We are pleased to announce that in collaboration with the National Trust, Saumarez Homestead Gardens will also be open from 10 am – 4.30pm on Saturday 31 October.  Tickets will be available on this site or in cash at the NEGF stand at the gardens. Visitors may also be interested to have a short tour of Saumarez House between 1 pm to 4 pm. Tickets for the house can be purchased on site at the Saumarez Centre.
Pastoral settlement in the region began in the 1830s led by civil servant and pastoralist Henry Dumaresq. In those early years Saumarez had a well-stocked store, with tools, clothing and food provisions for those moving north ‘beyond the
boundaries of civilisation.’ The property takes its name from the Dumaresq’s Estate in Jersey in the Channel Islands. After Dumaresq’s death, Saumarez Station was sold to Henry Arding Thomas, whose family lived in the original slab homestead overlooking Saumarez Creek.

The White family purchased Saumarez station in 1874 and developed the land and its associated buildings into one of the largest and most successful rural properties in New England. The White family worked the property until they gifted the 10 hectares that included the historic precincts to the National Trust in 1984. The 2ha (4.4 acre) gardens at Saumarez Homestead, Armidale, were planned and constructed by the Saumarez Whites at the turn of the 19th century to complement and provide a setting for their significant Late Victorian-Edwardian house. They were planned on the model of an English prototype, but included plantings of trees, shrubs and exotics from the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Scandinavia. Mary’s Garden was inspired by Jocelyn Brown. The Heritage Rose Garden at Saumarez Homestead, has been established on the site of the old homestead orchard with the nucleus of the rose collection donated

by Miss Catherine MacLean, a long time Armidale resident and dedicated rosarian. The main collection includes over 600 roses representing each of the major rose cultivar groups, mostly bred before 1930. Adjacent to the formal garden are rose beds that recognise the contribution of important rose breeders both nationally and internationally.

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Explore the Gardens at: Saumarez Homestead Gardens – National Trust
By car: Saumarez Homestead is approximately a five-minute drive from Armidale airport. Head down the New England Highway, turn right past the Armidale Airport and follow the signs to Saumarez Homestead.