Auckland Council celebrates former Auckland Botanic Gardens Manager Jack Hobbs being appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the New Year Honours List for 2026, for services to horticulture.
Recently retired, Jack offered up nearly half a century of service to the Auckland Botanic Gardens and to horticulture in New Zealand.
The council joined with the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens to acknowledge Jack’s contribution to advancing the conservation, understanding and enjoyment of plants in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Chief Executive Phil Wilson says Auckland Council is in the enviable position of employing thousands of talented and passionate staff, however few have offered up nearly five decades of their working life in the way that Jack Hobbs has.
“Our gardens have evolved from farmland to an internationally renowned and award-winning collection of horticultural and scientific significance under Jack’s watch.
“Jack’s legacy includes the hundreds of horticultural staff who have been mentored by him; thousands of community volunteers who have been inspired by him; and the strength and support of the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which has grown alongside him and the Gardens.
“His contribution is one of the most significant in local government. When he retired this year, we celebrated his leadership and impact, but also his humility. He is a man that has asked nothing more than to get on with his job each and every day, for many decades – yet he has contributed more than anyone might expect of a public servant.
“This is a fitting honour and well-deserved acknowledgement.”
Read more about Jack's 48 year career at the Auckland Botanic Gardens here. Under his leadership, Auckland Botanic Gardens has achieved numerous awards and led innovation including:
- Launching the Friends of Auckland Botanic Gardens in 1983 and creating a fiercely supportive network of members and benefactors who champion, support and generously supplement the council's investment in the Gardens.
- Developing an extensive plant breeding programme including many popular native hybrid species like the 'Wiri' series of hebe, now commercially grown across the world
- Growing visitation from 98,000 in its first year to more than one million visitors each year
- Opening the Threatened Native Plant Garden in 2001 to protect species unique to our region and home to two of the rarest plants in the world
- Hosting HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, to open the Potter Children's Garden in March, 2005.
- Achieving the Qualmark Standard for visitor experience and a New Zealand Gardens Trust rating
- Opening the Huakaiwaka Visitor Centre in 2005, a new gateway to the Gardens that transformed the visitor experience and proudly bears a name gifted by tangata whenua, Te Waiohua.
- Winning numerous awards and accolades, including the Recreation Aotearoa Healthy Parks Award 2021
- Launching Sculpture in the Gardens in 2007, a free event that makes New Zealand's best artworks accessible to everyone and attracts more than 350,000 people.
Jack has become one of New Zealand's leading horticultural professionals. Amongst his vast contributions to the sector are:
- Member of the Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture since 1977; made a Fellow in 1991 and an Associate of Honour in 1996; as well as holding the role of President between 2003 and 2011.
- Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture Plant Raisers' Award 1990
- Co-author of Bulbs for New Zealand Gardeners and Collectors (Jack Hobbs and Terry Hatch, Godwit Publishing, 1994)
- Contributor to Ferns for New Zealand Gardens (Sandra Van der Mast and Jack Hobbs, Godwit Publishing 1998)
- Contributor to NZ Gardener magazine
- Presenter on Maggie's Garden Show from 1991 to 2003
