Parks are for People

Parks are for People

the influence of Ian Galloway on New Zealand’s Parks Management System

Ian Galloway legacy was one of the most influential in New Zealand’s Parks and Recreation leadership and management. Ian was responsible for establishing best practice precedents through the management and implementation of the Wellington parks network, including new inner-city parks and as a leader of best practice parks creation and parks agency standards.  Ian was a creator of parks and ‘blue-printed’ public horticulture and parks advocacy at all levels, long before ‘nature in cities’, ‘nature-based solutions’ and biophilic principles were coined as reasons public spaces and urban vegetation should have such features critical for our own species’ ‘wellbeings’ and economies. Ian’s respective legacies endure to this day and continue to serve as a masterclass to us all.

Born in Oamaru, Ian Galloway’s passion for native plants began as a schoolboy when he moved to Hokitika, a small town on the West Coast of the South Island. Little did young the young Galloway know that this interest would shape the course of his future career, and that of the country’s parks management system. Despite facing another move whilst still a young schoolboy, this time to Wellington, Ian Galloway’s affiliation for the outdoors and the art of gardening remained throughout his childhood, where this same passion led him to obtaining an apprenticeship in the Wellington Botanic Gardens. This was followed by travel to England where an additional two years study for a Diploma in Horticulture at the prestigious Kew Gardens was undertaken, which he completed successfully.

Ian Galloway’s achievements undoubtedly formed from the influence of his training in England as his knowledge, passion for horticulture and the development of the industry within New Zealand saw the humble achiever serve on the board of NZIPRA (New Zealand Industry Parks and Recreation Association, latterly amalgamated with the New Zealand Recreation Association) for many years and Ian was awarded an MBE in 1974 for services to horticulture.

Later in life he would note to a newspaper reporter that “at Bournemouth, on the English south coast…I saw many of our native plants on the cliff above the beach, (it was then) I realised we did not appreciate these plants in our landscaping”. This realisation, and the strong belief that “parks are for people” caused Ian to devote the majority of his time to the establishment and stewardship of what was then known as the Wellington City Parks Department when he became Parks Director.  

Ian was tireless and devoted to his passion and life’s work; public horticulture and the provision of parks for people. The now Director Galloway influenced Wellington City’s urban form and in the City’s Parks Department led dramatic changes in processes and management, along with staffing increases in the department and building community and political support. In this period of growth and development in the role of Parks Director, Ian Galloway led what he believed held the most value, strengthening the city’s park network through the enhancement and beautification of existing open spaces and creating inner city greenspace available to the public. Sometimes these new spaces were from land deemed vacant for other development and in direct challenge to the default positions of the day for urban land use.

This shift in management structure and the activities for parks and recreation set precedent for parks management throughout the rest of the country, as other parks teams saw the possibilities for acquisition and improvement. Other parks departments were able to reference examples of best practice, an industry benchmark and the widespread benefits of implementing such administrative and management methods for improving parks network planning and the execution of larger scale landscape renewal than had ever been seen before.

One particular example of Director Galloway’s influence on urban park development was exercised in the initial vision and background logistics of the boldly created and enduring Midland Park. “It was due to his determination and passion for open park spaces that such a popular space created a benchmark for inner city parks in New Zealand”. (Frank Boffa 2007). This along with the establishment of the public parks’ entertainment programme; Summer City, the first freely available event of its kind in New Zealand, is evidence of Ian Galloway’s “parks are for people” outlook. The list of the many achievements Ian led echoed a keen public interest of the parks department and the public horticulture sector of Wellington City at the time where the public service led by Ian and a dedicated team of parks leaders moved from success to success. This was symptomatically due to a parks and recreation department in its own right operating in an environment where direct relationships with public partners and decision makers could flourish to serve the community. 

Ian’s staff recall a leader who protected their staff and made them feel safe in going about their duties with the public amongst numerous initiatives.  Ian always said to people, "Parks are needed where the people are". New staff recall being inducted by being put through every angle of parks and recreation, including but not limited to swimming pools, the zoo, playing fields, cemeteries, the landscape crew, botanic gardens, and community work. Staff recalled a high value of trust and an united professional purpose in getting involved in new areas of development for Wellington including the Northern Walkway, forming volunteer groups, liaising with the developing environmental movement and “big projects” like the Bolton Street Cemetery restoration and expanding the foreshore parks with the harbour board of the time, which has led to the harbourside city legacy Wellington has got today. The move to specific planning with the outer town belt saw Ian work closely with the town planner Ken Clarke and engaged people like Di Menzies and Mary Buckland as prominent landscape architects. Ian also engaged the first recreational officers to expand the role of parks as an identified service and Ian championed multiple new initiatives for the growing parks sector of the time. At that time, other parks agencies looked to key agencies such as Wellington City, Auckland Region and Cornwall Park as exemplars to be emulated, for standards, leadership, structured professionalism, planning and future thinking.

