New Zealand can’t be called a highly urbanized country, and it does not seek to attain such status. Most cities in New Zealand are concentrated on north and south islands. Keep reading the article to learn more.
- Biggest metropolis is Auckland.
- Second place goes to the capital of New Zealand called Wellington. By population, it’s 3 times less than Auckland. This place has a population of 203, 800 people.
- The biggest settlement of the southern part is Christchurch with a population of 1.5 times more than the Wellington population.
Wellington
Many believe that this city shouldn’t be called the main city, but its status as the capital of New Zealand which was assigned to it more than 100 years ago, gives it special significance.
The city owes its name to Arthur Wellesley, the first of the Wellington family, who commanded the English army in the war against Napoleon, and then held the post of British Prime Minister.
Residents celebrate the city’s day as a local holiday every third Monday of January since 1841. This date was chosen after January 22, 1840, when ship Aurora with 150 English settlers arrived in Wellington. A few years earlier, an English settlement in Britain had already been located on the site of this New Zealand city.
Wellington did not immediately received its status as capital. This happened on July 22, 1865, when the Parliament first met in Wellington. Before then, New Zealand was ruled from Auckland. However, British colonists in Australia decided that Wellington, with its geographic position, was the most suitable place for the capital. In 1866, the settlement was officially given the status of a city.
Located on the edge of a picturesque bay and surrounded by towering green hills, Wellington is an amazing and compact city. With only two kilometers in diameter, it’s rightly called a “pedestrian” city.
Essentially, this is the storehouse of all New Zealand culture and all that can tell you about this country. Here you will find the old governmental residence (XIX century) – one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, the Academy of Fine Arts, the National Art Gallery and Museum, the Botanical Garden, city zoo, Lady Norwood’s Rosary (about three hundred varieties of roses), National Museum “Te Papa” (exhibitions and electronic animations which tell the history of the development of the country and the culture of Maori).
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Auckland
Auckland is not only one of the significant names of cities in New Zealand, but also throughout Polynesia. The size of Auckland makes it the third largest city worldwide. The population is 1.37 million people, excluding 500 thousand tourists and students who annually visit Auckland. Such a large-scale city has the status of administrative division, as a result of which you can find many other small towns within Auckland.
In its short history, Auckland became a symbol of the entire southern part of Pacific Ocean, embodying virtually all major world cultures. Every day, more than 50 languages are spoken in this city.
It’s built on a narrow isthmus between two bays, Waitemata (Pacific Ocean) and Manakau (Tasman Sea). In the Bay of Waitemata is situated the largest port in South Asia, which gave the city one more name “city of seafarers”. Port of Auckland is the main point of the Trans-American regatta, which allows you to see the most expensive and famous yachts in the world in the winter season. The total number of sails in the waters of Auckland bays is estimated at tens of thousands.
Also located in Auckland is one of the largest airports in Asia, serving 45 airlines from around the world. This causes people to refer to Auckland as a window not only to its country but also to the whole Oceania. By right, Auckland is known as the business center of New Zealand. Thousands of offices of different companies, representations, headquarters of world’s largest corporations are concentrated here.
Lastly, we have to talk about Auckland’s business card, Sky Tower, rising above the land at the altitude of 382 meters. It’s one meter higher than Empire State Building (New York).
Christchurch
Located on the eastern coast of the southern part, Christchurch received the title of the most “European” place of the country, a city of contrasts and gardens. It’s a city where its inhabitants can enjoy the primeval nature without leaving its boundaries. With a population of 367, 800 people, Christchurch is one of the most southerly large settlements.
In 1996, this city was recognized as a “garden city of the world”, winning this title in a competition with 620 most blooming places of the planet. The Annual flower festival, held every February, further immerses the city in beauty and flavour.
The first European settlers appeared in Canterbury (the area surrounding Christchurch) in 1815 on Banks Peninsula, which James Cook mistakenly called the islands 45 years earlier. It was in 1840, on the site of Canterbury that the first settlement of Europeans was founded, and by 1850 port appeared on the site of present Lyttelton.
During the period between 1850 and 1851, dozens of ships with English people, future founders of the city, entered the bay of Lyttelton. In July 31, 1856, Christchurch officially became a part of the British Empire.
For a long time, Canterbury was known all over the world for its agricultural products, mainly meat, wool, grain, and wine. An ideal climate allows the people to enjoy several harvests a year.
Currently, Christchurch and its environs are also known as the new sectors of the economy, which attract tourists and immigrants. In Christchurch, there is the highest proportion of Europeans among the population (over 85%), which is another confirmation of the “European capital” of New Zealand.
Hamilton
Hamilton, located 120 km south of Auckland, is called the heart of Waikato (one of the best agrarian regions in the world). One of New Zealand’s greenest cities, Hamilton is also the country’s largest mainland with a population of 203,400 people.
The first settlement that appeared on the site of the current Hamilton during the colonization of New Zealand by the Polynesians was called Kirikiriroa, later renamed in honour of the famous English captain Fane Charles Hamilton.
The construction of a railway bridge across the Waikato River in 1884, the longest in New Zealand, marked the beginning of the construction of the first European settlements on the site of a modern city. For a long time, Hamilton was just a railway station on the way from Auckland to Wellington. In 1945, it had a population of only 22000 inhabitants.
However, since that time the city became one of the fastest growing. Now the city has an international airport. Several more bridges were built across Waikato, the zoo was opened, and the university was built.
Dunedin
The farther south you go, the more you feel English traces. But in the case of Dunedin, you are already in Scotland, the oldest place of the country with an amazing architectual art. Located almost in the south, with a population of 125,800, the city is known as the center of province Otago, surrounded by unforgettable scenery, towering green hills.
The city was founded by Scottish sailors who landed here on March 23, 1848 and it was named as the Scottish capital Edinburgh. 13 years later, in the vicinity of Dunedin, gold was found, and this place grew in quite a short time.
It was right here that the first university and botanical garden were opened and the first newspaper was published. The only medieval castle erected in Gothic style can also be found here.
For a while, Dunedin was industrial, the commercial center of the country until people began to settle in warmer northern territories. The city embodied all the best of old Scotland. Until now, all of Dunedin’s main public institutions are located in old buildings, many of which are copies of the famous constructions of foggy Albion.
Now you know more about five major cities in New Zeland. Hope you found the information about their history, location, population, and other peculiarities interesting.
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