Fay Garstone

It is with great sadness that members of the Camellias Australia be notified of the passing of Fay Garstone on Monday 14th August 2023. Fay was an enthusiastic member of the Camellia Society of Western Australia, and she attended as many as many functions as she could.

She was a constant participant in the National and International Congresses for many years and it was only due to her failing mobility that she did not attend the most recent of these events. Fay was a member of the Society for over 20 years and an avid grower of camellias for much longer. Whilst living on her farm outside Margaret River, she had a beautiful garden area which grew with her increasing interest in camellias.

She first contacted Joan Pashley, who was the Secretary of the Camellia Society WA, when she invited a member of the society to visit their property to see her ‘new’ Camellia. This was the beginning of Fay’s involvement with the society. Fay joined the Society and attended many of the National and International Congresses and she functioned as our representative at the National Meetings when other members were unable to attend.

Joan and Don Pashley visited both Fay and Brian, as did the President at the time, and cuttings were taken of her ‘special’ plant. These were then given to Roy Campbell to propagate. Unfortunately, no one really knows what happened to these cuttings as that was around the time when Roy became unwell.

After the loss of Brian, Fay moved to Busselton where she continued to be active in promoting camellias to all who would listen. She regularly kept us informed with photos of camellias in gardens she had visited and only a few weeks before she passed, she was relating stories of camellias her two daughters had seen on their holiday. She also boasted that she had managed to keep alive two camellias she had purchased from a nursery in Sydney.

Fay attended some monthly meetings which was usually when she was in Perth attending family celebrations. Fay was an extremely popular member who is greatly missed by all who knew her.

Our sincere condolences to her family and friends.