By Jamie Salter
Min worked at Berwick Primary School for about 20 years and decided to join the Friends of Wilson Botanic Park in 1995 following her retirement.
“I felt it was a worthwhile thing to do and at that stage the Friends group was pretty new and needed support,” she said.
“I enjoyed my time with the Friends and we’ve done a lot of interesting things over the years.”
Min worked at the reception desk, where people would pay 50 cents to enter the park.
“On winter Sundays, there would be nobody and we would sit there doing crossword puzzles,” she said.
A number of events put on by the Friends stand out as highlights of Min’s time with the group, including the annual Valentine’s Day Picnic.
“When I was on the committee we continued the Valentine’s Day Picnic and it was very successful. It was a tremendous amount of work but we did it happily,” Min said.
A number of anniversary dinners, including the park’s 10th anniversary at Berwick’s Clover Cottage, were also highlights of Min’s time with the Friends.
Min officially joined the committee in about 2002 and was president for the 20th anniversary dinner held at Melaleuca Lodge in Beaconsfield.
The Back to Berwick Quarry event was a standout to Min, with ex-quarry workers returning to the park for a special dinner.
“That was a really big event, we had marquees and a spit roast catering. It was a very good day that everyone enjoyed and, from my memory, we added to the time capsule,” she said.
Over the years, the Friends group lost some of its autonomy with red tape in the way of completing certain projects.
“Now you must have permission for everything but we used to be allowed to do more things,” Min said.
“The Friends group has diminished over the years which is a shame and we do need more people to join but community service is less popular these days.”
Min said she would like to see more people interested in the horticultural value of the park.
“Now the park is so busy, it’s a worry for a botanic park to have so many visitors who don’t come there for the botanic reason because that’s what it started out to be and it has a wonderful collection,” she said.
“Lex Nieboer’s absolute dedication to the park has been astonishing and it’s a credit to his vision and the remarkable collection of interesting and plants that’s there that need to be treasured.
“The park is of world-class significance but I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves.”
She said she understood it was a much-loved park by the people who use it.
“Frankly there aren’t many other parks in Berwick that people can go to – but it needs to be treasured.”
