Wellington

History

In Māori mythology, the legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, a chief from Hawaiki (the homeland of Polynesian explorers, of unconfirmed geographical location, not to be confused with Hawaii), was said to have stayed in the harbour from . A later Māori explorer, Whatonga, named the harbour Te Whanganui-a-Tara after his son Tara. Before the 1820s, most of the inhabitants of the Wellington region identified as being Whatonga's descendants. At about 1820, the people living there were Ngāti Ira and other groups who claimed descent from the explorer Whatonga, including Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. However, these groups were eventually forced out of Te Whanganui-a-Tara by a series of migrations by other iwi (Māori tribes) from the north. 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. Thus, the Wellington settlement preceded the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (on 6 February 1840). The 1840 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. Within months that area proved swampy and flood-prone, and most of the newcomers transplanted their settlement across Wellington Harbour to Thorndon in present-day Wellington. The town's layout was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for the New Zealand Company, in 1840. Smith's plan included a series of interconnected grid plans, expanding along valleys and lower hill slopes, but without actually taking the terrain into account. The capital was moved to Wellington in 1865. Wellington's status as the capital is a result of constitutional convention rather than statute. A…

Geography

Wellington is at the south-western tip of the North Island on Cook Strait, separating the North and South Islands. On a clear day, the snowcapped Kaikōura Ranges are visible to the south across the strait. To the north stretch the golden beaches of the Kāpiti Coast. On the east, the Remutaka Range divides Wellington from the broad plains of the Wairarapa, a wine region of national notability. With a latitude of 41° 17' South, Wellington is the southernmost capital city in the world. 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 hills. It has very few open areas in which to expand, and this has brought about the development of the suburban towns. Because of its location in the Roaring Forties and its exposure to the winds blowing through Cook Strait, Wellington is the world's windiest city, with an average wind speed of . Wellington's scenic natural harbour and green hillsides adorned with tiered suburbs of colonial villas are popular with tourists. The central business district (CBD) is close to Lambton Harbour, an arm of Wellington Harbour, which lies along an active geological fault, clearly evident on its straight western shore. The land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning that many 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. These include Ōtari-Wilton's Bush, dedicated to the protection and propagation of native plants. The Wellington region has 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 Airport.…

Most-observed species

• Tui

  Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae (J.F.Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  20,138
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  18,489
• Kelp Gull

  Larus dominicanus M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823 · Aves
  16,490
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,121
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,793
• Silver-eye

  Zosterops lateralis (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  10,097
• New Zealand Fantail

  Rhipidura fuliginosa (Sparrman, 1787) · Aves
  9,384
• New Zealand Kaka

  Nestor meridionalis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  9,228

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2026-06-16
  32 km W of Titahi Bay, New Zealand
• M 4.2 — 2026-06-12
  27 km E of Marybank, New Zealand
• M 4.2 — 2026-06-12
  12 km NNW of Renwick, New Zealand
• M 4.5 — 2026-06-02
  28 km W of Titahi Bay, New Zealand
• M 4.5 — 2026-05-29
  46 km ESE of Witherlea, New Zealand
• M 4.3 — 2026-05-16
  36 km SE of Witherlea, New Zealand