New Zealand Cities

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New Zealand Cities by Population

128 cities shown of 128 total New Zealand cities that are over 1,000 in population...

1. Auckland 417,910
2. Wellington 381,900
3. Christchurch 363,926
4. Manukau City 362,000
5. North Shore 207,865
6. Waitakere 204,500
7. Hamilton 152,641
8. Dunedin 114,347
9. Tauranga 110,338
10. Lower Hutt 101,194
11. Palmerston North 75,996
12. Rotorua 65,901
13. Hastings 61,696
14. Nelson 59,200
15. Napier 56,787
16. Mangere 55,266
17. Porirua 50,914
18. Whangarei 50,900
19. New Plymouth 49,168
20. Invercargill 47,287
21. Wanganui 40,268
22. Upper Hutt 38,400
23. Gisborne 34,274
24. Papakura 28,010
25. Timaru 28,007
26. Blenheim 26,550
27. Paraparaumu 25,263
28. Taupo 22,469
29. Pukekohe East 21,438
30. Masterton 20,698
31. Levin 19,789
32. Whakatane 18,602
33. Taradale 16,599
34. Cambridge 15,192
35. Tokoroa 14,277
36. Karori 14,013
37. Richmond 14,000
38. Oamaru 13,000
39. Gore 12,108
40. Hawera 11,068
41. Takanini 10,870
42. Queenstown 10,442
43. Kaiapoi 10,200

44. Greymouth 9,419
45. Pakuranga 8,907
46. Waiuku 7,555
47. Motueka 7,485
48. Thames 7,136
49. Kawerau 6,702
50. Petone 6,609
51. Waitara 6,318
52. Matamata 6,306
53. Waitangi 6,288
54. Otaki 6,086
55. Kerikeri 5,654
56. Ngaruawahia 5,106
57. Foxton 4,780
58. Dargaville 4,672
59. Waihi 4,619
60. Balclutha 4,441
61. Wanaka 4,428
62. Tamaki 4,263
63. Wairoa 4,260
64. Whangamata 4,253
65. Opotiki 4,044
66. Paeroa 3,994
67. Brooklyn 3,855
68. Wiri 3,768
69. Kelburn 3,642
70. Westport 3,629
71. Warkworth 3,441
72. Turangi 3,401
73. Hokitika 3,401
74. Whitianga 3,367
75. Titirangi 3,330
76. Katikati 3,232
77. Rolleston 3,124
78. Woodend 3,059
79. Picton 3,000
80. Raglan 2,863
81. Waimate North 2,799
82. Otorohanga 2,673
83. Red Hill 2,556
84. Muriwai Beach 2,402
85. Lincoln 2,235
86. Eltham 2,235

87. Winton 2,193
88. Kaikoura 2,172
89. Arrowtown 2,151
90. Te Anau 2,074
91. Waihi Beach 2,014
92. Milton 2,009
93. Wellsford 1,986
94. Paihia 1,944
95. Bluff 1,938
96. Waipawa 1,899
97. Murupara 1,876
98. Mapua 1,819
99. Bulls 1,781
100. Oxford 1,776
101. Taipa 1,731
102. Castlepoint 1,686
103. Brightwater 1,677
104. Wakefield 1,663
105. Moerewa 1,662
106. Riverton 1,651
107. Edgecumbe 1,642
108. Darfield 1,593
109. Tairua 1,588
110. Coromandel 1,502
111. Opunake 1,495
112. Kawakawa 1,399
113. Parakai 1,390
114. Ngunguru 1,358
115. Waiouru 1,347
116. Patea 1,286
117. Leeston 1,272
118. Burnham 1,239
119. Methven 1,236
120. Takaka 1,223
121. Pleasant Point 1,187
122. Te Kauwhata 1,174
123. Ngatea 1,151
124. Amberley 1,105
125. Ahipara 1,093
126. Maketu 1,083
127. Rakaia 1,043
128. Maungatapere 1,007

New Zealand History

It is unknown whether Mori had a name for New Zealand as a whole before the arrival of Europeans, although they referred to the North Island as Te Ika a Mui and the South Island as Te Wai Pounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki. Until the early 20th century, the North Island was also referred to as Aotearoa; in modern Mori usage, this name refers to the whole country. Aotearoa is also commonly used in this sense in New Zealand English."

The first European name for New Zealand was Staten Landt, the name given to it by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European to see the islands. Tasman assumed it was part of a southern continent connected with land discovered in 1615 off the southern tip of South America by Jacob Le Maire. The name New Zealand originated with Dutch cartographers, who called the islands Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. No one is certain exactly who first coined the term, but it first appeared in 1645 and may have been the choice of cartographer Johan Blaeu. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand. There is no connection to the Danish island Zealand.

New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major landmasses. The first settlers of New Zealand were Eastern Polynesians who came to New Zealand, probably in a series of migrations, sometime between around 700 and 2000 years ago. Over the following centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Mori. The population was divided into Iwi and hap which would co-operate, compete and sometimes fight with each other. At some point a group of Mori migrated to the Chatham Islands where they developed their own distinct Moriori culture.

The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642. Mori killed several of the crew and no Europeans returned to New Zealand until British explorer James Cook's voyage of 176871. Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing and trading ships. They traded European food and goods, especially metal tools and weapons, for Mori timber, food, artefacts and water. On occasion, Europeans traded goods for sex. The potato and the musket transformed Mori agriculture and warfare, although the resulting Musket Wars died out once the tribal imbalance of arms had been rectified. From the early nineteenth century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Mori population, who had become disillusioned with their indigenous faith by the introduction of Western culture.