Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

of New Zealand. Administered by the

Hutt City Council The Hutt City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Lower Hutt. Lower Hutt is the country's seventh largest city. The city borders Porirua to the north, Upper Hutt to the northeast, South Wairarapa Distric ...

, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most populous city, with a population of . The total area administered by the council is around the lower half of the

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...

and along the eastern shores of Wellington Harbour, of which is urban. It is separated from the city of Wellington by the harbour, and from

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city centre lies approximately 26 km north-e ...

by the Taita Gorge. Lower Hutt is unique among New Zealand cities, as the name of the council does not match the name of the city it governs. Special legislation has since 1991 given the council the name "Hutt City Council", while the name of the place itself remains "Lower Hutt City". This name has led to confusion, as Upper Hutt is administered by a separate city council, the Upper Hutt City Council. The entire Hutt Valley includes both Lower and Upper Hutt cities. Lower Hutt is also often simply called "the Hutt".

History

Before European settlement, thick forest covered most of the Hutt Valley, with areas of marshland close to the river's mouth.

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 C ...

inhabited the shoreline, with a pā at each end of Petone beach. Māori welcomed the arrival of the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

ship ''Tory'' in 1839, and

William Wakefield William Hayward Wakefield (1801 – 19 September 1848) was an English colonel, the leader of the first colonising expedition to New Zealand and one of the founders of Wellington. As a leader, he attracted much controversy. Early life William W ...

(the company's agent) negotiated with some local chiefs to allow settlement. The first immigrant ship, the ''Aurora'', arrived on 22 January 1840, an event still commemorated every year on the Monday closest as Wellington's Anniversary Day. A settlement, Britannia, grew up close to the mouth of the Hutt River ( Te Awa Kairangi in Māori language), and settlers set up New Zealand's first newspaper and bank. The city takes its name from the English name given to the river, named after one of the founding members, director and chairman of the New Zealand Company, Sir William Hutt. The dual name of Hutt River Te Awa Kairangi has been used since 2010. Christ Church Taita

Within weeks of settlement the Hutt River flooded, and in March 1840 the majority of Britannia settlers decided to move to Thorndon, ( in the heart of Wellington city), though some settlers remained at the north end of the harbour. In the 1840s an area on the west bank of the Hutt River, in what is now

Alicetown Alicetown is a central suburb of Lower Hutt located at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb is situated north of the major suburb of Petone and west of the Lower Hutt CBD. Its boundaries are the Ewen Bridge that crosses the ...

, formed the village then known as Aglionby. In 1846 conflict arose between European settlers and Māori, which led to armed conflict in the Hutt Valley Campaign. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake (in the range of magnitude 8.1 to 8.3) raised part of the lower valley, allowing reclamation of land from swamp. The fault escarpment from the earthquake is still visible, notably at Hutt Central School. On New Year's Day 1859 the first permanent lighthouse to be built in New Zealand was lit at Pencarrow Head. New Zealand's only female lighthouse keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, became the inaugural operator of the lighthouse. The railway line from central Wellington reached Lower Hutt station (subsequently

Western Hutt Western Hutt was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate from 1969 to 1996. Population centres Through an amendment in the Electoral Act in 1965, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, an increase of one since the 1962 e ...

) in April 1874, with the line running north up the west side of the Hutt River to Silverstream opening two years later. Before the Second World War of 1939–1945, urban settlement in the lower Hutt Valley concentrated mainly on

Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...

, central Lower Hutt and Eastbourne, with a total population of 30,000. In 1927 the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

completed the construction of a branch railway line to Waterloo on the east side of the river; the route diverging from the main line between Lower Hutt and Petone. Two years later the railway workshops moved from Petone to a new larger site off the new branch at Woburn. In the late 1940s new suburbs of

state housing State housing is a system of public housing in New Zealand, offering low-cost rental housing to residents on low to moderate incomes. Some 69,000 state houses are managed by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, most of which are owned by the ...

developed along the eastern side of the Hutt Valley, from

Waiwhetū Waiwhetū is an eastern suburb of Lower Hutt in the Wellington Region situated in the south of the North Island of New Zealand. In the 19th-century period of European settlement it was worked by Irish-born Alfred Ludlam, who was a member of ...

to Taitā (then known as Taita), to alleviate nationwide housing shortages and to cater for the booming population. Between 1946 and 1954 the railway line from Waterloo extended through these new suburbs to

Haywards Haywards is a small hillside suburb in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, New Zealand. It is notable for its large electrical substation, which is the main switching point for the Wellington region, and the home of the North Island converter sta ...

