How topography defines the shape of Wellington and measures taken to overcome constraints
Wellington’s Location
Learning Intentions: Students are learning to
- Explain what a hinterland is and what goods and services were and are still exchanged between Wellington and its immediate hinterland of the Wairarapa, Kapiti and to some extent Porirua.
- Complete a graphic organiser to show the exchange of goods and services between the significant hinterlands and Wellington using information from DVD footage.
Success criteria (How do students know they have achieved success?)
- Students will be able to complete a definition of a hinterland or sphere of influence.
- Students will be able to describe the relationship Wellington has with its immediate hinterland and name some of the goods and services that these hinterlands provide for the city. This knowledge can be tested through short quiz or a geographic essay taken from a previous examination paper.
Relevant Film Archive Footage
Disk One Expansion and Infrastructure after WWII: Hinterland:
- Wairarapa: Passing of the Fells
- The Farm connection: A NZ Station
- Kapiti: NZ Diary No 2
Disk Two: Economic Characteristics:
- Porirua City (View relevant historical section only)
Activities
- Students view footage and use Handout 1-2 to organise and list the goods and services that flowed from the immediate hinterland to Wellington.
- Complete Handout 3-4 diagrams for Wellington’s wider sphere of influence.
Handouts
Teacher Notes
The situation of a settlement is its position in relation to the surrounding human and physical features, many of which will have an impact on the settlement's type, size and function.
Wellington’s hinterland expanded with the opening up of transport links to the Wairarapa. In 1858 a road was built over the Rimutaka Range to the Wairarapa and in 1878 it was joined by a railway. This improved access encouraged farming in the Wairarapa. Between 1864 and 1868 the number of cattle in the Wellington Province increased from 49,000 to 186,000. While this was a significant event for decreasing the time for the transport of produce and people, the Wairarapa had already been playing an important role in Wellington’s growth and expansion since the late 1800s.
Access to the Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua was more slow. In 1879, the government began building a railway to the Manawatu via Kapiti but this became too expensive because of the narrow coastal strip and many tunnels needed. Eventually a private rail company The Wellington and Manawatū Railway Company run and managed by Wellington businessmen completed the project in 1886. The new railway gave access to the area and paved the way for settlement and an increase in farming. Sheep, horticulture and dairying developed and Otaki and Paekakariki became rural service centres.
Refer to this website for a more detailed history of the development of the Kapiti Coast http://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/DistrictDevelopment/History/
