Wellington
Encyclopedia
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
and third most populous urban area of 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...
, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake
2011 Christchurch earthquake
The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island at on local time , The earthquake was centred west of the town of Lyttelton, and south-east of the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous...
. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
, between Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
and the Rimutaka Range
Rimutaka Range
The Rimutaka Range is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand which form a ridge running parallel with the east coast of the island between East Cape and Wellington.The ridge is at its most pronounced in the southern part of the island, where it consists of the Ruahine,...
. It is home to residents.
The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the seat of the Wellington Region
Wellington Region
The Wellington region of New Zealand occupies the southern end of the North Island.-Governance:The official Wellington Region, as administered by the Wellington Regional Council covers the conurbation around the capital city, Wellington, and the cities of Lower Hutt, Porirua, and Upper Hutt, each...
– which in addition to the urban area covers the Kapiti Coast
Kapiti Coast
The Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...
and Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
. The urban area includes four cities: Wellington
Wellington City
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Wellington city extends as far north as Linden, and includes the rural areas of Makara and Ohariu. It is New Zealand's third-largest city, behind Auckland and Christchurch.Wellington attained city status in...
, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
, contains the central business district and about half of Wellington's population; Porirua
Porirua
Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
on Porirua Harbour
Porirua Harbour
Porirua Harbour is a natural inlet in the south-western coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The city of Porirua, one of the four cities in the Wellington conurbation, surrounds it. The city centre is to the south of the harbour....
to the north is notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
communities; Lower Hutt
Lower Hutt
Lower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the...
and Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington. It is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is in Greater Wellington.-Geography:Upper Hutt is 30 km north-east of Wellington...
are largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley.
In 2008, Wellington was classified as a Gamma World City
Global city
A global city is a city that is deemed to be an important node in the global economic system...
in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
.
The 2010 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world. In 2011 Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011 named Wellington as fourth in its Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2011, referring to the New Zealand capital as the "coolest little capital in the world".
Name
Wellington was named after Arthur WellesleyArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. The Duke's title comes from the town of Wellington
Wellington, Somerset
Wellington is a small industrial town in rural Somerset, England, situated south west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town...
in the English county
Counties of England
Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 counties. The counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several...
of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
In Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, Wellington goes by three names. Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara refers to Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
and means "the great harbour of Tara". Pōneke is a transliteration of Port Nick, short for Port Nicholson (the city's central marae
Marae
A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
, the community supporting it and its kapa haka
Kapa haka
The term Kapa haka is commonly known in Aotearoa as 'Maori Performing Arts' or the 'cultural dance' of Maori people...
have the pseudo-tribal name of Ngāti Pōneke
Ngati Poneke
Ngāti Poneke is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It is a pan-tribal iwi of Māori who have migrated to the city of Wellington ."Poneke" is a Maori language diminutive of "Port Nicholson".-References:***...
). Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, meaning The Head of the Fish of Māui (often shortened to Te Upoko-o-te-Ika), a traditional name for the southernmost part of the North Island, derives from the legend of the fishing up of the island by the demi-god Māui
Maui (Maori mythology)
In Māori mythology, Māui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery.-Māui's birth:The offspring of Tū increased and multiplied and did not know death until the generation of Māui-tikitiki . Māui is the son of Taranga, the wife of Makeatutara...
.
Importance
Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing Parliament, the head offices of all GovernmentNew Zealand House of Representatives
The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
Ministries and Departments
State sector organisations in New Zealand
Public sector organisations in New Zealand include the State sector plus the organisations of local government.Within the State sector lies the State services, and within this, lies the core Public service....
and the bulk of the foreign diplomatic missions in New Zealand.
Wellington's compact city centre supports an arts scene, café culture and nightlife much larger than many cities of a similar size. It is an important centre of New Zealand's film and theatre industry, and second to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in terms of numbers of screen industry businesses. Te Papa Tongarewa (the Museum of New Zealand), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
, the Royal New Zealand Ballet
Royal New Zealand Ballet
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is based in Wellington, New Zealand.The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a company of 32 dynamic dancers, performing an eclectic repertoire of outstanding dance, for national and international audiences, whilst continuing to build a style that is ultimately unique to the...
, Museum of Wellington City & Sea
Museum of Wellington City & Sea
The Museum of Wellington City & Sea is a museum in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the Bond Store, a historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour. The conversion of this building into a museum building was completed in 1999....
and the biennial New Zealand International Arts Festival are all sited there.
Wellington had the 12th best quality of living
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
in the world in 2009, a ranking holding steady from 2007, according to a 2007 study by consulting company Mercer. Of cities with English as the primary language, Wellington ranked fourth in 2007. Of cities in the Asia Pacific region, Wellington ranked third (2009) behind Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Sydney, Australia. Wellington became much more affordable, in terms of cost of living relative to cities worldwide, with its ranking moving from 93rd (more expensive) to 139th (less expensive) in 2009, probably as a result of currency fluctuations during the global economic downturn from March 2008 to March 2009. "Foreigners get more bang for their buck in Wellington, which is among the cheapest cities in the world to live", according to a 2009 article, which reported that currency fluctuations make New Zealand cities affordable for multi-national firms to do business, and elaborated that "New Zealand cities were now more affordable for expatriates and were competitive places for overseas companies to develop business links and send employees".
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
named Wellington 'the coolest little capital in the world' in its 'Best In Travel 2011' guide book.
Settlement
Legends recount that KupeKupe
In the Māori mythology of some tribes, Kupe was involved in the Polynesian discovery of New Zealand.-Contention:There is contention concerning the status of Kupe. The contention turns on the authenticity of later versions of the legends, the so-called 'orthodox' versions closely associated with S....
discovered and explored the district in about the tenth century.
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
on the ship Tory, on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840. The settlers constructed their first homes at Petone
Petone
Petone is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour...
(which they called Britannia for a time) on the flat area at the mouth of the Hutt River
Hutt River, New Zealand
thumb|300px|The Hutt River looking downstream.The Hutt River flows through the southern North Island of New Zealand...
. When that proved swampy and flood-prone they transplanted the plans, which had been drawn without regard for the hilly terrain.
New Zealand's capital
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, where William Hobson
William Hobson
Captain William Hobson RN was the first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.-Early life:...
had placed the capital in 1841. The Parliament of New Zealand
Parliament of New Zealand
The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
had first met in Wellington on 7 July 1862, on a temporary basis, but Wellington did not become the official capital city for three more years. In November 1863, the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
, Alfred Domett
Alfred Domett
Alfred Domett, CMG was an English colonial statesman and poet. He was New Zealand's fourth Premier.-Early life:He was born at Camberwell, Surrey; his father was a ship-owner...
, places a resolution before Parliament (meeting in Auckland) that "... it has become necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
." (In the Cook Strait region, that is – not in the ocean.) Apparently, there had been some concerns that the more highly populated South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
(where the goldfields were located) would choose to form a separate colony in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Several Commissioners invited from Australia (chosen for their neutral status to help resolve the question) declared that Wellington was a suitable location because of central location in New Zealand and its good harbour. Parliament officially met in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865. At that time, the population of Wellington was just 4,900.
As the national capital, Wellington is the location of the highest court of New Zealand, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of New Zealand
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort in New Zealand, having formally come into existence on 1 January 2004. The court sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London...
. The historic former High Court building has been enlarged and restored for the use of the Supreme Court.
Government House
Government House, Wellington
Government House in Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand is the principal residence of the Governor-General of New Zealand. It was designed by Claude Paton in the office of John Campbell, Government Architect. Built between 1908 and 1910, the house's grounds total 12 ha, and the house is 4200 m²...
, the official residence
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
of the 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....
, is in 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...
, opposite 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...
. Premier House
Premier House
Premier House, on Tinakori Road in Wellington, New Zealand, is the official residence of the Prime Minister of New Zealand.The original building, constructed in the early days of the New Zealand colony in 1843 is located at the southern end of the current building, and was greatly expanded two...
, the official residence of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
, is in Pipitea on Tinakori Road.
Geography
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
on Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
, the passage that separates the North and South Islands. On a clear day the snowcapped Kaikoura Ranges
Kaikoura Ranges
The Kaikoura Ranges are two parallel ranges of mountains in the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand.Formed along New Zealand's Marlborough Fault System, they can be seen as the northernmost extension of the Southern Alps in the South Island....
are visible to the south across the strait. To the north stretch the golden beaches of the Kapiti Coast
Kapiti Coast
The Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...
