Does the Rare Fruit Society of South Australia Inc. Maintain a Rare and Heritage Fruit Tree Orchard?

Yes. The Rare Fruit Society of South Australia Inc. states that its members grow a large collection of rare and heritage variety fruit trees, and that it has established a heritage fruit tree orchard at Kanmantoo in conjunction with Neutrog Ltd. The orchard is presented as part of the society's wider work in growing and recording fruit and food plants from cool-temperate, temperate, subtropical and elevated tropical regions.

What the Society Says About the Orchard

The website describes the Kanmantoo orchard as a heritage fruit tree orchard established together with Neutrog Ltd. It also notes that members maintain a large collection of rare and heritage variety fruit trees. These two points together indicate that the society's orchard resources are both a collective planting site and a distributed collection held by individual members.

The society also keeps records of its successes and failures in growing these plants. That record-keeping matters if you want to know which rare varieties actually perform in South Australian conditions, rather than only which ones can be planted.

How the Orchard Fits Into the Society's Activities

The orchard is one part of a broader set of grower-focused activities described on the site:

• Growing fruit and food plants originating from cool-temperate, temperate, subtropical and elevated tropical regions
• Listening to guest speakers at most meetings and drawing on experienced members' local knowledge
• Learning to graft, bud and propagate through workshop sessions, the library and locally produced fact sheets
• Receiving a digital newsletter before each meeting with member articles and experiences
• Joining field trips to established fruit properties, research stations and other members' orchards
• Buying fruit trees, rootstocks, budwood, grafting material and unusual plants at the trading table held at nearly every meeting

For someone interested specifically in rare and heritage trees, the trading table and the propagation workshops are the most direct ways the society's collection circulates beyond the orchard itself.

Meeting Details if You Want to Ask About the Orchard

The site lists the next meeting as Tuesday 24th November 2026 at the San Giorgio Club, 11 Henry Street, Payneham, at 7:30pm. Parking is available at the venue or in the adjoining Council car park, and attendees are asked not to park on the street. The guest speaker is Mark Henley, speaking about "50 Years of The Rare Fruit Society".

Practical notes from the site:

• Members should log into the website and use the library tab to view books to borrow; only books ordered via the website will be available for collection.
• If you bring fruit or baked goods using fruit from your garden for supper, bring them cut up and labelled.
• Trading tables will be available.
• If you are feeling unwell, do not attend the meeting.

What to Check Before Relying on the Orchard as a Resource

The website excerpt does not state whether the Kanmantoo orchard is open to the public, whether visits are limited to members, or how to arrange a visit. It also does not list which varieties are held there. If your goal is to see or obtain specific heritage varieties, the reliable path is to attend a meeting, ask about the orchard and the member collection directly, and check the members area and library for the society's records and fact sheets.