I love Austins and have several that do well but I spray religiously. I don't mind the work when it comes to roses. Our soil is probably quite different though. Do you have clay there? I have heavily amended sand.
My best are LD Braithwaite, Mary Magdeline, The Dark Lady, Ambridge Rose, Tamora and Scepter'd Isle. LD is in the ground on fortuniana rootstock. Mary M and The Dark Lady are in the ground own root. The last 3 are in pots. In the past I've had good luck with Blythe Spirit and Sophy's Rose but I am fickle and in a moment of foolishness I cut them from the lineup.

I may be closer to you and maybe our BS climate therefore might be similar. Here are my experiences

Tamora-- truly one of my favorites but this rose just must be sprayed to keep leaves in the upstate of SC. If you plan to spray, you must have this one!!

Abraham Darby-- spots a bit but keeps his leaves (acceptable in this garden). When he is in bloom I smell fresh cut green apples mixed with strong rose scent--fantastic!

Lilian Austin--this rose spots but only in spring. Leaves stay on and the rose recovers well. The rest of the year she is clean. I love the color blend of this rose. Do note that she tends to have a weeping quality so if you have a hill or high wall--great--planted there she will be more impressive in her early years. She does get stronger more upright canes as she ages. Some things are worth the wait no matter where you plant them--she is. (sharp thorns--I never said she wasn't feisty)

Sophy's rose--no fragrance but wow!! How beautiful is this rose!! Great bush form in my garden. Only spots on occasion and blooms without being pampered (that means no water unless we are in drought conditions). Quick rebloom and gets a lot of attention from those visiting my garden. This is a bright rose but it looks fantastic with purple companions.

Scepter'd Isle--do you like black jelly beans? I do!! ...and this rose smells much like them (myrrh fragrance). I loved this rose for the fragrance and "gave it a go" in my garden.....and the rose did well. I had one spring where the rose did defoliate as a result of BS but it was new to my garden. In the following years, it did much better and only spotted. The blooms are pale pink but unlike other roses don't fade in baking sun. That gets points in this garden.

I had Graham Thomas--and when the spring flush hit I could barely get from the car to the house. I literally stood in my driveway and looked at this rose forever. I credit this rose forum and this rose for converting me into the rose addict I am today. Such color, fragrance and beauty....alas, he preferred to be naked....equally as shocking from the driveway.

I have Christopher Marlowe but admittedly have him in a poor location. My information on this rose won't be valuable.

Good luck and enjoy!!

on page 103 of the 2011 David Austin catalog it lists the following varieties for hot, humid areas:

Abraham Darby
Ambridge Rose
Benjamin Britten
Darcey Bussel
Graham Thomas
Harlow Carr
Heritage
Huntington Rose
James Galway
Jude the Obscure
Lady of Megginch
L.D. Braithwaite
Molineux
Sharifa Asma
Sophy's Rose
Tamora
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
The Dark Lady

I have big doubts about this list :(. ALL the roses on this list will loose their leaves to BS by mid June here, if not sprayed.
Generous Gardener and Constance Spry are relatively resistant here. Some people have decent success with Heritage, I don't.
Olga

Olga,

Lots of Austins blow their blooms in high heat and humidity...maybe that is what the above list is good for?? It certainly cannot mean they have BS resistance (in my experience).

All Austins spot for me and I have had success with only a few (which were only tried after peppering everyone here for their experiences in order to select a Austin where I had a reasonable chance of success).

I had Benjamin Britten. In a fickle moment I gave it to my neighbor. Poor Ben, planted in too much shade, totally neglected grew healthy. Very little BS in this extremely humid environment. I felt badly for abandoning him to that.
Nancy

Thanks you all for your suggestions. I am really excited about getting my new gardens in!

Claudette

I live in east Texas - most of my Austins are young. James Galway and Scepter d'Isle are older and do very well. I couldnt spray last year due to 2 knee surgeries and they were fine, never missed a beat and bloomed well. Same with Lady of Megginch, though she is a younger plant.

Very few Austins do well in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic without fungicide spray. The Generous Gardener (see thread on the other forum) and Sophy's Rose are two of the most likely. The Mayflower is OK in some gardens. Heritage and Prospero are two that can go longer between sprays than most roses. Heritage is hardy and vigorous enough that it can easily survive defoliation, but Prospero is a slow grower.

Pat Austin, Teasing Georgia, Abraham Darby, Heritage, Graham Thomas all do well here.

That list is intended to sell roses--I don't believe it. I've not grown an Austin that could go without spraying. I am in very hot and humid 8b Mississippi. I still grow Graham Thomas and Abraham Darby though they must be sprayed at least occasionally. (Heritage was horrible) I only spray with Neem, and have been very satisfied. I hate to use the more dangerous chemicals. If Neem can't save it in my garden, I let it go. I am curious to try The Generous Gardener and Jude the Obscure as they are "reportedly" healthy. I can't completely resist. ;)