1.
Territorial authorities of New Zealand
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Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities,12 city councils,53 district councils, Auckland Council, six territorial authorities also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are unitary authorities. A unitary authority may also have local boards, currently only Auckland Council has them, territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regions, and some of them fall within more than one region. Taupo District has the distinction of straddling the boundaries of four different regions, Regional council areas are based on water catchment areas, whereas territorial authorities are based on community of interest and road access. Some activities are delegated to council-controlled organisations, the boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so little distinction was made between the urban area and the local government area. Regional councils were reduced in number from 20 to 13, territorial authorities from 200 to 75, the new district and city councils were generally much larger and most covered substantial areas of both urban and rural land. Many places that once had a city council were now being administered by a district council, as a result, the term city began to take on two meanings. The word city came to be used in a formal sense to describe major urban areas independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded, gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first city in the world to see the new millennium. Gisborne is administered by a council, but its status as a city is not generally disputed. Under the current law the minimum population for a new city is 50,000, since the 1989 reorganisations, there have been few major reorganisations or status changes in local government. Incomplete list,1991, Invercargill re-proclaimed a city,1992, Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council abolished by a Local Government Amendment Act. Of its territorial authorities, Kaikoura District was transferred to the Canterbury Region,2004, Tauranga became a city again on 1 March. 2006, Banks Peninsula District merged into Christchurch City as a result of 2005 referendum,2010, Auckland Council, a unitary authority, replaced seven local councils and the regional council. Reports on completed reorganisation proposals since 1999 are available on the Local Government Commissions site, the split areas as well as the current North Shore City would form a Waitemata local council. Waitakere local council would consist of the current Waitakere City as well as the Avondale area, tamaki Makaurau would consist of the current Auckland City and Otahuhu Manukau local council would consist of the urban parts of the current Manukau City and of the Papakura District. Hunua local council would consist of the entire Franklin District, much of which is currently in the Waikato Region, along with areas of the current Papakura District. The entire Papakura District would be dissolved between urban and rural councils, the National-led Government responded within about a week
2.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
3.
Wellington Region
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The Wellington Region is a local government region of New Zealand that occupies the southern end of the North Island. The region covers an area of 8,049 square kilometres, the region is named after Wellington, New Zealands capital city and regions seat. The region is administered by the Wellington Regional Council, which uses the promotional name Greater Wellington Regional Council, the Wellington Regional Council was first formed in 1980 from a merger of the Wellington Regional Planning Authority and the Wellington Regional Water Board. A proposal made in 2013 that nine territorial authorities amalgamate to form a single supercity met substantial opposition and was abandoned in June 2015. In its more restrictive sense the region refers to the cluster of built-up areas west of the Tararua ranges, the much more sparsely populated area to the east has its own name, Wairarapa, and a centre in Masterton. To a lesser extent, the Kapiti Coast is sometimes excluded from the region, Otaki in particular has strong connections to the Horowhenua District to the north. The Māori who originally settled the region knew it as Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui, legend recounts that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the tenth century. The region was settled by Europeans in 1839 by the New Zealand Company, Wellington became the capital of Wellington Province upon the creation of the province in 1853, until the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 Nov 1876. Wellington became capital of New Zealand in 1865, the capital after Russell. The region occupies the tip of the North Island, bounded to the west, south. The region covers 7,860 square kilometres, and extends north to Otaki, physically and topologically the region has four areas running roughly parallel along a northeast–southwest axis, The Kapiti Coast, a narrow strip of coastal plain running north from Paekakariki. It contains numerous small towns, many of which gain at least a proportion of their wealth from tourism, rough hill country inland from the Kapiti Coast, formed along the same major geologic fault responsible for the Southern Alps in the South Island. Rough hill country, lower than the Tararua Range but far less economic than the land around the Ruamahanga River and this and the other hilly striation are still largely forested. Other main centres of population are on the Kapiti Coast and in the farming areas close to the upper Ruamahanga River in the Wairarapa. Along the Kapiti Coast, numerous small towns sit close together, from the north, these include Otaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, the twin settlements of Raumati Beach and Raumati South, Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay, the latter being a northern suburb of Porirua. Each of these settlements has a population of between 2,000 and 10,000, making this moderately heavily populated, in the Wairarapa the largest community by a considerable margin is Masterton, with a population of almost 20,000. Other towns include Featherston, Martinborough, Carterton and Greytown, the region is by a large margin the wealthiest in the country. The most up-to-date estimates for regional GDP prepared by the Ministry for Economic Development put it at $17, at the 2006 census the region had the largest percentages of people in the four highest income groupings and the lowest percentage of residents in the loss group
4.
