Hamilton Gardens
Please donate to support the completion of the Medieval Garden,
the next new amazing space at Hamilton Gardens!
The Medieval Garden
Step back in time to Europe in the Middle Ages. The setting is a monastery and its two most important gardens, a Cloister Garth Garden and an Apothecary Garden, one for prayer and meditation, the other for growing medicinal herbs and healing plants.
From the 5th to the 15th century the cloistered courtyards of monasteries were a distinctive form of garden across Europe. Our garden will be based on the ruins of the St John of the Hermits Monastery in Sicily.
The recently published book The Time Travellers Guide to the Hamilton Gardens explains Peter Sergel's ultimate vision for the Gardens - read the chapter on the Medieval Garden.
LOCATION: At the western end of the theme gardens, adjacent to the Mansfield Garden.
SIZE: 610m² approx.
ESTIMATED TOTAL BUDGET: $2.2 million.
FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN TARGET: $1.7 million.
PUBLIC DONATIONS TO DATE: $1.4 million.
FUNDRAISING FOR COMPLETION: $300,000.
Your gift today to Hamilton Gardens will help make the new Medieval Garden a reality, and donations of any size are most welcome.
Donations of $5000 or more will be a cornerstone contribution that can be prominently and creatively recognised and celebrated in a number of ways, please contact us to find more.
Levels of donor recognition
What the Medieval Garden cornerstone donors’ say about Hamilton Gardens.
“Our grandmother Betty Mowbray was a strong believer and supporter in Hamilton Gardens from its beginning, so we’re proud and pleased to be supporting the further development of this iconic Waikato attraction.”
The Zuru team.
See Waikato Times feature Money for a monastery - Fundraising for Medieval Garden under way.
ASB
Momentum Waikato
12-3476-0003665-50
Please add the HG code to your payment to tell us where you want your donation to go.
About the Hamilton Gardens…
In 2023, Tripadvisor gave Hamilton Gardens a Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Award and ranked this Waikato wonderland as one of the top three attractions in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The beloved city landmark is in the top one percent of travel experiences in the world, with more than 500,000 visitors strolling through our enclosed gardens and more than one million visits to our open park spaces every year.
A jewel of the Waikato that significantly contributes to local culture and the regional economy. The Gardens is a collection of evocative places that tell the story of civilisations, an internationally unique concept. Each beautiful space is a chapter of human culture, together they take you on a journey across centuries and continents.
The vision for Hamilton Gardens sprung from the imagination of Dr Peter Sergel, its founding director, who in the 1980s was asked to devise a new public garden beside the Waikato River on the southern edge of the city. Peter dreamed of a living gallery of the gardens of the world that would delight and inspire locals and visitors alike.
Over the decades since, the Hamilton Gardens team and its supporters have created 18 incredible gardens spanning the ages and cultures, from ancient Egypt to modernist America, from Te Parapara to the Magic Flute.
The story is not finished yet. The next exciting new space, the Medieval Garden, will take you to the cloisters of a monastery in the Middle Ages, and we need your help to make it happen.
Best of the Best 2023: Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice.
Sustainable Business, Qualmark Gold: Tourism New Zealand.
Outstanding Park Award 2016: New Zealand Recreation Association.
Highly Commended, Best Creative Place 2016: Local Government Awards.
Garden of the Year 2014: International Gardens Tourism Council.
We’ll send you a donation receipt so you can claim your tax credit.
If you encounter any challenges when donating, please contact us.