Wellington City Council is a

territorial authority Territorial authorities (Māori language, Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regions of New Zealand, regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 list of cities in New Zealand, city ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, governing the city 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 country's capital city and third-largest city by population, behind

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. It 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

Mākara Mākara is a locality located at the western edge of Wellington, New Zealand, close to the shore of the Tasman Sea. The suburb is named after the Mākara Stream (''mā'' is Māori for white, ''kara'' is a kind of greywacke stone). The Wellingt ...

and Ohariu. The city adjoins

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

in the north and Hutt City in the north-east. It is one of nine territorial authorities in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is the southernmost regions of New Zealand, region of the North Island of New Zealand. The local government region covers an area of , and ...

. The council represents a population of as of and consists of a mayor and fifteen councillors elected from six wards (Northern, Onslow-Western, Lambton, Eastern, Southern general wards and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward). It administers

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

, 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.

Composition

Council

The mayor and all councillors are members of council.

Mayor

One mayor is elected at large from the entire Wellington City district.

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward

Te Whanganui a Tara is a Māori ward created by Wellington City Council in 2021. The 2022 election returned Nīkau Wi-Neera as its first-ever councillor.

Motukairangi/Eastern Ward

Motukairangi/Eastern Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. Since 2022 the councillors are:

Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward

Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. Since 2024 the councillors are:

Takapū/Northern Ward

Takapū/Northern Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. Since 2022 the councillors are:

Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward

Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. Since 2022 the councillors are:

Paekawakawa/Southern Ward

Paekawakawa/Southern Ward is the only ward that returns two councillors to the Wellington City Council (all others returning one or three). Since 2022 the councillors are:

Pouiwi

Two ''pouiwi'' (tribal representatives) were appointed in 2023 by the Council's Tākai Here partners, Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. They have voting rights on Council committees, including committees of the whole, but not on the full Council. Since 2023 the ''pouiwi'' are:

Committees

Following a review in 2021 by former Local Government New Zealand chief executive Peter Winder, the council adopted a new committee structure. All committees apart from Te Kaunihera o Pōneke Council and Unaunahi Ngaio Chief Executive Performance Review Committee include two mana whenua representatives (''pouiwi''), who are paid and have voting rights.

Community boards

The council has created two local community boards under the provisions of Part 4 of the

Local Government Act 2002 The Local Government Act 2002 (sometimes known by its acronym, LGA) is an act of New Zealand's New Zealand Parliament, Parliament that defines local government in New Zealand. There are 73 territorial authorities (districts and cities), each w ...

, with members elected using a single transferable vote (STV) system or appointed by the council. These are: *Tawa Community Board, having six elected members and two appointed members, representing the northern suburbs of Tawa,

Grenada North Grenada North is a small suburb in northern Wellington, New Zealand. It is 5 km south of Porirua's city centre, and 13 km north of Wellington's city centre. Its western boundary is formed by New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highwa ...

and Takapū Valley; and *Mākara/Ōhāriu Community Board, having six elected members, representing the rural suburbs of Ohariu,

and Mākara Beach.

History

The settlement became the colonial capital and seat of government in 1865, replacing Auckland.

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

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. In 1870, the Wellington City Corporation was formed, with former town board chairman Joe Dransfield being elected as its mayor. Wellington formally attained

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

in 1881 when its non-Māori population surpassed 20,000. The Municipal Corporations Act 1886 further ratified Wellington's status as a city, alongside

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and Nelson, retroactively recognising it to have been such since 16 September 1870. Wellington's local electoral wards were given Māori names in 2018, after consultation with mana whenua. On 22 October 2024 the

New Zealand government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

appointed Lindsay McKenzie as a Crown Observer to the council after the Council was forced to revise its 2023–2024 Long Term Plan in response to a failed attempt to sell its airport shares. MP and former Wellington City councillor Tamatha Paul has accused the government's decision to appoint the Crown Observer as politically motivated.

Amalgamations

The City of Wellington has subsumed many neighbouring

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

s including: * Melrose (established 1888) in 1903 * Onslow ( Khandallah/ Ngaio) (established 1890) in 1919 ( Wadestown had joined the city in 1906) * Karori (established 1891) in 1920 * Miramar (established 1904) in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

* Johnsonville (a Town Board from 1908), in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

* Tawa (a Town district from 1951, then the Tawa Flat Borough Council from 1953) in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

List of town clerks/chief executives

The city council was legally headed by a town clerk, who was in charge of the council administration and operations, later renamed as chief executive officer in 1991. Holders of the office since 1842 are:

Civic symbols

Coat of arms

The Wellington City Council first adopted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

in 1878. This coat of arms had the description: The Wellington City Corporation was granted an official coat of arms by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in 1951, the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

for which is:

Badge and Flag

Wellington City Council was also granted a

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

by the College of Arms in 1963, with the heraldic description:

A Roundel Azure thereon a Lymphad Or the sail
argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
charged with a
Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
naiant Azure pennon and flags flying Argent each charged with a Cross
Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...
.

