A fourth-generation family business, Hills Hats has just opened a new shop on Jackson St in Petone.
It’s a controversial call, but Joanna Wane reckons Cuba St has a rival for the title of Wellington’s coolest strip.
A few weeks ago, I was staying with my brother in Petone and set myself a mission: to count the number of restaurants, cafes, pubs, bakeries and takeaways along Jackson St.
That’s a tougher assignment than it sounds. Per head of population, the 1.3km strip is New Zealand’s largest shopping street.
I kept a running tally in my notebook, like a prisoner marking off each day on the cell wall, but somewhere around the mid-50s, I completely lost track. It was only when I ended up behind bars myself that I managed to put the record straight.
Fringing the southern end of the Hutt Valley, Petone is a 10-minute drive from central Wellington if you avoid rush-hour traffic. One of the city’s best-kept secrets, it’s become a weekend destination to eat, shop, walk dogs along the foreshore and soak up the neighbourhood vibe.
Often, people bring empty containers with them to fill with pure artesian water from the Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life) fountain, on the corner of Buick St. First settled by Europeans in 1840, the heritage suburb is also home to some of New Zealand’s first state houses, now celebrated for their architectural design.
Petone (more correctly Pito One) has shaken off its rough reputation in recent times, undergoing significant gentrification without losing the character that’s a big part of its charm.
In the early 90s, the Jackson Street Programme (JSP) was established to work with local businesses “promoting, preserving and enhancing” the precinct. During the school holidays, its free activities attract families from as far afield as Palmerston North.
The programme is housed in the old police station and there’s a small museum in the jailhouse out back, where the drunk and disorderly were locked up till the 1940s. Anyone who’d committed a more serious or violent crime was taken by horse and cart into Wellington’s central station, off Lambton Quay.
According to the JSP’s latest directory, there are 71 eateries of one kind or another along the main street, and that’s not including specialty spots, from an Indian spice emporium and an artisan chocolatier to the popular Dutch Shop.
“Wellington found us years ago,” says co-ordinator Hellen Swales. “All of a sudden, Petone became known for its food. We already had a diverse cultural background and history here, but we’ve become so cosmopolitan now.”
Much of the rest of New Zealand is yet to catch on. I’d never set foot in the place until my brother bought a house on Jackson St. Since then, I’ve spent many satisfying days raiding the op shops and secondhand/retro stores. A “Sustainable Shopping” guide lists more than 20 of them.
Some of my best purchases over the years include a pre-loved Karen Walker shirt, a $7 pair of vegan sneakers made in Denmark, two groovy 1970s Crown Lynn plates, a chest of drawers for my daughter’s uni flat, a raspberry crumble-filled doughnut from Belen (a plant-based bakery), a Yorkie bar from the UK Goodies store for an expat Brit, a bubble cocktail at The Chopstick Table, and a second-hand Calvin Klein silver wristwatch when I decided going analogue was back in vogue.
What I haven’t bought – so far – is an authentic Gandalf cloak for $2370, handcrafted from the fabric designed and woven by Stansborough for The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies (the wizard’s scarf, hat and gloves are also available). One Tolkien fan who already has the whole get-up has just ordered a cloak for his teddy bear.
The only commercial historic weaving mill still operating in New Zealand, Stansborough sells textile products all over the world (Kate and William’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, was gifted a teddy bear and some booties when she was a baby).
The company’s signature wool comes from a closed flock of rare grey sheep farmed on the East Coast that whakapapa back to the Vikings. There’s a gallery shop at the mill, on a side street off Jackson, and behind-the-scenes public tours run on Tuesdays at 2pm.
Another outfit with its fair share of celebrity clients is Hills Hats, a fourth-generation family business that recently moved its Hatlantis shop to new premises on Jackson St. An outlet store, The Last Hat Stand, is a few blocks off the main drag.
You can buy a hat off the racks or design your own. Owner Simon Smuts-Kennedy cuts his own from tapa cloth.
His “Hatmosphere” factory has created bespoke looks for all sorts of cool cats, including country singers Tami Neilson and Willie Nelson (cowboy style), Grammy-winning blues artist Taj Mahal (a fedora), Troy Kingi (“baker boy” flat caps) and Lady Gaga, through a collab with US brand Goorin Bros.
Kiwis tend to be a bit shy, says Smuts-Kennedy, who encourages people visiting Petone for the first time to come and have a play. “The conversation goes from ‘I don’t suit hats’ to ‘I love this one’ in about a minute.”
As part of the NZ Fringe Festival, Weekend Laughs is bringing some of New Zealand’s best stand-up comedy – and some fresh talent – to Abandoned Brewery’s Petone taproom, February 20 to March 7 (fringe.co.nz). The annual Petone Rotary Fair will be held along Jackson St on February 21.