Tūpare

About this place

Tūpare is a heritage garden and homestead at 487 Mangorei Road, New Plymouth, owned and managed by the Taranaki Regional Council. The property runs down a hillside to the Waiwhakaiho River, with winding paths cut into the slope, intimate garden rooms and a pastoral river flat at the bottom.

The land was bought in 1932 by Russell Matthews and his wife Mary. Matthews spent about 12 years building the house to a design by James Chapman-Taylor while developing the garden alongside it. The result is an Arts and Crafts homestead set in a mature landscaped garden. Grand conifers including dawn redwoods, kauri and giant redwoods form the framework, supported by deciduous specimens such as dove trees, tulip trees and liquidambars, with maples, magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and hydrangeas beneath, and cottage plantings and spring bulbs filling in. The autumn display is a particular feature. Tūpare holds the New Zealand Gardens Trust's top six-star rating and is described as a garden of international significance. It was also named in Tripadvisor's 2020 Travellers' Choice list of gardens.

The garden is open all day, every day, with free entry. Free house tours hosted by the Friends of Tūpare run at 11am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from October to March. There are free barbecues on the River Flat, historical information in the Gardener's Cottage, wheelchair access and toilets, and a regular public programme of music and horticultural workshops.

Tūpare is available for private hire by arrangement with the Taranaki Regional Council. Outdoor spaces are hired individually; the Cottage Lawn, for example, is listed for up to 50 seated or 60 standing guests. The house itself can be booked privately, though the council limits this to no more than two house functions a week, and no function may overlap with garden workshops or events. The property remains open to the public throughout.

For business events, Tūpare suits garden receptions, conference welcome functions, partner and incentive programmes, and small hosted dinners in a heritage house. It is not a conference centre, with no dedicated plenary room or in-house audio-visual kit, so it works best as the memorable half-day or evening element alongside a main conference venue.