. On the east the Rimutaka Range
Rimutaka Range
The Rimutaka Range is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand which form a ridge running parallel with the east coast of the island between East Cape and Wellington.The ridge is at its most pronounced in the southern part of the island, where it consists of the Ruahine,...
divides Wellington from the broad plains of the Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
, a wine region of national notability.
With a latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
of 41° 17' South, Wellington is the southernmost capital city in the world. Wellington is also the most remote capital city in the world, the farthest away from any other capital city. Wellington is more densely populated than most other cities in New Zealand due to the restricted amount of land that is available between its harbour and the surrounding ranges of hills. Wellington has very few open areas in which to expand, and this has brought about the development of the suburban towns in the greater urban area. Because of its location in the latitudes of the Roaring Forties
Roaring Forties
The Roaring Forties is the name given to strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees. Air displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole, which travels close to the surface between the latitudes of 30 and 60 degrees south, combines...
, and also its exposure to the winds blowing through the Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
, Wellington is known to New Zealanders as "Windy Wellington".
More than most cities, life in Wellington is dominated by its central business district (CBD). Approximately 62,000 people work in the CBD, only 4,000 fewer than work in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's CBD, despite that city having three times Wellington's population. Wellington's cultural and nightlife venues concentrate in Courtenay Place
Courtenay Place, Wellington
Courtenay Place is the main street of the Courtenay Quarter in the Wellington, New Zealand inner-city district of Te Aro.Courtenay Place is known for its entertainment and nightlife. Many restaurants are open late and most of the bars stay open until dawn...
and surroundings located in the southern part of the CBD, making the nearby suburb of Te Aro
Te Aro
Te Aro is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, 1 km from the centre. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly flat area of city between The Terrace and Cambridge Terrace at the base...
the largest entertainment destination in New Zealand.
Wellington has a median income well above the average in New Zealand and a much higher proportion of people with tertiary qualifications than the national average.
Wellington has a reputation for its picturesque natural harbour and green hillsides adorned with tiered suburbs of colonial villas. The CBD is sited close to Lambton Harbour, an arm of Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
. Wellington Harbour lies along an active geological fault, which is clearly evident on its straight western shore. The land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning that many of Wellington's suburbs sit high above the centre of the city.
There is a network of bush walks and reserves maintained by the Wellington City Council
Wellington City
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Wellington city extends as far north as Linden, and includes the rural areas of Makara and Ohariu. It is New Zealand's third-largest city, behind Auckland and Christchurch.Wellington attained city status in...
and local volunteers. The Wellington region has 500 square kilometres (193.1 sq mi) of regional parks and forests.
In the east is 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...
, connected to the rest of the city by a low-lying isthmus at Rongotai
Rongotai
This article discusses the Wellington city suburb of Rongotai. For the article about the New Zealand parliamentary electorate of the same name see Rongotai ...
, the site of 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...
. The narrow entrance to Wellington is directly to the east of the Miramar Peninsula, and contains the dangerous shallows of Barrett Reef
Barrett Reef
The cluster of rocks that is Barrett Reef is one of the most treacherous reefs in New Zealand.It lies on the western side of the entrance of Wellington Harbour, on the approaches to the city of Wellington, at coordinates . The reef is named after Richard Barrett , a whaler and trader. Its Maori...
, where many ships have been wrecked (most famously the inter-island ferry Wahine
Wahine disaster
The Wahine disaster occurred on 10 April 1968 when the TEV Wahine, a New Zealand inter-island ferry of the Union Company, foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour and capsized near Steeple Rock...
in 1968).
On the hill west of the city centre are Victoria University
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
and the Wellington Botanic Garden
Wellington Botanic Garden
The Wellington Botanic Garden, Wellington, New Zealand, covers 25 hectares of land on the side of the hill between Thorndon and Kelburn, near central Wellington....
. Both of these can be reached by a funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
railway, the Wellington Cable Car
Wellington Cable Car
The Wellington Cable Car is a funicular railway in Wellington, New Zealand between Lambton Quay, the main shopping street, and Kelburn, a suburb in the hills overlooking the central city, rising 120 m over a length of 612 m. It is widely recognised as a symbol of Wellington.-Track and stations:The...
.
Wellington Harbour has three islands: Matiu/Somes Island
Matiu/Somes Island
Matiu/Somes Island, at , is the largest of three islands in the northern half of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. It lies south of the suburb of Petone and the mouth of the Hutt River, and about northwest of the much smaller Makaro/Ward Island....
, Makaro/Ward Island
Makaro/Ward Island
Makaro/Ward island is one of the three small islands in Wellington Harbour, at the Southern end of the North Island, New Zealand.Ward Island is on the eastern side of the harbour, about west of the town of Eastbourne. It is about long and wide, with the long axis aligned North/South...
and Mokopuna Island
Mokopuna Island
Mokopuna Island is a small island in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. It is about on its long axis and about across. It lies immediately north of the much larger Matiu/Somes Island, from which it is separated by a channel about wide....
. Only Matiu/Somes Island is large enough for habitation. It has been used as a quarantine station for people and animals, and as an internment camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
during World War I and World War II. This island is now a conservation island, providing refuge for endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, much like Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island
-External links:* , Department of Conservation* * , Nature Coast Enterprise *...
farther up the coast. There is access during daylight hours by the Dominion Post Ferry.
Wellington's suburbs
The urban area of Wellington stretches across the areas administered by Wellington, Hutt (covering Lower Hutt), Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils.See Wellington City
Wellington City
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Wellington city extends as far north as Linden, and includes the rural areas of Makara and Ohariu. It is New Zealand's third-largest city, behind Auckland and Christchurch.Wellington attained city status in...
for a list of suburbs.
See Hutt City for a list of Lower Hutt suburbs.
See Porirua City for a list of suburbs.
See Kapiti Coast (district), New Zealand for a list of suburbs.
Population
The four cities have a total population of and the Wellington urban area contains 99% of that population. The remaining areas are largely mountainous and sparsely farmed or parkland and are outside the urban area boundary.Counts from the 2006 census gave totals by area, sex, and age. Wellington
Wellington City
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Wellington city extends as far north as Linden, and includes the rural areas of Makara and Ohariu. It is New Zealand's third-largest city, behind Auckland and Christchurch.Wellington attained city status in...
had the largest population of the four city council areas with 179,466 people, followed by Lower Hutt, Porirua
Porirua
Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
and Upper Hutt. Women outnumber men in all four areas, according to data from Statistics New Zealand
Statistics New Zealand
Statistics New Zealand is the national statistical office of New Zealand.-Organisation:New Zealand's Minister of Statistics is Maurice Williamson who serves as a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and holds several other posts within government...
, particularly in the Wellington City area.
| City | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 179,466 | 86,932 | 92,532 |
| Lower Hutt | 97,701 | 47,703 | 49,998 |
| Upper Hutt | 38,415 | 19,088 | 19,317 |
| Porirua | 48,546 | 23,634 | 24,912 |
| Total four cities | 364,128 | 177,369 | 186,759 |
Source:Statistics New Zealand (2006 Census)
Age distribution
Age distributions for the four cities are given (see table below). Overall, Wellington's age structure closely matches the national distribution.The relative lack of older people in Wellington is less marked when the neighbouring Kapiti Coast District is included. Nearly 7% of Kapiti Coast residents are over 80.
| City | Under 20 | 20–39 | 40–59 | 60–79 | |80 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 25% | 37% | 26% | 10% | 2% |
| Lower Hutt | 30% | 27% | 27% | 12% | 3% |
| Upper Hutt | 30% | 25% | 28% | 14% | 3% |
| Porirua | 34% | |27% | 26% | 10% | 1% |
| Total four cities | 28% | 32% | 27% | 11% | 2% |
| New Zealand | 29% | 27% | 27% | 14% | 3% |
Source:Statistics New Zealand (2006 Census)
Climate
The city averages 2025 hours (or about 169 days) of sunshine per year. The climate is a temperate marineOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
one, is generally moderate all year round, and rarely sees temperatures rise above 25 °C (77 °F), or fall below 4 °C (39 °F). The hottest recorded temperature in the city is 31.1 °C (88 °F), while −1.9 °C (28 °F) is the coldest. The city is notorious however for its southerly blasts in winter, which may make the temperature feel much colder. The city is generally very windy all year round with high rainfall; average annual rainfall is 1249 mm, June and July being the wettest months. Frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
s are quite common in the hill suburbs and the Hutt Valley between May and September. Snow is very rare, although snow fell on the city and many other parts of the Wellington region in July and August 2011.
