New Zealand National Herbarium Network

Herbarium Details: Eastwoodhill Arboretum Herbarium

Eastwoodhill Arboretum
2392 Wharekopae Road
Ngatapa
R. D. 2
Gisborne
New Zealand

Telephone:  +64 6 863 9003
Fax:            +64 6 863 9093

Homepages:  Eastwoodhill Arboretum

Location

Douglas Cook Centre for Education, Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Gisborne.

Background

Foundation

Eastwoodhill Arboretum was originally established in 1910 by W. Douglas Cook. The 135 hectare arboretum now contains over 4,000 species of trees shrubs and climbers and is the largest collection of Northern hemisphere trees in NZ. The arboretum was bought by Gisborne farmer H.B.(Bill) Williams in 1965 who gifted it to the people of NZ. He established a self-governing body to develop and preserve Eastwoodhill as a public arboretum. In 1975 a Private Members Bill was passed to establish the Eastwoodhill Trust Board.

The Douglas Cook Centre for Education was opened in 1992, and the herbarium was set up initially with funds from The Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust in 1994.

Status

Eastwoodhill Trust Board operates under its own Act of Parliament 1975. Funded mostly by an endowment fund established by H B Williams and by the funds sought for various projects. Largely aided also by volunteers through the Friends of Eastwoodhill Association.

Functions

Eastwoodhill was set aside by an Act of Parliament in 1975 for scientific and educational purposes, and for the enjoyment of the people of NZ. It holds the largest living plant collection of mostly woody exotics in the country and is being continually planted and developed. A teaching facility was opened in 1992, and an accommodation wing in 1998 to cater for University and Polytechnic groups , interested botanists, dendrologists and the plant loving public who come to study, work or simply enjoy the beauty of the arboretum.

Scope of Collections

The herbarium at Eastwoodhill has been established to hold specimens of all the taxa grown at Eastwoodhill and this is the major focus of the collection. In addition it is undertaking to collect specimens of significant botanical interest to the East Coast and Gisborne region.

Number of Collections

Totals for the different groups
Angiosperms 1455
Gymnosperms 111
Total 1577

Staff and Research

Curator:   Sally Willis (BSc.)

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