Featherston, New Zealand

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Featherston is a town in the south of the North Island of New Zealand, east of Wellington, just east of the Rimutaka Tunnel, in the South Wairarapa District. Its population was 2325 in 2001.

The town is on the eastern side of the Rimutaka Range close to the northern shore of Lake Wairarapa. It is 35 km south-west of Masterton and 25 km east of Upper Hutt.

The town gained notoriety when Japanese prisoners of war rioted in Featherston prisoner of war camp in 1943.

There is a hill to the west of the town known as One Tree Hill (not to be confused with the one in Auckland). This may seem strange, as it is covered in trees. One lone tree stands tall above all others near the summit, and a walking track leads up to the tree and down the other side. The area around the top of the hill and around the entrance to the track has been upgraded in recent years, with picnic tables and a new path that goes to the top, giving a different view of the township. A barrier restricts access to the tree to stop people walking on the roots and hopefully curbing the occasional vandal.

Featherston has two primary schools, St. Teresa's and Featherston Primary. It once had a high school but that is long gone. Another rural primary school is in south Featherston, about 2.5k m from Featherston on the way to Martinborough.

The town has two small supermarkets: both were independents until Trusthouse purchased Beckets. The town also has a video store, a bottle store, a book shop, two dairies, several fish & chip shops, Jim's Kollectables and many other second-hand or antique shops.