, becoming the main line in 1954 when the existing main line between Haywards and Melling closed. By the end of the 1950s, Lower Hutt had a population of 80,000.

Government

Local

The Hutt City Council comprises a mayor and 12 councillors. Campbell Barry became New Zealand's youngest mayor and was first elected in 2019, succeeding Ray Wallace. The city's six electoral wards (Northern, Western, Central, Eastern, Harbour and Wainuiomata) each elect one councillor, with the remaining six councillors elected at-large. Mayor and councillors elected in the 2022 local-body elections: Neighbouring councils are

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

(adjoining to the west), Porirua City Council to the north,

City Council to the north-east and

South Wairarapa District The South Wairarapa District is a district 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 Reg ...

Council to the east. The boundaries of the Lower Hutt city local body have evolved from a series of amalgamations and boundary changes over the years. The Hutt County Council, established in 1877, covered the region from Wellington's south coast up to

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōt ...

, excluding the

area. As the region grew, urban parts of the Hutt County became autonomous boroughs:

in 1888, Lower Hutt in 1891,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

in 1906, Johnsonville in 1908,

in 1908, Porirua in 1962 and

Kapiti Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: *Kapiti Island, an island a short distance off the New Zealand coast north of Wellington *Kapiti Coast District, the local government district which includes much of the Kapiti Coast *Kapiti Coast Airport, an airport ...

in 1974. In 1941 Lower Hutt became a city. It incorporated Normandale in 1957. In 1987–1989 the New Zealand Government forced local authorities to consolidate, which led to Lower Hutt amalgamating with the adjacent Boroughs of Petone and Eastbourne and with the

Wainuiomata Wainuiomata () is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. Origin of name The word 'Wainui-o-mata' is a Māori name made up of the words Wai = water, Nui = big, O = of, and Mata – which could refer ...

District (which had its independence for barely a year), and to the abolition of the Hutt County Council.

National

The area of Lower Hutt is covered by two general electorates (

Hutt South Hutt South is a parliamentary electorate in the lower Hutt Valley of New Zealand. It is held by Ginny Andersen of the Labour Party following the 2020 election. It was previously held by Chris Bishop of the National Party Bishop's victory was t ...

and Remutaka) and by two

Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...

(

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate. It was formed for the and held by Parekura Horomia of the Labour Party until his death in 2013. A by-election to replace him was held on 29 June 2013 and was won by Labour's Me ...

in the north and

Te Tai Tonga Te Tai Tonga is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was established for the 1996 general election, replacing Southern Maori. The current MP for Te T ...

in the south).

Coat of arms

Geography

The city centres on the lower southern valley of the Hutt River, to the northeast of the city of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 me ...

. The valley widens into a

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

as the river nears its mouth, so the central urban area of the city forms a triangle with its longest side along the shoreline. In the upper reaches of the city the Western and Eastern Hutt Hills become closer, culminating in the Taitā Gorge at the northern end of Lower Hutt, separating the city from neighbouring Upper Hutt. Lower Hutt includes the cluster of small settlements that extend down the eastern coast of Wellington Harbour. These include the two large

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

s of

and

. The city also includes a large area of sparsely-populated land to the east of the harbour, extending to Pencarrow Head and into the

Remutaka Range The Remutaka Range (spelled Rimutaka Range before 2017) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east ...

. Lower Hutt's boundaries also include the islands in Wellington Harbour, the largest of which is

Matiu / Somes Island Matiu / Somes Island is the largest of three islands in the northern half of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. It is the former site of military and quarantine internments, as well as animal quarantine until 1995. Since 1995 it has been designat ...

Climate

Lower Hutt has a wet

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: Cfb), which is similar to nearby Wellington, with relatively warm summers and mild winters with the occasional storm.

Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River

A single major aquifer dominates the lower Hutt Valley: the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, originally named Heretaunga, and since 2010 known as "Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River". ''Awakairangi'' in the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

means "river of food from the sky". Lower Hutt occupies the lower regions of the flood plain of the river, one of the most significant features of the city. In the 20th century the Hutt River Board built

stopbank A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlin ...

s to contain the river, but the threat of flooding from heavy rainfall persists. In 1985 the river burst its banks, and since then floods have been on a smaller scale. Smaller streams and storm-water drains have also caused occasional problems when rainfall exceeds average levels. Much of the land adjacent to the river is protected as reserve by the City Council and managed by the

Greater Wellington Regional Council 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, environ ...

to provide popular recreational areas. From the river mouth, walking and cycling trails and grassed areas occur at various points along both sides of the river up the

Te Mārua Te Mārua (previously also known as Te Marua) is the easternmost urban suburb of Upper Hutt. For reasons of location and distance from the city, the area is often classified as rural. Te Mārua is well known for its Plateau Reserve where remna ...

, 28 km further north in Upper Hutt. With lower river-levels in mid-summer,

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompas ...

s have contributed to making slow-flowing areas anoxic. The Regional Council has cited the algal blooms as the cause of death of a small number of dogs swimming in the river, as well as of skin reactions in the case of swimmers. Seven bridges cross the Hutt River within the city of Lower Hutt, with several other bridges built and replaced from the 1850s onwards. Tributaries of the Hutt River within Lower Hutt include: * Waiwhetū Stream * Te Mome Stream * Opahu Stream (Black Creek)

Suburbs

Here are listed the following suburbs of Lower Hutt City (unofficial suburbs are in ''italics''). ;Northern Ward :'' Pomare''²; Stokes Valley²; Taitā² ;Western Ward :

¹; Manor Park¹;

Kelson The keelson or kelson is a reinforcing structural member on top of the keel in the hull of a wooden vessel. In part V of “Song of Myself”, American poet Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an Ame ...

¹; Belmont¹;

Tirohanga Tirohanga ( Te Reo for "distant view") is a suburb of Lower Hutt City situated at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb is located on the western side of the Hutt River and State Highway 2. Demographics Tirohanga statistic ...

¹; Harbour View¹; Melling¹; Normandale¹;

Maungaraki Maungaraki is a suburb of Lower Hutt. It is one of several Lower Hutt suburbs on the western hills of the Hutt Valley. It contains the largest suburban development on the Hutt Valley's western escarpment that runs along the Wellington Fault. ...

¹;

¹ ;Central Ward :

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

²; Boulcott²;

Epuni Epuni is a suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand situated in the south of the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb lies around one kilometre east of the Lower Hutt CBD. The suburb takes its name from the Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori ...

²;

Lower Hutt Central Hutt Central, a suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand, forms part of the urban area of greater Wellington. It includes the Lower Hutt CBD. It includes Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt War Memorial Library and Lower Hutt Central Fire Stat ...

²; Woburn² ;Eastern Ward :''

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingat ...

''²;

Naenae Naenae (, occasionally spelled NaeNae) is a suburb of Lower Hutt. It lies on the eastern edge of the floodplain of the Hutt River, four kilometres from the Lower Hutt Central business district. A small tributary of the Hutt, the Waiwhetu Strea ...

²; Fairfield²; Waterloo²; ;Harbour Ward – Petone Community Board :'' Ava''¹; Korokoro¹;

¹;

²;

Moera Moera, a suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand, forms part of the urban area of greater Wellington. Location Located at the south-eastern end of the Hutt River, the suburb's name Moera is thought to be a simplification of Moe-i-te-ra ...

²; Gracefield²; Seaview²; ;Harbour Ward – Eastbourne Community Board :

Point Howard Point Howard is a suburb on the eastern side of Wellington Harbour, in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Geography Point Howard is a headland and bay situated near the swamp land around Waiwhetū and the estuary of Hutt River.Ruakura Consultants, Te A ...

³; Sorrento Bay³;

Lowry Bay Lowry may refer to: People * Calvin Lowry (born 1983), American football player * Dave Lowry (born 1965), Canadian ice hockey player * Desiree Lowry (born 1972), Puerto Rican beauty pageant titleholder * Hiram Harrison Lowry (1843–1924), Ameri ...

³;

York Bay York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

³; Māhina Bay³; Sunshine Bay³;

Days Bay Days Bay is a residential area in Lower Hutt in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is walled on three sides by steep bush-clad slopes. Most of its level land is occupied by Williams Park and an independent boys' prima ...

