Wellington's oldest tree survived because an architect went to court for it. Decades before Otari-Wilton's Bush became the protected forest reserve it is today, Bob Fantl, a Bauhaus-trained architect and early environmentalist, fought to stop this rimu being felled, and the reason it still stands over Wilton Road is that he won. It is a rimu rather than a kauri and carries none of a kauri's bulk: a trunk measured at 177.6 centimetres across in 2010, a height of 27.3 metres, its bark hung with epiphytes and perching lilies the way old-growth rimu usually are. Its age, repeated everywhere as about 800 years, is old enough that locals had already taken to calling it Wellington's oldest and tallest tree long before it had a name of its own. It got one in July 2021, when local iwi gifted it the name Moko in a Matariki ceremony. In 2024 it was named a finalist for the country's Tree of the Year, decades after a single court case was the only thing standing between it and a saw. A protective viewing platform now stands over its roots, reached by a 20 to 30 minute track from the Troup Picnic Lawn, rebuilt as a gentler zig-zag route in 2022 so the climb there does not itself become more foot traffic over the ground the tree needs.
Otari-Wilton's Bush, 150 Wilton Road, Wilton, Wellington, New Zealand (track starts at the Troup Picnic Lawn) You can recognise it by the protective platform built around its roots at the end of the track, its trunk hung with epiphytes and perching lilies, Wellington's tallest tree.
Free, open all hours, no ticket. Otari-Wilton's Bush is a Wellington City Council native botanic garden and forest reserve; main entrance and car park at 150 Wilton Road. A 20-30 minute track (a gentler zig-zag route opened 2022) leads from the Troup Picnic Lawn to a protective viewing platform built around the tree's roots.
Number 14 (Wilton) bus from central Wellington; about 15 minutes by car from the city centre. Walking/biking also possible; bikes not permitted on the trails themselves.