Our history

Since the earliest days of European settlement in Te Whanganui a Tara area, the development of water supplies greatly influenced the subsequent growth and administration of Wellington city and the wider region.

Morton Dam Spillway 1924 – Wellington City Council Archives

The history of water supply for the Wellington region is to a large degree centred on the geography of the area. There have always been abundant water sources available to meet the needs of an ever-increasing population. The major challenge, however, has been one of overcoming the region’s mountainous terrain and natural hazards at a cost its population would bear.

Prior to the establishment of Greater Wellington, various local municipalities were involved in providing water through schemes in the following areas:

• Karori
• Wainuiomata and Ōrongorongo River
• Hutt Valley  
• Kaitoke
• Kāpiti

Learn more:

Our Water History - On Tap - Water Supply in the Wellington Region 1867-2006

This publication follows the trials and tribulations of Greater Wellington's water history. Providing water at a cost that the population can bear has been a challenge ever since European settlers arrived in our… Read more here

date_range Published 03 Sep 2007

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Hutt River flooding at Silverstream, 1955

Within half a century after the arrival of European settlers in the 1840s, the Hutt Valley and much of the Wairarapa were both affected by flooding.

The flooding was caused by deforestation driven by settler’s desire to provide timber for construction and create pastureland on the flat land in both areas. Recognising the problem caused by regular flooding, a water board was established in Ruamāhanga in 1886 and the Hutt Valley in 1899.  

On the Wellington side there was disagreement between various local authorities over who should pay for flood control. In 1927 Wellington City, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Petone boroughs decided to cooperate and establish the Wellington City and Suburban Water Supply Board.  

This was followed by the establishment of the Wellington Regional Water Board in 1973. The Board ran bulk water supply, forestry, water resources management, soil conservation, rivers control, and recreation.

These responsibilities were assumed by the Wellington Regional Council in 1980.

Metlink connects the wider Wellington region, including Wellington City, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Kāpiti Coast and the Wairarapa.

Last GANZ train, 2020

Wellington's hilly terrain has a considerable effect on public transport. Some planners consider Wellington to be a good city for public transport management, as the topography concentrates settlement in valleys or along coastlines, providing clear, dense corridors for transport routes.  

At the same time, however, the hilly terrain proved a hindrance for the construction of rail lines, and buses sometimes have difficulty on narrow and winding streets.

Rail services were originally locomotive-drawn passenger carriages. The main trunk route was electrified to Paremata in 1938, and the Johnsonville line was electrified in 1939.  

Up until the mid-1980’s, the transport system was largely managed by central government. 1980 saw the Urban Transport Act give regional councils more powers and responsibilities relating to public transport in their area.  In 1990, transport reforms set up a system of private operation under an umbrella of regional government subsidies.

In 2005, Greater Wellington branded its role in public transport as Metlink. In 2018, Greater Wellington assumed greater control of managing the service through transport operators, unifying the service under the brand name Metlink. This replaced the previous arrangement where transport operators ran services under their own brand names.