Restoring Rahiri

Living through two world wars and the Great Depression, this once overgrown, forgotten communal garden has been transformed into a space that celebrates its difficult topography and unique history

- Karsha Green

In 2003, Neil and Libby Harrison purchased the ground-floor apartment of a six-unit, two-storey Federation block in the northern Sydney suburb of Cremorne. The block was built in 1910 and originally named after a mythical Maori god — Rahiri — by its New Zealand owners.

While Rahiri possessed the kind of beauty and character that can only be gained from just over a century of existence, the building, as well as its surrounding gardens, were in desperate need of some tender love and care. As avid gardeners, Neil and Libby set upon refurbishing the sloping, rugged communal garden and restoring Rahiri’s spirit.

As a retired school teacher, Neil had no formal training in garden design to draw upon, just experience gained through various personal projects and his inherent love of plants and landscapes. Faced with weed-infested, nutrient-deficient soil, an old brick shed, a rusty clothes line and a few overgrown tree ferns, Neil’s plan was to begin cleaning up the space and then let nature take its course.