Our History

The Riverland Rose and Garden Festival was the brainchild of Eithne Sidhu who collaborated with David Ruston to run the very first “Renmark Rose Festival” in 1994 – then known as “Rose Week”. Eithne saw it as an event to bring people into the town and to promote Renmark as the Rose Capital of Australia. Her vision has certainly been realised.

Since its humble beginnings in 1994, the Rose Festival has evolved into a major regional event.  Now the festival spreads across 10 days, spans towns all across the Riverland and provides a range of events and attractions, sure to delight locals and tourists alike.

In 2022, the festival was re-branded as the “Riverland Rose and Garden Festival” as one of the region’s largest and most supported festivals. This was the result of the festival evolving to include gardens, events and attractions across the entire Riverland, as well as our unique Indigenous Culture, flora and fauna.

With Garden and Nature Tourism recognised as the top two fastest growing tourism markets in the world, the 10-day festival is now a major state event that attracts visitors from all over Australia and is even more attractive to a world-wide audience.