Glenfalloch is a private garden and restaurant near

Macandrew Bay Macandrew Bay () is located on the Otago Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Otago Harbour, and is named for pioneer Scottish settler James Macandrew who lived here during his later life. The Te Reo Māor ...

Otago Peninsula The Otago Peninsula () is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Ot ...

, New Zealand. The gardens are owned and run by the

Otago Peninsula Trust Otago (, ; ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government region. Its po ...

. Glenfalloch was established in 1871 by George Gray Russell, who bought the land from pioneer settler

James Macandrew James Macandrew (1819(?) – 25 February 1887) was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1853 to 1887 and as the last Superintendent of Otago Province. Early life Macandrew was born in Scotland, pro ...

. It covers . Russell, a businessman who helped found the National Mortgage & Agency Co Ltd (now part of

Fletcher Challenge Fletcher Challenge was a multinational corporation from New Zealand. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It had holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, i ...

), set out the gardens and lived at Glenfalloch until 1900. Phillip Barling purchased Glenfalloch in 1917, and the gardens were opened to the public by his son in 1956. The Otago Peninsula Trust purchased the property in the late 1960s. Glenfalloch's name is

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

, and means "hidden valley". The heart of the gardens is a woodland area with native trees dating back prior to the garden's establishment, including one

mataī ''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī () or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island / Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there. It grows up to high ...

estimated to be 1000 years old, as well as many exotic species planted in the late 19th century by the gardens' first owner. The small Russell Creek runs through the gardens down to an open lawn area around the restaurant and homestead. Many flower species are found in the gardens, with rhododendrons, azaleas, roses, magnolias, and fuchsias dominating. The Homestead is registered as a Category II historic place 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 ...

. Glenfalloch is regularly involved in and host of cultural events, including an annual spring festival of art and regular poetry readings. An arts residency aimed at potters and ceramicists is also run by the Otago Peninsula Trust, with the gardens' potters studio and cottage available to the recipient.

References

{{Botanic gardens and arboreta in New Zealand Otago Peninsula Tourist attractions in Dunedin Gardens in Otago Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in Otago Woodland gardens