Capital of New Zealand

Wellington has been the capital of New Zealand since 1865. New Zealand's first capital city was Old Russell (Okiato) in 1840–41. Auckland was the second capital from 1841 until 1865, when Parliament was permanently moved to Wellington after an argument that persisted for a decade. As the members of parliament could not agree on the location of a more central capital, Wellington was decided on by three Australian commissioners.

Okiato or Old Russell is a small holiday spot in the Bay of Islands, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of present-day Russell, which was then known as Kororareka. Okiato was New Zealand's first national capital, for a short time from 1840 to 1841, before the seat of government was moved to Auckland. William Hobson arrived in New Zealand on 29 January 1840, the date now celebrated as the Auckland Anniversary Day. On the following day, as Lieutenant-Governor he proclaimed British Sovereignty in New Zealand. 30 January 1840 was the day that the Union Jack was flown on the masthead of the Herald, the ship that brought Hobson to the Bay of islands, and that the flag was saluted by guns. A capital city needed to be decided on, and immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, Hobson sought advice from those who had been living in New Zealand for some time. The missionary Henry Williams recommended the area around the Waitemata Harbour. William Cornwallis Symonds agreed with that assessment. A week after the signing of the treaty, seven Māori chiefs from Orakei on the Waitemata Harbour came to see Hobson and invited him to stay amongst them. They wanted protection from a rival iwi, the Ngāpuhi, and offered him land in return for living there. On 21 February, a small party including Hobson, Williams, Symonds, Captain Joseph Nias, and Felton Mathew left on the Herald to explore the Waitemata; they arrived there two days later. They visited various places, but on 1 March, Hobson suffered a stroke which paralysed half of his body and affected his speech. Rather than delegate the decision making to his officers, the party returned to the Bay of Islands with the task incomplete.

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