The great Gardens divide
SPLIT OVER GARDENS CHARGE
Hamiltonians are divided on charging out-of-towners $10 to see the city’s themed gardens
Hamiltonians are divided on charging out-of-towners $10 to see the city’s themed gardens.
City council suggested the idea to bring in cash to cover further Garden developments, sparking an outcry when it was first raised. .
In formal consultation, just over half the respondents ticked no to a $10 charge, with some saying a fiver would be better. Multiple speakers voiced their opposition in verbal submissions – including the Friends of Hamilton Gardens group.
‘‘Our Hamilton Gardens are the one and only attraction in our city that brings the world to our door 365 days a year,’’ Virginia Graham said.
Many see a source of income in tour buses using the Gardens as a toilet stop but Graham said it would be hard to charge them. They arrive early, often don’t bear a company name, and there can be a language barrier.
‘‘We would have to pay people to stand there and say ‘Give me $50’,’’ she said.
And if out-of-town Garden visitors aged over 18 were charged, community goodwill could diminish and a previous council report indicated visitor numbers would go down.
Graham’s group asked for more obvious donation boxes and credit card or text-a-donation options, and supported moving a car park to Rhododendron Lawn to ease congestion.
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism wanted Gardens development and a continued targeted rate, but not a gate charge, chief executive Jason Dawson said.
Visitors won’t get extra value for it, the charge would be costly to introduce and infrastructure could affect the feel of the visitor entrance, he said.
What’s more, most tourists in Hamilton are Kiwis who probably won’t pay international entry prices, he said. They do, however, bring $684m a year to the city.
Gardens volunteer Anita Goodman said the entry conditions were ‘‘a mouthful and should have been the first sign that this is not a good idea’’.
She preferred that the Gardens expanded more slowly and was against ‘‘literally paving paradise to put up a parking lot’’ on Rhododendron Lawn.
Awatere Club representatives suggested another funding option – a regional rate for Hamilton Gardens.
But Josh Moore said the Gardens were worth an entry fee.
Tour buses visiting Hamilton Gardens go to paying attractions such as the glowworms at Waitomo, $51, and Hobbiton, $84, he said, so could pay in Hamilton too.
However, he wanted Waipa and Waikato District residents to get in free, like Hamiltonians.
Hamilton resident Nancy Caiger slipped councillors a Ferrero Rocher chocolate to sustain them and lent her support to the charge. In council consultation, a continued targeted rates was supported by 59 per cent of respondents, a staff report said.