From the Archives
Spring is in the air and what a wonderful day we had for the 2024 Pymble Garden Party recently! The College gardens were in full bloom, the skies were blue, and the sun was shining for what turned out to be another wonderful day. How many of you were able to come this year to this exciting annual event on the College calendar?
It was my first Garden Party as the Archivist here at Pymble so that was exciting. I took the opportunity to have a lounge room of sorts on the beautiful and historic colonnade for the occasion. It was called the ‘Archive Hive’, with flowers from the Pymble garden on display and some catered nibblies for visitors to enjoy. Here, I had the pleasure of meeting a number of you and hearing your Pymble stories while we sat and chatted. I enjoyed recording by hand all of the wonderful stories you shared on the day, which will now become part of the College Archives. Pymble is an ever-evolving place with a live and continuing chronicle and your stories and memories are so important to discover and record. Dr Sarah Loch (Director of the Pymble Institute, the College’s centre for innovation and research) was also there enjoying recording your stories too. We both wore replica Pymble hats from 1918 to mark the occasion as a homage to times past.
The ’Archive Hive’ also featured a group of dedicated student volunteers who are completing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards with the College Archives. The girls were on hand to hand out the Scavenger Hunt activity that they had made to young visitors, for them to discover some of the College’s history. The kids who completed this task were rewarded for their efforts with a sweet treat of lollies!
Let’s take a look back at the Garden Party throughout time and see where it all began …
The tradition of the College Garden Party dates back to two very successful occasions. That is – the Grand Fete held on 19 September 1925 and the Maypole Fair on 7 May 1938. From 1956, Garden Party became a regular event on the College calendar.
The Grand Fete was recorded as a ‘spectacular affair’. The first Fete was held to raise funds for the first swimming pool, which was opened early the following year. Reported in The Sun and The Sydney Morning Herald of the day, the event was on a grand scale. Picture the scene of the opening procession led by 600 Boy Scouts with flags aloft, decorated cars and a guard of honour of students in white lining their path extending the length of the College oval. Side shows and entertainment with fortune tellers, a conjuror, paper tearing, juggling, fancy goods and produce stalls and a guessing competition (to estimate the weight of a sheep, safely penned) were all part of the day. Visitor parking was managed by a representative from the NRMA.
The gymnasium located on the lower level of the Colonnade building was transformed into The Palais de Danse. Decorated with gum saplings, it was a popular destination and perhaps took its name from the Palais de Danse dance hall at St Ives at the time. The event raised 750 pounds, a significant contribution to the estimated cost of the pool at 1,460 pounds.
The Garden Party as we know it today was initially dubbed as ‘American teas’ as they were seen as a very fashionable way to raise money along the lines of ‘bring and buy’. This image of prestige was preferred over other terms coined at the time such as ‘fetes’ as they were regarded as vulgar as they centred around entertainment rather than the notion of giving.
Over the years, proceeds from the Garden Party were directed to capital works, either the general building fund or special funds for specific work such as the Chapel, amphitheatre, Ingleholme Swimming Pool and the Conde Library. Usually the entire profits were directed to such projects. Special purposes for the funds included the organ fund, audiovisual equipment for the library (1973), renovation of the Colonnade classrooms, musical instruments, new chairs for the school hall, landscaping the courtyard, computer equipment etc.
The Garden Party funds have now moved to being directed towards helping others beyond our Pymble community. The 2024 funds are in support of the Barbara May Foundation and the Barbara May Foundation.
Name & Object of Garden Party
The notice for the 1961 Garden Party states:
‘Our prime object is to bring together all past and present members and friends of the School. Ex-students will find this a good opportunity for meeting with one another and with new families.
Members of the public are cordially invited.
The second object is to provide entertainment for guests and an opportunity to augment the Building Fund.
The School will be open for inspection and for special Form activities.
Stalls will be held on the principles of an American Tea. Friends are asked to bring gifts for as wide a variety of stalls as possible.’
Afternoon tea was included in the admission price and from the note one can assume the Garden Party took place in the afternoon.
The Pymble Garden Party has been held onsite annually since 1956, with only a few exceptions of it not taking place due to bad weather and the COVID-19 pandemic (the Garden Parties in 1960 and 1962 were held at Ingleholme). From 1956 to 1987, the Garden Party was held in the first or second week of October. When the 4-term school year was introduced in 1988, the date moved to the second Saturday in September. The exception to this was in the year 2000 when the Garden Party was held on 14 October – school terms dates had been changed for the Olympics.
The annual Garden Party has become a wonderful College tradition that remains with every Pymble student well beyond their years at the school. I imagine many of you have fond memories of the Garden Party! Feel free to drop me a line and share your stories of life at Pymble, whether it be Garden Party-related or your life and times at Pymble … your experiences are all part of the story of Pymble Ladies’ College and I love to hear them. My email address is: kmurray@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
