According to Maori legend, Wellington was first discovered in the 10th century by the great Polynesian explorer Kupe and named Te Whanganui a Tara - the Great Harbour of Tara - after his son.
Another early name for Wellington, from Maori legend, is Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui. In Maori it means 'the head of Maui's fish'.
When Captain Cook visited in 1773 the harbour was lined with Maori settlements.
Mt Victoria is built on top of an ancient Maori burial ground.
There was an earthquake of 1855, which actually raised the foreshore by four feet
Amongst the churches which have survived are gems like Old St Paul's Church in Thorndon, the Anglican Diocese of Wellington from 1866 to 1964, and St Mary of the Angels, which shows the influence of traditional French Gothic architecture.
WELL, here are four. I used to have 5 written down but left that book somewhere :( 1) New zealand was the first country to give women the vote 2) Life expactancy: 78 3) There are many thermal springs...
We do not have snakes. (not even in zoos) Because it protects our bird wildlife. # We are the first country to see the sunrise each day (which is awesome at new years eve) # It is summer time at...
The recent Canterbury earthquake and the Christchurch earthquake both have excellent articles in wikipedia.org. Additional information is available on the ecan.org website, and the site for Pegasus...