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Ōtari-Wilton's Bush

Coordinates: 41°16′02″S 174°45′31″E / 41.26733°S 174.75863°E / -41.26733; 174.75863
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Ōtari Native Botanic Garden and Wilton's Bush Forest Reserve
A small wooden building with white walls. In front of it is a small garden
Leonard Cockayne Centre
Map
Interactive map of Ōtari Native Botanic Garden and Wilton's Bush Forest Reserve
TypeNative plant botanical garden
LocationWellington, New Zealand 41°16′02″S 174°45′31″E / 41.26733°S 174.75863°E / -41.26733; 174.75863
Area105 hectares (260 acres)
Operated byWellington City Council
Species~1,200
Websitewellingtongardens.nz/our-gardens/otari-wiltons-bush/

Ōtari-Wilton's Bush is a native botanic garden and forest reserve located in the suburb Wilton of Wellington, New Zealand. It is New Zealand's only public botanic garden dedicated solely to the native plants of New Zealand. The reserve includes 100 ha (250 acres) of native forest, and 5 ha (12 acres) of plant collections. The first section of what would become Ōtari-Wilton's Bush was purchased in 1906 by the government and designated as a scenic reserve. The forest in the reserve contains some of the oldest trees in Wellington, including an 800-year-old rimu. The reserve holds a broad range of plants, with one bioblitz recording nearly 500 species of vascular plants, liverworts, mosses and lichens. In addition to its extensive flora, the reserve also hosts a wide range of fauna, including notable species such as ornate skink (Oligosoma ornatum), longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) and glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa). Due to its diverse plant collection and reserve biodiversity, scientific research is regularly conducted at Ōtari-Wilton. Ōtari-Wilton's Bush is owned and managed by Wellington City Council and is supported by the Ōtari-Wilton's Bush Trust.

History

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The bottom half of a very large tree in the middle of a dense forest
Trunk of 800-year-old rimu

The original forest in the area surrounding Ōtari-Wilton's Bush was a podocarp broadleaf forest. The area was known as a good place to catch prey, and this gives rise to the Māori name "Ōtari" meaning “Place of snares”. Large trees in the wider area were felled for timber when European settlers arrived in the region, and farms were established.[1]

In 1847 the Ōtari Native Reserve was a 200 ha (500 acres) block of unsurveyed land between Kaiwharawhara and the Makara valley that was set aside to enable the Crown to offer land swaps to local Māori in exchange for pā sites at Kaiwharawhara, Ōwhāriu and Pipitea. From the 1850s there was a rapid decline in the Māori population in Wellington. In 1906, the government purchased a block of land in the Ōtari Native Reserve and this was the first part of what ultimately became Ōtari-Wilton's Bush.[2]

Job Wilton arrived in Wellington in 1841 as a seven year old boy. He married Ellen Curtis in Wellington in 1860, and they purchased 44 ha (108 acres) in the Kaiwharawhara valley.[3] Wilton had been concerned about the large scale land clearance around Wellington in the 1840s and 50s and the loss of native forest. He set aside 6.9 ha (17 acres) of untouched forest near his homestead,[3] and fenced it to protect it from stock. This became known as Wilton’s Bush, and was a popular area for picnickers and day trippers.[4]

In 1902, the Māori owners of a block of native forest in the Ōtari Native Reserve wished to lease their land, and this raised concerns that the forest would be cleared. A deputation including Job Wilton, two mayors, and three members of Parliament met with the Minister of Lands to ask for steps to preserve the land for the benefit of the public.[5][6] The New Zealand Times supported the proposal, describing Wilton's Bush as:[7]

... one of the very few natural beauty spots in the vicinity of Wellington which has escaped the axe and the fire-stick. As it stands, it is an admirable place of resort for picnic parties and lovers of the picturesque ...