Rimutaka
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The Rimutaka Range is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand that form a ridge running parallel with the east coast between East Cape and Wellington. The ridge is at its most pronounced in the part, where it consists of the Ruahine, Tararua. The 555 metre summit of the road over the range is named Remutaka Pass, the Pass was formally named on 17 December 2015 when the decision of the New Zealand Geographic Board was confirmed by the Minister of Land Information. The highest peak is Mount Matthews, at 940 metres, narrow and winding State Highway 2 crosses the ridge from the Hutt Valley to Featherston. The Wairarapa Line railway used to climb across the Rimutakas, including the famous Rimutaka Incline and it opened on 12 August 1878 and closed on 30 October 1955, when it was replaced by the Rimutaka Tunnel. The former route is now the popular Rimutaka Rail Trail and part of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail, the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust has plans to rebuild the railway from Maymorn, including the Incline, as a tourist and historical attraction
5.
Kaitoke
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Kaitoke, part of Upper Hutt City, is a locality in the southern North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the end of the Hutt Valley,45 kilometres northeast of Wellington City. It also lies at the end of the Tararua Ranges. The Puffer tramping track providing access into the Tararua Forest Park climbs from Kaitoke onto and this ridge is the part of the Tararuas that is prominently visible from Wellington. The Marchant Track has a track leading to the Tauherenikau Valley. The end of the Marchant Ridge leads to Mount Alpha, the entire track to Alpha skirts the Hutt Water Collection Area. The first Youth Hostel in the North Island was established in the old Ministry of Works barracks at Kaitoke, the Post Office, the Hall, and the Youth Hostel were the only buildings of the settlement. Other facilities include a small airstrip operated by the Upper Valley Gliding Club for the purposes of gliding the areas thermals, the Pakuratahi River flows through the eastern Kaitoke Basin from its source in the Rimutaka Ranges. This railway is now the Rimutaka Rail Trail, the Hutt River has its source to the north of Kaitoke, and much of the land in the vicinity is used as a water supply reserve. Filming, rafting, swimming and other human activity all take place downstream of the water intake, the nearby Kaitoke Regional Park was the filming location for exterior shots of Rivendell for the movie The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring
6.
Totara Park
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Totara Park is a suburb of Upper Hutt, New Zealand, located 2 km northeast of the city centre. It is accessed via the Totara Park Bridge which crosses the Hutt River, connecting it to State Highway 2 and it was popular in the 1970s and 1980s for families moving into the Upper Hutt area. Most of the streets in Totara Park are named after states, towns and cities of the United States, Totara Park is built on alluvial gravel. This was designed so houses would be offset at least 20 metres from the fault, the Māori names for this area are Te Hau-karetu and for the Hutt River itself, Heretaunga, and Awa Kaiangi. Totara Park was the name for the eastern side of the upper valley. Was the western side to a suspension bridge opened in 1917. Maoribank Bridge, originally being able to carry automobiles and trucks, eventually was used for pedestrians only, a new modern type suspension bridge was then built on the northern side towards Brown Owl. The river surrounding the original bridge was a popular picnic. Cannon Point is a point along the western side of the valley. It was named for an old fallen tree resembling a cannon that was once there, walking routes, cycle tracks and logging roads connect Cannon Point to Akatarawa, Moonshine and other areas to the west. California Park features the Wellington Fault Scarplet, an example of a fault scarp that is readily accessible to the public. Totara Park School is the school located in Totara Park. Serving Years 1 to 6, it has a decile of 7. Metlink bus route 111 connects Totara Park with central Upper Hutt and Upper Hutt Railway Station
7.
Pinehaven
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Pinehaven is a suburb of Upper Hutt City in the lower North Island of New Zealand, established in 1927. It is at the end of the city, tucked into the pine covered hills east of Silverstream. Pinehaven is a tranquil valley centred on a reserve and beautiful piece of native bush. Pinehaven Scout Hall built in 1972 Pinehaven Progressive Association Community Hall, the land was generously gifted to the community in perpetuity by Mr Goodwin. The hills of Pinehaven were first planted with their trademark pine trees in 1928 by Sir Francis Chichester, most of the streets in Pinehaven are named after members of their families, Wyndham was Goodwins son, Jocelyn his daughter and Elmslie his granddaughter. Of course Chichester Drive is named after Sir Francis himself, originally Pinehaven was a community of small baches where residents of Wellington city escaped to for weekends and holidays. Http, //www. ppa. org. nz/ Website of the Pinehaven Progressive Association
8.
