History

In England in 1840 the idea of a Town Belt was a novelty. Parklands in Britain at that time were privately owned by the wealthy. As overcrowding and health problems rose in many industrial English cities, people called for more open spaces. They called these new spaces the ‘lungs’ of a city. The New Zealand Company applied this idea when establishing the settlement that is now Wellington City.

The first plan for Wellington - drawn in 1840 - shows land for public enjoyment that was not to be built on. The Town Belt – of 1061 acres, one rood and two perches - was granted to the city of Wellington in 1873 as a public recreation ground for Wellington residents. Wellington City Council has held and managed the land since.

Mixed Motives

Public health was not the only reason driving the New Zealand Company’s Town Belt plan. The Company wanted to keep land prices high in the ‘town acres’, to ensure good returns for investors.

Dividing the town with planted public strips also boosted the social hierarchy. People who couldn’t afford expensive land would – the company intended – form a working class labour force.

Land Claims

The Wellington Tenths Trust – which holds land on behalf of descendents of the Wellington based tribes Ngati Ruanui, Ngati Tama, Taranaki and Te Atiawa – believes the Crown breached the Treaty of Waitangi by acquiring land for the Town Belt without consultation with, and consent from, Maori.

The Waitangi Tribunal is investigating the legality of the Crown’s acquisition of Town Belt land in Wellington.

Related Links

• City History

Department Details:
Reserves and Town Belt (Parks and Gardens)