Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal tour 2014 to visit Wellington – profile of New Zealand capital
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will jet off for their three week tour of Australia and New Zealand next month.
The 18-day jam-packed tour will take in several cities, with Kiwi capital Wellington – situated on the southern-most tip of the north island – first on the list. They touch down there on April 7.
A traditional Maori powhiri awaits them: a welcoming ceremony including speeches, dancing and singing, which culminates in the hongi – the exchanging of the breath of life through touching one’s nose and forehead to another person. Let’s hope Wills remembers his Tic-tacs.
After a day off to recuperate from the 25-hour flight over, they will then meet with parents and their babies at Government House.
George - who will ‘conduct’ his first official royal engagements and has not been properly seen since his christening last year - is expected to be shown off at this event hosted by the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society.
After a tour of the rest of the country, they will return to Wellington on April 16 for a visit to the Royal New Zealand Police College, where law enforcement officers are trained, before signing the city’s visitor book and departing for Australia.
Here are 10 things you need to know about Wellington ahead of the royal visit…
1. Films
Director Peter Jackson, one of the city’s most celebrated sons, has his WETA studio there which has put together the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and Avatar. Superstar Gladiator hero Russell Crowe hails from the city while the lead female in Danny Boyle’s directorial debut Shallow Grave, Kerry Fox, and English writer of Blackadder, Mr Bean, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually Richard Curtiswere also born there.
2. Scenery
Several iconic Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed in the Wellington area itself. Mount Victoria, the forested areas of which were used to depict Hobbiton Woods where the hobbits hid from the black riders in the first film, is within walking distance of the city centre. The River Anduin is the real-life Hutt River while Harcourt Park became the Gardens of Isengard and Kaitoke Regional Park was transformed into Rivendell.
3. Capital
Holding that honour since 1865 – having taken over from Auckland – Wellington was recently named “the coolest little capital in the world” by the Lonely Planet guide book. In that time its population has grown from 4,900 to 179,000 (Wellington City). If the other three cities of the Wellington urban area are taken into account – Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua – that figure rises to 364,128. Wellington City houses the New Zealand Parliament, government ministries and departments, and had the 13th best quality of living in the world in 2012.
4. Earthquakes
A major fault line runs through the centre of the city, with several others nearby and hundreds of minor fault lines in the wider urban area. It has been hit by several magnitude 6 quakes in recent years, but no damage was done as most of the buildings are earthquake-proof. Interestingly, every five years a year-long slow quake rumbles beneath the city – and everyone carries on as normal.
5. Cable car
If you’re looking for something a little different, there is a cable car which carries folk up to the Botanic Garden and gives spectacular views of the city’s central business district and out across the harbour to the Hutt Valley, Eastbourne and Mount Victoria.
6. Sport
New Zealand is famed for its national rugby union team and Wellington hosted two quarter-finals in the 2011 World Cup tournament won by the All Blacks. Wellington’s Super Rugby team the Hurricanes play in domestic competition against sides from home, Australia and South Africa, while the Wellington Phoenix football team play in the Australian A-League. One of England’s latest rugby stars, monstrous prop Mako Vunipola, was born in the city.
7. Music
The best-known band coming out of Wellington as far as Britons are concerned is Flight of the Conchords duo Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, who refer to themselves as “New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo”. The musical comedy pairing’s shenanigans were featured in a BBC radio series before American cable channel HBO picked it up for a TV series widely watched in this country.
8. Name
Wellington was named after Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), who was the first Duke of Wellington and won the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. His own title was taken from the town of Wellington in Somerset. In Maori, Wellington is known as either Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, which refers to Wellington Harbour, Poneke, short for Port Nicholson, or Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Maui, meaning The Head of the Fish of Maui – a reference to demi-god Maui’s fishing activities on the north island.
9. The arts
The Te Papa Tongarewa museum features innovative and interactive exhibits on six floors. Visitors can learn all about Maori culture, with the national museum claiming you can “walk through living native bush, and be shaken in the Earthquake House”.
10. Beaches
The Makara Track is a sixs-kilometre loop from Makara Beach which climbs up to vantage points offering spectacular views of the wild sea coast and takes three to four hours to walk. If you can’t be bothered to travel 16km to get there, then you can head to Oriental Bay, Wellington’s golden-sand inner-city beach.
Full tour itinerary
NEW ZEALAND
April 7 – Wellington: Arrive to ceremonial welcome.
April 8 – Rest.
April 9 – Wellington: Meet parents and their babies at Government House, hopefully with George.
April 10 – Blenheim: Events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.
Wellington: State Reception where William will unveil a portrait of the Queen.
April 11 – Auckland: Meet serving air force personnel and their families. Race each other across Auckland Harbour in Team New Zealand Americas Cup yachts. Ride on a Sealegs craft – boat that can be driven into and out of water.
April 12 – Waikato: William views an aircraft factory while Kate goes to a children’s hospice. Both travel through Hamilton town centre and meet Olympic athletes and open the new velodrome.
April 13 – Dunedin (Travel away from George for one night): Maori tribal welcome, visit cathedral then watch and participate in a Rippa Rugby tournament – non contact rugby.
Queenstown: Wine tasting, travel on the Shotover Jet – 50mph white water ride.
April 14 – Christchurch: Ceremony for those who died in 2011 earthquake. Watch a 2015 Cricket World Cup event, later visit air force museum and memorial wall.
April 15 – Rest.
April 16 – Wellington: Visit a police training college, sign the city’s visitor book then depart.
AUSTRALIA
April 16 – Sydney: Arrive and attend reception at the Sydney Opera House.
April 17 – Sydney: Fire-ravaged street in Blue Mountains.
April 18 – Sydney: Attend the Royal Easter Show, visit a children’s hospice before watching a demonstration by surf life-saving volunteers.
April 19 – Brisbane: RAF base visit then reception for Queensland’s young people.
April 20 – Sydney: Cathedral service then visit Taronga Zoo where the bilby enclosure is being named after Prince George.
April 21 – Rest.
April 22 – Uluru (Ayres Rock) (Second night away from George): Visit the National Indigenous Training Academy, view Aboriginal art display then walk round part of the rock.
April 23 – Adelaide: View young people’s music workshop and watch skateboarding display.
April 24 – Canberra: Visit the National Portrait Gallery, attend a reception at Parliament House, plant a tree at the National Arboretum.
April 25 – Canberra: Attend ANZAC Day March, lay a wreath and plant a ‘Lone Pine’ tree in the Memorial Garden.
Depart for home.
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