List of cities in New Zealand

A map showing many major cities and towns of New Zealand

The word "city" began to take on two meanings in New Zealand after the local government reforms of 1989. Before the reforms, a borough council with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a city. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so there was little difference between the urban area and the local government area.

In 1989, the structure of the local governments in New Zealand was significantly reorganized. The new district councils and city councils were nearly always much larger geographically, and they covered both urban land and the surrounding rural land. Many locations that once had had a "city council" are now governed by a "district council".

The word "city" began to be used in a less formal sense to describe the urban areas of New Zealand, independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded. The district government of the town of Gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first "city" in the world to see the new millennium. However, Gisborne is governed by a "district council", though its status as a city is not generally disputed in New Zealand.^{citation needed}

Urban areas by population

The populations given in the table below are provisional New Zealand resident populations, June 2012 estimates, and they refer to the entire urban area, unless otherwise stated.

Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand

Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand

Christchurch

Hamilton

Napier

Hastings

Tauranga

Panorama of Dunedin

Palmerston North

Nelson

Rotorua from Mt. Ngongotaha

New Plymouth

Whangarei

Invercargill

Whanganui from Durie Hill

Gisborne

Rank (population)	Urban area	Population	Area (km²)	Population density (people/km²)	Notes
1	Auckland	70061397300000000001,397,300	70031086000000000001,086	70031286600000999991,286.6
2	Wellington	7005395600000000000395,600	7002444000000000000444	7002891000000000000891.0	1.
3	Christchurch	7005375900000000000375,900	7002608000000000000608	7002618290000000000618.3
4	Hamilton	7005209300000000000209,300	7002877000000000000877	7002238700000000000238.7	2.
5	Napier-Hastings	7005125000000000000125,000	7002375000000000000375	7002333300000000000333.3	3.
6	Tauranga	7005122200000000000122,200	7002178000000000000178	7002686500000000000686.5
7	Dunedin	7005118400000000000118,400	7002255000000000000255	7002464300000000000464.3
8	Palmerston North	700483300000000000083,300	7002178000000000000178	7002468000000000000468.0
9	Nelson	700461100000000000061,100	7002146000000000000146	7002418500000000000418.5
10	Rotorua	700456100000000000056,100	700189000000000000089	7002630290000000000630.3
11	New Plymouth	700453000000000000053,000	7002112000000000000112	7002473200000000000473.2
12	Whangarei	700452500000000000052,500	7002133000000000000133	7002394700000000000394.7
13	Invercargill	700449000000000000049,000	7002123000000000000123	7002398400000000000398.4
14	Whanganui (Wanganui)	700439500000000000039,500	7002105000000000000105	7002376200000000000376.2
15	Gisborne	700434400000000000034,400	700185000000000000085	7002404700000000000404.7

Notes:

1. Kapiti urban area (40,300) is the only Statistics New Zealand main urban area not listed. It spans the towns of Paekakariki, Paraparaumu, Raumati and Waikanae, and is not considered to be a city. It is considered by most Wellingtonians to be part of the Greater Wellington area – though not by Statistics New Zealand. Hundreds of people there commute daily to Wellington for work, and the suburban commuter railroad network ends in the Kapiti area. If Kapiti were added to Wellington the total population of the Wellington urban area would be approximately 430,000.
2. The population for the Hamilton urban zone is 176,900, the Cambridge urban zone is 16,950 and the Te Awamutu urban zone is 15,550.
3. The population figures for the Hastings urban zone is 66,200, and for Napier 58,800.
4. Blenheim (30,500) is sometimes referred to as a city, especially by locals, although its former borough council was never proclaimed a city.
5. Timaru (27,800) once had a city council, but is now administered by a district council. It is classified as a secondary urban area by Statistics New Zealand. It is still considered a city and the principal centre of South Canterbury. Road signs state "city centre" rather than "town centre".
6. Pukekohe, a town not far south of Auckland, has an estimated population of 26,600.
7. Taupo (22,800) is rarely referred to as a city.
8. Masterton (20,300), the main centre in the Wairarapa, is rarely referred to as a city.
9. Levin (19,600), the main centre in the Horowhenua district, is not considered to be a city.
10. Tokoroa was long expected to become a city when its population continued to grow past 18,000 during the 1980s. However, with the fallback in the forestry industry, Tokoroa's main industry, many jobs were lost and Tokoroa's population declined. It now has 13,300 residents.

City councils

The populations given are the Statistics New Zealand estimated resident population (June 2012 estimate).

