Akaroa Historical Overview - Christchurch City Council

In addition to built landscape elements there was also much associated planting in the
town. Residents were exhorted by the Council to tidy their gardens and street frontages
for the celebrations and in the spirit of 'local differentiation' they were encouraged to
plant species that could only be grown in Akaroa (and not Christchurch). Discounted
plants, grown by the Council Gardener were offered for sale to residents to help enliven
the appearance of the town. It is not known what these species were. 74 Concurrent with
this the Akaroa Horticultural Society promoted the idea of garden competitions to
stimulate interest in gardening with the desired outcome being “an improvement in
private gardens and a more beautiful town for the centennial celebrations”. 75
The native section of the Canterbury Education Department’s Tree Nursery was
especially developed to provide native species for planting at provincial schools during
the Centennial celebrations. This was not limited to trees. Shrubs, hedges and shelter
belt species were all considered worthy memorials for the occasion. It is likely that other
tree planting activity was associated with the Centennial and more specifically the reenactment
ceremony in April 1940. Among the long list of politicians and church
hierarchy who were in attendance at the event was the Governor-General, Lord Galway,
who was an inveterate commemorative tree planter. 76
Historic Trees
As part of the planning for New Zealand's Centennial celebrations a list of historic trees
around the country was compiled by the Centennial authorities. The trees proposed by
the Akaroa Borough Council for inclusion included loquat trees in the grounds of Mr E.X.
Le Lievre's residence, which had been planted by Mr C.B. Robinson, and the large gum in
Mr Bruce's property in Percy Street, under which the Rev. Alymer was said to have held
the first church services in the 1850s. A catalpa tree brought back from Rio de Janeiro by
Mr Watson in the 1860s was also proposed, as well as Mr F. Le Lievre's willow from St
Helena (although this would have been the 'Jerusalem' progeny). 77
None of these trees with the exception of the willow (discussed in following section) are
understood to have survived. 78 This is likely to have been the consequence of later
subdivision activity. However, there were undoubtedly more trees, both native and
exotic in the town at this point with a direct link to the 1840s than there are today.
Arbor Day, Commemorative and other plantings
Arbor Day was instituted primarily to encourage the re-vegetation of bare and waste
areas. It was promoted as a patriotic activity which variously cultivated community spirit,
addressed a raft of conservation issues, helped to ameliorate a number of perceived
environmental concerns and had an aesthetic and utilitarian motive. In Akaroa the day
appears to have been rather erratically observed with school children taking centre stage
in the early 1890s – 1920s, then members of the Akaroa Council in the 1930s.
74 Borough Council Minutes: Special Meeting, 9 March 1939
75 IA 1 B2028 Record 65/52, Part 1. Centennial Records, Akaroa, ANZ
76 Centennial News, No 14, 1941, p. 3
77 Akaroa Mail in Centennial clipping file, Alexander Turnbull Library, undated clipping
78 Time constraints precluded investigation of all of the gardens which now cover these originally
extensive sites.
AKAROA HERITAGE OVERVIEW : SECTION 6 YEARS OF STABILITY 1900 TO 1950 PAGE 116