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early pioneers from the Hutt Valley developed extensive gardens, and
played important roles in the establishment of the Wellington
Botanic Garden. Between them they donated many plants and trees
during
the Gardens formative years, with both serving significant terms on the
Botanic Garden Board in the years before management responsibility was
transferred to the Wellington City Council in 1891. |
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Thomas
'Quaker' Mason quickly established one of the outstanding gardens in New
Zealand after his arrival in 1841. Heavily involved in horticulture,
he became closely involved in the Wellington Botanic Garden from its
inception, donating many trees and plants during its formative
years, completing 15 years on the Botanic Garden Board, and was the final Chairman of the Board prior to the transfer
of the Garden to the Wellington City Council in 1891.
Thomas Mason was born in York, Yorkshire, England, on 28 July
1818. In December 1840 Thomas and his wife Jane sailed from
Gravesend on the New Zealand Company ship Olympus
as cabin passengers. They arrived in Wellington 20
April 1841. Until 1839 there were only about 2,000 immigrants in New Zealand; by 1852 there were about 28,000.
The move to the new colony was therefore a considerable expression of faith that there would be great opportunities
to be found here. However, not all found things to their liking. By 1848 only eighty-five of the original 436
New Zealand Company Wellington colonists remained. Thomas Mason bought a section at Taita, where, except for
one short interval, the Masons lived for the rest of their lives,
bringing up seven sons and three daughters (a fourth daughter and two
sons died in infancy).
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Immigrants gather at Gravesend ready to board their ship
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When
Thomas Mason came to New Zealand at the age of 22, he brought
with him skills in farming, horticulture and commerce, that
fore-shadowed the prominent place he came to occupy in later years,
creator of what was widely regarded at the time as the finest botanical garden in New Zealand. As well as
blankets and other goods for trade, he had brought with him three
Land Orders in the expectation of profit", which he found on
arrival to entitle him to a choice of land at Wanganui, an
opportunity he found unattractive. After examining the Porirua and
Hutt districts he managed to exchange these for a bush-covered
100-acre country section in the Hutt Valley at Taita where he became
the third selector. He immediately cleared sufficient land to plant
the potatoes and crop seeds he had brought with him, and a variety of
seeds of trees and shrubs which he had asked his uncle Thomas Mason in
York to send out to him from England.
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Wattle and daub thatched cottage built for the Masons 1841
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"Thomas
Mason's Valley of the Hutt".
A drawing by Robert Lindsey Clark
after an original sketch by Frederick Mackie in 1853. |
In
his first year at Taita, Thomas Mason had planted seeds of Scotch
Red potatoes, the crop producing a large number of varieties. He
carried out trials
with all of these, to select those most suited to the soil and
growing conditions at Taita. He also collected, in 1841, as many
different sorts of native potato as he could, to plant and
"determine which is best". His investigative approach
was applied after his return from Tasmania in 1851, to a
long-continued collection and acclimatisation of plants and
trees.
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The Teaching Garden, now Soundshell Lawn, Main Garden, around 1900
in an area that would have included many plants
donated by Thomas Mason and Alfred Ludlam
in the 1870's and 1880's.
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Growing
fruit and vegetables was part of the profitable use of his land. In
May 1867 he gathered ten tons of good-keeping apples - "the
hawkers of fruit take them to Wellington." The 12 and a half
acres of gardens at the north-east corner of the section were
sheltered by plantings of eucalyptus and ever-increasing numbers
of flowering shrubs and trees flourished. These he bought
from nurserymen in York, Melbourne, Sydney, and from Hobart. In
1871 he had a collection that included 100 kinds of roses and 60
camellias, together with azaleas and rhododendrons, his principal
help in this being an old Maori woman who did the digging and
weeding.
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Thomas Mason's house and garden Taita 1899
Many plants and trees where donated to
the Botanic Garden in its formative years
from
Thomas Mason's Taita garden
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"The Gums"
Thomas Mason's home and garden Taita
Painting by John Atherton Horsfall 1875?
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Thomas Mason's home and garden at Taita around 1900
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His association with the Wellington Botanic Garden can be traced back to
its formation in 1869. He was appointed in 1877 to the Board of
Governors of the New Zealand Institute which was responsible for the
management of the Garden (now the Royal Society of New Zealand),
became chairman in 1897, and held that position for the rest of his
life. He also completed 15 years on the Botanic Garden Board, and was the final Chairman prior to the transfer
of the Garden to the Wellington City Council in 1891.
When
he listed his plants in 1896 there were 1,400 species, as well as
many varieties of trees, shrubs and smaller plants and bulbs. The
public were able to visit and Mason was generous with gifts of
flowers and plants.
From 1877 to 1891 he was a member of the board of the Botanic Garden,
contributing much to the running of the garden and making substantial
gifts of plants as noted below.
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Pinus radiata
New
Zealand's prosperity has depended for many years on the export of
timber. The New Zealand industry was from the start firmly based on
the kauri tree, although other natives where also important. Captain
James Cook, on his first visit (1768-1771) to this country, wrote a glowing
report about "the great length of the trees, growing straight as
an arrow and tapered very little in proportion to their length."
With the loss of the American colonies, Britain had lost its main source of timber, especially that
suitable for masts and spars, and Cook's reports provided a solution,
especially when he reported that NZ was covered by
timber "of a size and every quality that indicates long duration; it
grows close to the waters edge and may be easily obtained."
Cook felled and pit sawed into planks the first tree on his second
voyage (1772 - 1775). The earliest European extraction, however, occurred when Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne's men
hauled a large tree trunk out of the bush in the Bay of
Islands in 1772. The first export shipment of timber was dispatched
from the country in October 1794, but domestic demand took the
earlier production.
