Explore Brooklyn

Brooklyn is 3 km south of Wellington’s central business district on the eastern slopes of the hills Happy Valley. Relaxed village living is only minutes from the central city.

Brooklyn is a vibrant suburb located just south of the Central Business District in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. It is named after the New York borough and has many streets named after American presidents, plus its own Central Park.

Brooklyn’s shopping area is mainly on Cleveland Street and includes a cinema, library, cafes, two medical centres, two bars, and various shops. Brooklyn has primary schools, parks, and of course the community centre. It can be reached on the number 7 and 8 buses, or a quick drive or vigorous walk up Brooklyn Hill from the central city. South of Brooklyn, Ohiro Road descends through a bush-clad valley to Owhiro Bay.

Schools

Brooklyn School, a co-ed state primary school at 58 Washington Ave, opened in November 1888 and caters for students from new entrants (five-year-olds) through to year eight (twelve-year-olds), and has 390-450 children on the roll each year. The current Principal is Liz Rhodes.

St Bernard’s School, a co-ed Catholic school, occupies 40 Taft Street, a private cul-de-sac. The school started in 1935 when the Sisters of Mercy provided two sisters, Boniface and Fabian. It opened on 5 February of that year as St Anthony’s School Brooklyn, in the church on Jefferson Street – the church itself opened in June 1911. At the time the school opened 44 Catholic children attended the local state school, 43 of whom transferred to St Anthony’s on opening day. By the end of the year the roll had risen to 69. Today, St Bernard’s School Brooklyn is known as an urban Catholic primary school close to the shops, buses and only five minutes from the city centre. The current Principal is Joan Woods.

Brooklyn Early Childhood Centre (BECC), a not-for-profit community creche at 96a Washington Ave, opened in 1993. BECC is located under St Matthew’s Joint Parish.

Parks

Central Park (named after the area of the same name in New York) separates Brooklyn from the city. Established in 1913 on Town Belt land, the park features a set of wrought-iron gates at its main entrance: the then Mayor, John Pearce Luke donated them in 1920.

Tanera Park lies to the north and north-west of Central Park on the opposite side of Ohiro Road. The park has sports facilities, including soccer, cricket, and artificial surfaces as well as changing-rooms.In 1991 the Wellington City Council set aside some of the park as trial to help low-income families and community-organisations to grow their own vegetables. The gardens, currently including 33 plots, have become known as the Tanera Community Gardens; the Mokai Kainga Trust manages them.

Elliott Park lies on the western side of Brooklyn, adjacent to Mitchell Street and Karepa Street. The park used to have a children’s play-ground, however the play-ground has been removed by the Wellington City Council and not replaced. The park was donated by Mr Elliott who used to have his farm in this place. There are still also wild Pigs and goats that live on the bottom of the hills.

Recreation

Brooklyn hosts the Penthouse Cinema, located on Ohiro Road just south of Cleveland Street. Constructed for the Ranish family in the art deco style, it opened on 15 June 1939 as the Vogue Theatre. The Ranish family ran the cinema until 1951, when the Vogue Company Limited took over. The Vogue Company turned the cinema into a television studio where TV commercials were shot. The building was renamed the Penthouse Cinema when it was bought by Merv and Carol Kisby in 1975. Since then additional screens have been added, as well as refurbishment of the interior in keeping with its original style.

Brooklyn has a branch library, opened on 16 February 1905 at 22 Harrison Street as the second branch library of the main Central Library. It opened with 350 books and for 9 hours per week; the Librarian lived in a flat at the rear of the building. In 1960 the library moved to the present building on the corner of Harrison and Cleveland Streets. The original entrance was in Harrison Street, but in 1992 this was closed and ramp access provided in Cleveland Street, enabling pushchairs to enter easily. The original building is now the Brooklyn Playcentre.