1999 Mrs Chris and Mr Brian Rance

Created a community garden and nursery on their Invercargill property for some of the most threatened Southland plants.

1998 Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi

The Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi was a volunteer group set up in 1988 to develop the Hauraki Gulf island (Tiritiri Matangi) as an open sanctuary for native plants and animals. The success of the group was outstanding, providing a model of what could be achieved in conservation when the community was involved.

The 200-hectare island had witnessed a metamorphosis from forest to grassland and back to forest again, all in a short space of time, and is now able to support rare birds such as kiwi, saddleback and kokako. However, while the highlight for visitors was often the birds, it was the botanical wonders that had been achieved that had made it possible for the birds to be introduced onto the island.

The achievements of the supporters of Tiritiri Matangi have included:

• saving and expanding a remnant gene pool of plants on the island
• developing new techniques for propagating native species on a large scale
• learning which native plants are most suitable to give a rapid woody cover to shade out grasses
• demonstrating that large scale revegetation can be accomplished rapidly
• involving a large volunteer army of people
• educating the public about revegetation and conservation.

The health and diversity of the newly planted forest was an inspiration and a credit to all involved.

1997 Isabel Morgan, Napier

Mrs Morgan was described by many as Mrs Conservation of Hawke's Bay. Her voluntary contribution towards the protection and restoration of native flora in Hawke's Bay over more than 40 years was enormous. Her interest in conservation stems back to her childhood when she was brought up on a farm in the Wairarapa. She recalls that she gained in these early years an awareness of nature and a particular love for native trees. This special love for native trees was probably prompted by the fact that there weren't many trees left in the area. This interest in trees continued at Teachers' College in Auckland, where the Dell became one of her favourite places to spend time.

On moving to Napier, she became familiar with many local conservation issues. She was prompted by real concern about the protection of the local environment to help reactivate the Napier branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Inc in 1956. She was a long term committee member and Chair for 16 years.

Ahuriri Estuary was one of her favourite natural areas and over the years she battled hard against moves to develop it. She was the founding Chair of the Ahuriri Estuary Protection Society. Her battles were fought at various planning hearings and meetings. She was part of a joint management committee that successfully developed a management plan for Ahuriri Estuary, which recognised its uniqueness and imposed safeguards against threats such as marina development, reclamation and dredging.

Following on from her childhood interest in trees, she has played an active part in the Tutira revegetation programme which is sponsored by the Napier branch of Forest and Bird since it was started in the early 1970s.

Mrs Morgan was actively involved in national and local conservation issues and campaigns. She was a long term member of Keep Napier Beautiful, and a trustee of the Landcare Foundation, a charitable trust promoting conservation and wise land use in Hawke's Bay.

Previously as a teacher, Mrs Morgan was actively involved in promoting conservation through the school science programme and organised countless field trips for students, as well as speaking to a variety of conservation groups, school groups and other organisations about conservation. She ran the junior Forest and Bird Group (1967-1984) and helped to begin the Napier branch of the Kiwi Conservation Club in 1988.

Mrs Morgan was a strong supporter of the Department of Conservation's activity in the then Hawke's Bay Conservancy, particularly the protected natural areas programme, mainland island sanctuary at Boundary Stream and New Zealand Conservation Corps projects. She was instrumental in the purchase by the Napier branch of Forest and Bird of Little Bush as a protected area.

Mrs Morgan won the Hawke's Bay Regional Council Environmental Award in 1995 and the Old Blue Award from Forest and Bird in 1993.

1996 Native Forests Restoration Trust, Auckland

Description to come.

1995 Dr David Given, Christchurch

Dr Given was nominated by the Canterbury Branch of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. He jointed the staff of Botany Division, DSIR in 1965 as a plant taxonomist. His early research work gained him a reputation as an authority on the taxonomy of the dicotyledon genus Celmisia and of ferns, and as a person having a wider appreciation of the New Zealand alpine flora. In 1973 he gained a National Research Fellowship of Canada Post Doctoral Fellowship which provided the opportunity to study and publish on aspects of the ecology of moraines and Arctic alpine relict plants.

By 1975 his interest, expertise and advocacy in plant conservation had emerged in published work including the paper Conservation of rare and threatened plant taxa in New Zealand published in the Proceedings of the New Zealand Ecological Society that year. He produced an enormous written output on the subject of plant conservation, supporting this by numerous public presentations on the subject, personal advocacy, and responding to many requests for comments and expert advice on the subject.

From 1975 to 1986 he was the Keeper of the Botany Division Herbarium, the largest herbarium in New Zealand. During this time, Dr Given was heavily involved in the work required for the preparation of Volume IV of the New Zealand Flora which covers naturalised ferns, gymnosperms and dicotyledons. This saw several checklists published under his name. during this time he also undertook scientific investigations on the ecology and conservation of plants adapted to extreme habitats in Antarctica and on geothermally heated soils.

Dr Given's status as New Zealand's foremost authority on plant conservation, and his international reputation as a leader in the field, is well underwritten by his key contribution to several major comprehensive publications on the subject. The Red Data Book of New Zealand was compiled by Gordon Williams and Dr Given and published by the Nature Conservation Council in 1981. The book provided a necessary foundation for what have been very successful programmes of work on the conservation of rare and endangered plants and animals in the past decade. David Given's book Rare and Endangered Plants of New Zealand (a Reed's book of the year finalist), published by AH and AW Reed in 1981, through its words and illustrations, brought to public attention the threats impacting on the New Zealand native flora. David Given promoted the need for a practical field guide to threatened plants and this came to fruition in 1989 with the publication of Threatened Plants of New Zealand, for which Dr Given was co-author with Catherine Wilson. Dr Given's international reputation in plant conservation led to the commission from the IUCN and WWF to write a definitive book on The Principles and Practices of Plant Conservation (1994). He also published, along with Dr Warwick Harris, A Manual of Ethnobotany; a text primarily for use in developing countries.

Dr Given completed an assessment of biodiversity and its management for the South Pacific Environment Programme. He is a steering committee member and regional representative for the IUCN Species Survival Commission. He was the senior author of an International Pteridophyte conservation action plan, the aim of which was to set out threats and conservation priorities for ferns worldwide. Locally, Dr Given, along with Dr B Molloy and Dr J Lovis, was actively involved in the re-establishment of a comprehensive collection of New Zealand ferns for the recently renovated fernery at Mona Vale in Christchurch.

As a research scientist, Dr Given specialised in conservation botany and management, field ecology, biogeography, geothermal ecology and conservation, arctic-alpine biota and their conservation and conservation ethics. Field work was carried out in New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, Sub-Antarctic Islands and Antarctica. Work related travel took him to many countries chiefly to investigate the preservation of threatened species and habitat management, or as an invitee to international conferences. Dr Given was a member of a specialist group that developed new criteria for Red Data Book categories and for the CITES convention, and was involved in the development of protocols to protect endangered tree species in tropical forests.

In 1992, Dr Given was a keynote speaker at the People, Plants and Conservation – Botanic Gardens into the 21st Century, a conference organised by the RNZIH in Wellington. His paper was entitled Conservation of Biodiversity – a fundamental strategy for botanic gardens. Dr Given has been an advocate for conservation through lectures and talks to both botanical and non-botanical groups throughout New Zealand and overseas. This has included radio and television participation, and assistance with TV production and the National Parks Centennial film The Gift. In 1990 he was awarded the qualification of AFIAP (Artiste de la Federation Internationale de l'Arte Photographique) for his nature (chiefly plant) photography, which has appeared in a number of publications.

Dr Given was on the North Canterbury National Parks and Reserves Board from 1981 and was a member of the North Canterbury Conservation Board. He was also on the steering committee of, and was a regional representative of, the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Specialist Group on Pteridophyta conservation, a member of an IUCN task force on Ethics, Culture and Biodiversity Conservation and regional member of the Pacific Science Association Standing Committee for Botany. He has served on a number of working groups concerned with plant conservation including a Royal Society of New Zealand Committee for genetic resources, Antarctic policy workshops, and a Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture group to set up a national garden collection system. In 1993 he was appointed to an International Plant Conservation Task Force, and to the Roster of Experts for the Global Environment Facility to fund the International Biodiversity Convention.

