Wellington

Wellington
Capital city
Flag Coat of arms
Wellington
Coordinates: 41°17′20″S 174°46′38″E / 41.28889°S 174.77722°E / -41.28889; 174.77722
Country	New Zealand
Population  (2018)
• Total	202,737[1]

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. It has been the capital since 1865. Before then Auckland was the capital. Wellington is the second largest city in New Zealand. In 2018, 202,737 people lived in the city^[1] and about twice that in its metropolitan area.

Wellington is in the middle of New Zealand, at the south end of the North Island. South of Wellington is Cook Strait, the sea between the North Island and the South Island. The city has a lot of hills and a deep harbour. The middle of the city is busier than most small cities and is easy for people to walk around.

It was named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Wellington became famous when The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was made there. In Māori, the indigenous language, its name is Te Whanganui-a-Tara.^[2]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Place Summaries | Wellington City | Stats NZ". 2018 New Zealand Census. Stats NZ.
2. ↑ "Whanganui-a-Tara, Te - Te Aka Māori Dictionary". Whanganui-a-Tara, Te - Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 28 April 2022.