Hackfalls Arboretum
Encyclopedia
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It was founded in the 1950s by Bob Berry
Bob Berry (dendrologist)
Robert James Berry is a New Zealand dendrologist who founded Hackfalls Arboretum at his farm in Tiniroto, Gisborne. The arboretum is now known for having one of the largest collections of Mexican oaks in the world. During the 1950s and 1960s he was in regular contact with William Douglas Cook,...
. Hackfalls Arboretum is part of “Hackfalls Station”, a sheep and cattle farm of about 10 square kilometres, owned by the Berry family. Hackfalls is situated in Tiniroto
Tiniroto
Tiniroto is a small farming and forestry community on the “inland” road from Gisborne to Wairoa in the eastern part of the North Island of New Zealand...
, a tiny village in the eastern part of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
, between Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
(town) and Wairoa
Wairoa
Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...
.
The area of the arboretum is 0.56 km². It stretches along the borders of two lakes. It holds about 3,500 species of trees and shrubs. The collection contains many different oaks "spaced in rolling pastureland, allowing each to develop fully, and limbed up to enable grass to grow underneath". Most important part of the collection are about 50 different taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
of mexican oaks.
Geography
Tiniroto is situated on the inland road (the so called Tiniroto Road, former State Highway (SH) 36New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
) between Gisborne and Wairoa. The distance from Gisborne is about 60 km, from Wairoa 40. The Ruakaka Road is a gravel road of about 20 km, that leads from Tiniroto, with a wide curve, crossing the Hangaroa River
Hangaroa River
The Hangaroa River is a river in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand. It has its sources in the Huiarau Ranges in the Te Urewera National Park, and flows south and east to merge with the Ruakituri River near Te Reinga. The combined rivers form the Wairoa River, which flows south into Hawke Bay.There...
two times, past Donneraille Park, back to the Tiniroto Road. Berry Road branches off from this Ruakaka Road about 1 km outside Tiniroto. 3 km further up on Berry Road is the homestead of Hackfalls.
You have then passed Lake Kaikiore which together with Lake Karangata form the “wetlands” of Hackfalls Station. Lake Kaikiore is 5 ha, Lake Karangata 10 ha.
Altitude on Hackfalls Station varies between about 120 m and 388 m, being 270 m at the homestead.
The hill country of the Tiniroto district was formed in a big landslide from the North and East which occurred thousands of years ago. The lakes around Tiniroto were formed then. On steeper slopes the soils are derived from a yellow clay. On more level areas the soils consist of volcanic ash deposits (pumice) of about 50 cm.
The station has an average annual rainfall of about 1,650 mm, with a few light snowfalls expected each winter.
The Māori occupation brought fires which destroyed much of the original forest cover, except in ravines and near the Hangaroa River. From 1880 onward, European settlers cleared most of the remaining forest, scrubs and ferns, replacing it by grassland.
At Hackfalls a few remnants of the original plant cover remain, the largest of which consists of about 40,000 square metres, protected by a Queen Elizabeth II Trust covenant since 1985.
Hackfalls Station
The Whyte family from Scotland were the first European settlers that acquired the station. They called it 'Abbotsford'. The Berry family, who originally came from Knaresborough in Yorkshire, arrived in North Canterbury in 1883 and settled at Tiniroto in 1889. Later the family moved to Gisborne. In 1916 the Berry family bought 'Abbotsford' off the Whyte family and settled there. The name Hackfalls was given to the new property in 1984 when Bob’s niece Diane and her husband Kevin Playle bought into and ran the stock side of the station, which left Bob free to concentrate on the arboretum from then on. The name Hackfalls was chosen as it is where the original Berry family lived in Yorkshire, England – Hackfall Wood, a forested wilderness in a deep part of the valley of the River UreRiver Ure
The River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the Dales now named after a village rather than its river...
near the village of Grewelthorpe
Grewelthorpe
Grewelthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England situated three miles south of Masham and six miles north of Ripon...
. “Its resemblance to the appearance of the Hangaroa as it would have appeared in 1889 is probably why Bobs grandfather assigned the name to the farm”.
It was not until 1950 that Berry road was metalled. Electricity did also not arrive until that time.
Hackfalls Station covers an area of about 10 square kilometres of hill country. The eastern and northern border are formed by Hangaroa River. The western border is roughly the Ruakaka Road. To the south the border is fenced. The station is a sheep and cattle breeding and fattening farm. Normal stock carrying capacity on the station is approximately 8000 stock units (sheep and cattle).
