Hackfalls Arboretum - History of Hackfalls Arboretum

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 Taxodium distichum, some of the common alders Alnus and Weeping Willows Salix babylonica var. matsudana.

Poplars 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 oaks. 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 in 1964 and 1968 and bought plants from various other nurseries.

In 1975 he received a plant of Quercus rugosa, 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, Buddleja cordata and B. americana.

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.