Green Space

When the first English settlers arrived in 1839, most of the Town Belt was covered in dense broadleaf/podocarp native forest. By the late 1860’s, however, most of the forest had been taken for timber and firewood, and much of the land converted to pasture.

By the 1880s, the settlement was well-established but surrounded by bare ugly hills. A massive tree planting programme began that continued, on and off, for 40 years. Most of the plantings were radiata pine, macrocarpa and eucalyptus – trees that had proved hardy and quick-growing in Wellington’s windy, coastal location. By the mid-twentieth century, large areas had been transformed back into tall forest cover, but this time with exotic plantations.

In more recent decades, the conifer forests have grown old and native vegetation has started to regenerate over large areas of former pasture. The community now wishes to see much of the Town Belt restored to native forest – a desire being implemented under a city council long-term vegetation management plan.