Founders Plantation
Help us solve the mystery of the city’s founding forest!
Tucked away between Waimea St, Pembroke St and Frankley Rd is a recreational area known variously as Waimea Stream Reserves, Salaman Simpson Reserve and more recently Founders Plantation. The land was a farm belonging to Abraham Wally Mohamad Salaman in the 1930s. It passed on to his wife Annie Salaman Simpson who sold it to Riddick Brothers and Still in the late 1950s. They subdivided the area, with the land bordering Waimea stream gifted to the Council as reserve contribution. By the early 1990s it was fairly derelict, and Merrilands Lions (sadly no longer in existence) teamed up with the Taranaki Founders Society to plant 1991 native trees to commemorate the city’s 150 th Jubilee . Two large stainless-steel monuments document the many hundreds of individuals, families, societies and businesses who donated trees and helped to plant them. The inscribed names and messages can be found in the attached pdf file – is your family among them??
New Plymouth Central Lions have taken on the task of looking after the plantation, with many working bees organised to clean up weeds and invasive trees, and plant more native trees and shrubs supplied by NPDC. Methanex and Dialog Fitzroy have also lent a hand. We would love to know whether there is a map or grid reference in existence that shows where people planted their trees (you can see in the photo that the trees are laid out in a very orderly fashion). Please contact us if you are aware of one!
We also hope to hold a public BBQ to welcome back those families that have ancestors or members or businesses that planted or sponsored trees. We hope you’ll come and see how your trees have grown and view your name on the memorial pylons and plaques, while sharing your family history that is now commemorated by the Founders Plantation. The planned date is Saturday 4 th of May at noon, with a couple of fall-back days if the weather is bad. Please let us know if you would be interested in attending this ( Contacts: Roger 027 554 7006 Charles 027 839 7775 )
We look forward to hearing from you!
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
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Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
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