In 1992 Dr Given set up David Given and Associates, and served as a consultant working on projects within New Zealand and overseas. In 1992 he was elected Vice-president of the Friends of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and in 1994, became President. In 1993 he was also contracted to the Department of Horticulture at Lincoln University to establish a full semester course at third year level in Conservation Horticulture. Dr Given was involved in lectures into other courses at the Universities of Auckland, Massey, Otago and Canterbury, as well as having presented a number of lectures and seminars in overseas universities (Ohio State University, the Universities of Michigan, Massachusetts and Chile, Andrews University, and Western Michigan University).

In 1993 Dr Given was awarded the Associate of Honour (AHRIH) by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. No more than sixty people may hold this award at any one time.

1994 Dr Peter Johnson, Dunedin

The University of Otago nominated Dr Johnson, a professional botanist-plant ecologist working with Landcare Research (formerly DSIR) in Dunedin. Dr Johnson is an example of the kind of scientist that combines professional and private commitment to conservation. He was a frequent provider of contract reports for the Department of Conservation and others, contributing to significant conservation initiatives. Dr Johnson is responsible for the Landcare Research Threatened Plants Database at Lincoln.

Dr Johnson's scientific credentials were very high. He completed a BSc in Botany in 1969, a Postgraduate Diploma in Science in 1970 and a PhD in Botany (1973); all at the University of Otago. In 1977 his rapid establishment in the scientific world was recognised when he was presented with the Hamilton Memorial Prize by the Royal Society of New Zealand. This prize is based on the quality of scientific publications in the first five years of a professional career.

As a professional plant ecologist, he became well known for his studies of shoreline vegetation of several Fiordland lakes. Results of his studies of Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau served as the basis for lake level management to ensure that the vulnerable shoreline environments remain undamaged, while the valuable water resource is used for hydro-electric generation at the Manapouri Power Station. His study of Lake Monowai documented some recovery from lake raising in the 1920s, while his study of Lake Hauroko provided valuable baseline information on the lakeshore of a lake unmodified by human intervention. Dr Johnson also made plant and ecological studies of several other New Zealand offshore and lakeshore areas, plus its sub-Antarctic islands, as well as of the coastal vegetation in southern New Zealand, including Fiordland. He was the author of an inventory of the sand dune vegetation of the South Island.

But he also gave freely of his time and expertise outside work. He played a leading role in establishing the Otago Botanical Society. He was the botanical adviser to a number of voluntary revegetation projects, including the Styles Creek Bush project on the Otago Peninsula. He was chair of the New Zealand Botanical Society's subcommittee on threatened plants.

Dr Johnson also excelled as a communicator of botanical science. As well as an impressive list of purely scientific publications, Dr Johnson authored many semi-popular but authoritative publications. Books such as Wildflowers of Central Otago and Wetland Plants in New Zealand, were valued and enjoyed by a wide range of nature lovers. Peter co-authored and provided much of the illustrations in the Botany Division's Special 1990 Commemorative Publication Flowering Plants of New Zealand, which was distributed to every secondary school in New Zealand in order to promote better knowledge of our indigenous flora. Dr Johnson frequently gave plant identification assistance to many amateurs, students and professionals. He frequently promoted greater awareness of New Zealand's plant heritage by giving talks to various amateur groups.

Dr Johnson was also a keen gardener of our native plants, and regularly contributes articles on them to the New Zealand Gardener magazine..

1993 Michael Greenwood, Palmerston North

Mr Greenwood was a founding member of the Manawatu branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and a founding member of the Manawatu Botanical Society.

One of his most noteworthy achievements has been his dedication to the protection and management of Keeble's Bush. He signle-handedly revegetated an area alongside the bush with about 4,000 trees of 80 different species, all grown from material from it.

In 1954 Mr Greenwood began planting native plants on land near his home just south of the Manawatu River at Palmerston North. The area of rough pasture and young gorse is now well-established in native trees and was chosen as the site for a university thesis on bush rats.

Mr Greenwood was involved in the Save the Tokomaru Committee, which negotiated to save a 2,000 hectare area of native bush from logging in 1984.

Mr Greenwood's ideas on the origin of divarication (adaptation of moa browsing), an apparently peculiarly New Zealand phenomenon, are of widespread interest.

Before retiring, Mr Greenwood researched nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria over 35 years. His work was important in helping establish clover and lotus pasture on difficult soils.

Mr Greenwood was nominated by the Rangitikei-Hawke's Bay Conservation Board.

1992 Gordon and Celia Stephenson, Waotu

In 1958, the Stephensons migrated to New Zealand. After six years of shepherding and share milking, they bought a dairy farm at Waotu near Putaruru. Their choice of property was in part determined by the fact that it included a remnant of the former Waotu forest (most of which was clear felled between 1910 and 1940). In 1971 a group of four businessmen acquired a neighbouring 40 acre block and despite local protect, began to mill it. The Stephensons purchased the resultant mess and incorporated it into their property. They then set out to protect and enhance the Waotu forest remnant; first fencing and then replanting broadleafed shrubs, totara, rimu and kahikatea.

By 1977 they had had dealings with seven Ministers or Acting Ministers of Lands and innumerable public servants. That year the Hon Venn Young gave instructions to prepare a Bill that would provide for the protection of "open space" (the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust). The Bill was based on the Stephensons' notion (supported by Federated Farmers) of a "Heritage Trust" (a covenant system that would be attached to the land title of areas of indigenous flora in private ownership that would forever require priority to be given to the protection of that indigenous flora). Therefore, the Stephensons' vision and commitment also inspired nationwide in the mechanism whereby it is now possible for others to protect forests, grasslands, wetlands and landscapes on private owned land (the first Trust covenant was on Stephenson land).

With their enthusiasm and practical and innovative skills, Mr and Mrs Stephenson brought a national perspective to the art of cultivating native plants.

Another of their abiding interests was the protection of and education about wetlands throughout the country.

Mr Stephenson influenced the work and contributions of the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, Lincoln College Council, Federated Farmers, the Environmental Council, the Institute of Landscape Architects and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. He founded the Advisory Committee on the Regional Environment for the Waikato and chaired the Waikato Conservation Board. He used these opportunities to tirelessly campaign for the protection and enhancement of New Zealand's indigenous flora.

1991 Reginald Janes, Tauranga

Mr Janes was nominated by the local branches of the New Zealand Nurseryman's Association, the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. Mr Janes acted as secretary and newsletter editor for the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society for a number of years. He became a member of the Bay of Plenty Tree Society shortly after its foundation in 1962.

Mr Janes gained a vast knowledge of native timbers from their use in school classes while he was teaching in Tauranga. Timber was locally milled and he saw wastage from clear felling, lack of selective use and non-replacement of the resource.

Mr Janes also had a notable record in the Scouting movement as a representative for Conservation Week and as a member of the Bay of Plenty Tree Society. He organised talks to schools and other groups, managed planting projects (including a native plantation behind a scout hall) and arranged essay and poster competitions. His efforts over many years in education and public awareness, both locally and nationally, have contributed significantly to the conservation cause and has been of particular benefit to the youth of Tauranga District.

As a hands-on exponent of conservation, Mr Janes has supplied and helped to plant tens of thousands of native trees, particularly rimu, for restoration projects, thus helping to revegetate and enhance the Waihi Water Catchment Areas, Kaueranga Valley Christian Camp, Katikati Lions Club planting at the Hunter Reserve, the Nada Jackson Memorial at Hunter Reserve, Ngatuhoa Youth Camp Society, McCardle Reserve and a dozen or more schools.

Mr Janes' efforts over many years have helped in the education and public awareness of conservation issues, both locally and nationally. He played a prominent role in the formation of the Kaimai Forest Park, the conservation of many privately-owned areas of native bush, including kokako habitat, as well as the Tauranga Harbour and Matua Wetlands.

It was not always fashionable to be "green" and Mr Janes has sometimes worked in a hostile environment. This makes his contribution to the protection and enhancement of the environment all the more commendable.

1990 Dr Brian P J Molloy, Christchurch

Dr Brian Molloy is a scientist at Botany Division, DSIR, Lincoln. His work has led to a better understanding and appreciation of our botanical world.