In 1906 the government bought 54.5 hectares (135 acres) of land in the Ōtari Native Reserve from its Māori owners and designated it as a scenic reserve.[8][9]

In 1918, the land was transferred to Wellington City Council for “recreation purposes and for the preservation of native flora”.[10] In 1918, John Gretton Mackenzie was appointed as the new Director of Parks and Reserves for Wellington. When Mackenzie commenced in October that year, he immediately put a stop to cattle grazing in the reserve, noting that grazing removes undergrowth and allows wind to pass through the forest.[11] By 1920, new paths had been created through the reserve.[12]

By 1926, the site was known as the Otari Open-Air Native Plant Museum.[13] The first director of the reserve was Leonard Cockayne. In the 1920s he worked together with John Gretton MacKenzie, the director of Wellington Parks and Reserves, on plans for the open-air plant museum. The name was changed to Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush in 2000, recognising the influences of both Māori and Europeans.[14]

In 1928, the eminent botanist Arthur William Hill, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, visited the Ōtari Open Air Native Plant Museum as it was then called.[15]

The Troup Picnic area adjacent to the Kaiwharawhara Stream was named in honour of George Troup, a distinguished architect and 23rd mayor of Wellington.[16]

Forest reserve

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A small waterfall running down rocks with lots of vegetation flanking either side of the waterfall
Waterfall in Ōtari-Wilton's Bush

The forest at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush covers around 100 hectares (250 acres) of the catchment area of the northeast flowing Kaiwharawhara Stream, which has several gullies and side streams (some with small waterfalls) and is surrounded by hills up to 280 m above sea level.[17] Greywacke is the rock underlying the forest,[17] which includes original podocarp broadleaf forest, regenerating forest and scrub. Larger trees in the forest include podocarps such as mataī, miro, tōtara and rimu. The forest contains some of the oldest trees in Wellington, including an 800-year-old rimu.[18] Examples of these large trees can be seen from the canopy walkway.

The larger trees will often have perching plants (epiphytes) in higher branches. Climbing plants are also common throughout, including supplejack, New Zealand passionfruit, and several species of rata (Metrosideros). On the upper slopes, the predominant trees are māhoe, rewarewa, tawa and kohekohe, with some forest remnants of matai and rimu. In damp areas, there are pukatea that typically have large plank buttress roots to support their growth.[19]

The high south-facing slopes in the reserve are covered in regenerating scrub that is dominated by introduced plants such as gorse and Darwin's barberry, although native plants such as rangiora and māhoe can also be found.[19]

In 2007, a BioBlitz was held to "increase public awareness and to generate scientific knowledge" of the biodiversity within Ōtari-Wilton's Bush.[17] Nearly 500 species of vascular plants, liverworts, mosses and lichens were recorded during the 24 hours of the BioBlitz including a number of new records, such as the flowering plant Veronica javanica and the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha subsp. ruderalis.[17]

Native botanic gardens

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A very stony garden with various small shrubs scattered throughout
Ōtari Native Botanic Garden
Two natural looking pools, with the higher one feeding into the smaller one. The pools are flanked by small grassy shrubs and there are large trees in the background
Ōtari Native Botanic Garden

The native plant collections at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush contain about 1,200 species, including hybrids and cultivars representing plants from mainland New Zealand and off-shore islands.

The plants on display have generally been raised from seeds or cuttings collected from their original environments. The four main objectives of the collection are:[20]

  • Conservation: raise seedlings of threatened species, either to be kept in the gardens for conservation purposes, or for use in plant recovery programmes in the wild.
  • Research: enable scientific study of the plant collections for plant ecology, classification and economic potential.
  • Education: help visitors learn about plant names and characteristics, including providing labelling.
  • Recreation: enable visitors to observe New Zealand's unique flora and enjoy the Ōtari-Wilton's Bush environment and facilities.

Collections

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The plants are arranged in distinct collections, including an alpine garden, a fernery, hebe and flax cultivars, a large rock garden, grass and sedge species, and a coastal garden. A detailed and interactive online map of the gardens published by the Wellington City Council provides the location of each collection, and a list of the plants that can be found in that section of the gardens.[21]

Kauri (Agathis australis) were first planted at Ōtari in 1926, with additional plantings in the 1930s and 1950s. As of 2010, 160 kauri trees were still present but are not thought to be regenerating.[13]

Plant conservation

[edit]

In April 2019, a report by Statistics New Zealand on the conservation status of indigenous land species identified species classified as threatened with or at risk of extinction. For vascular plants, a total of 1,253 species were identified (representing 46 percent of known species).[22] Human settlement has caused many plants to disappear from New Zealand's forests, wetlands and coasts. Major losses are blamed on industries such as agriculture and forestry, and the introduction of animal pests and invasive weeds.

