Unusually, the New Zealand Carterton predates the English one, for while that part of England has a long history, the present settlement was only founded in 1900.
Carterton, England was named after William Carter, the director of Homesteads Limited, which purchased land for the settlement from the Duke of Marlborough in 1894.
It owes much of its growth to the nearby Brize Norton air base, which is the largest employer in the area. With a population of about 15,000, it is the second largest town in West Oxfordshire.
Carterton, New Zealand was named after Charles Rooking Carter, an advocate for the Wairarapa and a member of the Wellington provincial council.
And although our Carterton only has a population of about 8500 people, it recorded the largest percentage increase in population in the North Island in the last census. Carterton's other sister city is a small rural Australian town called Casterton in Victoria. Carterton is not the only town to have a "twin" - there is a Greytown in South Africa.
