Mount Victoria

Mt Victoria is one of the city’s oldest suburbs, originally subdivided in the 1880s, attracting prosperous businessmen and a number of non-conformist church leaders.  For much of the 20th century, it was rundown (many of the larger properties became boarding houses) but Mt Victoria has now been rediscovered.  Many of its elegant Victorian villages and quaint cottages have painstakingly renovated; it’s now one of the city’s most fashionable areas with median house sale prices well ahead of city averages.

Mt Victoria includes the Town Belt – a popular area for walking, jogging and mountain biking on land set aside by the New Zealand Company in 1841 for a “public recreation ground for the inhabitants of Wellington”.  Keen gardeners know Mt Victoria plants are ahead of other gardens in town, because of the microclimate and the west-facing slopes mean it’s often bathed in afternoon sun.

Mt Victoria is an easy walk from Courtenay Place (Wellington’s social and entertainment hub) and the location of several of the city’s biggest secondary schools (Wellington College for boys and Wellington East Girls’ College).  Notable features include Government House (originally located in Thorndon, then moved in 1910 to its present site - formerly the location of Mt View Lunatic Asylum), a Greek Orthodox Church, and the Basin Reserve sports ground.  Excellent local restaurants include Capitol, Ortega Fish Shack, Ambeli and, if you want the best kebabs in town, head to Phoenician Cuisine next to the Embassy Theatre.

The Mt Victoria tunnel was opened in 1931, built by Depression 'relief labour’; a duplicate tunnel is planned as part of the third phase of the Wellington Northern Corridor programme.

Looking up to Mt Victoria from Oriental Bay