Greater Wellington (Māori: Te Pane Matua Taiao),[4] also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: Te Upoko o te Ika),[5] is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of 8,049 square kilometres (3,108sqmi), and has a population of 547,000(June 2021).[2]
Following the creation of the Auckland Council 'super-city' in 2009, a similar merger for councils within the Wellington Region was investigated by the Local Government Commission in 2013. The proposal was scrapped in 2015 following negative public feedback.[9]
In common usage the terms Wellington region and Greater Wellington are not clearly defined, and areas on the periphery of the region are often excluded. In its more restrictive sense the region refers to the cluster of built-up areas west of the Tararua ranges. The much more sparsely populated area to the east has its own name, Wairarapa, and a centre in Masterton. To a lesser extent, the Kapiti Coast is sometimes excluded from the region. Otaki in particular has strong connections to the Horowhenua district to the north. This includes being part of the MidCentral District Health Board (DHB) area, instead of the Capital and Coast DHB area like the rest of the Kāpiti Coast.
History
The Māori who originally settled the region knew it as Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui, meaning "the head of Māui's fish". Legend recounts that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the tenth century.
The region was settled by Europeans in 1839 by the New Zealand Company. Wellington became the capital of Wellington Province upon the creation of the province in 1853, until the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 Nov 1876.[10] Wellington became capital of New Zealand in 1865, the third capital after Russell and Auckland.
A composite landsat-7 image of the southwestern part of the regionOn the Quartz Hill trackAerial view of Wellington cityPlimmerton, Paremata and Pauatahanui Inlet
The region occupies the southern tip of the North Island, bounded to the west, south and east by the sea. To the west lies the Tasman Sea and to the east the Pacific Ocean, the two seas joined by the narrow and turbulent Cook Strait, which is 28 kilometres (17mi) wide at its narrowest point, between Cape Terawhiti and Perano Head in the Marlborough Sounds.
The region covers 7,860 square kilometres (3,030sqmi), and extends north to Ōtaki and almost to Eketahuna in the east.
Physically and topologically the region has four areas running roughly parallel along a northeast–southwest axis:
The Kapiti Coast, a narrow strip of coastal plain running north from Paekākāriki towards Foxton. It contains numerous small towns, many of which gain at least a proportion of their wealth from tourism, largely due to their fine beaches.
Rough hill country inland from the Kapiti Coast, formed along the same major geologic fault responsible for the Southern Alps in the South Island. Though nowhere near as mountainous as the alps, the Remutaka and Tararua ranges are still hard country and support only small populations, although it is in small coastal valleys and plains at the southern end of these ranges that the cities of Wellington and the Hutt Valley are located.
The undulating hill country of the Wairarapa around the Ruamahanga River, which becomes lower and flatter in the south and terminates in the wetlands around Lake Wairarapa and contains much rich farmland.
Rough hill country, lower than the Tararua Range but far less economic than the land around the Ruamahanga River. This and the other hilly striation are still largely forested.
Demographics
Wellington Region covers 8,049.44km2 (3,107.91sqmi)[1] and had an estimated population of 547,000 as of June 2021,[2] with a population density of 68 people per km2.
Wellington Region had a population of 506,814 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 35,499 people (7.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 57,855 people (12.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 185,382 households. There were 247,401 males and 259,413 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 37.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 93,903 people (18.5%) aged under 15 years, 109,317 (21.6%) aged 15 to 29, 231,162 (45.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 72,426 (14.3%) aged 65 or older.
Of those at least 15 years old, 128,928 (31.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 55,359 (13.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. 94,065 people (22.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 217,071 (52.6%) people were employed full-time, 58,725 (14.2%) were part-time, and 18,294 (4.4%) were unemployed.[11]
Statistics of individual territorial authorities in Wellington region (2018 census)[13]
Territorial authority
Population
Dwellings
Median age
Median income
Kāpiti Coast district
53,673
24,924
47.9 years
$29,700
Porirua city
56,559
18,858
35.1 years
$34,400
Upper Hutt city
43,980
16,779
39.1 years
$35,400
Lower Hutt city
104,532
39,549
36.9 years
$34,700
Wellington city
202,737
80,688
34.1 years
$41,800
Masterton district
25,557
11,391
43.2 years
$27,800
Carterton district
9,198
4,143
46.4 years
$29,800
South Wairarapa district
10,575
5,712
47.1 years
$32,900
Tararua district (part)
3
—
—
—
Wellington region
506,814
202,047
37.2 years
$36,100
Urban areas
Over three-quarters of the 547,000people (June 2021)[2] reside in the four cities at the southwestern corner. Other main centres of population are on the Kapiti Coast and in the fertile farming areas close to the upper Ruamahanga River in the Wairarapa.
Along the Kapiti Coast, numerous small towns sit close together, many of them occupying spaces close to popular beaches. From the north, these include Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, the twin settlements of Raumati Beach and Raumati South, Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay, the latter being a northern suburb of Porirua. Each of these settlements has a population of between 2,000 and 10,000, making this moderately heavily populated.
