A small planting project in Dunedin aims to honour the resilience of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This year marks 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered massive casualties after an atomic bomb was dropped on each of the Japanese cities on 6 August and 9 August 1945, respectively.
As a call for peace, the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board has organised the planting of a third gingko tree at Truby King Reserve in Seacliff this Saturday (9 August 2025).
The tree will join two other gingko trees which have already been planted at the reserve.
All three trees are direct descendants of a tree at Tsuruhane Shrine that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Thirty seeds from this tree arrived in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 2017 and, for the past eight years, have been nurtured at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
Catherine Bradley, Dunedin Botanic Garden manager says, “Our staff had the honour of propagating Ginkgo biloba seeds that originated from a surviving tree in Hiroshima. They have done an excellent job of nurturing 23 of the 30 seeds to become healthy trees to be planted.
“Last year, one of the trees, standing 1.5 metres, was planted at the Market Reserve to mark Hiroshima Day. We have also planted a grove in the arboretum near the Northern Cemetery and distributed trees to other botanic gardens in the South Island.”
The Waikouaiti Coast Community Board contacted DCC staff and suggested the Truby King Reserve as a suitable site.
The ginkgo seed project was initiated by the Rotary Club of Dunedin Central Green Legacy Hiroshima and is part of a global volunteer initiative to mark the atomic bombings and foster peace.