Mayor of Upper Hutt
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The Mayor of Upper Hutt is the head of the municipal government of Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and presides over the Upper Hutt City Council. The mayor is elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The Upper Hutt Town Board had seven chairmen, with the role regarded as the role of mayor. The Upper Hutt Borough Council was proclaimed in 1926, and with that the role of mayor was introduced, in 1966, Upper Hutt became a city council. The current mayor, Wayne Guppy, is the eleventh since the role was created in 1926, local government in Upper Hutt commenced with the formation of a Roads Board, which was subsequently incorporated into the Hutt County Council when that body was established in 1876. The roads board evolved into a dependent county town board within the County Councils jurisdiction, after a change in local government legislation, the Upper Hutt Town Board was proclaimed in 1908. In 1965, Upper Hutt qualified as a city, and this status was conferred in the following year. In 1973, the Hutt County Council, Rimutaka and part of Heretaunga Ridings was amalgamated with Upper Hutt, further amalgamation happened in 1989, when Heretaunga/Pinehaven District Community Council was incorporatated into Upper Hutt. The seventh and last chairman of the board, Angus McCurdy, was elected as the first mayor of the Upper Hutt Borough Council. Peter Robertson was chairman during the years of World War I, and mayor from 1927 to 1931 and he died from injuries received in a car crash, colliding with the car of the son of Councillor James Blewman. The resulting by-election was won by Blewman, who beat J Purvis by a majority of 193 votes, doris Nicholson was mayor from 1971 to 1977. She has been the woman so far to hold the mayoralty. She was succeeded by Rex Kirton, who was mayor for 24 years until 2001 and by the time of his retirement from the role, he was New Zealands longest serving mayor at that time. He was succeeded by one-term councillor Wayne Guppy, who was elected with a 6,000 vote majority, unusual for a city in New Zealand, none of the chairmen or mayors of Upper Hutt has been a Member of Parliament. Until 2004, First Past the Post was the system used for New Zealand local elections including in Upper Hutt. The option of using the Single transferable vote voting system was introduced in 2004, the Upper Hutt Town Board had seven chairmen between 1908 and 1926. The Upper Hutt Borough Council had eight mayors between 1926 and 1966, the Upper Hutt City Council has had an additional four mayors since its formation in 1966. The last mayor of the council was also the first mayor of the city council
9.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
10.
North Island
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The North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the slightly larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The islands area is 113,729 square kilometres, making it the worlds 14th-largest island and it has a population of 3,596,200. Twelve main urban areas are in the North Island, about 77% of New Zealands population lives in the North Island. Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with the South Island, after a public consultation, the board officially named the island North Island or Te Ika-a-Maui in October 2013. In prose, the two islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island, with the definite articles. It is normal to use the preposition in rather than on, for example Hamilton is in the North Island, maps, headings, tables and adjectival expressions use North Island without the. According to Māori mythology, the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui, Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe when he caught a great fish and pulled it from the sea. While he was not looking his brothers fought over the fish and this great fish became the North Island and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui. The mountains and valleys are believed to have formed as a result of Māuis brothers hacking at the fish. Until the early 20th Century, an alternative Māori name for the North Island was Aotearoa, in present usage, Aotearoa is a collective name for New Zealand as a whole. The sub-national GDP of the North Island was estimated at US$102.863 billion in 2003, the island has an extensive flora and bird population, with numerous National Parks and other protected areas. Nine local government regions cover the North Island and all its adjacent islands, healthcare in the North Island is provided by fifteen District Health Boards. Organised around geographical areas of varying sizes, they are not coterminous with the Local Government Regions
11.
Wellington
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Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 405,000 residents. It is at the tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Wellington is the population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the worlds windiest city, with a wind speed of over 26 km/h. Situated near the centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand, the settlement was named in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nations capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court, despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealands cultural capital. The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, architectural sights include the Government Building—one of the largest wooden buildings in the world—as well as the iconic Beehive. Wellington plays host to artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It has an urban culture, with many cafés, restaurants. One of the worlds most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world, Wellingtons economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealands film and special effects industries, Wellington ranks as one of New Zealands chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, Wellingtons transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island. Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality, in Māori, Wellington has three names. In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a W, and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The citys location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leads to its vulnerability to strong gales, legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the 10th century. The earliest date with hard evidence for Maori living in New Zealand is about 1280, European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840
12.
