During our trip to New Zealand in the late fall of 2018 my wife and I made time to visit the Te Henui Cemetery in the city of New Plymouth. The first question that many of you may be asking yourselves is why someone would visit a cemetery when on a holiday.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

While in New Zealand we watched a feature item on the television news about the great work that a group of dedicated volunteers do at Te Henui Cemetery. That piqued our curiosity and we decided to visit during our time in New Plymouth.

The Te Henui Cemetery is also known as the New Plymouth Cemetery. It is the oldest public cemetery in the city and has been used since 1861. A walk past many of the gravestones provides a fascinating look into the history of New Zealand in this part of the country.

While occasional burials still occur on family plots in the Te Henui Cemetery, plots are no longer available for purchase to the public. The cemetery now mainly has a heritage function.

A number of years ago the Te Henui Cemetery fell into a rather tired state due to a lack of upkeep. The local council needed to decide what to do with the facility. Through the efforts of the council and a group of local volunteers the Te Henui Cemetery underwent a significant rejuvenation. Numerous trees were planted and the grounds were lovingly enhanced.

Today NPDC horticulture staff and a group of active volunteer gardeners tend to this award-winning cemetery. My wife and I enjoyed our time exploring the Te Henui Cemetery. It was a great place to learn about some of the local history. And, as you’ll see from the many flower images in this article, it presented many other photographic opportunities.

If you visit New Zealand and enjoy flower photography we would recommend a visit to the Te Henui Cemetery. It is located at 173 Lemon Street in New Plymouth.

If you enjoyed this article and are interested in viewing more New Zealand information and photographs, you may enjoy our eBook, New Zealand Tip-to-Tip. It is available for purchase and download at a cost of $12.99 Canadian.

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Technical Note:
All photographs in this article were captured hand-held in available light using Nikon 1 gear as per the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process of DxO PhotoLab, CS6 and the Nik Collection.

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