Ian was closely involved in legislation concerned with parks and parks planning.  When submissions were being made on the Reserves Act in the mid-1970s, Ian was a strong advocate for management plans and a more simple approach to public land administration, with a reduced central government bureaucracy and the emphasis Ian put on an individually recognised park profession that administered parks at a local level in partnership with the communities close to those parks.

Ian Galloway’s enthusiasm never faltered. Despite the growing demands of his career, he actively encouraged high levels of training and often took on an advisory and teaching role with the department’s more junior staff, including ensuring the many apprentices were being all the opportunities and experiences they needed. Further to this, in the day a Parks Director was practically expected to serve upon the various horticultural and garden societies of the day, or at least attend their multiple meetings. Ian also served as an industry mentor and mentor and supporter to the qualifications framework at the time, recalled by students of the time that still serve in our industry today.

There was a status, importance and a reverence for parks, gardens and recreation at that time, up to the late 1980s. This time was previous to a phase in our history that has undermined parks values by various economic theory, political partisanship and social service corporatisation influences as well as the dismantling of traditional training structures, including public horticulture apprenticeships and latterly the entire Parks Management degree. However, the public still demand and expect these services and the examples we are reminded of include those that Ian led to fruition. As ever, the test for Ian’s feats are to try and imagine what would be involved now to reach the same outcomes.  It is notable that his former staff note that to this day they still hold true to the ideals and standards from their time with Ian.

During May 1986 Ian Galloway suffered a fatal heart attack. He was only 57 years old. The Wellington City Council named Ian Galloway Park in memory of this modest man at a time when park names were commonly bestowed only to prominent councillors at the time. This speaks to the high esteem in which Ian Galloway was held with decision makers of the time, the community, his colleagues and the Wellington City Council as a whole. Wellington City Council continued to honour Ian’s legacy by gifting the Ian Galloway Memorial Cup to the organisation that followed NZIPRA, the then New Zealand Recreation Association as it was known, (Now Recreation Aotearoa) a cup that continues to be awarded annually to this day “In Recognition of Excellence and Outstanding Personal Contribution to the Wider Parks Industry”.  

Ian is remembered by fellow parks managers and staff as a ‘no-fuss’ caring leader that operated a rigourously practical approach with prudence, while achieving difficult outcomes in political environments. There was far more responsibility and delegation attached to senior roles and with it an expectation of results and decision making. Ian was not adverse to ‘talking truth to power’, a rare commodity in these times where there is a structured prevalence to defer or prolong, simply by the virtue of there being more steps involved, diluted responsibility, and layered decision making. Despite this seniority, Ian was still a plantsman that sourced, grew and gave plants. To this day, plants Ian once gave as gifts are propagated from and seedlings given as supporting acknowledgements to recipients of the Ian Galloway Memorial Cup.  

It is safe to say without the influence and earnestness of Ian Galloway, New Zealand’s parks and recreation management systems would have developed in a far different manner. Ian had the foresight to ensure the growing diversifying function of the parks management system could continually improve through the integration and development of a professional, administrative infrastructure from which parks management could be achieved at network scales far larger than had been previously achieved.

People’s recollections and archival mentions repeatedly identify that that Ian worked well with politicians and conducted a very pragmatic approach, where the respect and welfare of people was at the heart of parks management and public service.

Ian once said to a former staff member, Kit Howden, who when he commenced working with Ian, "Parks are a great career for life and it's all about service.  You won't get paid much but from your service you'll get great rewards".  

Geoff Canham was awarded the Ian Galloway Memorial Cup in 2013.

For archival information please contact geoff . canham at geoffcanhamconsulting . co . nz; 

Thanks to the contributions from Bruce Stokell, Kit Howden, Richard Nanson, Glenn McGovern, Dianne Paton, Neil Tonkin and Mike Oates, and assistance from Deb Hurdle, the Wellington City Council Library and Wellington City Council Democracy Services. (+Photos and archival material available).  

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