Ralph Ballinger OBE, AHRIH

New Zealand Horticulture Industry Training Organisation, PO Box 8050, Dunedin
Phone: (03) 455 7550
Cellphone: 029 200 9242
Fax: (03) 455 1520
Email: GlennD@rnzih.org.nz

PO Box 8021, Gardens Post Office, Dunedin
Phone: (03) 474 3569
Email: ReeceM@rnzih.org.nz

Hamilton City Council, Private Bag 3010, Hamilton Phone: (07) 838 6934
Cellphone: 021 790 203
Fax: (07) 838 6935
Email: WullemsE@rnzih.org.nz

Jack Hobbs (President of the RNZIH)

Curator Manager of the Auckland Botanic Gardens (ABG) in Manurewa, Auckland.

Jack has been Curator Manager of the ABG since 1997, after previously being Curator from 1988.

He has long been a member of the Institute, joining as a student in 1977.  In 1990 he was awarded the Plant Raisers Award, in 1991 became a Fellow of the RNZIH, and in 1996 an Associate of Honour of the RNZIH.

Jack has been a presenter of television gardening programmes from 1991 until 2003, including 8 years as a presenter on Maggie's Garden Show.  For almost 20 years he ran an extensive plant breeding programme at ARBG which has produced many popular native plant hybrids including the popular 'Wiri' series of Hebe and Leptospermum which are now grown commercially in many parts of the world.

Jack has been involved as writer and/or photographer for magazines and several gardening books.  Since 1989 he has been a regular contributor of articles and photography to the New Zealand Gardener.  He co-authored Bulbs for New Zealand Gardeners and Collectors (Jack Hobbs and Terry Hatch, Godwit Publishing, 1994; published in USA as The Best Bulbs for Temperate Climates, Timber Press, 1994.)

Other horticultural books he has contributed to include Ferns for New Zealand Gardens (Sandra Van der Mast and Jack Hobbs, Godwit Publishing, 1998), and he completed the manuscript for A New Zealand Handbook of Bulbs and Perennials (H. Redgrove, Godwit Publishing, 1991).

With his broad horticultural expertise from the practical to the managerial levels and high public profile Jacks role as President of the RNZIH is very fitting.

Qualifications

• NCH

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (AHRIH)
• Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand

Current Group & Society Memberships

• Friends of Auckland Botanic Garden
• International Dendrology Society
• International Plant Propagators Society IPPS
• Botanical Society

Dr Ross Ferguson (Vice President of the RNZIH)

Scientist with HortResearch at Mt Albert, Auckland.

Ross Ferguson studied at Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Auckland and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Society for Horticultural Science and an Associate of Honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.  He was the Cockayne Memorial Lecturer in 1995.

Ross is recognised internationally for his research over many years into the biology of the genus Actinidia (kiwifuit).  He has written many important reviews and his own research work has concentrated on the nutritional physiology of kiwifruit, the taxonomy of the genus, the measurement of ploidy and genome size in kiwifruit and a number of other crops, and the benefits of kiwifruit consumption to the human diet.  His work has enhanced opportunities within the HortResearch kiwifruit breeding programs.  He has also written extensively on the detailed history of kiwifruit domestication.

Dr Ferguson has developed many links with kiwifruit research groups overseas, particularly in China and Italy.

Qualifications

• PhD

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (AHRIH)
• Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ)
• International Society for Horticultural Science
• New Zealand Institute of Agriculture and Horticultural Science (FNZSHS)

Current Group & Society Memberships

• Member of various horticultural groups

David Sole (Chairman of the RNZIH)

Manager of Wellington Botanic Gardens.

David Sole first became a member of the RNZIH in 1979 as part of his NDH studies.  During that time he worked for Wellington City Council Parks & Reserves, which was at that time under the administration of Ian Galloway and Richard Nanson.  He completed his NDH (Hons) in 1985 and was awarded the David Tannock Prize for his Oral & Practical examination.

In 1986 he left employment with the City and, along with his wife, established the business Sole Gardening & Landscaping Ltd.  It offered landscape maintenance, arboricultural and landscape services through until 1995 when he decided to focus on the landscaping side of the business.

While the RNZIH administered training he acted as an examiner for a number of Oral & Practical Examinations and later, as trade training moved across to unit standards, was part of the team from the Landscape Industries Association of New Zealand (LIANZ), involved with the consulting on the unit standards and went on to become a HITO board member, representing LIANZ and the landscape industry until 1995.

As a member of The New Zealand Landscape Guild, later to become LIANZ, he served on the executive, and also as vice president and involved with the New Zealand Landscape Awards Programme.  He has been an active local member of LIANZ until recently.

In October 2003 David was appointed in the position of Manager of Wellington's Botanic Gardens where he enjoys working in a stimulating and forward thinking environment with skilled staff and local, national and international associations.

He has maintained his membership of the RNZIH, was made a fellow in 1996, and is the current Chairman.

Qualifications

• NDH (Hons)

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (FRIH)

Murray Dawson (Webmaster of the RNZIH)

Research Technician, Landcare Research, Lincoln.

