A bronze sculpture of a cedar cone is part of the Dunedin
Botanic Garden's new Cedars of Lebanon Grove unveiled on
Saturday. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Members of Dunedin's Lebanese community now have a
permanent place in the sun, following the unveiling of the
Cedars of Lebanon Grove at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
About 350 members of the Lebanese community - some travelling
from the United Kingdom, United States and Australia -
gathered in Dunedin over the weekend to celebrate their links
with the southern city.
On Saturday, about 250 people gathered on the edge of the
Botanic Garden's Mediterranean Garden to witness the
ceremonial opening of a new grove dedicated to the
community's history in Dunedin.
The grove's centrepiece was a large bronze sculpture of the
cone of a cedar, the national tree of Lebanon, as well as two
cedar trees and a wooden park bench on which to sit and
contemplate the area.
One of the tree plantings was donated by John Farry and wife
Pamela, of Dunedin, after being "acquired" years earlier in
Lebanon, Mr Farry told the crowd.
The other had been propagated at the Dunedin Botanic Garden,
Cedars of Lebanon Club president Richard Joseph, of Dunedin,
said.
The weekend's events aimed to mark the thousands of Lebanese
who left their country seeking economic opportunities in New
Zealand, many of whom settled in Dunedin.
The gathering also included exhibitions of family history, a
reception and black tie ball in the Dunedin Town Hall, as
well as a tour of the "Lebanese precinct" between Carroll,
Maitland, Stafford and Hope Sts in Dunedin.
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