City Council	Population	First Proclaimed	Ranking (size)
Auckland	70061507700000000001,507,700	1871	1
Hamilton	7005148200000000000148,200	1936	4
Tauranga	7005116400000000000116,400	1963	6
Napier	700457800000000000057,800	1950	9
Palmerston North	700485300000000000085,300	1930	8
Porirua	700453000000000000053,000	1965	11
Upper Hutt	700441600000000000041,600	1966	13
Lower Hutt	7005102700000000000102,700	1941	7
Wellington	7005202200000000000202,200	1870	3
Nelson	700446600000000000046,600	1874	12
Christchurch	7005363200000000000363,200	1868	2
Dunedin	7005126900000000000126,900	1865	5
Invercargill	700452900000000000052,900	1930	10

Many cities were reorganised into districts by the Local Government Commission in 1989 under the Local Government Act 1974, for example, Timaru. The most recently proclaimed city is Tauranga, which became a city, for the second time, from 1 March 2004. Another former city is Rotorua. Some present cities, such as Christchurch (1862 and 1868) and Invercargill (1930 and 1991), have been declared cities more than once.

Under Section 27 of the Local Government Act 2002, a district may become a city by either a reorganisation scheme with the Local Government Commission, or under Section 27(1) it may apply for a change in status under Schedule 3, Clause 7. The new city must have 'a population of not less than 50,000 persons', be 'predominantly urban' and 'a distinct entity and a major centre of activity within the region' (or regions) that it is encompassed by. Existing cities are grandfathered under Schedule 2, Part 2 of the Act. The only new city council so far under this section is the Tauranga City Council, from 1 March 2004.

Previously, under Section 37L of the Local Government Act 1974, new cities could only be formed from a reorganisation scheme. The same criteria were used. The last city to be constituted under this section was Invercargill, which was re-reorganised into a city in 1991.

In 1991 the Lower Hutt City Council became the Hutt City Council by a special Act of Parliament [1] that which did not change the name [2] of the city of Lower Hutt; the city's coat of arms still refers to the City of Lower Hutt.

Cities during provincialism, 1852 to 1876

During provincialism in New Zealand, from 1852 until abolition in 1876, there was no uniform system of local authorities in New Zealand. There is thus some argument over which of the following cities was the first.

• Nelson (1858, by Letters Patent)
• Christchurch (November 1862, revoked June 1868, both by provincial ordinance, and restored October 1868 by Act of Parliament)
• Otago (later Dunedin) (July 1865)

The Municipal Corporations Act 1876 included the first schedule of cities, with the dates they were constituted. Dunedin was the first city in New Zealand to be described in an Act of Parliament as 'City of...', something now automatic under the Local Government Act 2002.

• Dunedin (4 July 1865)
• Christchurch (28 May 1868)
• Wellington (16 September 1870)
• Auckland (24 April 1871)
• Nelson (30 March 1874)

Cities, 1877 to 1989

Up to October 1989, the Local Government Commission undertook reorganisations of local government. As a result, some cities were reorganised into other cities or changed to districts, and some of these areas are still considered cities by many New Zealanders. This is a list as at circa 1986.

• North Island
  • Whangarei (1964)
  • Auckland
    • Auckland (1871)
    • East Coast Bays
    • Takapuna
    • Birkenhead
    • Waitemata (1974)
    • Mt Albert
    • Papatoetoe
    • Manukau (1965)
    • Papakura
    • Tamaki
  • Hamilton (1936)
  • New Plymouth (1949)
  • Tauranga (1963)
  • Rotorua (1962, merged into Rotorua District, 1979)
  • Gisborne (1955)
  • Napier (1950)
  • Hastings (1956)
  • Wanganui (1924)
  • Palmerston North (1930)
  • Wellington
    • Wellington (1870)
    • Upper Hutt (1966)
    • Lower Hutt (1941)
    • Porirua (1965)
• South Island
  • Nelson (1874)
  • Christchurch (1868)
  • Timaru (1948)
  • Dunedin (1865)
  • Invercargill (1930)

See also

• List of cities in Oceania
• City status in the United Kingdom
• List of towns in New Zealand
• List of main streets of New Zealand cities
• List of cities in the Cook Islands
• List of cities in Niue
• List of cities in Tokelau
• Ranked list of New Zealand urban areas
• Territorial Authorities of New Zealand

References

• Gordon McLauchlan (Editor), Illustrated Encyclopedia of New Zealand, The, Auckland: David Bateman, 1989 (second edition) (ISBN 1-86953-007-1) - confirmation, pre-1989 dates

External links

• Statistics New Zealand Subnational Population Estimates
• Tauranga status change, 2003 - specific details
  • Local Government (Tauranga City Council) Order 2003 (Governor-General's Order-in-Council, 2 October 2003)
  • Local Government Commission press release (PDF)
  • Local Government Commission decision full text (PDF)
  • Tauranga's city status returns (New Zealand Herald, 12 August 2003)
• Local Government Online Limited site - confirmation, post-1989 council names
• Map