Newspaper Article – Wisteria truly part of family tree

Wisteria truly part of family tree

Vine’s new rotunda marks pioneer’s historic homestead

IT IS the only reminder of a proud family homestead destroyed by a fire more than 30 years ago.

A wisteria which was once a feature covering the Waikoko homestead inside the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds, Hastings, managed to survive a blaze which burnt the building down to the ground in 1976.

There were no casualties but the homestead suffered a fate similar to the Frimley homestead across town, which was also destroyed by fire, in 1950.

Recently, descendants of William Nelson, one of the owners of the homestead, came to the wily plant’s rescue and built a memorial at its base.

It is the latest memorial to add to the 41 currently on the Hastings District Council’s monument register.

A hexagonal chair and wooden frame was also built around the wisteria to protect it and provide a structure for it to grow on to while giving visitors to the public showgrounds a place to sit.

Previously, the wisteria had been left growing as a stump with no protection or signage marking its historical value.

Mr Nelson, a Hastings pioneer, sold the homestead to the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society for its showgrounds in 1925.

It had been Mr Nelson’s family home for 48 years and the wisteria was a feature as it grew across the veranda and eventually over the roof and under the house as well.

According to the book, William Nelson of Tomoana, His Legacy To Hawke’s Bay, the wisteria was planted by Mr Nelson but descendants of the homestead’s first owner, Robert Wellwood, believed the vine came to Hastings from Ireland with the first Wellwoods.

Mr Wellwood built the house in the 1860s.

Havelock North’s John Renton, a descendant of Mr Nelson, said profits from the book were used to build the new memorial.

In March 2008, Hawke’s Bay Today reported the wisteria’s historical value as the Hastings District Council made plans to build a motorway through the showgrounds, passing near the vine.

Later, Mr Renton said he and other descendants of Mr Nelson, including Margaret Walmsley, had met to decide how they could protect the wisteria.

“So this is the next stage from that story. We knew the wisteria was burned down to a small speck and we thought we would do something about it to stop it from being hacked up,” he said.

Memorial Visits with Lawrence Gullery
SUMMER SERIES

INFO

Where: Waikoko Gardens, Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds, Waipatu, Hastings

What: A memorial at the base of a wisteria vine marks the spot where the Waikoko Homestead stood, once home to one of Hastings pioneers, William Nelson.

Feature: The showgrounds are open to the public and visitors can also enjoy the Waikoko Gardens and lake, a popular area for picnics. It is also the site where the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Market is held every Sunday morning.

Photo captions –

Flourishing: Margaret Walmsley, John Renton and other relatives of William Nelson organised a wooden structure to be built, giving the historic wisteria vine a new lease on life.
PICTURE/WARREN BUCKLAND
HBT090042-01

LOOKING BACK: Havelock North’s Margaret Walmsley and John Renton, descendants of William Nelson, look over a family photo album at the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds in Hastings, standing next to wisteria which marks the spot of the former Waikoko Homestead.
PICTURE/PAUL TAYLOR
HBT080936-03

REMEMBERING: A memorial plaque tells of the wisteria vine which used to cover the home of William Nelson’s Waikoko homestead, destroyed by fire in 1976.
PICTURE/WARREN BUCKLAND
HBT090042-02