Hutt River (New Zealand)
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The Hutt River flows through the southern North Island of New Zealand. It flows south-west from the southern Tararua Range for 56 kilometres, forming a number of fertile floodplains, including Kaitoke, central Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt. The headwaters in the Kaitoke Regional Park are closed to preserve the quality of the water drawn off at Kaitoke to supply the greater Wellington area. Below Kaitoke is the Kaitoke Gorge, a destination for rafting. Below the gorge is Te Marua, where the Mangaroa River joins the Hutt from the east, further down, at Birchville, the Akatarawa River joins the Hutt from the west. Here it flows in a channel between the surrounding hills and is turned to flow across the Wellington Fault to Maoribank. The movement of the fault can be seen from the displacement of the terraces in Harcourt Park. At the top of the Upper Hutt floodplain, the river makes a turn against the bedrock at the foot of the cliff at Maoribank to flow down the valley. The Upper Hutt floodplain contains the portion of Upper Hutt city. At the lower end of the Upper Hutt floodplain is Taita Gorge, which separates Upper Hutt from Lower Hutt, the rivers outflow, at Petone, is into Wellington Harbour. The geological fault that the previously followed continues as a steep bluff at the edge of the Wellington Harbour. State Highway 2 follows the course of the river for most of its length, with the exception of the Kaitoke Gorge, heading downstream, Kaitoke Swingbridges,2 footbridges in Kaitoke Regional Park. Te Marua Bridge, Akatarawa Road Bridge, a road bridge opened in 1981 to replace a single-lane road bridge opened in 1915. Abutments of the old remain in the adjacent downstream riverbank. Akatarawa Bridge, the old Hutt County Council wooden truss bridge that crossed the river near the intersection of Rata Street, constructed in 1880-81 and closed in 1953. Piers damaged by flooding and then demolished and removed from riverbed in 1998, Hutt Borough Council Pipe Bridge constructed adjacent to the Akatarawa Bridge in 1913 to carry the Hutt Borough Council water supply pipes until decommissioned in 1958. Also damaged by flooding and demolished in 1998 at the time as the Akatarawa Bridge. Norbert Street Footbridge between California Park in Totara Park and Harcourt Park at the end of Norbert Street in Birchville, Maoribank Suspension Bridge Crossed at the bend in the river at the foot of Maoribank cliff
13.
Kapiti Coast
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The Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council, the Kapiti Coast District stretches from Paekakariki in the south through Otaki in the north. It includes the towns of Te Horo, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati Beach, Otaki, and Raumati South, and smaller such as Emerald Glen, Lindale, Maungakotukutuku, Otaihanga. The district extends inland to the top of the Tararua Range, Kapiti is possibly most famous for its island, Kapiti Island. Most of the island is a bird sanctuary, where a permit is required to visit. The area has a climate with moderate temperature swings between seasons, resulting in warm summers and mild winters without any severe heat waves or cold spells. Māori chief Te Rauparaha established a base on Kapiti Island, and from this position, Te Rauparaha sold him land in the Nelson and Golden Bay area. The line was opened in 1886, with the final spike driven in on the Kapiti Coast at Otaihanga, in 1908, the WMR was purchased by the New Zealand Railways Department, who incorporated the line into the North Island Main Trunk Railway. In June 1940, the Wellington-Paekakariki section was electrified as electric locomotives provided better motive power and this meant trains would swap from steam to electric traction in Paekakariki and it retained its status as a significant locomotive depot. It also became the terminus of the Wellington commuter railway network until 8 May 1983. In February 2011 electrification reached Waikanae, which became the new terminus, during World War II, Queen Elizabeth Park – a large tract of parkland between Raumati South and Paekakariki – was the location of two United States Army and Marines camps, McKay and Russell. US troops were stationed at the camps in 1942–44 prior to being sent into combat in the Pacific Ocean theatre, after World War II, Wellingtons Rongotai Airport was closed due to safety reasons in 1947 and Kapiti Coast Airport became the main airport for the Wellington Region. In 1949, it was New Zealands busiest airport and helped to stimulate growth on the Kapiti Coast, the Wellington International Airport was opened in 1959 and Paraparaumu Airport never regained its status, with some of its land sold for residential development in the 1990s and 2000. It is now used for commercial activity such as that of airline Air2there, helicopter and light aircraft training and for private. Recently, the Kapiti Coast has seen a significant population surge and is one of New Zealands fastest growing areas and this has led to considerable growth in all towns apart from Paekakariki, where development is geographically limited by the sea and steep hill sides. The Kapiti Coast is well known for its cheeses and other products from Lindale, light industry is focused in Paraparaumu and Otaki, with small clusters in Waikanae and Raumati. Many of the Kapiti Coasts residents are not employed in the area, instead, they commute to jobs in Wellington. In February 2017 an 18 km long expressway diversion from Mackays Crossing north of Paekakariki to just north of Peka Peka, was opened to enable State Highway 1 to bypass developed urban areas, the Kapiti Coast area has also made appearances in television and film
14.
