Chris Gardner visits Hamilton Gardens to see how a $12 million investment has coincided with charges to see the enclosed gardens.
Hamilton Gardens Gallagher Visitor Centre Opening & Blessing event held at Hamilton Gardens. Photo: Mike Walen
Māori gardening tools line the new visitor centre entrance to Hamilton Gardens.
Traditional cultivating tools on loan from the Waikato Museum collection take pride of place alongside small paddle shaped ketu – a digging stick – and a grubber or tima.
The tools, on loan from museum and arts director Liz Cotton for one year, celebrate past and present. The pre-European Māori settlement Te Parapara is now occupied by the Chinese Scholars’ Garden at the Cobham Drive attraction which saw an estimated 538,000 people visit the last year as part of 1.1 million people made the gardens café the country’s biggest seller of scooped Tip Top ice cream.
Ngati Wairere, the Waikato Tainui hapu or subtribe who once occupied the site, and the collective Te Haa o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa, influenced the design of the new Gallagher Visitor Centre.
Hamilton City Council has spent $12 million, twice the gardens’ annual operating cost, building the visitor centre an approaching precinct capable of processing thousands of paying visitors per year while adding the ancient Egyptian garden and the palm court.
Photo: Mike Walen
“From the outset, central to our vision was the importance of the visitor experience and the principle of manaakitanga, extending hospitality, care, and respect to all who come here,” said Hamilton Gardens director Lucy Ryan at a VIP cocktail function on the eve of opening.
“We wanted to honour the historic and ongoing significance of this special place to mana whenua and Ngāti Wairere, the first gardeners of this area and we also knew we needed to get the practical aspects right, ensuring seamless functionality and safety for all visitors for instance. This balance between pragmatism, respect for our site’s heritage, and a commitment to exceptional visitor experience has guided every aspect of our design process.”
The council partnered with architects Edwards White and worked closely with the mana whenua advisory group.
The result is what Ryan calls one of the best entrances to any gardens she knows.
Hamilton Gardens entrance. Photo: Mike Walen
“Our entry to the enclosed garden symbolises the awa (river), and as the gardens is situated on and near numerous pā sites. The large vertical posts in this structure, inspired by traditional Māori gardening tools (māra kai), form a palisade around the courtyard, protecting the precious gardens within,” Ryan added.
The niho taniwha motif in corten steel weaves between each column, reflecting local tukutuku panel patterns.
Within the Fern Court, a whāriki (woven mat) is embedded into the concrete surface.
“This distinctive Tainui pattern, Te Hera o Tainui, is believed to be used for the Tainui waka sail. In this context, it symbolises welcoming people and nations from ‘ngā hau e whā’ (the four winds) to this region; no matter where you’re visiting from, you are welcome here,” Ryan said.
“The design pattern in the Gallagher Visitor Centre represents kaitiakitanga, reflecting our guardianship of Hamilton Gardens and our guests. The pattern throughout the pavilion and our event spaces represents manaakitanga, embodying the kindness, respect, and support we provide to all visitors.”
The tomokanga features significant motifs unique to Waikato, Tainui.
“These symbols honour ancestors who have passed, representing them with mana and reminding us that our actions reflect on our ancestors.”
Fern Court. Photo: Mike Walen
The project, started 40 years ago, is full of firsts including the traditional Māori garden and Egyptian temple garden. It is not all funded by ratepayers’ money.
Hamilton based Gallagher Group secured naming rights to the visitor centre in August for an undisclosed sum, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment funded $750,000 worth of security improvements at the gardens including close circuit television cameras, security bollards and lockdown rooms.
Ryan would like to rethink car parking, but not too soon.
“Fingers crossed, we might get better car parks,” she told The News on opening day. “We want to see the impact of paid entry. Visitor numbers could drop 40 to 60 percent. We hope that is not going to be the case and today is a good sign it’s going to be OK.”
Staff numbers have risen from 32 to 39.4 full time equivalents in the high season, decreasing to 36.8 in the low season.
On opening day, September 18, there was a queue at 10am with willing paying punters including Jennifer Shields from Christchurch.
“I paid $20 to get in and I would do it again,” she said. “Next time I am back in Hamiton I will bring my partner.”
Hamiltonians can sign up for a free My Garden Pass with proof of address and identification. Those living outside the city boundary can pay $20 per visit or buy a $39 annual pass before Christmas. By opening day 32,000 Hamiltonians had registered for their pass, or 16 percent of the city’s population, had done so.
By opening day 250 $39 annual passes had been sold, 20 of them on the day.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate described the visitor centre as a beautiful addition to the world class visitor attraction.
“Generous donors and Hamiltonians have carried on former Hamilton Gardens director Dr Peter Sergel’s legacy to create this amazing place, and now we must ensure the gardens remain top-class.”
See: Pay as they grow
Mayor Paula Southgate and Gallagher CE Kahl Batham. Photo: Mike Walen