His research in Canterbury, Marlborough, Otago, and the Chatham Islands has covered nature conservation, soil and vegetation history, and taxonomic botany. Brian Molloy's work has led to the acquisition of many new reserves and to extensions to existing parks and reserves such as Peel Forest Park. He has surveyed, advised and submitted reserve proposals on other areas including Queen Elizabeth II National Trust covenanted areas, and special communities like coastal dunes, tussock grasslands, and wetlands. Brian has also been involved in ecological mapping and the Protected Natural Areas and Man in the Biosphere programmes.

His studies of the conservation status and horticultural potential of species have let to the popular books Ferns in Peel Forest and Native Orchids in New Zealand (with photographer John Johns). Brian's popularisation of Hebe cultivars and hybrids like H. hulkeana, and the detailing of the New Zealand edelweiss and mistletoes were other important milestones. Recent work in the Chatham Islands led to a paper on the history and use of karaka. Brian Molloy exchanges live and dried specimens of native plants with botanists in New Zealand and overseas, and has provided more than 100 South Island plants (many undescribed) and supporting information for inclusion in Eagle's Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand. Audrey Eagle was the 1985 winner of the Loder Cup.

Brian Molloy has published approximately 100 papers in scientific and popular journals. He has interpreted the botanical and conservation value of his work for students, landowners and interest groups, and endeavoured to bring together Maori and Pakeha conservation perspectives. This enthusiastic effort has led to a better understanding and appreciation of vegetation patterns, processes and specific plant groups.

1989

No award made.

1988 Arthur Blair Cowan MBE, Otorohanga

In 1988 Arthur Cowan of Otewa was described as one of the great men of conservation in New Zealand. In 1980 he received a citation from the Nature Conservation Council for his efforts to conserve an area of bush of national importance. That same year he was awarded first prize in the individual section for flora and fauna conservation in the Waikato Savings Bank awards. His MBE was awarded for services to conservation.

Mr Cowan protected all the forest remnants on his family's estate: five areas totalling about 20 hectares were fenced and placed under covenant. However, his most notable conservation effort was the purchase of the Cowan block in the Rangitoto Range. This block was put up for sale after being cut over for logs. Mr Cowan bought the land which he feared would be sold for farming and by doing so, saved valuable bird habitat containing up to 20 pair of kōkako. After selling this land to the Wildlife Service he bought anther block which was probably even better kōkako habitat. This land is now under covenant. A member of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society for more than 35 years and active in the Otorohanga Zoological Society, Mr Cowan was also a prime mover in the setting up of the Native Forests Restoration Trust.

1987 Hugh Dale Wilson, Christchurch

As a boy, Hugh Dale Wilson took over most of the family garden to establish a stand of native forest and woodland species, mostly belonging to the flora of Banks Peninsula.

Since graduating from Canterbury University in 1968, Mr Wilson has followed an active and varied career in botany and plant ecology. He made several valuable contributions to the knowledge of the indigenous flora from several regions, particularly Mount Cook and Stewart Island. This information has been readily shared, promoting considerable public interest. His studies are of singular importance, not only for their intrinsic value to the botanical sciences, but also because they cover regions which have been largely passed over by others because of the remoteness, rugged terrain, high altitude, and harsh climate. His comprehensive plant collections have been lodged in the herbarium of Botany Division, DSIR, Lincoln.

Mr Wilson has also worked with the relict indigenous flora of Banks Peninsula and identified many plants at risk of extinction. He has painstakingly educated landowners concerning these rare plants and their locations. Many have now been protected under the provisions of Open Space Covenants on land titles. Special plants found growing naturally on the peninsula include Hebe lavaudiana, hebe strictissima, and the mountain daisy Celmisia mackaui.

Hugh Wilson's publications include Wild Flowers of New Zealand (1976), Vegetation of Mount Cook National Park (part of a scientific series by the National Parks Authority), Wild Plants of Mount Cook National Park – Field Guide (1978), Stewart Island Plants – Field Guide (1982), and two papers on the botany of Stewart Island entitled Vegetation of Stewart Island. His ability as a botanical artist has been widely used in illustrating promotional publications and in the production of university study material.

Lecture tours based on his botanical studies have included tours to North America and Canada. He currently lectures for WEA Extension Courses and horticultural apprentices courses on botany and conservation, as well as to a wide range of societies.

1986 Roderick Syme MBE, Hawera

For more than 40 years Mr Syme taught nature study, science and horticulture for the Taranaki Education Board He instigated the forestry in schools programme and the Boys and Girls Clubs scheme and both of these activities spread throughout the country.

The school forestry project, begun in 1921, centred on the raising of seedling trees in school nurseries, and its value was recognised by both the Education Department and the State Forest Service. Many trees were established in school plantations, but most were taken home to plant wood-lots on farms: the beginning of the farm forestry movement. Although the scheme began with exotics, Mr Syme's particular interest in native plants initiated a change of emphasis. In the centennial year of 1940 more than 8,000 native trees were planted and tended by the children of more than 30 Taranaki Schools.

Mr Syme's enthusiasm and energy also extended to local government. He was Chair of the Parks and Reserves Committee of the Hawera Borough Council for 15 years. Council projects at this time included the Turuturu Mokai Historic Reserve, Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu Historic Reserve, Naumai Park, Pouawai Reserve, King Edward Park and an alpine garden at Dawson Falls in Egmont National Park.

Mr Syme was a member of the Egmont National Park Board (1945-1954), Tongariro National Park Board (1948-1954), and the National Parks Authority (1954-1974).

He was accorded the MBE in 1955 for services to agricultural education and mountaineering and is an Associate of Honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.

1985 Audrey Eagle, New Plymouth

Born in Timaru, Audrey Eagle received most of her education in England. She returned to New Zealand in 1949 and spent 31 years in Ngaruawahia, Waikato, before moving to New Plymouth in 1983.

She devoted herself to the descriptive painting of native plants. Her ambition was to paint every known native tree and shrub in such detail that her drawings might make identification easier, and serve as a reference for those engaged professionally in forestry, parks and reserves administration, botany, and botanical research. She painted many rare species, some still unnamed and only recently discovered.

In 1975 Audrey Eagle published her first volume of Eagle's Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand, which included 228 coloured botanical illustrations. In 1982 her second volume, with 405 paintings of woody stemmed flora, endowed future generations with an accurate pictorial record of New Zealand trees and shrubs, complete with flowers, fruits and seeds capsules. These works represent twenty years of painstaking care and accurate artistry in the search for, recording and correct identification of specimens.

Mrs Eagle was a member of the Nature Conservation Council from 1977. She took a keen and active interest in its work, particularly in the conservation of indigenous flora. She has given expert assistance to forest rangers and led many botanical, conservation and youth groups on field trips, freely sharing her expertise. Her fine native garden in Ngaruawahia was a show case for native plants suitable for the home garden. Here she also raised and donated rooted cuttings and seedlings of rare species.

1984 Dr Eric John Godley, Christchurch

Eminent as a scientist in botanical research, Dr Godley has taken a serious interest in the subject since high school days in Auckland in the 1930s, where he was encouraged by his botany teacher at Takapuna Grammar. His efforts have been directed towards a greater knowledge and appreciation of, and wider protection for, native flora. Dr Godley is a former Director of Botany Division, DSIR, Lincoln.

Under his direction and encouragement three volumes of Flora of New Zealand appeared and others were in preparation. Although these are technical publications they are the source of popular books on the subject.

Dr Godley founded the New Zealand Journal of Botany, which has achieved international standing. Most new scientific information on New Zealand plants is reported in this publication before it finds its way into general knowledge. He has published many research papers based on his own work; most of them concerned with the breeding system of New Zealand plants. He has taken a particular interest in researching the natural variation in widespread native plants such as the common kowhai, and in the reproductive cycle of the native tree fuchsia.

Eric Godley has written many articles for gardeners and botanists, including the updating of Cockayne's New Zealand Plants and Their Story and a long series in the popular magazine New Zealand Gardener. He has also been a member of advisor committees serving the National Parks and Reserves Authority and the New Zealand Forest Service.

