Wilton
Wilton is the small valley suburb between Karori and Wadestown, a few kilometres north-west of Wellington's centre, where Ōtari-Wilton's Bush and its canopy walkway fill the valley of the Kaiwharawhara Stream below the Skyline ridge.
Why people love it here
Wilton is the suburb with the native botanic garden in it. Ōtari-Wilton's Bush, at 160 Wilton Road, is the only public botanic garden in New Zealand given over entirely to native plants, with about 11 km of track through the forest, a canopy walkway 18 metres above the stream and an 800-year-old rimu called Moko up the valley.
The suburb is named for Job Wilton, the farmer who washed his sheep in the Kaiwharawhara Stream in the 1860s and fenced off seven hectares of the original forest instead of clearing it. His farm was cut up in 1915, but most of the houses came after the war, and Ōtari School opened on Wilton Road in 1956.
It is a quiet place with its own shops. Wilton's Urban Espresso on Pembroke Road does the school-run coffee, the takeaway is next door, and the bowling club at 122 Wilton Road sits beside the reserve. The number 14 bus starts here and runs through Wadestown to the city and on to Hataitai and Kilbirnie.
Ian Galloway Park, with its fields and the fenced dog park, is at the Karori end by the cemetery, and the Northern Walkway leaves the bush for Trelissick Park and Crofton Downs.
Wilton, counted
Stats NZ figures for the statistical area Wilton, Place summaries. Population is the estimated resident population; the rest are the 2023 Census. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
The best of Wilton
Every pick checked against its own listing on 21 September 2026.
What you can buy here
The post-war family house
The weatherboard houses on the streets off Wilton Road and Pembroke Road, from the years when the farm became a suburb.
The house on the bush edge
Backing onto the reserve, with the forest over the fence and the tracks at the end of the street.
Wilton House and the older homes
The 1925 house on the heritage list and the handful of earlier houses from the 1915 subdivision.
The forest in the valley
Ōtari-Wilton's Bush
The native forest and gardens filling the valley, the seven hectares Job Wilton kept and everything that has grown back around it.
The canopy walkway
Eighteen metres above the Kaiwharawhara Stream, the way across from the visitor centre into the trees.
What people ask about Wilton
Where is Wilton?
Wilton is in the valley of the Kaiwharawhara Stream north-west of Wellington's centre, between Karori, Northland, Wadestown and Crofton Downs.
How far is Wilton from Wellington's city centre?
A few kilometres by road, and the number 14 bus starts in Wilton and runs through Wadestown to Wellington Station and Lambton Quay.
What is Wilton known for?
Ōtari-Wilton's Bush, New Zealand's only public botanic garden devoted to native plants, with its canopy walkway and the 800-year-old rimu.
What kind of homes are in Wilton?
Mostly post-war family houses on the streets off Wilton Road and Pembroke Road, houses backing onto the reserve, and a few older homes including Wilton House from 1925.
What schools are in Wilton?
Ōtari School at 166 Wilton Road takes Years 1 to 8 in three strands, and Wellington Girls' College and Onslow College both name Wilton in their enrolment zones.
Tell me your street and I will send you your Wilton performance report, with specific sales and data.
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