Regional and District Groups

Regional Groups

ANPSA consists of seven affiliated regional societies, one for each of the six Australian states and the seventh being based in the Australian Capital Territory. Although there is regular contact between the Regions, each is independent and responsible for managing the affairs of the Society within its geographical area. Each Regional Group publishes a quarterly newsletter for its members who generally reside within the area of operations of the Region to which they belong, but this is not mandatory. Regular Regional meetings allow members to hear expert speakers on a range of topics related to the Australian flora.

Within each Region, District Groups have been established to enable members who live in the same locality to meet regularly and to participate in activities such as bushwalks, plant propagation workshops, plant identification sessions, garden visits and local meetings with qualified guest speakers. There are almost 100 District Groups throughout Australia. Further information on these District Groups is provided below.

The District Groups operate under the rules and regulations of the Region in which they are located but have their own elected executive and generally issue a regular newsletter covering local activities. District Groups may charge a small fee to cover their administration expenses.

All Regions and some District Groups have established web sites which provide information on local contacts, local nurseries, local plant reserves and on Australian plants suited to the local area.

Further information on membership of the Regional Groups can be found here.

Different Names

Because the Regional Societies are independent, they operate under several different names as follows:

Name Applies in......
Society for Growing Australian Plants Queensland
Australian Plants Society New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria
Australian Native Plants Society Canberra
Wildflower Society of Western Australia Western Australia

For simplicity, the term "The Society" is used on this site to refer to ANPSA and to each of the Regional Groups.

Regional Groups: Features and Services

All Regional groups offer a number of common benefits including access to a free "Seed Bank", Regional Meetings featuring expert speakers and a variety of field trips and excursions. Other services and benefits offered may vary slightly between the Regions as do the publications provided to members, as outlined below.

Publications included in Membership

  • Canberra
    • Monthly Bulletin summarising dates and times of activities and functions.
    • Journal, published 3 or 4 times per year, containing articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants" (optional extra; additional fee required).
  • New South Wales
    • Quarterly 48 page Newsletter "Native Plants for New South Wales" which contains details of coming events, information about Society matters and articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants".
  • Queensland
    • Quarterly 48 page "Bulletin" which contains details of coming events, information about Society matters and articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants".
  • South Australia
    • Quarterly 40 page "Journal" which contains details of coming events, information about Society matters and articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants" (optional extra within Australia; additional fee required).
  • Tasmania
    • Quarterly 36 page newsletter, "Eucryphia", which contains details of coming events, information about Society matters and articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants".
  • Victoria
    • Quarterly 56 page "Newsletter" which contains details of coming events, information about Society matters and articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants" (optional extra within Australia; additional fee required).
  • Western Australia
    • Quarterly 44 page "Newsletter" which contains details of coming events, information about Society matters and articles by members.
    • Quarterly colour journal "Australian Plants" (unless "Newsletter Only" membership is taken up).

Please refer to the Regional web sites (above) for further information about membership benefits.

Regional Climates

If you are contemplating joining from outside Australia, it would be preferable to select a Regional Group which operates in a similar climate zone to your own place of residence. The following is a rough guide, however, it should be realised that some Regions cover several zones:


Climatic Zone Features ANPSA Regions
Alpine Low winter temperatures with frosts and snow; cool summers Tasmania
Cool Temperate Low winter temperatures with frosts during the cooler months; warm summers Tasmania
Temperate Low winter temperatures with frosts during the cooler months; warm to hot summers Canberra
Warm Temperate Mild winters with light frosts away from the coast; hot summers New South Wales, Victoria
Mediterranean Cool to cold, wet winters; hot summers with low rainfall South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia
Sub-tropical Mild, dry winter and reliable summer rainfall; high summer humidity New South Wales, Queensland
Tropical High temperatures and humidity all year round; heavy summer rainfall Queensland, Western Australia
Inland Very hot, dry summers with cold nights; cold winters All except Canberra and Tasmania

Further information on Australian climate zones is available from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

District Groups

District Groups are located throughout Australia and allow Society members in a particular regional centre to take part in activities with other local members.

  • Canberra

    Because of the relatively small size of the Australian Capital Territory, there are no District Groups in the Canberra Region.

  • New South Wales

    22 District Groups have been established in the following areas: Armidale and District, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Central West (Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo), City-St George (inner Sydney and southern suburbs), Coffs Harbour, East Hills, Hawkesbury (Windsor/Richmond), Hunter Valley, Illawarra, Macarthur (Campbelltown/Camden), Menai, Newcastle, North Shore (Sydney), Northern Beaches (Manly to Palm Beach), Nowra, Parramatta and the Hills, South East Region (south coast), Southern Highlands (Mittagong, Moss Vale), Southern Tablelands (Goulburn district), Sutherland, Tamworth.

  • Queensland

    There are 18 District Groups and affiliated organisations in Queensland operating in the following areas: Brisbane (South Side), Brisbane (Western Suburbs), Brisbane (Daytime), Caboolture, Cairns, Gladstone, Innisfail, Ipswich, Kingaroy and Districts, Logan River, Mackay, Pine Rivers, Rockhampton, Samford, Sunshine Coast and Hinterland, Tablelands (Atherton), Townsville, Warwick.

  • South Australia

    Within South Australia there are 13 District Groups: Brinkworth, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Fleurieu, Karoonda, Kimba and Districts, Murray Bridge, Northern Yorke Peninsula, Para Districts, Parrakie Area, Port Augusta and Districts, Port Pirie, Southern Eyre Peninsula, Southern Flinders Ranges.

  • Tasmania

    There are 4 District Groups in Tasmania: Kingborough, Hobart, Northern, North West.

  • Victoria

    The Victorian Region has 30 District Groups: Albury/Wodonga, Ballarat, Bendigo, Colac-Otway, East Gippsland (Bairnsdale), Foothills (Melbourne), Geelong, Grampians, Hamilton, Keilor Plains, Latrobe Valley, Loddon-Murray, Maroondah, Melton & Bacchus Marsh, Mildura, Mitchell (Kilmore), Mornington Peninsula, Murrindindi, Shepparton, South East Melbourne, South Gippsland, Strathbogie Ranges, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, Waverley, West Gippsland, Wilson Park (Berwick), Wimmera, Wyndham, Yarra Yarra.

  • Western Australia

    The Wildflower Society has 11 District Groups: Avon, Albany, Armadale, Darling Range, Eastern Hills, Kulin, Lesueur, Merredin, Murdoch, Northern Suburbs, Perth. There are also several affiliated groups.


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