Earthquakes
Wellington suffered serious damage in a series of earthquakes in 1848 and from another earthquake in 1855. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake1855 Wairarapa earthquake
The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m. In Wellington, close to the epicenter, shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. The magnitude of the earthquake is estimated to have been in the range 8.1-8.3, the most powerful recorded in New Zealand since systematic European...
occurred on a fault to the north and east of Wellington
Wairarapa Fault
The Wairarapa Fault is an active seismic fault in the southern part of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a dextral strike-slip fault with a component of uplift to the northwest as expressed by the Rimutaka Range...
. It ranks as probably the most powerful earthquake in recorded New Zealand history
History of New Zealand
The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship links and land. The first European explorer to discover New Zealand was Abel Janszoon Tasman on 13 December 1642...
, with an estimated magnitude of at least 8.2 on the Moment magnitude scale
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
. It caused vertical movements of two to three metres over a large area, including raising an area of land out of the harbour and turning it into a tidal swamp. Much of this land was subsequently reclaimed
Reclamation of Wellington Harbour
The reclamation of Wellington Harbour started in the 1850s, originally to increase the amount of usable flat land for Wellington city. Reclamations in the 1960s and 1970s were to meet the needs of container shipping and new cargo handling methods...
and is now part of Wellington's central business district. For this reason the street named Lambton Quay
Lambton Quay, Wellington
Lambton Quay is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll across the road and enter the shops on the opposite side. It was the site of the...
is now 100 to 200 metres (325 to 650 ft) from the harbour. Plaques set into the footpath along Lambton Quay mark the shoreline in 1840 and indicate the extent of the uplift and reclamation
Reclamation of Wellington Harbour
The reclamation of Wellington Harbour started in the 1850s, originally to increase the amount of usable flat land for Wellington city. Reclamations in the 1960s and 1970s were to meet the needs of container shipping and new cargo handling methods...
.
The area has high seismic activity even by New Zealand standards, with a major fault line running through the centre of the city, and several others nearby. Several hundred more minor fault lines have been identified within the urban area. The inhabitants, particularly those in high-rise buildings, typically notice several earthquakes every year. For many years after the 1855 earthquake, the majority of buildings constructed in Wellington were made entirely from wood. The 1996-restored Government Buildings, near Parliament is the largest wooden office building
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
. While masonry and structural steel
Structural steel
Structural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and mechanical properties...
have subsequently been used in building construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, especially for office buildings, timber framing
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
remains the primary structural component of almost all residential construction. Residents also place their hopes of survival in good building regulations
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
, which gradually became more stringent in the course of the twentieth century.
Architecture
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace was the home of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand's most famous author. The building, located in Thorndon, is classified as a "Category I" historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust...
in Thorndon, some streamlined Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
structures such as the old Wellington Free Ambulance
Wellington Free Ambulance
The Wellington Free Ambulance provides free to the patient ambulance services in the Wellington Region of New Zealand.-History:The ambulance service was created on 9 November 1927 by the mayor of Wellington, Sir Charles Norwood, and initially operated out of the Old Navals boatshed...
headquarters, the Central Fire Station, Fountain Court Apartments, the City Gallery
City Gallery Wellington
The City Gallery Wellington is an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. The gallery was first opened in 1980 in a different building.-Features:...
, and the former Post and Telegraph Building, as well as the curves and vibrant colours of post-modern architecture in the CBD.
The oldest building in Wellington is the 1858 Colonial Cottage
The Colonial Cottage Museum
The Colonial Cottage Museum is Wellington's oldest building and is classified as a "Category I" historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust....
in Mount Cook
Mount Cook, Wellington
The suburb of Mount Cook in Wellington in New Zealand stands on the southern fringe of the central city alongside Te Aro and to the north of Newtown...
. The tallest building in the city is the Majestic Centre
Majestic Centre
The Majestic Centre, designed by Jack Manning of Manning Mitchell in association with of and completed in 1991, is the tallest building in Wellington, New Zealand. The building, located on 100 Willis Street is 116 meters high and has 29 stories, making it the ninth tallest high-rise building in...
on Willis Street at 116 metres high, the second tallest being the structural expressionist State Insurance Building at 103 metres. Futuna Chapel
Futuna Chapel
Futuna Chapel is a building in the suburb of Karori, Wellington designed by the architect John Scott.Built by the brothers of the Society of Mary, the chapel is named after the Pacific Island of Futuna on which the missionary Peter Chanel, to whom the project is dedicated, was martyred in 1841...
in Karori
Karori
Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, some 4 km from the city centre.Karori is significantly larger than most other Wellington suburbs, having a population of over 14,000 at the time of the 2006 census.-History:Before the arrival of...
was the first bicultural building in New Zealand, and is thus considered one of the most significant New Zealand buildings of the twentieth century.
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
adapted to colonial conditions and materials, as is St Mary of the Angels. The Museum of Wellington City & Sea
Museum of Wellington City & Sea
The Museum of Wellington City & Sea is a museum in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the Bond Store, a historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour. The conversion of this building into a museum building was completed in 1999....
building, the Bond Store
Wellington Harbour Board Head Office and Bond Store
Wellington Harbour Board Head Office and Bond Store is a historic building on Jervios Quay in Wellington, New Zealand. It was commissioned in 1890 by the Wellington Harbour Board to replace wooden buildings from the 1860s, designed by Frederick de Jersey Clere in the French Second Empire style, and...
, is in the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
style, and the Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office Building
Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office Building
Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office Building is a historic building on Jervios Quay in Wellington, New Zealand.The building, is classified as a "Category I" historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust...
is in a late English Classical style. There are several restored theatre buildings: the St James Theatre
St. James Theatre (Wellington)
The St. James Theatre, is a stage theatre located in the heart of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. The present theatre was designed in 1912 by Australian theatre designer Henry Eli White...
, the Opera House
Opera House (Wellington)
The Opera House is a proscenium theatre in Wellington, New Zealand located on Manners Street opposite Te Aro Park. William Pitt, the architect, was based in Melbourne, Australia, and much of the work was overseen by local architect Albert Liddy....
and the Embassy Theatre.
Civic Square
Civic Square, Wellington
Civic Square is an open public area at the centre of Wellington, New Zealand. It marks the boundary between the financial district to the north and the entertainment district to the south.- Textures and materials :...
is surrounded by the Town Hall
Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall is a concert hall and part of the municipal complex in Wellington, New Zealand. The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1901 and construction began the following year. It was officially opened on 7 December 1904....
and council offices, the Michael Fowler Centre
Michael Fowler Centre
The Michael Fowler Centre is a concert hall and convention centre in Wellington, New Zealand. It was constructed on reclaimed land next to Civic Square, and is the pre-eminent concert site in central Wellington....
, the Wellington Central Library, Capital E (home of the National Theatre for Children), the City-to-Sea Bridge, and the City Gallery
City Gallery Wellington
The City Gallery Wellington is an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. The gallery was first opened in 1980 in a different building.-Features:...
.
As it is the capital city, there are many notable government buildings in Wellington. The circular-conical Executive Wing of New Zealand Parliament Buildings
New Zealand Parliament Buildings
The New Zealand Parliament Buildings house the New Zealand Parliament and are on a 45,000 square metre site at the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington...
, on the corner of Lambton Quay and Molesworth Street, was constructed between 1969 and 1981 and is commonly referred to as the Beehive
Beehive (building)
The Beehive is the common name for the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings, located at the corner of Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay, Wellington...
. Across the road from the Beehive is the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, part of the old Government Buildings which now houses part of Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
's Law Faculty.
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
is on the waterfront.
Other notable buildings include Wellington Town Hall
Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall is a concert hall and part of the municipal complex in Wellington, New Zealand. The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1901 and construction began the following year. It was officially opened on 7 December 1904....
