Quarry Gardens to get an Infrastructure Boost
Whangārei’s landmark Quarry Gardens will get some desperately needed access upgrades over the next year, thanks to a $781,000 grant by the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF).
Whangarei District Council successfully applied for TIF funding for a 53% contribution to the total $1,481,000 upgrade planned for the Quarry Gardens on Russell Road.
The TIF grant will be used to extend car park areas and provide enough space for buses to turn and park safely.
The narrow, one-way gravel drive to the Gardens will also be replaced with a wider, asphalt-sealed driveway with a new pedestrian path from the roadside carpark to the visitor centre.
This work will make it safer and easier for visitors to access the Gardens and handle increasing visitor numbers.
The Quarry Gardens are located on Council-owned recreation reserve land, bordering the larger Coronation Scenic Reserve, which includes walking tracks through forest-clad hills, archaeological pa sites and pits, historic gold mining areas, and a scenic lookout.
For the past 20 years the Whangarei Quarry Gardens Trust, through the work of many dedicated volunteers, has been developing the formerly abandoned quarry into a stunning sub-tropical garden, visitor centre and café, which is now visited by people from all over the world.
Currently ranked a Garden of Significance, it requires only a few more points from the judges to become a Garden of National Significance.
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