Giving to the gardens
Giving a few bucks to Hamilton’s showpiece gardens has become easier with the first cashless donation kiosk installed at the Hamilton Gardens.
The initiative was welcomed by garden patrons although some said more thought needed to be given to making the kiosk stand out.
That lack of prominence may have accounted for why just five people, out of a steady stream of visitors to the gardens during the 30-minute period Stuff observed yesterday, made donations. Only one of those five used the new cashless kiosk.
The question of whether or not to charge visitors to the Hamilton Gardens has been a thorny issue in the past. Last year the city council decided to shelve a proposal to charge international visitors an entry fee.
Experanza Tam, of Auckland, said the donation kiosk was a great initiative but found the instructions difficult to follow.
‘‘I won’t know until I read my statement, but I may have made three $5 donations because the first few times I wasn’t sure if my card was accepted,’’ Tam said.
Sok Peun, visiting the gardens with his daughter, Christine, seven, said giving an occasional donation to the gardens was a small price to pay to enjoy a world-class attraction.
The council could further maximise donations by appealing to non-English-speaking visitors, he said.
‘‘A lot of Chinese visitors would happily pay to visit these gardens but they would walk past these donation boxes and not know what they were,’’ Peun said.
‘‘If the council put up signs in Mandarin asking for donations they’d get a good response.’’
Christine Mullen, of Australia, said donations were one of the best ways to keep the gardens free for everyone.
Councillor Paula Southgate said the credit card kiosk was an acknowledgment not everyone carried cash with them.
Southgate hasn’t seen the new installation but hopes it is bold enough to grab visitors’ attention.
‘‘If we really want to maximise people’s generosity, we have to make it as easy as possible to donate,’’ she said.
‘‘We have had a whole lot of visitors go through who, once they’ve seen how magnificent it is with the new wave of gardens, say they’d be happy to pay $10 or $20 for their entire family to have a whole day at the gardens. The donation boxes should be in a place of prominence and we need to make the point that it does cost to run the gardens and we do rely on people’s support.’’
Councillor Leo Tooman said the donation boxes at Hamilton Gardens hadn’t been visible enough in the past.
‘‘I was at Te Papa over the Christmas period and they’ve got a donation box there and I was quite happy to put some money in there,’’ Tooman said. ‘‘I think if our donation boxes stood out, people would give more.’’
‘‘If the council put up signs in Mandarin asking for donations they’d get a good response.’’ Sok Peun