Kelburn, New Zealand

Suburb:	Kelburn
City:	Wellington
Island:	North Island
Surrounded by - to the north - to the east - to the south - to the west	Northland, Thorndon Te Aro, CBD Brooklyn, Aro Valley Karori, Taitville

Kelburn is an inner suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located on the hills to the west of the Central Business District.

Features of Kelburn

Though its population is not large, the suburb has a number of distinguishing features.

The Wellington Cable Car is a tourist attraction and essential transport facility. It runs from Lambton Quay in the CBD up the hill for 800 m, crossing the Wellington Urban Motorway as it does so. Its terminal is close to the Wellington Botanic Garden and the Carter Observatory. Both of these are popular destinations for locals and visitors alike.

The main campus of Victoria University of Wellington is located in the east of the suburb, and the second-top stop of the Cable Car is an easy access.

Other features include Kelburn Viaduct, one of the oldest bridges of its type in New Zealand, connecting to Karori, and the Kelburn shopping area.

Demographics

Due to Kelburn's proximity to the University, many students live in flats here. It is also the home of many upper-middle class families due to the views of Wellington, the Wellington Botanic Garden, proximity to town and the high level of sunshine in the top parts (there are also a number of glens). A large number of academics also call Kelburn home, resulting in a diverse community. The 2006 census gives the population of Kelburn as approximately 3,600.

History

Kelburn was one of the earliest settled suburbs of Wellington, due its close proximity to the main government/commercial district of Wellington. It is widely believed that the suburb was named after David Boyle, Lord Kelburne, Governor-General of New Zealand between 1892-1897. At some point in time the 'e' was dropped due to the confusion with the suburb of Kilbirnie, leaving the modern suburb name as 'Kelburn'. For example early photographs of the Wellington Cable Car show the sign writing on the side using the spelling 'Kelburne'.

Boundaries

Kelburn's boundaries form an approximate triangle, with the motorway defining the east boundary, Glenmore St defining the North-West boundary, and the ridgelines of the hills above Aro Valley forming the South boundary. [http://www.wellington.govt.nz/maps/pdfs/suburbs/aro-kelburn.pdf 1]