Let's Grow the Gardens!

Hamilton Gardens is an iconic and much-loved feature of Kirikiriroa-Hamilton and the Waikato, both a neighbourhood park that provides wellbeing to the local community, and an international attraction that brings in visitors and investment.

The concept behind Hamilton Gardens is to tell the story of civilisation by showing how different garden designs reflect the beliefs, values, and transformational moments that have shaped the modern world.

Peter Sergel’s original vision for Hamilton Gardens is described in his recently published book The Time Travellers Guide to the Hamilton Gardens.

The opening of each new garden gives people another reason to visit and spend more time exploring. The Medieval Garden opened in 2026, supported in part by a fundraising campaign run by Momentum Waikato.

The Baroque Garden is the next opportunity to strengthen Hamilton Gardens as a destination and support its contribution to the regional visitor economy. The immediate priority is securing funding to begin the specialist concrete work for the palace façade, while planning and fundraising continue for the full build. Construction of the garden itself will only start when all funding is secured.

Please donate towards the development of the Baroque Garden via the payment portals on this page.

Or, if you would like to discuss making a larger contribution, sponsorship, bequest, or other financial support for the Baroque Garden, get in touch with Momentum Waikato.

About the Hamilton Gardens…

In 2023 and 2024, Tripadvisor recognised Hamilton Gardens with a Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Award and ranked it among the top three attractions in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The beloved city landmark is ranked among the top one percent of attractions on Tripadvisor, with more than 300,000 visits to the enclosed gardens and more than one million visits across the wider park each year.

A jewel of the Waikato, Hamilton Gardens makes a significant contribution to local culture and the regional economy. Its collection of evocative spaces tells the story of civilisations through an internationally unique concept. Each garden is a chapter of human culture, together taking visitors on a journey across centuries and continents.

The vision for Hamilton Gardens as we know it today sprang 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 imagined a living gallery of gardens that would delight and inspire locals and visitors alike.

Over the decades since, the Hamilton Gardens team and its supporters have created 19 incredible gardens spanning different ages and cultures, from ancient Egypt to modernist America, from Te Parapara to the Magic Flute. Opened in 2026, the Medieval Garden is the latest addition and takes visitors into the cloisters of a monastery in the Middle Ages.

The story is not finished yet. The next exciting new space, the Baroque Garden, will take visitors into the grand theatrical world of 18th-century European courts, and we need your help to make it happen.

Recent awards and recognition

• Finalist 2026, ServiceIQ Tourism Excellence Award (Small-Medium Business): New Zealand Tourism Awards. Results will be announced on 4 November 2026.

• Travellers’ Choice Award 2025 and 2026: Tripadvisor.

• Best of the Best 2023 and 2024, placing Hamilton Gardens among the top one percent of attractions worldwide: Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards.

• Gold Sustainable Tourism Award 2025: Qualmark.

• Gold Award 2025, Community Relations and Engagement, for “A rose amongst thorns – the challenging evolution of Hamilton Gardens”: Public Relations Institute of New Zealand.

• Waikato/Bay of Plenty Architecture Award 2025, Public Architecture, for the Hamilton Gardens Visitor Precinct: Te Kaahui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects.

• Finalist 2025, Environmental Graphics and Small Brand Identity: Best Design Awards.

• Tourism and Leisure recognition 2025 for the Hamilton Gardens Visitor Precinct: New Zealand Commercial Project Awards.

• Outstanding Park Award 2016: New Zealand Recreation Association.

• Highly Commended, Best Creative Place 2016: Local Government Awards.

• Garden of the Year 2014: International Garden Tourism Council.