The Native Botanic Gardens at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush include many New Zealand plants that are threatened in the wild. Some of these plants are raised and either kept at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush as a conservation measure, or returned to original habitats as part of plant conservation recovery programmes. One example of plant conservation work at Ōtari-Wilton's bush is the planting of seeds of New Zealand’s only fully parasitic flowering plant, Dactylanthus taylori (Te Pua o te Rēinga) that were translocated from Pureora forest in 2020.[23]

A wide range of organisations work in partnership with Ōtari-Wilton's Bush on plant conservation, including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Victoria University of Wellington, the Department of Conservation and Plant & Food Research.[20]

Research

[edit]

A number of scientific research studies have been conducted within Ōtari-Wilton's Bush regarding biodiversity. These include multi-year ecological studies on epiphyte diversity and distribution,[24] masting in the kohekohe tree,[25] and changes in tree abundance over time.[26] In 2018, the Lions Ōtari Plant Conservation Laboratory was opened and with it a major research focus on seed germination, long-term storage of seeds, and cryopreservation of seeds of native New Zealand plants, especially in the myrtle family[27] and orchids.[28] The Lions Ōtari Plant Conservation Laboratory has been an important component in several research projects studying the relationship between multiple threatened New Zealand orchids and their mycorrhizal fungal partners.[13][17][29][30][31] These studies have been collaborations between Ōtari researchers Karin van der Walt and Jennifer Alderton-Moss with Te Papa botanist Carlos Lehnebach and others.[32][33][34]

For example, research in the laboratory was critical to understand the nutrients and mycorrhizal fungal partners needed to germinate seeds of the onion orchids Microtis oligantha and M. unifolia.[35] In that study and others,[33] a closely-related non-threatened species (such as M. unifolia) is studied as a proxy to learn or perfect techniques that can be used on the threatened species (such as M. oligantha).[35] In another study, researchers propagated individuals of the greenhood species Pterostylis montana and P. paludosa in the lab using in vitro plant tissue culture (also called asymbiotic germination) as a pathway to restore threatened populations with the resulting seedlings.[30]

Work in the lab is also contributing to identifying the mycorrhizal fungal hyphae of spider orchids in the genus Corybas (including the threatened swamp helmet orchid Corybas carsei) by culturing their fungi in the lab and later sequencing their DNA.[36][29][32]

In 2022, to support the work of the Plant Conservation Laboratory, Ōtari received a grant from Te Tahua Taiao Nga Taonga Lotteries Environment and Heritage Fund specifically for developing propagation methods for restoration and ex situ conservation of New Zealand orchids.[37][34] In 2025, seedlings of Cooper's black potato orchid (Gastrodia cooperae) that were reared in the Lions Ōtari Plant Conservation Laboratory were planted in the wild population at the type locality for that species.[31]

Fauna

[edit]
A large pigeon with its wings outstretched landing on a twig
Kererū landing in kōwhai tree at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush

A total of 24 species of birds have been recorded from Ōtari-Wilton's Bush. Some of these species include kererū, tūī, kingfisher (Māori: kōtare), fantail (pīwakawaka), grey warbler (riroriro), silvereye (tauhou) and morepork (ruru).[38] Over 600 species of invertebrates have been recorded from Ōtari-Wilton. Some notable invertebrates include the giraffe weevil (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis), wellington tree wētā (Hemideina crassidens) and admiral butterflies (Vanessa).[38][39] The reserve is also known to support a population of glowworm (Arachnocampha luminosa).[40] It can be found living moist, vertical banks in some parts of the reserve. The tree trapdoor spider Migas otari is also only known from the bush.[41]

The ngahere gecko Mokopirirakau ‘Southern North Island’ and the ornate skink are known to occur in the reserve. The latter species is considered to be at risk and is the rarest skink in Wellington City reserves.[42][43] Kaiwharawhara Stream, which runs through Ōtari-Wilton, is known to support a range of native fish such as longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii), banded kōkopu (Galaxias fasciatus), bluegill bully (Gobiomorphus hubbsi) and kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis). The freshwater crayfish koura (Paranephrops) is also known to occur in the stream.[44] Introduced mammal pests such as rats and mustelids are known to occur in Ōtari-Wilton, but monitoring efforts suggest that they are in very low amounts. Extensive predator trapping occurs in Ōtari-Wilton and surrounding areas to keep pest populations such as these low.[45]

