Population 207,900 (June 2016) Founded 1839 | ||
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Land area 290.11 km² (112.01 sq mi) Extent Extends north as far as Ohariu, Linden, Takapu Valley and Horokiwi. Bounded on the south and west by Cook Strait and the east by Wellington Harbour. Mayor Justin Lester (since 2016) Regional Council Wellington Regional Council | ||
Wellington city council meeting 09 11 16
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, representing the country's third-largest city by population, behind Auckland and Christchurch. Wellington City consists of the central historic town and certain additional areas within the Wellington metropolitan area, extending as far north as Linden and covering rural areas such as Makara and Ohariu. The city adjoins Porirua in the north and Hutt City in the north-east.
Contents
- Wellington city council meeting 09 11 16
- Wellington city council meeting 29 03 17
- Council
- Mayor
- Eastern Ward
- Lambton Ward
- Northern Ward
- Onslow Western Ward
- Southern Ward
- Coat of Arms
- Demographics
- Suburbs
- Communities of common interest
- Educational facilities
- Sister city relationships
- History
- Buildings
- References
Wellington attained city status in 1886. The settlement had become the colonial capital and seat of government by 1865, replacing Auckland. Parliament officially sat in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865. During the last half of the nineteenth century Wellington grew rapidly from 7,460 residents in 1867 to 49,344 by the end of the century.
The council represents a population of 207,900 (as of 2016), and consists of a mayor and fourteen councillors elected from five wards (Northern, Onslow-Western, Lambton, Eastern, Southern). It administers public works, sanitation, land use and building consents, among other local services. The council has used the marketing slogan "Absolutely Positively Wellington" in an official capacity since the early 1990s.
The territorial authority is one of many councils in the greater Wellington area. Former mayor Celia Wade-Brown spoke against Wellington adopting a 'super city' type council like the one in Auckland, though is in favour of reducing the number of councils in the Wellington metropolitan area from nine to "three or four".
Wellington city council meeting 29 03 17
Council
All councillors are members of Council, the City Strategy Committee, and the Long-Term and Annual Plan Committee.
Mayor
One mayor is elected at large from the entire Wellington City district.
Eastern Ward
The Eastern ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.
Lambton Ward
The Lambton ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.
Northern Ward
The Northern ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.
Onslow-Western Ward
The Onslow-Western ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.
Southern Ward
The Southern ward is the only ward that returns two councillors to the Wellington City Council (all others returning three).
Coat of Arms
The City of Wellington has a Coat of Arms. The Blazon is;
Translation of the Blazon:
The shield is divided vertically and horizontally quarter of which the first and fourth are red and the remaining pair are blue. A golden cross is placed over the entire shield centrally between these quarters. The top left quarter contains a golden fleece (usually depicted as a whole sheep with a band around its middle). The second quarter is depicted as a silver sailing ship (lymphad) with its sails furled as it would be in port but with its flags flying, placed on waves in their natural colour. The third quarter contains a golden wheat sheaf, and the fourth has five silver discs arranged in a saltire.
The mural crown (a crown depicted as if made of stone walling) is common as a crest in city coats of arms. It is coloured silve, and from its top comes a swimming dolphin. Around the crest is mantling in red. The supporters on either side of the shield are a golden heraldic lion with a chained collar around its neck to the left, and a moa in its natural colouring on the right (the terms "sinister" and "dexter" relate to the shield from the holder's point of view, not the viewer's, thus dexter is the viewer's left and sinister is the viewer's right). The base on which the supporters stand is normally not emblazoned but is left to the artist to decide. The Motto may be translated as "Supreme by position".
Demographics
Wellington's demographics sets it apart from the rest of the country. According to the 2006 Census, Wellington has:
Suburbs
Wellington city has roughly 60 officially-defined suburbs; one can group them by the wards used to elect the City Council. Some areas, while officially forming part of a larger suburb (or several suburbs), are considered by some to be separate communities. The officially-defined suburbs include:
Northern Ward
Onslow-Western Ward
Lambton Ward
Southern Ward
Eastern Ward
Communities of common interest
Courtenay Place; Courtenay Quarter; Cuba Quarter; Lambton Quarter; The Waterfront QuarterPositively Wellington Tourism, funded by the Wellington City Council, has designated the four inner-city "quarters" as marketing subdivisions to promote international and domestic tourism.
Educational facilities
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington's oldest university, has its main campus in the hill suburb of Kelburn overlooking the centre of the city. It also has two downtown campuses and one in the western suburb of Karori. It originated as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The senate of the University of New Zealand operated in Wellington until its dissolution in 1961.
A branch of Massey University is located in Wellington: it took over the site and some of the courses of the former Wellington Polytechnic. The campus is based at the former Dominion Museum, which has moved to Te Papa. The University of Otago also has a Wellington connection, as the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences is a department of that university.
Wellington Institute of Technology serves Wellington and the neighbouring Hutt Valley. One of the largest polytechnics in the region, it dates from 1904.
Numerous primary and secondary educational institutions operate throughout the city, see List of schools in Wellington, New Zealand.
Wellington has a number of museums and galleries, including Te Papa, the City Gallery and the Museum of Wellington City & Sea. The Wellington Museums Trust runs the latter two, and other museums.
Sister-city relationships
History
The City of Wellington has subsumed independent boroughs including:
Buildings
The Wellington City Council operates from a complex on Wakefield Street, with various extensions each representing a distinctive architectural period. The complex incorporates the Wellington Town Hall which opened in 1904, with the most recent extension completed in 1991 alongside the Wellington Central Library.