Begonia House battlers determined to stand up for the cause

Monday, 10 February 2025

Not taking it sitting down - around 300 people linked arms to make a human chain in protest at the planned demolition of Begonia House

First it was a sit-in, then it was a human chain, now the save the Begonia House campaigners are quite literally standing up for their cause, with a planned protest outside Wellington City Council offices.

The action coincides with a meeting of the Kōrau Tōtōpū | Long-term Plan, Finance, and Performance (LTPFP) Committee this week, during which councillors will decide on what to include in consultation documents on amendments to the LTP.

One of those is the fate of the iconic Begonia House in Wellington’s Botanic Garden. While the preferred option is to demolish the 65-year-old building, leaving only the adjacent cafe, officers were asked in December to provide other alternatives that included remediation.

The first big protest was a 'sit in' outside the Begonia House.

Two new options, alongside the one to demolish, are being presented to the committee on Thursday. The first is to do the minimum (repair the frame, demolish the outer buildings, replace glass with single glazing and install a new heating and ventilation system) at an estimated cost of $11 million, while the second provides a “meet scope fit-for purpose solution” — upgrading the ventilation system and greenhouse structure to include double glazing, new back of house facilities, plus a new driveway, café, kitchen and outdoor seating area.

An indicative business case recommends the latter, noting that at an estimated $20 million the project optimised value for money, was commercially viable, financially affordable, and achievable.

Mazz Scannell, of Friends of the Botanic Garden and one of the organisers of the campaign, said 300 people turned up to take part in Sunday’s human chain. “Feedback tells me that there will be hundreds outside the council offices on Thursday.”

A Givealittle page and a bank account had been set up to help with a “fighting fund” which had “raised some tens of thousands … and received over $100,000 in pledges to assist in the costs of renovation”.

Scannell said while it was pleasing to see the alternatives, the recommendation was still to demolish. “The Friends are campaigning to keep the Begonia House where it should be, in the rose garden and not at the dump.”

The landmark building is one of the city’s top visitor attractions. Over the 2021/22 period, the rose garden, cafe and Begonia House recorded 238,000 visitors of which the Wellington City Council subsidises each visit for just $5. That compares with subsidies of over $50 per visit for other council activities that drive economic development in the city, including the zoo, Space Place at Carter Observatory and the Cable Car museum.

The future of the rare and exotic plants in the glasshouse, if it was demolished, remained unclear. It’s estimated demolition would cost $5.6m. This estimate allowed for a new café and toilets rather than an upgrade.

The council’s 2021/31 Long Term Plan identifies Begonia House as a significant destination, the garden’s most visited site and a key investment project, with $8.5m slated to “continue development of the design for a major refresh of the building, its infrastructure and plant”.