The Italian Renaissance Garden at Hamilton Gardens. Photo / Supplied
The Italian Renaissance Garden at Hamilton Gardens. Photo / Supplied
Lucy Ryan, director of Hamilton's spectacular showcase, believes hers is the best job in the world, writes Elisabeth Easther
Waikato born and raised, Lucy Ryan started her career as a teacher, a vocation that took her across the world. But on returning to New Zealand after her big OE, she felt the need for change. She explains how her career path led her home to Hamilton, where she is now director of the world-class Hamilton Gardens.
Lucy Ryan, director of Hamilton Gardens. Photo / Supplied
The Hamilton Gardens are exquisite. Can you describe them for someone who's never been? The Hamilton Gardens cover 44 hectares of open space and enclosed gardens and they reflect the story of civilisation from 2000BC to now.
They're like a journey through human existence, culture, belief, and art. Longer-term we are looking to add 14 new gardens and a treetop walkway. When that's done, the gardens will showcase the cultural meaning and context of gardens over the past 4000 years.
You've had some very cool jobs before the Hamilton Gardens. Where does your story begin? I was born in Huntly in 1972 and I grew up on a farm, which was such a wonderful start to life. I went to school in Hamilton and I trained to be a teacher at the University of Waikato.
I started at St Patricks in Te Awamutu before moving to London. London kids were very different to Kiwi kids, although they made me a much better teacher. I then spent three years backpacking round South America, Europe, America and Canada, but when I came home in the early 2000s I knew I didn't want to teach anymore, and I was fortunate to find work in the digital sphere back when the web was new.
What did that entail? I started as a digital co-ordinator and worked on a website for the Ministry of Education, Te Kete Ipurangi, before moving into project management, which led to working on Te Papa projects, which is how I got into museums.
Did you consciously move towards roles that sit at the confluence between teaching and visitor experience? All my roles have been about engaging audiences, so teaching has really helped. People don't want an encyclopaedia on the wall, but they do want to "get it" so my job involves figuring out how to engage people with compelling content, whether for an exhibition or a world class garden.
What brought you to Auckland? I was offered a project management role at Auckland Museum. That morphed into management as head of exhibitions, education and public programmes.
What makes a good exhibition? An exhibition is like a tree. You need a really clear idea at the centre, that's the trunk. Then you have six or so key messages that stem from that big idea and they're the branches. The leaves are things that add richness and delight, and they come from stories and wisdom. But if you don't have that strong core, the information will be diluted and people won't get it.
The Surrealist Garden at Hamilton Gardens. Photo / Supplied
What enticed you to move home, and out of the museum sector? After nine years at Auckland Museum, I fell in love with a Hamilton man, Ritchie, who is now my husband. I was also fortunate to be offered a position with Hamilton City Council as their Central City Place Manager.
That role was all about shaping the central city into a place people love to be, by opening it up to the Waikato River, encouraging people to live and work there and making it easy to access and move around in. Hamilton's going through such a positive transformation, the population is growing rapidly, and my prediction, come 2025 if not before, Hamilton will be one of the most attractive cities in New Zealand to live in.
Were you torn when you saw the Hamilton Gardens role advertised? I'd only been in the place manager role for 18 months, and I loved my Central City team but being the Hamilton Gardens Director was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I went for it, because it felt like the culmination of everything I've ever done in one job.
How has Covid impacted the Gardens? During the first tranche we still saw half a million visitors go through, but during the subsequent lockdown we were down 55-70 per cent on the previous year. We also reduced our opening hours, and used My Vaccine pass to keep people safe, but because we're a council facility and a city taonga, we were very lucky not to have suffered the way private operators have.
We're also fortunate to have a great partnership with the Friends of Hamilton Gardens, volunteers who've made an invaluable contribution for more than 30 years, doing everything from working in information to fundraising.
What does the future hold? In the shorter term, my focus is on enriching visitor experience and maintaining momentum for our new gardens. I want to build on interpretation and storytelling so people can engage on a deeper level.
Another exciting development is the opening of the new Ancient Egyptian Gardens in the middle of the year. We're designing our new Visitor Arrival Centre, with a focus on manākitanga, as well as recognising the historic and ongoing significance of this place to Māori as Tāngata Whenua and first gardeners of the area.
So, you're pretty settled in Hamilton for the next wee while? Absolutely, I have the best job in the world, and I'm thrilled to be leading the next chapter of this spectacular attraction.
I'm not sure how I got to be so lucky with my career path, from teaching to museums and beyond, but somehow, I have navigated into some of the coolest jobs in the world.
