Renaming to Harbour Georges River Group from East Hills Group

Over time, the East Hills Group absorbed a number of inner Sydney groups – Inner City, St George, Harbourside - so that the membership now covers the whole area from Georges River in the west & south, Sydney Harbour in the north & the great Pacific Ocean in the east. Few new APS members realised that, so did not join the Group, as East Hills seemed so far away. The new name was adopted at the AGM in December 2021 as a more accurate & inclusive name for our catchment area.

History of the East Hills Group

The East Hills Group of the Australian Plant Society was formed at the inaugural meeting of the NSW Region in 1957 - making it the oldest Group in New South Wales. Since its formation, the Group has had Flower Shows - in early times at St Christopher's at Panania in conjunction with the Orchid Society. Later, the display was held at Bankstown Girls' High School, Bankstown Town Hall and eventually at Bankstown Square.

Founding member, the late Bill Payne, had foreseen the greater need for reliable information about our native flora. The community mindset 50 years ago was that natives were too difficult to grow. Hence, he took it upon himself to take on the job as editor of the journal, Australian Plants, in December 1959 - a role he continued for 42 years! Today the journal is the main publication of the Society. Australian Plants is issued to members of the national Australian Plant Society four times a year.