A good garden is a point of pride for many homeowners now but half a century ago there was more than pride on the line as Dubbo residents competed for the Daily Liberal Silver Rose Bowl.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The award was handed out for the best garden in Dubbo, and became a highly-sought-after award.
Jim and Rita White were three-time winners of the Rose Bowl between 1966 and 1968 with their Sanderson Street property, which was always in full bloom when the competition was judged in October.
Mr and Mrs White’s daughter Lola Horder said her parents loved being in the garden and took competitions seriously.
When they moved into their house, the only hint of a garden was a few lemon trees, but they worked hard to turn it into something special.
Mrs Horder’s husband Doug said the Whites had a way of getting their garden looking its best for competitions.
“They were always good with the garden. Lola’s father always wanted to grow good stuff. He had good tomatoes and vegetables as well as his roses, geraniums and pelargoniums,” Mr Horder said. “He always managed to get things to bloom at the right time.”
The Daily Liberal Silver Rose Bowl was one of the most prestigious gardening awards, not just in the city but also in the wider region.
Everyone in Dubbo who had pride in their garden would enter and judges would come from outside the city, often from Sydney, to adjudicate.
The winners would then be announced at a glittering ceremony in October, attended by some of Dubbo’s biggest names.
The Rose Bowl was already an established award in 1966, but with the proclamation of Dubbo as a city in September of that year, the award took on extra prestige.
Mr and Mrs White had finished second in the 1965 Rose Bowl but really wanted to win in 1966.
“Mum really wanted to win that one. She said there was only going to be one first city Rose Bowl,” Mrs Horder said.
The effort the Whites put into their garden for that year paid off, because they went on to win the Rose Bowl again in 1967 and 1968.
They also won first prize in the Sydney Morning Herald Garden Competition in 1966 and 1968.
Mr and Mrs Horder still have the 1966 and 1968 Rose Bowls and the 1965 second place bowl, while Mrs Horder’s brother Lionel White and his wife Colleen have the 1967 Rose Bowl.