Churton Park

Story

Churton Park is a suburb 1.5 km north of Johnsonville in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It was established in the 1970s, and had a population of 6,260. In the 2013 census, the population of Churton Park and the adjacent community of Glenside was 6528, with 2349 dwellings. The suburb includes over 2300 households, Churton Park Reserve which includes a recreational sports field, two primary schools and a kindergarten. The Churton Park Community Centre, which is managed and staffed by Wellington City Council, is also located in the Village.HistoryChurton Park is one of the youngest suburbs in Wellington and was farmland until 1970. In the 1850s Thomas Drake was running 200 sheep in what is now Churton Park.The area of Churton Park near current Lakewood Avenue was originally a swamp and has been recently developed into residential housing and a commercial shopping centre. Since being established, it is one of the fasted growing subdivisions in Wellington, with the population expected to grow to over 12,000 over the next two decades.GeographyThe topography is quite hilly and has regenerating bush in some areas that has not been excavated for housing sub-divisions. Steep hills extend west over to Ohariu Valley. Extensive cut and fill earthworks have been required in the construction of the subdivisions for housing.WeatherThe micro-climate is only slightly different from that of Johnsonville, but is warmer and less windy than Wellington due to its being sheltered the southerly wind from Cook Strait. It rarely snows, but during winter 2011 snowfalls briefly shut down buses and closed roads, causing some students and workers to stay home for a few days.