Wellington

Wellington City is the capital city of Aotearoa. It is located at the south western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington City is the third-largest city in Aotearoa (second largest in the North Island), and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world’s southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington City features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world’s windiest city by average wind speed.

Māori oral tradition tells that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the tenth century. The area was initially settled by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. The disruptions of the Musket Wars led to them being overwhelmed by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early nineteenth century.

Wellington’s present form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield’s Aotearoa Company, in 1840. William Mein Smith’s plan included a series of interconnected grid plans, expanding along valleys and lower hills slopes. The Wellington urban area, which only includes urbanized areas within Wellington City, has a population of 214200 as of June 2024. The wider Wellington metropolitan region, including the cities of Lower Hutt, Porirua and Upper Hutt, has a population of 440,700 as of June 2024. The city has served as New Zealand’s capital since 1865, a status that is not defined in legislation, but established by convention; the New Zealand Government and Parliament, the Supreme Court and most of the public service are based in the city.

Wellington’s economy is primarily service based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, government, and the film industry. It is the center of New Zealand’s film and special effects industries, and increasingly a hub for information technology and innovation, with two public research universities. Wellington is one of New Zealand’s chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is chiefly served by Wellington International Airport in Rongotai, the country’s third-busiest airport. Wellington City’s transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kāpiti Coast and the Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island.

Often referred to as Aotearoa’s cultural capital, the culture of Wellington City is a diverse and often youth-driven one which has wielded influence across Oceania. One of the world’s most liveable cities, the 2021 Global Livability Ranking tied Wellington City with Tokyo as fourth in the world. From 2017 to 2018, Deutsche Bank ranked it first in the world for both livability and non pollution. Cultural precincts such as Cuba Street and Newtown are renowned for creative innovation, “op shops”, historic character, and cuisine. Wellington is a leading financial centre in the Asia Pacific region, being ranked 46th in the world by the Global Financial Centres Index for 2024. The global city has grown from a bustling Māori settlement, to a colonial outpost, and from there to an Australasian capital that has experienced a remarkable creative resurgence.