Visitor attractions

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A lone wooden bridge in the middle of a forest canopy
Canopy walkway

The Visitor Centre provides information about New Zealand's flora (and fauna), and Ōtari-Wilton's Bush. It is open 8am–4pm daily. In December 2021, the Visitor Centre was reopened after a two month closure for renovations, and was renamed: 'Tāne Whakapiripiri'.[46] There are displays and information for visiting groups, and a small lecture room that is available for educational purposes. The Leonard Cockayne Centre is a seminar and function room located in a stand-alone building adjacent to the Leonard Cockayne memorial lawn.[47]

Canopy walkway

[edit]

A 75-metre-long canopy walkway, beginning at the Information Centre, links the two main garden areas. It is 18 metres above the ground and stream below.[47]

Forest trails and walking tracks

[edit]

There are walks and trails within the forest and gardens to suit a range of ages and abilities. Good walking footwear and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions is recommended.[48]

In September 2025, Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, who are mana whenua for Ōtari, gifted new names in te reo Māori for the walking tracks within Ōtari.[49][50] Collectively, this new wayfinding experience is called Ngā ara o Ōtari, and individually the tracks are named as follows:[50]

  • Te Ara Porowhita – an easy loop through gardens, forest and Troup Picnic Lawn. Some steps and slopes, 30 to 60 minutes.
  • Te Ara o Tama – a moderate walk through ancient forest, including visiting Moko the 800-year-old rimu, 90 to 120 minutes.
  • Te Ara Tūpoupou – a hard, steep climb in old-growth forest, many steps, 60 to 90 minutes.
  • Te Ara o Kaiwharawhara Awa – an easy, gentle, buggy-friendly walk by the stream of the same name, 60 to 90 minutes
  • Te Ara Koukouoro Nature Trail – a short, moderate walk with some steps through gardens and forest, which can be self-guided using a pamphlet, 15 to 45 minutes.[50]

Location and access

[edit]

The gardens are located at 160 Wilton Road, approximately 5 km from the city centre. Public transport to the gardens is available via the No 14 Wilton bus route from the city centre. There are also car parks at the Wilton Road and Churchill Drive entrances.[20] There is a path suitable for wheelchairs from Wilton Road to the Visitor Centre, and from there to the Cockayne Lookout via the Canopy Walkway. There is also an accessible path along the Kaiwharawhara Stream from the carpark off Churchill Drive to the Troup Picnic Lawn.[20] The gardens are open daily between sunrise and sunset, and entry is free.

Recognition and awards

[edit]

Ōtari-Wilton's Bush is classified by the New Zealand Gardens Trust as a 6–Star rated Garden of International Significance.[51][52] It is also one of the Founding Gardens of the Trust.[53] Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush has also received an international Green Flag Award that recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces and around the world.[54]

Ōtari-Wilton's Bush Trust

[edit]

The Ōtari-Wilton's Bush Trust was formed as a Registered Charitable Trust in 2001. The trust deed registered with the application describes the principal purpose of the trust as: "To educate the local and wider community in New Zealand flora, thereby fostering public awareness and appreciation of native plants and of the environmental importance of their protection, conservation and rehabilitation and promoting the unique botanic diversity of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush".[55] The trust is a member of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.

One of the founding trustees was the renowned New Zealand botanist John Dawson.[56]

Although Ōtari-Wilton's Bush is owned and managed by the Wellington City Council, the Ōtari-Wilton's Bush Trust has a significant role in supporting the objectives of the gardens, via education programmes, marketing initiatives and hands-on volunteering.

