At 34 metres tall, Timaru’s Wellingtonia gigantea – also known as the Champagne Tree – is the tallest tree in the city. Its story stretches back almost 150 years and begins with a seedling gifted to Elizabeth Rhodes by her husband George Rhodes, the runholder of The Levels station. The young couple were living at Linwood House at the time, which once stood where the Timaru District Council chambers are today.
After George’s death in 1864, Elizabeth eventually remarried in 1873. Her second husband, Arthur Perry, was a Timaru lawyer who owned a 12-acre estate known as Beverley. Located in what is now lower Wai-iti Road, Beverley was famed for its grand home and one of the finest gardens in New Zealand.
Elizabeth brought the three-year-old redwood with her to Beverley, reportedly transporting it across town in a wheelbarrow. Captain A. W. Wright of Craighead, confident it wouldn’t survive the move, bet her a case of champagne on its failure. He lost the bet...!
The redwood not only survived but thrived, standing tall through generations of change, battering storms and the passing of time. It became affectionately known as the Champagne Tree, a name that still endures today. The tree is visible from Caroline Bay and stands on the boundary of the Timaru RSA. Every year at Christmas, a light shines from its top – a small tradition that keeps its legacy glowing through the holiday season.
Sir Edmund Hillary is even rumoured to have climbed it, adding a hint of legendary status to its already storied past.
The once-grand Beverley estate, with its renowned garden and pond, has long since disappeared – the pond was drained and the land subdivided, now forming part of Beverley Road. It’s unclear whether any of the original plantings remain, but the Champagne Tree stands as a living connection to that bygone era.
What do a redwood seedling and a case of champagne have in common? In this case – a bet, a wheelbarrow, and the enduring spirit of Timaru.
