Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in No Māori lived in the area when the first European settlers came to Karori in the 1840s. The first settler in Karori cleared 20 acres of forest on his section with his younger brother Moses and advertised its sale in December 1841.
Amenities in Karori include a community garden, a library, a swimming pool, and several church buildings.
History Origins The name Karori is a corruption of the Māori phrase meaning 'the place of many bird snares'. Originally forested, Māori used the Karori area for hunting. It also had tracks crossing it that led to Māori pā on the west coast.Karori Local History, Wellington City Library, retrieved 20 February 2020
No Māori lived in the area when the first European settlers came to Karori in the 1840s. Settlers bought land from the New Zealand Company, the area was included in their Port Nicholson Block deal. The first settler in Karori, John Yule of Glasgow, cleared 20 acres of forest on his section with his younger brother Moses and advertised its sale in December 1841. By 1845, ten 100-acre sections were being taken up and sub-divided, and Karori boasted 215 inhabitants – 109 of them under the age of 14 years.
In 1845 a group of armed police from Wellington constructed a small fortified post that became known as "The Stockade" in response to fears of attacks from nearby Māori insurgents. While there were no attacks, the stockade was used for a church service and to grind grain. The stockade was located on Mr Chapman's land, about halfway along what is now Marsden Avenue.Karori Stockade, retrieved 25 July 2017
The first mental hospital in Wellington was built in 1854. By 1871 it had 23 inmates and was run by untrained staff, which resulted in the first matron and her husband being dismissed in 1872 because of cruelty. In 1873 the asylum moved from Karori to the site of present-day Government House in central Wellington. Karori School took over the asylum site in 1875.
Frederick Mackie in his book Traveller under concern described Karori in the 1850s:
"The walk was highly romantic. The road is cut out of the sides of steep hills covered with forest. The ever-winding road, the steep declivities, the forest above and below you, and the continual murmur of streams concealed in the depths below were very pleasing, as every few yards a new scene and fresh objects were brought to view. In one spot I obtained a view of the harbour, which today was like a bright glassy lake, and beyond it were the lofty ranges of the snow-clad Rimutaka and Tararuas, partly glistening in the sun and partly shrouded in cloud."
Karori gold rush Karori experienced a gold rush when the valley of the Upper Kaiwharawhara Stream became subject to intensive gold-mining activity between 1869 and 1873. This activity eventually led to the building of the lower Karori Dam (now part of Zealandia) in 1873. At the height of the rush, about 200 men worked the claims, driving shafts and drives up to 500 feet in length into the hills.
Karori remained isolated from the city due to the rough terrain and lack of transportation.
Growth and subdivision In 1888 a syndicate purchased section 34, which was the closest to town (running from present day Ponsonby Road to Cooper Street). The new owners prepared the land for sale by building roads and naming them after the members of the syndicate and their families, and by running a marketing campaign, including providing free buses from Manners Street and writing poems: In far-famed New Zealand, the evergreen free land Most favoured and beautiful Queen of the wave, Where the sun ever smiling, bad weather beguiling, Brightly shines on the face of the honest and brave. Tho' for Europe's bold races there are plenty of places Adapted as homes for the great and the small, Yet, for onward progressing and bountiful blessing There is one whose position is far before all. So haste where kind Nature's arrayed in her glory, To pleasant, romantic, suburban Karori.
Climate
Governance Karori Borough, 1891–1920 Karori was a part of Hutt County from the county's establishment in 1877 to 1891 when Karori was declared a separate borough following a petition in favour of forming a borough with 123 signatories. A counter-petition garnered 41 signatories.
List of mayors of Karori Borough No.NameTerm 1 Stephen Lancaster October 1892 – December 1894 2 Richard Bulkley December 1894 – April 1900 3 Francis John McDonald April 1900 – November 1901 4 Everard Cecil Farr November 1901 – May 1902 5 James Bock Tarr May 1902 – April 1903 6 William Henry Tisdall April 1903 – May 1904 7 Archibald Cameron Pearce May 1904 – May 1908 8 Cyril Irwin Dasent May 1908 – May 1911 9 Charles Cathie May 1911 – May 1914 10 William Thomas Hildreth May 1914 – May 1915 11 Benjamin George H. Burn May 1915 – April 1920
Amalgamation with Wellington, 1920 Both Wellington and Karori expanded towards each other, the two urban areas becoming gradually connected, aided by the opening of the Karori tunnel in 1900, and the Borough of Karori amalgamated with the City of Wellington in 1920.
