The jewel of the contract — inside Ōamaru Public Gardens

Published on 08 October 2026

Green by Nature manager David Welton knows it’s close to locals’ hearts. “We’re all proud of what we do here … we give it that extra treatment, cause it’s the jewel of our contract really.

“Not only is it a contract high-profile asset, but it’s also a passion. It needs more time and effort, like for instance pruning the roses in the gardens, we’ve got everything here and the effort that goes into it … it’s close to everyone’s heart.”

Did you know that your gardens have four nationally notable trees?

• The Ulmus glabra ‘Horizontalis’ (weeping elm) - opposite Wonderland pathway on the main track. The New Zealand Tree Register estimates it was planted around 1876.

• The Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) - Azalea lawn. Also thought to be one of the original plantings in the Gardens.

• Sequoia sempervirens (California redwood) – On the edge of Band Lawn/Top Pond.

• Thuja plicata (western red cedar) - Adjacent to Aviaries on our exit driveway.

The equivalent of three-and-a-half full-time staff are based permanently at the Gardens, rather than working across the district. And you would imagine they would be kept rather busy when you think about the 51 varieties of roses in the OPG rose lawn, the extensive lawns, the annual bedding plants, the rhododendron and azalea ares, the camellia garden.

The list goes on, there’s another specialised garden area with the Chinese Garden, New Zealand native planting and the Fernery, Display House with its exotic plant specimens, pathways and garden infrastructure. It’s a big job indeed and the Oamaru Public Gardens is certainly a special place.

David and his team work hard — often unnoticed — to keep the district’s bins, public toilets, sports fields and green spaces clean, safe and ready for the community.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Oamaru Public Gardens a tree planting will take place at the tennis court end of the children’s playground on Saturday 10 October at midday.

At a glance - the numbers behind the stories

• 2,533 hectares of green space and recreation infrastructure maintained

• 22 staff on the Green by Nature team

• 18 sports fields

• 24 public playgrounds

• 4 skateparks

• 3 bike parks

• 13 cemeteries

• 177 different garden jobs in a typical month

• 1,759 facilities jobs logged in August – a quiet month

• 329 mowing jobs in August – also a quiet month

• 10,000 hours of work at Ōamaru Public Gardens each year, on average

• 3½ full-time equivalent staff based at Ōamaru Public Gardens

• Every playground inspected weekly

• 2 playgrounds – Marine Parade and Ōamaru Public Gardens – checked daily

• 18 sports fields all require different levels of maintenance

• 3 cuts a week can be required for tennis and croquet

• 2–3 cuts a week for cricket grounds

• 10 hours a week – approximately how much the robotic mower operates on average

• 45 minutes to an hour – time the robotic mower can take for jobs that previously took around three hours

• 2 weeks – approximately how long it takes the team to get around all areas of the district

ENDS

media@waitaki.govt.nz