Crofton Downs

Crofton Downs
Crofton Downs
Basic information
Local authority Wellington City
Electoral ward Onslow-Western
Land area 262 ha (1.01 sq mi)[1]
Coordinates 41°15′25″S 174°45′50″E / 41.257°S 174.764°E / -41.257; 174.764Coordinates: 41°15′25″S 174°45′50″E / 41.257°S 174.764°E / -41.257; 174.764
Population 1,508[1] (2013)
Facilities
Railway station(s) Crofton Downs
Hospitals(s) Bowen Hospital (Private)
Surrounds
North Mount Kaukau
East Ngaio
South Kaiwharawhara
West Wilton

Crofton Downs is an inner suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is situated between Ngaio and Wadestown, above where the northern and southern branches of the Kaiwharawhara Stream join to flow down the Ngaio Gorge into the harbour.

Etymology

Crofton Downs belonged to Ngaio and takes its name from a house built in the 1860s by then Premier, William Fox. The house was possibly named after his wife's birthplace.[2] The street names in the suburb are a tribute to the life of former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill.[3]

Facilities

Crofton Downs contains a supermarket, pharmacy, petrol station, hardware store, veterinary clinic and the private Bowen Hospital.

Bowen Hospital

Bowen Hospital is located on Churchill Drive on the south end of Crofton Downs. The hospital was originally situated in Bowen St opposite parliament in 1912.[4] The old hospital was closed in 1965 and the modern location of the hospital was chosen. The hospital is owned and run by listed company Acurity Health Group Limited.

Education

School enrollment zone

Crofton Downs is within the enrollment zones for Wellington Girls College, Onslow College, St Oran's College and Raroa Normal Intermediate.[5]

Primary school

Crofton Downs Primary school is a decile 10[6] coeducational contributing state school catering to years 1 - 6. Formerly called Chartwell School, the school was opened in 1970. Its name was changed to Crofton Downs Primary school in 2008 as the surrounding area was more commonly referred to as Crofton Downs rather than Chartwell. The school has a roll of 178 children in 2014[7] and was one of the first joint venture school between the New Zealand and Japanese government.[8][9]

Pre-school

Ngaio Playcentre is parent led preschool based in Huntleigh Park, Crofton Downs, which caters for children aged 0 to 6 years old.[10] Originally based in Ngaio town hall it moved into Huntleigh Park in the mid 1970s.[11]

Extracurricular education

The Japan-New Zealand Joint Venture School (ウェリントン補習授業校 Werinton Hoshū Jugyō Kō), a part-time Japanese educational institution, holds its classes in Crofton Downs Primary School normally twice a week in the evenings and during the New Zealand school holidays.[12]

Transport

The suburb is served by the Johnsonville Branch commuter railway which connects it to the central city.

Predator Free Crofton Downs

Crofton Downs was the first New Zealand Suburb to be declared predator free after local community group, Predator Free Crofton Downs, arranged stoat and rat traps for over 200 households [13] throughout the suburb. Since its inception in 2014,[14] the community model has inspired other communities throughout New Zealand to start their own predator free groups.

References

  1. 1 2 "Community Profile: Crofton Downs". Wellington City Council.
  2. ↑ Reed, A. W. (2010). Peter Dowling, ed. Place Names of New Zealand. Rosedale, North Shore: Raupo. p. 92. ISBN 9780143204107.
  3. ↑ Greenland, James (24 August 2012). "Crofton Downs' stately links to Britain". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Our History". Bowen Hospital. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "eLearning Schools Search". Ministry of Education.
  6. ↑ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Student Rolls by School 2010-2014". Ministry of Education New Zealand. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "History". Crofton Downs Primary School. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Wellingon Working Papers in Linguistics" (PDF). Victory University. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Welcome to Ngaio Playcentre". Ngaio Playcentre. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Ngaio Playcentre - Preschool Education". Yelp. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Wellington tutoring schools". Embassy of Japan in New Zealand. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  13. ↑ Olivia, Wannan (December 3 2015). "Pest-free Wellington spreads beyond fence". Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ↑ Thomas, Rachel (October 1 2016). "Wellington's predator free hero Kelvin Hastie - the smiling assassin". Check date values in: |date= (help)
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