Demographics Karori, comprising the statistical areas of Karori Park, Karori West, Karori North, Karori South and Karori East, covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Karori had a population of 14,769 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 462 people (−3.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 90 people (0.6%) since the 2013 census. There were 7,146 males, 7,431 females, and 192 people of other genders in 5,334 dwellings. 7.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 39.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 2,649 people (17.9%) aged under 15 years, 3,084 (20.9%) aged 15 to 29, 6,978 (47.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,055 (13.9%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 75.0% European (Pākehā); 6.7% Māori; 3.8% Pasifika; 20.6% Asian; 3.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.4%, Māori by 2.0%, Samoan by 1.1%, and other languages by 24.2%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 35.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 28.2% Christian, 2.9% Hindu, 1.6% Islam, 0.2% Māori religious beliefs, 1.8% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, 0.5% Jewish, and 1.5% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 58.0%, and 4.9% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 6,567 (54.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 4,101 (33.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,443 (11.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $58,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 3,447 people (28.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 6,834 (56.4%) full-time, 1,749 (14.4%) part-time, and 285 (2.4%) unemployed.
+Individual statistical areasName Area(km2) Population Density(per km2) Dwellings Median age Medianincome Karori Park 1.16 2,556 2,203 927 37.1 years $54,500 Karori West 1.06 2,718 2,564 1,017 36.1 years $52,200 Karori North 1.62 2,568 1,585 942 41.0 years $65,400 Karori South 1.21 3,462 2,861 1,224 38.8 years $59,400 Karori East 1.23 3,459 2,812 1,221 43.6 years $61,700 New Zealand 38.1 years $41,500
Karori Historical Society Karori Historical Society is one of many historical societies of Aotearoa New Zealand, membership application is open to all residents and citizens of New Zealand. The activities include publishing books about the history of Karori and there are many titles listed on their website for example Karori and its People and Karori Streets 1841–1991. The book Karori Streets was updated in 2019 and is about the European settlement of the suburb. Original authors are Will Chapman and historian Katherine (Kitty) Wood who was born in 1912. Judith Burch is the president of Karori historical society and co-author of the book, Karori and its People. The other author is Jan Heynes, also the vice president of the society. Heynes has family connections in Karori from in the early 1900s through the Kirkcaldie family.
Facilities
Parks and reserves Zealandia (formerly called the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary) is an enclosed restoration project focusing on the flora and fauna that inhabited the valley before human settlement.
Karori Park, on Karori Road features a football and cricket sports ground, all-weather track, changing rooms and play area.
Ben Burn Park, on Campbell Street features a football and cricket sports ground, changing rooms, athletics, play area and artificial cricket surfaces.
Wrights Hill Reserve in southern Karori features mountain bike and walking tracks and the historic Wrights Hill Fortress with a network of tunnels and gun emplacements overlooking the valley.
Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park in southern Karori has over of mountain bike and walking tracks built by the mountain biking community and is recognised as a world-class area dedicated to mountain biking.
Karori pool Karori pool is a modern indoor swimming complex with a 25-metre heated pool, learners' pool, toddlers' pool, spa pool and a 30-metre hydro-slide. The pool was originally an outdoor facility first opened in 1936. The pool was converted to an indoor pool in 2001 and additional work in 2010 added the hydro-slide. The pool is home to the Karori Pirates swimming club.
Shopping The centre of Karori contains a basic shopping mall with two supermarkets (New World & Woolworths), a Council-operated library (containing a café), a recreation centre and other amenities.
Library Karori Library opened in the 1840s, operating out of the community hall at the site of the present day library on Karori Road. In November 2005, the current two-level library and café were opened. The architects were Warren and Mahoney and the building received critical acclaim receiving this review in Architecture New Zealand: "The Karori library is a box of light that shines brightly in an overcast suburb. The relationship to the street is a model for all those who design for the outer city."
Community garden The Karori Community Garden was founded in 2015 by Paul Stevenson. It is located at 21 Beauchamp Street, behind the Beauchamp Street Chapel.
Churches and cemeteries
Karori Cemetery is the second-largest in New Zealand. Opened in 1891, it replaced the cemetery at Bolton Street as the main burial ground for the inhabitants of Wellington. The Karori Crematorium, opened in 1909, was the first crematorium in New Zealand. It covers 100 acres / 40 hectares. The Small Chapel contains excellent stained glass windows designed by Wilhelmina Geddes. The cemetery contains the war graves of 267 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 123 of World War II, in separate plots for each war, the plots being linked by the Wellington Provincial Memorial (in the form of a marble archway) which commemorates 65 World War I and 20 World War II military personnel from the Wellington Military District who died abroad and have no known grave (most were buried at sea). Karori Cemetery "closed" in 1965 for the establishment of new burial plots, but interments in established graves continue.