Hamilton Gardens
| Hamilton Gardens | |
|---|---|
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| Location |
Hamilton East Hamilton  New Zealand
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| Coordinates | 37°48′17″S 175°18′14″E / 37.8046°S 175.3039°ECoordinates: 37°48′17″S 175°18′14″E / 37.8046°S 175.3039°E |
| Created | 1960s |
| Operated by | Hamilton City Council |
| Visitors | One million per year |
Hamilton Gardens is a public garden park in the south of Hamilton owned and managed by Hamilton City Council in New Zealand. The 54-hectare park is based on the banks of the Waikato River and includes enclosed gardens, open lawns, a lake, a nursery, a convention centre and the Hamilton East Cemetery. It is the Waikato Region's most popular visitor attraction, attracting more than 1 million people and hosting more than 2,000 events a year.
Hamilton Gardens is described in popular culture as a botanical garden, but does not technically qualify as a botanical garden. Instead, the site features 21 gardens representing the art, beliefs, lifestyles and traditions of different civilisations or historical garden styles. These gardens are grouped into the Paradise, Productive, Fantasy, Cultivar and Landscape garden collections, and there is space for gardens which are still in development.
The first development of the gardens began in the early 1960s at what was then the city's waste disposal site. The first substantial development, the Rogers Rose Garden, was opened in 1971 in an attempt to block highway development over the site. Since 1982 many newly developed areas have been opened to the public. Additional features of the gardens now include a lake walkway and a waterfall lookout.
In 1960, four acres of what had been the Hamilton East Town Belt was passed over to Hamilton City Council for use as a public garden. An opening ceremony for Hamilton Gardens was held on 24 July 1960. The design of this area was, and still is, firmly in the Gardenesque tradition, with specimen trees and flower beds set in flat lawns. In 1971 Hamilton was to host the first World Rose Convention. At that time Hamilton had rose gardens at the Lake Domain, but these were limited in size, so a new rose garden was established at Hamilton Gardens. It was named after Dr Denis Rogers, mayor of Hamilton from 1959 to 1968.
In the late 1970s, a new concept for Hamilton Gardens was developed. This new concept would see Hamilton Gardens depart from the traditional botanic garden model, partially because of the proximity of Auckland Botanic Gardens. The focus of Hamilton Gardens was to be on garden design, rather than on botanical science. This concept was developed in three stages through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to form five garden collections. The first of the Paradise Gardens were opened in 1992.
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Wikipedia