Mount Victoria, Wellington
Encyclopedia
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and its associated suburb. To the south of it is a spur, Mount Albert, and the two are linked by a ridge.
Mount Victoria's original Māori name is Tangi Te Keo.
The suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Mount Victoria is a mixture of residential and commercial activity on the western flank of the ridge above the southern end of the Wellington Central Business District
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. Adjoining suburbs, almost entirely residential, are Oriental Bay
Oriental Bay
Oriental Bay is a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Located close to the CBD on Wellington Harbour, it has the closest beach to the centre of the city and is thus a popular spot both for living and for visiting....
, Roseneath and Hataitai
Hataitai
Hataitai is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, 3.5 kilometres southeast of the city centre. The suburb extends over the southeastern flank of Mount Victoria and down a valley between the Town Belt and a ridge along the shoreline of Evans Bay...
.
Government House
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by...
, the home of New Zealand's Governor-General
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
, lies on the slopes of Mount Victoria to the south of the Basin Reserve, between Mount Victoria and Newtown
Newtown, New Zealand
The suburb of Newtown lies in the southern part of Wellington in New Zealand. The population at the last census was recorded as 8,409.The suburb lies east of Vogeltown, between Mount Cook and Berhampore...
. Behind it is Wellington Hospital.
The distinctive Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
-style domed Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Greeks in New Zealand
There is a community of about 4,500 people of Greek descent in New Zealand.Greek New Zealanders have a heavy concentration in Wellington, and to a lesser extent Christchurch and Auckland...
is on Mount Victoria's western flank, while the Basin Reserve
Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve , is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. Some argue that its proximity to the city, its Historic Place status and its age make it the most famous cricket ground in New Zealand...
sports stadium and National War Memorial lie near its foot. Schools in the area include Wellington College
Wellington College (New Zealand)
Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...
, Wellington East Girls' College
Wellington East Girls' College
Wellington East Girls' College is on the lower slopes of Mount Victoria. It was built on reserve land bordering Wellington College in 1925, to cope with the demand for female education in Wellington at the time...
and Clyde Quay School.
The Hataitai Bus Tunnel and the Mount Victoria Tunnel
Mount Victoria Tunnel
The Mount Victoria Tunnel in the New Zealand capital city of Wellington is 623 metres long and 5 metres in height, connecting Hataitai to the centre of Wellington and the suburb of Mount Victoria, under the mount of the same name...
(SH1) run beneath the ridge, connecting the central city with Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is a secondary hub and focus city for Air New Zealand and its subsidiaries...
, Evans Bay
Evans Bay
Evans Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located off northwestern Bathurst Island, the bay is on the east side of Erskine Inlet, across from Île Vanier.Other bays in the area include Dampier Bay and Cameron Bay....
and the Miramar Peninsula
Miramar Peninsula
The Miramar Peninsula is a peninsula at the southeastern end of the city of Wellington, New Zealand.The peninsula is 800 hectares and contains the suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Strathmore and Seatoun...
.
Lord of the Rings Connection
Mount Victoria was used twice as a location in Peter JacksonPeter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
.
The very first footage on the project was shot off Alexandra Road on 11th October 1999
Called the "Get off the road" scene. Followed by the “Escape from the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
” scenes a few hundred metres to the North. Later an old quarry at the top end of Ellice Street was used as the Rohirrim camp at Dunharrow
Dunharrow
Dunharrow is a fictional place from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Aldor established it as a refuge of the Rohirrim hidden in the White Mountains and fortified against attack...
.