, Wellington Railway Station
Wellington Railway Station
Wellington Railway Station is the southern terminus of New Zealand's North Island Main Trunk railway, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line. In terms of number of services and in passenger numbers, it is New Zealand's busiest railway station.-Development:...
, Dominion Museum (now Massey University), State Insurance Building, Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
, and Wellington Airport at Rongotai
Rongotai
This article discusses the Wellington city suburb of Rongotai. For the article about the New Zealand parliamentary electorate of the same name see Rongotai ...
. Leading Wellington architects include Frederick Thatcher
Frederick Thatcher
Rev. Frederick Thatcher was an English and New Zealand architect and clergyman.He was born at Hastings to a long-established Sussex family. He was one of the earliest associates of the Institute of British Architects, being admitted in 1836.He emigrated to New Zealand in 1843, working in New...
, Frederick de Jersey Clere
Frederick de Jersey Clere
Frederick de Jersey Clere was an architect in Wellington, New Zealand.He was born in Lancashire and trained as an architect before emigrating to New Zealand with his family in 1877....
, W. Gray Young
W. Gray Young
William Gray Young was a New Zealand architect in the early 20th century, designing buildings such as Knox College , Turnbull House and Elliott House...
, Bill Alington
William Alington (architect)
William Hildebrand Alington is a New Zealand Modernist architect, whose work has been awarded nationally, and recognised internationally.Husband of New Zealand historian Margaret Alington.-Education and early years:...
, Ian Athfield
Ian Athfield
Ian Charles Athfield is a New Zealand architect. He was born in Christchurch and graduated from the University of Auckland in 1963 with a Diploma of Architecture. That same year he joined Structon Group Architects, and he became a partner in 1965...
, Roger Walker
Roger Walker (architect)
Roger Neville Walker is a New Zealand architect based in Wellington. After graduating in architecture from the University of Auckland in the 1960s, Walker worked for the architecture firm Calder Fowler & Styles, until he established his own practice in the early 1970s...
and Pynenburg and Collins.
Wellington contains many iconic sculptures and structures such as the Bucket Fountain
The Bucket Fountain
The Bucket Fountain is an iconic kinetic sculpture of Wellington, capital city of New Zealand. It can be found in Cuba Mall, which is part of Cuba Street. It consists of a series of "buckets" that fill with water until they tip, spilling their load into the buckets and pool below...
in Cuba Street
Cuba Street, Wellington
Cuba Street is one of the most prominent streets in Wellington, New Zealand.-Location and origin:Named after an early settler ship to New Zealand, the Cuba, it is to the south of the CBD, but still in the inner city. Cuba Street was once the route of the Wellington trams...
and Invisible City by Anton Parsons on Lambton Quay. Recently a number of new kinetic sculptures have been commissioned, such as the Zephyrometer
Zephyrometer
The Zephyrometer is a civic sculpture by Evans Bay, Wellington. It was made by Christchurch artist Phil Price and installed in 2003. It is a kinetic sculpture consisting of a concrete cylinder holding a 26m tall needle which sways to show wind direction and speed...
. This giant 26-metre orange spike built for movement by artist Phil Price has been described as "tall, soaring and elegantly simple" and which "reflects the swaying of the yacht masts in the Evans Bay Marina behind it" and "moves like the needle on the dial of a nautical instrument, measuring the speed of the sea or wind or vessel."
Housing and real estate
Wellington experienced a real estate boom in the early 2000s and the effects of the international property bust at the start of 2007. In 2005, the market was described as "robust". But by 2008, property values had declined by about 9.3% over a 12-month period, according to one estimate. More expensive properties declined more steeply in price, sometimes by as much as 20%. "From 2004 to early 2007, rental yields were eroded and positive cash flow property investments disappeared as house values climbed faster than rents. Then that trend reversed and yields slowly began improving," according to two New Zealand Herald reporters writing in May 2009. In the middle of 2009, house prices had dropped, interest rates were low, and buy-to-let property investment was again looking attractive, particularly in the Lambton precinct, according to these two reporters.A Wellington City Council survey conducted in March 2009 found the typical central city apartment dweller was a New Zealand native aged 24 to 35 with a professional job in the downtown area, with household income higher than surrounding areas. Three quarters (73%) walked to work or university, 13% travelled by car, 6% by bus, 2% bicycled (although 31% own bicycles), and did not travel very that far since most (73%) worked or studied in the central city. The large majority (88%) did not have children in their apartments; 39% were couples without children; 32% were single-person households; 15% were groups of people flatting together. Most (56%) owned their apartment; 42% rented (of renters, 16% paid $351 to $450 per week, 13% paid less and 15% paid more – only 3% paid more than $651 per week). The report continued: "The four most important reasons for living in an apartment were given as lifestyle and city living (23%), close to work (20%), close to shops and cafes (11%) and low maintenance (11%) ... City noise and noise from neighbours were the main turnoffs for apartment dwellers (27%), followed by a lack of outdoor space (17%), living close to neighbours (9%) and apartment size and a lack of storage space (8%)."
Wellington households are primarily one-family, making up two thirds (67%) of households, followed by single-person households (25%); there were fewer multiperson households and even fewer households containing two or more families. These counts are from the 2006 census and pertain to the Wellington region (which includes the surrounding area in addition to the four cities).
Tourism
Wellington is marketed as the 'coolest little capital in the world' by Positively Wellington Tourism, an award-winning regional tourism organisation set up as a council controlled organisation by Wellington City Council in 1997. The organisation’s council funding comes through the Downtown Levy commercial rate.In the decade to 2010, the city saw growth of over 60% in commercial guest nights. It has been promoted through a variety of campaigns and taglines, starting with the iconic Absolutely Positively Wellington advertisements. The city’s long-term domestic marketing strategy was a finalist in the 2011 CAANZ Media Awards.
Tourism is a major contributor to Wellington’s economy, injecting approximately $1.3 million into the region annually and accounting for 9% of total FTE employment. The city is consistently named as New Zealanders’ favourite destination in the quarterly FlyBuys Colmar Brunton Mood of the Traveller surveyand it was fourth in Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011’s Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2011.
New Zealanders make up the city’s largest visitor market, with 3.6 million visits being made to Wellington each year. Kiwi visitors spend on average $2.4 million a day in the city. The capital has approximately 540,000 international visitors each year, who spend 3.7 million nights and $436 million in the city each year. Wellington's largest international visitor market is Australia, with over 210,000 making the trip across the Tasman and spending a total of approximately $334 million annually.
Cruise tourism to the capital is experiencing a major boom, in line with nationwide development. The 2010/11 season saw 125,000 passengers and crew visit the city on 60 liners. There are 80 vessels booked for stopovers in the 2011/12 season – estimated to inject more than $31 million into the region’s economy and representing a 74% increase in the space of two years.
Wellington is a popular conference tourism destination due to its compact nature, cultural attractions, award-winning restaurants and access to government agencies. In the year ending March 2011, the city hosted 6495 conference events involving nearly 800,000 delegate days; this injected approximately $100 million into the economy.
Electric power
The needs of the Wellington area for electric powerElectric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
are ever-increasing, along with its population, and one new source is the continually blowing wind. "Project West Wind" was granted resource consent for 66 wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s, which are estimated to be able to generate about 140 megawatts . Meridian Energy's Project West Wind is a few kilometres west of Wellington's central business district, on Meridian's Quartz Hill and Terawhiti Station
Terawhiti Station
Terawhiti Station is one of New Zealand's oldest and largest sheep stations, located along the south coast of Wellington. Terawhiti Station has seen a diverse range of land uses over the past 160 years. Originally a cattle station, Terawhiti grew into one of New Zealand's largest sheep stations...
. Near "Project West Wind" is the proposed power project of "Mill Creek" in neighbouring suburbs, in the Ohariu Valley behind Johnsonville
Johnsonville, New Zealand
Johnsonville is a large suburb in northern Wellington, New Zealand. It is seven kilometres north of the city centre, at the top of the Ngauranga Gorge, on the main route to Porirua . The population of "J'ville" was about 6,500 at the 2001 census.- Public transport :Johnsonville is a reasonably...
and the back of Porirua. It will be smaller than "Project West Wind", but its exact size is still to be determined. In April 2009, a $440 million wind farm was connected to the electric power distribution network
Electric power system
An electric power system is a network of electrical components used to supply, transmit and use electric power. An example of an electric power system is the network that supplies a region's homes and industry with power - for sizable regions, this power system is known as the grid and can be...
