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You could be forgiven for avoiding a visit to the Manly Fairy Garden this year. Until recently, it has been plagued by a foul odour, putting off visitors.
In 2021, Richard and Clare Brown took inspiration from a Hobsonville local Jo Lyes, whose March 2020 lockdown project created a fairy realm. To liven up their view, Brown and his wife began their own fairy garden with native plants. The Browns may have brought the first fairy residents in but it wasn’t long before more fairies moved in to the neighbourhood anonymously.
Last year, Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc on the Manly Fairy Garden. Nestled on a strip of land owned by Auckland Council, the fairies survived but the sloped land beside it didn’t fare as well. There was a slip after which residents noticed the site leaching out sewage and stormwater onto the street below for the past year.
With the Fairy Garden and beach access at the end of the street attracting young children, residents reported some have slipped or fallen off bikes in the silt left behind. Local residents have been relentless in their pursuit to get the blockages dealt with, sending in photos and videos and lodging numerous complaints.
Finally, authorities finished works in the area at the end of September and the Fairy Garden is ready to welcome visitors just in time for its third birthday.
“It looks fabulous – all finished and now hopefully some planting can be done,” a local resident said. The planting is due soon and aims to prevent future slips on the site.
With a week of the school holidays still to go, the Manly fairies would welcome a visit from children looking to find joy tucked away at the end of this unassuming seaside street.
You can visit the Fairy Garden on Brown Street, Manly. Keep your eyes peeled for it on the right-hand side, as you head to the beach access.
In a bid to bring some cheer to her community, Lyes crafted intricate fairy houses at Onekiritea Park, Bomb Point. Before long Lyes’ had a fairy village, summer light installation, and magical mayoral duties at the “Fairy Works” village. Now, nearly five years on, Lyes is hanging up her wand and the residents of Fairy Works have whisked off into the night. As with all magical realms, it will one day be folklore but the evidence lives on via social media.
