Welcome to the Heritage Fruits Society

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 HFS Heritage Block, a small 0.5ha section of Petty's Orchard in Templestowe, Victoria. The Heritage Block holds the main collection of heritage fruit trees maintained by HFS, and is where most of our activities take place. 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:

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, or access an archive of almost all our newsletters since 2009 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 conservation 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. 


Make a tax-deductible donation to HFS


HFS is entirely reliant on funding from memberships and donations. Please consider making a gift donation to the Society to support our long-term planning and projects. Donations of any size, large or small, are critical for improving our collection and facilities, and for broadening and enriching our activities.

Upcoming HFS Events

Wed, December 18, 2024 9:00 AM • HFS Heritage Block at Petty's Orchard, 1 Homestead Road, Templestowe
Sat, December 21, 2024 1:00 PM • HFS Heritage Block at Petty's Orchard, 1 Homestead Road, Templestowe
Wed, January 01, 2025 9:00 AM • HFS Heritage Block at Petty's Orchard, 1 Homestead Road, Templestowe
 

Where we run our events


Most HFS events, including our Grafting and Tree/Scion Sales Days, Tasting Events and volunteer workshops, take place at the HFS Heritage Block, located within Petty's Orchard in Templestowe. In the map below, the HFS Heritage Block is located at the "Heritage Fruits Society" marker, just south-east from the "Petty's Orchard" pointer:

Photo Gallery


Click here for a photo gallery from around the HFS Heritage Block at Petty's Orchard:


  

Queensland Fruit Fly




Queensland fruit fly is Australia’s most serious agricultural pest insect. It began to appear in Melbourne home gardens in the last few years, and it now has been sighted at the HFS Heritage Block as well. Affected fruit contain larvae which are up to 9mm long, yellowish, and capable of leaping away when exposed. If improperly handled and controlled, QFF can proliferate very rapidly and potentially devastate entire fruit crops.


At HFS, we are making every effort to control this dangerous pest, and we strongly encourage the public to do so as well. Our detailed information page about Queensland Fruit Fly and methods of controlling it is here.


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Heritage Fruits Society ABN: 39 201 357 743
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