To facilitate timber extraction, bullocks where brought in to the
country in 1820, and over the next 40 years with improved extraction
methods the indigenous stands of timber disappeared altogether
from many areas, and became seriously depleted in others.
Scholefield noted that in 1871 over three million board feet (1 board foot = approximately 30cm wde, 2.5cm thick and 30cm long)
of timber were exported, but by 1891 this had increased to fourty two million board feet. At that time there were reported
to be some 250 sawmills processing native trees throughout the colony.
In
1870 James Hector made the following statement in reply to a question from the Government “..... the rapid destruction of the native
forests I consider to be most wasteful, and is having the effect of rapidly reducing the natural resources of the country." His
concern
on this issue had been one of the reasons for the earlier establishment
of this Garden and the need to find suitable trees to
replace the increasingly depleted native stock, especially with the
increasing population giving rise to expanding demand for timber and
firewood, which could no longer be met from the indigenous stock. With
wood being the most significant energy source at this time, the lack of
firweood was a major concern around the significant residential areas.
Parts
of
the tussock covered land, especially the Canterbury Plains, lacking
trees, where found by the earliest settlers to require trees
for firewood and to provide shelter from prevailing winds for both
livestock and homesteads. The first significant tree planting are
believed to
have been by anonymous settlers and transients, especially gold miners
returning from the Californian gold fields, who brought with them
seeds of trees they found growing in California, especially Pinus radiata
and Cypresses macrocarpa
although this is not documented.
Miners returning to the West Coast are also thought to have
imported Pinus radiata to provide timber for pit props.
J.B.A. Acland on Mt. Peel Station in the Canterbury foothills is credited with the first documented importation
of Pinus radiata. First discovered by European explorers/plant collectors in 1830,
it was established in Britain by the end of that decade. The Acland family at
their Devon estate had grown some of the earliest radiata trial plantings
imported into the UK for the RHS, and therefore had early knowledge of this tree.
Acland's 1859 importation of one three year old radiata from N.S.W. nurseryman Thos Shepherd,
a tree still alive in 1990,
stands as the first record for radiata in N.Z. An image of the first tree can be found at
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16831/radiata-pine-at-mt-peel-station.
Equally important is Acland's 1859 introduction of seed
obtained from the Veitch UK nursery,
probably collected by Lobb in Monterey, California. Returning from his
home in Devon that year Acland would well have been enthusiastic about
the
success of Lobb's seed there. Known specimens from this importation
were planted in Geraldine (2) and at the Christchurch Botanic Garden. It
raises an
interesting question as to whether his enthusiasm for this tree may be
central to early Canterbury radiata
introduction, as it is understood he distributed seed/plants to friends, neighbours and elsewhere.
The first milling of radiata was reported by a
Canterbury man in New Zealand in 1893 at the Leslie Hills Station, near Culverden, North Canterbury.
Duncan Rutherford milled some 20-year-old pines and used their timber for farm buildings,indicating likely
confirmation of the early planting of radiata in
that area.
By 1865 Shepherd states both Alfred Ludlam and Thomas Mason had established Pinus radiata
in Wellington and it is likely that they could have made plantings
of this tree in the Garden from about this time, although no
documentary proof of this has been discovered. There are a number of recorded introductions throughout the country
in the early 1860's. Ludlam in particular
appears to have had a significant collection of pine species,
although Mason also had a number. Ludlam is recorded as receiving radiata material
in 1863, Mason in 1865, and Hector in 1868/69.
It is understood that
following the appointment of James Hector as Scientific Advisor to
the Central Government in 1865 work was being done in the Garden by
these individuals and
John Buchanan before its formal
establishment in 1868. Hector is likely to have seen the tree growing in
various parts of the country, and realising how successful
radiata appeared to be establishing in the country,
subsequently lead to
the importation of large quantities of Pinus radiata seed and
plants
to the Garden at the end of the decade and 1870's. Plants and seed where
subsequently
distributed throughout the country, to individuals, public gardens and
acclimatisation societies, eventually providing the 'parents'
of New Zealand's radiata forest industry, confirmed by recent DNA analysis of specimens still in the Garden.
David Hay (1815–1883 Nurseryman) in Auckland is credited with the first commercial introduction to New Zealand of Pinus radiata. .
In his 1860 catalogue only European conifers are mentioned, but from
1862 this began to change.
It is likely that, initially, Hay's radiata pine and other American
conifer plants were imported from Shepherd and Company of Sydney,
thought to have been the first Australian nursery to stock Pinus
radiata. There is no evidence of a direct
American link at this stage, but a price drop in the seeds advertised in
Hay's 1872 catalogue suggests that
he was importing direct from America by this time, as were nurseries in
other centres – William Martin and
George Matthews in Dunedin, William Wilson and others in Christchurch,
William Hale in Nelson, Robert Pharazyn in Wanganui and the Mason
brothers in Auckland.
Pinus
radiata provided many advantages
– it grows straight, grows rapidly, is easy to handle, grows well
in plantations, is adaptable to most NZ conditions, and provides wood
that is remarkably versitile. Its seeds can be collected throughout
the year, it transplants easily and requires little care thereafter,
responding well to pruning and thinning and can readily be treated
with preservatives. Its ability to produce a high quality long
fibred pulp adds to its value. Genetically variable it responds well
to selective breeding improvement.
Which
in a nutshell is the success story of Pinus radiata. This
garden played a central role, meeting its founding
objective as a 'colonial garden' to facilitate the establishment of the
forestry industry. Pioneers like Hector, Ludlam and Mason amongst others deserve full
recognition for the crucial role they played in the introduction of
this tree in particular, a tree on which the countries prosperity still depends on to such a significant degree
Mason
plant donations to the
Wellington Botanic Garden:.
