Historic Greytown

Named for Sir George Grey, a key figure in early New Zealand history, Greytown has many beautifully preserved Victorian buildings.

Greytown was New Zealand's first planned inland town. It was established in 1854 by a group of settlers from Wellington who were looking for small, affordable portions of land to farm. They established Greytown with the assistance of Sir George Grey, the Governor of New Zealand at the time.

Today Greytown has New Zealand's most complete main street of wooden Victorian buildings. The town's historic walk is shown on a map situated onthe Main St, or you can pick up the Historic Greytown pamphlet from the information centre.

Maori culture is also evident in Greytown. Papawai Marae - the site of the first Maori Parliament - has a wharenui (meeting house) dating back to 1888. In the 1890s, 18 large carved figures were erected representing famous tipuna (ancestors). These have been restored with help from the Historic Places Trust.

Greytown is home to renowned Country Trader Antiques and Interiors; Michael Nalder interior design; a Trelise Cooper Outlet store, Emporos Antiques & Interiors and specialist print and rare book shop New Zealand Birds. Sitting alongside several high end clothing boutiques are quirky retailers such as Imperial Productions,
where lead soldiers are crafted. Cobblestones, the Wairarapa Early Settlers' Museum, has an interesting collection of historic buildings and early technology. The museum is open every day.

Greytown is just one hours drive from Wellington.making it a popular day trip.

For more detail on the town and for online accommodation bookings visit www.wairarapanz.com