Paul Kennedy Australian Native Plants Society Biennial Conference 2026

Paul Kennedy

Paul has been the leader of the ANPSA Hakea Study Group since 2008. He has been an enthusiastic leader in encouraging APS members to grow Hakeas. Paul has spoken to many groups about Hakeas, leads field excursions and visited many members’ gardens. He has introduced new techniques in germinating Hakeas as well as grafting techniques for Hakeas that are hard to grow on their own roots or are endangered. Paul has been involved in the organization of the Society being APS Victorian State President, ANPSA President and organizer of two ANPSA Conferences. My interest in Australian plants began in my bushwalking days when walking across the Victorian highlands I came across so many beautiful flowering plants. After my marriage to Barbara in 1968 I began planting Australian natives in our garden at Heathmont, an outer eastern suburb of Melbourne. My initial interest was Banksias but I found the western Australian species difficult to grow and so became interested in Hakeas, which were much more hardier to our climate and soils. On retirement in 1995 we shifted to Strathmerton north of Shepparton where on 18 acres of land consisting of deep sandhills and clay swales we grew nearly every species and subspecies of Hakea according to soil type. Our arboretum of Australian plants was visited by many APS groups and members. In 2013 we left Strathmerton and moved to Colac in Victoria where we now have an acre garden with most of the Hakea species and subspecies growing on 900mm of sandy loam overlying clay. Many Hakeas are adaptable to soil and climate variations. Paul received an OAM in 2014 for his services to the Australian Plants Society, the Community and Environment.