Wellington

The capital city of New Zealand is the capital 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 third biggest city in New Zealand second largest in the North Island, and is the managing centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world’s southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world’s most windy city by average wind speed.

Māori oral tradition tells that Kupe found and explored the region in about the 10th century. The area was initially settled by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. The turmoil of the Musket Wars led to them being defeated by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early nineteenth century.

Wellington’s current form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield’s New Zealand Company, in 1840. Smith’s plan included a series of joined grid plans, expanding along valleys and lower hill slopes. The Wellington urban area, which only includes urbanised areas within Wellington City, has a population of 214,200 as of June 2024. The wider Wellington metropolitan area, including the cities of Lower Hutt, Porirua and Upper Hutt, has a population of over 400,000 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 focused on services, with an emphasis on finance, business services, government, and the film industry. It is the nexus of New Zealand’s film and special effects industries, and increasingly a hub for tech and innovation, with a pair of 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’s transport network includes rail 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 New Zealand’s cultural hub, the culture of Wellington is a multifaceted 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 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 46 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 notable creative resurgence.