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Otari-Wilton's Bush native botanic garden and forest reserve" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  2. ^ Dawson 2022, p. 14.
  3. ^ a b Dawson 2022, pp. 18–19.
  4. ^ "Wadestown Bush [advertisement]". Evening Post. 8 November 1902 – via Papers Past.
  5. ^ Dawson 2022, p. 33.
  6. ^ "Local and General". Evening Post. Vol. LXIV, no. 56. 3 September 1902. p. 4 – via Papers Past.
  7. ^ "Wilton's Bush". New Zealand Times. Vol. LXXII, no. 4749. 3 September 1902. p. 4 – via Papers Past.
  8. ^ "Department of Lands: Scenery Preservation. Report for the year ended 31st March, 1906; together with Statement of Accounts and Schedules of all lands acquired and reserved under The Scenery Preservation Act, 1903". Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Session II (C-06): 6. 1906 – via Papers Past.
  9. ^ "Wilton's Bush scenic reserve". New Zealand Times. Vol. XXVIII, no. 6040. 26 October 1906. p. 6 – via Papers Past.
  10. ^ "Cultural perceptions of the Wellington landscape 1870 to 1900 : an anthropological interpretation". www.wikidata.org. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  11. ^ "A native garden". Evening Post. 30 March 1926.
  12. ^ "Wellington beauty spots". Evening Post. 18 March 1920. p. 8.
  13. ^ a b c Lewington, Rodney John; West, Carol J. (1 January 2011). "History of kauri in Otari-Wilton's Bush". Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin. 53: 73–79.
  14. ^ Farr Biswell, Shelly (January–February 2005). "Wilton Bush". New Zealand Geographic (71). Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Eminent botanist - Dr Hill's visit". Evening Post. Vol. CV, no. 20. 25 January 1928. p. 10.
  16. ^ Dawson 2022, p. 66.
  17. ^ a b c d e Lewington, Rodney John; West, Carol J. (1 January 2008). "Otari BioBlitz: detailing vascular plants, mosses and liverworts". Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin: 5–23.
  18. ^ "Otari Native Botanic Garden & Wilton's Bush Reserve". Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Otari-Wilton's Bush native botanic garden and forest reserve" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  20. ^ a b c d "Ōtari-Wilton's Bush". Wellington City Council. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Otari Wilton's Bush". Wellington City Council. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021. Collections
  22. ^ "Conservation status of indigenous land species". Statistics NZ. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  23. ^ Ballance, Alison (19 November 2020). "Pua o te Rēinga – return of the Flower of the Underworld". RNZ. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  24. ^ Burns, Kevin C.; Dawson, John Wyndham (1 December 2005). "Patterns in the diversity and distribution of epiphytes and vines in a New Zealand forest". Austral Ecology. 30 (8): 883–891. doi:10.1111/J.1442-9993.2005.01532.X.
  25. ^ Burns, K. C. (6 June 2011). "Masting in a temperate tree: Evidence for environmental prediction?". Austral Ecology. 37 (2): 175–182. doi:10.1111/J.1442-9993.2011.02260.X.
  26. ^ Almeida, Danilo Coelho de; Siva, Arun; Burns, Kevin C. (1 January 2009). "Changes in tree abundance over 15 years at Otari: Succession or possum control?". New Zealand Natural Sciences. 34. doi:10.26021/590.
  27. ^ Nadarajan, Jayanthi; Walt, Karin van der; Lehnebach, Carlos; Saeiahagh, Hassan; Pathirana, Ranjith (12 May 2020). "Integrated ex situ conservation strategies for endangered New Zealand Myrtaceae species". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 59 (1): 72–89. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2020.1754245.
  28. ^ "Otari launches a native plant laboratory". Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  29. ^ a b Alderton-Moss, Jennifer; Munkacsi, Andrew B.; Walt, Karin van der; Lehnebach, Carlos (29 June 2023). "Identification of fungal associates of the swamp helmet orchid (Corybas carsei), a threatened (nationally critical) species". New Zealand Journal of Botany: 1–14. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2023.2228250.
  30. ^ a b Walt, Karin van der; Lehnebach, Carlos; Alderton-Moss, Jennifer (29 January 2024). "Asymbiotic germination, seedling establishment and fungal uptake of Pterostylis montana and P. paludosa , two orchid species endemic to New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 63 (4): 859–866. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2023.2294840.