Paekakariki
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Paekakariki, prior to 1905 known as Paikakariki, is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It is 22 km north of Porirua and 45 km northeast of Wellington, paekakarikis population at the 2006 New Zealand census was 1,602. This figure increased to 1,665 in the 2013 census, the towns name in Māori means perching place of the kakariki. Paekakariki lies on a narrowing of the coastal plain between the Tasman Sea and the Akatarawa Ranges and was an important transportation node. Immediately prior to European settlement the area had a violent history, due mainly to the presence of the great Māori warrior leader Te Rauparaha and he died in 1849, the same year that a road connecting Paekakariki with Porirua was completed. The name was spelt Paikakariki prior to 1905, Paikakariki, A Sonnett is the title of an 1867 poem by William Golder. Paekakarikis history has been linked with the railway, and there is a museum at the railway station commemorating this heritage. In 1886 the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Companys line from Wellington to Longburn was completed, the locomotive depot gradually declined in importance due to changing motive power, and nowadays only FP/FT Matangi class electric multiple units are stabled here. The old steam locomotive depot is now the location of The Engine Shed, during the Second World War Paekakariki served as a major base for US Marines fighting in the Pacific Campaign. There were three camps, all situated in or adjacent to present-day Queen Elizabeth Park. At the height of the occupation there were over 20,000 Americans stationed in the region, the camps were used for training purposes, as well as rest and recreation for those returning from the Pacific combat zone. Paekakarikis steep surrounding hills proved suitable terrain for marching and mortar practice and they were the scene of an unfortunate tragedy in June 1943 when a landing craft was swamped by a wave during a nighttime training exercise. Nine men drowned in the heavy surf according to official figures, the incident was never reported at the time due to wartime censorship provisions. While the American base in Paekakariki was only in existence for a few years it had an important, several local place names remain as reminders of this wartime presence. Tarawa Street, for example, commemorates one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War which locally based marines fought in directly after the camps were abandoned in October 1943. The town was immortalised as an almost mythical distant place in the song Paekakariki Beach, by the British rock group New Model Army, the town also appeared in an animated documentary by the Simmonds Brothers, entitled, Paekakariki, Center of the Universe. The American writer Leon Uris was stationed as a marine in Paekakariki during World War II and he drew on his experiences there when writing his first novel Battle Cry. Attack Attack Music/Warner Chappell Music Ltd, archived from the original on 2006-12-14
15.
Hutt Valley
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The Hutt Valley is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt. The river flows roughly along the course of a geologic fault. For this reason, the land rises abruptly to the west of the river, the higher of these is between 15 and 22 km from the mouth of the river. Beyond this, the river is confined by a steep-sided gorge near Taita. The valley forms a major suburban area for Wellington, and is a location for manufacturing and heavy industry, educational and recreational facilities. Petone, on the Wellington Harbour shoreline, was proposed as the site for the settlement of Wellington by the New Zealand Company. However, as the site was soon seen to be prone to river flooding. A small settlement remained at the Petone site as the valley was believed to be well suited as farm land. In 1846 there was fighting between Māori tribes and the Government, known as the Hutt Valley Campaign, almost the whole valley was clearfelled and converted to pasture or market gardens before the urbanisation of the 20th century. A small remnant of the early podocarp forest is preserved in Bartons Bush in Upper Hutt, Hutt City Council Upper Hutt City Council
16.
