Trusts Help Fund Mt Victoria Summit Planting

Four thousand hardy native plants will be planted on the summit of Mt Victoria tomorrow, thanks in part to generous contributions from the trusts of Wellingtonians whose legacies are continuing to beautify the city.


The Guardian Trust, which administers the Henderson Conservation Trust and The Mr and Mrs George Denton Trust, has provided a grant of $36,500 towards the cost of landscaping the summit area – $21,500 from the Denton Trust and $15,000 from the Henderson Trust. The planting is happening as part of the upgrade of the Mt Victoria summit area, which is nearing completion and will be officially opened later this year.

Wellington City Council's Parks and Gardens Manager, Paul Andrews, says the major construction work was completed this week but there is still more to be done including landscaping and the installation of information panels.

The upgrade includes a new viewing platform with transparent sides, improved lighting and the creation of a new pedestrian area adjacent to the summit car park and Byrd Memorial. Toilets have been installed at the intersection of Lookout and Alexandra Roads.

Mr Andrews says at least 25 staff will be helping with the initial planting at the summit tomorrow (Thursday 27 September) and more plants will go in next winter and the one after.

"This area has been largely grassed in the past and plagued by gorse so it will be fantastic to see it landscaped with native shrubs and grasses," he says. "We have selected plants that are well suited to the exposed conditions including a couple that are found on the South Coast but are now regarded locally as rare and endangered."

Some 2000 coastal flaxes are going in, along with several hundred each of the low-growing coastal shrub Muelenbeckia astonii, the native grass Austrofestuca littoralis and mountain tussock. The majority of plants have been propagated by the Council's Berhampore Nursery from seed sourced locally.

Mr Andrews says the Council is very grateful for the ongoing support from Guardian Trust through the legacies of well-known Hataitai resident and environmentalist Marion Henderson, who died in 2004, and William Denton and his sister Edith, who established The Mr and Mrs George Denton Trust.