01-09-1939 – 24-06-2021

Peter was a proud and active member of ANOS Victoria over many years.  He was a person of very high integrity who was a warm and considerate person to us all.  He also worked very hard to help the Society to be a welcoming and successful experience for other members and the public.  Peter was someone who was always guided by his conscience and a strong sense of ethics.  He always ensured that a project was done to its absolute best.  An example is his bulletin notices -always prepared and submitted in plenty of time and with great care so that they fitted into the Bulletin and communicated the desired message.

Most importantly to our Society, he was our Tuberbank Coordinator.  He was keenly aware of the many moral and procedural conundrums that come with running the Tuber Bank, for example, how to show appreciation to donors who supply tubers, but do not request tubers, what can be done for members in quarantine restricted states, becoming more environmentally sustainable without compromising the tubers, of being a source of cheap tubers without devaluing the orchids or outcompeting the few commercial nurseries, to name only a few.     He worked tirelessly to develop the tuber bank, both as a conservation aid, and to facilitate the enjoyment of the growing of terrestrial orchids, especially with newer members.  No matter how late an order arrived he would work hard to obtain some more tubers to help fill the order.  Peter put a lot of thought and effort in behind the scenes, to ensure all members were served fairly and to the best of his ability.

Peter was also a very active member of the Terrestrial Seed and Propagation Group, growing numerous species from seed, many of which he shared with other members.  He was also able to isolate fungi from potted orchids and use these fungi in germination.  He had a particular interest in understanding fungi behaviour and the requirements for successful germination.  He also facilitated the growing of non-tuber multiplying orchids for the tuberbank.  Three of these species were distributed in the tuberbank this past year, with more to come.  He was always helpful to newer members guiding them in developing their skills and enjoy their successes.

Using skills developed at the Terrestrial Seed and Propagation Group, Peter became an enthusiastic and valued volunteer at the Orchid Conservation Project at the Cranbourne section of the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens where his skills and his quality as a person was greatly appreciated.

Beside all the ways in which he contributed to our Society, he was appreciated as a special person, as he was always  interesting, very fair, always pleasant, very courteous, considerate of and to others and very helpful.  A special person to all who had the pleasure of being with him.

Tribute: Richard Thomson OAM

A donation has been made to the Australian Orchid Trust Fund by ANOS Victorian Group Inc.

AOTF  4082