The Albert Edward Oak

The Christchurch Botanic Gardens began with a royal wedding. On 9 July 1863 this oak went into the ground of what was then the Government Domain, planted to mark the marriage of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. It was the first tree of the gardens, and it is still the oldest in them. Who actually held the spade is a small local argument. Christchurch City Libraries credits the government gardener, Enoch Barker. Another local history account credits William "Cabbage" Wilson, nurseryman and later mayor. Both agree Wilson gave the tree to the city, so he earns a share of the credit either way. It was not the only oak planted that day. A second went in at Ferry Road and East Belt, planted by four prominent colonial wives. That one is gone. This is the survivor of the pair, and every other tree in the gardens was planted after it. There is a plaque at the tree. That matters, because the gardens hold more than one big old oak, and nobody has published a girth or an exact position for this one. The pin marks the likeliest candidate rather than a certainty. If you stand at the plaque and can tell us the trunk's size, we would like to hear it.