TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA, WELLINGTON: THE CAPITAL

Visiting Courtenay Place, Wellington

Tina Picotes and her friends have visited Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. During the travel from Auckland to Wellington, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her First Certificate Language Practice manual (Grammar 12).

More info: Prepositions

Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range.

Wellington is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region, which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state.

Wellington features a temperate maritime climate and is the world's windiest city, with an average wind speed of over 26 km/h.

More information: Wellington City Council

The Wellington urban area comprises four local authorities: Wellington City, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour, contains the central business district and about half the population; Porirua on Porirua Harbour to the north is notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island communities; Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt are largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley.

Joseph contemplates orcas at Wellington Harbour

Situated near the geographic centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand. The settlement was named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nation's capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court and most of the civil service are based in the city. Architectural sights include the Government Building, one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, as well as the iconic Beehive. Despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealand's cultural capital.

The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, numerous theatres, and two universities. Wellington plays host to many artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet. One of the world's most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world.

More information: Wellington-New Zealand

Wellington's economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealand's film and special effects industries, and increasingly a hub for information technology and innovation.

Wellington is one of New Zealand's chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country. Wellington's transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island.

Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo (1815). His title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset.

Tina is near New Zealand's Parliament, Wellington

It was named in November 1840 by the original settlers of the New Zealand Company on the suggestion of the directors of the same, in recognition of the Duke's strong support for the company's principles of colonisation and his strenuous and successful defence against its enemies of the measure for colonising South Australia. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality and the new name was at once adopted.

In the Māori language, Wellington has three names. Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara refers to Wellington Harbour and means the great harbour of Tara; Pōneke is a transliteration of Port Nick, short for Port Nicholson, the city's central marae, the community supporting it and its kapa haka have the pseudo-tribal name of Ngāti Pōneke; 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, deriving from the legend of the fishing up of the island by the demi-god Māui.

In 1865, Wellington became the capital city in place of Auckland, which William Hobson had made the capital in 1841. Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing Parliament, the head offices of all Government Ministries and Departments and the bulk of the foreign diplomatic missions. 

It is an important centre of the film and theatre industry, and second to Auckland in terms of numbers of screen industry businesses. Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Wellington Museum and the biennial New Zealand International Arts Festival are all sited there.

More information: New Zealand

If we strike a line to the N.W. from Sydney to Wellington Valley, 

we shall find that little change takes place 

in the geological features of the country. 

Charles Sturt