Brancepeth Station is a large, historically significant agricultural station in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The largest building on the property is a 36-room farmhouse. Other buildings still standing include the original whare (built in 1865), the first homestead (1858), a woolshed (1858), a coach house and stables, station school and the library (1884).

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

now holds all the books which were previously in the Brancepeth Library. Professor

Lydia Wevers Lydia Joyce Wevers (19 March 1950 – 4 September 2021) was a New Zealand literary historian, literary critic, editor, and book reviewer. She was an academic at Victoria University of Wellington for many years, including acting as director of t ...

said "Going into the Brancepeth Station Library was like suddenly being in the 19th century, for someone had literally walked out the door 100 years ago and left it there". Heritage New Zealand has designated Brancepeth as a Category 1 historic place.

References

External links

NZ History information

Heritage NZ information

Masterton Library page
Wairarapa Hill Country stations Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region {{NewZealand-struct-stub