Greytown Lands Trust

30/03/2026

Fantastic news! Thrilled to once again support this special community event.

It's official - The New Zealand Festival of Christmas will return this winter ❄️

What you won't see is the people who made it happen. We would not have this festival without the support of our incredible partners, businesses, individuals and all who have purchased a festival pack or pin this year. We are extremely grateful for our community's support.

We would like to acknowledge and give a huge thank you to:
Blackwell and Sons, The White Swan, FreshChoice Greytown and South Wairarapa District Council.
Alongside Copthorne Solway Park, Wairarapa, Wairarapa, Greytown Lands Trust, Tumu, Trust House, Stun and our Greytown boutique businesses.

You can find the full list on our website of all those who have made this year's, a country Christmas possible.

27/03/2026

🌳 Earlier this month we provided emergency financial assistance to St Lukes Greytown to carry out urgent arborist work on six historic oak trees along Church Street following recent storm damage.

Structural improvements were efficiently completed by Arb Solutions, keeping the footpath safe and helping preserve these much-loved community trees for years to come.

The ongoing care of these trees comes at a significant cost, and we were pleased to assist in this urgent situation. 🌳

23/03/2026

Clock Tower Restored at Soldiers Memorial Park Pavilion

(As appeared in the March 2026 edition of the Greytown Grapevine)

The clock tower has returned to the John Gray Pavilion at Soldiers Memorial Park, marking the final touch in the restoration of an important piece of Greytown sporting history.

Before the original pavilion buildings were demolished, the clock tower was carefully removed and preserved with the intention of reinstalling it on the new pavilion. With the new building now in use for over a year, the restored tower has been placed back on top of the pavilion where it once stood.

Of course, a clock tower is not much use without a working clock. For some time the tower stood in place but the clock itself was not operational – something that felt a little like the famous clock tower in Back to the Future.

Thanks to a generous $6,000 contribution from the Greytown Lands Trust, the clock has now been fully restored and is once again keeping time over the park. Visitors to Soldiers Memorial Park are encouraged to take a moment to look up and see the restored feature in action.

The completion of the pavilion project reflects the efforts of many volunteers from the Greytown Cricket Club, Greytown Football Club and Greytown Swimming Club, who contributed countless hours to help bring the new building to life.

The community is also grateful to the Greytown Lands Trust, whose support included not only the $6,000 donation for the clock tower restoration but also a further $25,000 contribution towards completing the pavilion.

The photo below shows some of the many dedicated volunteers who helped make the project possible.

22/01/2026

…. Trustee spotlight – Andy Holmes ….

This month, we’re shining the spotlight on one of our six Trustees, Andy Holmes.

Elected to the Board in October 2022, Andy was born and bred in Greytown and has a deep-rooted connection to our community. He has spent many years running the 70-year-old family business, Holmes Construction Group, and is passionate about the wellbeing of the town and its residents.

Andy has long been an active volunteer across a range of recreational and sporting groups in Greytown, most notably through his strong involvement with the Greytown Rugby Football Club. His ongoing contribution to local sport reflects his commitment to community connection, teamwork and supporting future generations.

Having recently retired from the construction business, Andy now has the time, energy and enthusiasm to dedicate to his role with the Greytown Lands Trust. He is looking forward to contributing to the Trust’s future direction and outcomes for the community.

Outside of his Trustee role, Andy enjoys spending time with his family, which remains at the heart of everything he does.

We asked Andy three quick questions:

1. Best thing about being on Greytown Lands Trust Board?
"Meeting the other trustees that I wouldn’t have met and gotten to know if I hadn’t stood."

2. Favourite spot in Greytown?
"Rugby clubrooms after a good win."

3. Best way to spend your weekend?
"At our Bach in the Marlborough Sounds."

21/12/2025

🎄✨🎁 Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. 🎄✨🎁

As we head into the festive season, we’d like to wish everyone in our Greytown community a very happy Christmas and a safe, enjoyable New Year.

We hope this time brings moments to slow down, connect with whānau and friends, and enjoy all that summer has to offer. Please take care over the holidays.

Our office will be closed for a short summer break from Wednesday 24 December, reopening on Monday 12 January. If any urgent matters arise during this time, please contact Helga on 0274 517 011 or via email [email protected]

Thanks Martin toymaker.co.nz for the wonderful Christmas creations.

19/12/2025

As the year comes to a close and the silly season is almost upon us, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Greytown Volunteer Fire Brigade for your unwavering dedication and care for our community.

Your commitment to keeping Greytown safe - often at all hours, and always when it matters most - is deeply valued, sincerely appreciated, and never taken for granted.

A special shout-out to our very own Trustee, Steve Meyrick, who has proudly served with the Brigade for over 35 years – a remarkable commitment to Greytown and its people.

To all brigade members and your families, we wish you a safe, restful, and happy summer.

Thank you for everything you do for our community. Your service is truly appreciated. ❤️🚒

— Greytown Lands Trust

PS - make sure to check out the photo in the comments below. Taken back in 2022 - safe rescue of a local p***y cat. 🐾

08/12/2025

🎓 Congratulations to our 2026 Scholarship Recipients! 🎓

Last month we reviewed all applications received for the Greytown Lands Trust Tertiary Scholarship programme and interviewed a shortlist of outstanding candidates.

We’re thrilled to announce our two recipients for 2026:

✨ Anna Kelsall – Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching (Primary Endorsement)
✨ Charlie Matthews – Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Music Production

Anna and Charlie will each receive $5,000 towards their 2026 studies.

A huge congratulations to them both - we look forward to following their progress and sharing their achievements throughout the year.

