The Dunedin Botanic Garden (often incorrectly referred to as the Botanic or Botanical Gardens) is located at the northern end of central

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The garden is close to the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and one of the city's most historic cemeteries, the Northern Cemetery, on a spur of Signal Hill and on the river plain immediately below it. The location of the gardens makes them popular with university students, as they lie between the university and the mouth of North East Valley, which houses a substantial proportion of the city's tertiary students. The gardens are also easily accessible by road from the city centre, being located close to the northern end of the city's main business street, George Street, and at the northern end of the city's one-way street system, part of

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

. A small suburban shopping centre lies close to the garden's northern entrance at an intersection known as The Gardens Corner.

The garden

The two parts of the Dunedin Botanic Garden are known simply as the upper gardens and the lower gardens. The lower gardens are at an altitude of some 25 metres; the upper gardens rise up the hill-spur to a height of 85 metres.

Lower Gardens

The lower gardens' features include the Winter Garden, a heated Edwardian glass house, rose and herb gardens, a duck pond, children's playground, sound shell, and Japanese garden, the latter commemorating links with Dunedin's Japanese

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

Otaru is a Cities of Japan, city and Seaports of Japan, port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical ...

. A small tributary of the Leith, the Lindsay Creek, flows through the lower gardens. A cafe and visitors' centre are located to the west of this creek, next to the large duck pond and tropical glass house. The lower gardens are also noted for their sculptures and statues, among them an ornate fountain, a gift of Wolf Harris, and a pair of statues by Cecil Thomas depicting Peter Pan and the Darling children from the novel ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

''. A near replica of the Peter Pan sculpture can be found close to Rotokawau Virginia Lake in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

. A more modern sculpture, in the form of pillars representing fern shoots in stylised

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

koru The is a spiral shape evoking a newly Circinate vernation, unfurling frond from a Cyathea dealbata, silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori people, Māori art, bone carving, carving and Tā moko, tattooing, where it symbolise ...

, decorates the northern entrance to the gardens. Two places within the lower gardens are listed as Category II Historic Places by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

: the Wolf Harris fountain (listed in 1982), and the sound shell (listed in 1986).

Upper Gardens

The upper gardens are split by a winding public road, Lovelock Avenue (named for former Dunedin resident, Olympic gold medallist Jack Lovelock). Along each side of this road are bush walks. The upper garden features a geographic plant collection, a small

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where Bird flight, they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flig ...

, native plant collection and an extensive

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

dell. Also a

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

walking trail shows the

Dunedin Volcano The Dunedin Volcano is an extensively eroded multi-vent shield volcano that was active between 16 and 10 million years ago. It originally extended from the modern city of Dunedin, New Zealand to Aramoana about 25 km away. Extensive erosion ...

's different eruptive phases in the upper gardens and along the Water of Leith.

History

Glasshouse fernery at Dunedin Botanic Garden ATLIB 313968

The Dunedin Botanic Garden is the oldest botanical garden in New Zealand, and was established in 1863 on a site surrounding the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The ...

now occupied by the

. After extensive flooding in 1868, the gardens were moved to their current site in 1869. The name of the former site is still recorded in corrupted form in the now little-used name of Tanna or Tani (i.e., Botanic) Hill for the small but steep rise located close to the university's registry building). In 1878 the city council had a gang of prison labourers working on the gardens. The garden was extensively enlarged during the early years of the 20th century under the stewardship of David Tannock. The garden forms part of Dunedin's Town Belt, a green belt surrounding the inner city, and covers a total of . In July 2010, the Dunedin Botanic Garden was awarded a rank of "Garden of International Significance" by the New Zealand Gardens Trust, becoming one of only six gardens nationwide to be awarded this honour. The only other garden in the South Island with this ranking is also in Dunedin, at

Larnach Castle Larnach Castle (also referred to as "Larnach's Castle") is a mock castle on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this ...

.David Loughrey (15 July 2010) ''Botanic Garden earns quite a laurel.'',Otago Daily Times, p. 5.

Gallery

File:Botanical Gardens, Dunedin ATLIB 291949.png, The gardens in the 1920s File:Dunedin Botanic Garden 05.jpg, The upper gardens in 2005 File:Statue of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell in Dunedin Botanic Gardens, Dunedin, New Zealand.jpg, Cecil Thomas's Peter Pan statue, one of a pair of statues based on J.M. Barrie's novel, added to the garden in 1965 File:Wolf Harris Fountain, Dunedin, NZ.jpg, The Wolf Harris Fountain was erected in 1890, and is listed as a Category II Historic Place File:Dunedin Botanic Garden bandstand.jpg, The sound shell, built in 1914, is also a Category II Historic Place

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Botanical gardens in New Zealand Culture in Dunedin 1863 establishments in New Zealand Tourist attractions in Dunedin Protected areas of Otago Parks in Dunedin Japanese gardens Gardens in Otago