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History of Wellington

Wellington, our capital city and home of Zealandia wildlife sanctuary is culturally rich. Explore the Māori myth behind Poneke and its landmarks, — like the Beehive, Te Papa, harbour and cable car, as well as historical events. SCIS no. 1836276

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German prisoners of war

German prisoners of war

German prisoners of war, captured by the French in Tahiti. Taken on Somes Island by an unidentified photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s).

Wellington wind

Wellington wind

Old Wellington

Wellington

A poster of Wellington at dusk.

1960s Willis Street

1960s Willis Street

Elevated view of Willis Street, Wellington, looking towards the Hotel St George, taken ca early 1960s by Gladys M Goodall Inscriptions: Verso - top left - Willis Street, looking towards Hotel St G...

Wellington motorway

Wellington motorway

Wellington motorway construction in 1969.

Interior of Suzy's Coffee Bar, Willis Street, Wellington

Interior of Suzy's Coffee Bar, Willis Street, Wellington

Photograph taken by Duncan Winder. Source of descriptive information - Duncan Winder register, Photographic Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library. Quantity: 1 colour original negative(s). Physical...

The Terrace in 1970

The Terrace in 1970

The Terrace is one of Wellington’s oldest and most notable streets.

Rugby sevens cartoon

Rugby sevens cartoon

The Wellington Sevens tournament was more about costumes, drinking and having fun than rugby.

Commuters at Wellington Railway Station

Commuters at Wellington Railway Station

Commuters at Wellington Railway Station having just arrived on units. Photographed by an Evening Post staff photographer 10 January 1978. This photograph illustrated an article on the overcrowding...

Zealandia sanctuary

Zealandia sanctuary

Zealandia (formerly the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary) in Wellington is New Zealand’s only city-based wildlife sanctuary, and was the first of its kind to open in the world. It occupies the valley of t...

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

oil on canvas 406 x 508 mm - unsigned Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the artist, 1967

Easter service, Mount Victoria

Easter service, Mount Victoria

Crowd on Mount Victoria, Wellington attending an open air Easter service. Photographed by Sydney Charles Smith some time in the 1930s Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: ...

Crowd on VE day

Crowd on VE day

VE Day, Wellington, May 1945. A crowd fills Parliament grounds and Lambton Quay. Photograph taken from Government Buildings by John Pascoe. Original caption reads: "The crowd extended from the Parl...

Queens Wharf in 1885

Queens Wharf in 1885

Overlooking Queens Wharf in Wellington, circa 1885. The vessels at the wharf are the `Ionic', `Otaki', `Canterbury', `Wairarapa' and the `Manawatu. The `Hina' is at the lower left. The `Queen of th...

Oriental Parade

Oriental Parade

cibachrome 417 x 613 mm - Brian Brake is New Zealand's most celebrated photo-journalist and his images have been published in such prestigious journals as National Geographic, Paris-Match and Life...

Rail ferries

Short film for tourists on travelling between the North and South islands.

Wellington commuters, 2011

Wellington commuters, 2011

Commuters on their way to work on a wet and blustery Wellington day are part of a tidal flow of people into the city, and will flow out again at the end of the day. For many years New Zealand town...

The 1855 Wellington earthquake

In this letter to a friend, Wellington merchant and Jewish congregation leader Abraham Hort gives a graphic description of the massive earthquake that struck Wairarapa and Wellington in January 185...

Hurricanes’ parade

Hurricanes’ parade

The Hurricanes paraded through Wellington today to celebrate their win of the Super Rugby final.

Wellington 1950s

Wellington 1950s

Footage around Wellington from the early 1950s.

New Zealand centennial exhibition

New Zealand centennial exhibition

Shows aerial view of exhibition grounds with beach at top left. At right is detail of tower building. Quantity: 1 colour photo-mechanical print(s). Physical Description: Photolithograph, 212 x 2...

Victoria University

Victoria University

Postcard of Victoria University College, Wellington.

Postcard. Wellington from the Terrace. G & G series, no. 116. Printed in Berlin. [1904-1914].

Postcard. Wellington from the Terrace. G & G series, no. 116. Printed in Berlin. [1904-1914].