Hackfalls Arboretum covers 0.56 km² of the Station. Most of the arboretum is grazed by sheep, sometimes by cattle.
History of Hackfalls Arboretum
Bob Berry was born in 1916 at Tiniroto, and became a farmer, like his grandfather and his father were before. But he developed a special interest in trees. He lived at Hackfalls since 1924, and from the early fifties he took over the running of “Hackfalls Station” and began collecting trees. Until that time, only trees with a commercial interest were planted. Trees were grown for timber, or as fence posts (mainly Lombardy Poplars), or as fruit trees. From 1954 onward, soon after his father's death Bob began tree planting for their beauty and botanical interest, “starting with ease to grow willows and poplars, then a few oaks which he found did rather well there. Thus began a forty year love affair with the genus Quercus, resulting in his now having the biggest collection in the country, with Bob our leading authority on oaks”.The first trees were planted near the edge of Lake Kaikiore. A Swamp cypress
Swamp cypress
Swamp cypress is a common name for more than one species of plants in the family Cupressaceae :* Species of the genus Taxodium* Glyptostrobus pensilis* Actinostrobus pyramidalis...
Taxodium distichum, some of the common alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
s Alnus and Weeping Willows Salix babylonica var. matsudana.
Poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
s were among the trees that were allowed when Bob's father was still alive, and he continued to extend his collection of poplar species. But soon he took a special interest in oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s. He collected acorns from commercial seed suppliers in 1961 and 1962 and from the Melbourne Botanic Gardens in 1966. He also imported plants from Hillier's
Harold Hillier
Sir Harold George Hillier was an English horticulturist.In 1921 he joined the family firm, Hillier Nurseries, his early career spent in assisting his father in rebuilding stocks depleted by World War I...
in 1964 and 1968 and bought plants from various other nurseries.
In 1975 he received a plant of Quercus rugosa
Quercus rugosa
Quercus rugosa is a species of oak tree which is found in Mexico and the southwestern United States.-Source:...
, a Mexican oak. And when the International Dendrology Society (IDS) made a tour of Central and Southwest Mexico in 1982, Bob participated and collected seed which he brought back and sowed. He made several return trips to Mexico and has today “the largest collection of Mexican oaks probably in the world (outside of Mexico)”.
Other notable introductions to New Zealand that can be credited to Bob's wild collections from Mexico are Dahlia tenuicaulis, a tree dahlia, Clethra mexicana, Alnus acuminata ssp. arguta
Alnus acuminata
Alnus acuminata Alnus acuminata Alnus acuminata (also called Alder is a species of tree in the Betulaceae family. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.-References:...
, Buddleja cordata
Buddleja cordata
Buddleja cordata is endemic to Mexico, growing along forest edges and water courses at elevations of 1500 – 3000 m.-Description:B. cordata is a large deciduous shrub or tree...
and B. americana
Buddleja americana
Buddleja americana is the most widespread of all the Buddleja species native to the Americas, its range extending south from Tamaulipas, Mexico, through Central America and much of the West Indies into South America, reaching eastward to Venezuela, westward as far as the Galapagos, and south to...
.
In 1993 the arboretum was protected by a trust.
Bob continued planting until 2007.
Hackfalls Arboretum now hosts several important collections and a number of beautiful mature specimens.
Main features of the collection
- AcerMapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
- about 160 specimen - Alnus - about 80
- Betula - about 90
- CamelliaCamelliaCamellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
- about 80 - EucalyptusEucalyptusEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
- about 90 - HebeHebe (plant)Hebe is a genus of plants native to New Zealand, Rapa in French Polynesia, the Falkland Islands, and South America. It includes about 90 species and is the largest plant genus in New Zealand. Apart from H. rapensis , all species occur in New Zealand. This includes the two species, H. salicifolia...
- about 50 - Ilex - about 60
- MagnoliaMagnoliaMagnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
- about 70 - MalusMalusMalus , the apples, are a genus of about 30–35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae. Other studies go as far as 55 species including the domesticated Orchard Apple, or Table apple as it was formerly called...
- about 50 - PopulusPoplarPopulus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
- about 220 - PrunusPrunusPrunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are around 430 species spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for fruit and ornament.-Botany:Members of the genus...
- about 80 - Quercus - about 450
- RhododendronRhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
- about 400 - Salix - about 70
- SorbusSorbusSorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
- about 70
The most important part of the collection are the oaks (Quercus), especially Mexican oaks. Hackfalls has probably the biggest collection of Mexican oaks in cultivation anywhere. A large number of these oaks were collected as acorns by Bob Berry himself on trips to Mexico.