The flag of Wellington, adopted on 12 December 1962, incorporates the city's badge over a black cross on a gold field.

Suburbs

Wellington city has 57 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: WellingtonSuburbsMap

Takapū Northern Ward

* official: Churton Park; Glenside;

; Grenada Village; Horokiwi; Johnsonville; Newlands; Ohariu; Paparangi; Takapu Valley; Tawa; Woodridge *informal: Greenacres; Linden;

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

Wharangi Onslow-Western Ward

* official: Broadmeadows; Crofton Downs; Kaiwharawhara; Karori; Khandallah;

; Mākara Beach; Ngaio; Ngauranga; Northland; Wadestown; Wilton. * informal: Cashmere;

Chartwell Chartwell is a English country house, country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years, it was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his ...

; Highland Park; Rangoon Heights; Te Kainga

Pukehīnau Lambton Ward

* official: Aro Valley; Highbury; Kelburn; Mount Cook; Mount Victoria;

Oriental Bay Oriental Bay is a bay and suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Known for being both a popular beach and an opulent centre of affluence in the city, it is located close to the Central Business District, central business distri ...

; Pipitea;

Te Aro Te Aro (formerly also known as Te Aro Flat) is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the Wellington Central, central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and ...

; Thorndon;

Within Lambton Ward, the council's tourism agency has designated three inner-city "quarters", as marketing subdivisions to promote international and domestic tourism. They are: * Courtenay Quarter, centred around Courtenay Place * Cuba Quarter, centred around Cuba Street * Lambton Quarter, centred around Lambton Quay * The Waterfront Quarter, centred around the waterfront

Paekawakawa Southern Ward

* official: Berhampore;

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

; Island Bay; Kingston; Mornington; Newtown; Ōwhiro Bay; Southgate; Vogeltown * informal: Kowhai Park

Motukairangi Eastern Ward

* official: Breaker Bay; Hataitai; Houghton Bay; Karaka Bays;

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 ...

; Lyall Bay; Maupuia; Melrose; Miramar; Moa Point; Rongotai; Roseneath; Seatoun; Strathmore Park *informal: Crawford; Seatoun Bays; Seatoun Heights; Miramar Heights; Strathmore Heights.

Buildings

The Wellington City Council owns and until May 2019 operated 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. The Wakefield Street complex has been cleared of back office functions, and since 28 May 2019 will be closed completely for repairs and earthquake strengthening. In the interim, most of the council's central office staff are located in commercial premises at 113 The Terrace, and the council's public service centre is at 12 Manners Street. Due to repairs also being needed to the Wellington Central Library, and Capital E, all of the civic buildings on Civic Square are closed, except for the City Gallery.

Council-owned companies and enterprises

The Wellington City Council owns or directly operates several companies. The council is a part-owner of

Wellington Airport Wellington International Airport — formerly known as Rongotai Aerodrome or Rongotai Airport, or simply Wellington Airport — is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It lies ...

, and has two representatives on the airport's board. Mayor Andy Foster has been a member of the board since 2016, but has been criticised for poor attendance at board meetings. The seven council-controlled organisations (CCOs) are *

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve, also known as the Cello Basin Reserve for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the Basin, is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for Test cricket, Test matches, and is the main home ground of t ...

Trust * Karori Sanctuary Trust (Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne) * Wellington Cable Car Ltd * Wellington Museums Trust (ExperienceWellington), which operates City Gallery Wellington and the Museum of Wellington City & Sea * Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Ltd (WREDA) * Wellington Water manages all three water services for Hutt, Porirua, Upper Hutt and Wellington city councils, and South Wairarapa District councils. * Wellington Zoo Trust The council has a similar interest in the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust.

Sister-city relationships

;Sister cities *

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, Australia *

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, People's Republic of China *

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

;Historical sister cities *

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

* Hania,

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Çanakkale Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

;Friendly cities *

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, People's Republic of China Proposed/air marked future sister cities *

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

Palestine (region) The region of Palestine, also known as historic Palestine, is a geographical area in West Asia. It includes the modern states of Israel and Palestine, as well as parts of northwestern Jordan in some definitions. Other names for the region i ...

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* * A Complete Guide To Heraldry by A.C. Fox-Davies 1909. *

External links

WellingtonNZ.com

Wellington City Council

Wellington City Council maps
{{Coord, 41, 17, 44, S, 174, 46, 50, E, type:city(183900), display=title City councils in New Zealand