Award
Place-making Award
Winner
Geraldine Sculpture Trail by Geraldine.nz
In brief
The Geraldine Sculpture Trail was created to inspire and delight the community and visitors by developing four walking loops each connecting the CBD with the natural environment, art, history and culture.
Unique in New Zealand, this free and accessible open-air gallery showcases high quality art set in Geraldine’s riverside woodlands, rhododendron dell, expansive domain and ancient podocarp forest.
The details
Geraldine is a picturesque country town of 2,600 people, located along the Inland Scenic Route 72, South Canterbury. It is approximately 1.5 hours south of Christchurch and just 10 minutes from State Highway 1.
The vision. A few years ago, the Geraldine community had the vision to create an experience that will revitalise the soul, feed the mind and send the heart soaring.Encompassing flowing water, sparkling sunlight, native forest, birdsong, vistas of inspiring artwork, and stories of local history, culture, and nature, the Geraldine Sculpture Trail is free, accessible to all, and totally unique to New Zealand.
This project, long talked about by the community, brought together a team of passionate folk who planned, fund-raised and finally commenced construction of the trails in 2021. It has been a collaboration of key stakeholders, organisations, volunteer groups, resulting a cohesive experience that tells the story of Geraldine. The whole community is engaged and carries forward the essence of pride for this project.
The aim. The project’s aim was to create trails which are accessible to all and to encourage people to get outdoors on foot for their own health and wellbeing, to also encourage walking to school and into the CBD, a connection of safe walking networks. The combined addition of art, culture and history to the trails was intended to provide the walker with a holistic experience, encourage a sense of discovery and curiosity to explore the trail at different times of day and different seasons. The primary intention was to create an experience for the people of Geraldine and the wider Timaru District to enjoy but also to offer visitors a reason to stop in Geraldine.
The town is on the main route to/from Tekapo, Aoraki/Mt Cook, and Queenstown and as such, enjoys a healthy throughput of domestic and international visitor traffic but the challenge has always been to give these visitors a reason to stop in the town.
It is important to note that each of the four trails connect to the Geraldine CBD, this accesses people with the trail in easy proximity.
Visitors to Geraldine. Leaving Christchurch Airport, Geraldine is often the first ‘pause’ in the journey for visitors, authentic, natural, and warm welcome to our region. The location of the town plays a key part in the tourism pipeline around the South Island and an important role in shaping visitor impressions.
For domestic visitors, Geraldine is often seen as a central location in the South Island for family holidays and reunions, as well as a highly popular stopover point for those travelling both north and south. Geraldine is a natural centre for the hub-and-spoke model of tourism, with visitors able to use the town as their base for accommodation and initial exploration, then explore the rest of the Timaru District, North Otago, Mackenzie Country, Mid Canterbury, and Christchurch, via a series of day trips.
Walking in Talbot Forest. The Waihi River Trail, the Rhododendron Dell Trail, the Domain Trail and the Talbot Forest Trail are the four trails of the Geraldine Sculpture Trail. Residents and visitors often walk the riverside trails and then continue on to a bush walk through Talbot Forest; a remnant of ancient podocarp forest set on the hills overlooking Geraldine and return through the centre of town.
The contrasting natural settings (natives versus exotics, wild versus planned) of the different parts of the trail serve as interesting and diverse backdrops for artistic, cultural, and heritage pieces telling the story of the land, the town, and the people. The vision for the trail was to take this naturally beautiful template and create an integrated experience that spans nature, the arts, history, and culture to tell the story of Geraldine and its people.
Current art installations which are on loan from the Aigantighe Art Gallery, are sited along the trail to create an art and sculpture trail that is completely free to enter and open to be experienced at any time of the day.
While the past few years were focused on construction of the trails, providing a quality surface with no irregularities, no unexpected heights and a debris free surface was an important focus in ensuring a safe walking experience for young and old. The focus is now moving more towards the art-side, the process is slow and definable as they work towards bringing permanent and temporary sculptures to the trail.
Stakeholders in this project include:
- Timaru District Council
- Geraldine Community Board
- Department of Conservation (landowners)
- Land Information NZ (landowners)
- Environment Canterbury
- Arowhenua Rūnanga (who represent those who hold mana whenua in the Timaru District)
- Geraldine.nz (Community Development and Promotions Assn)
- Bike Geraldine
- Geraldine Public Art Group
- Talbot Forest Working Group (Innovators of replanting public areas in the native bush)
- Waihi River Volunteer Group
Strategic Plans - Values
- Guardianship (kaitiakitanga): We are guardians of our natural environment & abide by
- our statutory responsibilities
- Awareness (hinengaro): We are driven by the spirit of discovery and wish to inspire &
- excite
- Experience (tautōhito):We are passionate about Geraldine & want people to visit &
- appreciate our town
- Compassion (aroha): People matter – our community, our sculptors/artists, visitors to the
- region.
Community Connections and Working Together. Geraldine is a community blessed with a strong tradition of volunteering, collaboration, and getting things done.
The trail concept is the most recent opportunity for a range of local groups to work together to create a community asset that is accessible, sustainable, and most importantly a unique experience for all while maintaining individual health and wellbeing.
Strong and positive collaboration with Timaru District Council continues, the latest focus is on improving safe pedestrian access.