Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 is a botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 that covers 64 hectares in Manurewa

Manurewa

Manurewa is the southernmost major suburb of Manukau City, one of the four cities that make up the metropolitan area of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 6km south of the Manukau City Centre, and 26km southeast of the Auckland CBD....

, South Auckland. The first purchase of land by the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) – predecessor of Auckland Regional Council

Auckland Regional Council

The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...

 (ARC) – dates back to 1968. Developments started in 1973. The garden was officially opened to the public in 1982. In that same year the first (and until now only) Visitors Guide was published. It now holds more than 10,000 plants.

1926 - 1968

The first concept for a botanical garden in the Auckland region started in 1926, when members of the Auckland District Horticultural Society suggested such an attraction for Auckland. In October, 1928, a report was forwarded to the then Parks Committee of the City Council with recommendations. This was approved by the Committee. The Committee recommended to put aside part of the Auckland Domain

Auckland Domain

The Auckland Domain is Auckland's oldest park, and at 75 hectares one of the largest in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park contains all of the explosion crater and most of the surrounding tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano....

 for the purpose. “Since then, very little further has been done”. In 1945 Churchill Park was considered.
In the 1950s many sites were investigated for housing a botanic garden.
In 1957 V. J. Chapman, professor of botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 at Auckland University College, drew attention to the fact that Auckland, alone among New Zealand's chief cities, had no botanic garden. He pointed out that the city could acquire 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land at the Tamaki

Tamaki, New Zealand

Tamaki is a small suburb of the city of Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located in the east of the city, 11 kilometres from the city centre, by the banks of the estuarial Tamaki River, which is a southern arm of the Hauraki Gulf...

  property of the University. In 1960 an ad hoc committee was formed to try to find a suitable site and to secure its development as a botanic garden. In 1963 it became clear that land at Tamaki was not feasible. The search continued. Finally, in 1964, an area of land in the Manurewa suburb was examined with positive results.

1968 - 1989

On the 9th February 1968 the Auckland Regional Authority acquired 42 hectares of land from the Nathan Estate in Manurewa , and the Manukau City Council bought the remaining 40 hectares of the Estate, since the property was offered as a whole. The land was leased for grazing until 1970. Soil tests were carried out. These proved that the area was most suitable for a botanic garden.

A scientific advisory committee prepared the first master plan for the Gardens. This was adopted by Council in March 1972. On February 19, 1973 the then Auckland City Councillor, Tom Pearce, turned the first sod. A nursery was established at the eastern end of the Hill Road frontage.

In 1982 the Auckland Regional Authority bought approximately 20.5 ha from Manukau City and accepted from it a gift of 2.2 ha to give the Gardens a northern frontage onto Orams Road.

23 February 1982 the Gardens were officially opened by David Bellamy

David Bellamy

David James Bellamy OBE is a British author, broadcaster, environmental campaigner and botanist. He has lived in County Durham since 1960.-Career:...

. At that time the facilities included a visitor centre, the courtyard, the carpark and public toilets. The plant collections were confined to the southern parts of the Gardens.

In 1983 the Sir John Logan Campbell Lecture Building was erected.
In 1986 an entrance at Katote Place was constructed in memory of Mr. Harry Beaumont, a former member of both the Auckland Regional Authority and Manukau City Council, and a strong promoter of the establishment of the Gardens. That same year the Unitec Horticultural Classroom and an associated demonstration home garden were opened.

A review of the role and activities of the Gardens was undertaken in 1988-89 by a working party.

Numbers of visitors

In the first years after the opening in February 1982 the visitor numbers were relatively stable around 100,000 visits per annum. 1988: 143,000. From 1988 to 1994 a rapid increase took place (numbers counted over the season July to June):

1988/9	157,959
1993/4	494,634

Mission

The mission of Auckland Botanic Gardens is threefold:

• to contribute to the community's wellbeing and appreciation of plants.
• to reflect in the range of plants on display the regions benevolent climate, its diverse landscape and its ethnic mix.
• to meet the needs and interests of the community and to inspire and inform people about the importance of plants in their lives and to the environment.

Research

Research in the Botanic Gardens has been mainly directed on identifying plants that are best suited to growing in local conditions. Three panels have been active, on natives, on trees and shrubs, and on bulbs and perennials. As a result of this research a great number of Advisory Leaflets was published, together forming the dossier “Gardening in Auckland – Horticultural advice for Auckland gardeners” (published regularly since 1981), freely available at the visitor centre.
Much of the trials have been conducted in the Shrub Trial Garden. Here some extensive collections have been created of Hydrangea

Hydrangea

Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...

