Regal Red
Posting this ‘red gem’ of a photo, snapped during Ōtari’s Centenary celebration brought a huge response, most significantly from Graeme Atkins (Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine) project leader for Tairāwhiti Ngutukākā and noted endangered species expert.
Our Trust Chair, Dr Carol West, was showing a flowering ngutukākā to Her Excellency, Dame Cindy Kiro, in Ōtari’s Threatened Species Garden. Tairāwhiti is the only region where ngutukākā still grows in the wild, and Ngāti Porou have given seedlings from their Tairāwhiti Ngutukākā project into the care of Ōtari’s gardeners, to nurse a backup population.
It doesn’t get much better than this, commented Atkins. ‘A plant I donated to Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush for an insurance population. Our taonga in safe hands. Pleasing to help play a small part along with the expertise and passion of the team at Otari-Wiltons Bush,’ he added.
The Trust sincerely hopes that Council officials, currently pursuing a staff Wellington Gardens restructure, are taking this kind of feedback on board when considering the critical importance of relationship building and the need for dedicated curator/manager, gardener and specialist archivist roles for Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush.
Posted: 18 October 2026