Murray Dawson has worked as a research technician for the former DSIR Botany Division from 1981 and then Landcare Research since its inception in 1991 to the present time.

In 1995 he was granted leave to complete a MSc at the University of Reading in the UK.  His thesis was on ornamental cultivars of Leptospermum (manuka) for which he received the DD Baker Award through the RNZIH.

With the introduction of the RNZIH website Murray saw the potential uses and benefits of this new technology to the Institute.  He approached National Executive expressing interest in developing the site and introducing many new features.  Because of his very significant contribution to the development of the website Murray was appointed Webmaster in 2001 and was also co-opted onto the National Executive.  Today this site could be described as one of the major horticultural sites in New Zealand.

From 2005, he has also taken on the role of co-editor of the New Zealand Garden Journal (Journal of the RNZIH).

Qualifications

• MSc

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (FRIH)

David Glenn (Notable Trees Registrar)

Currently David is the National Contracts Manager for the New Zealand Horticulture Industry Training Organisation and is based in Dunedin.

David completed a Horticulture and Gardening apprenticeship with the Dunedin City Council before travelling abroad.  While overseas David worked in Britain and Europe for 10 years as one of the managers of Southern Tree Surgeons Ltd, an arborist contractor working throughout Europe.

Following his return David has been a Horticulture and Arborist contractor in Dunedin since 1988 running his own company until 1997.

Since then David was the Head of School for Horticulture for the Otago Polytechnic for three years before his current appointment.

Recently David has become the Notable Trees Registrar continuing the late Ron Flook's long standing contribution in this role.

Qualifications

• Qualified Gardener

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (Notable Trees Registrar)
• New Zealand Arboricultural Association (President)

Andrew Maloy

Self-employed in his bromeliad production nursery at Whenuapai, Auckland.

Scottish born, Andrew Maloy emigrated to New Zealand in 1974.  Upon arrival to New Zealand, Andrew spent the next nine years working at two nurseries as propagation supervisor and production manager in the Auckland region.

From 1982 to the current day, he has been self-employed running his own nursery production business, during which he has also been a Lecturer in Amenity Horticulture, Nursery Production and Plant Propagation at UNITEC Institute of Technology, Auckland (from 1991 to 1997).

From 1998 until 2002 Andrew was also technical writer for the Consumers' Institute Home & Garden magazine.  He continues his writing and editing skills as the Plant Doctor for Weekend Gardener magazine and as co-editor of the New Zealand Garden Journal (Journal of the RNZIH).  Andrew was the previous Chairman of the RNZIH executive committee for two terms during which the NZ Gardens Trust and NZ Education Trust was established.

Qualifications

• Ordinary National Diploma in Commercial and General Horticulture (Scotland)
• City and Guilds of London Institute Certificate in Organisation and Management, Horticulture (Stage 3)

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (FRIH)

Current Group & Society Memberships

• International Plant Propagators Society (member since 1974)

Mick Reece

Community and Recreation Services Manager, Dunedin City Council.

Mick Reece has lived in Dunedin since 1983 when he gained the position as Curator of the Dunedin Botanic Garden.  Before that he was employed at the Wellington Botanic Garden for seven years where he completed his RNZIH National Diploma of Horticulture (Hons).  Mick has remained involved at a management level with the Botanic Garden over the past 22 years, although as Community and Recreation Services Manager his responsibilities have extended to parks, reserves, cemeteries, community development and other activities of the Dunedin City Council.

Mick is passionate about plants and gardens and belongs to a number of professional and non-professional organisations, including executive member of the RNZIH, promoting these interests at a national and international level.

Qualifications

• NDH Hons (New Zealand)

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture (FRIH)
• NZ Recreation Association (ANZIPRA)
• International Dendrology Society
• Royal Horticultural Society
• Botanic Garden Conservation International
• Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand

Current Group & Society Memberships

• Dunedin Rhododendron Group
• Dunedin Horticultural Society (Vice President)
• Friends of the Dunedin Botanic Garden
• Hardy Plants Society
• Otago Alpine Garden Society

Eddie Wullems

City Parks Manager, Hamilton City Council.

Eddie Wullems has been with Hamilton City Council since 1983 and has been the manager of City Parks Business Unit since 1996.  City Parks is an in-house contracting unit maintaining all the parks and reserves in Hamilton including the city's major icons Hamilton Gardens, Waikato Stadium and Seddon Park.

Eddie has been involved with service delivery his entire career starting in 1979 with what was then the Ministry of Works in Wellington and started his studies for NDH.  He spent four years in Wairoa (Hawkes Bay) where he completed his NDH (Hons) before moving to Hamilton.

Eddie has been involved with the NZ Recreation Association for many years and was on the board which managed the amalgamation of three separate professional organizations (parks, pools & recreation) into one under the banner of NZRA.

Cuurently Eddie is also a member of the RNZIH Education Trust.

Qualifications

• NDH Hons (New Zealand)

Industry & Professional Associations

• Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture
• NZ Recreation Association

Current Group & Society Memberships

• RNZIH Education Trust

Key Members

There are currently more than 500 subscribed members of the RNZIH.
If you wish to be added to this section of the directory;
please email the webmaster