Daffodil icon touched many
THE Leongatha Daffodil Festival will go on this year despite the death of long time supporter Ian Dyson last Monday week (June 16).
Mr Dyson, late of Dumbalk, was an important part of the festival for many years.
The Leongatha Horticultural Society has described Mr Dyson as a major exhibitor in the daffodil show with prize-winning blooms and new plants of his own breeding.
Since he moved back to the area, his business, Classic Daffodils, has supplied and donated cut daffodils for the festival, mainly for the window and business displays.
Society secretary Lillian Brittain said as soon as organisers of the show and festival are able to proceed with planning, they will do so promptly.
“The Leongatha Daffodil Festival will continue the momentum that was created last year, supported by everyone who participates,” she said.
“But the role that Ian played will never be quite filled.”
Mr Dyson and his wife Joy joined the Leongatha Horticultural Society in 2012, after moving back to the area.
“However, Ian was known in person, or by reputation, by many of us long before then,” Ms Brittain said.
“This was through his role as an exhibitor at the Annual Daffodil and Floral Show and also as an accomplished nurseryman.
“But we didn’t really know him until he became a colleague in our activities.”
Whenever someone was needed to help, Mr Dyson was the first to offer.
“When a new show bench steward became a good idea, he took it on as something new for him,” Ms Brittain said.
“From the time he and Joy joined committee, Ian took an active and constructive interest in every topic and event. Most recently, his donations to our Hospital Garden Project were remarkably generous.”
Mr Dyson was the main force in bringing the National Daffodil Championships to Leongatha in 2015.
“The committee is so keen that we have already taken planning steps to create what promises to be a major showcase for South Gippsland’s horticultural industry,” Ms Brittain said.
“We will now press on keener than ever as a tribute to his foresight and enthusiasm for a business and pastime that he loved.
“The members and committee of LHS deeply regret the loss of a bright, warm, giving friend – a lovely person.”
The Victorian Daffodil Society paid tribute to Mr Dyson on its Facebook page, describing him as “our best known competitor, dedicated daffodil enthusiast, and in his retirement was beginning to release some new daffodils he had laboured over many years to develop”.
“In fact he was the guide, the inspiration, the mentor, the encourager, the ever-willing resource person and patient trainer of many of us newer to the daffodil world,” the statement said.
The American Daffodil Society’s Facebook page said Mr Dyson’s death was “a tragic loss to his daffodil friends around the world”.
Well liked: the late Ian Dyson has been remembered for his passion for daffodils and the Leongatha Daffodil Festival.
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