Wellington (Te Whanganui-a-Tara or Poneke in Maori) is the capital of New Zealand, the country's second largest urban area and the most populous national capital in Oceania. It is in the Wellington region at the southern tip of the North Island, near the geographical centre of the country.
Wellington's urban area extends well beyond the boundaries of a single local authority. Greater Wellington or the Wellington Region means the entire urban area, plus the rural parts of the cities and the Kapiti Coast, and across the Rimutaka Range to the Wairarapa.
Wellington was named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor at the Battle of Waterloo. The Duke's title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset.
In Maori, Wellington goes by three names. Te Whanganui-a-Tara refers to Wellington Harbour and means "the great harbour of Tara"; Poneke, which is often discouraged because of a belief that it is nothing more than a transliteration of the harbour's former nickname in English, Port Nick, short for Port Nicholson; Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Maui, meaning The Head of the Fish of Maui (often shortened to Te Upoko-o-te-Ika), a more traditional name, as favoured by Victoria University of Wellington.
Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing Parliament and the head offices of all government ministries and departments, plus the bulk of the foreign diplomatic missions based in New Zealand.
Wellington's compact city centre supports an arts scene, café culture and nightlife much larger than most cities of a similar size. It is a centre of New Zealand's film and theatre industry. Te Papa Tongarewa (the Museum of New Zealand), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the biennial International Festival of the Arts are all sited there.
Wellington has the twelfth best quality of living in the world, according to a 2006 study by consulting company Mercer. Of cities with English as the primary language, Wellington ranked fourth.
Settlement Info:
Legend recounts that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the tenth century.
European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company 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 (which they called Britannia for a time) on the flat area at the mouth of the Hutt River. When that proved swampy and flood-prone they transplanted the plans without regard for a more hilly terrain. Wellington has some extremely steep streets running straight up the sides of hills.
New Zealand's Capital Info
In 1865, Wellington became the capital of New Zealand, replacing Auckland, where William Hobson had established his capital in 1841. Parliament first sat in Wellington on 7 July 1862, but the city did not become the official capital for some time. In November 1863 the Premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution before Parliament (in Auckland) that "... it has become necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait." Apparently there was concern that the southern regions, where the gold fields were located, would form a separate colony. Commissioners from Australia (chosen for their neutral status) pronounced the opinion that Wellington was suitable because of its harbour and central location.
Parliament officially sat in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865.
Wellington is the seat of New Zealand's highest court, the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The historic former High Court building is to be refurbished for the court's use.
Government House, the official residence of the Governor-General in Wellington, is in Newtown, opposite the Basin Reserve.
Location and Geography
Wellington is the southernmost national capital city in the world, with a latitude about 41°S. It is more densely populated than most other settlements in New Zealand, due to the small amount of building space available between the harbour and the surrounding hills. Because of this Wellington has very few suitable areas in which to expand, hence the develoment of the surrounding cities in the greater urban area. Because of its location in the roaring forties latitudes and its exposure to omnipresent winds coming through Cook Strait, the city is known to Kiwis 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's CBD, despite that city having three times Wellington's population. Wellington's cultural and nightlife venues concentrate in Courtenay Place and surroundings located in the southern part of the CBD, making the inner city suburb of Te Aro the largest entertainment destination in New Zealand.
Wellington has the highest average income of a main urban area in New Zealand and the highest percentage of people with tertiary qualifications.
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 lies along an active geological fault, which is clearly evident on its straight western coast. 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 and local volunteers. The Wellington region has 500 square kilometres of regional parks and forests.
In the east is the Miramar Peninsula, connected to the rest of the city by a low-lying isthmus at Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport. The narrow entrance to Wellington is directly to the east of the Miramar Peninsula, and contains the dangerous shallows of Barrett Reef, where many ships have been wrecked (most famously the inter-island ferry Wahine in 1968).
On the hill west of the city centre are Victoria University and Wellington Botanic Garden. Both can be reached on a funicular railway, the Wellington Cable Car.
Wellington Harbour has three islands: Matiu/Somes Island, Makaro/Ward Island and Mokopuna. Only Matiu/Somes Island is large enough for settlement. It has been used as a quarantine station for people and animals and as an internment camp during the First and Second World Wars. It is now a conservation island, providing refuge for endangered species, much like Kapiti Island further up the coast. There is access during daylight hours by the Dominion Post Ferry.
The city averages 2025 hours of sunshine per annum.
Arts and Culture
Wellington is the arts and culture capital of New Zealand, and is the centre of the nation's film industry. Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and a growing team of creative professionals have managed to turn the eastern suburb of Miramar into one of the world's finest film-making infrastructures. Directors like Jane Campion and Vincent Ward have managed to reach the world's screens with their independent spirit.
Wellington is home to Te Papa Tongarewa (the Museum of New Zealand), The Museum of Wellington City and Sea, The Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Museum, Colonial Cottage, The New Zealand Cricket Museum, The Cable Car Museum, The Reserve Bank Museum, the national opera company, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Nevine String Quartet, City Gallery, Chamber Music New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Ballet, St James' Theatre, Downstage Theatre, Bats Theatre and Arts Foundation of New Zealand.
The once-prosaic capital has become home to dozens of high-profile events and cultural celebration. The city began changing dramatically in 1979 with the outdoor arts festival, Summer '79, and now hosts a biennial International Festival of the Arts, annual International Jazz Festival, and major events such as Cuba Street Carnival, New Zealand Fringe Festival, Summer City, New Zealand Affordable Art Show, numerous film festivals, and World of Wearable Art. Many of the city's neighbourhoods and ethnic communities also host annual festivals.
The city's new Arts Centre, Toi Poneke, serves as a nexus of creative projects, collaborations, and multi-disciplinary production. Arts Programmes and Services Manager Eric Holowacz and a small team based in the Abel Smith Street facility have produced ambitious new initiatives such as Opening Notes, Drive by Art, the annual Artsplash Festival, and new public art projects.
Wellington is also home to groups that perform Improvised Theatre or Improv (elsewhere in the world referred to as Improvisational Comedy). These groups include the Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT), The Improvisors and Joe Improv - a youth improvisation group. There is also a lot of support for Improvised Comedy in schools in the region and at Victoria University of Wellington. The existence of Theatresports can be solely attributed to Keith Johnstone and Loose Moose Theatre.
As a capital city, Wellington is home to diplomatic missions with cultural officers ready to interface with these aspects of the City's life. In the early part of the twenty-first century, Wellington has confirmed its place as a vibrant centre of arts, culture, and creativity in the South Pacific.
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