National Camellia Gardens celebrates 50th Anniversary

The 50th anniversary of The E.G. Waterhouse National Camellia Gardens has been celebrated by the Sutherland Shire for their continued significance within the local community.

The gardens began as a project under the 1970 Captain Cook Bicentenary program and is now home to one of the largest collections of camellias in Australia. Located in Caringbah and overlooking scenic Yowie Bay, Camellia Gardens is enjoyed by countless Shire residents and visitors alike, no matter their age, for picnics, weddings and various other kinds of leisure activities.

The Gardens was opened by Lady Cutler on 18th July 1970 and named after late Sydney resident Professor Eben Gowrie Waterhouse, a leading world authority on camellias.

Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce thanked Parks Operational staff, past and present, for their “continued efforts to preserve the area, and to our local community whose passion for nature has made the site what it is today.

“Council acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal speaking people, the traditional custodians of the land on which E.G. Waterhouse Camellia Gardens sits.”

Image of Mayor Carmelo Pesce at The E.G. Waterhouse National Camellia Gardens courtesy of Sutherland Shire Council