1871/72 381
species
1872/73 1 Pinus
halepensis, 3 Pinus
austrtaca (a form of Pinus
nigra), 3 Pinus
longifolia (synonym of Pinus
palustris) and 60 Laoristinus (Viburnum), 6 Widdringtonia (cypress family),
2 Cupressus junebns, 100 Oaks, rose cuttings and assorted cuttings 1
1874/75 24
shrubs
1875/76 12
Phlox, 6 azaleas, 24 shrubs
1877/78 Collection of plants and cuttings
with further unidentified donations 1878/79, 1879/80, 1880/81,1881/82,1883/84,1885/86,1889/90 and 1890/91
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When entering the new period of
management in 1891 when management responsibility was given to the
Wellington City Council, the Garden was to be funded by the City. It
was, however, deprived for the time being of the expertise of men
with scientific or horticultural knowledge. As noted in the Garden
history, it was many years before the Corporation could supply this
need. Time has shown that the right decision was made, but nothing
has ever been done to counter the bitterness engendered by the
change, nor to acknowledge the dedication and service of people like
James Hector, Walter Mantell, Alfred Ludlam, Thomas Mason, William
Travers, Thomas Kirk, Archdeacon Stock, and other members of the
Botanic Garden Board, as well as John Buchanan of the Colonial Museum.
With the experience Mason gained in the creation of his own garden at
Taita it is interesting to speculate how that experience may have
impacted on the establishment and character of our garden, especially
during its early formative years.
At the southern end of the Glenmore
Street lawn a tree propagated by a descendant of Thomas Mason
from an acorn taken from an oak tree originally planted by him at the family home in Taita which was presented to the Garden. Quercus canariensis X robur was
planted on the 15th May 1994 to commemorate the family reunion of the
descendants of Thomas 'Quaker' Mason.
A compatriot and friend of Thomas Mason was Alfred Ludlam
(1810 – 8 November 1877) who was a leading New Zealand politician,
horticulturist and farmer who owned land in Wellington
and the Hutt
Valley and lived close to Mason in Waiwhetu. As did Thomas Mason he developed an extensive garden in Lower Hutt. A member of three of New Zealand's four
earliest parliaments, he was also a philanthropist and a founding proponent of
the Wellington's
Botanic Garden.
 
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Ludlam's Lower Hutt home.
Left, original home on property purchased from Frances Molesworoth mid 1840's
Replaced in 1848 with homestead above right
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F. A. Molesworth Newry Port Nicholson
Sept. 1844
Artist unknown
Molesworth residence, with flower garden.
To the right is a cucumber
frame.
The house (known as Newry) is shown with
tree-trunks supporting
the verandah.
There is another building on the left, beyond
a fence. The
view is framed in the foreground with supplejack hanging from tall
trees, and a
tree stump in the centre | The house of Alfred Ludlam, Hutt River, in 1850.
Their house was destroyed in Wellington's February 1855 earthquake.
Ludlam and his wife escaped being crushed by a falling chimney. |
Ludlam
was a notable landed proprietor. His holdings included real estate in
Ghuznee Street, Wellington, and he owned a substantial riverside farm at Waiwhetū,
Lower Hutt, where he ran flocks of sheep and developed a reputation
as an expert in horticulture. He had purchased the Waiwhetū farm
from fellow pioneer Francis Molesworth in the mid 1840s, calling it
Newry after his
home town in
Ireland. Ludlam built a large house at Newry in
1848, replacing the farm's first homestead. The farm also boasted an
orchard, a spacious barn often used for public functions (such as an
official dinner held there for the governor, Sir George
Grey, in 1851) and a stone windmill that had been
erected by Molesworth in 1845.
The garden was established by Alfred Ludlam in the 1840's when his house was built
there, next to Francis Molesworth's property. The latter, after
Molesworth suffered a serious accident, was joined to Ludlam's own
property under the title of "Newry". About 8 acres of this were
developed with plantings of Ludlam's collection of exotic trees etc.
Dubbed "Father of the Wellington Botanic Garden". Ludlam was a
nominated-foundation Governor of the N.Z. Institute. He died in 1876 and
his property became McNab's Gardens, named after its new owner.
Subsequently, it changed hands again and was renamed Bellevue Gardens.
Open to the public, it was a popular tea garden for a number of years.
The garden was offered to the nation and to the Hutt Council but the
purchase lapsed for want of funds. The property was finally subdivided,
but many fine trees and plants still survive'
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Alfred Ludlam's windmill on the Hutt River in 1845
on the property developed with Francis
Molesworth
Brees, Samuel Charles] 1810-1865
:Pictorial Illustrations of New Zealand. By S. C. Brees, late Principal
Engineer and Surveyor to the New Zealand Company
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Ludlam's home and garden 1895 Conifers planted 1860-1880
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In Exotic Intruders by Joan Druett it is noted ..........
"some early settlers, appreciating a need and more enterprising than
most, set themselves up in the occupation of importing and cultivating
seed and plants for sale.
One of those dealing in plants was Alfred Ludlam. He, with his friend and neighbour Francis Molesworth,
set up an exchange system of sending plants back to England and
receiving others by return ship. The gardens they established on Francis
Molesworth's Lower Hutt farm eventually became the Bellevue Gardens,
nearly 20 hectares of native and exotic shrubs, including magnificent
trees and massed beds of English flowers.
At the same time, wealthy Quaker Thomas Mason was establishing
orchards and gardens at Taita. He went to Tasmania in 1847, and brought
back in 1851 a variety of apple trees he had admired. Later he had other
fruit trees sent over to him from Tasmania, and by 1851 was growing
apples, apricots, almonds, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, chestnuts,
walnuts and currants. He imported grape vines from Sydney. He continued
to import plant species from all over the world until, at the time of his
death, his garden contained 1,500 varieties of plants, including 250
named rhododendrons and 60 named camellias. All this made up a massed
display covering five hectares."
