Our volunteers are amazing.
They lead on a whole range of work across the estate from tours to events.
Whether your interest is art, gardening or history, there are many ways to get involved as a volunteer at Carrick Hill.
Make new friends, work in a unique place and know that you're helping others access and enjoy the wonder of Carrick Hill.
All our volunteers are supported through extensive training in the history of the home, the collections and the surrounding gardens. And as an extra reward, you’ll get free membership to the Friends of Carrick Hill.
As part of the team you will:
- Help maintain Carrick Hill for visitors to enjoy today and preserve it for future generations too
- Support an extraordinary venue and be part of unique events, exhibitions and park land
- Receive a discount in the shop
- Be invited to attend staff and volunteer events such as the Christmas party
- Meet new people and experience life in a busy visitor attraction
- Receive the latest news via a monthly internal newsletter for staff and volunteers
- Become part of the community and help to build a sustainable future.
Our “Garden Gnome” volunteers come every week to work with our gardeners to plant, weed, mulch, feed, prune and carry out other vital tasks that make the formal gardens so outstanding. They also work on the rose garden; the apple and pear orchard; and the Storybook Trail.
When: Weekly on Monday mornings, 10am – 12noon.
Set in over 100 acres, Carrick Hill has an extensive area of native vegetation. Our Bush Care volunteers play a crucial role in helping regenerate the bushland including replanting trees and maintaining understory species. As this is an area that’s under threat with a high rate of attrition, this team is involved in replacing over 1000 plants every year.
When: Monthly for two hours on a Sunday.
Tour Guides take visitors through the house, sharing the history of the Haywards and their home, including information about artworks and furnishings. Amongst the many paintings are works by Gaugin and Sickert. There are sculptures by Jacob Epstein of Albert Einstein, Bernard Shaw and Sir Winston Churchill. Full training is provided.
When: Tours offered twice daily, Wednesday to Sunday at 11.30am and 2.30pm.
Carrick Hill is home to an extraordinary collection of Tudor staircases and panelling, as well as a collection of 16th-18th century oak furniture which is unquestionably the finest in Australia. Our volunteer Furniture Polishers are responsible for caring for the oak interiors using a special wax polish. A furniture expert attends to support and supervise this work.
When: This group meets a few times throughout the year.
Ursula Hayward loved to fill her home with fragrance and colour using flowers from her garden. The Flower Arrangers continue this tradition, taking turns to cut flowers from the garden and arrange them in vases throughout the house.
When: The Flower Arrangers work in teams on a roster, committing one week per month on Tuesday morning for arranging and other mornings during the week for watering.
The Gift Shop volunteers have a thorough knowledge of all the products available for sale, and why they are chosen. Many of the items reflect the interest of the Haywards, drawing out elements of their art collection, including designs by William Morris.
When: Volunteers work in shifts during public opening hours (Wednesday – Sunday & public holidays between 10am – 4.30pm).
Minimum weekday shift 12pm – 3pm, two shifts on weekends and public holidays.
The Friends of Carrick Hill carry our fund-raising activities and arrange education and social functions in a vibrant program for the benefit of members and the public. We're always looking for volunteers keen to contribute to planning and running this inspiring and engaging offer.
If you’re interested in joining our brilliant team, please call 7424 7900 and let us know how you’d like to get involved.
Your details will then be forwarded on to our Volunteer Coordinators who will contact you about relevant positions, depending on availability.
If you're already a volunteer at Carrick Hill and need to access your resources, you'll find them all in our volunteer portal here.
You'll need your username and password to login. If you have any issues, please call 7424 7900.
