Hamilton Gardens entry fee begins, Gallagher Visitor Centre opens

Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Hamilton Gardens director Lucy Ryan ready to welcome the public

It’s Hamilton Gardens as you’ve never seen it before, and unless you live in the area, it will now cost you a little more.

The new Gallagher Visitor Centre opened to the media on Tuesday, after months of work.

It opens to the public on Wednesday, but those coming from out of town to check out the new entry will have to pay $20 to get into the enclosed gardens.

Hamilton Gardens director Lucy Ryan says she’s aware that not everyone is happy about the entry fee, especially those who live in neighbouring towns such as Te Awamutu or Cambridge, but she’s not worried about visitor numbers dropping.

“We had to draw a line somewhere and that ratepayer boundary was where elected members and council decided to draw the line,” Ryan said.

“Because our ratepayers and residents are paying for this garden, so they need to be able to keep coming in for free.

Hamilton Gardens director Lucy Ryan is ‘chuffed’ with how the Gallagher Visitor Centre turned out.

“And those from outside are unfortunately, as much as they love us, not paying for the Gardens in their rates, so it's sort of only fair.”

Ryan said she “totally gets it” that some people are upset about the $20 fee, but ultimately, it’s good bang for buck, especially with the new visitor centre.

“I think the fact that we added paid entry means that we had to mature our entire entry experience and we had to say, right from the outset, we were worth $20.

“It's overused, but I think the whole ‘world class entry for a world class garden’ is really important.”

Ryan said one of her favourite features of the new Pavilion is the windows which look out onto the entrance of the gardens

Over 30,000 people have signed up early for a My Gardens Pass, a Hamilton resident’s free ticket to the enclosed gardens. Ryan said this is a good signifier that Hamiltonians are proud of their gardens, and want to keep visiting.

As for out-of-towners, Ryan said the annual passes valued at $39 until the end of the year are being snapped up too.

The Gallagher Visitor Centre will be a shiny attraction as well, Ryan said. The project to renovate the entry point of the Gardens cost $12 million, and took less than six months to complete.

The entire outside space and the new Pavilion indoor space are embedded with cultural meaning. Traditional Māori gardening tools are represented in the initial entry area, and inside, real tools, temporarily donated by Waikato Museum, are displayed.

Ryan said it was important to incorporate te ao Māori in the design, as the land the Gardens sits on was once a Pā site.

With the increasing attention Hamilton Gardens is recieving, a ‘world class entry’ was needed for a ‘world class garden’.

The new reception area is designed to streamline ticket sales, as to remove the need for large queues. A new gift shop is also in place with a range of Gardens themed trinkets and souvenirs.

The Friends of Hamilton Gardens were also present at the opening on Tuesday morning. Volunteer manager of the group Marilyn Yeoman said the Gardens have grown past the stage of free entry.

“Its time has come. Years ago, our vision for these gardens was that they would be available and free for everyone,” she said.

“But with the international interest in it, and with the present state of the finances of the city council, it makes sense to go to paid entry.”

The Gardens have received international praise and attention in the past few years. In July this year, the attraction was named in the top 1% of “things to do” in the world according to Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards.

In the 12 months to July, the garden received more than 500,000 visitors. At the time, Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said the attention was no surprise to council.

“All Hamiltonians know how amazing our gardens are. Once the new visitor centre opens, it will be even better,” Southgate said.