Both Ludlam and Mason played important roles in the
establishment of the Wellington Botanic Garden, both making substantial
donations of seeds and plants over a number of years. Initially Alfred
Ludlam supervised the garden development, influencing the choice of
plants and personally procuring many of them during the first 5 yeas.
Buchanan subsequently took over this duty as part of his daily visit to
the garden, supervising the work being completed.
The early colonists where interested in horticulture, and the Wellington Horticultural Society was founded in November 1841,
which regularly staged exhibitions. Its establishment was very quickly following the colonists arrival in Wellington in 1840.. With all
the problems connected with land claims and other difficulties
that the new colony experienced, it is remarkable that such shows
were staged at all. The horticultural show was very much a part of
the English way of life in the 19th century
Ludlam supported the Wellington
Colonial Museum and was one of the driving forces behind the creation
of the Wellington Botanic Garden in 1868, having introduced into
the New Zealand Parliament legislation to "establish and
regulate" the garden, serving on the Board from the first year. He also introduced in 1869 an act of parliament
which entrusted management of the Botanic Garden to the New Zealand
Institute (forerunner of the Royal
Society of New Zealand). His contribution to the
garden's establishment is commemorated in Ludlam Way running by Glenmore Street in the Main Garden. Thomas Mason received no such recognition.
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Alfred Ludlam's writing and signature
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James Hector, as scientific adviser to the new
central government established in 1865, was asked to look
at the site indicated on a 1844 map of the city as to whether it was
suitable for a botanic garden, the land
which was held under the Public Domains Act.
He agreed that the site was suitable, and on 31 October 1868 the
Governor under that Act delegated administrative authority to him over
that land,
which was then considered to be a Crown Domain. This can be taken as the
establishment date for the Wellington Botanic Garden.
This finalised the 1839 instruction given by the British Government to
the New Zealand Company charged with the establishment of Wellington
that a "botanic garden be established in the new colony and held in
perpetuity for the benefit of all"
On 22 November,1869 for the first time a Crown Grant was executed giving
control
of the Garden to "the Governors of the Botanic Garden
consisting of the Governors for the time being of the New
Zealand Institute" (the forerunner of the Royal Society of New Zealand).
The Reserve was shown as
13 acres, 3 roods, 36 perches, which generally covers the existing Main
Garden. The Act specifically states that the "institution" is to be
called "The Botanic Garden of Wellington".
The 1869 Bill entitled "an Act to Establish and Regulate an
Institution called The Botanic Garden of Wellington" was
presented to Parliament, sponsored and championed by Alfred Ludlam, who
was then the Member of Parliament for the Hutt Valley. During
the discussion on the Bill it was emphasised that important results
for the "benefit of the colony might follow the establishment
of a garden that would form the basis of operations for a system
of forest propagation throughout New Zealand." The first Director of the
Garden, Sir James
Hector believed this was the direction the Garden was expected
to take making it a Colonial Botanic Garden serving forestry and
other needs of the entire colony. This act gave authority for the formal
management of the garden.
Alfred Ludlam served 6 years
as a nominated member of the Botanic Garden Board. Like Thomas Mason
he donated plants to the Garden from his own extensive collections.
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Plants Donated by Alfred Ludlam
1870/71 506 species
1872/73 Aralea, Escallonia, Stone Pine, Shrubs
1873/74 unspecified
1874/75 250 pine trees 1 packet of pine seeds
1875/76 Pine tree cuttings, 60 Pinus tuberculata, 150 Pinus muricata
1877/78 (from his estate) 10 Amarylis, 2 Iris, 22 Azalias, 38
Rhotodendron, 1 B prpmia, 1 Salvia, 1 Lily of the Valley, 5 Lily
varieties |
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Alfred Ludlam's grave in the
Bolton Street Memorial Park
before its destruction during the construction
of the motorway.
Photographed in the 1960's
He was not survived by any children.
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Ludlam was aged 67 when he died.
The final phase of his life had been devoted to charitable works, and
his passing was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends,
acquaintances and beneficiaries. He was not survived by any children
and his grave in the Bolton Street Memorial Park was destroyed during the 1960s by the construction of
the Wellington
Urban Motorway.
Ludlam's Lower Hutt property was known as Bellevue Gardens which
has a long history dating back from the early settlers in the valley.
The original land on the site currently known as Bellevue Gardens
belonged to William Molesworth, later sold to Alfred Ludlam who built
the first house and developed the gardens and a farm. The site then
passed to James McNab who built the main homestead for accommodation
of paying guests. He went on to develop the land further and turned
the property into public/zoological gardens including many native and
unusual plants and animals that included exotic birds, squirrels and
even monkeys (now unheard of in New Zealand except in the Zoo) The
property became a licensed premises in 1901 and continues to this day. Although the property was subdivided in around
1906 into several smaller areas (including 3 acres that became Te
Omanga Hospice) The Bellevue Gardens still provides accommodation, a Garden Bar/ Restaurant and Sports Bar.
The publication Horticulture in New Zealand published an article on Quaker Mason
written by Winsome Shepherd in 1991.
The article (minus the illustrations which had been poorly reproduced in the photocopy
of the article available), follows.