, including twenty 111-metre-high wind turbines, and it was planned that by the end of 2009 there would be 62 wind turbines turbines there. Newer information is difficult to get. Those turbines would hypothetically be capable of generating enough electric power for about 70,000 houses.
The location of Wellington is advantageous for its supply of electric power, and not just because of wind power. Since Wellington is in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
, it has ready access to the geothermal power
Geothermal power
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...
that is abundant on that island. Also, Wellington is just across the Cook Strait from the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, it is close to the sources of abundant hydroelectric power that exist in that island. Excess electric power from the South Island is transmitted to the North Island via submarine cable
Submarine power cable
Submarine power cables are major transmission cables for carrying electric power below the surface of the water. These are called "submarine" because they usually carry electric power beneath salt water but it is also possible to use submarine power cables beneath fresh water...
s laid across the bottom of the Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
to the Wellington area and the rest of the North Island.
The strong winds of the Wellington area, while advantageous for wind
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
farms, sometimes blow down power lines. In May 2009, one windstorm left about 2500 residents without electric power for a several hours. In addition, lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
strikes and the need for occasional upgrades to the electric power system
Electric power system
An electric power system is a network of electrical components used to supply, transmit and use electric power. An example of an electric power system is the network that supplies a region's homes and industry with power - for sizable regions, this power system is known as the grid and can be...
sometimes cause power outages.
While electricity for Wellington is supplied by the national electric power network
Electric power system
An electric power system is a network of electrical components used to supply, transmit and use electric power. An example of an electric power system is the network that supplies a region's homes and industry with power - for sizable regions, this power system is known as the grid and can be...
operated by Transpower New Zealand Limited
Transpower New Zealand Limited
Transpower New Zealand Limited is the state-owned enterprise responsible for electric power transmission in New Zealand. Transpower performs two major functions in the New Zealand Electricity Market...
, Wellington's local power network is owned and managed by the Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, Ltd., which bought it in 2008.
Museums and cultural institutions
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
(the Museum of New Zealand), the Museum of Wellington City & Sea
Museum of Wellington City & Sea
The Museum of Wellington City & Sea is a museum in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the Bond Store, a historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour. The conversion of this building into a museum building was completed in 1999....
, the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Museum
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace was the home of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand's most famous author. The building, located in Thorndon, is classified as a "Category I" historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust...
, Colonial Cottage, the New Zealand Cricket
New Zealand Cricket
New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand....
Museum, the Cable Car Museum, Old St Paul's, and the Wellington City Art Gallery
City Gallery Wellington
The City Gallery Wellington is an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. The gallery was first opened in 1980 in a different building.-Features:...
.
Festivals
Wellington has become home to myriad high-profile events and cultural celebrations, including the biennial New Zealand International Arts Festival, biennial Wellington Jazz Festival, biennial Capital E National Arts Festival for Children and major events such as Brancott Estate World of Wearable ArtWorld of Wearable Art
The World of Wearable Art is a museum devoted to wearable art and classic cars located in Nelson, New Zealand, opened in October 2001. It is a tourist attraction...
, Cuba Street Carnival
Cuba Street Carnival
The Cuba Street Carnival is a major street parade and creative celebration in Cuba Street, Wellington, New Zealand.Founded by Chris Morley-Hall in 1998, the festival involves hundreds of artists, performers, and a weekend audience of over 125,000...
, Visa Wellington On a Plate, New Zealand Fringe Festival, New Zealand International Comedy Festival
New Zealand International Comedy Festival
The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is held annually in Auckland and Wellington with a travelling convoy visiting other parts of New Zealand. It is run by the NZ Comedy Trust. -Main Events:...
(also hosted in Auckland), Summer City, The Wellington Folk Festival (in Wainuiomata
Wainuiomata
Wainuiomata is a suburban town located within the city limits of Lower Hutt - and part of the greater Wellington urban area - in the lower North Island of New Zealand...
), New Zealand Affordable Art Show, the New Zealand Sevens Weekend and Parade, Out in the Square
Out In The Square
Out in the Square is the current incarnation of the annual Gay and Lesbian Fair that has been held each year in Wellington, New Zealand since 1986....
, Vodafone Homegrown
Homegrown Music Festival (New Zealand)
Homegrown Music Festival has been held annually in Wellington, New Zealand since 2008.- The Line-Up :ROCK STAGES- Shihad, Kora, Pluto, The Feelers, Opshop, Elemeno P, Goodnight Nurse, Autozamm, The ValvesDUB & ROOTS STAGE...
, the Couch Soup
Couch soup
Couch Soup is a mini-festival of one page plays which started in 1997 and is run annually in Hamilton, New Zealand, and, for the last two years, in Wellington as part of the New Zealand Fringe Festival. Plays are selected via an open call for scripts, and are performed with minimal props,...
theatre festival, and numerous film festivals.
The annual children's Artsplash Festival
Artsplash Festival
Wellington's annual Artsplash Festival is New Zealand's largest student arts festival, and comprises over 100 primary and intermediate schools from the lower North Island and over 18,000 students and audience members. Venues are the Michael Fowler Centre, Capital E, and the Opera House...
brings together hundreds of students from across the Wellington region. The week-long festival includes music and dance performances and the presentation of visual arts.
Film
Filmmakers Sir 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...
, Sir Richard Taylor and a growing team of creative professionals have turned the eastern suburb of Miramar
Miramar, New Zealand
Miramar is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, south-east of the city centre. It is on the Miramar Peninsula, directly east of the isthmus of Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport.-History:...
into a film-making
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
, post-production and special effects infrastructure, giving rise to the moniker 'Wellywood
Wellywood
Wellywood is an informal name for the city of Wellington, New Zealand. The name - a conflation of Wellington and Hollywood - is a reference to the film production business established in the city by The Lord of the Rings film director Sir Peter Jackson, and Wellington-based special effects...
'. Jackson's companies include Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
, Weta Digital
Weta Digital
Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. In 2007 Weta Digital’s Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Joe Letteri, was...
, Camperdown Studios, post-production house Park Road Post, and Stone Street Studios near Wellington Airport. Recent films shot partly or wholy in Wellington include the Lord of The Rings 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...
, King Kong
King Kong (2005 film)
King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
and Avatar. Jackson described Wellington in this way: "Well, it's windy. But it's actually a lovely place, where you're pretty much surrounded by water and the bay. The city itself is quite small, but the surrounding areas are very reminiscent of the hills up in northern California, like Marin County
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
near San Francisco and the Bay Area climate and some of the architecture. Kind of a cross between that and Hawaii."
Sometime Wellington directors Jane Campion
Jane Campion
Jane Campion is a filmmaker and screenwriter. She is one of the most internationally successful New Zealand directors, although most of her work has been made in or financed by other countries, principally Australia – where she now lives – and the United States...
and Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy is a successful New Zealand filmmaker best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the last half of the 1970s....
have reached the world's screens with their independent spirit. Emerging Kiwi film-makers, like Robert Sarkies
Robert Sarkies
Robert Sarkies is a New Zealand film director and scriptwriter.Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin, and his two feature films released to date have been set in Dunedin, or close by. He began making short films as a teenager with fellow filmmaker Simon Perkins...
, Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi , also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand-born film director, writer, painter, comedian and actor named as one of Varietys "ten new directors to watch" in 2007....
, Costa Botes
Costa Botes
Costa Botes is a New Zealand writer, director and cinematographer.-Movie-making career:Botes is best known in New Zealand for Forgotten Silver , a documentary he co-wrote and co-directed with Peter Jackson...
and Jennifer Bush-Daumec, are extending the Wellington-based lineage and cinematic scope. There are agencies to assist film-makers with such tasks as securing permits and scouting locations.
Wellington has a large number of independent cinemas, including The Embassy, Paramount, The Empire, Penthouse, the Roxy and Light House, which participate in film festivals throughout the year. Wellington also has one of the country's highest turn-outs for the annual New Zealand International Film Festival.
