Wellington City Council

Ever wondered about the strangest questions we've received over the past 60 years? 🔍📜 We dug into our archives to find the most bizarre and unforgettable queries that have come through our Contact Centre! Here are a few gems that have left us scratching our heads: 🐨 A lady was sure she saw a Koala Bear in her garden at night, apparently it was too big and upright to be a possum! 🤔 "Is there a bylaw against jungle music being played through a loud speaker on Lambton Quay?" 🏖️ Someone asked if men could be banned from the west side of Lyall Bay Beach to avoid offending women and children. 📞 "Can you wake me up at 5:30 am to catch a train?" 🐐 There was even a request for a goatherd to milk goats! Discover these and more curious queries that have made their mark in Wellington City Archives history! 👇 https://lnkd.in/gapMGUbu #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

What an unforgettable weekend at Matariki Ahi Kā! 🌟✨ Thousands of Wellingtonians and visitors joined us on the waterfront to celebrate Matariki, the Māori New Year. With ahi, stunning performances, mesmerising projections, and a special ceremony to honour those we've lost, it was truly a magical weekend. This year, we introduced some amazing new features including the past, present, and future fire pits, weaving, storytelling, and fun activities for tamariki. Plus, the beautiful memorial projection where the public submitted heartfelt tributes for their loved ones. Here’s a glimpse of the magic: 📅 4 nights of celebration 👥 17,500 attendees 🎤 20 live performances 🎥 5 large, stunning projections 🙏 255 heartfelt memorial tributes shared 🍲 16 delicious kai options, including Māori, New Zealand, Mexican, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Polish, Lebanese, Indian, Greek, and 4 types of desserts! It was a special time to remember the past, celebrate whanaungatanga, share stories and kai, and plan for a sustainable future together. A huge thank you to the incredible artists, performers, organisations, and support crew who made this uniquely Wellington event unforgettable 💖 #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

Ain't no mountain high enough for Wellington East Girls School's enviro-club! 🌿🌟 Before, students from the eastern suburbs navigated a narrow, noisy tunnel or a steep, unmaintained track to school. Now, thanks to a collaboration with the Council, they've built a new commuter track over Mt Victoria, offering a safe and scenic route for students! With the help of dedicated volunteers, teachers, and the Council, the track has been widened and resurfaced, ensuring accessibility for all. "I've ridden the track many times now, and the thing that pleasantly surprised me most is how easy it is to ride up." shares Lucy, one of the enviro-club leaders. This eco-friendly path seamlessly connects to the city's bike network and was funded by the Council's Cycling Infrastructure grant from the Bloomberg Initiative. Check out these pictures of the enviro-club, teachers, volunteer Matairangi Trail Builders, and Wellington City Council members working on the trail. Read more about this amazing project below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/gZ5Yir66 #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

After years of trials and development, the Council's roading team have said goodbye to sticky roads and flying stones with their new climate-positive chipseal! 🚗 The move from traditional kerosene-based bitumen (asphalt) to an emulsified (water-based) version has had many benefits including: 💪 Increased strength & durability of our roads 🏭 Halved Council's chipseal carbon emissions 👷 Made the process of roading safer for our road workers To find out more about what goes into Wellington's roads, and how they're better for our city, check out the Our Wellington news channel 👇 https://lnkd.in/gUpT8Fps #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

It’s the end of an era for the Johnsonville Roundabout! 🌱 Our awesome horticulture team has put the seasonal garden to bed, replacing it with beautiful Arctotis! 🌼 They created a stone buffer and planted perennials in the centre. Perennials are plants that live for more than two years and regrow each spring. This means our kaimahi no longer need to replant the garden twice a year, reducing maintenance to the site and disruption to road users. Perennials require less wai than bedding plants, helping to conserve our precious resources. They also reduce the need for pesticides and fertilisers, which cuts down on pollution in our soil and waterways. Shout out to this dedicated team for making the Johnsonville roundabout greener and more sustainable! 💛 📸 Tom Box #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

Today, the Council officially approved and accepted the 2024-34 Long-term Plan for the capital. Thank you all so much for your submissions and feedback over these past couple of months! You can read details of the adopted plan in the story below, and we'll have more information for you all after the long weekend. #OurWellington #TōTātoPōneke

One feature of our city which has long confused couriers and taxi drivers are named ‘streets’ which don’t actually exist as a physical road 🛣️ So how did these 'streets' come about, and what exactly is a ghost street? You'll find all the answers and more below! #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

The name, Te Whare Wai Para Nuku, was gifted during a Matariki ceremony at the Moa Point Sludge Minimisation Facility construction site this morning. Careful work and research has gone into ensuring that how the sludge is treated aligns with the values of mana whenua, and now the name of the facility will uphold those values too! Here's what it means: 🏠 Te Whare refers to the facility itself, and how it safely holds high volumes of kene (biosolids or sludge). 🌊 Wai Para describes the water left in the kene after it has been treated first in Te Whare Wai Tapu Noa/The wastewater treatment facility, and flows to Te Whare Wai Para Nuku. This is the water that’s not safe to go back into Tangaroa, the sea. 🗑️ Para is a word often used in relation to waste. In this context, para refers to the extracted kene from waimate (dead water, water that is deemed unsafe), like para is extracted from harakeke. ♻️ Nuku speaks to how the facility mimics natural decomposition processes and the technology that enables wai para and kene to go from a state of being tapu to noa before being used in a beneficial way. Te Whare Wai Para Nuku will use an anaerobic digestion process to help us deliver on two critical targets the Council has set for reducing waste and carbon emissions in Wellington City. It will reduce carbon emissions created by the treatment and processing by up to 60 percent, and it will reduce the volume of sludge produced by up to 80 percent! Learn more about the project on the Our Wellington news channel 👇 #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

There's lots going on in Te Ngākau Civic Square as we work to restore it to its place as the civic and cultural heart of the city 💓 There are now several closures in place to keep people safe while the demolition of the Civic Administration Building (CAB) gets underway. 🚷 The Victoria Street entrance to Te Ngākau Civic Square is closed to pedestrians. You can still enter and exit the square via Harris Street and the City to Sea Bridge. 🚗 A section of Wakefield Street is closed to traffic - from Victoria Street to the Municipal Office Building. It is still open to pedestrians. Once CAB is demolished by the end of 2024 and the Municipal Office Building (MOB) by the end of 2025, a developer will be building a new five-star green building on the site. The new building will bring life to Te Ngākau with around-the-clock activity, including retail, hospitality, co-working and office space - plus more green space 🌲 Find out more on the Our Wellington news channel 👇 #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke

Over the years, Animal Control Officer Steph Simon has had a number of odd call outs, but she’d never had to wrangle a quirky turkey 🦃 "It had been on this woman’s property for a few days, staring at its own reflection in her sliding glass doors.” When no one came forward to claim the Jville bird, it was taken to Moa Point for a little vacation - but don't worry! It won't be made into a Christmas dinner any day soon. Gobble up the rest of the story and hear about some of Steph's other bizarre animal encounters on the Our Wellington news channel 👇 #OurWellington #TōTātouPōneke #WorkingForWellington