Gnomes dig deep for PolioPlus

PICTURED: Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis and Gnome Master David Clark at this year’s Australian Gnome Convention.

On Easter Friday, David Clark from the Rotary E-Club of Australia Nomads packed up his collection of more than 2,500 garden gnomes from his property in Rydal (150kms west of Sydney) and transported them to Rhododendron Garden in Blackheath, NSW, at the top of the beautiful Blue Mountains, where he holds the Australian Gnome Convention over Easter Saturday and Sunday.

David took over the job of Gnome Master in 2020 after the passing of PDG David Cook from the Rotary Club of Lower Blue Mountains, who used to hold the convention at Glenbrook Park on Australia Day.

David was approached by the committee that runs Rhododendron Garden to see if he would run a Gnome Convention around the dam and pond over Easter to encourage more people to come through the garden at other times, besides when the Rhododendrons are flowering in late October and November.

“This was our third year holding the convention and every year has been better than the year before,” said David. “We started off with 1,000 gnomes and now have more than 2,500.

This year we also had entertainment, a coffee van, a barbecue, face painting and a surprise visit from Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis, who spent five hours entertaining the children as well as signing his Gnome Garden book. This made the day a wonderful success.

The original aim of the convention was to raise money for the upkeep of the garden and for future years’ running costs. Everyone who works at the garden are volunteers, and they get no funding from anywhere apart from a $5 per adult entry fee, which allows visitors to wander through the beautiful grounds and enjoy the colours of the Rhododendrons.

David decided to place donation buckets around the gnomes, raising $500, which he donated to the PolioPlus campaign via his club. Given that most people don’t have cash these days, David was very happy with the amount, but is looking at going to a tap and go donation system at next year’s convention.