Music
The local music scene has produced bands such as The WarratahsThe Warratahs
The Warratahs are a band from Wellington, New Zealand.-Early line-ups :* Barry Saunders * Wayne Mason * Nik Brown * John Donahue * Marty Jorgensen * Clint Brown * Rob Clarkson...
, The Phoenix Foundation, Shihad
Shihad
Shihad is a New Zealand hard/alternative rock band, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. During Shihad's recording career, they have produced four number-one studio albums and three top-ten singles in their home country of New Zealand....
, Fly My Pretties
Fly My Pretties
Fly My Pretties is a collaboration of musicians from Wellington, New Zealand that only records live albums, in various locations in New Zealand. The different musical backgrounds of the members make for an eclectic mix of songs on their releases...
, Rhian Sheehan
Rhian Sheehan
Rhian Sheehan is a New Zealand music composer and producer born in Nelson and now based in Wellington.Sheehan released his first album in 2001 Paradigm Shift, and has since released two albums as well as a compilation of remixes of his work by other New Zealand and international artists...
, Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy’s Drop is a seven-piece band from Wellington, New Zealand, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by musicians from other bands in Wellington, Fat Freddy’s Drop...
, The Black Seeds
The Black Seeds
The Black Seeds are a musical group from Wellington, New Zealand. Their music is a fusion of dub, funk, afrobeat and soul.The Black Seeds have two double-platinum selling albums at home, and successful European album releases through the German-based Sonar Kollektiv label...
, Fur Patrol
Fur Patrol
Fur Patrol is a rock band, originally from Wellington, New Zealand, now based in Melbourne, Australia.Their debut EP, Starlifter, was released on the independent Wellington label Wishbone in 1998. Their debut album Pet was produced by David Long, guitarist of the Six Volts and the The Mutton Birds...
, Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
, Connan and the Mockasins
Connan and the Mockasins
Connan Mockasin is a psychedelic pop musician from Te Awanga, New Zealand. Formerly part of a blues rock/pop group called 'Connan and the Mockasins'.-Biography:...
, Rhombus
Rhombus (band)
Rhombus are a dub/drum n bass/reggae/roots band from Wellington, New Zealand.They were formed in 2001 by Thomas Voyce, Simon Rycroft, Koa Williams and Ahmen Mahal aka Imon Star...
and Module
Module (Musician)
Module was created in 2003 by Award Winning Wellington-based New Zealand Multi-instrumentalist/Producer Jeramiah Ross. He performs and records a variety of musical styles from electro, downtempo, ambient, classical and synthesizer-based compositions, taking full advantage of the advances in modern...
. The New Zealand School of Music was established in 2005 through a merger of the conservatory and theory programmes at Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
and Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
, Nevine String Quartet
Nevine String Quartet
String Quartet in Wellington formed in 1995 from the ranks of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The players are: Liz Patchett & Janet Armstrong - violins, Peter Barber - viola, & Robert Ibell - cello. The group performs a varied repertoire and has included in their programmes works by New Zealand...
and Chamber Music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
New Zealand are based in Wellington. The city is also home to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
and the Internationally renowned men's A Cappella
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
chorus Vocal FX
Vocal FX
Vocal FX is a young men's barbershop A Capella group, based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was formed in 2003. Their style ranges from barbershop to upbeat early pop.-Formation:...
.
Theatre and the dramatic arts
Wellington is home to Downstage TheatreDownstage Theatre
The Downstage Theatre is a theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, and the country's longest running professional theatre, established in 1964.The founders at the inaugural meeting in the Wellington Public Library on 15 May 1964 were actors Peter Bland, Tim Elliott and Martyn Sanderson, with...
, Bats Theatre
Bats Theatre
BATS Theatre is New Zealand's leading venue for the development of new theatre practitioners and plays. Most of the productions at Bats Theatre are New Zealand works...
, Circa Theatre, the National Maori Theatre company Taki Rua, National Dance & Drama School Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's National Drama School. It is located in Wellington, New Zealand Toi Whakaari offers training in Acting, Directing, Costume Construction, Entertainment Technology, Performing Arts Management and Design for Stage & Screen.The School offers the following...
and the National Theatre for Children at Capital E in Civic Square.
Wellington is home to groups that perform Improvised Theatre and Improvisational comedy, including Wellington Improvisation Troupe
Wellington Improvisation Troupe
The Wellington Improvisation Troupe is Wellington’s not-for-profit, community-based improvisational theatre group. WIT performs and teaches the skills of improvisational theatre at community venues around the Wellington region....
(WIT), The Improvisors and youth group, Joe Improv. Te Whaea
Te Whaea
in Wellington, New Zealand, is the New Zealand National Dance and Drama Centre, the home to the New Zealand School of Dance and Toi Whakaari:...
National Dance & Drama Centre, houses New Zealand's University-level school's of Dance and Drama, Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's National Drama School. It is located in Wellington, New Zealand Toi Whakaari offers training in Acting, Directing, Costume Construction, Entertainment Technology, Performing Arts Management and Design for Stage & Screen.The School offers the following...
: NZ Drama School & New Zealand School of Dance. These Brother & Sister Institutions are separately run entities that share the building's facilities.
St James' Theatre
St. James Theatre (Wellington)
The St. James Theatre, is a stage theatre located in the heart of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. The present theatre was designed in 1912 by Australian theatre designer Henry Eli White...
on Courtenay Place is a popular venue for artistic performances.
Dance
Wellington is the home for the Royal New Zealand BalletRoyal New Zealand Ballet
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is based in Wellington, New Zealand.The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a company of 32 dynamic dancers, performing an eclectic repertoire of outstanding dance, for national and international audiences, whilst continuing to build a style that is ultimately unique to the...
and the New Zealand School of Dance.
Comedy
Wellington has a small but thriving comedy scene, aided in recent years by the emergence of the Fringe Bar as the home for Wellington comedy. The venue hosts up to three nights of comedy every week, with a mix of stand-up, improv and sketch. The monthly El Jaguar Fiesta de Variety showcases a mix of music, singing, burlesque, and comedy. Other venues which host comedy in Wellington include the San Francisco Bath House.Many of New Zealand's prominent comedians have either come from Wellington or have got their start there, such as Ginette McDonald ("Lynn of Tawa"), Raybon Kan
Raybon Kan
Raybon Kan is a Masterton, New Zealand-born Han Chinese comedian and newspaper columnist.-Early life and family:Kan's family moved to Wellington, New Zealand soon after his birth, where he began his education at St Mark's Church School and continued through to Wellington College where he was...
, Dai Henwood
Dai Henwood
Dai Henwood is a New Zealand comedian and interpretive dancer . He is best known for his hosting of several television shows found on C4 but also performs stand up comedy.A little known fact on Dai is that he has spent a year in Northern America as expedition leader for a privatley funded...
, Ben Hurley
Ben Hurley
Ben Hurley is a stand up comedian from New Zealand. Hurley started his comedy career in Wellington as resident host of The Wellington Comedy Club. After winning the Billy T Award he moved to London and worked on the comedy circuit there between 2005 and 2008...
, Steve Wrigley
Steve Wrigley
Steve Wrigley is a New Zealand comedian. He has worked at many different events and shows, notably ZM radio station, New Zealand Comedy Festivals, The Improvisors, and is a regular cast member on the comedy newspanel show 7 Days....
, and, most famously, the Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
and the satirist John Clarke
John Clarke (satirist)
John Morrison Clarke is a New Zealand-born Australian comedian, writer, and satirist. He was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and has lived in Australia since the late 1970s...
("Fred Dagg
Fred Dagg
Fred Dagg is a fictional archetype satirist from New Zealand created and acted on stage, film and television by satirist John Clarke. Clarke graced New Zealand TV screens as Dagg during the mid to late 1970s, "taking the piss" out of the post-pioneering Kiwi bloke and ‘blokesses’.When Clarke first...
"), who found even greater fame after he moved to Australia.
The comedy group Breaking the 5th Wall operates out of Wellington and has regular shows around the city, performing a mix of sketches and semi-improvised theatre.
Wellington is also home to groups that perform improvised theatre and improvisational comedy, including Wellington Improvisation Troupe
Wellington Improvisation Troupe
The Wellington Improvisation Troupe is Wellington’s not-for-profit, community-based improvisational theatre group. WIT performs and teaches the skills of improvisational theatre at community venues around the Wellington region....