1983 Roy J Peacock, Hastings

Since arriving in New Zealand in 1961, Roy Peacock has continued his lifetime dedication to plant conservation. He has worked closely with the Hastings-Havelock North branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society in its many projects and also co-operated with the local Commissioner of Crown Lands in the designation and classification of new reserve areas.

Through extensive writings, lectures and leading bush outings, Mr Peacock has encouraged an interest in plant conservation and promoted the many fine family walks in the Hawke's Bay area. His articles were collected in the popular publication Family Walks in Hawke's Bay.

In 1979 he spearheaded a native tree planting project in honour of the Year of the Child. To promote interest among the young, he regularly arranged book donations to local schools and organised essays and competition on nature study topics.

The excellent native fernery established in Cornwall Park, Hastings is one of his outstanding contributions to the community.

1982 Arthur Williams Ericson, Akaroa

Mr Ericson's involvement in the preservation of native bush began early, while farming in Southland. It has been maintained into his retirement years at Akaroa, where from 1967 he was an Honorary Ranger of Banks Peninsula for the Department of Lands and Survey.

In Southland he successfully instigated the preservation of several areas of native bush including the Haldane Scenic Reserve, an area of over 360 hectares, which was gazetted in 1939.

On Banks Peninsula, Mr Ericson has been responsible for the establishment of four major reserves: the Armstrong Scientific Reserve (the only area of beech reserved on the peninsula), the Hay Scenic Reserve (podocarp-broadleaf forest), the Ellangowan Scenic Reserve (incorporating nine hectares of totara-broadleaf forest), and the Glenralloch Scenic Reserve, which is 12 hectares of mountain totara-broadleaf forest.

Mr Ericson has been largely responsible for the development of the Akaroa Recreation Reserve, also known as the Garden of Tane. He has greatly restored the condition of this area with a systematic planting programme of over 200 species of native plants, all of which he records in a written "History of Planting". This reserve is now used by school groups for educational purposes, as well as for recreation by local citizens and visitors to Akaroa.

1981 Raymond H Mole, Wellington

After completing his horticultural studies in England and a term of practical work in Southern Rhodesia, Mr Mole arrived in New Zealand with his family and took up his appointment as Curator of the Otari Open Air Native Plant Museum in Wellington in 1962. Since then, Mr Mole has been involved in a wide range of horticultural activities, mainly involving the propagation, use and protection of native plants. His horticultural interest hae extended to include lecturing, advising progressive associations and local groups, escorting field trips for the WEA, working with the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, and assisting botanical societies with plant care information, identification and use of plants, particularly native plants.

In an average year Mr Mole was involved with upwards of 30 school parties visiting the Plant Museum at Otari, opening their young minds to the beauties and possibilities of New Zealand's vegetation and to an appreciation of our own native flora. He has also influenced administrators and suburban gardeners in their planting policies in the city and elsewhere. Winter weekends are often taken up with supervising volunteer groups in their planting efforts for the beautification of Wellington's coastal areas, parks and road verges.

Mr Mole's knowledge of our native plants is known world-wide. His articles have appeared in many publications. In 1976 he was honoured by the Royal Horticultural Society of England for his work at Otari, indicating the wide recognition of his contributions in the field of New Zealand native plants and horticulture.

He has consistently given valuable assistance to scientists and to students in the identification and cultivation of native plants, and has made a distinguished contribution in both scientific and aesthetic horticulture.

1980 Whangarei Forest and Bird Protection Soc, Whangarei

This society dedicated to the preservation of native flora and fauna had 600 members when it was awarded the Loder Cup. It had consistently participated in projects to protect and extend the planting of native trees and shrubs around Whangarei and its coastline. One major undertaking was the planting of pohutukawa to replace substantial areas of either mature or post-mature trees where little or no regeneration was taking place.

The society provided every school in the district with trees to plant on Arbor Day and encouraged young people to appreciate Northland's native vegetation. For a small charge the society distributed thousands of young native trees each year to the public throughout Northland. It maintained a valuable advisory service on trees and tree care, staged displays at local shows, and fostered the preservation of existing bush reserves.

1979 Mrs Christina L and Mr Roger R Sutton, Lorneville

Mr and Mrs Sutton propagated a wide range of seeds and cuttings from native trees and shrubs in their garden. They sold some plants, donating the proceeds to Conservation Week activities, and gave others to be planted around Southland. About 15,000 native trees and shrubs have been distributed in this way and many of them were of the more difficult varieties to propagate.

Mr Sutton was well known in Southland for his educational work amongst students, youth groups, and other organisations. His knowledge of the native flora and fauna of the Waituna Wetland Management Reserve is also widely acclaimed. He had much to do with the setting up of the Reserve and established extensive native plantings on adjacent areas.

1978 Lawrence J Metcalf, Invercargill

Mr Metcalf trained as a horticulturist at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and spent much spare time mountaineering and studying native plants in the wild. He gained overseas experience in botanic gardens in Melbourne, Adelaide and Great Britain before returning to New Zealand as Assistant Director and Curator of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. In the 1970s he was appointed Director of Parks and Recreation in Invercargill.

Mr Metcalf fostered the protection, cultivation and use of native plants in horticulture through lectures, WEA course, radio broadcasts and articles in various publications. He wrote New Zealand Liliaceae in Cultivation for the Lily Year Book of the Royal Horticultural Society (UK). In 1978 he was appointed convenor of the Nomenclature Committee of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, which is the International Registration Authority for the genera Coprosma, Hebe, Leptospermum and Phormium.

After ten years of intensive effort, Mr Metcalf published The Cultivation of New Zealand Trees and Shrubs in 1972. This book, widely acclaimed for its completeness and accuracy, has become a standard reference on the subject. It has accurate botanical descriptions of over 450 trees and shrubs, and authoritative advice on their selection, propagation, and cultivation, as well as the control of pests and diseases.

1977 Reginald Ivan Bell, Pirongia

Born into a pioneering family, Mr Bell's early interest in native flora and fauna developed into a passion for protection and conservation. He amassed a much specialised knowledge of local Maori history and the plant life of the Pirongia district, particularly Pirongia Mountain, and was recognised as an authority. He grew many native plants in his own garden, provided useful information on growth and development, and was a source of specimens for botanising.

As a foundation member of the Hamilton Junior Naturalists Club, he shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with the hundreds of school parties he led into the bush. He gave trees for school plantings and helped establish a native tree reserve at Pirongia. He was a member of the Pirongia Forest Park Advisory Committee.

1976 Waipahihi Botanical Society, Taupo

In 1966 the Waipahihi Botanical Society received in trust from the Commissioner of Crown Lands a local natural reserve of 35 hectares near the Napier-Taupo Highway. It was covered in bracken, scrub and blackberry. The 34 foundation members of the Trust began a transformation by salvaging masses of young plants, ranging from minute orchids to timber trees. Plants indigenous to the Central Plateau and other areas, including an extensive range of alpine specimens, were collected and planted. Birds were catered for with the inclusion of many berry-bearing trees and shrubs.

This wealth of native vegetation includes orderly plantings of named varieties that provide educational opportunities, and rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, which have been introduced to attract more visitors to the reserve.

1975 Assoc Prof Alan Francis Mark, Dunedin

Dr Mark, Associate Professor of Botany at the University of Otago, established a sound reputation for painstaking research in studies of the Otago and Fiordland mountain environment and the native plants and forests that grow there. He has also exerted considerable influence as an educator in the field of natural science, outside academic circles.

As Chair of the Guardians of the Lakes (Manapouri and Te Anau) Committee, he played an important role in demonstrating the place of ecological research in long-term decisions affecting the environment. Much of the knowledge about the consequences of fluctuating lake levels in the Manapouri/Te Anau area comes from work conducted by Dr Mark and his student groups. He was also influential in the debate over proposals for the commercial use of native beech forests.

Dr Mark was primarily responsible for the establishment of two scientific reserves near Dunedin, one for snow tussock at Black Rock and the other for subalpine vegetation at Mount Maungatua, and at Mount Cargill. The book, New Zealand Alpine Plants, produced in association with Nancy Adams, illustrates his personal dedication to the preservation of native flora. Always enthusiastic and ready to share his knowledge to increase public interest and awareness, Dr Mark established a native mountain plant garden at Otago University. He began a herbarium of specimens of the flora of Mount Aspiring National Park and set up photographic points there in 1969-1970 to provide a permanent record of existing vegetation and allow changes to be monitored.

