page_title: Featherston, New Zealand
section_title: Recreation, culture and sport
hierarchical_section_title: Featherston, New Zealand / Recreation, culture and sport
caption_attribution_description: En route, la jolie petite ville de Featherston.
context_page_description: Featherston is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is at the eastern foothills of Remutaka Range close to the northern shore of Lake Wairarapa, 63 km north-east of central Wellington and 37 km south-west of Masterton.
  The town has a population of 2,480. Featherston has increasingly become a satellite town of Wellington since the Rimutaka rail tunnel opened in 1955 on the Wairarapa Line; at the 2006 census, 36% of employed Featherston residents worked in the Wellington metro area. This proximity to the capital, coupled with low house prices, has made Featherston popular with writers, artists and those with young families, in turn leading to a recent upsurge in business investment and creative activity.
context_section_description: The Anzac Hall was built in 1916 to give ‘A place of resort, recreation and amusement for all those who are now or have been or may be during the term of the war employed in the military or naval service of the Crown’. A large beautiful wooden hall with two smaller rooms, it was restored for its centennial and is a Category 1 historic place. It now serves as a town hall and community hub, used for concerts, events and meetings.
  Lake Wairarapa Domain is a popular recreation area for walks, cycling and motorcycling, plus fishing, birdwatching and exploring the wetlands.
  In 2015, Featherston joined the Booktown movement, and hosts an annual literary festival and other bookish events through the year. Other annual events include winter's Time Traveller's Ball, a summer series of Featherston First Friday community arts nights, and the Cross Creek Rail Society's Mini Train Carnival. The Royal Hotel re-opened in December 2017 after extensive renovations, with a steampunk theme allowing them pay homage to the town's literary and historical threads.
  Featherston has various sporting clubs including one of the oldest junior football clubs in the country, Featherston Junior FC can trace their club history back to 1856.  Also, there's; a rugby union football club, a hockey club, athletics club, swimming club, football club and an indoor sports complex which hosts various activities such as badminton, gymnastic clubs, wrestling etc.
caption: Royal Hotel, Featherston
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