Rimutaka Ranges
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The Rimutaka Range is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand that form a ridge running parallel with the east coast between East Cape and Wellington. The ridge is at its most pronounced in the part, where it consists of the Ruahine, Tararua. The 555 metre summit of the road over the range is named Remutaka Pass, the Pass was formally named on 17 December 2015 when the decision of the New Zealand Geographic Board was confirmed by the Minister of Land Information. The highest peak is Mount Matthews, at 940 metres, narrow and winding State Highway 2 crosses the ridge from the Hutt Valley to Featherston. The Wairarapa Line railway used to climb across the Rimutakas, including the famous Rimutaka Incline and it opened on 12 August 1878 and closed on 30 October 1955, when it was replaced by the Rimutaka Tunnel. The former route is now the popular Rimutaka Rail Trail and part of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail, the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust has plans to rebuild the railway from Maymorn, including the Incline, as a tourist and historical attraction
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Lower Hutt
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Lower Hutt is a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is administered by the Hutt City Council and is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area and it is New Zealands seventh most populous city, with a population of 103,400. The city covers an area of 377 km2 around the half of the Hutt Valley. It is separated from Wellington proper by the harbour, and from Upper Hutt by the Taitā Gorge, though it is administered by the Hutt City Council, neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This name has led to confusion, as Upper Hutt is administered by a city council, the Upper Hutt City Council. Before European settlement, thick forest covered most of the Hutt Valley, Māori inhabited the shoreline, with a pa at each end of Petone beach. The local Māori welcomed the arrival of the New Zealand Company ship Tory in 1839, the first immigrant ship, the Aurora, arrived on 22 January 1840, still celebrated every year on the Monday closest as Wellingtons Anniversary Day. A settlement, Britannia, grew up close to the mouth of the Hutt River, the city takes its name from the river, named after the founding member, director and chairman of the New Zealand Company, Sir William Hutt. Within months of settlement the river flooded, and in March 1840 the majority of Britannia settlers decided to move to Thorndon, in the 1840s an area on the west bank of the Hutt River formed the village then known as Aglionby. In 1846 conflict arose between settlers and Māori, which led to skirmishes in the Hutt Valley Campaign, the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake raised part of the lower valley, allowing reclamation of land from swamp. The fault escarpment from the earthquake is still visible, notably at Hutt Central School, the railway line from central Wellington reached Lower Hutt station in April 1874, with the line travelling north up the west side of the river to Silverstream opening two years later. Before the Second World War, urban settlement in the lower Hutt Valley concentrated mainly on Petone, central Lower Hutt and Eastbourne, two years later the railway workshops moved from Petone to a new larger site off the new branch at Woburn. By the end of the 1950s, Lower Hutt had a population of 80,000, the Hutt City Council is made up of a mayor and 12 councillors. Ray Wallace was elected Lower Hutt mayor in 2010, succeeding David Ogden, the citys six electoral wards each elect two councillors. Neighbouring councils are Wellington City Council, Porirua City Council to the north, Upper Hutt City Council to the north-east, the boundaries of the Lower Hutt city local body have evolved from a series of amalgamations and boundary changes over the years. The Hutt County Council was established in 1877 and covered the region from Wellingtons south coast up to Waikanae, in 1941 Lower Hutt became a city. Lower Hutt is covered by two electorates, Hutt South and Rimutaka and two Māori electorates, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and Te Tai Tonga. The city centres on the valley of the Hutt River
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Frost
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Frost is the coating or deposit of ice that may form in humid air in cold conditions, usually overnight. In temperate climates it most commonly appears as white crystals or frozen dew drops near the ground. Frost is composed of delicate branched patterns of ice crystals formed as the result of fractal process development, Frost is known to damage crops or reduce future crop yields, therefore farmers in those regions where frost is a problem often invest substantial means to prevent its formation. In most temperate countries such temperatures usually are the result of loss by radiation at night. The size of frost crystals varies depending on the time they have been building up, Frost crystals may be clear or translucent, but, like snow, a mass of frost crystals will scatter light in all directions, so that a coating of frost appears white. If a solid surface is chilled below the dew point of the humid air. If the water deposits as a liquid that freezes, it forms a coating that may look glassy, opaque, or crystalline. Depending on context, that also may be called atmospheric