Shows a view looking north over Wellington Harbour with red-roofed houses in the foreground. Quantity: 1 colour art print(s) on postcard. Physical Description: Collotype on postcard 89 x 140 mm. ...

Wellington in the 1960s

Wellington in the 1960s

Various shots from around Wellington in the 1960s. [ video length: 00:09:45, audio: Mute ] Archives footage preserved and made available by Archives New Zealand/Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga. ...

Controversial wind farm at Makara

Controversial wind farm at Makara

The Prime Minister has opened a controversial wind farm at Makara, in the Wellington Region.

Beatles fans at a Wellington concert

Beatles fans at a Wellington concert

Beatles fans scream during one of the concerts at the Wellington Town Hall.

1945 air raid shelter

1945 air raid shelter

A reminder of Wellington’s reaction to the threat of invasion by Japan during World War Two.

Absolutely Positively Wellington

Absolutely Positively Wellington

Banner on the Beehive with the slogan "Absolutely Positively Wellington." Photographed by Evening Post staff photographer Mark Coote on the 3rd of January 1992. Quantity: 1 colour original negati...

150 capital years for Wellington

The grey marble facade of Parliament in Wellington is having a makeover this weekend in celebration of a major anniversary for the capital city.

Tana Umaga

The former All Black Tana Umaga was born in Wainuiomata to Samoan parents. He originally played rugby league but switched to union in his late teens. He first played for Wellington in 1994, becomin...

Troopship ‘Aquitania’

Troopship ‘Aquitania’

The ‘Aquitania’ in Wellington Harbour.

Wellington

A painting of early Wellington.

Story of Wellington harbour

Story of Wellington from early Māori to European times.

Wellington nightclubs

History of Wellington’s 1980s nightclubs.

During the 1820s and 1830s, members of Te Āti Awa and other tribes left their ancestral home in Taranaki and travelled south in four great migrations, finally reaching the Kāpiti Coast and Wellingt...

Information about Weta studio educational tours.

Wellington's cable car

A ride on Wellington’s historical cable car from Lambton Quay to Kelburn.

Wellington poem

A poem inspired by the Wellington wind.

History of the Hurricanes

The history and timeline of the Wellington Hurricanes.

Māori history of the greater Wellington region

Māori history of Wellington, "Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui" or the head of the fish of Maui.

Ngāti Pōneke performers

Ngāti Pōneke performers

In the early 1900s, there were few Māori living in Wellington. Numbers increased after the First World War as Māori began moving to the city from the country. This led to the formation of the multi...

Early Wellington sections for sale

Early Wellington sections for sale

Before the first settlers arrived in Wellington, sections were sold in London by ballot through The New Zealand Company. This image of three cadastral maps shows the properties with their boundarie...

The Terrace, Wellington

The Terrace, Wellington

The Terrace is a very well-known Wellington street. This image was taken in 1927 from the recently built Druid's building at the back of Lambton Quay. It is now known as Woodward House. In the phot...

Wellington city

Wellington city

View of Wellington taken from Mt Victoria.

1960s Kelburn cable car

1960s Kelburn cable car

The Kelburn Cable Car, Wellington, photographed in the early 1960s by Gladys Goodall of Christchurch. Inscriptions: Verso - top left - Kelburn Cable Car, Wellington, N.Z. This is the last tram lef...

1848 earthquake damage

1848 earthquake damage

These 1948 sketches by Robert Park have been used to illustrate which buildings and building materials suffered the most damage during the Wellington or wider Wairarapa earthquake. The buildings fr...

Centennial Exhibition poster

Centennial Exhibition poster

Rising out of the sandy wastelands of Lyall Bay, the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition became New Zealand’s biggest and most popular 20th century attraction. When it closed its doors in May 1940, o...

Troll at the Weta Cave

Troll at the Weta Cave

The monumental success of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy owed a great deal to the model- making and special effects from Weta Workshop. Starting from a shoestring budget in the spar...

Wellington electric train unit

Wellington electric train unit

By 1938 Wellington was established as the business hub of the country and the city leaders moved there to strengthen this position. By improving the road and rail services and much of the city’s in...

