A rich history of Hamilton Gardens (1860 to 1950)
Hamilton Gardens is located alongside an attractive stretch of the Waikato River, merging old landscape features with creative development and design.
The original gardens at the site of Hamilton Gardens go back hundreds of years, when it was cultivated by the gardeners of Ngaati Wairere. The site was covered in mara kai, growing kuumara and other crops in a settlement called Te Parapara.
When the colonial government invaded the Waikato in the 1860s, the land was taken as part of the confiscations that dispossessed the people of Waikato-Tainui. The land came under the ownership of the Hamilton Council and over the next 100 years, it was used for multiple purposes including a rifle range, a sand quarry, a dog dosing area, a go-cart track, and briefly as the city’s rubbish dump.
From landfill to paradise: the rise of Hamilton Gardens (1950 to present day)
A community effort: transforming the barren landscape
In the 1950s, the Hamilton Beautifying Society lobbied for a public garden on the site, starting a process that led to the creation of Hamilton Gardens. The Rose Gardens were opened in the 1970s and the first enclosed gardens were built in the 1980s.
The area had been used as a rifle range by Victorian-era residents, and in the 20th century became a sand quarry and then the city's rubbish dump. Covered in weeds and blackberry bushes with seagulls circling above, it would've been hard to imagine the transformation ahead. With minimal budgets, volunteers and community groups have dedicated thousands of hours and resources to develop the barren 44-hectare site into a public park.
There are now 18 enclosed themed gardens, connected by planted courtyards and walkways. And there is more to come. Three more gardens are under development and a further 17 are planned before the collection is complete.
The visionary: Doctor Peter Sergel and his legacy
Hamilton Gardens is no happy accident. A masterplan was in place right from the start. The intention was always to create a world-class garden that would enhance Hamilton’s reputation, economy, and quality of life.
Enter Dr Peter Sergel, a dedicated and talented visionary who created and guided our Gardens with incredible attention to detail. His 40-year commitment to the Gardens included 25 years as Hamilton Gardens' first Director (1995-2020).
Originally a landscape architect, Peter imagined a living gallery of gardens from around the world – a place that would delight and inspire. The result is our collection of 18 incredible gardens, spanning ages and cultures.
He started with sketching his ideas back in 1978, and continued developing them from 1979 onwards. Peter’s aim was to tell the story of all the major forms of gardens developed by humanity over the last 5000 years.
He quickly became the driving force behind the gardens. He had a vision of a series of connected closed gardens representing the most famous and most important garden types. He researched and designed all but one of our current themed gardens.
Peter structured the gardens into three categories, Paradise, Fantasy and Productive gardens. Each garden is a point in the history of human civilisation, and each garden represents an idea or a pivotal moment in the evolution of human cultures, ideas, and beliefs.
- Paradise gardens reflect idealised visions of nature – peaceful, harmonious, and spiritual – and the attempt to create a paradise on earth. These gardens often evoke a sense of tranquillity or order and structure.
- Fantasy gardens celebrate imagination and storytelling, sparking curiosity and wonder.
- Productive gardens show how humans have cultivated plants for food, medicine, and daily life.
Each garden is a chapter in a much larger narrative. They’re not just beautiful spaces – they’re windows into different cultures, philosophies, and historical moments. They reflect Peter’s underlying idea to tell the story of civilisations through gardens. This totally unique concept is quite unlike any other public garden in the world.
In the introduction to his book, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens, Peter says:
“To understand Hamilton Gardens and the remarkable story of gardens, it may be better to start in the Neanderthal cave and romp through history into the future, stopping at various exotic and mysterious stations on the way. In the words of Mr Spock, First Officer on the Starship Enterprise “it’s time travel Jim, but not as we know it.”
Today, the award-winning Hamilton Gardens and its open parks are the Waikato's most visited attraction, with over one million visitors every year.
Woven through time: our gateway to the future
Hamilton Gardens and its surrounding pathways and open areas nestle beside the Waikato River on the eastern side of Hamilton/Kirikiriroa. It’s a world-leading destination with over a million people from New Zealand and overseas visiting it annually. Its Enclosed Gardens have been developed across three broad themes (see above), with 18 specialist gardens so far and more planned for the future.
Our Enclosed Gardens span across culture and time. Where else can you travel back in time to the Ancient Egyptian Garden, feel the vibrant energy of 17th-century India, step into the dreamlike world of the Surrealist Garden, experience pre-European Aotearoa, and stroll through a slice of Renaissance Italy – all in one place?
One of the key elements of theatre in the Gardens is the sense of anticipation and shifting reality: you’re never quite sure what’s around the next corner, and each space invites you into a different world.
Hamilton Gardens’ Gallagher Visitor Centre: a special kind of welcome
In 2024, Hamilton Gardens entered a new chapter, with the opening of the Gallagher Visitor Centre. The centre, which hosts the Gardens’ hire venues as well as its visitor reception and retail gift shop area, create a magical gateway introducing deeper cultural storytelling into the visitor experience.
This concept is woven throughout the building, its welcoming covered courtyard area, and in the Hamilton Gardens’ Café across from the centre. The area’s culturally significant patterns and weaving imagery, storytelling and symbolism include sculptural elements, planting and paving in the centre’s courtyard (the ‘fern court’ area). It’s a special place and the perfect introduction to the wonders that lie ahead in our Enclosed Gardens.
The centre’s design also honours the significance of the site to mana whenua, enabling us to extend manaakitanga (hospitality, care, and respect) to visitors, while providing them with a unique, enjoyable, memorable and educational experience.
World-leading and award-winning
The Gallagher Visitor Centre and its surrounds were redeveloped under the guidance of multi-media professional Maaori artist and specialist project manager, Eugene Kara, working with Te Haa o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa (THAWK), Ngaati Wairere, architectural and graphic design teams, and the Hamilton Gardens team.
The precinct is also a 2025 Waikato/Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards Winner, described as being “…a distinctive expression of Aotearoa architecture that reflects the identity and narrative of its place…”.
Hamilton Gardens regularly appears in the top 1% of travel experiences worldwide (as voted by TripAdvisor 2023 and 2024). In 2024, 350,000 visitors explored our Enclosed Gardens, while there are well over a million visits to our open park spaces annually in recent years. There truly isn't another public garden like it anywhere on Earth.
