Featherston, New Zealand
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Featherston (
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
: ''Paetūmōkai'') is a town in the
South Wairarapa District The South Wairarapa District is a district at the south-east tip of the North Island of New Zealand, governed by the South Wairarapa District Council. The district comprises the southernmost part of the Wairarapa, and is part of the Wellington Reg ...
, in the
Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...
of
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 ...
's
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
. It is at the eastern foothills of
Remutaka Range The Remutaka Range (spelled Rimutaka Range before 2017) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east ...
close to the northern shore of
Lake Wairarapa Lake Wairarapa is a lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, a ...
, north-east of central
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and south-west of
Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...
. The town has a population of Featherston has increasingly become a
satellite town Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have muni ...
of Wellington since the Remutaka rail tunnel opened in 1955; at the 2006 census, 36% of employed Featherston residents worked in Wellington and the Hutt Valley. This proximity to the capital, coupled with low house prices, made Featherston popular with writers, artists and those with young families, in turn leading to a recent upsurge in business investment and creative activity. From 2014 to 2019, housing prices in Featherston increased by 108% while rental prices went from an average of $140 to $400 in the same time period.


History

Wairarapa Moana (
Lake Wairarapa Lake Wairarapa is a lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, a ...
) was among the first areas settled in New Zealand with sites dating back some 800 years. Fish and waterfowl were plentiful, but the major draw card was tuna – the native freshwater eel. Tuna could be caught in vast quantities during their seasonal migration to the sea, and the catch could be dried for storage or trading. Seasonal eeling settlements dotted the edge of Wairarapa Moana with several permanent settlements on the surrounding higher ground. The town of Featherston was first known as Burlings, after Henry Burling, who opened an accommodation house near the Māori settlement of Pae-O-Tu-Mokai in 1847. In 1856 the provincial government surveyed the spot for a town, naming it after its superintendent,
Isaac Featherston Isaac Earl Featherston (21 March 1813 – 19 June 1876) was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments. Early life and family ...
. The Featherston Military Camp was a major training camp in World War I, established in 1916 and housing up to 8000 men. The camp was larger than the town and included 16 dining halls, six cookhouses, 17 shops, a picture theatre, hospital, and post office. After training, infantrymen marched over the Remutaka Range for embarkation at Wellington. During World War II, in 1942 it became the
Featherston prisoner of war camp Featherston prisoner of war camp was a camp for captured Japanese soldiers during World War II at Featherston, New Zealand, notorious for a 1943 incident in which 48 Japanese and one New Zealander were killed. The camp had been established during ...
, holding 800 Japanese POWs captured in the South Pacific. On 25 February 1943 an incident occurred where 122 Japanese
Prisoners of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
in the camp were shot (48 dead, 74 wounded). Tension had been building for weeks before a group of recently arrived prisoners staged a sit-down strike and refused to work. Guards fired a warning shot, wounding Lieutenant Adachi Toshio. The prisoners then rose and the guards opened fire. Wartime censors kept details of the incident quiet to prevent Japanese reprisals against Allied POWs. After the war, the first POW to return to Featherston burned incense at the site in 1974 and a joint New Zealand–Japanese project established a memorial ground, located 2 km north of the town on State Highway 2. Featherston houses the world's only surviving Fell locomotive engine in the
Fell Engine Museum The Fell Locomotive Museum in Featherston, New Zealand, exhibits the only remaining steam-powered Fell railway locomotive in the world. From 1877, locomotive H 199 climbed up the Rimutaka Incline using John Barraclough Fell's unique method of ...
. The locomotive system operated successfully for 77 years from 1878 to 1955. Remnants of the trains and the once busy settlement are visible on the
Remutaka Rail Trail The Remutaka Rail Trail (spelled ''Rimutaka Rail Trail'' prior to 2017) is a walking and cycling track in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs between Maymorn and Cross Creek, and follows of the original route of the Wairarapa Line over t ...
Cycleway. Before 1989 Featherston was the namesake of Featherston County. It also had its own borough giving it a borough council and mayor.


