About Us

The Whangarei Quarry Gardens is a voluntary community project assisted and supported by Whangarei District Council, Community Employment Groups and many loyal sponsors and friends from Whangarei and the wider community.

The hard work and dedication of these volunteers has begun to transform an overgrown old quarry site into a subtropical paradise only five minutes' drive from the centre of Whangarei.

The fact that this is a work in progress is one of the site's many charms. Every time you visit, you will see something new and exciting.

A Brief History
In the late 1940's, Hardie Bros established a quarry and began operating it to produce aggregate for local roading projects. Following a severe flood in 1974, their quarry operations were moved to Otaika at the southern end of the city.

Winstone Aggregates Ltd, who took over the quarry, donated the 25 hectare site to the Whangarei District Council in 1976 to become part of the City's parks and reserves network. For nearly 20 years the site was used as a rubbish dump and exotic weed species - gorse and pampas - started to take over.

In 1990, Laughton King approached the Whangarei District Council to negotiate the formation of a public garden on the site. Then in 1997, the Council purchased 2.5 hectares of adjoining land to form a link to the top north-west border. A group of enthusiasts - 'Friends of the Quarry Garden', then began clearing the overgrown site.

A building was installed in 1998 to provide facilities for hard-working volunteers and this remains on the site today. In the same year, work began on a trust deed to form a Charitable Trust to develop the project.

Recent Developments
Establishment of the Whangarei Quarry Garden Trust in 2000, allowed the council to pass responsibility for development of the Gardens to the members of the Trust. The challenge of clearing the site of rusting car bodies, hunks of concrete, noxious weeds and the like was met with determination, fortitude and good humour. Most significant in this was the inspirational effort contributed by many local contractors who donated machinery and hundreds of hours of enormous skill to the project.

This resulted in a transformed site and exposed a myriad of streams and waterfalls as well the potential for a lake at the foot of a spectacular 40 metre waterfall. 'Friends of the Quarry' have worked alongside contractors every Wednesday and on monthly Open Days. Their efforts, helped by volunteers in training projects with WINZ, have seen much temporary planting to stabilise areas as they are cleared. The transformation has been dramatic.