The gardens

The house is situated in 1 ¾ acres of garden. The property is spacious and well proportioned, with several mature and handsome trees. An all-weather tennis court is located at the rear of the grounds. After the house was rebuilt in 1985/86, landscaping work was carried out in the garden. In 1988, less than two years after the garden was completed, the Residence garden won first prize in the Embassy category of the ACT Bicentennial Garden Competition. Worth noting is the sculptural piece by Roy Cowan in the front of the house.

The Canberra climate, with its greater extremes of heat and cold than are usually found in New Zealand, restricts the types of New Zealand plantings which can be used. The Residence garden does, however, have some New Zealand native plants, which can be seen on the left hand side of the pathway which leads through to the rear of the garden. These include New Zealand flaxes (Phorium tenax) and pittosporums, including (Pittospurum tenuifolium), the Maori name for which is kohuna. The most notable New Zealand native in the garden is, however, the kowhai tree (Sohora tetraptera), renowned in New Zealand for its golden display in the spring. This tree is believed to one of the very few kowhai in this part of Australia, as it is frost-tender. Another considerably younger specimen can be seen at the New Zealand High Commission.