Skip to main content

Story: Landscape architecture

Odo Strewe

Image
Odo Strewe

German immigrant Odo Strewe fled Nazi Germany in 1937 and ended up in New Zealand the following year. He then had the misfortune to be interned as an enemy alien on Wellington's Matiu/Somes Island for the entire Second World War. He spent his period of internment gardening and this stood him in good stead, as he became a landscape architect after he left the island. 

Using this item

Oliver Strewe Photography

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Kerryn Pollock, Landscape architecture – The emergence of the landscape architect, 1930s to 1960s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/42903/odo-strewe (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Kerryn Pollock, published 1 October 2013, updated 26 March 2015.