³;

³ ;Wainuiomata Ward :

²; Wainuiomata Coast; Pencarrow Head; Arakura;

Homedale village Homedale may refer to: *Homedale, Idaho, USA *Homedale, New Zealand Homedale is a suburb of Wainuiomata, part of Lower Hutt city situated in the lower North Island of New Zealand. Demographics Homedale, comprising the statistical areas of Hom ...

; Wainuiomata West;

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

Notes: ¹ – Suburbs west of the Hutt River
² – Suburbs east of the Hutt River
³ – Suburbs from the Eastern Harbour

Demographics

Lower Hutt City covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The urban area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The city's population has remained stable since the 1990s. In the five years between the 2013 and 2018 censuses, the population grew steadily across the city with an increasing amount of homes being purchased and the area seen as more affordable comparable to the rest of the region. Lower Hutt City had a population of 104,532 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 6,294 people (6.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6,831 people (7.0%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 37,161 households. There were 51,369 males and 53,163 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female. The median age was 36.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 21,135 people (20.2%) aged under 15 years, 20,682 (19.8%) aged 15 to 29, 48,480 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 14,232 (13.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 67.6% European/Pākehā, 18.4% Māori, 11.5% Pacific peoples, 15.2% Asian, and 3.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 46.4% had no religion, 38.2% were Christian, 3.8% were Hindu, 1.0% were Muslim, 1.2% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 20,616 (24.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 14,100 (16.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $34,700, compared with $31,800 nationally. 16,173 people (19.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 43,563 (52.2%) people were employed full-time, 11,337 (13.6%) were part-time, and 3,987 (4.8%) were unemployed.

Economy

Historically, Petone, Seaview and Gracefield have been the main area for industry in the Wellington region, with industries including meat processing and freezing, motor vehicle assembly, and timber processing. As business have taken advantage of global manufacturing efficiencies, much of this large scale industry has changed to smaller design-led and medium-sized industries exporting to the world. Over the past 25 years service, distribution, and consumer-oriented sectors have increased. Lower Hutt remains the main location for light industrial activity in the Wellington Region. Until post-war housing development took over, the central and northern areas of the city were largely market gardens. In 2010 the lower reaches of the Waiwhetū Stream was cleaned up to remove toxins from decades of industry use. The channel was also widened to better protect against floods and native plantings and management has seen native waterlife and birds return to their habitat. Petone's Jackson Street and neighbouring areas have seen a resurgence in to one of Wellington's most popular retail and hospitality area. Lower Hutt has one of the greatest proportion of science, technology and high value manufacturing businesses in New Zealand. Crown research institute GNS Science and New Zealand's innovation centre and business accelerator

Callaghan Innovation Callaghan Innovation, a Crown entity of New Zealand, has the task of making New Zealand business more innovative. It was established in February 2013 and Industrial Research Limited, a Crown Research Institute, was merged into it. The institute t ...

are based in Lower Hutt, along with over 800 research organisations in high-end manufacturing, research and technology. Avalon television studios, Lower Hutt, NZ (cropped)

Avalon television studios, Lower Hutt, NZ (cropped)

The suburb of

was home to New Zealand's television industry from 1975 until the late 1980s. The Avalon film and television studios were New Zealand's first purpose-built television studios, and is the largest television studio complex in New Zealand and Australasia. The studios were home to Television One from 1975 to 1980, when it merged with

South Pacific Television South Pacific Television (SPTV) was a television channel in New Zealand, which operated between 1976 and 1980. History The channel, then known as TV2, first went to air on 30 June 1975. It was the second national government television channel ...

to form

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solo ...

(TVNZ). After 1989 most of TVNZ's operations moved to Auckland, and the studios were eventually sold off in 2012 to a consortium of Wellington investors. Avalon continues to operate independently with seven film and television studios used as primarily as a feature film production base. A large proportion of Lower Hutt's residents commute to the mainly commercial, service and government offices in Wellington City 12 km to the south-west. The

Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA; Māori: ''Te Mana Rererangi Tūmatanui o Aotearoa'') is the government agency tasked with establishing civil aviation safety and security standards in New Zealand. The CAA also monitors adherence ...

(CAA) has its headquarters in Aviation House in

, Lower Hutt.

Culture and leisure

Several education and research facilities of national significance are in the southern half of the city. Cultural facilities include the Petone Settlers Museum, War Memorial Library,

Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 20 ...

and

Vogel House Vogel House in 75 Woburn Road, Lower Hutt, New Zealand is a large family home built in 1933 for James and Jocelyn Vogel. It was designed by Heathcote Helmore of the Christchurch architectural firm of Helmore and Cotterill, and built by Walter Dye ...

