Dorothy and John Wakeling founded the Sculpture Park at Waitakaruru Arboretum 34 years ago. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
The Sculpture Park at Waitakaruru Arboretum, a massive 34-year land rehabilitation project in Waikato, has turned over a new leaf.
After seven years of trying to retire and secure the project’s future, founders Dorothy and John Wakeling have found new owners for the park.
It is now owned by the Waitakaruru Arboretum Stewardship Foundation, set up by a small group of anonymous philanthropists to ensure long-term stewardship of the park.
The Wakelings created the arboretum and park at what was a disused greywacke quarry in Tauwhare, around 20km east of Hamilton.
They bought the 17.5 ha property in 1991 with a big mission: to rehabilitate the land by planting all kinds of native, foreign and rare plants, and to absorb carbon from the atmosphere to slow climate change.
Since the start of their mission, the couple have planted more than 25,000 trees.
Over the years, they also received more than 100 sculptures from numerous artists, which can be explored via a 2km loop walk that guides visitors past trees, plants, ponds, cliffs, the Waitakaruru stream and a little waterfall.
After years of hard work, the Wakelings were ready to retire in 2018 and tried several avenues to pass on their legacy.
“We even tried to get local authorities to take it over, but they declined due to the costs,” Dorothy said.
“We didn’t see a reason why it should close, so we kept going.”
To raise additional revenue apart from the entry fee, they host sculpture exhibitions and creative workshops, they set up an outdoor riddle game, and since 2023, the park also has a cafe, called The Roosting Ruru, and a bed and breakfast.
“It’s still a surprise to us that we are still not so well-known,” Dorothy said.
“[But] I don’t know any more how to reach different people to encourage them to come and have a look.
“It’s a wonderful place to enjoy others’ company. You always have something to talk about.
“It’s a great place for conversations.”
The sculpture park and arboretum were affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, with slips and a lot of trees coming down.
It was devastating for the Wakelings, and they were almost ready to give up.
“It was absolutely nothing like the East Cape [Hawke’s Bay], but to us, it was horrendous. [On] one particular hillside, 30 years of tree-planting have been wiped out,” John said.
“Every time something like this happens, you wonder if you can keep going,” Dorothy said.
But as “generally optimistic people”, the couple pushed ahead.
“We are hopeful sort of people that things will change and will improve ... that things will work out at the end.
“Well, and we’re a bit nutty,” Dorothy said.
A new artwork, created by Marcus Tatton, a New Zealand artist living in Australia, turned some of the devastation into a “significant” piece of land art.
“That cheered us up immensely,” John said.
The Portal was created from parts of the trees that came down during the cyclone.
Things have started to look up for the sculpture park and arboretum, which sees about 10,000 visitors a year.
The bed and breakfast is also doing well, with Dorothy saying it had bookings well into next year.
And then, of course, the new owners, who first approached the Wakelings two years ago about taking over.
This year, Antoinette Van der Weerden, who has a background in landscape architecture, was appointed park manager.
“I’m very pleased that there are a group of people who actually see the importance of this continuing,” Dorothy said.
“This is such a model of rehabilitation that’s meant to inspire people to connect with environment and their own creativity.
“I feel we sometimes struggle to explain ... how significant this is.
“[But] just occasionally, people get it. But that doesn’t matter so much as the person who comes in and just has a nice wander and feels better for it ... that’s more important.”
The arboretum changed hands for an undisclosed sum, with Dorothy and John saying they received the value of the two properties, their home and the bed and breakfast, on the site.
The Wakelings said they would stay at the property for a few more years and remain involved as volunteers and caretakers.
Looking back on their 30-year involvement, John said while they knew exactly what they were doing, they didn’t realise it was going to be quite so hard.
“It’s nice to think about the transformation,” adds Dorothy.
“I’m very pleased [the project] has come to a stage where others can appreciate it.”
Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.