Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand, is the most southerly national capital in the world. It was named after the famous duke, who was named after his estate in Somerset.

After the institution of British rule in 1840, the capital was in the far north for a couple of years then in Auckland but moved to Wellington within a few years after that because of its central location in a very long thin country where the only convenient means of travel was by ship.

Central Wellington houses the National Archives and the office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Pay $20 for an inspection! Or find a cheaper way to get much the same information.

The name also applies to the whole local government region, including the adjoining cities Porirua to the north and Lower Hutt to the north-east, Upper Hutt City even further to the north-east up the Hutt River, and four distant districts. To the west and south lies Cook Strait (though the height of its swells often belies that word "lie"), while to the east is the harbour.