1974 Alexander W Anderson, Timaru

Mr Anderson's interest in plant life began when he roamed the Scottish moors as a boy. After four years at Littlewood Park, Scotland, he moved to Kew Gardens for a closer study of the practical aspects of soils, botany, entomology, and plant geography.

He was the first to receive a Kew Guild assisted passage to New Zealand when he found a position at the Dunedin Botanic Gardens under the direction of the late David Tannock. He learned about the indigenous flora and made many excursions into the mountains of Otago and Fiordland.

In 1932 Mr Anderson was appointed Director of Parks and Reserves in Timaru. Some particularly lovely alpine plants exist in rock gardens today because of his foresight and ambition to see them enjoyed by others. He sent a valuable collection of plants to Edinburgh University. In the course of his work he took every opportunity to see that native plants were used in parks, housing developments, and other reserves in the South Canterbury area.

In his retirement he created a fine garden at Lake Tekapo where many rare plants such as Convolvulus verecundus were displayed for students, botanists and gardeners. Walter Anderson enjoyed an international reputation and he was accorded and place with the world's most prominent botanists in the Hunt Botanical Library of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1973 Katie Reynolds, Whangarei

Mrs Reynolds became a renowned authority on the native plant life of Northland. Although not a trained botanist, she identified and preserved many rare specimens, and escorted many botanists into the most scientifically interesting areas. She supported the preservation of the Hen and Chicken Islands (Coppermine Island), the Waipoua Kauri Forest, the Kiripaka Reserve, and other areas of native bush.

In 1935 Mrs Reynolds began giving talks on native flora and maintained a regular programme of public lectures, classes and broadcasts. She wrote many articles and augmented the Cheeseman Memorial Spring Shows in the Auckland War Memorial Museum with native plants from her own garden. From two acres of rough overgrown gorse and pine trees, Mr and Mrs Reynolds established a garden of bush and rare native plants.

1972 Arthur David Mead, Auckland

Mr Mead played an active role in the preservation of the Waitakere and Hunua watersheds. He ensured restriction of access and introduced other measures to safeguard the catchments, but also encouraged the establishment of tracks and lookouts so those interested in these valuable forest areas could make use of them for study and recreation.

Mr Mead also urged the establishment of the Auckland Centennial Memorial Park Board, which by 1972 managed 14,000 acres of hill forest. He regularly led nature groups and societies into the Park and helped with the building of tracks. He also helped develop the Tongariro National Park.

As an author he published a description and checklist of Waitakere native flora, contributed papers to the Journal of the Polynesian Society, and being especially interested in the Maori and European history of the area, wrote a handbook on the Whanganui River.

1971 Violet Ada Briffault, Whakatane

Mrs Briffault grew up in Rangitikei, which was far more thickly covered in native bush then than it is now, and her great love of native plants and birds developed from this time.

She has established thousands of native trees in Whakatane and surrounding districts, paying particular attention to berry and nectar bearing varieties. She campaigned for the preservation of Te Urewera and other bush areas in the Bay of Plenty. In 1959 she organised a nation-wide petition concerning the protection of headwater and high mountain forests, leading the group that presented the petition to Parliament. Mrs Briffault helped to educate the young about native flora, visiting schools and colleges, and leading nature groups and camps.

1970 Mrs Muriel E and Mr William E Fisher, Auckland

At their 17 acre property in Birkenhead, Mr and Mrs Fisher established a collection of more than 700 native plants including 130 species of ferns and some 200 species of alpines. They encouraged interest in native flora by donating trees to schools, reserves and public areas, and lecturing at Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society meetings and to Junior Naturalist Clubs.

They have served as Honorary Rangers and Mrs Fisher was a member of the North Shore Scenic Board. Her book, Gardening with New Zealand Plants, Trees and Shrubs, is a valuable contribution to horticultural literature and a stimulus to greater use of native flora in home gardens.

1969 Patrick John Devlin, Hamilton

A science advisor for the South Auckland Education Board, Mr Devlin's early interest in nature study led him to specialise in this field of education. His thesis The Place of Native Plants in School Horticulture was reproduced as a school bulletin. He developed methods and techniques of teaching that led other teachers and students to a greater appreciation and knowledge of our forests and wildlife.

Mr Devlin developed the very successful Junior Naturalists Club in Hamilton. A field base and headquarters were established in 2,000 acres of bush near Oparau on the Te Awamutu-Kawhia highway. Lectures, field trips, camping programmes and public displays were organised at evenings, weekends and holiday periods to promote an interest in and appreciation of natural history and to encourage the preservation of native flora and fauna.

Mr Devlin was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Tongariro National Park Board, and helped publish booklets interpreting vegetation and landforms for visitors to the park.

1968 Victor C Davies OBE, New Plymouth

Victor Davies and his brother, the late R W Davies, explored and botanised extensively throughout New Zealand, finding and propagating many rare varieties which might otherwise have been lost. He introduced several new ornamental forms, notably: Leptospermum scoparium "Nanum" (and hybrids of it), Brachyglottis rangiora "Purpurea", Pseudopanax "Adiantifolium", Heimerliodendron brunonianum "Variegatum" (in conjunction with Arthur Green).

Mr Davies drew attention to the damage possums were causing to native flora and recommended greater protective measures. He aroused the interest of overseas horticulturists, sending New Zealand plants to Kew, Edinburgh, and the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

He was active on many local and national organisations and was an initial member of the Taranaki Scenic Reserve Board and senior advisor for the preservation and planting of reserves. He worked for the acquisition of 300 acres of native bush in the Awakino Valley, and organised many planting projects for schools and Service Clubs. As a foundation member and one of the original advisor members of the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, he helped establish it in nearly 1,000 acres of native bush near New Plymouth.

Mr Davies was very knowledgeable about Maori customs and the uses of native plants. In 1952 he presented the Banks Lecture on the subject "New Zealand Trees and Shrubs – their value to man". He received the OBE for services to horticulture in 1954, the Veitch Memorial Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1966 and later became a Knight Bachelor.

1967 Prof John T Salmon, Wellington

After graduating in natural sciences, John Salmon was appointed entomologist at the Dominion Museum. Later he moved to Victoria University of Wellington, where in 1965 he became Professor of Zoology.

He was editor and council member of the Royal Society, foundation member of the Nature Conservation Council, and active in other scientific and conservation organisations. He also travelled extensively overseas.

Over a period of 10 years, he located and photographed New Zealand indigenous plants and in 1963, his best known book, New Zealand Flowers and Plants in Colour, was published and immediately found wide appeal. The award of the Loder Cup was, however, made for his work in conservation stemming from his concern at the wanton destruction of bush and natural vegetation throughout New Zealand. The publication of Heritage Destroyed helped to arouse greater concern for the preservation of New Zealand flora; the kind of concern that led to the establishment of the Nature Conservation Council.

1966 Oliver Hunter, Lyttleton

Mr Hunter was born at Church Bay, Lyttleton, and spent his whole life in that district. Aged twelve, he begged one acre of land from his father's farm to create a bush of his own. Building water systems and planting suitable protection from Canterbury's hot north-west winds, he set about establishing a forest of native trees and plants. On the death of his parents, Oliver Hunter purchased their farm and systematically planted the whole gorge area of some 20 acres, establishing his own plant nursery for the purpose. The area is a tribute to a man whose great love of the bush transformed a barren gully into a treasured reserve of New Zealand trees and plants for posterity.

He stimulated great interest for conservation among his neighbours and spread his enthusiasm through many articles published in a variety of magazines, journals, and papers.

In 1966, aged 84, Mr Hunter ably delivered the Sanderson Memorial Lecture to members of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. He took every opportunity to share his knowledge and enthusiasm amongst school children, and donated hundreds of young trees for planting in school grounds during Arbor Day ceremonies.

1965 Arthur Farnell, Auckland

Since arriving from England in 1926, Mr Farnell showed an enthusiastic interest in New Zealand plants. In the grounds of Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, he established a collection of 400 plants (from seed and cuttings gathered in the field), a collection that has proved useful for scientific as well as ornamental purposes.

