Wellington (Te Whanganui-a-Tara or Poneke) is the capital city of New Zealand, the country’s second-largest urban area and the most populous national capital city in Oceania. Wellington stands at the southern tip of the North Island in the geographical centre of the country.

New Zealand’s major financial institutions are divided between Wellington and Auckland, and some organisations have headquarters in both cities. It is New Zealand’s political centre, housing Parliament and head offices for all government departments and ministries. Wellington is often described as New Zealand’s cultural centre, boasting a world class film and theatre industry, Te Papa (the Museum of New Zealand), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Its compact city centre supports an arts scene, café culture and nightlife much larger than most cities of a similar size.

Wellington was named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor at the Battle of Waterloo. The Duke’s title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset.

In the MÄ?ori language Wellington goes by two names. Te Whanganui-a-Tara refers to Wellington Harbour and means “the great harbour of Tara”. The alternative name PÅ?neke is often discouraged because of a belief that it is nothing more than a transliteration of the harbour’s former nickname in English, Port Nick, short for Port Nicholson.

Like many cities, Wellington’s urban area extends well beyond the boundaries of a single local authority. Greater Wellington or the Wellington Region means the entire urban area, plus the rural parts of the cities and the Kapiti Coast, and across the Rimutaka Range to the Wairarapa.