Entry received from: Ashburton District Council
Category: The BERL Award for Excellence in Collaborating for Results
The Ng King Brothers Chinese Market Garden Settlement in Hakatere Ashburton is a nationally significant site of Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural heritage that exemplifies how we as local authorities can successfully work in partnership with property owners, communities of interest and central government agencies.
Prompted by its deteriorating condition, descendants of the Ng King Brothers approached Council in 2008 to discuss ways in which the privately owned site could be vested in Council to ensure enduring protection and preservation. Council accepted the challenge and has acted as a facilitator since to ensure all stakeholder perspectives were respected and considered. This has resulted in a newly formed open space that protects cultural heritage, honours, and respects the Chinese settlers and their descendants, while providing an accessible open space.
Established in 1921 and trading under the name King Bros., the site became the largest Chinese market garden in the South Island. Today it is the last extant settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand linked to market gardening activities of Chinese settlers. Through this project the site in 2019 was declared a post-1900 Archaeological Site, under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPTA) - only the eighth in the country.
Thank you to our category sponsor