He specialised in collecting and growing unusual species of the genera Coprosma, Hebe, Leptospermum, Pittosporum, and Pseudopanax. From a large collection of local varieties of Leptospermum grown from wild populations north of Auckland, he selected desirable garden forms. He cultivated all 26 of the New Zealand species of Pittosporum and made a close study of Pseudopanax to select the best leaf forms for planting schemes. Arthur Farnell was keenly interested in juvenile and hybrid forms and his displays of these were a feature of many Cheeseman flower shows.

He contributed seedlings and propagated material for many public and school plantings in and around Auckland.

As Honorary Research Officer attached to Auckland University, he assisted Dr G B Hare of DSIR in preparing a New Zealand Chromosome Atlas. He also aided botanists abroad by collecting and dispatching native plants to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and other establishments. A popular and authoritative lecturer, Arthur Farnell participated in botany and ecology courses organised by the Adult Education Authority and Auckland University.

1964 Dr David Alfred Bathgate, Hastings

Dr Bathgate, a medical practitioner, has tramped and climbed in practically every part of New Zealand, studying and observing forests and native plants. He saw a need to preserve unspoiled parts of the country for future generations. As Chair of the Hastings Branch of the Forest and Bird Society, he worked hard for the preservation of the Waipoua Kauri Forest.

He was a member of the deputation which presented a petition to Parliament for the setting aside of Te Urewera, and later for the extension of that Park, and the Opepe Reserve on the Napier-Taupo Road. He lobbied for the establishment of many Hawke's Bay Reserves, including Blowhard Bush, donated by Mr J N Lowry.

His personal research led to the establishment of a sanctuary at Deep Stream Gorge, Te Pohue, a natural habitat for native kiwis he discovered. As a City Councillor in Hastings, he had Arbor Day reinstated and a native plant nursery established at Frimley Park from which quantities of native plants, shrubs, and trees were given to local schools and showgrounds. Dr Bathgate also wrote for daily and weekly publications and gave many public and radio talks.

1963 Nancy M Adams, Wellington

Nancy Adams, a botany graduate from Victoria University of Wellington, has become widely known for her work as a botanical artist. She supplied the authors with drawings of plants and vegetation and prepared illustration for Fiordland, Mount Cook, Tongariro, and Arthur's Pass National Park handbooks. With A L Poole she co-authored the book New Zealand Trees and Shrubs. Her fine illustrations did more than any other in this field to increase popular knowledge of and respect for native plants.

A member of the Dominion Museum staff, Nancy Adams had undertaken most of this work on a voluntary basis, outside the scope of her normal and official duties.

1962 Bernard H N Teague, Wairoa

Mr Teague showed a keen interest in nature protection from early youth. As a deerstalker, hunter, climber and tramper, he explored the more remote parts of the South Island. On settling in Wairoa in his 30s, he began to explore the Te Urewera forest, then well known to only a few people including a small number of Maori. It is now more familiar, thanks to Mr Teague's writings and illustrated lectures. Research and tramping groups have extended his work. After the area was declared a National Park, Mr Teague organised and led annual camps of nature lovers and formed tramping parties that located the lagoons which had shown up on an aerial survey. On his suggestion, these were named Lake Ruapanu and Lake Puhoe and the Arawa Tarns.

Mr Teague also pressed for preservation of forest in the Ruakituri catchment, a tributary of the Wairoa River, and 37,000 acres subsequently became part of the National Park. He was a member of the Urewera National Park Board, a Forest and Bird Protection Society national councillor, Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and member of the New Zealand Alpine Club.

1961 Charles Thomas Keeble, Palmerston North

For 60 years Mr Keeble had been preserving 30 acres of indigenous forest on his farm between Massey University and Linton Military Camp. The forest was fenced from stock, protected by a shelter belt of exotic trees and no introduced deer, goats or other pests were allowed access. The only logging done was the removal of trees blown down in a cyclonic storm in 1936. Members of the Loder Cup Committee visited Mr Keeble to examine the vegetation and found it more carefully protected than many reserves. The area is probably the only surviving block of Manawatu lowland forest.

In many farming areas, all that exists of the original forest flora is an isolated grove or an individual tree. Not often is an individual prepared to maintain land of potentially high productive value as a sacred trust, but Mr Keeble has protected an area as a reminder to future generations of the original rain forest vegetation that once covered the greater part of the Manawatu area.

1960 William Martin, Dunedin

Mr Martin was over 70 when he won the Loder Cup and had been an active and enthusiastic naturalist, stimulating interest in New Zealand plants, for many years. He was especially knowledgeable on the generally less well known algae, mosses, lichens and liverworts. He was keenly interested in the Dunedin Naturalists Field Club, founded in 1872, and contributed regularly, by writings and lectures, to an interest in New Zealand plants and the preservation of the New Zealand bush.

Mr Martin's best known work is the Flora of New Zealand used in the upper classes of post primary schools. By 1960, 6,000 copies had been sold and it was into the fourth edition. The Flora of Dunedin was of particular value in Otago and the author's many scientific contributions established him as an authority on the subject.

He was a teacher by profession and wherever he taught he established and maintained collections of native plants. He was in turn lecturer in Nature Study at Dunedin and Christchurch Teachers Colleges and raised hundreds of native shrubs at the Dunedin Training College garden for distribution to schools.

After Mr Martin retired from teaching he continued with his interest in native flora. At his home in Dunedin he established probably the largest private herbarium of New Zealand mosses in the world. He donated 7,000 moss specimens to Botany Division, DSIR Lincoln.

1959 Charles Cameron, Tauranga

Mr Cameron made a lifelong study of New Zealand plants and was considered by many to be a leading authority on ferns and their culture. He was President of the New Zealand Fern Society for a number of years.

After retirement as Superintendent of Parks and Reserves for the Tauranga Borough Council, Mr Cameron worked to interest people, particularly children, organisations and local bodies, in the planting of New Zealand trees, shrubs and ferns. He was always available to assist with the establishment of school projects and gardens, to help with Arbor Day, lead school parties into the bush and obtain plants not available locally.

As Chairman of the Tauranga Section of the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society, he organised and led its activities in guarding, restoring, signposting and advertising the numerous areas of native bush in the western Bay of Plenty.

1958 Hon Ernest Bowyer Corbett, Okato

The Honourable Ernest B Corbett learned from his parents to love and protect native flora and fauna. He served on the Domains Board, as Honorary Ranger for the Egmont National Park, was an active climber and tramper and did much to preserve the natural beauty of the locality. He was a life member of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.

Elected Member of Parliament for Egmont, he became Minister of Lands, Forests and Maori Affairs in 1950. At this time the Waipoua Forest Sanctuary was created, the Tararua Forest park (220,000 acres) was set aside and the National Parks Act was passed:

"…to preserve in perpetuity as National Parks, for the benefit and enjoyment of the public, areas of New Zealand that contain scenery of such distinctive quality or natural features, so beautiful or unique that their preservation is in the national interest…:"

Mr Corbett added 1,200,000 acres to national parks during his eight years in office. Apart from desirable areas being added to existing parks, he reserved Te Urewera, Nelson Lakes and Mount Cook National Parks. A further 44,000 acres were added to the scenic reserves system and many new domains were created, mostly for the preservation of native flora. These included Bartons Bush, Trentham; Lake Mahinapua, Westland and Corbett Park, Oakura; where the residents requested the name in recognition of Mr Corbett's work in preservation of "open spaces".

1957 Frederick William Lokan, Invercargill

Mr Lokan studied native plants as a hobby while dairy farming and came to be regarded as the leading authority on the plants in his area. His herbarium, which was open for inspection by students and interested persons, was highly praised by Mr V C Davies of New Plymouth and was to have been handed over to the Invercargill Museum.

Mr Lokan staged outstanding exhibits at local horticultural shows, lectured, demonstrated, assisted schools with displays and gardens, and often led field parties. In 1949, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture for his work with native plants.

1956 Frank Singleton Holman, Whangarei

As a boy, Frank Holman accompanied Mr T F Cheeseman on botanical excursions and acquired from him a grounding in botany that was to influence his life. In decades of plant hunting and propagation, he built up a collection of native plants. In 1926 he was able to supply 17,000 trees from his collection, all grown from seed and including many rare and/or hybridised forms. He explored on the mainland and out-lying islands and sent thousands of the best species to other parts of New Zealand, Australia and further afield.

