New sign celebrates Ōtari’s Centenary and Dr Cockayne
It’s Centenary Year and Ōtari has a new sign to celebrate it. The role of Dr Leonard Cockayne, in establishing the ‘Ōtari Open-air Native Plant Museum’ in 1926, is the focus of the sign now in place on the wall outside Tāne Whakapiripiri, the visitor centre.
Cockayne developed a four-point scheme to safeguard the future of the ‘museum’ and the native plants brought here from throughout New Zealand. His scheme included restoration of Ōtari’s native forest. Cockayne’s legacy continues today in what is known as the Ōtari Native Botanic Garden, the only public botanic garden solely dedicated to New Zealand native species, and the adjacent forest, Wilton’s Bush Reserve.
The new sign has been an Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust project, completed with support from Ōtari Manager, Tim Park, Wellington Gardens and WCC’s Communications and Creative Team. It features an artwork of Rubus × barkeri, a bush lawyer hybrid favoured by Cockayne, drawn by botanical artist, Eleanor Burton.
Posted: 14 July 2026