Moturau Moana, Botanical garden in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
Moturau Moana is a 14-hectare public garden on the north side of Halfmoon Bay near Oban, on Stewart Island. Noeline Baker had a Dutch colonial homestead built there in 1934–35 and planted New Zealand flora, using a list compiled by botanist Leonard Cockayne after his 1907 visit to grow all the island's indigenous plants. The homestead burned down in 1967; the garden is now administered by the Department of Conservation.
The garden was founded in 1940 by Noeline Baker and was dedicated to preserving and displaying native plant species from Stewart Island. This establishment marked the beginning of an effort to protect and make accessible the island's local botany.
Noeline Baker named the garden Moturau Moana, Māori for "islands of bush above the sea", after the homestead she had built in 1934–35 in a Dutch colonial style. She planted the garden using a list of Stewart Island's indigenous plants compiled by botanist Leonard Cockayne after his 1907 visit, and drew inspiration from British garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.
To reach the garden, visitors take a ferry to Stewart Island and follow a short walk from the Rakiura National Park Visitor Centre. The garden is easy to access on foot, and the paths are comfortable for most visitors to walk.
Noeline Baker named the garden Moturau Moana, Māori for "islands of bush above the sea", after the Dutch colonial homestead she built on the site in 1934–35. That house, long a tourist attraction, burned down in 1967; the garden she planted from Leonard Cockayne's 1907 plant list survives it.
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