Mr Holman was a member of the Whangarei Forest and Bird Protection Society. He served as an honorary ranger, was active at Arbor Day ceremonies and advised local authorities, domain boards and parks committees on layout, landscaping and planting. As Superintendent of Parks and Reserves for Whangarei, he had responsibility for some 3,000 acres. His work was widespread and effective, as well as permanent and beautiful.

1955 Michael C Gudex MAM Sc NDH(NZ) AHRIH NZ, Hamilton

The award in 1955 was made to another schoolmaster who had devoted many years to encouraging interest in native flora. His services as a lecturer were widely sought. Mr Gudex presented the Banks Lecture in 1954 to the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture on The Forest Flora of the Waikato Basin. Papers The Native Flora of Pirongia and The Native Flora of the Claudelands Bush were presented at the Seventh and Eighth Scientific Congresses and later published in Vol 83, Part II of the Transactions of the Royal Society. Other addresses The Manawa Wood and Waikato Basin and The Kauri in the Waikato were also published by the Society.

Mr Gudex's vigorous advocacy led to successful campaigns for the preservation of the Claudelands Native Bush Reserve and the Pirongia Mountain Native Bush Reserve. He worked with Dr Cockayne on several occasions collecting and photographing specimens of native plants, and his botanical studies in the Waikato district increased knowledge of the often rare flora of these areas.

1954 Norman L Elder, Havelock North

A civil engineer turned schoolmaster, Mr Elder became an authority on the native plants of the Tararua, Ruahine, Kaimanawa and Kaweka Ranges. He recorded habitats and geographical distribution, and collected those plants which he found particularly attractive or in need of further study. Maps he drew were of great benefit in opening up large tracts of country to other nature lovers and were the only detailed guides available at the time for tramping clubs.

Mr Elder's private native garden was outstanding. He also had an extensive school garden with a collection of the plants of Hawke's Bay, which included rare species, and some originally collected by William Colenso. He published a number of papers and also spoke on radio about the preservation of native plants.

1953 Perrine Moncrieff, Nelson

From the early 1930s Mrs Moncrieff of Nelson enthusiastically campaigned for the preservation of native plants and the declaration of several forest areas as Scenic Reserves. She initiated the establishment of the Abel Tasman National Park of 38,000 acres between Golden Bay and Tasman Bay. Certain portions were in danger of being milled so she approached all the local bodies in the area and worked on the scheme until its presentation to the Government. From 1947 she was a member of the Abel Tasman National Park Board.

Mrs Moncrieff saved a magnificent stand of native forest at Okiwi Bay and Croixelles, near D'Urville Island. The two properties contained nikau and tawa, species not generally seen near Nelson and fine examples of the best timber trees. She purchased 363 acres and presented them to the Crown, which then acquired the remaining area. She also succeeded in protecting the Maruia Hot Springs and bush in the area, Cape Farewell Spit, and the shores of Lake Rotoroa near Murchison.

Mrs Moncrieff is the author of New Zealand Birds and How to Identify Them.

1952 Marguerite W Crookes, Auckland

Miss Crookes, New Zealand botanist, had long been known as an authority on native plants. In 1926 she was a judge for the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. She organised many of the Cheeseman Memorial Exhibitions of native plants at the Auckland Institute and Museum, gave numerous lectures and talks, and actively assisted plantings in schools and reserves.

Miss Crookes was on the staff of the Auckland Institute and Museum and also a former executive officer of the Auckland District Council of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. She helped found and organise the Auckland Botanical Society, and was honorary editor of its newsletter for over ten years.

Her specialised knowledge of ferns led to a revised edition of H Dobbie's New Zealand Ferns, published in 1951. Her revised and annotated list of New Zealand Filicinae, a lecture delivered to the Auckland Institute of Horticulture, appeared in Volume 77 of the Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

More popular articles appeared in the Auckland Star, The New Zealand Smallholder (in collaboration with the late Miss E F Kibblewhite) and Plant Life in Maoriland (1926).

1951 Assoc Prof Lawrence W McCaskill, Christchurch

Associate Professor L W McCaskill, lecturer in Rural Education at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, contributed significantly to conservation education in New Zealand. In the 1920s as Agricultural Instructor to the Auckland Education Board he persuaded teachers to make native plants an important part of the nature study curriculum, and established a nursery from which native plants were distributed free.

As lecturer in Nature Study and Agriculture at Dunedin Training College and later at Christchurch Training College, he made the study of New Zealand plants the basis of his course. He established a unique teaching garden in Christchurch with more than 400 native species and varieties in their natural associations.

In 1940 he helped organise the Centennial Native Plant Scheme, when thousands of plants were established in home and school gardens. Later he took a leading role in reserving an area at Castle Hill for the extremely rare native buttercup Ranunculus paucifolius. As a member of the Arthur's Pass National Park Board he took a special interest in the alpine garden at the settlement and the rock gardens at the Arthur's Pass railway station.

After his appointment to Lincoln College in 1944, Professor McCaskill worked to interest farmers and researchers in the study of native plants and their economic importance. In 1946 he established a course for those working under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act.

An original member of the New Zealand Forest and Bird Society and Vice-president since 1928, Professor McCaskill lectured throughout the country, organised innumerable field trips and consistently advocated the preservation of native vegetation as a means of controlling erosion.

1950 Arthur Paul Harper, Wellington

By 1950, Mr Harper, then 85, had become an almost legendary figure in New Zealand through his pioneer exploration in the Southern Alps and particularly South Westland. His exploration opened up vast scenic areas which, due to his persistent advocacy, became Scenic Reserves. These included the Godley and Glasson Reserve, the Waiho and Cook River Reserve, Cook River Watershed and the Karangarua Reserve.

Dr Cockayne particularly praised Mr Harper for discovering over 1,000 acres of pure beech forest in the middle of a Southern Rata forest in South Westland, an area of great botanical interest.

1949 Noeline Baker, Stewart Island

On her property, Moturau Moana, Miss Baker established a botanical garden containing almost every plant native to Stewart Island, an interesting collection of exotics, and a private forest reserve. Visitors interested in flora and fauna were always welcome.

Miss Baker intended to give the entire property for the encouragement of botanical research, but it was first offered to the University of Otago which did not think it could afford the maintenance. In 1948, the property was formally handed over to the Minister of Lands to be used for the encouragement of learning and in particular as a centre for study and research in connection with the Stewart Island flora.

1948 Andrew Davidson Beddie FRIH(NZ), Petone

Mr Beddie sent thousands of rare and semi-rare native species to the Otari Open Air Plant Museum, Wellington, and to botanists and other parks and gardens. In addition to thoroughly botanising the whole of Mount Matthews, Mr Beddie studied North Cape vegetation and found exceptionally fine specimens of Pseudopanax hybrids given to Percy's Scenic Reserve, Petone, and Gaultheria hybrids given to Otari.

1947 N R W Thomas LLB NDH(NZ), Auckland

Active in horticultural circles for twenty years, Mr Thomas is remembered particularly for his efforts to ensure the preservation of more than 7,000 acres of the Waipoua Forest and thousands of acres of the Waitakere Ranges as a memorial park. In 1938, in conjunction with his brother A W Thomas, he gave 100 acres of regenerated native bush fronting Piha Beach and including the off-shore island Lion Rock, to be included in the park.

To save the country's indigenous plants, he also sought to have honorary inspectors appointed under the Scenery Preservation Act, and took an active interest in the re-establishment of Arbor Day.

Mr Thomas' own garden in Auckland city contained two acres devoted to native plants, including a half-acre fernery. It is now owned by the Auckland City Council Parks and Reserves Department.

1946 Royal Forest & Bird Protection Soc and Captain E Valentine Sanderson, New Zealand

The Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand was founded by the late Captain Sanderson in 1923. By 1946 it had a membership of 5,000. Its main objective was "to protect our forests on which largely depends our welfare and the survival of our native birds" and to interest and educate the public about conservation matters.

The Society (which later became the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand) was fundraising to establish bird sanctuaries, one of which was to be named for Captain Sanderson.

