Dr Davies visited Glenside’s historic Halfway House to plant a rimu in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. The heritage house and gardens can be found roughly at the halfway point between Wellington and Porirua, and was originally built in the 1840s as a coaching stop for travellers going between the two cities. The gardens are filled with pre-1900’s plants, in keeping with what would have been there when Halfway House was constructed.
During Prince Alfred’s Royal visit to Aotearoa in 1869, Thomas Drake, who had connections to the historic building, gifted two trees to be planted at the site of the original Government House – where the Beehive is now located. Over 150 years later, Dr Davies was able to return the favour with this rimu. Ann Foster joined Dr Davies at the planting, with a heritage camelia in honour of her family connections to the area.
The gardens are open to the public and are largely maintained by volunteers, you can read more about the gardens on their website.
