Bushtown Heritage Site

Welcome to Bushtown Heritage Site, in Waimate, South Canterbury

Bushtown Heritage Site is a window into the last 150 years of bushman and early settler communities of Te Waimatemate

The site is a visitor attraction recreating the mighty Tōtara tree forest, showcasing life of the era through bushman's huts and early Edwardian township "Main Street", a working steam operated vintage sawmill and a miniature steam train rail under development

At Bushtown you can step back in time to the Bushman's era!

The mighty Tōtara was a prized tree species for the early European bushman who settled in Waimate in the mid 1800’s. They were drawn to the area due to the abundance of Tōtara timber available for the development of settlements and infrastructure in the surrounding regions.

The Tōtara lumber sourced from the Waimate area quickly gained a reputation for quality and was often shipped to many parts of New Zealand as well as overseas.

The Bushtown Heritage Forest Project sets out to recreate the mighty Tōtara forest that once adorned the Waimate District landscape. Individuals, families, interest groups or companies now have the opportunity to participate in this project by planting their own commemorative Tōtara tree on designated areas within the Bushtown Heritage Park.