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.Thomas
Mason (1818-1903)
The
Finest Garden in the Southern Hemisphere
"The
Gums", Taita, Wellington
Winsome
Shepherd, A.H.R.I.H
From:
Horticulture in New Zealand Volume 2 Number 2 Winter 1991
Last
century Thomas Mason created a wonderful garden at Taita in the Hutt
Valley. Unfortunately it was not preserved. The land was ultimately
subdivided for housing, and with it the Hutt Valley lost the
opportunity to obtain a ready made botanic garden Fortunately some of
its horticultural wealth is still evident but before discussing this,
its development is traced from its beginning Only primary sources
have been used as the basis for this article
A
young Yorkshire Quaker couple, Thomas and Jane Mason arrived at Port
Nicholson per the 'Olympus', 21 April 1841. Thomas was only 23 when
the couple settled on land at Taita, in the Hutt Valley about three
miles above the entrance of the Hutt River at Petone. Running
alongside the river most of the land was covered with thick, heavy
totara. Many of the trees were huge, at least over two hundred years
or more in age, some 100 to 150 ft high and 3 to 8 ft in diameter.
Here Thomas and Jane bult their house, raised a family and in time
created what many considered the finest garden in the Southern
Hemisphere. Their first house was a small wattle and daub whare. The
second house, started in 1853 after Mason's return from Tasmania, was
of a more permanent nature. There was some delay, however, as their
carpenter, in the middle of building it, decamped for the gold
diggings. Like all houses in the valley this second house was built
upon posts 1 to 1 1/2 feet above the ground on account of floods
which came when the river rose over its banks. A sketch
drawn by Frederick Mackie in 1853 shows bush still standing and the
house the usual lean-to to which Mason probably continued to add. Quaker Journals of
Frederick Mackie on his tour of the Australasian Colonies 1852-18551
and travels of Robt. and Sarah Lindsey2
provide valuable illustrated information. Mackie spent some time with
the Masons. As well as the sketch of the house another shows the
Maori whares on the property. Mason
was one of three settlers in a district somewhat distant from
Wellington and from which all requirements had to be fetched. William
Jones in "Quaker Campaigns in Peace and War" said: "The
goods were brought in a row boat up the bay from town to the mouth of
the river, and thence were carried on men's backs through miles of
rough bush track. Starting from home at 2am and finding their way
through the forest by lighted torches of totara pine, the return
journey from Wellington was not usually accomplished until 9 or 10pm
long after darkness had set in. Mrs Mason's piercing "cooey",
and her husband's equally vigorous response could be distinctly heard
re-echoing through the sombre silent forest for fully an hour and a
half before he gained the river bank opposite the whare where the
canoe stood ready to ferry the goods and himself across the river".3
Mason
was deeply religious so it was here that the family established the
first regular Meetings for Quaker worship in the district.More
often there was just the family, but on occasions Friends from
Wellington joined them. In 1853 Frederick Mackie said: "The
little Meeting, buried as we are in the wilderness, was a season of
refreshment and comfort."4
There
was by now, according to Mackie, "an excellent road along the
margin of the bay with 2 horse vans running daily. It was a romantic
drive" and he describes flax, karaka, toetoe, and native fuchsia
as plants prevalent in the area. Again quoting from Mackie: "This
morning I joined Thos. Mason in the wheat field, reaping. His Maori
labourers soon discovered that I had never handled a sickle before.
The wheat, owing to the wet summer is a good deal blighted."5
For
all newcomers arriving in the colony, survival was paramount. At
Taita, the thick, impenetrable bush had to be cleared so cattle
could graze and crops sown. It was well into the 1850s before Thomas
Mason had the leisure to develop his love of plants. Survival
occupied Mason's mind when writing to his father just six weeks after
their arrival, but he (or at the instigation of his wife) did not
ignore the flower garden. Potatoes and vegetables again dominate the
second letter but mention of oak and ash trees hints at this
Englishman's wish to brighten up the sombre native landscape.
8
June 1841s "Please
send me some seeds of asparagus, Siberian crab, onion, red cabbage,
and other seeds of good vegetables with a few hardy flower seeds as
... dianthus, and a few rose tree seeds and some hawthorn."
10
August 1841 he wrote again: "Have put in a few seeds and some
potatoes. I have got as many sorts of native potatoes as I could and
intend trying which is best. I have sown some seeds but roots are
better if anyone is coming. Please send me a few and any other good
varieties as you may happen to have. 2-3 potatoes of a sort is
sufficient. I should like also if you have the opportunity of sending
them — some acorns, ash seed and Siberian crab. Also a few of the
best varieties of onion and if possible to be got some broom corn —
a sort of maize".
The
English potatoes were harvested in 1842 , yielding
well, whilst strawberry and raspberry plants raised from seed were
ready to plant out. The soil was a rich alluvial deposit of sandy
loam 8 to 11 ft deep and resting on gravel, affording good drainage
to the ample rainfall. Violent gales swept the valley from the
north-west and south-east. Mason continued to bring land into
cultivation until the outbreak of disturbances with the Maori. As a
Quaker he was unable to take up arms and somewhere around 1846 he
took his family to Hobart where he founded the "Friends School".
Families of other settlers in the area also moved away or into
Wellington so for a few years little progress was made in the Hutt
Valley. According to naturalist William Swainson many properties
appeared abandoned. In a letter to his son Geoffrey, Swainson wrote
28 July 1847: "I had a long letter from Mr Mason the other day
who is still in Hobart Town without any intention at present of
returning to the Hutt. In him we lost the most valuable settler of
the district, plain indeed in his manners but kind and considering in
his disposition with great experience and great prudence, above all
with a thoroughly Christian temper in every social intercourse and
domestic relation."7
Some time in 1850 Mason
did return and time proved that Swainson's assessment was right —
Thomas Mason was indeed a valuable settler. From Hobart Town Mason
brought back eucalyptus seeds and a variety of apple trees. The
latter formed the nucleus of his orchard. In the following year,
1851, a further
150 fruit trees of various kinds and varieties were added — apples,
pears, peaches, plums, cherries, apricots, Siberian crab, walnut,
Spanish chestnut, almond (of some only one of each) together with a
supply of small fruits, rhubarb, etc. Gooseberry plants were obtained
from Ludlam at Woburn, and grape vines imported from Sydney. It is
uncertain as to whether the fruit trees came from Hobart or Sydney.
