Kelburn is a central suburb of

Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, the capital city of New Zealand, situated within of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. Kelburn sits on the hills just west of the capital's

and is bordered by

the Botanic Garden ''The Botanic Garden'' (1791) is a set of two poems, ''The Economy of Vegetation'' and ''The Loves of the Plants'', by the British poet and naturalist Erasmus Darwin. ''The Economy of Vegetation'' celebrates technological innovation and scient ...

and the suburbs of Thorndon and Northland to the north, the suburbs of

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in The name Karori used to be Kaharore and is from th ...

and Highbury to the south west, and Aro Valley to the south.

Features

The iconic

Wellington Cable Car The Wellington Cable Car (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Waka Taura o Pōneke'') is a funicular, funicular railway in Wellington, New Zealand. The route is between Lambton Quay, Wellington, Lambton Quay, the main shopping street in the Wellington ...

is a tourist attraction and public transport facility. Operating since 1902, it is a

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

railway that ascends from

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the Wellington Central, Wellington, central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Geography Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the f ...

in the

to Kelburn. The Wellington Cable Car Museum is next to its Kelburn terminus. The

Wellington Botanic Garden Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā is a botanical garden close to central Wellington in New Zealand. It covers of land in a valley between Thorndon, New Zealand, Thorndon and Kelburn, New Zealand, Kelburn, with Glenmore Street as a bounda ...

comprises 25 hectares of native forest, gardens and displays, and has entrances adjacent to the Kelburn terminus of the

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

and on Kelburn's Glen Road. The main campus of

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

is in Kelburn, and is home to the category 1 listed Hunter Building, the Adam Art Gallery and the Adam Concert Room. It includes Te Tumu Herenga Waka Marae, a tribal meeting place of the

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

of Ngāti Awa ki Poneke. The

Carter Observatory Space Place at Carter Observatory (or simply Space Place) is an observatory in Wellington, New Zealand, located at the top of the Wellington Botanic Garden. The site was originally home to the Wellington City Observatory (nicknamed "The Tin Sh ...

includes a planetarium and exhibition, and is located within the

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, close to the Kelburn terminus of the

. The cable car also has a university stop next to Kelburn Park, which serves as a university and community sports ground. Kelburn Village, on Upland Road, houses cafes, restaurants, a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and local shops. Several embassies and consulates are based in Kelburn, notably the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia on Glen Road. The entrance to

Zealandia Zealandia (pronounced ), also known as (Māori language, Māori) or Tasmantis (from Tasman Sea), is an almost entirely submerged continent, submerged mass of continental crust in Oceania that subsided after breaking away from Gondwana 83� ...

, a 225-hectare native forest and wildlife sanctuary is in the West of the suburb. The Kelburn Viaduct was one of New Zealand's earliest reinforced concrete bridges, and provides vehicle and foot access to

and other Western suburbs.

History

The suburb of 'Kelburne' was established after the Upland Estate Company purchased farmland from William Moxham in 1896. It was named after Viscount Kelburne, son of the

Governor of New Zealand A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

at the time. The 'e' at the end of 'Kelburne' was later omitted to avoid confusion with the suburb of

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie () is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and ...

. In 1898, the investors formed a company to build and operate the

, to distinguish the nascent suburb from competing residential developments. Kelburn was populated quickly following the opening of the

in 1902, with Victoria University's Hunter Building opening in 1904, the

Dominion Observatory The Dominion Observatory was an astronomical observatory in Ottawa, Ontario that operated from 1902 to 1970. The Observatory was also an institution within the Canadian Federal Government. The observatory grew out of the Department of the Inte ...

in 1907, construction of St Michael's Church in 1912, and of Kelburn Normal School in 1914.

Demographics

Kelburn, comprising the statistical areas of Wellington Botanic Gardens, Kelburn and Wellington University, covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Kelburn had a population of 4,770 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 189 people (4.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 483 people (11.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,434 households, comprising 2,250 males and 2,523 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.89 males per female, with 390 people (8.2%) aged under 15 years, 2,574 (54.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,383 (29.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 432 (9.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 87.9% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 7.2%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 1.9% Pasifika, 9.1% Asian, and 3.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 28.7, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 62.5% had no religion, 26.1% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.1% had

Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 0.6% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.9% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 0.8% were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and 4.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,034 (46.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 78 (1.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,017 people (23.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,827 (41.7%) people were employed full-time, 915 (20.9%) were part-time, and 342 (7.8%) were unemployed. Homes in the suburb are among the city's most valuable. As well as homeowners, residents of Kelburn include undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking to live in the vicinity of Victoria University.

Education

Kelburn Normal School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . The decile 10 school was founded in 1914 as a school for educating primary school teachers, and has a specialist music programme. Clifton Terrace Model School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . Kelburn is within the enrolment zones for

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. ...

and Wellington High School.

Climate

Boundaries

Kelburn's boundaries form an approximate triangle, with the Terrace Tunnel and

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

defining the eastern boundary, Bowen Street (west of

) and Glenmore Street defining the northwestern boundary, and the hills above Aro Valley forming the southern boundary.

Notable people

The northern area of Kelburn near Parliament Buildings and between the

and Kelburn Park has been home to the

Todd family Todd or Todds may refer to: Places Australia * Todd River, an ephemeral river United States * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated c ...

, one of New Zealand's wealthiest families. Business leaders Sir Ron Trotter and

Lloyd Morrison Hugh Richmond Lloyd Morrison (18 September 1957 – 10 February 2012) was a Wellington, New Zealand-based investment banker and entrepreneur. He founded H.R.L. Morrison & Co in 1988, and Morrison & Co launched the infrastructure company I ...

and prominent lawyers including Sir Kenneth Keith and Sir John McGrath lived in Kelburn. Prominent residents have also included politicians and public figures such as

Sir Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake (11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also as the 13th governor-g ...

and Sir Guy Powles.

References

External links

{{Authority control Suburbs of Wellington City 1896 establishments in New Zealand Populated places established in 1896