Mount Victoria (Wellington hill)

Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria seen from Oriental Bay
Highest point
Elevation	196 m (643 ft)
Coordinates	41°17′46″S 174°47′46″E / 41.296056°S 174.796083°E / -41.296056; 174.796083
Geography
Location	North Island, New Zealand

Mount Victoria, also known as Matairangi and colloquially as Mt Vic, is a prominent 196-metre (643 ft) hill immediately to the east of central Wellington, New Zealand. About 4 kilometres due south is a spur named Mount Albert and the two are linked by a ridge. Mount Victoria gives its name to the suburb of Mount Victoria to the west.

History

Mount Victoria's original Māori name is Tangi Te Keo,^[1] though Matairangi is also used.^[2] The first name derives from a legend in which two taniwha tried to escape from Wellington Harbour which was then an enclosed lake. One taniwha became stranded and died, and its spirit turned into a bird named Te Keo, which flew to the top of the mountain and mourned (tangi).^[1] The second name translates as "to examine the sky".^[3]

In 1931, the Mount Victoria Tunnel was opened,^[4] connecting the suburbs of Mount Victoria and Hataitai.

Television broadcasts began in Wellington on 1 July 1961, broadcast from a transmitter atop Mount Victoria. In 1967, the Mount Victoria transmitter was replaced with a more powerful transmitter at Mount Kaukau.^[5]

Amenities

Mount Victoria is a popular walk for tourists and Wellingtonians alike, as from the summit one can see most of Wellington. There are numerous mountain bike and walking tracks on the hill.

Gallery

• 
  Mount Victoria in 1885
• 
  The New Zealand National Memorial to Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd
• 
  The Mount Victoria Transmission Tower
• 
  View of

  Wellington City

  from Mount Victoria

References