Aerial view of Wellington harbour

Aerial view of Wellington harbour

This painting presents an aerial view of the town of Wellington from south of Wellington Heads. In the left centre foreground one looks down onto Miramar Peninsula and Burnham Lake. The site of Wel...

The Wahine shipwreck

The Wahine shipwreck

It was Cyclone Giselle that contributed to the tragic sinking of the ‘Wahine’ in Wellington harbour with the loss of 54 lives. The second most severe storm to hit New Zealand last century, Giselle ...

The Beatles in Wellington

The Beatles in Wellington

The screaming started as soon as the Beatles touched down at Wellington airport in 1964 and didn’t stop until they left 68 hours later. During that time it was reported that the high pitched scream...

Soldiers in Wellington

Soldiers in Wellington

This image was taken at the Wellington railway station. It is an image that was replicated throughout the country as young men gathered to travel north or south, often with very little notice. The ...

Building and grounds

The history of the Parliament buildings and grounds.

Katherine Mansfield’s house & garden

Katherine Mansfield's father, Harold Beauchamp, built a house for his family in Thorndon.

NZ on Screen’s selection of Wellington related films.

Wellington's Matiu Island

Peter Jackson's hi-tech tourism plans for Wellington's Matiu Island.

War in Wellington

Map of sites from the 1846 war in Wellington.

Pukeau National War Memorial Park

Information about Pukeau National War Memorial Park.

Raroa Intermediate has researched the local area of Mt. Kaukau.

The 1913 strike in Wellington

This strike was caused by the dispute between Wellington shipwrights and the Union Steamship Company.

You can't beat Wellington (on a good day.)

A popular song about Wellington.

Anti-Vietnam War protests

Images of anti-Vietnam War protests in Wellington.

Wellington beggars

Wellington beggars tell of the etiquette and dangers of life on the streets.

Wellington statistics

Facts and figures relating to Wellington.

Matiu/Somes Island

Information about Matiu/Somes Island.

Wellington café culture

Wellington's café culture is an integral part of its identity as a city today.

Wellington Museum

Wellington Museum shares the fascinating stories of the Wellington region.

Wellington Botanic Garden

The history of the Wellington Botanic Garden goes back to the beginning of Wellington.

Wellington’s Central Park

Wellington’s Central Park is one of Wellington’s oldest public green spaces.

Wellington fault

A fault line runs through the centre of Wellington city.

Wellington earthquake

The 1855 earthquake along the Wairarapa Fault shook Wellington causing tidal waves.

Historic Wellington

Photographs showing Wellington’s past.

Te Papa is our national museum that houses the major collections of Aotearoa.

Wellington’s taniwha

The origin of Wellington Harbour, and the two taniwha who created it.

Fat Freddy's Drop - 'Bays'

Fat Freddy's Drop - 'Bays'

For their fourth studio album, Bays, Fat Freddy's Drop have ditched their usual live and improvised songwriting process in favour of an exclusively studio-created affair. Ahead of the live debut of...

New Zealand has had three capital cities – first at Russell, in the Bay of Islands, in 1840, then, just a year later, at Auckland. Since 1865 the more centrally located Wellington has been the coun...

Guides & factsheets

He Tohu the 3 documents that shaped New Zealand, He Whakaputanga, The Treaty of Waitangi and the Women's Suffrage Petition.

The culture and popularity of a street called Cuba.

Wellington writer’s walk

23 sculptural quotations about Wellington from some of New Zealand’s best known writers.

US Marines at Oriental Bay

US Marines at Oriental Bay

Marines stop for a breather near Oriental Bay after a route march around Wellington

Wellington City

Wellington City

Wellington Botanic garden

The history of the Wellington Botanic Garden goes back to the beginning of Wellington.

Pukeahu National War Memorial Park

Information about Pukeahu National War Memorial Park.

Historic Wellington landmarks

These items collected from Wellington's first 100 years showcase how the city has developed.

Wellington by artists

Artistic representations of Wellington.

Landmarks in Wellington

Wellington has some significant landmarks, both natural and man-made.

WOW or World of Wearable Art is now a highlight of Wellington’s cultural entertainment scene.

he history of the Wellington Hurricanes.