The first blooms that mark the arrival of 'Magnolia Day' and provide the promise of spring.
One of the University of Otago's longstanding traditions is 'Magnolia Day', which celebrates the first bloom on a beloved magnolia tree and heralds the arrival of spring.
Each year a mystery prize is awarded to the person who correctly guesses the date on which the first flower fully opens.
The first sepal (the leaf-like layer that protects flower buds before they open) was observed to fall on Sunday 9 August, but it was Geology PhD candidate Robert Brodnax who correctly predicted that the first flower would open on the 10th.
Robert says winning was a "good surprise for a wet Monday", though he's not sure what his prize pool contains.
"I think there's a cookie, but I'm not actually 100 per cent sure," he says.
Robert's winning strategy was picking "the date exactly halfway between the two people who seemed the most confident".
The tree, located in the Quad between the Geology Building and the Clocktower, was planted in 1965 by Dr Geoff Baylis, Head of the Department of Botany from 1945 to 1979, and is now dedicated to his memory.
Records of the first bloom were started in 1995 by the Department of Geology’s administrator Dr John G. Williams. With John’s retirement, the mantle of Chief Blossom Watcher was passed to Hamish Bowman, Geology's Computing and Numerical Simulation Technician.
The two blooms, as viewed from below, in the Quad.
Hamish says most of this year's Magnolia Day sweepstakes participants guessed an earlier date for the bloom.
"With June being New Zealand's warmest since reliable records began in 1909, what looks to be a record breaking El Niño/Southern Oscillation event in full swing up in the tropical Pacific, and near record low Antarctic winter sea ice extent, we were all expecting an early bloom like we saw in 2023 and 2024," he says.
“But no, even before the latest cold snap the buds were small, the tree held on, and we ended up smack dab in the middle of the distribution curve.”
Hamish clarifies that the prize is "glory, praise, and the admiration of one's peers – but on the tangible side, I'm thinking I'll pull out my Edmonds cookbook this evening and make a batch of chocolate chip cookies."
Of course, for the magnolia watchers, the real prize is knowledge.
“There are serious reasons for tracking these changes through time – lessons every student of the natural sciences should pay attention to,” Hamish says.
“The detailed journals of Thoreau, Victorian naturalists, and many, many centuries of intent Japanese cheery blossom watchers have all been instructive in reconstructing climate histories.”
Winner Robert may have been promised praise and admiration, but he says the real star of Magnolia Day is the tree itself.
“The magnolia tree in bloom by the Clocktower is stunning, and it's always something to look forward to. It's a great way to remind us how beautiful the University of Otago’s campus is.”
Check out our 'Magnolia Cam' if you'd like the follow the progress of the tree as it puts on its show of colour.
Dates the magnolia has blossomed since 1995:
- 10 Aug 2026
- 8 Aug 2025
- 24 July 2024
- 25 July 2023
- 16 Aug 2022
- 10 Aug 2021
- 8 Aug 2020
- 7 Aug 2019
- 5 Aug 2018
- 16 Aug 2017
- 21 Aug 2016
- 19 Aug 2015
- 4 Aug 2014
- 7 Aug 2013
- 6 Aug 2012
- 1 Aug 2011 - the year of the "funny bloom” when just one flower bloomed on 1 August with the rest of the tree following much later
- 14 Aug 2010
- 18 Aug 2009
- 13 Aug 2008
- 10 Aug 2007
- 11 Aug 2006
- 12 Aug 2005
- 13 Aug 2004
- 15 Aug 2003
- 07 Aug 2002
- 09 Aug 2001
- 08 Aug 2000
- 24 Aug 1999
- 18 Aug 1998
- 18 Aug 1997
- 30 Aug 1996
- 31 Aug 1995
Commemorative Register - Geoff Baylis
This magnolia was donated and planted by Professor Geoff Baylis, Professor of Botany from 1945 to 1978, and Emeritus Professor from 1979 until his death in 2003.
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