Featherston

Featherston, the southern gateway to Wairarapa, was previously named Burlings after Henry Burling, who opened an accommodation house near the original Maori Pa of Pae-O-Tu-Mokai in 1847.

Featherston is close to Lake Wairarapa, the biggest wetland area in the lower North Island and a significant area in New Zealand for native and migratory birds.

Featherston is the home of two museums with no counterparts anywhere else in New Zealand. The Fell Engine museum houses the only fell engine in the world, the sole survivor of the rolling stock of the Rimutaka Incline, the only rail route into Wairarapa until 1955. The museum also contains an Incline Brake Van, working models and items of railway memorabilia. The Featherston Heritage Museum commemorates the Featherston military camp from World War I and its role as a Japanese Prisoner of war camp in World War II.