And thank you to every student who applied; Greytown continues to produce exceptional young people. We wish everyone the very best in their studies for 2026.

05/12/2025

Supporting Local Sport & Recreation in Greytown 🌱🏉⚽🏏🎾🏊‍♂️⛺

We are delighted to share the results of our recent Sport and Active Recreation funding rounds!

This year we ran the funding round twice — the first round supported Greytown Football Club and Greytown Rugby Club, and the second round enabled four more clubs to receive support.
In total, the Trust awarded $22,608 across both rounds.

Congratulations to the following groups:

🏏 Greytown Cricket Club – $9,000
New cricket balls for 150+ players across all grades to use.

⚽ Greytown Football Club – $3,000
New junior playing shirts for their growing junior teams.

🏉 Greytown Rugby Club – $3,000
Supporting their Building Resilience Through Rugby programme.

🏊 Greytown Swim Club – $3,171
Water polo set & balls, goggles and a pace clock.

🎾 Greytown Tennis Club – $2,532
Junior interclub team shirts and hats featuring the club emblem.

⛺ Greytown Scout Group – $1,905
Renewal of resources - tents, packs, balls and gardening tools for almost 50 young scouts to enjoy.

A huge thank you to all these Clubs for the opportunities they create for our community. We’re proud to support the hard work you do to keep these Clubs running and growing in strength. 💚

We look forward to next year supporting those Clubs in our community that didn’t apply this year.

10/11/2025

🚨 Final Reminder – Sport and Active Recreation Funding 2025 – Applications Close Monday 17 November! 🚨

There’s still $9,000 available for Sport & Active Recreation Projects in Greytown! 🏆

If your club, team, or community group has a project that supports sport or active recreation — now’s the time to apply.

📅 Applications close 5pm, Monday 17 November 2025
👉 Apply or learn more: www.greytownlandstrust.org.nz
📧 Questions? Contact Helga – [email protected]

30/10/2025

REMINDER - 📢 Expressions of Interest for the 2026 Greytown Lands Trust Scholarships close today - Friday, 31 October.

🎓 Scholarship Reflections

Amelia and Flynn, our 2025 scholarship recipients, have shared how their Greytown Lands Trust scholarships have made a difference in their studies this year — check out what they’ve been up to!

“Receiving this scholarship has made a significant difference in my 2025 studies, allowing me to focus fully on my academics without the financial pressure that university often brings. Thanks to this support, I have been able to excel across all my courses, raising my average and really challenging myself to achieve more.
This year has been filled with many opportunities one having been able to specialise my study focus to the forensic field that I am hoping to pursue a career in. I explored the application of psychological principles within the justice system and offender rehabilitation. Having also contributed to a behavioural research experiment investigating cue-potentiated feeding with rats, which strengthened our understanding of the biological and motivational mechanisms underlying human behaviour.
This experience motivated me to begin volunteering with a community organisation that supports individuals experiencing homelessness and those affected by drug and alcohol addiction. This role has provided valuable insight into the social and rehabilitative aspects of forensic work.
I am feeling proud of what I have accomplished and am incredibly excited to continue my studies into 2026. I am looking forward to furthering my studies into a masters of science specialising in forensic psychology with hopes of further doing a phd in clinical psychology. This scholarship has truly shown that hard work and dedication are recognised and rewarded, and I am forever grateful that it was my own community that recognised this. I’m truly thankful to Greytown Lands Trust for providing me with this opportunity and for supporting my academic journey.” AMELIA


“Having attended the Greytown Lands Trust AGM back in September, I am very grateful for the support the Trust has been able to provide me and the community. The scholarship has been a tremendous help this year, allowing me to fully immerse myself in my studies and hands-on experience without the added financial pressure. This support has been crucial to my journey.
This year has been an exciting one, filled with valuable learning experiences that built upon my core courses in Chemical Separations, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, and Process Design. This year, my studies are deepening with advanced course work in modelling, reaction engineering, and sustainability. I also completed two internships with Carbonscape as a Chemical and Process Engineering Intern. The scholarship supported me in taking on these internships and gaining practical experience that will be invaluable to my future career. During my time there, I was involved in project commissioning of a new ball charge design for a rod mill. I also conducted experiments to gather data on a small batch mill, and created and executed a sampling plan. My work involved data capture and analysis, as well as creating and monitoring water and mass balances. I regularly reported my findings to the engineering and management teams.
I am proud to have received the Greytown Lands Trust Scholarship for 2025.” FLYNN

We’re proud to see how our scholarships are helping Greytown students thrive and look forward to following their continued success. 🌿

27/10/2025

CLOSES THIS FRIDAY - 2026 Tertiary Scholarship Opportunity – Expressions of Interest CLOSE THIS FRIDAY - 31 October.

Greytown Lands Trust is proud to offer up to $10,000 to be awarded across two tertiary education scholarships for the 2026 academic year.

✅ Open to all ages
✅ Must be a Greytown resident, or have a registered Greytown address to call home while studying elsewhere
✅ Must be entering second year or beyond of tertiary study in 2026
✅ Must be achieving strong academic results in 2025
Note: If you’re eligible for the government’s Final-Year Fees Free scheme in 2026, you won’t be eligible to apply for this scholarship.

📝 How to Apply:
1️⃣ Submit an Expression of Interest form by Friday 31 October
2️⃣ Selected students will be invited to submit a full application between 6–21 November
3️⃣ Shortlisted applicants will attend interviews in the first week of December

For more info and to register: 👉 www.greytownlandstrust.org.nz
Or email Helga Perry @ [email protected]