Hamilton Gardens new visitor centre on budget, hitting milestones

Saturday, 27 April 2024

Hamilton Gardens director Lucy Ryan says an annual pass for out-of-towners is being discussed but a price hasn’t been decided yet.

In five months’ time, walking into Hamilton Gardens will be an entirely new and, for some, pricey experience.

The new visitor precinct is hitting its milestones and is on budget, according to Hamilton Gardens director Lucy Ryan, who said she is touching wood the building will be ready to welcome visitors by mid-September.

“Everything is as on track as it can be,” she tells the Waikato Times.

Lindsay Wills said she has been staying away from the construction site, but hopes there is a story behind the design. She is pictured with Mary Kraya, 5.

On a sunny weekday morning, visitors have already made their way to the enclosed gardens through a temporary trail, passing the temporary visitor centre.

Local Amanda Williams’ favourite activity is to stroll the gardens and pick one to enjoy for the day. She is curious about what the precinct will end up looking life.

“I think it could be a real treasure but I have no idea what it’s going to be.”

Originally from the UK, Williams says she appreciates how Māori design has been used on the fern court structure.

Out-of-town visitors were ready to pay to visit the Gardens. From left are Sheryl Wilson, Libby Wilson, 9, Claire Wilson, 12, and Hannah Marti.

“I love how Māori culture has such strong iconography and motifs that can be incorporated into so many different designs. The reference to tukutuku panels here is an attractive design.”

Ryan says they’re yet to name the fern court structure with mana whenua, but the design symbolises lashings used in Māori gardening tools and the bends of the Waikato River.

Terry and Lauren O'Carroll hope there are options to make multiple visits cheaper.

Williams’ friend, Lindsay Wills, says it’s great to see public spaces getting the attention they deserve.

While she hasn’t examined the construction site closely, she hopes the final building will tell a story about the kaupapa of the land.

Williams says she loves the gardens and strongly agrees with what one tourist had told her.

There are still five months or so to go before the precinct is ready to open.

“This shouldn’t be called Hamilton Gardens, this should be the World Museum of Garden History.”

The camera shutters and compliments in the enclosed gardens are testament to that.

Sheryl Wilson from Tauranga says the gardens are the main reason for her Hamilton trip.

With many gardens to explore, “it piques your interest for the whole day”.

Wilson was ready to pay for a ticket, but was “pleasantly surprised” that the visitor precinct is yet to be completed and entry is still free.

In the Italian Renaissance Garden, Terry and Lauren O’Carroll, who biked from Tamahere, also have plenty of compliments.

Once the visitor centre opens in September, out-of-towners like the O’Carrolls and Wilsons will have to pay $20 to visit.

With the ticket, Ryan says they’re anticipating a visitor number drop of 40-60%.

“I sort of feel like that won't happen.

“We're taking a conservative approach at the moment because we don't want to over promise and under deliver.”

Lauren O’Carrol thinks it’s fair to charge, but it would be nice if an annual pass is available. “It costs a lot of money to maintain these gardens, and what don’t you pay for these days?”

Ryan confirms an annual pass is on the table but they are still discussing how much it should be.

The visitor precinct will also come with a souvenir shop and an expanded product range, including jams and honey from the gardens, as well as Dr Peter Sergel’s new book on the hidden meaning of Hamilton Gardens.

“A lot of people fall in love with the gardens when they visit, so it'd be nice for them to take a bit of it home,” Ryan says.

The next five months will see amenities such as picnic tables installed around the precinct, which Ryan hopes will make the space enjoyable for both paying visitors, and those who use the free surrounding public space.