In a 1934 newspaper article Mr Frank Cartwright, prominent horticulturist, relates a bit of the history of our Society:

On 18 March 1903, a meeting of suburban residents, interested in gardening, met in the Claremont Town Hall with the object of forming a horticultural society. They decided to form such a group and the name suggested was the Suburban Amateur Horticultural Society* . The first President was Sir Walter Heely Hutchinson with HM Arderne as Vice-President. Other committee members were the Hon T Graham (Chairman), W Searle, A Walsh, E Pillans, C Dixie, WA Eaton, ER Syfret, W de N Lucas, M Nash, AH Reid, P de Villiers jun and F Cartwright. They held their first show in the Rondebosch Town Hall in the October of that year and their first daffodil show in 1904. The judges in those early years were Donald Ross, J Chalwin (curator of the Municipal Gardens) and Charles Ayres for pot plants and, for cut flowers, GB van Zyl, Martinus Versfeld and J Spyker.

The first flower show, as we know it today, was held in the City Hall (Rondebosch Town Hall became too small) in 1913.

As a Centenary project the Society decided to label all the trees in the Arderne Garden in Claremont. Many of these trees have been labelled, but this is an ongoing project as a number of trees have yet to be identified.

* One of our show trophies still bears this name.