icing. The ice it produces differs in ways from crystalline frost. For desublimation to proceed the surface must be below the frost point of the air, the air must be humid, but not sufficiently humid to permit the condensation of liquid water, or icing will result instead of desublimation. The size of the crystals depends largely on the temperature, the amount of water vapor available, as a rule, except in conditions where supercooled droplets are present in the air, frost will form only if the deposition surface is colder than the surrounding air. For instance frost may be observed around cracks in cold wooden sidewalks when humid air escapes from the ground beneath. Other objects on which frost commonly forms are those with low specific heat or high thermal emissivity, such as blackened metals, the apparently erratic occurrence of frost in adjacent localities is due partly to differences of elevation, the lower areas becoming colder on calm nights. Where static air settles above an area of ground in the absence of wind, hoar frost refers to white ice crystals, deposited on the ground or loosely attached to exposed objects such as wires or leaves. They form on cold, clear nights when conditions are such that heat radiates out to the sky faster than it can be replaced from nearby sources such as wind or warm objects. Under suitable circumstances, objects cool to below the frost point of the surrounding air, such freezing may be promoted by effects such as flood frost or frost pocket. These occur when ground-level radiation losses cool air till it flows downhill and accumulates in pockets of cold air in valleys. Hoar frost may freeze in such low-lying cold air even when the air temperature a few feet above ground is well above freezing
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2011 New Zealand snowstorms
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The 2011 New Zealand snowstorms were a series of record breaking snow falls that affected both the North Island and South Island. The storms occurred over the span of a few weeks, beginning on 25 July 2011 in the North Island, the storms subsided in late July and returned in August. It was the worst winter storm to hit New Zealand in seventy years, the heavy snowfalls caused widespread closures in many cities, including Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin. The storms caused chaos around the country, leaving people stranded at airports, blocking highways and resulting in entire regions, particularly Otago. The initial storm of July was relatively short lived, only to again in August. The winter storm also caused mixed precipitation, the snowfall was caused by Antarctic storms which moved northward. The storms were deemed by news reporters as once in a lifetime in New Zealand. On 25 July 2011, New Zealand was gripped by its coldest winter snap in fifteen years, the lowest temperature set during the month was −10.2 °C at Manapouri on 26 July, which was a new all-time record for the town. Christchurch Airport recorded its second coldest day on 25 July, the severe winter storm was well predicted, with forecasters warning of the potential of heavy snow down to sea level in south and east of the South Island and to low levels in the North Island. This snowstorm was especially threatening as it was the school holidays, up to 30 cm of snow was recorded in parts of Christchurch, the heaviest recorded there in sixteen years. The snowfalls also flattened sand dunes in Brighton and completely coated nearby Sumner Beach 1,700 homes within the Christchurch metropolitan area were without power, the citys bus service was also shut down for almost two days. Various highways were closed, including the State Highway 1 between Invercargill and Dunedin and State Highway 94, the road from Te Anau into Milford Sound, the storms lasted for roughly three days, before subsiding and returning early in the following month. A few days prior to date, forecasters were warning of a severe snowstorm heading for New Zealand. Snow fell consistently down to sea level in Wellington for the first time since the 1976, much of the South Island was heavily blanketed, with schools closed in Queenstown, Dunedin, and Christchurch. The heavy snow also disrupted flights in and out of these centres, schools were also closed there due to the snow. Power was also lost to around 4,000 homes in South Taranaki, Manawatu, Whanganui, the storms caused airport closures in Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin. The Christchurch and Dunedin Donor Centres were closed and Westport and Mosgiel mobile collections were cancelled as a result of bad weather, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority closed access to the Christchurchs earthquake-damaged red zone due to potential safety hazards. The snow caused power outages in rural areas of Canterbury, namely Rakaia, Westmelton, Leeston, although Wellington received its largest snowfall in 30 years, the South Island received the most during the storms, with some regions receiving snowfall of up to 200-300mm
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Upper Hutt
