协会概况
新西兰杜鹃花协会（New Zealand Rhododendron Association，缩写 NZRA）成立于 1944 年 8 月 10 日，1945 年 8 月正式注册为新西兰合法社团，会员遍布南北岛各地区，是新西兰全国性的杜鹃花园艺爱好者组织。协会的宗旨是作为杜鹃花爱好者的共同交流平台，并通过协会认为适当的方式鼓励杜鹃花的栽培、研究与品种改良。
历史沿革
1944 年 8 月 10 日，由梅西农业学院（Massey Agricultural College）校长 Sir Geoffrey Peren 召集六位爱好者在新西兰北帕默斯顿举行预备会议，决定成立新西兰杜鹃花协会。同年 10 月 4 日召开首次年度大会，选举 Edgar Stead 为首任会长，J.S. Yeates 博士担任秘书兼财务。1945 年 8 月获颁注册证书，1948 年起梅西学院植物学系为协会种植和分发苗木长达近三十年。
主要活动
协会每年举行一次全国性年度大会（Annual Conference / Rhodenza），由南北岛各地区轮流主办。2025 年 10 月 31 日至 11 月 3 日于剑桥（Cambridge）举办第 79 届大会，2026 年 10 月 29 日至 11 月 1 日将在基督城（Christchurch）举办以 Selwyn 区花园为主题的年度大会。协会还组织本地分支小组、季度通讯（Bulletin）以及年度期刊（Journal），促进会员之间的交流与知识分享。
重点项目
协会长期开展杜鹃花种质保护项目（ex situ species project），与梅西大学 Marion MacKay 博士合作，记录新西兰境内栽培的温带杜鹃花物种，避免稀有物种在栽培中流失。此外协会维护新西兰自育杜鹃花杂交品种（NZ Hybrids）登记系统，鼓励会员为新西兰境内培育但尚未登记的杂交品种办理正式登记，以保护品种名称与来源。1986 年起，协会与英国皇家园艺学会（RHS）杜鹃花山茶木兰组保持附属关系。
国际交流
协会与多国杜鹃花专业组织保持姐妹关系，包括美国杜鹃花协会（American Rhododendron Society）、英国皇家园艺学会山茶木兰杜鹃花组（Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia Group of the RHS）、苏格兰杜鹃花协会（Scottish Rhododendron Society）以及澳大利亚杜鹃花协会（Australian Rhododendron Society）。协会参与国际杜鹃花登录体系，与 1958 年起设立的国际杜鹃花登录系统保持对接，是南半球杜鹃花研究与保护的重要节点。
About the Association
The New Zealand Rhododendron Association (NZRA) was founded on 10 August 1944 and incorporated in August 1945 under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. It serves as a national society of rhododendron enthusiasts across the North and South Islands. The Association’s stated objects are to act as a common meeting ground for rhododendron enthusiasts and to encourage the cultivation, study, and improvement of rhododendrons.
Founding History
On 10 August 1944, Sir Geoffrey Peren, Principal of Massey Agricultural College, convened a preliminary meeting of six enthusiasts in Palmerston North and the meeting resolved to form the New Zealand Rhododendron Association. The first Annual General Meeting was held on 4 October 1944. Mr Edgar Stead was elected first President, and Dr J.S. Yeates became Secretary-Treasurer. The Certificate of Incorporation was issued on 4 August 1945, and from 1948 the Botanical Department of Massey College grew plants for distribution to members for nearly thirty years.
Annual Conference
The Association holds an annual conference, traditionally alternating between the North and South Islands. The 79th Annual Conference took place in Cambridge from 31 October to 3 November 2025, and the 2026 Rhododendron Festival will be hosted in Christchurch and the Selwyn district from 29 October to 1 November 2026. The conference programme typically includes several days of garden visits, workshops, and a guest speaker, drawing members from across the country.
Projects and Registrations
NZRA runs an ongoing ex situ temperate species conservation project in partnership with Dr Marion MacKay of Massey University, recording rhododendron species present in cultivation in New Zealand and propagating single-accession species to safeguard them from loss. The Association also maintains the New Zealand Hybrids registration scheme for rhododendron hybrids raised in New Zealand, and issues an informative quarterly Bulletin as well as an annual Journal. In 1986 NZRA received its Certificate of Affiliation to the Royal Horticultural Society.
International Links
NZRA maintains sister-organisation relationships with the American Rhododendron Society, the Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia Group of the Royal Horticultural Society, the Scottish Rhododendron Society, and the Australian Rhododendron Society. The Association participates in the international rhododendron registration system established in 1958 and is a key node for rhododendron conservation and study in the Southern Hemisphere.
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