The same letter describing the above also refers to a 'macadamaised
road passing through the land, a stone's throw away from the house."
The eucalyptus .seed germinated and were planted around the property
from which it subsequently took its name. In 1893, J. H. Veitch, the
English nurseryman after visiting Mason's garden, commented that both
the Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulatus) and
the Western Australian Jarrah (E. marginata) assumed
the proportions of forest trees. Also by this time an inner
sheltering boundary of coniferous trees had been established. It is
not surprising that by 1867 Mason was harvesting 10 tons of good
keeping apples. From one Stonepippen, he took 8cwt of fruit. It is
said that Mason supplied the whole of Wellington with rhubarb,
tomatoes, and apples, drays leaving at regular intervals several days
a week. Manure came from his horses, sheep and pigs imported from
Sydney. In the beginning young plants were often damaged by rats or
wild pigs whilst severe frosts (Aug.1875) and bad storms took their
toll as they do in any garden. The area under cultivation covered
about 12 acres — orchard, lawns, kitchen garden, flowers and
shrubs. Letters of 1860 make the first reference to the importation
of plants and seeds from the English firm Backhouse and Son. In
1871 Mason enquires from his father as to whether catalogues are
available from this firm or that of Edwards. In the same letter he
says: "I have upwards of 100 fine kinds of roses and 60
camellias besides azaleas and rhododendrons, all of which flourish
here. Some camellias are upwards of 7 feet and have been in bloom for
5 months. The garden is my recreation."8
In
1870, Thomas Lang, Nurseryman, Elizabeth St. Melbourne is noted as
supplying Mason with plants. Veitch of Exeter and London was later
known to have supplied plants and seeds.
Known
familiarly as Quaker Mason, and now 52 years old, Thomas concentrated
on building up his collection of plants. For the next 30 years he
indulged in "his recreation". Every year he imported more
plants — there were hundreds of named roses, bulbs, hydrangeas,
treasures from America such as the tulip tree Liriodendron
tulipifera (45 ft in 1896), the
cork oak, Quercus suber (35
ft in 1896), 30 varieties of the Chinese tree peony, Poenia
moulon,bamboo, plantains,
lilies, ericas, perennials and annuals. There were at least 60
varieties of Camellia japonica and
46 varieties of rhododendrons. His letters of 1885 mention four more,
viz. "Rhododendron Grand, Arab,
John Waterer, and Princess Mary of Cambridge." The 'Gums' became
known as the largest garden in the southern hemisphere. Eight
gardeners were employed on a regular basis and in busy times there
were over 15. There were reputed to be 8 miles of box hedging,
fascinating summer houses sit in and relax and the paths wide enough
for Mrs Mason who suffered ill health to accompany her husband in a
little dogcart.
In
November 1896, before the Wellington Philosophical Society, Mason
read a paper "An account of the plants growing at 'The Gums',
Taita", 1500 species in all. Climate and some spring growth
rates are recorded. The list is alphabetical so that climbers,
annuals, trees, etc. are not differentiated 9
A supplementary list was published in 1903, the year Mason died.10.
The list is an incredible collection, confirming Thomas Mason as a
remarkable horticulturist. Included in the list are 25 species of
Magnolia, 29 species
of Pinus, 17 species
of Quercus, 16 species
of Cupressus, 25
species of Iris and 41
species of Erica.
Many famous people came to 'The Gums' including Professor Wilson from
Harvard University and as already mentioned J. H. Veitch of the Royal
Exotic Nursery. The latjr in an article entitled "Traveller's
Notes" refers to the large collection of Abies,
Cupressus, and other genera.
Many individual species are mentioned by name. Veitch concludes: "The
wide range and varied conditions under which the above named plants
are found in nature, clearly point to there being many less
favoured spots for the formation of a general garden than Wellington,
New Zealand. Likewise it is not a question of the mere existence
of so many species, for almost without exception all are in
excellent condition, since Mr Mason does away with those that do
not please the eye by any defect in vigour and health, claiming to
be purely and simply a gardener, seeking no gratification from the
mere possession of species." Veitch makes some interesting
comments on other gardens including an unfavourable one for the
Botanic Garden. "Mr Macnab owns the late Mr Ludlam's famous
garden, now somewhat neglected. In addition to this Sir James Hector
has six gullies on his private estate, clothed with hundreds of
tree ferns and native vegetation generally, in which pheasants and
quail make their home; and mention should be made of the public
garden, although it is of little interest."11.
