Windy Wellington Trivia Quiz

Answer: Russell and Auckland

Following the negotiation in 1840 of the Treaty of Waitangi between Maori and the British Crown, the first seat of government was established at Okiato (renamed Russell) in the Bay of Islands. Kororareka, at that time the largest European settlement in New Zealand (and sometimes known as the 'Hell Hole of the Pacific'), was also absorbed into Russell.

In 1840 the capital was moved to Auckland, which later became one of New Zealand's most populous cities. In 1865, Wellington, close to the geographic centre of the country, became the permanent capital.

Answer: A green belt

Wellington was established by the London-based New Zealand Company which subdivided land around Lambton Harbour into town acres. The company set aside a green reserve around the edge of the settlement, which has since become known as the Town Belt.

The Town Belt is now 'a 425 hectare reserve on the first line of hills encircling the city ... enjoyed as a recreation space by residents and visitors since 1839'. There is also a more recent Outer Green Belt on the ridgeline hills to the west of the city.
(www.wellington.govt.nz/services/resbelt/index.html)

Answer: 8.2

This figure is an estimate for what was the most powerful earthquake to have struck New Zealand in recorded history up to the early 21st century. One resident counted 250 aftershocks in the first 11 hours. Aftershocks continued for several months.

Major alterations to landscape features included the raising of the Basin Lake by 1.8m, changing it from a lake into a swamp. This was subsequently drained and became the Basin Reserve, Wellington's principal cricket ground. A significant piece of land along the shoreline was also raised and later drained so that the former waterfront, Lambton Quay, is now between 100-200m from the harbour.

The Hawke's Bay earthquake of 1931 measured 7.8 on the Richter Scale. The city of Napier, on the east coast of the North Island, was largely destroyed and was rebuilt, almost entirely in the Art Deco style.

In 2010 an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck Christchurch in the South Island.

(www.teara.govt.nz)

Answer: The only earthquake fatality in Wellington

Across the region, the total number of deaths caused by the earthquake was between five and nine. Austrian Baron von Alzdorf, the only casualty in Wellington itself, died when a brick chimney in his hotel collapsed.

The official death toll of the Hawke's Bay earthquake in 1931 was 256, though the real figure may have been slightly higher.

Answer: It is called the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere

The Old Government Buildings, completed in 1876, was built as office accommodation for New Zealand's civil service. It was later occupied by the university's law school. The facade imitates a neo-classical stone structure.

As the region is prone to earthquakes, Wellington developed as a city with a high proportion of wooden buildings, particularly amongst residential structures. Wood is a more flexible building material than brick and withstands earth tremors well.

Answer: Cook Strait

The ferry connects New Zealand's North Island with the South Island. The journey is the subject of the iconic song 'Cruisin' on the Interislander' performed by Wellington band The Warratahs, and used in advertisements for the ferry service.

Foveaux Strait separates the lower South Island from Stewart Island.

Wellington Harbour, also known as Port Nicholson, has a narrow and dangerous entrance, as the turbulent waters of Cook Strait lie just beyond the harbour mouth. An excerpt from the work of New Zealand poet Denis Glover appears in concrete on the waterfront:

'The harbour is an ironing board:
flat iron tugs dash smoothing toward
any shirt of a ship any pillowslip
of a freighter they decree
must be ironed flat as washing from the sea.'

Lake Ferry is in the Wairarapa Valley near Wellington.

Answer: It sank in Wellington Harbour

The TEV Wahine (from the Maori word for 'woman') capsized after striking Barrett Reef at the entrance to the harbour. 51 lives were lost that day and a further two victims died of their injuries long after the event. The wreck was a result of extreme weather conditions created when southward moving Cyclone Giselle met a storm driving up from Antarctica. Winds which were severe even by Wellington standards (reaching 275 km/h, the strongest ever recorded in the city at the time) lashed the capital, causing significant property damage in addition to driving the ferry onto the rocks.

(www.nzhistory.net.nz)
(www.thewahine.co.nz)

Answer: Te Whanganui a Tara

Te Whanganui a Tara means 'the great harbour of Tara'.
(www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz)

Te Awamutu was the birthplace of musicians Tim and Neil Finn, known for bands Split Enz and Crowded House.

Ngaruawahia is in the heart of the Waikato region and is the centre of the Maori Kīngitanga (King Movement). The movement's headquarters, Turangawaewae Marae, is in the town.

Te Wai Pounamu is the Maori name for the South Island.

Answer: Queen Victoria

Victoria University of Wellington, or Te Whare Wananga o te Upoko o te Ika a Maui, was founded as Victoria College (part of the then University of New Zealand) in 1897 and named in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, which was celebrated that year. The college became an independent university in 1962.

The university is not to be confused with Australia's Victoria University, founded in 1916 in Melbourne, Victoria, as Footscray Technical School.

Te Rauparaha (1760s-1849) was Rangatira (Chief) of the Ngati Toa iwi (tribe) whose lands are in the southern part of the North Island and the northern part of the South Island. He wrote the best known haka, Ka Mate, which is performed by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union team prior to international matches.

Answer: An internment centre for enemy aliens

The island was occupied by Maori for generations. In the 20th century it was used as a quarantine station and for defence purposes. In World Wars I and II it became an internment camp for people considered a risk to New Zealand's security. Most of the internees were German nationals, with a number of Japanese and Italians also interned during WWII. In WWII the island also held an anti-aircraft battery though it was never used in action.

Matiu/Somes was opened to the public in 1995 as a Department of Conservation scientific and historic reserve. In 2009, restitution under the Treaty of Waitangi returned ownership of the three Wellington harbour islands to the Maori tribes.

(www.doc.govt.nz)