European settlement and port development

From the time the first European settlers arrived in 1840, Wellington has seen dramatic changes to its waterfront and harbour.

There’s been land reclamation, earthquakes and the building of a working port crucial to the economic life of Wellington; then the transformation into a key recreational, social and cultural asset that gives the harbour city its heart.

When the first European settlers arrived in 1840, the demand for more land and wharfage was almost immediate.

The first New Zealand Company settlers actually didn’t care much for Wellington itself when they first set foot in New Zealand, and settled in Petone instead.  But shallow anchorage, rough tides and the exposed nature of the site saw them start to move down to Lambton Harbour.

Lambton Harbour was deeper and had fewer hazards than the Petone shoreline. The potential for wharfage was recognised, with the only problem being the lack of usable land.

Reclamation and essential infrastructure was needed to help shape it into one of New Zealand’s most important ports, and from then until the 1970s, most of the goods and people that came and went from Wellington did so via the harbour.