Wellington

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, a role it has held since 1865 by convention rather than statute. It sits at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range, at 41 degrees 17 minutes south, which makes it the world’s southernmost capital of a sovereign state.

Wikipedia gives June 2025 estimates of 210,800 people in Wellington City, 209,800 in the urban area and 433,900 in the metro area. The 2023 census counted 202,689 in the city. The Māori name for Wellington is Te Whanganui-a-Tara, which Wikipedia translates as “the great harbour of Tara”, a reference to Wellington Harbour.

The Beehive, the executive wing of the Parliament Buildings on Lambton Quay and Molesworth Street, was built between 1969 and 1981. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum, stands on the waterfront at Cable Street. Local government is run by Wellington City Council.

Wellington appears in our report on India bowling New Zealand out for 134 in Wellington, where Gurnoor Brar took four wickets for 30 runs.

Sources: Wikipedia, Wellington, citing the 2023 New Zealand census.