About the Heritage Fruits Society

The Heritage Fruits Society (HFS) is a not-for-profit volunteer-run group based in Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria. Our purpose is the conservation, study and promotion of growing rare and endangered varieties of fruit. We encourage our members to explore the vast range of heritage fruit varieties and to inform others about how these can benefit health, sustainability and biodiversity. Learn more about our background here.

What HFS does

Manages the HFS fruit tree collection

The Heritage Fruits Society is the caretaker of the Heritage Block at Petty's Orchard in Templestowe, Victoria, where most of our activities take place. The Heritage Block holds the main collection of heritage fruit trees maintained by HFS. It is one of the largest collections of heritage/heirloom fruit varieties in mainland Australia, with more than 250 varieties of old and rare apples, as well as ever-expanding collections of other fruits such as plums, apricots, pears and medlars. We run regular volunteer workshops which focus on maintaining and improving this collection and its facilities.

Runs public events

HFS runs a range of public events, including:

• Grafting and Tree Sales Days in winter
• Tasting Events in summer and autumn
• Guided walking tours of the Heritage Block

Works with other collections and groups

The Society works with other private and public collections to preserve rare fruit varieties, and is constantly searching for new sources of unusual or rarely-grown fruit varieties worthy of preserving.

Provides access to information

HFS also maintains an extensive on-line library of information relating to rare fruits, their propagation and preservation, historic orchards, our own history and collections, and much more.

How you can get involved

Subscribe to our monthly email newsletter

You can subscribe to our free monthly email newsletter here. It provides information about upcoming events, what's happening with our collections, news relating to conservation of fruit varieties worldwide, and feature articles regarding significant topics related to what we do. You can read any of our recent HFS newsletters here.

Participate in an HFS workshop

A great way to learn about HFS and what we do is by participating in our workshops we run three times each month. These offer not just a hands-on experience with our collection, but also an opportunity to meet and learn with like-minded people.

Join HFS as a member

Becoming an HFS member provides essential financial support to the Society, allowing it to carry out its work. Members enjoy a range of benefits, which are described in the link given above. Nonetheless, we've deliberately kept the cost of membership very low, with the aim of encouraging you to get involved with our activities. 

Additionally, the Society has tax-deductible gift status. Please notify us by email if you are able to donate any amount, small or large, to the Society.