Central City

Wellington, originally called Port Nicholson, was the site of the New Zealand Company’s first settlement of British immigrants.  Although Wellington’s population is less than 200,000 – small compared to other capital cities – it has a lively urban culture, after decades of being a weekend ghost town.

Wellingtonians have the second highest per capita income in the country so can afford to make the most of the city’s bookshops, interesting shops, restaurants, bars and cafés. Between 1996 and 2006 the inner city population more than doubled: from 4,440 to 9,294, many living in modern central city apartments.

Gentrification over the past 30 years has transformed the inner city (Mt Cook, Mt Victoria, Newtown, Te Aro and Thorndon); many old houses have been renovated and up-market houses and apartments have replaced rickety boarding houses and rundown flats.

Courtenay Place