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Upper Hutt is a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. Upper Hutt is approximately 30 km north-east of Wellington, the citys main urban area is on this plain. A smaller flood plain lies upstream, above the Kaitoke Gorge, Upper Hutt has a temperate climate however due to its sheltered valley location, it generally tends to be warmer than inner city Wellington in summer and much colder in the winter. It is not uncommon in summer for temperatures to reach the mid 30s Celsius, snow generally doesnt fall below 300m, but in 2011 Upper Hutt sea level snow occurred twice, as part of 2011 New Zealand snowstorms. On 25 July and again between 14 and 16 August which was the heaviest blizzard in Upper Hutt since 1976 and came as a novelty to residents. Upper Hutt receives about 1400mm of rain per year, Upper Hutt City Council administers the city with its surrounding rural areas, parks and reserves. Its area is 540 km², the third-largest area of city council in New Zealand, after Dunedin, New Zealand local authorities with a large land area are usually termed districts, but Upper Hutt maintains its status as a city largely because of its high degree of urbanisation. Upper Hutt was originally administered by the Hutt County Council, which was constituted in 1877, the Town Board was proclaimed on 24 April 1908. Upper Hutt became a Borough on 26 February 1926 and a City on 2 May 1966, on 1 April 1973, the Rimutaka Riding of Hutt County was added to the city. Today, Upper Hutt City falls entirely within the boundaries of the Rimutaka electorate, Upper Hutt was represented by the Heretaunga electorate prior to the introduction of MMP in 1996, when the seat was merged with Eastern Hutt to form Rimutaka. The main urban area of the city has a population of 40,100, developments in the area include Mount Marua, Marua Downs, Waitoka Estate, and Riverstone Terraces. A development called The Lanes was proposed but rejected by the Lanes Commissioners appointed by the Council and this decision was made as to ensure the maintenance of the significant rural character and amenity in the Mangaroa Valley. Upper Hutt is in an area known as Orongomai. The first residents of the area were Māori of the Ngai Tara iwi, various other iwi controlled the area in the years before 1840, and by the time the first colonial settlers arrived the area was part of the Te Atiawa rohe. Orongomai Marae is to the south of the city centre. Richard Barton, who settled at Trentham in 1841 in the now known as Trentham Memorial Park, was the first European resident. Barton subsequently subdivided his land and set aside an area that was turned into parkland. James Brown settled in the area became the Upper Hutt town in 1848
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Dunedin
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Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. It is named for the capital of Scotland, generally Anglicised as Edinburgh, Dunedin was the largest New Zealand city by territorial land area until superseded by Auckland on the creation of the Auckland Council in November 2010. Dunedin was the largest city in New Zealand by population from the 1860s until about 1900, the city population at 5 March 2013 was 120,246. The Dunedin urban area lies on the central-eastern coast of Otago, the harbour and hills around Dunedin represent the remnants of an extinct volcano. The city suburbs extend out into the valleys and hills, onto the isthmus of the Otago Peninsula, and along the shores of the Otago Harbour. The citys most important activity in economic terms centres around tertiary education – Dunedin is home to the University of Otago, New Zealands first university, and the Otago Polytechnic. Students account for a proportion of the population,21.6 percent of the citys population was aged between 15 and 24 at the 2006 census, compared to the New Zealand average of 14.2 percent. In 2014 Dunedin was designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature, archaeological evidence shows the first human occupation of New Zealand occurred between AD 1250–1300, with population concentrated along the southeast coast. A camp site at Kaikai Beach, near Long Beach, has dated from about that time. There are numerous sites in what is now Dunedin, several of them large and permanently occupied. The population contracted but expanded again with the evolution of the Classic culture which saw the building of several pā, fortified settlements, notably Pukekura at, there was a settlement in what is now central Dunedin occupied as late as about 1785 but abandoned by 1826. Maori tradition tells first of a people called Kahui Tipua living in the area, then Te Rapuwai, semi-legendary, the next arrivals were Waitaha followed by Kāti Mamoe late in the 16th century and then Kai Tahu who arrived in the mid 17th century. These migration waves have often represented as invasions in European accounts. They were probably migrations like those of the European which incidentally resulted in bloodshed, the sealer John Boultbee recorded in the 1820s that the Kaika Otargo were the oldest and largest in the south. Lieutenant James Cook stood off what is now the coast of Dunedin between 25 February 1770 and 5 March 1770, naming Cape Saunders and Saddle Hill and he reported penguins and seals in the vicinity, which led sealers to visit from the beginning of the 19th century. Permanent European occupation dates from 1831, when the Weller brothers founded their whaling station at Otago, modern Otakou, epidemics badly reduced the Maori population. By the late 1830s the Harbour had become an international whaling port, johnny Jones established a farming settlement and a mission station, the South Islands first, at Waikouaiti in 1840. After inspecting several areas around the eastern coast of the south island, the name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland
New Zealand
Mesa, Arizona, United States
