Brooklyn Wellington: Suburb with Iconic Wind Turbine and Hilltop Views

Brooklyn occupies a prominent position on the western edge of Wellington’s central bowl, offering residents and visitors expansive views across the city and harbour. Its hilly terrain and proximity to the Town Belt reserves contribute to a distinctive character that blends residential living with easy access to walking tracks and regenerating native bush.

The suburb developed rapidly after subdivision in the 1880s, establishing a village-like centre with cafes and local amenities that support a close-knit community. Its location provides convenient yet elevated living above the central city while remaining connected by public transport and roads.

Brooklyn’s setting within the broader Wellington Town Belt network supports biodiversity and recreational opportunities, including connections to nearby reserves and the Zealandia ecosanctuary boundary.

In pre-European times, Māori knew the Brooklyn hills as Turanga-rere, translated as “the waving plumes of the war-party.” The area later became known as Fitchett after a local dairy farmer whose farm supplied milk to the growing town.

In the 1880s the land was subdivided and renamed Brooklyn after the New York borough, with streets laid out using names of American presidents such as Washington, Lincoln, and Garfield, a convention that continues today.

The Brooklyn Wind Turbine stands on the ridge in Waimapihi Reserve above the suburb. Installed in March 1993 by the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand as part of a research project, it was New Zealand’s first viable commercial wind turbine and set international production records for its size at the time.

The original turbine was decommissioned around 2015 and replaced in 2016 with a larger model operated by Meridian Energy that generates enough renewable energy to power around 490 average New Zealand homes.

The turbine remains a prominent landmark and symbol of Brooklyn, visible from many parts of Wellington and highlighting the city’s early adoption of wind power technology.

Visitors can reach the turbine via a network of tracks in Waimapihi Reserve starting from the top of Aro Street. The route follows marked paths such as Transient, Sawmill, Fenceline, and Windmill, taking approximately 2 hours return and offering panoramic city views along the way. The tracks pass through regenerating bush and skirt the boundary of the Zealandia ecosanctuary.