The gardens at Ormond are just lovely. I was so pleased that the wonderful contribution over some four decades by Colin Barnes has been recognised [in a recent edition of New & Old]. There was another old gardener who needs to be remembered and recognised. He was Mr Smith who also tendered the gardens for decades.
From time to time I worked as his assistant during my six years at Ormond during the 1950s. We always referred to him as Mr Smith. He was very old compared to us students. I suppose that was the culture of the period.
As an Ormond Aussie rules footballer I was modestly fit but there was no way I could keep up with Mr Smith. At the end of a long day weeding and ploughing I was exhausted. Not Mr Smith.
About 1958 he retired. The Ormond Council honoured his contribution during an evening dinner. He was given £1,000 to help in his retirement.
Mr Smith was overcome with this recognition. I had asked him about his plans for retirement. He told me he had to fix the engine in his old truck. He said “You kids will not have to do that. You will all be doctors, judges and engineers, someone else will fix your car”. He was correct.
Mr Arthur Smith, also known as ‘The Genius’, took care of Ormond’s garden for 28 years. When he retired he could identify only five plants in the Ormond gardens that he had not personally planted. When he passed away three years later, Ormond’s Master Davis McCaughey presided at his funeral.
Ormond’s beautiful gardens were for a long time under the care of Mr Smith.
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Every Ormondian has their own experience of College, and their own story to tell. Do you reall Mr Smith or have a special memory of Ormond’s gardens? Perhaps you have a photo of Mr Smith you could contribute a copy of to the Archives? Share your experience with the community.
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