1865 Wellington named capital
Wellington was New Zealand's third capital. The first was Okiato in the Bay of Islands. However, Governor Hobson considered it to be too far from the rest of the colony and inappropriately sited, being within the territory of the dominant Ngā Puhi. The next choice was Auckland, with its large harbour, access to the western coast and absence of substantial Māori settlements, and the capital was re-established there by September 1840.
However, in 1863, parliamentarian Alfred Domett, conscious of the distance between Auckland and the centre of the country - and that the pastoral and economic base was then in the South Island and sometimes threatening to break away – moved a resolution that "it has become necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait". Australian commissioners confirmed that Wellington, with its suitable harbour and central location, would be the best choice.
Parliament sat in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865, a year before it was recognised as a city.
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