Bob Berry and Eastwoodhill
The contacts between Bob Berry and William Douglas CookWilliam Douglas Cook
William Douglas Cook was the founder of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, now the national arboretum of New Zealand, and one of the founders of Pukeiti, a rhododendron garden, close to New Plymouth...
, that date back to 1953 played an important role in the development of the collection of Hackfalls Arboretum. Douglas Cook was the founder of Eastwoodhill Arboretum
Eastwoodhill Arboretum
Eastwoodhill is the national arboretum of New Zealand. It covers and is located 35 km northwest of Gisborne, in the hill country of Ngatapa. It was founded in 1910 by William Douglas Cook...
(Ngatapa, Gisborne) and offered advice and made suggestions concerning Hackfalls. In turn, Bob started preparing the first catalogue of Eastwoodhill after Douglas Cook's death. Bob bought a typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
to produce it. It was published in 1972. It contained almost 3000 different taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
. Updating the catalogue of Eastwoodhill remained Bob's task until 1986.
Catalogues of Hackfalls Arboretum
Bob Berry made his first hand written list of trees and shrubs at the arboretum in 1963.In the same year he wrote the first catalogue of Eastwoodhill, he also published the first typewritten “list of trees and shrubs” of Abbotsford Station, as Hackfalls was still called in those days. Those catalogues were the first of a long list of ever expanding publications that Bob made, until the publication of the Plant list of Hackfalls Arboretum in 2007, covering 158 pages in Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
.
For a complete list of catalogues of Hackfalls Arboretum see: Bob Berry (dendrologist)#Catalogues Hackfalls Arboretum.
Lady Anne
1990 Bob married Lady Anne PalmerLady Anne Berry
Lady Anne Sophia Berry is an English and New Zealand horticulturist who founded Rosemoor Garden. She offered the garden to the Royal Horticultural Society in 1988. In 1990 she married Bob Berry and went to live on his farm at Tiniroto, Gisborne, New Zealand...
. She had a reputation as a gardener in England. She founded Rosemoor Garden
Rosemoor Garden
Rosemoor Garden is an internationally renowned collection of gardens in North Devon, England. The Lady Anne Palmer created the original garden of in 1959, and developed it over a 30 year period. The garden was first opened to the public in 1967, under the National Gardens Scheme...
, and donated it to the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
when she followed Bob to New Zealand. Her influence on the homestead garden of Hackfalls has been quite considerable. She created a garden with well grown specimens of many interesting shrubs and plants, cultivars as well as (endemic) species, including Muehlenbeckia astonii
Muehlenbeckia astonii
Muehlenbeckia astonii is an ornamental plant in the Polygonaceae family. It is an endemic New Zealand shrub. It is a curious plant and very distinct from any other native New Zealand species. It is leafless in winter...
.
Anne has encouraged the family to form the Hackfalls Arboretum Charitable Trust, to attracts grants to be invested so that a the maintenance of the arboretum can be continued.
July 2006 Lady Anne and Bob Berry changed home to the town of Gisborne. Since then Diane Playle, cares for the arboretum, assisted by a small group of volunteers.
Awards
- In 2002 The International Dendrology Society (IDS) awarded Hackfalls Arboretum as "a collection of outstanding merit"; a bronze plaque set in rock commemorates this. The IDS visited the arboretum in 1977 and 1990, and again in 2009.
Literature
- Berry, R. J. (2007) - Hackfalls Arboretum (and Station); Plant List (List of Trees, Shrubs, Climbers and Ferns). Tiniroto
- Clapperton, Garry (1995) – 'From little acorns.... do mighty oak trees grow! - Bob Berry, Tiniroto, Hackfalls, Poplars & Oaks, Mexico, a scientific application'. In: International Dendrology Society, New Zealand Newsletter no. 23, July 1995, p. 14 - 16
- Friar, Jillian and Denis (1996) - New Zealand Gardens Open to Visit. Publ. by Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Ltd, Auckland New Zealand. ISBN 1 86958 343 4
- Mortimer, John – 'Hackfall's Mighty Oaks' in: in: New Zealand Growing Today, Kumeu, New Zealand, .Vol. 11, nr. 3. March 1997, p. 60 - 65
- Wilkie, Martin (2008) – 'Bob and Lady Anne Berry, and Hackfalls Arboretum: a shared vision and a grand adventure'. In: The Gardener's Journal, Christchurch New Zealand, , issue 1, February 2008, p. 13 – 22