The median income as of the 2018 census was $36,100. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 217,071 (52.6%) people were employed full-time, 58,725 (14.2%) were part-time, and 18,294 (4.4%) were unemployed.[11]
Culture and identity
Ethnicities in the 2018 census were 74.6% European/Pākehā, 14.3% Māori, 8.4% Pacific peoples, 12.9% Asian, and 3.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The proportion of people born overseas was 26.9%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 50.2% had no religion, 35.6% were Christian, 2.6% were Hindu, 1.1% were Muslim, 1.2% were Buddhist and 3.2% had other religions.[11]
In the 2013 census, around 25.3 percent of the Wellington region's population was born overseas, second only to Auckland (39.1 percent) and on par with the New Zealand average (25.2 percent). The British Isles is the largest region of origin, accounting for 36.5 percent of the overseas-born population in the region. Significantly, the Wellington region is home to over half of New Zealand's Tokelauan-born population.[15][16]
Catholicism was the largest Christian denomination in Wellington with 14.8 percent affiliating, while Anglicanism was the second-largest with 11.9 percent affiliating. Hinduism (2.4 percent) and Buddhism (1.6 percent) were the largest non-Christian religions in the 2013 census.[16]
The subnational gross domestic product (GDP) of the Wellington region was estimated at NZ$39.00 billion in the year to March 2019, 12.9% of New Zealand's national GDP. The subnational GDP per capita was estimated at $74,251 in the same period, the highest of all New Zealand regions. In the year to March 2018, primary industries contributed $389 million (1.0%) to the regional GDP, goods-producing industries contributed $5.93 billion (15.9%), service industries contributed $27.84 billion (74.5%), and taxes and duties contributed $3.20 billion (8.6%).[17]
Public transport in the Region is well developed compared to other parts of New Zealand. It consists of buses, trains, cars, ferries and a funicular (the Wellington Cable Car). It also included trams until 1964 and trolleybuses until 2018. Buses and ferries are privately owned, with the infrastructure owned by public bodies, and public transport is often subsidised. The Regional Council is responsible for planning and subsidising public transport. The services are marketed under the name Metlink. Transdev Wellington operates the metropolitan train network, running from the Wellington CBD as far as Waikanae in the north and Masterton in the east. In the year to June 2015, 36.41 million trips were made by public transport with passengers travelling a combined 460.7 million kilometres, equal to 73 trips and 927km per capita.[18]
The Wellington region has the lowest rate of car ownership in New Zealand; 11.7 percent of households at the 2013 census did not have access to a car, compared to 7.9 percent for the whole of New Zealand. The number of households with more than one car is also the lowest: 44.4 percent compared to 54.5 percent nationally.[19]
From 2005 to 2015 there has been increase in the variety and number of native forest bird species, as well as an increase in the range of areas inhabited by these species, in Greater Wellington.[20]
The internationally recognised Ramsar estuarine wetlands site at Foxton Beach is of note as having one of the most diverse ranges of wetlands birds to be seen at any one place in New Zealand. A total of 95 species have been identified at the estuary. It is a significant area of salt marsh and mudflat and a valuable feeding ground for many birds including the migratory Eastern bar-tailed Godwit, which flies all the way from Siberia to New Zealand to escape the harsh northern winter. The estuary is also a permanent home to 13 species of birds, six species of fish and four plants species, all of which are threatened. It regularly supports about one percent of the world population of wrybills.[21]
Wellington is the capital city 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by metro area, and is the administrative 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 windiest city by average wind speed.
Upper Hutt is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area.
The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island 5 km offshore.
The South Wairarapa District is an area at the south-east tip of the North Island of New Zealand governed by the South Wairarapa District Council. The district comprises the southernmost part of the Wairarapa, and is part of the Wellington Region.
Masterton, a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges. It stands on the Waipoua stream between the Ruamahunga and Waingawa Rivers - 100 kilometres north-east of Wellington and 39.4 kilometres south of Eketahuna.
Paekākāriki is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies 22 km (14 mi) north of Porirua and 45 km (28 mi) northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from the Māori language and can mean "parakeet perch". Paekākāriki had a population of 1,665 at the time of the 2013 census, up 66 from the 2006 census.
Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of the nation's capital city, Wellington.
The Wellington Region has a well developed public transport system, the most used in New Zealand. It consists of electric and diesel buses, commuter trains, ferries and a funicular. It also included trams until 1964 and trolleybuses until 2017.
Pāuatahanui is a village in New Zealand's North Island. It is at the far eastern end of what was known as the Pāuatahanui Inlet, an arm of the Porirua Harbour, northeast of Wellington. In local government terms, Pāuatahanui is part of the Northern Ward of Porirua City.
Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environmental and flood protection, and the region's water supply.
The Transmission Gully Motorway is a 27-kilometre-long (17-mile), four-lane motorway north of Wellington, New Zealand; it is part of the State Highway 1 route. Construction began on 8 September 2014 and completion was originally scheduled for April 2020, but contractual negotiations as well as difficulties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. The motorway was officially opened on 30 March 2022 and opened to public traffic the following day.
Queen Elizabeth Park is a Wellington Regional Park located on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. The park contains the last area of natural dunes on the Kapiti Coast.
The Wellington local elections, 2010 are part of the 2010 New Zealand local elections, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. The Wellington elections cover one regional council, eight territorial authority councils, three district health boards, and various local boards and licensing trusts.
The 2016 Wellington local elections were part of the wider 2016 New Zealand local elections, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. The Wellington elections cover one regional council, eight territorial authority councils, three district health boards, and various local boards and licensing trusts.
Water supply and sanitation in the Wellington region involves the provision of the "three waters" – drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater services in the Greater Wellington region.
Paekākāriki Hill is a rural locality in Porirua in New Zealand's North Island. It is located inland, behind Paraparaumu and Raumati. Paekākāriki Hill Road runs approximately north to south from Paekākāriki to Pāuatahanui. Grays Road runs along the northern coast of Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour's Pauatahunui Arm, which forms the locality's southern boundary.
Water supply in the Wellington region involves the provision of drinking water services in the Greater Wellington region of New Zealand.
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