  31. ^ a b RNZ Podcasts (23 April 2025). Helping New Zealand’s understated orchids | Our Changing World | RNZ. Retrieved 20 January 2026 – via YouTube.
  32. ^ a b Jennifer Alderton-Moss; Carlos Lehnebach; Karin van der Walt (2024). "Mycorrhizal relationships and germination of New Zealand Corybas". Journal of the New Zealand Native Orchid Group. 175: 6–10. ISSN 1170-4543. Wikidata Q137849043.
  33. ^ a b Jennifer Alderton-Moss; Karin van der Walt; Carlos Lehnebach (2024). "The secret life of orchid seed germination" (PDF). Journal of the New Zealand Native Orchid Group. 169: 30–32. ISSN 1170-4543. Wikidata Q137849061.
  34. ^ a b Jennifer Alderton-Moss; Karin van der Walt; Carlos Lehnebach (May 2023). "First insights into the propagation of Gastrodia cooperae, an elusive orchid with unusual eating habits" (PDF). Trilepidea. 229: 1–4. Wikidata Q137849071.
  35. ^ a b Carson, Ben (26 February 2024). "How do you grow onion orchids? Peeling back the layers of an overlooked native". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  36. ^ Greenwood, Rebecca (3 February 2025). "Research to help with the conservation of a rare native orchid yields first fruits". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  37. ^ "Ōtari welcomes funding to conserve native orchids". Wellington City Council. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  38. ^ a b "Otari BioBlitz 2007: Summary of Organisms Found" (PDF). Wellington City Council. March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2008.
  39. ^ Greater Wellington Regional Council. (2015). Key native ecosystem plan for western Wellington forests. Wellington Regional Leadership Committee. https://wrlc.org.nz/assets/Documents/2015/11/Key-Native-Ecosystem-Plan-for-Western-Wellington-Forests-2015-18.pdf
  40. ^ Dawson 2022, p. 177.
  41. ^ Forster, Raymond Robert; Wilton, Cecil Louis (1 January 1968). "The Spiders of New Zealand Part II: Ctenizidae, Dipluridae & Migidae" (PDF). Otago Museum Bulletin. 2: 87.
  42. ^ Romijn, RL; Nelson, NJ; Monks, JM (2014). "Forest geckos ( Mokopirirakau 'Southern North Island') display diurno‐nocturnal activity and are not reliant on retreats". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 41 (2): 103–113. doi:10.1080/03014223.2013.860041. ISSN 0301-4223.
  43. ^ Crisp P, Hitchmough R, Newman D, Adams L, Lennon O, Woolley C, Hulme-Moir A, Bell T, Herbert S, Spearpoint O and Nelson N. 2023. Conservation status of reptile species in the Wellington region. Greater Wellington Regional Council, Publication No. GW/ESCI-G-23/03, Wellington. Page 18
  44. ^ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA). (2026). New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database [Kaiwharawhara]. https://niwa.co.nz/freshwater/nz-freshwater-fish-database
  45. ^ Moylan, S., & Hudson, M. (2008). Rodent and mustelid monitoring for Otari-Wilton’s Bush: October 2007 and January 2008 monitor. Greater Wellington Regional Council. https://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/Documents/2009/07/Otari-Wiltons-report.pdf
  46. ^ "Makeover and new name for Ōtari visitor centre". Wellington City Council. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  47. ^ a b "Visiting Otari-Wilton's Bush". Otari-Wilton's Bush Trust. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  48. ^ "Otari-Wilton's Bush Attractions & Facilities". Wellington City Council. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  49. ^ "Visiting Ōtari-Wilton's Bush". Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  50. ^ a b c "A new way to experience Ōtari-Wilton's Bush". Wellington Gardens. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  51. ^ "NZ's favourite native botanic garden gains 6-star rating | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  52. ^ "Ōtari-Wilton's Bush Native Botanic Garden". New Zealand Garden Trust. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  53. ^ "Otari-Wilton's Bush Native Botanic Garden". New Zealand Gardens Trust. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  54. ^ "Otari-Wilton's Bush". Green Flag Award. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  55. ^ "Application for incorporation – Otari-Wilton's Bush Trust". www.nzbn.govt.nz/. Otari-Wilton’s Bush Trust. 8 May 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via New Zealand Business Number.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  56. ^ Manson, Bess (11 May 2019). "Botanist John Dawson: an accidental adventurer". Stuff. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

Sources cited

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