Brooklyn, Wellington: A Local's Guide

Brooklyn sits on the ridge directly south of the CBD, climbing up from Aro Valley and topping out at the Brooklyn Wind Turbine, the big white blade that has been quietly spinning over the city since 1993. It is a classic inner-south Wellington suburb: weatherboard villas on steep streets, a proper little shopping village at its heart, an art-house cinema you can walk to, and views across to the harbour, the South Coast, and the CBD lights at night. For a lot of locals, Brooklyn hits a sweet spot between city proximity and village quiet.

The Vibe

Brooklyn is a leafy, hilly, quietly confident suburb. The streets climb in long switchbacks off Ohiro Road, lined with painted wooden villas and the occasional modernist statement house with an improbably good view. The shopping village on Todman Street and Cleveland Street is compact but useful: a butcher, a greengrocer, a post shop, a couple of cafes, a very good bookshop, the Penthouse Cinema and a bakery. It is the kind of place where you can do your errands on foot and run into three people you know on the way home.

The suburb sits right against the Town Belt, so you are rarely more than a few minutes from native bush, a ridge-line walk or a view back to the harbour. It is also one of the windier suburbs in the city. The turbine is there for a reason.

A Quick History

Brooklyn was laid out as a hill suburb in the 1880s, with the steeper sections filling in gradually over the following decades as transport improved. The Vogeltown cable tram, which briefly climbed from the CBD via Brooklyn Hill in the early twentieth century, is long gone, but most of the original street pattern and a lot of the housing stock survive.

The defining modern landmark, the Brooklyn Wind Turbine, was installed in 1993 by what is now Meridian Energy as a demonstration project. It was the first large-scale turbine in New Zealand and has become one of the most recognisable silhouettes in Wellington. The current blade, replaced in 2016, is visible from most of the city.

The Turbine & Views

Driving, cycling or walking up to the turbine is a proper Wellington afternoon. From the top of Brooklyn Road, a short unsealed road climbs to the ridge, where a small car park and viewing platform give you one of the best 360-degree views in the city. On a clear day you can see Kapiti Island to the north, the South Island across Cook Strait, the south coast wind farms spinning in the distance and the whole of the harbour laid out below.

Walkers can connect the turbine to the rest of the city's green network via the Wellington Town Belt and the southern skyline track, with routes that drop down into Island Bay, climb across to Karori or head back to Central Park, the little valley park tucked between Brooklyn and the CBD that is a favourite dog-walking spot.

Things to Do in Brooklyn

The Penthouse Cinema on Ohiro Road is the suburb's cultural anchor. A classic three-screen art-house with a cafe and a wine bar attached, it runs first-run arthouse films, New Zealand International Film Festival screenings and the kind of thoughtful rep programme you wish every neighbourhood had. It is a Wellington institution and a reliable rainy-afternoon plan.

Outdoor options are excellent. Central Park, reached by walking down Brooklyn Road or through the town belt tracks, is an easy loop with the Waimapihi stream running through it. From the top of the suburb, you can pick up tracks towards the south coast that pop out eventually at Happy Valley or Owhiro Bay, both great longer walks.

Zealandia, the fully fenced urban ecosanctuary, is technically in Karori but a ten-minute drive over the ridge from Brooklyn and one of the best half-day trips in the city. Book ahead. For more, see our things to do in Wellington page.

Food & Drink

The Brooklyn village strip punches above its weight. Baobab Cafe does one of the best weekend brunches in the southern suburbs. Nova Cinema Cafe is the Penthouse's attached spot and a reliable lunch stop. Bellbird Kitchen & Bar has been a local dinner favourite for years, and the village bakery does an honest savoury pie. Mount Vic Chippery and The Burger Liquor sit near the village for casual takeaway.

For wine and low-key drinks, the Penthouse wine bar is a nice low-stakes evening, and the village supermarket and deli cover everything else. For current picks of the best dining in the city, see our Wellington restaurants, Wellington cafes and Wellington bars pages.

Living in Brooklyn

Brooklyn housing is mostly Edwardian and interwar weatherboard villas, with pockets of modernist hillside builds and some newer townhouse developments along Ohiro Road and the flatter bits near Central Park. Prices are usually a notch below Mt Vic or Kelburn, which makes it a popular choice for families wanting character and space without shifting right out of the central city.

Schools in zone include Brooklyn School, South Wellington Intermediate and Wellington High. Metlink bus route 7 runs from Kingston through Brooklyn to the CBD and the Railway Station regularly, and the walk down to Te Aro via Aro Valley takes about twenty minutes if the weather is cooperating.

The trade-offs are the usual hill-suburb ones. Narrow streets, steep driveways, not much on-street parking and a lot of wooden stairs. The Brooklyn Residents Association is active and a good source of local news.

One Last Thing

Brooklyn is the kind of Wellington suburb that does not shout for attention but rewards you every time you show up. A village you can walk, a cinema worth booking ahead for, a ridge that gives you the best view of the city, and ten minutes to everywhere else you might want to be. For the bigger picture, head back to our Wellington City guide, check the Wellington weather and flick through this weekend's Wellington events.

Know a Brooklyn spot we have missed? Flick it to us at [email protected] and we will add it to the next update. Steve and Kirstie, WellyBuzz.