Qualla: Hackfalls Arboretum

Hackfalls Arboretum: Introduction

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. It started with willows. Bob Berry planted them near the edge of Lake Kaikiore because they were easy -- they grew fast, tolerated the wet ground, and looked decent while he figured out what else might survive on his family's sheep and cattle station at Tiniroto. Then he tried poplars. Then a few oaks, which he found did rather well. 'Thus began a forty year love affair with the genus Quercus,' wrote one observer, 'resulting in his now having the biggest collection in the country, with Bob our leading authority on oaks.' By the time Berry stopped planting in 2007, the arboretum tucked into the hills of his station held roughly 3,500 species of trees and shrubs, spread across 56 hectares along the shores of two lakes. No one driving the gravel road to Tiniroto would guess what lay beyond the next cattle gate.

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Image: Krzysztof Golik | CC BY-SA 4.0

Hackfalls Arboretum: Yorkshire to the Hangaroa

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 2.5 nl. The Berry family came from Knaresborough in Yorkshire. They arrived in North Canterbury in 1883, settled at Tiniroto in 1889, and bought the station from the Whyte family -- who had called it Abbotsford -- in 1916. The name Hackfalls came later, in 1984, when Bob's niece Diane an...

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Image: CC BY-SA 2.5 nl

Hackfalls Arboretum: The Mexican Oak Collector

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 2.5 nl. In 1975, Berry received a single plant of Quercus rugosa, a Mexican oak. Something about it captivated him. When the International Dendrology Society organized a tour of Central and Southwest Mexico in 1982, Berry joined and returned with pockets full of seed. He made several ret...

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Image: CC BY-SA 2.5 nl

Hackfalls Arboretum: A Landscape Shaped by Catastrophe

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. The hill country around Tiniroto was formed by an ancient landslide from the north and east, an event so massive that it reshaped the topography and created the chain of lakes that defines the district. Lake Kaikiore covers five hectares; Lake Karangata, ten. The altitude on Hack...

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Image: Krzysztof Golik | CC BY-SA 4.0

Hackfalls Arboretum: The Lady from Rosemoor

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1990, Berry married Lady Anne Palmer, an English gardener of considerable reputation. She had founded Rosemoor Garden in Devon and donated it to the Royal Horticultural Society before following Berry to New Zealand. Her influence transformed the homestead garden at Hackfalls i...

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Image: Krzysztof Golik | CC BY-SA 4.0

Hackfalls Arboretum: Three Thousand Five Hundred Reasons to Turn Off the Highway

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. Berry and Lady Anne moved to Gisborne in 2006. Since then, Diane Playle has cared for the arboretum with help from a small group of volunteers. The collection includes roughly 450 oaks, 400 rhododendrons, 220 poplars, 160 maples, 90 birches, 90 eucalyptus, 80 camellias, 70 magnol...

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Image: Krzysztof Golik | CC BY-SA 4.0