"The
Gums" were probably at the height of their glory when Mason died
in 1903. The property passed to his eldest daughter and through
her to her "son, Thomas Wilford (later Sir Thomas). Wilford
tried desperately to keep the property going but the upkeep was
tremendous. Government was asked to preserve the property as a
National Trust — after all it was the finest garden, public or
private in the southern hemisphere. Lack of funds made this
impossible. Wilford then tried to get the Hutt Borough Council to
take them over as public grounds. Mason had been a Hutt Councillor
and served as its Chairman but here also financial constraints
prevented this. Increasing costs finally forced Wilford to sell to
Messrs Keene and Reid. These two men appreciated the value of the
property. Most of the farm was sold but they retained the house and
garden, opening them to the public, charging admission and supplying
refreshment. It was the age of the Tea Gardens'. Although many
Wellingtonians did visit Mason's Tea Garden they were too far out
from Hutt and Wellington towns to attract sufficient numbers of
people to pay the upkeep on the property which still required 6
full time gardeners to maintain lawns, cut hedges, and attend to
flower beds, glasshouses and orchard. Managers were appointed and at
one time under a Mr Chivers, a small plant catalogue was issued.12
The
property changed hands several times until purchased by a land agent,
Mr James Stellin. Stellin too, tried to carry on, but was defeated
and surveyed the property for building sites taking care to preserve
as many features as possible. The Nation was offered the land at
£17,000. To an outside buyer it was £20,000. Parliament discussed
the matter, Professor Wilson wrote from Harvard, the Mayor of
Lower Hutt convened meetings and many schemes were discussed but to
no avail and 22nd May 1922 saw the end of this unique garden when
the Avalon Estate was auctioned. The auctioneer's brochure is
beautifully illustrated, conveying some idea of the garden's
layout.13
Surrounding boundary trees were felled and burnt. Panoramas taken
from the western hills show the smoke that filled the valley for
weeks. Many beautiful New Zealand gardens, including Alfred Ludlam's
also at the Hutt, have received a similar fate but this is certainly
one of the most tragic. It is perhaps fortunate that some treasures
still remain and there is certainly a feeling of the past
surrounding the homes. Pressures have caused further subdivision and
many important trees may yet be lost as this continues.
Fortunately, as has been demonstrated on occasion, most of the house
owners, sensitive to the rich past that they enjoy, maintain a
certain vigilance when dangerous occasions arise. In
October 1990 members of the Wellington District Council were shown
the following trees by David Aitcheson, the arboriculturist for the
Lower Hutt City Council. David is responsible for looking after
the trees, some of which are registered with the R.N.Z.I.H
Registered
trees.
2
Avalon Cres. Quercus
suber Cork
oak. 25' in 1896. 35' in 1990. 55.77' in 1989.
7 Avalon Cres.
Sophora
japonica pendula Weeping
pagoda tree. Only old specimen
known.in N.Z. 13.12' high. 1989.
Fraxinus
excelsior pendula Weeping
ash. 32.8' in 19893.
7A
Avalon Cres. Magnolia cantpbelli. 45.93'
in 1989.
9
Avalon Cres. Castanopsis cuspidata. Gold
leaf chestnut. 49.2' in 1989.
Not Registered:
? Avalon
Cres. Liriodendron tulipifera. 45'
i.. 1896. 60' high, 10' circ 1990.
6 Avalon Cres. Sequoiadendron
giganteum Big Tree.
Welhngtonia 65' in 1990. Podocarpus totara Totara.
9
Avalon Cres. Castanopsis cuspidata. Gold
leaf chestnut. Liriodendron tulipifera
12A
Avalon Cres. Quercus suber. Cork
oak. 18A Avalon Cres. Ginkgo biloba. 30'
in 1990
22
Avalon Cres. Quercus robur, Quercus canariensis. Spanish
oak.
The
entire area should carry a covenant of "Historic Horticultural
Significance" as has been done, although in different words, by
the Wellington City Council for some of the Donald Estate in Karori.
By this means the traces of box hedging, camellias, hollies, ginkgo,
Cantuas, bananas and many other legacies of the past might be
preserved. One remaining gazebo moved recently by the owner could
perhaps be resited to a more appropriate place and restored.
Above all a survey of all the remaining plants in the area is
called for, surely a worthwhile profew of the old paths are still
visible.
What
was Mason's contribution to early Wellington? He was a gentle,
reserved, deeply religious man, but he could be firm if occasion
demanded. He was extremely generous, giving struggling families fruit
and vegetables until they could grow their own, donating plants to
the Wellington Botanic Garden, giving seeds and cuttings generously.
He would send wagon loads of flowers into the city or to the Hutt
town for any special event. He served the Hutt Council, he was M.P.
for the Hutt for 20 years. When Alfred Ludlam died in 1875 Mason
replaced him as a nominated member of the Board of Governors of the
New Zealand Institute. He was Chairman of the Board when he died in
1903. As a Governor of the New Zealand Institute Board, he was
therefore a member of the Botanic Garden Board and was its Chairman
in 1891 when the Botanic Garden passed to the Wellington City
Council. It is not surprising that planting efforts carried out by
Mason and Ludlam in their gardens — Quercus suber,
Liriodendron tulipifera, Abies pindrou, Abies pinsapo, to
mention a few — are reflected in some of the historic trees found
in the Wellington Botanic Garden. Curiously, and possibly due to
the lack of primary source material on Ludlam, it has not been
possible to find in what esteem these two men, two of the
country's leading horticulturists, held each other.
Sources
1
Mackie, F. 1973. Traveller under concern, Hobart Univ. Original
sketches held in the Rex Nankerville collection, Canberra.2
2Lindsey, R. 1886.
2
T ravels of Robt. & Sarah Lindsey. Lond.
3Jones,
William. Quaker campaigns in peace and war. Wellington Public
Library
4
Mackie, F. 1973. Traveller under concern Hobart Univ
5Ibid.
6
Letters Thos. Mason to his father. Alexander Turnbull Library.
7Letters
Wm. Swamson to Geotfrey Swainson. G. Swainson, Palmerston North.
'8Letters
Thos. Mason to his father. Alexander Turnbull Library.
9Mason,
T. 1897. An account of the plants growing at the 'Gums', Taita.
Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 24-393-412.
10. 1903. A list of plants growing at the "Gums", Taita. Ibid
35-374-377.
"Veitch,
J. A. "A Travellers Notes 1891-1893" lent A Mason,
Feilding.
