Wellington - Small City, Big Reputation Quiz

Answer: Windy City

Wellington has recorded wind gusts of 248 kph, close to New Zealand's record of 250 kph. Of more significance to Wellington's climate is the consistency of the wind. The airport records gusts of wind of 75 kph and over (that's gale-force) on roughly 175 days a year. Other major cities in New Zealand have no where near the number of windy days. Chicago, another 'Windy City', has an average wind speed of 18 kph while Wellington Airport's is close to 30 kph.

The prevailing southerly wind arises thanks to Wellington's proximity to Cook Strait and the mountainous terrain around the city. The wind is funnelled between the mountains giving the city its characteristic breeze. The wind and its inherent dangers have forced local councils to adjust bylaws involving trees and where they can be grown, lest a branch or tree fall upon a person or residence. You can find several videos online in which planes try landing and taking off at Wellington. Sometimes they look like they are being manipulated by someone holding the strings on their wings, much like a marionette. It's not always a bad thing though. The winds do provide sailors with favourable conditions on more days than in many cities.

Answer: False

Sydney might have been founded as a penal colony by the United Kingdom in 1788, but New Zealand was never a penal colony. Originally part of the colony of New South Wales, New Zealand became a separate entity in 1841 by becoming the Colony of New Zealand, and the country became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire in 1907.

Evidence of Maori settlement of the Wellington region stretches back to the 13th century, while Maori legends contends that Kupe, a great chief, arrived in New Zealand and began settlement some time between the 10th and 14th centuries.

New Zealand has two major islands, the North and South Islands. In the 19th century, gold mining was an important industry on the South Island and it was feared the island might break away to form an independent territory. Wellington's central location at the southern end of the North Island was seen as a way of encouraging the islands to remain united, and Wellington became the capital in 1865. The population at the time was less than 5,000. The photo was taken in 1883 on Wellington's Cuba Street.

Answer: Government offices

Resembling a traditional woven beehive called a 'skep', the Beehive was opened in stages during the 1970s. A design of Sir Basil Spence, it consists of ten stories above the ground and four below, including a car park and civil defence basement. The offices of the Prime Minister, government ministers and other high-ranking officials can be found there, along with the Cabinet Room, a banqueting hall, swimming pool and other facilities. The actual business of parliament takes place in Parliament House located nearby.

Personally, while I can see the resemblance to a skep, I think it looks more like a vacuum cleaner filter. Architecture is the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

Answer: Our place

'Te Papa Tongarewa' can be translated as a 'container of treasures' or 'the place of treasures of this land'. The 'brand' the museum has adopted is 'Our place', reflecting the museum's status as New Zealand's national museum. Te Papa includes displays as varied as Maori history, New Zealand's war history, modern art, the history of Air New Zealand, the geology and earthquakes of the country and other fascinating items in permanent or temporary exhibitions.

Located on harbour-side Cable Street, Te Papa opened in 1998. The six floors of galleries, cafés and gift shops welcome well over one million visitors a year. Its location on the waterfront was of concern to New Zealanders used to earthquakes. In preparation for the inevitable quakes and tremors that will occur, the building is supported by a system of lead, steel and rubber which will diminish an earthquake's effects.

Answer: The Cake Tin

Built in 1999, the stadium sees both winter and summer sports played there. The Super Rugby Hurricanes and Wellington Phoenix (soccer) teams call the stadium home, and the ground sees One Day International cricket matches played there. The ground seats around 35,000 people (depending on the configuration on the day) and is a short walk from the city centre. As seen in the photo, the stadium is close to rail links, being built on disused land close to both the harbour and the city. The stadium is most often known by its corporate name as determined by its sponsor at the time. In the early 2010s, the sponsor was the Westpac Banking Corporation and therefore the stadium is known as the Westpac Trust Stadium.

Other events held at the stadium include rock concerts and cultural events such as the touring version of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Answer: Peter Jackson

Sir Peter Robert Jackson ONZ KNZM was the director of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy (2001-03) which achieved much acclaim and many awards. Made in New Zealand, the movies boosted the country's reputation around the world for film-making and glorious scenery. 'Middle-earth' tourism is still promoted around the world, with slogans such as 'Explore the home of Middle-earth' and '100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand'.

