The capital city of Wellington is certainly inferior in size to all of its peers, but it beats many others in beauty, safety and comfort. This New Zealand city, which is nestled in a harbor surrounded by green hills, has long been famous as an interesting tourist center. People come here to get acquainted with the exotic nature of the islands, learn about the life of modern Maori, relax on the beaches and see how the most famous movie studios work. And this is not all the tourist lures of the southernmost and windiest capital of the Earth.
The population of the Wellington agglomeration is 420 thousand. In the capital itself lives about 191 thousand people. 70% of the citizens are Anglo-New Zealanders, 9% – representatives of the Maori people. There are quite a lot of Irish, Anglo-Australians, Dutch, Scots, natives of Asian countries and Polynesians. The state languages are English and Maori. The majority of Wellington residents (44%) are not religious, 40% are Christians (adherents of the Anglican Church, Presbyterians, Catholics and Methodists). There are also followers of Islam, Buddhism and Judaism in the capital.
The first settlements on the territory of modern Wellington appeared in the X century, when the natives of Polynesia and Maori lived here. But the Europeans appeared on these territories only in 1839. The British, led by Colonel William Wakefield, landed in Port Nicholson Bay. They bought land from local tribes and founded a town there. A year later, however, it had to be moved a little further south to protect it from the floods of the Hutt River. Field Marshal and commander of the combined forces of England and Holland Duke Arthur Wellesley Wellington actively helped the first settlers. The new settlement was named in his honor.
Before becoming the capital of New Zealand in 1865, the city survived two devastating earthquakes, but was completely rebuilt. By the mid-70s of the XIX century, the country was finally colonized. During the same period, gold deposits were discovered here, which caused an influx of settlers and an increase in the number of residents.
In 1907, New Zealand received the status of a dominion. Wellington, in parallel with performing the functions of the capital, became an important industrial center. In the twenties and thirties of the last century, as well as in the post-war decade there was a strong economic growth. The crisis came in the 50s and lasted for 20 years. But gradually the situation leveled out.
Wellington of the XXI century is a highly developed industrial city and a popular tourist center with modern infrastructure.