. The city possesses civic administration buildings constructed in the 1950s that are regarded as representative architecture of the era. A building of national significance is

, a two-storey wooden residence that was the official residence of the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

for much of the 20th century. It is a prime example of early colonial architecture in New Zealand and operates today as a tourist attraction. The city is popular for outdoor sports, especially mountain biking, hiking, recreational walking and fishing. The central city is home to Queensgate Shopping Centre, the largest shopping centre in the lower North Island. The Riverbank car park adjacent to the central city is home to a Saturday produce market. Among the filming locations for ''The Lord of the Rings'' directed by

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

, Dry Creek quarry, which dominates the hills above the suburb of Taitā, became the site for a huge medieval castle built for scenes of Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith.

Education

Lower Hutt has four state secondary schools: Taita College,

Naenae College Naenae College, is a state-run coeducational secondary school located in north-central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. It is situated on a site in the suburb of Avalon. The school was founded in 1953 to serve the Naenae state housing development, alt ...

Hutt Valley High School Hutt Valley High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. A total of students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) attend the school as of making the school one of the largest in the Welling ...

and Wainuiomata High School. Other secondary schools include

Chilton Saint James School Chilton Saint James School is a private single-sex girls composite school located in central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. The school was founded in 1918 by Geraldine FitzGerald, and was a combined day and boarding school until the dormitories closed ...

, a private girls school; Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School, a state integrated Waldorf education school; Sacred Heart College, a state integrated Catholic girls school; St Bernard's College, a state integrated Catholic boys school; and St Oran's College, a state integrated Presbyterian girls school. Open Polytechnic Main Entrance (15409927572)

Open Polytechnic Main Entrance (15409927572)

The city is home to two tertiary institutes: the

Wellington Institute of Technology The Wellington Institute of Technology, also known as WelTec, is a New Zealand polytechnic based in Petone, Lower Hutt. WelTec was formed in 2001 by an amalgamation between the Central Institute of Technology (established in 1960) and the Hutt V ...

in Petone, and The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand in Waterloo.

Media

The city is served by The Dominion Post, The Hutt News and community newspapers. Local LPFM radio station The Cheese broadcasts in the city, and is licensed with APRA and

PPNZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, record distribution, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membe ...

in New Zealand for music broadcasting rights. It began Saturday 1 July 2006 and its original frequency was at 88.4 FM from

. The station can be heard in Lower Hutt on 87.9 MHz FM with simulcasting via their official website. Subscribers to Vodafone TV can hear The Cheese on channel 417. The station broadcasts a mix of music from the 80s, 90s, recent and current hits.''City Life Magazine'' 1 February 2007
Image of article
/ref>

Flora and fauna

Hills to about 350 m (1000 ft) line both sides of the valley within the city limits. The western hills have been populated as residential areas, but the eastern side is protected and clad in native bush and scrub, and the ubiquitous

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

in areas that have been cleared as a result of scrub fires or earlier human activity. Native birds are common, including the

New Zealand pigeon New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, tui, grey fantail,

silvereye The silvereye or wax-eye (''Zosterops lateralis'') is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to refer to all membe ...

, shining cuckoo (in season),

grey warbler The grey warbler (''Gerygone igata''), also known by its Māori name or outside New Zealand as the grey gerygone, is an insectivorous bird in the family Acanthizidae endemic to New Zealand. Its natural habitat is temperate forest A for ...

and

morepork The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of t ...

. Introduced species include the common blackbird, song thrush,

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...

European goldfinch The European goldfinch or simply the goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western and central Asia. It has been introduced to other areas, including Austral ...

common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...

, common starling, and

Australian magpie The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subs ...

Notable people

Ginny Andersen Virginia Ruby Andersen (born 1975) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. Personal life Andersen lives in Belmont, Lower Hutt. Bill Andersen, a noted activist and trade unio ...

(born 1975), politician *

Chris Bishop Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand National Party politician who was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the seat in 20 ...

(born 1983), politician * Russell Brown (born 1962), media commentator * Terence Burns (born 1938), cricketer *

Tāmati Coffey Tamati Gerald Coffey (born 19 September 1979) is a list Member of the New Zealand Parliament for the New Zealand Labour Party. Prior to entering Parliament, he was most notably an award-winning broadcaster fronting many shows over a decade, for ...

