Eastwoodhill Arboretum

The history of Eastwoodhill Arboretum will remain permanently connected with the life of William Douglas Cook (1884–1967). Douglas Cook, Cookie to his close friends, was born 28 October 1884 at New Plymouth, New Zealand. In 1910, he established a farm of 250 hectares in the Ngatapa settlement, calling the property 'Eastwoodhill', after his mother's family home in Thornliebank near Glasgow.[4] The first foundations for the present arboretum were laid then. Douglas Cook started creating a garden immediately. He planted trees, but also roses, flowers, shrubs and vegetables.

During the first World War, Cook volunteered to serve in the army. In France, he lost the sight of his right eye and subsequently stayed in Scotland with his family to recover. He was inspired by the gardens and parks of England and also came in contact with Arthur William Hill, who would later become director of Kew Gardens.[5]

In 1918, back at Eastwoodhill, Douglas Cook started planting thousands of Pinus radiata for wood production and for fire-wood. He also planted Eucalyptus viminalis and E. macarthurii. He also started creating parkland with, amongst others, Platanus orientalis, different kinds of Ulmus, Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides. In this year the lombardy poplars were also planted alongside 'Poplar Avenue' up the later Main Entrance Drive. In 1919 he ordered 1,996 trees and shrubs and in 1920 a total of 3,387, of which some two and a half thousand trees and shrubs were intended for the garden.[6] The plantings included 'Cabbage Tree Avenue' (restored in 2006).
Planting was interrupted for journeys to England in 1922 and 1924 but in 1926 the garden was extended with thousands of tulips, hyacinths and peonies from The Netherlands.[7] "Then he got serious," said his biographer and former curator Garry Clapperton in an interview with John Mortimer. He started designing Corner Park, and continued with Cabin Park, the Long Road to Poland, Douglas Park and the cathedral.[8]

In 1927, Bill Crooks started working at Eastwoodhill, eventually staying on for 47 years. He did most of the farming, so Cook had more time for his beloved trees. The planting of the 'parks' (parts of which are nowadays the arboretum) started around 1927. Around this time, the collecting of different tree species also began for Cook.[9] Through the years the number of plant specimen collected reached immense proportions, with about 5,000 different taxa at the maximum point, at large costs.[10]

Cook "continued to spend up large on plants in the 1930s, far more than the farm earned. In 1936, he spent £85 (about a working man's wages for half a year) at one New Plymouth nursery alone and, by the end of his life, he had spent on average £1000 annually on plants from overseas and New Zealand".[11]

In the 1920s, Cook could still finance the expansion of his property from his other income and funds, but in his mid-fifties, he had to sell 925 acres (3.74 km²) of his farmland to get further money for planting new trees in the 'Circus' park.[12] At the end of his life, Douglas Cook had effectively invested all his money in his arboretum. In 1965, he had a heart attack. He never fully recovered from that and died 27 April 1967.[13]

Although Eastwoodhill in the 1960s was often praised for its important collection of plants, many people worried about the future of his unique park, especially after Cook got older and started having health problems. In 1965 Heathcote Beetham Williams (referred to as H. B. (Bill) Williams), an entrepreneur from Gisborne, bought the property off Cook with the intention to keep the collection in order, and to guarantee that everyone with interests in plants and trees will be able to visit the arboretum in the future.

The Trust Board currently has 6 members who represent the following institutions:[15]

• Department of Conservation
• Williams Family
• Gisborne District Council
• Poverty Bay Horticultural Society
• East Coast Farm Forestry Association
• Friends of Eastwoodhill

The objectives of the Trust Board are, according to the Act:[16]

• "to maintain and develop Eastwoodhill as an arboretum"
• "so far as it is consistent with its primary function (...) to make Eastwoodhill available to the public for its education and recreation"

• Until 1974 Bill Crooks was manager of the arboretum.
• From 1974 to 1982 his task was done by Dan Weatherall.
• 1982 Kevin Boyce was nominated curator. He was curator till 1985.
• 1985 – 2001 Gary Clapperton was curator.
• 2001–2009 Paul Wynen, Dipl. Arborist is curator, with Maurice Hall appointed as manager.
• 2010 - 2013 Danny Frazer curator
• 2013 - 2014 Ben Lyte curator
• 2014 - 2019 Dan Haliday curator
• 2019 - 2022 Martin Weaver curator
• 2022 - 2023 Thrive Spaces and Places
• 2023 - Present Garrett Blair General Manager

In the beginning of the 1970s, the first catalogue of trees, shrubs and climbers were prepared by Bob Berry. It contained 3,000 different taxa.[20] After the first version of 1972, the catalogue remained the responsibility of Bob Berry until 1986.[21] Nowadays the catalogue is fully computerised, and the responsibility of the curator.

The most important genera at Eastwoodhill are:

• Camellia, with about 270 taxa
• Rhododendron, 220 + 250 azaleas
• Acer, 90 taxa
• Quercus, 80 taxa. In the 1990s, large numbers of acorns were collected; three nurseries were supplied with ten thousands acorns of red oak (Quercus rubra) and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) a year. Also, pin oaks (Quercus palustris), english oaks (Quercus robur) and mongolian oaks (Quercus mongolica) from Eastwoodhill were sold via commercial nurseries.[22]
• Prunus, 80
• Pinus, with 35 taxa
• Magnolia, 40
• Malus, about 50
• Abies, 30
• Sorbus, 44
• Juniperus, 30

The "most dramatic time to visit Eastwoodhill is in autumn, when over 100 oaks, nearly as many maples, liquidambars, ash (Fraxinus), ginkgo, and other deciduous trees are in their full glory, contrasting with conifers and almost 300 camellias."[19]

Close to the entrance of the Arboretum the Homestead Garden is found. It dates from 1910, it covers 1 hectare (0.010 km²), and is maintained by volunteers since 1984.[17] "An ongoing project, the garden provides a fitting introduction to the arboretum and is full of interesting plantings aesthetically combined in a unique setting".[3]