Demographics

Featherston statistical area covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Featherston had a population of 2,487 at the
2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 237 people (10.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 144 people (6.1%) since the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 1,035 households. There were 1,254 males and 1,233 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 43.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 471 people (18.9%) aged under 15 years, 339 (13.6%) aged 15 to 29, 1,200 (48.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 480 (19.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 88.9% European/Pākehā, 19.7% Māori, 2.8% Pacific peoples, 3.0% Asian, and 2.2% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 16.2%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 56.9% had no religion, 29.1% were Christian, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 3.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 384 (19.0%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 483 (24.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 924 (45.8%) people were employed full-time, 267 (13.2%) were part-time, and 108 (5.4%) were unemployed.


Recreation, culture and sport

The Anzac Hall was built in 1916 to give ‘A place of resort, recreation and amusement for all those who are now or have been or may be during the term of the war employed in the military or naval service of the Crown’. A large beautiful wooden hall with two smaller rooms, it was restored for its centennial and is a Category 1 historic place. It now serves as a town hall and community hub, used for concerts, events and meetings. Lake Wairarapa Domain is a popular recreation area for walks, cycling and motorcycling, plus fishing, birdwatching and exploring the
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s. In 2015, Featherston joined the
Booktown A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of boo ...
movement, and hosts an annual literary festival and other bookish events through the year. Other annual events include winter's Time Traveller's Ball, a summer series of Featherston First Friday community arts nights, and the Cross Creek Rail Society's Mini Train Carnival. The Royal Hotel re-opened in December 2017 after extensive renovations, with a steampunk theme allowing them pay homage to the town's literary and historical threads. Featherston has various sporting clubs including one of the oldest junior football clubs in the country
Featherston Junior FC
can trace their club history back to 1856. Also, there's; a rugby union football club, a hockey club, athletics club, swimming club, football club and an indoor sports complex.


Education

Featherston School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . South Featherston School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . St Teresa's School is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . Featherston once had a secondary school, Featherston District High School. It closed in the mid 1960s.


Transport

Featherston is at the junction of State Highway 2 and
State Highway 53 The following highways are numbered 53: Cambodia * National Road 53 (Cambodia) Canada * Alberta Highway 53 India * National Highway 53 (India) Ireland * N53 road (Ireland) Italy * Autostrada A53 (Italy), Autostrada A53 Japan * Japan Natio ...
. SH 2 connects Featherston south to Wellington via the Remutaka Pass and the Hutt Valley, and north to Masterton via Greytown and Carterton and onwards to Woodville. SH 53 connects SH 2 and Featherston with
Martinborough Martinborough ( mi, Wharekaka) is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of The town ...
. Featherston is served by
Featherston railway station Featherston railway station is a single-platform, urban railway station serving the town of Featherston in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The station lies on the Wairarapa Line, and is located between Harrison Street West and Harrison ...
on the
Wairarapa Line The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand. The line runs for , connects the capital city Wellington with the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line at Woodville, via Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt ...
railway. The
Wairarapa Connection The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Transdev (with KiwiRail sub ...
train serves Featherston on its route between Masterton and Wellington, operating five times daily each way on weekdays and twice daily each way on weekends and public holidays. The journey time to Wellington station is just over 60 minutes.


Sister cities

Featherston is twinned with the
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
city of
Mesen Mesen (; french: Messines, , historically used in English) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. On January 1, 2006, Mesen had a total population of 988. The total area is 3.58 km2 which gives a popu ...
.


Notable people

* Robert Algie, a wrestler from Featherston. He won a silver medal in the heavy-weight division at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in 1986, and gold medals at the Oceania Champs in Brisbane in 1981, and Auckland in 1986. Algie placed 12th at the World Championships in France in 1987. *
Henry Bunny Henry Bunny (7 October 1822 – 15 February 1891) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. Early life Henry Bunny was born in 1822 in Newbury in Berkshire, the second son of Jere Bunny, solicitor, of that town and ...
(1822–1891), MP representing the electorate 1865–1881. *Raised in Featherston Professor Max Abbott, recipient of the
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...
, Pro-Vice Chancellor of
Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...
, former Chairman of Auckland's Waitamata DHB, and president of the
World Federation for Mental Health The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is an international, multi-professional non-governmental organization (NGO), including citizen volunteers and former patients. It was founded in 1948 in the same era as the United Nations (UN) and the W ...
.


References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Wellington Region South Wairarapa District