Picton, town and port, northeastern South Island, New Zealand. It lies along Waitohi Bay (Picton Harbour), a southwest extension of Queen Charlotte Sound off Davis Strait.
In 1848 a Maori settlement on the site was occupied by Governor Sir George Grey (1845–53) and Francis Dillon Bell, of the New Zealand Company. They proceeded to lay out the village of Newton, which was renamed in 1859 to honour Sir Thomas Picton, a commander under the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War (1808–14). In 1864 its population increased for a time as the result of a gold strike to the west on the Wakamarina River. Sir Edward Stafford, prime minister of New Zealand, was then waging an unsuccessful campaign to have the town designated as the national capital.
Picton is the northern terminus of the South Island Main Trunk Railway from Christchurch (218 miles [351 km] southwest) and has regular ferry service to Wellington, 40 miles (64 km) west across Cook Strait. Its deepwater port exports wool, grain, and fruit. Other industries are meat freezing, fish packing and curing, general engineering, and small boat building. The town serves as the centre of a holiday resort area based on the many inlets along the coast. Pop. (2006) 4,083; (2012 est.) 4,200.