The first Europeans to establish a settlement in the area now known as Wellington was an advance party of the New Zealand Company who arrived on the ship Tory on September 20th 1839. Having decided it was a good place to start a permanent settlement, the main settlers were dispatched from England. 

The Aurora left Gravesend, England on September 18th 1839 with 148 emigrants and 21 crew aboard. Four months later, they arrived at Port Nicholson (now Wellington Harbour) on January 22nd 1840, where they were greeted by local Maori chiefs. 

In November 1840, the settlers named the town they founded Wellington, in honour of the first Duke of Wellington, who had been victorious at Waterloo some 25 years earlier. 

Now days the Maroi name “Te Whanganui a Tara” is being used which means the great Harbour of Tara. The Tararua Mountains that divide the Wellington Region from east to west are named after him also 

The world’s wind capital is located in the Roaring Forties region – between the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees – where gale-force westerly winds often travel. 

When they pass South Australia, they are channeled through the Cook Strait, between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, and hit Wellington at full speed after being squeezed by the nearby mountains. 

233: the number of days winds reached gale-force speed (33.4 knots, 62km/h) in Wellington’s windiest year 
173: the number of days a year with wind gusts greater than 32.3 knots (60 km/h) 
133.9 knots (248 km/h): the highest wind gust ever recorded in Wellington (Hawkins Hill) 
63.01 knots (116.7 km/h): the highest wind gust ever at Wellington International Airport 
37 percent of all Wellington wind blows from the north 
22 days per year with mean wind speed over 40 knots (63 km/h) 
15.6 knots (29 km/h): the average wind speed at the Wellington International Airport