(WIT), The Improvisors and youth group Joe Improv.
Wellington also hosts shows in the annual New Zealand International Comedy Festival
New Zealand International Comedy Festival
The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is held annually in Auckland and Wellington with a travelling convoy visiting other parts of New Zealand. It is run by the NZ Comedy Trust. -Main Events:...
. The NZ International Comedy Fest 2010 featured over 250 local and international comedy acts and was a revolutionary first in incorporating an iPhone application for the Festival.
Visual arts
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
. Wellington is also home to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts galleries were opened as a free public gallery on Whitmore Street in 1892...
and the Arts Foundation of New Zealand
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
A facilitator of private philanthropy, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand supports artistic excellence through its permanent Endowment Fund. Legacies and donations help grow the Fund, with income generated enabling the Foundation to support the arts....
. The city's arts centre
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
, Toi Poneke
Wellington Arts Centre
The Wellington Arts Centre , is the New Zealand capital's primary creative production facility and support complex. It was between 2003-2005, and was formally opened by Mayor Kerry Prendergast in July 2005. For twelve years previous, the city's arts centre had been based at the much smaller...
, is a nexus of creative projects, collaborations, and multi-disciplinary production. Arts Programmes and Services Manager Eric Vaughn Holowacz and a small team based in the Abel Smith Street facility have produced ambitious initiatives such as Opening Notes, Drive by Art
Drive by Art
Drive by Art is an on-going community public art project in the city of Wellington, New Zealand. Begun in 2003 by the City Council, in close partnership with local companies Flagmakers and Resene Paints, it has commissioned over 200 original art street banners which have been installed over the...
, and public art
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
projects. The city is home to experimental arts publication White Fungus. The Learning Connexion provides art classes. Other visual art galleries include the City Gallery.
Writing
Poet Bill ManhireBill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
, director of the International Institute of Modern Letters, has turned the Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
Programme at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
into a forge of new literary activity.
Cuisine
Wellington's café cultureCoffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
is prominent. The city has more cafes per capita than New York City. Restaurants are either licensed to sell alcohol, BYO (bring your own), or unlicensed (no alcohol); many let you bring your own wine. Restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, including from Europe, Asia and Polynesia. "For dishes that have a distinctly New Zealand style, there are lamb, pork and cervena (venison), salmon, crayfish (lobster), Bluff oysters, pāua
Paua
Pāua is the Māori name given to three species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae , known in the United States and Australia as abalone, and in the United Kingdom as ormer shells.-Species:There are three species of New Zealand pāua:New...
(abalone), mussels, scallops, pipis
Paphies australis
Paphies australis or pipi is a bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand.The pipi is a shellfish with a solid white, elongated symmetrical shell with the apex at the middle. It is covered by a thin yellow periostracum...
and tuatua (both New Zealand shellfish); kumara (sweet potato); kiwifruit and tamarillo; and pavlova
Pavlova (food)
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue with a crisp crust and soft, light inner. The name is pronounced or , unlike the name of the dancer, which was or ....
, the national dessert," recommends one tourism website.
Sport
- The HurricanesHurricanes (Super rugby franchise)The Hurricanes are a New Zealand professional Rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in the Super Rugby competition...
– Super Rugby team representing the Lower North Island, primarily based in Wellington - Wellington LionsWellington Rugby Football UnionThe Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand...
– ITM Cup rugby team - Wellington Phoenix FCWellington Phoenix FCWellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club competes in the Football Federation of Australia A-League. Ricki Herbert has been the coach since the club's inception to the A-League in July 2007. The current club captain is...
– football (soccer) club playing in the Australasian A-LeagueA-LeagueThe A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
, the only fully professional football club in New Zealand - Team WellingtonTeam WellingtonTeam Wellington are one of the eight franchises in the New Zealand ASB Premiership football competition. They play their home games at Newtown Park, Wellington.- History :...
– Wellington's club in the semi-professional New Zealand Football ChampionshipNew Zealand Football ChampionshipThe New Zealand Football Championship is the national association football league in New Zealand. It is a professional/semi-professional status Association football sports Franchise league that is operated by New Zealand Football... - Central PulseCentral PulseThe Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Pulse represent several New Zealand regions in the North and South Islands, from East Cape in the north to Tasman and Marlborough in the south, and were formed as an...
– netballNetballNetball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
team representing the Lower North Island in the ANZ ChampionshipANZ ChampionshipThe ANZ Championship is the pre-eminent netball league in the world. The competition is held annually between April and July, comprising 69 matches played over 17 weeks. It is contested by ten teams, five from Australia and five from New Zealand...
, primarily based in Wellington - Wellington FirebirdsWellington FirebirdsThe Wellington Firebirds are one of six New Zealand first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket.It is based in Wellington. It competes in the State Championship first class competition, the State Shield domestic one day competition and the State Twenty20 Cricket Tournament.The...
and Wellington BlazeWellington BlazeWellington Blaze is a New Zealand women's cricket team that plays one day cricket in the State League....
– men's and women's cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
teams - Wellington SaintsWellington SaintsThe Wellington Saints are a professional basketball team that play in the New Zealand National Basketball League. They play their home games at the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington, New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Exodus Saints....
– basketball team competing in New Zealand's National Basketball LeagueNational Basketball League (New Zealand)The National Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NBL, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in New Zealand.There were 10 teams in the 2010 season with teams based in Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth, North Shore, Palmerston North,...
Sporting events hosted in Wellington include:
- six pool games and two quarter-final games at the 2011 Rugby World Cup2011 Rugby World CupThe 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
- the Wellington SevensWellington SevensThe Wellington Sevens or the New Zealand International Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in Wellington, New Zealand. The tournament, the third on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit, is played at Wellington's Westpac Stadium in early February and includes teams from 16 countries...
– a round of the IRBInternational Rugby BoardThe International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
Sevens World SeriesIRB Sevens World SeriesThe IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
held at the Westpac StadiumWestpac StadiumWestpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
over several days every February. This rugby sevensRugby sevensRugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
tournament contributes around $6 million to the local economy each year - the 2011 Tae Kwon Do World Champs
- the World Mountain RunningFell runningFell running, also known as mountain running and hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty...
Championships in 2005 - the Wellington 500Wellington 500The Wellington 500 was a street race for touring cars which took place at Wellington City in Wellington, New Zealand. The race was first proposed in 1984 and first took place a year later with a different layout from that to the original proposal....
street raceStreet racingStreet racing is a form of unsanctioned and illegal motor racing which takes place on public roads. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Well coordinated races are planned in advance and often have people communicating via 2-way radio/citizens' band radio and...
for touring carsTouring car racingTouring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
, between 1985 and 1996 - the McEvedy ShieldMcEvedy ShieldThe McEvedy Shield is an annual athletics competition held in Wellington, New Zealand, for four of the region's boys' secondary schools. It is the largest annual athletics meet in the Southern Hemisphere, in terms of its number of athletes competing....
– annual athletics meet for college students from Rongotai CollegeRongotai CollegeRongotai College is an all-boys state secondary school in the south-eastern suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, New Zealand. The students are aged 12 to 19.The decile 6 school has a roll of over 650 students...
, St Patrick's College (Silverstream)St. Patrick's College, SilverstreamSt Patrick's College is an Integrated Catholic boys' day and boarding Secondary School located in Silverstream, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. It was established by the Society of Mary in 1931 when the original St Patrick's College, Wellington was intended to be moved to a larger site more suited to a...
, St Patrick's College (Wellington)St. Patrick's College, Wellington- History :Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood SM, St Patrick's opened on June 1, 1885 with nine day-boys and twelve boarders.The College represents one of the earliest educational establishments of the Society of Mary the religious congregation whose members accompanied Bishop Jean Baptiste...
, and Wellington CollegeWellington 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...
Education
Wellington offers a variety of college and university programs for students.Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
has four campuses and works with a three trimester system (beginning March, July, and November). It enrolled 21,380 students in 2008; of these, 16,609 were full-time students. Of all students, 56% were female and 44% male. While the student body was primarily New Zealanders of European descent, 1,713 were Maori, 1,024 were Pacific students, 2,765 were international students. 5,751 degrees, diplomas and certificates were awarded. The school has 1,930 full-time employees.
Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
has a Wellington campus known as the "creative campus" and offers programs in communication and business, engineering and technology, health and well-being, and creative arts. Its school of design was established in 1886, and has research centres for studying public health, sleep, Maori health, small & medium enterprises, disasters, and tertiary teaching excellence. It combined with Victoria University of Wellington to create the New Zealand School of Music
New Zealand School of Music
The , located in Wellington, New Zealand, is a joint venture between Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University. Its main goal is to provide a top quality tertiary teaching faculty with programmes in Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Studies, Composition and Sonic Arts...
.
The University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
has a Wellington branch with its Wellington School of Medicine and Health.
In addition, there are the Wellington Institute of Technology
Wellington Institute of Technology
The Wellington Institute of Technology, or WelTec is a public New Zealand polytechnic based in Petone. WelTec was formed by an amalgamation between the Central Institute of Technology and the Hutt Valley Polytechnic in 2001. Hutt Valley Polytechnic was established in 1904. WelTec delivers...
and New Zealand's National Drama school, Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's National Drama School. It is located in Wellington, New Zealand Toi Whakaari offers training in Acting, Directing, Costume Construction, Entertainment Technology, Performing Arts Management and Design for Stage & Screen.The School offers the following...
. For further information, see List of universities in New Zealand.
The Wellington area has numerous primary and secondary schools. See List of schools in the Wellington Region for more information.
Transport
Wellington is served to the north by State Highway 1 in the west and State Highway 2New Zealand State Highway 2
State Highway 2 is one of New Zealand's eight national highways. With the exception of State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands, SH 2 is the longest highway in the North Island...
in the east, meeting at the Ngauranga Interchange
Ngauranga Interchange
The Ngauranga Interchange is a major interchange in the suburb of Ngauranga, in Wellington City, New Zealand. The Ngauranga interchange connects State Highways 1 and 2 with each other, and also allows traffic to connect to Hutt Road, for access to the interisland ferry terminals...
north of the city centre, where SH 1 runs through the city to the airport. Road access into the capital is lower in grade that most other cities in New Zealand – between Wellington and the Kapiti Coast, SH 1 travels along the Centennial Highway, a narrow accident-prone section of road, and between Wellington and Wairarapa, SH 2 transverses the Rimutaka Ranges on a similar narrow accident-prone road. Wellington has two short motorways, both part of SH 1: the Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway and the Wellington Urban Motorway
Wellington Urban Motorway
The Wellington Urban Motorway, part of SH 1, is the major road into and out of Wellington, New Zealand. It is 7 km long, ranges from three to six lanes wide, and extends from the base of the Ngauranga Gorge into the Wellington CBD....
, which in combination with a small non-motorway section in the Ngauranga Gorge connect Porirua with Wellington City.
Bus transport in Wellington is supplied by several different operators under the banner of Metlink. Buses serve almost every part of Wellington City, with most of them running along the "Golden Mile" from Wellington Railway Station
Wellington Railway Station
Wellington Railway Station is the southern terminus of New Zealand's North Island Main Trunk railway, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line. In terms of number of services and in passenger numbers, it is New Zealand's busiest railway station.-Development:...
to Courtenay Place
Courtenay Place, Wellington
Courtenay Place is the main street of the Courtenay Quarter in the Wellington, New Zealand inner-city district of Te Aro.Courtenay Place is known for its entertainment and nightlife. Many restaurants are open late and most of the bars stay open until dawn...
. Most of the buses run on diesel, but nine routes use trolleybuses – the only remaining public system in Oceania.
Wairarapa Line
The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city of Wellington with the Wairarapa region. The line ends at Woodville, where it joins the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line...
, converging on Wellington Railway Station
Wellington Railway Station
Wellington Railway Station is the southern terminus of New Zealand's North Island Main Trunk railway, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line. In terms of number of services and in passenger numbers, it is New Zealand's busiest railway station.-Development:...
at the northern end of central Wellington. Two long-distance services leave from Wellington: the Capital Connection, for commuters from Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, and The Overlander to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. During 2006, there was serious discussion to withdraw the Overlander because of lack of passengers; a railway spokesperson said the number of passengers was so low that "we could not justify keeping it going". In September 2006, however, the then operator announced there would be continued service but on a reduced basis (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in the off-peak winter season, and daily in the peak summer and Easter period).
Four electrified
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
suburban lines radiate to the outer suburbs – the Johnsonville Line north to the northern suburbs, ending at Johnsonville; the Kapiti Line along the NIMT to Porirua and to Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast; the Melling Line to Lower Hutt via Petone, and the Hutt Valley Line along the Wairarapa Line via Waterloo and Taita to Upper Hutt. A diesel-hauled carriage service, the Wairarapa Connection, connects several times daily to Masterton in the Wairarapa via the 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi) long Rimutaka Tunnel
Rimutaka Tunnel
The Rimutaka Tunnel is a railway tunnel through New Zealand's Rimutaka Ranges, between Maymorn, near Upper Hutt, and Featherston, on the Wairarapa Line.The tunnel, which was opened to traffic on 3 November 1955, is long...
.
Wellington is the northern terminus of Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
ferries to Picton
Picton, New Zealand
Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. The population was 2928 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001...
in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, provided by state-owned Interislander
Interislander
The Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail.The Interislander travels between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, forming a road and rail link between New Zealand's two main...
and private Bluebridge
Strait Shipping
The New Zealand shipping firm Strait Shipping Limited operates between the North Island and the South Island ....
. Local ferries connect Wellington city centre with Eastbourne, Seatoun and Petone.
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...
is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-east of the city. It is serviced by flights from across New Zealand, and to Australia and the Pacific Islands. Flights to other international destinations require a transfer at another airport, as larger aircraft cannot use Wellington's short (1936 metres (6,351.7 ft)) runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
. The airport is the base for Wellington Aero Club
Wellington Aero Club
Wellington Aero Club is a not-for-profit organisation, and was started at Rongotai, Wellington in 1929. The clubs primary activity is flight training....
, a private not-for-profit aeronautical flight school.
Gallery
Sister-city relationships
Sister-city relationships are at the city level:- Wellington
- Lower Hutt
- Upper Hutt
- Porirua
See also
- The Bucket FountainThe Bucket FountainThe Bucket Fountain is an iconic kinetic sculpture of Wellington, capital city of New Zealand. It can be found in Cuba Mall, which is part of Cuba Street. It consists of a series of "buckets" that fill with water until they tip, spilling their load into the buckets and pool below...
- Civic SquareCivic Square, WellingtonCivic Square is an open public area at the centre of Wellington, New Zealand. It marks the boundary between the financial district to the north and the entertainment district to the south.- Textures and materials :...
- Courtenay PlaceCourtenay Place, WellingtonCourtenay Place is the main street of the Courtenay Quarter in the Wellington, New Zealand inner-city district of Te Aro.Courtenay Place is known for its entertainment and nightlife. Many restaurants are open late and most of the bars stay open until dawn...
- Cuba StreetCuba Street, WellingtonCuba Street is one of the most prominent streets in Wellington, New Zealand.-Location and origin:Named after an early settler ship to New Zealand, the Cuba, it is to the south of the CBD, but still in the inner city. Cuba Street was once the route of the Wellington trams...
- Lambton Quay
- Public transport in WellingtonPublic transport in WellingtonPublic transport in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is well developed compared to other parts of the country. The system covers the Greater Wellington region, including Wellington city, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.-Administration:Public transport in...
- Reclamation of Wellington HarbourReclamation of Wellington HarbourThe reclamation of Wellington Harbour started in the 1850s, originally to increase the amount of usable flat land for Wellington city. Reclamations in the 1960s and 1970s were to meet the needs of container shipping and new cargo handling methods...
- Te AroTe AroTe Aro is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, 1 km from the centre. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly flat area of city between The Terrace and Cambridge Terrace at the base...
- WellywoodWellywoodWellywood is an informal name for the city of Wellington, New Zealand. The name - a conflation of Wellington and Hollywood - is a reference to the film production business established in the city by The Lord of the Rings film director Sir Peter Jackson, and Wellington-based special effects...
External links
- Greater Wellington Regional Council
- Official NZ Tourism website for Wellington
- Wellington City Council
- Wellington in Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- MSN Map with rail