The Society also campaigned against imported pests and produced valuable publications, as well as an informative and attractive quarterly magazine.

1945 Walter Boa Brockie, Christchurch

As Acting Director of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and secretary and botanist of the Board of Trustees of Riccarton Bush, Mr Brockie was largely responsible for the creation of the Cockayne Memorial Garden. In the alpine section, some 450 species were collected by him from North Canterbury and other mountains in the northern South Island. Carefully labelled, the plants provided educational and interest value to visitors to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

In 1940 and 1945, Mr Brockie reported on Ranunculus pauciflorus, suggesting measures to preserve the species from extinction. In 1945, his book, New Zealand Alpine in Field and Garden was published.

1944 Norman Potts, Opotiki

The Hukutaia Domain in Opotiki was set aside by the Crown in 1926. Mr Potts, chairman since 1933, had restored what was a deteriorated tract of forest country. He set about making the Domain a living museum, with many species of native plants, and a place where species in danger of extinction could be preserved. Mr Potts kept a record of the place of origin of each plant, and supplied seeds and plants to various public gardens and societies. In his search throughout the country for rare and new plants, Mr Potts discovered a yellow flowered Pittosporum and a small but very ornamental bronze Coriaria.

1943 James Speden, Gore

James Speden was awarded the Loder Cup in 1943 for his botanical explorations and his work in the collection and cultivation of native plants, including many species of shrubs and mountain herbaceous plants. Two of his most important discoveries were Aciphylla spedenii and Celmisia spedenii.

1942 A W (Dick) Wastney, Nelson

Mr Wastney had an exceptional knowledge of the botanical resources of the Nelson province. His special interest was in the horticultural possibilities of various species.

His work on methods of collecting, storing and distributing seed of native plants was especially valuable. Studies of Nothofagus in particular led him to recognise the occurrence of hybridism in the group and to demonstrate the distinctions between the important timber trees, red and hard beech.

His private garden illustrated his gifts as a propagator and cultivator and he succeeded with such difficult genera as Poranthera, Scutellaria, Dracophyllum and Carmichaelia.

1941 Edward Earle Vaile, Auckland

Earle Vaile was awarded the Loder Cup for his work in the preservation of areas of native bush in the Bay of Plenty, Taupo, and the Waitakere Rangers.

He was employed by the Auckland City Council in about 1900 to settle compensation claims in respect of the waterworks in the Waitakere Ranges. Later he was a member of the executive of the Waitakere Coronation Park Committee, and subsequently President of the Waitakere Park Citizens Association. As a practical measure, he purchased and presented 700 acres to the city "to round off one corner of the park", selected as Auckland's Centennial Memorial.

1940 Major P H Johnson, South Canterbury

In 1940 the Cup was presented to Major Johnson of Raincliff for his generous gift of approximately 240 acres of land containing "magnificent natural forest". The dominant tree was kahikatea. Big trees included totara, matai and pokaka, and the rest was composed of over 40 species of the broad-leaved trees and shrubs of typical mixed Canterbury rain forest.

1939 William A Thomson, Dunedin

William Thomson of Halfway Bush, Dunedin, won the Loder Cup for "remarkable and arduous pioneering work" over a period of 40 years among the mountains of Otago and in Fiordland. He worked with Messrs Petrie and Cheeseman, and Dr Cockayne. Botanical institutes and gardens abroad also benefited from his studies, but he is probably best remembered by such rarities as Celmisia thomsonii and Olearia thomsonii.

His published work includes a paper on The Vegetation of the Hollyford Valley (with D L Poppelwell), and one on a remarkable Senecio hybrid (with Dr H H Allan).

William Thomson preserved several acres of native forest within the Dunedin City boundary and was an honorary ranger for forest preservation in Otago. His own garden, including his famous Ferntree House, was remarkable for rare hybrids, including various native mistletoes, and contained 1,200 species largely collected by himself, representing the flora of both North and South Islands.

1938 Elizabeth Knox Gilmer, Wellington

Mrs Knox Gilmer (afterwards known as Dame Elizabeth Gilmer) worked hard to secure the revival of Arbor Day and arrange its observation by the Wellington Beautifying Society, the Wellington Horticultural Society, and girls' colleges in the area. In 1938 40,000 trees were planted.

The passing of the Native Plants Protection Act 1934 was largely due to her efforts, and she was always interested in its proper administration. She was a member of the Executive Council of the Institute of Horticulture and an Honorary Inspector under the Scenery Preservation Act.

Mrs Gilmer's garden at Te Marua, Upper Hutt, was awarded Viscount Bledisloe's Challenge Trophy for its attractive use of New Zealand plants.

1937 Auckland Institute and Museum and Lucy M Cranwell, Auckland

The recipients in 1937 were the Auckland Institute and Museum in association with its botanist Lucy Cranwell. The Museum had been holding temporary exhibitions of native flowers, paintings, and decorative designs based on New Zealand flora, and inviting competitive display from private persons, clubs and schools. The annual Native Flower Show, a memorial to the work of Mr T F Cheeseman, was first staged in 1932. In 1937 it attracted an attendance of 10,449. Permanent displays illustrated plant classification, nutrition, medicinal and other uses by Maori, and a native plant table was kept covered with fresh specimens of flowers, leaves and berries for seven years.

Lucy Cranwell gave public lectures on native plants especially on Arbor Day. She contributed 160 popular articles on native plants, and many written in collaboration with Prof A Wall were published in booklet form.

1936 John Scott Thomson and George Simpson, Dunedin

In 1936 the Loder Cup was awarded jointly to these two Dunedin botanists. The award recognised their outstanding botanical explorations, surveys and research. Some of their photography was accepted by the Royal Photographic Society for exhibition. They worked to popularise native plants by cultivating them in their own gardens, and through lectures to the New Zealand Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. They were active in local preservation efforts, and recognised the threat to flora posed by deer. They also presented seeds, cuttings and plants to Kew and other English gardens, as well as to municipal and other gardens in New Zealand.

1935 Trustees of R C Bruce, Whanganui

The Loder Cup was presented to the Bruce Trust for its work in perpetuating the memory of its founder Robert Cunningham Bruce. In his will he left his residuary estate in the hands of trustees "for afforestation and making National Parks and Domains in New Zealand". This bequest was used for the acquisition of fine examples of virgin forest, which became Bruce Park at Silverhope, Rangitikei, and the A S Simpson Domain, Hunterville. The trustees have mainly subsidised Crown, local body, domain boards', and societies' efforts to achieve the Bruce ideals for preservation of native bush.

1934 Lord Bledisloe DSc, PC, GCMG, KBE, Wellington

Under new conditions the 1934 award was made to His Excellency Lord Bledisloe in recognition of his distinguished advocacy of indigenous flora, and his services to New Zealand horticulture and forestry. The Governor-General arrived in the country with a collection of Dr Leonard Cockayne's works on New Zealand flora. He at once became a very enthusiastic admirer of our native flora and extolled "its verdant treasures" on every possible occasion. He presented a trophy known as the Bledisloe Cup to the Wellington Horticultural Society to be awarded annually to the garden, large or small, showing the best and most attractive use of New Zealand plants.

1933 T Waugh and son, Wellington

The Loder Cup was presented at the National Flower Show in Wellington in 1933 to Mt T Waugh and his son for a good display of native plants in pots, including a fine collection of hebes.

1931 and 1932 Henry Bennett and son, Dunedin

Henry Bennett and his sons were the only competitors for the Loder Cup at the Jubilee Show in Dunedin in 1931 and in Christchurch in 1932. The exhibits contained more than 800 specimens drawn from every botanical province including the outlying islands, and all altitudinal zones.

1929 Duncan and Davies Ltd, New Plymouth

The Loder Cup was awarded for the first time at the Auckland Horticultural Society's 1929 Rose Show to Duncan and Davies Ltd for a display of more than 500 well grown native plants. It was probably the largest collection of plants to have been show in Auckland and contained many unique and unfamiliar specimens. Labels showed botanical names, habitat, cultivation details and usage. The Auckland District Council of the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture purchased the plants and presented them to the Auckland City Council for planting in the Fernery and along Exhibition Drive in the Auckland Domain.