(born 1979), politician * Julian Dennison (born 2002), child actor *

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

(born 1966), actor *

Brooke Fraser Brooke Gabrielle Ligertwood (née Fraser; born 15 December 1983) better known by her maiden name Brooke Fraser, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter best known for her hit single " Something in the Water", released in 2010. Fraser released two ...

(born 1983), singer and songwriter *

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...

(1834–1907), geologist, naturalist, and surgeon (died in Lower Hutt) * Veranoa Hetet (born 1966), Māori weaver and contemporary artist *

Peter Hogg Peter Wardell Hogg (12 March 1939 – 4 February 2020) was a New Zealand-born Canadian legal scholar and lawyer. He was best known as a leading authority on Canadian constitutional law, with the most academic citations in Supreme Court jurisp ...

(1939–2020), Canadian lawyer, author and legal scholar best known as the leading authority on Canadian constitutional law *

Lloyd Jones Lloyd Jones or Lloyd-Jones may refer to: People Sports * Lloyd Jones (athlete) (1884–1971), American athlete in the 1908 Summer Olympics *Lloyd Jones (figure skater) (born 1988), Welsh ice dancer *Lloyd Jones (English footballer) (born 1995), En ...

(born 1955), author *

Alan MacDiarmid Alan Graham MacDiarmid, ONZ FRS (14 April 1927 – 7 February 2007) was a New Zealand-born American chemist, and one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000. Early life and education MacDiarmid was born in Masterton, New ...

(1927–2007), Nobel laureate *

Brad McKay Brad McKay (born 26 March 1993) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One club, Falkirk. McKay has previously played for Heart of Midlothian, St Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as well ...

(born 1979), Australian medical doctor,

sceptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

, television personality and author *

Peter Mulgrew Peter David Mulgrew (21 November 1927 – 28 November 1979) was a New Zealand mountaineer, yachtsman and businessman. Life and career Mulgrew was born in Lower Hutt to boilermaker William John Mulgrew and woollen industry worker Edith Mulgre ...

(1927–1979), mountaineer, yachtsman and businessman * Sir Walter Nash (1882–1968), New Zealand Prime Minister (1957–60), MP for Hutt from 1929 to 1968 *

Anna Paquin Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film '' The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the ...

(born 1982), Oscar-winning actress * Haylee Partridge (born 1981), cricketer * Erenora Puketapu-Hetet (1941–2006), Māori weaver and author *

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-19 ...

(born 1952), keyboardist for Split Enz (1974–1984) *

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He play ...

(born 1973), former

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

captain, former player and current rugby union coach *

Holly Walker Holly Ruth Walker (born 15 November 1982) is a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014, as a Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, Green Party list MP. She is deputy Director of Helen Clark Foundation, The He ...

(born 1982), politician *

Piri Weepu Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eigh ...

(born 1983), former

player and current rugby union player *

Puti Tipene Watene Puti Tipene (Steve) Watene (18 August 1910 – 14 June 1967), of Ngāti Maru and Te Arawa, was a New Zealand rugby league footballer and politician. He was the first Māori to captain the New Zealand league side and he is the only person to ...

(1910–1967), rugby league footballer and politician *

Nick Willis Nicholas Ian Willis (born 25 April 1983) is a New Zealand middle distance runner and the country's only two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and bronze at the 2016 Olympics in R ...

(born 1983), two-time Olympic medallist *

Megan Mansell Megan Mansell (née Annear; born 24 July 1990) is a New Zealand broadcaster. She is a co-host on '' The Edge Breakfast with Nickson, Meg & Eli''. Early life Mansell was born on 24 July 1990 in Lower Hutt. She studied at the New Zealand Broadc ...

(born 1990), New Zealand broadcaster

Sister cities

Hutt's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

are: *

Minoh is a city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its name is commonly romanized as "Minō" or "Minoo"; however, the city government officially uses the spelling Minoh in English. As of October 2016, the city has an estimated population of 134 ...

, Japan (1995) * Taizhou, China (2008) * Tempe, United States (1981) Since 2000, Hutt also has friendly relations with

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

, China.

Gallery

References

Bibliography

External links

Hutt City Council official website

Hutt Valley Tourism official website

Maungaraki website

HuttCam website

GNS Science
{{Authority control Populated places in the Wellington Region Populated places on Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River Hutt Valley