, azalea

Azalea

Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...

, Deutzia

Deutzia

Deutzia is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia , and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest species diversity is in China, where 50 species occur.The species are shrubs ranging from 1–4 m in height...

and other genera.
Nowadays the advisory work is still continued and the Advisory Leaflets are still updated regularly.

Plant conservation

Auckland Botanic Gardens take an active role in plant conservation, especially of threatened New Zealand native plants. A good example is the shore spurge Euphorbia glauca

Euphorbia glauca

Euphorbia glauca, known by the common names of waiūatua, waiū-o-Kahukura, New Zealand sea spurge or shore spurge, is a coastal plant endemic to New Zealand....

.

Collection

Important collections of the Auckland Botanic Gardens include:

• New Zealand Native Plant Collection, in several areas:

- The New Zealand Native Plant Identification Trail

- The Native Forest Trail, a marked walk that leads through a broadleaf/podocarp forest remnant with a total of about 30 hectares. 10 hectares are part of the Botanic Gardens and managed by Auckland Regional Council. 20 hectares are part of 'Totara Park', managed by the Manukau City Council. The area was cut in earlier times to harvest timber. The forest is now regenerating. There are a number of tracks in the area. One of the tracks is described in a leaflet with information on plants and trees. The flora of the combined area consists of 158 species in total.

- The Flax (Phormium) Collection, with a large number of cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s.

- The Threatened Native Plant Collection, opened 2001 by Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

, in those days Prime Minister of New Zealand Aotearoa. Here we find for instance fine specimen of Three Kings (Trumpet) Vine Tecomanthe speciosa and of Shore Spurge.

- Native Plant Ideas.

- Kauri Grove.

• The Roses.
• The Shrubs Trial Garden.
• The Gondwana Arboretum.
• The Edible Garden.
• The Perennial Garden.
• The Camellia Garden.
• The Palm Garden.
• Urban Trees, which shows a selection of small trees that can be successfully planted in private gardens.

There are a number of other collections, for instance a small collection of conifers, with nice specimen of Keteleeria davidiana

Keteleeria davidiana

Keteleeria davidiana is a coniferous evergreen tree native to Taiwan and southeast China, in the provinces of Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan. The tree is restricted to hills, mountains, and valleys at elevations of 200-1500 m...

and Bishop Pine

Bishop Pine

The Bishop Pine, Pinus muricata, is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly in the U.S. state of California, including several offshore Channel Islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico...

 Pinus muricata.

The database, that contains all the plants in the collections, is available for consultation in the Visitor Centre.

Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre Huakaiwaka is a modern building, opened 2005 that houses the information desk, information displays, a café, and offices.

Library

The Horticultural Reference Library is housed in a separate building. The building was opened in 1992 and was funded by the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens. It contains some 2,500 books and a number of horticultural journals and magazines. The catalogue holds about 10,000 items. The library is open to the public.

The huge impact of the activities of the Friends is clearly demonstrated by the fact that in 1989 the library housed only 400 volumes in the Information Centre, that were solely used for reference by staff.

Ellerslie Flower Show

The Gardens hosted the annual Ellerslie Flower Show

Ellerslie Flower Show

The Ellerslie International Flower Show is an annual garden show held in New Zealand. Previously held in the city of Auckland, the show moved to Christchurch at Hagley Park in 2008....

s for many years.However, the show moved to Christchurch at Hagley Park in 2008.

Literature

• An. (1982) - Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens. A Visitors Guide. An Auckland Regional Authority Project.
• Auckland Regional Authority, Regional Parks Department (1989) - Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, Working Party Review. Review of Role and Activities and Recommendations. February 1989. Report to Regional Parks Committee (chairman J.F. Pettit)
• Auckland Regional Council, Parks Service (1995) - Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, Management Plan. May 1995
• Chapman, Professor V.J. (1957) – 'Unique chance for city to get land for botanic garden' in The Auckland Star, 1957/03/12
• Chapman, V. J. (1972) – 'Slow Start: Bright Outlook for Botanic Gardens' in New Zealand Herald (Auckland), 1972/4/10
• Higham, George (1993) – We wonder who'll be next. A collection of addresses by various guest speakers of the Papakura & Districts Historical Society over the past few years. Papakura, New Zealand. p. 91/2: Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens at Manurewa.

External links

• Official website of the Auckland Botanic Gardens