A searing hot summer did not dent Steve and Trish Maher's string of success at Goulburn's annual Rose Festival.
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The local couple scooped the pool at the 26th event held at the Veolia Arena on the weekend. These included the Rose Committee Championship, Most Successful Exhibitor, the Championship Unit Australian Red Rose and Champion Rose.
Their success came after a two-year break in exhibiting at the festival.
"We've had terrible hot and dry conditions but sometimes roses do well in that climate," Mr Maher said.
"...I've always had a passion for gardening and just love being out there all the time."
Emu Plains regular exhibitors Ted and Meryl Morphett also registered success, taking out the Jane Pockley award, while Ann Goodwin won Best Decorative Unit. Robyn Rawlinson scooped the Graham Williams Perpetual Trophy for a display featuring the city of Goulburn rose. Goulburn Argyle Garden Club member Margaret Thompson was also chuffed to accept the winning exhibit by an organisation or club trophy.
The Veolia Arena was filled with floral aromas at Saturday's opening, which celebrated 150 years since the railway arrived in Goulburn. Rose committee chairman Kerry Ennis said she was pleased with the standard of entries, given the drought conditions.
"People also entered in a wide range of categories," told The Post.
Mrs Ennis said the move to the Veolia Arena several years ago from the Goulburn Soldiers' Club meant more room to fill. Additional stallholders came on board and Canberra Institute of Technology students pitched in with floral displays and main stage decoration.
Over 26 years the festival has grown to the point where it pulls in hundreds of people, including visitors from Canberra, Sydney, the Southern Highlands and further afield. The Post met a botanist from Darwin.
Mrs Ennis said a small committee ran the show each year but they were looking for younger people to become involved as well, particularly to market the event on social media and a website.
Local train author and photographer Leon Oberg admitted to knowing little about roses but was honoured to open the Festival.
In May, Goulburn will celebrate 150 years since the railway reached this city. Mr Oberg, a former Goulburn Post photojournalist, gave a detailed history of the early pioneers' role in securing the railway. They included WP Faithfull, William Bradley and Nathan Mandelson.
The first train here from Sydney in 1869 took five hours and 50 minutes with 16 stops.
"Clearly, the early movers and shakers who gave Goulburn so much have to be admired for their drive, enthusiasm and tenacity and so too, Barry (Thompson) and the Rose Committee have to be applauded for bringing the Rose Festival to Goulburn," Mr Oberg said.
Goulburn MP Pru Goward, Mayor Bob Kirk and Michael O'Neill were also special guests, the latter attending on behalf of his mother and Rose Festival patron, Cr Margaret O'Neill.
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