Eric Appleton thought he was going to a lecture on flowers when he walked into the Wakefield Town Hall last week. Instead, he was greeted by a hall full of familiar faces, all on their feet and clapping to celebrate his surprise mayoral award.
The 91-year-old had been told by his good friend Ann Turnbull they were going to a lecture on irises. It was definitely a surprise when he opened the door to find friends, family, employees and fellow industry colleagues gathered to celebrate his decades of dedication to the plant industry.
“When I came to the door and recognised quite a few faces, I thought, this is something different!”
He later admitted the surprise left him with a disrupted night’s sleep as he processed the occasion.
Tasman Mayor Tim King presented the award, recognising Eric’s dedication to the nursery and forestry sectors in Wakefield and throughout New Zealand.
Despite the shock, Eric didn’t miss a beat. He shook hands as he walked the length of the hall and delivered an impromptu speech after receiving his award. He even managed to include some advice for the forest industry to diversify beyond pinus radiata into more exotic timbers such as redwoods.
Eric arrived in New Zealand in 1956 after travelling 25,000km on his motorbike. He began work in the forest industry which led him to Wakefield as manager of Baigent’s Tree Nursery before establishing Appleton’s Tree Nursery.
Now one of the country’s leading tree nurseries, Appletons has produced 200 million trees over the years, with some crops of pinus radiata reaching three rotations in forestry. While radiata accounts for much of the volume, the nursery has long focused on diversity and grows 350 species of trees – at one point it was up to 600 species.
His contribution has previously been recognised by the International Plant Propagators’ Society and through a Ron Flook award for high standards of practice in arboriculture. In 2022, he was appointed patron of the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association.
At the award event, Mayor King, Nelson Mayor Nick Smith and West Coast-Tasman MP Maureen Pugh all acknowledged Eric’s impact on both the industry and the community.
A former employee said there was “no greater inspiration for someone learning in horticulture”, adding that working with Eric made it easy to dream and start their own business, with Eric continuing as a mentor.
Among those attending were employees with up to 40 years’ service, as well as one of Eric’s first employees from the late 1960s.
Eric, who turns 92 in June, has spent six decades doing what he loves and continues to work at the nursery and within the industry.
“It’s been a pleasure being able to use the expertise I’ve accumulated over the years and a pleasure when I go around the countryside. Especially in autumn when you see a blaze of colour and you look at the name on the letterbox and recognize it is a customer.”