Peter Jackson was born in Wellington but grew up in a country town a half hour's drive north of the city. Given a movie camera when aged eight, Jackson started by recreating war scenes in his backyard. He moved to the horror and fantasy genres in his teens and his first feature-length movie, 'Bad Taste' was made in 1988. The proposal to make the famous trilogy of Tolkien novels took many years to achieve fruition. Merely obtaining the rights to make the movies was seen as impossible. Nevertheless, Jackson persisted despite several obstacles and finally the movies were made in his home country. 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' took home eleven Oscars.

Sir Peter was knighted by the New Zealand Governor-General in 2010, and in 2014, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled bearing his name.

The incorrect answers were also born in Wellington and all have been awarded Oscars for their efforts in motion pictures. Fran Walsh is Sir Peter's wife. She won an Oscar as a screenwriter for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'.

Answer: TEV Wahine

The Wahine was a purpose-built inter-island ferry commissioned in 1966. She'd made over sixty return trips from Wellington to Lyttelton on the South Island but weather conditions on April 10th, 1968 were treacherous. Two storms combined to create ferocious winds. As the Wahine entered Wellington Harbour, so close to her destination, the winds, tide and surges combined to push her onto Barrett Reef after futile attempts to save her had gone on for a few hours.

On this trip, there were 610 passengers and 123 crew on board. If she had been filled to capacity, there could have been over 1,000 passengers on board. News of the ship in perilous conditions quickly made the news and many boats, both in private and public hands, tried to aid the ship or to take passengers to safety. Conditions were awful and it wasn't possible. A tug tried to tow her to safety but the line broke, leaving her splashing about in the water until she struck the reef.

When she finally hit the rocks and listed over to starboard, the call the abandon ship was made. Alas, the port life boats were useless, sitting up above the listing ship. Overcrowded lifeboats took to the seas but many people ended up in the water, drowning, dying of exposure or being pounded on the rocks. There have been maritime tragedies in New Zealand with greater loss of life, but this disaster took place in the middle of a city where many people could view it, and with the media flying film of the wreck overseas for world news services.

Several memorials are sited around the harbour, some of them with parts of the stricken ship.

Answer: After a ship which brought settlers to the region

The Oriental was one of the first ships to bring settlers to Wellington. Arriving in January, 1840, she left the UK four and a half months earlier with 155 passengers.

Oriental Bay is a suburb of Wellington, a stone's throw to the east from the city centre. Nestled against and sheltered by Mount Victoria, Oriental Bay has changed from being the site of a quarry in the 1880s to a desirable residence and holiday destination. Rocks were taken to assist with the reclamation of land for Wellington. The small, wooden houses which once presided in the suburb have gradually been replaced by expensive, new homes or apartment blocks. Summertime sees the area infiltrated by swimmers, beach lovers and families keen to patronise the restaurants and shops in the area.

Answer: It was the waterfront until an earthquake lifted up the land in front of it

Lambton Quay was on the harbour foreshore when Wellington was founded in 1840. It was only fifteen years later when a large earthquake shook up Wellington's foundations and elevated the land in front of the Lambton Quay. Reclamation contributed to the new foreshore becoming usable land for the new settlers. New streets, wharves and businesses were created on the new land and those streets remain today. John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, was a chairman of the New Zealand Company which promoted settlement of the country.

Though shopping districts have moved around in Wellington, Lambton Quay remains a major commercial street. The Parliament buildings and the Wellington Cenotaph can be found towards the northern end of the street. If you're sick of shopping in Lambton Quay, you can take the Wellington Cable Car from the street to the top of the hill behind it. This leads you straight into the Wellington Botanic Garden, home of the Carter Observatory. You'll also get stunning views of the city, the harbour and their surrounds.

Answer: Movie buffs

The Weta Cave is the public face of the Weta Workshop, a company which produces special effects and props for television and the film industry. Founded by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, the company is best known for their work on the 'Lord of the Rings' movie series. Some of the models they made measured nine metres high. The company then used computers to mesh the models into scenes with the actors.

Movie buffs can visit the Weta Cave to see behind-the-scenes footage from the movie trilogy, see some of the real props, take a tour and meet some of the artisans involved, and purchase souvenirs. The company's name comes from the species of grasshopper native to New Zealand, the weta. It was described as "New Zealand's coolest little monster, a bizarre and prickly prehistoric cricket". [Quote courtesy of Wikipedia].