t know much about plants’, although she had always had flowers in the house. Lorrie also encouraged Kathy to join the AGHS. For the following ten years gardening was her mainstay as she raised her daughters alone.
Kathy continued to work at Star if the Sea until 2000, attending AGHS events as they fitted her full working schedule. Gradually she took on a more active role, initially assisting with the Open Gardens scheme and eventually running it. On retiring, Kathy joined the Victorian Branch Committee and became Treasurer. She also arranged garden tours, jointly with Pam Jellie, and was instrumental in supporting the publication of Helen Botham’s La Trobe’s Jolimont: A walk around my garden (2006). She subsequently served as National Treasurer of the AGHS for six years.
In her retirement Kathy has travelled extensively, focusing her trips on visiting both historical and contemporary gardens, as an independent traveller and within organised tours. She continues to volunteer at AGHS working bees, specifically at the Lansell Road headquarters of the Country Women’s Association.
Gardening’s been, in those middle years I didn’t garden, but, not really, for the last 45 years it’s been a great back stop for me, I must say. Yeah and it … makes … it, and it does make a great focus for travelling. I’ve got other friends where restaurants food and all that’s their focus, well, that’s pretty nice to go hand in hand with gardens too. No, I think it’s … it’s a great thing to do, to garden.
Four photographs were taken: of Kathy in her home, one a full body shot (Kathy Wright 19MAR2024) one a mid-shot (Kathy Wright 2 19MAR2024); a photo of a flower arrangement in a McHugh vase (Kathy Wright 3 19MAR2024); and one of botanical drawings mentioned in the interview (Kathy Wright 4 19MAR2024).