7 December
The prize-winning roses grown by prisoners from Waikeria Prison paid off again by taking 12 prizes including 3 trophies at the Otorohanga Beattie Home Rose and Flower Show.
The four prisoners involved in the care and maintenance of the prison's roses took prizes for :
1st and Highly Commended - Exhibition Bloom - Novice
1st - Large Stem - Novice
1st Fully Open Bloom - Novice
1st and 2nd Decorative Bloom - Novice
1st and 3rd - Small Stem of Roses - Novice
1st - 1 rose in 3 stages of development - Novice
Champion of Show - Exhibition Bloom - Tozer Challenge Cup
Champion of Show - Fully Open Bloom - Roberts Cup
Most Points in Novice Section - Beattie Home Rose Bowl
3rd in Points Prize for most points across whole show - Cut flowers and Roses
Roses the prisoners care for also cleaned up at the Te Awamutu Rose show, taking out five prizes including three trophies.
“This is the second big win for us in two weeks and a real boost for the Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) instructor and prisoners involved in this work on site. The prisoners involved in growing the roses saw it solely as work and a way to increase their employment skills. They certainly had no idea that the roses would be entered into a competition and that this would be the outcome,” says Prison Manager Paul O’Byrne.
“Now they not only have gained new skills and a real interest in the subject area, they have also developed a competitive streak and are keen to enter more competitions and develop their rose growing skills even more. There are extensive rose gardens at the North site at Waikeria with a number of varieties grown. These are the result of the efforts of a number of staff and prisoners over the years. CIE Instructor Terry Brennan has spent a lot of time with the prisoners involved and under his tutelage they have managed to keep these gardens looking pristine and now prize-winning.
“Having work opportunities like this gets prisoners involved in something both different and positive. It also gives them a sense of pride for what they can achieve. Having another win like this made the prisoners' efforts even more worth the dedication they put into growing these roses. We are even considering getting CIE to construct a display cabinet to house the growing number of trophies!”
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