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| A 1933 view of John Cooper's topiary garden - 02-285/28 |
From the 1920s to 1960, John Cooper's topiary garden at Newman, on the main road north of Eketahuna, was a popular tourist attraction.
John Cooper built Glendon in 1892 and the topiary reached its zenith in the 1930s,
mirroring the revival of topiary by the Arts and Crafts movement in England. In 1933 the garden was visited by Lady Bledisloe, wife of the Governor-General.
After his death in 1942 the topiary garden remained in place until the Cooper farm was sold in 1960.
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| A child sitting in a topiary chair in Cooper's topiary garden, 1930 - 04-41/12 |
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| John Cooper working on topiary, 10 September 1930 - 04-41/9 |
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| Mrs Cooper and a topiary hen, circa 1930s - 04-41/8 |
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| Early 1930s view of garden - 04-41/2 |
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| Man on a sofa, circa 1930s - 04-41/5 |
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John Cooper and Lady Bledisloe, wife of the Governor-General, 1933 - 04-41/4.
Note the topiary man sitting to the right of Lady Bledisloe.
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The second Glendon
After 1960 the house and garden fell into disrepair until the property was bought in 1971 by Margaret and Kel Lucas, who spent many years restoring the house and creating a large country garden.
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| Glendon homestead, prior to restoration, 1980 - 04-41/18 |
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| A 1990 view of the house after restoration - 04-41/30 |
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| Garden after restoration, undated - 04-41/23 |
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| Garden after restoration, undated - 04-41/22 |
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| Garden, showing colchicums, lavender and wachendorfias, undated - 04-41/20 |
Glendon today
Interested in how Glendon had fared in recent years, I took some photos from State Highway 2. While some of the trees are a little overgrown, the shape of the garden, including the lovely sweep of the driveway put in place by Mr and Mrs Lucas, still provides a very attractive view.
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| The driveway, January 2011. |
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| Glimpse of the homestead from the road, January 2011 |
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| A corner of the old picket fence, January 2011 |
Margaret Lucas wrote a book about the history of Glendon and its restoration:
Glendon: topiary and tranquillity - a history of two gardens. It is available from
Heritage Press and the Wairarapa Archive.
Source: Wairarapa Archive
As soon as I saw the gables of the house in the first photo I knew exactly which property this was going to be! As a child in the 1970s and 80s I was fascinated by the neglected, and then restoration taking place, as we traveled constantly from Masterton to Pahiatua. Lovely to see the topiary. What vision of the first Mr Cooper.
ReplyDeleteThe young girl sitting with the umbrella is Lesley Cooper, niece to John Cooper.
ReplyDeleteIt was never called Glendon in John Cooper's time. Margaret Lucas named it Glendon.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that. Do you know what John Cooper called it?
DeleteHi Caryl, In John Cooper's time it had no name. John's grand daughter confirmed this fact. She used to live in the house while John was still alive.
DeleteI can see I'm going to have to do some editing. Thanks very much for letting me know.
DeleteAlso the topiary did not remain in place until the 1960's. After 1940 only the couch and the chairs on the right remained for a few years. As told to me by John's grand daughter.
ReplyDeleteI recall basing this story on a small book written by Margaret Lucas. Thank you for the update on the topiary.
DeleteAnything you would like to know about The Coopers of Newman/Nireaha ask me. My Great Grandmother was John Cooper's sister, plus I am Admin of a Face book page called Cooper NZ with 44 members who are relatives of John Cooper. We have many photographs and histories of the Cooper family. I have read Margaret Lucas's book and was greatly disappointed by it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your very kind offer.
DeleteI will have to take a fresh look at John Cooper and his garden.
I see nothing has been changed regarding my past posts here. One might think that the real facts the Topiary garden holds are not welcome here. I can if asked, write the correct history of the Coopers and the Topiary Garden.
DeleteI'd be delighted if you could supply the correct story of the Coopers' topiary garden. At the moment all I have is the Lucas book. The advantage of online content is that it can be updated and revised. It's a long time since I worked on this post and an update would be excellent
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletehttps://gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2023/05/02/john-coopers-topiary-garden-newman/
ReplyDeleteThank you Paul. That is very interesting reading. I will edit my post above where appropriate and also include a link to your very comprehensive story.
DeleteI will also circulate your link to Wairarapa Archive and our historical experts.
Thank you so much.