12Mason
s Gardens Catalogue 'Ornamental & Flowering Trees, Shrubs &
Roses". Lower Hutt Public Library
13Avalon Park
Est. J. Stellin.
Note:
This
article has been scanned from a photoccopy of the original.
Unfortunately the illustrations of the original publication have not
photocopied of a quality to enable reproduction here.
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SOURCES AND RESOURCES
Links open in new window. Close that new window to return to this page
THOMAS MASON:
James Brodie and Audrey Brodie SEEKING
A NEW LAND : QUAKERS IN NEW ZEALAND A volume of biographical sketches Quaker Historical
Manuscripts No. 3. Published for New Zealand Yearly Meeting of the
Society of Friends by The Beechtree Press Wellington 1993
Shepherd, Winsome; Early Importations of Pinus Radiata to New Zealand and
Distribution in Canterbury to 1885:Implications for the Genetic Makeup of Pinus Radiata Stocks. http://friendswbg.org.nz/PinusRadiatatoNewZealand.pdf
Winsome Shepherd and Walter Cook; The Botanic Garden, Wellington A New Zealand History 1840 - 1987 Publisher Milwood Press, Wellington NZ 291B Tinakori Rd Thorndon Wellington Published 1988 ISBN 0-908582-79-X
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m38/1
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m38/1/1
http://find.natlib.govt.nz/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=TF&docId=nlnz_tapuhi317472
http://find.natlib.govt.nz/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=TF&docId=nlnz_tapuhi514649
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mason_%28politician%29
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m38/1/2
http://quaker.org.nz/quaker-faith-and-practice-in-aotearoanew-zealand
http://eprints.utas.edu.au/3357/1/mason_thomas_sml.jpg
http://eprints.utas.edu.au/3358/1/mason_jane_sml.jpg
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/diverse-christian-churches/2
http://mebooks.co.nz/clients/library.huttcity/text/LowHutt/t1-body-d15.html
http://2012.festival.co.nz/news-and-media/interviews/377/kiwi-story-covers-half-century/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathis_australis
http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ne/pdf/2011/backgroundrpt-part2-humanheritage.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Company
http://www.theprow.org.nz/new-zealand-company/#.UPki2azC0rM
http://www.geocities.ws/galtm/socialhistory/virginforestharves.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Company
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/history-of-immigration/3
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/theme.aspx?irn=1216
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/nzco/nzco.html
- Extracted from 'Fatal Success', A History of the NZ Company by Patricia Burns, Heinemann Reed 1989]
David Hay Nursreyman R. Winsome Shepherd. 'Hay, David -
Hay, David', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the
Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 30-Oct-2012
http://www.teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/2h23/hay-david
See also http://friendswbg.org.nz/PINUSRADIATA.html
An Account of the Plants growing
at “The Gums,” Taita. 1896 and 1902
By T. Mason
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical
Society, 11th November, 1896.]
The grounds and garden at “The Gums,” Taita,
in the valley of the Hutt, near Wellington, cover an area of about
12½ acres, which was originally part of a dense grove of Dacrydium
totara, with trees of from 100ft. to 150ft. in height, and from
3ft. to 8ft. in diameter. The outer border is planted with several
kinds of Eucalyptus (some of which are almost equal in height
and diameter to many of the trees that preceded them), Coniferœ,
and deciduous trees, with an undergrowth, principally of native
shrubs, in order to afford protection against the violent gales from
the north-west and south-east which frequently sweep up and down the
valley. The soil is a rich alluvial deposit of sandy loam, resting
on gravel, at a depth varying from 6ft. to 11ft.
The temperature is rarely hot in summer or cold in
winter, the highest registered being on 7th February, 1894, when the
thermometer rose to 85°, Fahr. in the shade, and the lowest in July
of the same year, when it fell to 16° on grass. The thermometer
every year rises on three or four days to 80°, and falls about the
same number of times to 20°.
The average yearly rainfall during the last nine
years is 56in., falling most in winter, but also freely at short
intervals during the other months, so that drought is practically
unknown. A few of the trees, shrubs, and plants have only been tested
one winter; but a large proportion of them were severely tried by a
succession of keen frosts on the 5th, 6th, and 7th August, 1875,
which destroyed a number of shrubs, among them two kinds of cinchona
and several kinds of rhododendron which had withstood the colds of
previous winters. Many of the native shrubs suffered severely. No
record of the degrees of frost was kept, but, as those which were
killed were not replaced, and most of the others have resisted the
cold of several winters, the following may be considered as hardy in
this locality.
The figures attached to some of the trees and
shrubs show their height at the present time; but, as they were
planted in different years, as obtained from varying sources,
comparisons as to growth cannot be made. Only in one class—the
three varieties of Cedrus—the relative growth is shown. They
were planted at one time—29th April, 1871—and were placed near
together, under equal conditions in every respect. They were healthy
plants about 15in. high, and have continued healthy and vigorous, and
as they grow singly the foliage is dense, and they are clothed down
to the ground—fine specimens of their kind.
LINKS
http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_35/rsnz_35_00_004810.html
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ALFRED LUDLAM:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Ludlam
http://www.in.com/alfred-ludlam/biography-13967.html
http://find.natlib.govt.nz/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?dscnt=0&vid=TF&dstmp=1353656816306&docId=nlnz_tapuhi427568&fromLogin=true
http://www.zipleaf.co.nz/Companies/Bellevue-Gardens-Establishment/Article-History-in-the-Hutt
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-DruExot-t1-body1-d4.html
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-DruExot.html
http://www.geni.com/people/Alfred-Ludlam/6000000014901911370
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=1017835&recordNum=0&f=nameid%2444587&l=en
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=1021607&recordNum=1&f=nameid%2444587&l=en
http://factualworld.com/article/Alfred_Ludlam
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