Hamilton Gardens nears fundraising finish line

A $110,000 grant from the Brian Perry Charitable Trust has propelled the Hamilton Gardens development project to within $1m of its $7.033m fundraising target.

A total of $6.033m has been raised over the past 18 months for the project, which Mayor Julie Hardaker describes an amazing result.

“My sincere thanks to the Perry family for this significant grant.  Brian Perry is one of Hamilton’s great contributors and I know I speak for all Hamiltonians who love and enjoy the gardens when I say we are hugely grateful for the contributions that have been made by companies, charitable trusts and individuals,” she says.

“To achieve this amount of money in such a short period of time is quite overwhelming. It shows that our residents share our vision of building internationally recognised, world-class gardens.”

Brian Perry Charitable Trust Chair Simon Perry says the trust is passionate about the Waikato and has supported the community for nearly four decades.

“Hamilton Gardens are exceptional,” he says. “They are world class and we’re very proud to align ourselves with the next steps in the development of this iconic attraction.”

The Trust will fund the construction of the Jade Dragon Theatre, which is the centrepiece of a destination playground at the Gardens. Up to 250 people will be able to view performances on the stage, which will be used for children’s shows and for other events at the Gardens, such as the Arts Festival.

The Hamilton Gardens destination playground will feature a turf maze, an enchanted secret garden named after a mysterious magician and a treehouse lawn. It will encourage children to think of an imaginary world, will inspire role play, and encourage them to incorporate games, puzzles, discovery and learning as they play. The playground is one of 15 destination playgrounds which will be built across the city until 2030 as part of the Council’s Playgrounds of the Future Plan. It is scheduled to open in December.

Mr Perry says supporting the Jade Dragon Theatre was the logical choice for the Trust, which has a focus on supporting youth.  He says the playground is a wonderful way to engage children and the accessibility and legacy of the playground is important to the Trust.


Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker (right) and Perry Charitable Trust members Marlene Julian, Barry Coombes and Tiffiney Perry (front) with an artist’s impression of the Jade Dragon Theatre, which will be built at Hamilton Gardens with a $110,000 grant from the Trust. Photo © Hamilton City Council

“We see a lot of value in enhancing what is undoubtedly one of our region’s greatest assets,” Mr Perry says. “The Gardens development, the River Plan, the Te Awa River Ride – we firmly believe that continued development of attractions like these will add significant economic benefits to our region.”

The Hamilton Gardens development project involves the construction of five new gardens within four years. The Tudor Garden opened in 2015 and creation of the Surrealist, Mansfield, Concept and Picturesque gardens is well underway.

The project also includes the construction of three central courts to separate individual gardens and a jetty on the Waikato River below the Italian Garden Renaissance pavilion.

Hamilton City Council would like to thank the Hamilton Gardens Development Project major partners:

• Lottery Significant Project Fund
• Trust Waikato
• WEL Energy Trust
• Vibrant Hamilton Trust
• Brian Perry Charitable Trust
• Foster Construction
• Hamilton Gardens Development Trust
• Friends of Hamilton Gardens
• David and Rae Braithwaite
• Bernice and Jenny Screech