Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt | |
|---|---|
| Upper Hutt's location in New Zealand Upper Hutt's location in New Zealand | |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Region | Wellington |
| Territorial Authoritiy | Upper Hutt City |
| Suburbs | Te Marua, Akatarawa, Rimutaka, Parkdale, Emerald Hill, Birchville, Timberlea, Brown Owl, Kaitoke, Māoribank, Upper Hutt Central, Clouston Park, Mangaroa, Maymorn, Whitemans Valley, Totara Park, Kingsley Heights, Elderslea, Wallaceville ,Trentham, Heretaunga, Silverstream, Pinehaven. |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Wayne Guppy |
| Area | |
| • Land | 540 km2 (210 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 38,400 |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Postcode | 50xx, 53xx |
| Area code | 04 |
| Website | [1] |
Upper Hutt is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is part of Greater Wellington.
Geography
The city is 30 km north-east of Wellington, and is centred on the upper (northern) valley of the Hutt River, which flows north-east to south-west on its way to Wellington harbour. The Hutt Valley widens briefly into a 2500-m-wide floodplain between the Rimutaka and Akatarawa Ranges before constricting nine kilometres further downstream at the Taita Gorge, which separates Upper Hutt from its neighbour, Lower Hutt. The city's main urban area is on this plain. A smaller flood plain lies upstream, above the Kaitoke Gorge, but there is little development on it.
Upper Hutt City Council administers the city and the surrounding rural areas, parks and reserves. This area covers 540 km², the second-largest area covered by a city council in New Zealand, after Dunedin. New Zealand local authorities with a large land area are usually termed districts, but Upper Hutt maintains its status as a city largely because of its high degree of urbanisation.
Upper Hutt extends to the top of the Rimutaka saddle to the north-east and into the Akatarawa Valley and rough hill-country of the Akatarawa ranges to the north and north-west, almost reaching the Kapiti Coast close to Paekakariki.
People
The main urban area of the city has a population of 38,400, including people who live in the sparsely-populated regions beyond the upper Hutt Valley plain.
Suburbs
The main suburbs of Upper Hutt, from north-east to south-west, include:
- Te Marua, Akatarawa, Rimutaka, Parkdale, Emerald Hill, Birchville, Timberlea, Brown Owl, Kaitoke, Māoribank, Upper Hutt Central, Clouston Park, Mangaroa, Maymorn, Whitemans Valley, Totara Park, Kingsley Heights, Elderslea, Wallaceville ,Trentham, Heretaunga, Silverstream and Pinehaven.
Developments in the area include Mount Marua, Marua Downs, Waitoka Estate, and Riverstone Terraces. A development called The Lanes was proposed but never completed.
History
Upper Hutt is in an area originally known as Orongomai, and that of the river was Heretaunga (still the name of a suburb of Upper Hutt). The first residents of the area were Māori of the Ngai Tara iwi. Various other iwi controlled the area in the years before 1840, and by the time the first colonial settlers arrived the area was part of the Te Atiawa rohe.
Richard Barton, who settled at Trentham in 1841 in the area now known as Barton's Bush, was the first European resident. Barton subsequently subdivided his land and set aside a large area that was turned into parkland. James Brown settled in the area that became the Upper Hutt town in 1848.
The railway line from Wellington reached Upper Hutt on 1 February 1876. The line was extended to Kaitoke at the top end of the valley over the next two years, reaching there on 1 January 1878. The line continued over the Rimutaka Ranges to Featherston in the Wairarapa, opening on 12 October 1878.
Upper Hutt was originally part of Hutt County, which was constituted in 1877. The Town Board was proclaimed on 24 April 1908. Upper Hutt became a Borough on 26 February 1926 and a City on 2 May 1966.
The northern parts of Hutt County's Rimutaka Riding were included in the city on 1 April 1973. This expansion produced the second-largest land area of any New Zealand city. The area administered by the Heretaunga-Pinehaven District Community Council was added when the Hutt County Council was abolished on 1 November 1988. On 1 November 1989 the Heretaunga-Pinehaven District Community Council was abolished producing the city in its current form.
Towards the end of the 1980s significant travel delays were being experienced with road access to Upper Hutt. With central government reluctant to fund any road improvements in the area, Upper Hutt City Council commissioned the construction of a high-speed bypass that became known as the River Road. The road promptly ran at full capacity and, after several serious accidents that were a legacy of its origins, it was enlarged and re-engineered to cope with the growing traffic volume.
Upper Hutt is in the bed of an ancient river flood plain and as such was prone to flooding. In the 1970s and 1980s, a stop bank was built alongside the eastern side of the river from northern Upper Hutt to the mouth of the Hutt River in Lower Hutt to prevent further flooding.
Railway
Upper Hutt is on the Hutt Valley Railway Lines, with half-hourly daytime electric services operated by Tranz Metro, which reach Lower Hutt in around 20 minutes and Wellington in around 45 minutes. Many commuters, however, still use their cars.
The railroad continues beyond Upper Hutt to Masterton, becoming the Wairarapa Line, but without the suburban electrification. Masterton is about an hour away by morning and afternoon diesel trains. There are services five times a day each way Monday to Thursday, six on Friday, and twice a day each way on Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays. A notable feature of this section of railway is the Rimutaka Tunnel, the second-longest railway tunnel in New Zealand, which replaced the Rimutaka Incline.
Rimutaka Incline
To assist with the 1 in 15 grade of the Rimutaka Incline on the Featherston side of the range, Fell engines that used a raised centre rail to haul trains up the steep grade were employed. The less steep 1 in 40 grades between Upper Hutt and the small settlement and shunting yard at Summit could be managed by ordinary steam locomotives. The only other rolling stock able to traverse the incline unaided were small bus-like Wairarapa railcars, colloquially known as "Tin Hares".
By the 1950s the Fell system had become too expensive to operate and was closed on 29 October 1955. To replace it, the Rimutaka Tunnel had been constructed, opening on 3 November 1955. In conjunction with the tunnel, the laying of a new route, new bridges and substantial realignment, and double-tracking of the rest of the line from Wellington as far as Trentham station had occurred by 26 June 1955.
The course of the incline is open to the public as part of the Rimutaka Rail Trail.
Sports and recreation
Walking and mountain-biking is popular along the Hutt River and on the tracks in many parks, including Karapoti (focal point of the annual Karapoti Classic), Kaitoke, Cannons Point, Tunnel Gully and the Rimutaka Rail Trail. Popular team sports include Cricket, Netball, Rugby, Rugby league, Soccer, and Valley Gridiron American football.
Popular recreation sites include:
- Royal Wellington Golf Club at Heretaunga
- Te Marua Golf Club at Te Marua
- Wellington Family Speedway at Te Marua
- Wellington Racing Club at Trentham
- Trentham Memorial Park at Trentham
- Upper Hutt Rugby Football Club at Maidstone Park, Upper Hutt
- Maoribank Rugby Football Club at Maoribank, Upper Hutt
Secondary schools
- Heretaunga College
- Hutt International Boys' School, Trentham
- St. Patrick's College, Silverstream
- Upper Hutt College
Sister Cities
Mesa, Arizona, United States
External links
 |