Seatoun

Seatoun
Suburb
Seatoun from Wellington Harbour entrance
Seatoun
Coordinates: 41°19′S 174°50′E
Country	New Zealand
City	Wellington City
Established	1889
Population  (2006)
• Total	2,130
Ferry terminals	Seatoun Ferryterminal

Miramar	Worser Bay
	Seatoun	Wellington Harbour heads
Strathmore Park	Breaker Bay, Cook Strait

Seatoun, an eastern suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, lies on the east coast of the Miramar Peninsula, close to the entrance to Wellington Harbour (Port Nicholson), some seven kilometres southeast of the CBD. The suburb sits on an exposed promontory close to Barrett Reef, a dangerous area of rocky shallows upon which many ships have foundered, most notably the inter-island ferry TEV Wahine in 1968.

Europeans first settled the suburb in 1889. The name Seatoun comes from a locality in Forfarshire, Scotland linked with the family history of James Coutts Crawford, the suburb's founder.

Education

The town is the site of Seatoun School, a highly established primary school founded in 1916. In 2002 Seatoun School was re-established in an award winning new facility on the old Fort Dorset army base. Seatoun School is a decile 10 school, catering towards children from Year 1 to Year 8.

The school is built within metres of the entrance to Wellington Harbour. It is a glorious site with an extensive grass playing field complete with a number of exciting fitness stations around its perimeter.

Notable Sites

Seatoun as a suburb looks out on to Steeple Rock, which is the largest rock of Barrett Reef at the west of the entrance to Wellington Harbour, rising 7m above sea level. Its Māori name is Te Aroaro-o-Kupe (The front of Kupe), after being officially changed on 3 September 2009 from Te Ure-o-Kupe (The penis of Kupe). Kupe, the legendary discoverer of Aotearoa, is said to have injured himself on the rock while swimming.