After the local government reforms of 1989, the term "city" began to take on two meanings in New Zealand. Before 1989, a borough council with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a city. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so little distinction was made between the urban area and the local government area.

In 1989, the structure of the local governments in New Zealand was significantly reorganized. The new district councils and city councils were nearly always much larger geographically, and they covered both urban land and the surrounding rural land. Many locations that once had had a "city council" are now being governed by a "district council".

The word "city" began to be used in a less formal sense to describe the urban areas of New Zealand independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded. The district government of the town of Gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first "city" in the world to see the new millennium. However, Gisborne is governed by a "district council", but its status as a city is not generally disputed in New Zealand.

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with 1,377,200 residents, 31 percent of the country's population. Auckland has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world.

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is home to 393,400 residents. The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island,

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's third-largest urban area. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch

Tauranga

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand. It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963.

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons.

Palmerston North

Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of 82,400 (June 2011 estimate)[1] and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area

Nelson

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island

Rotorua

Rotorua (from Māori: Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe, "The second great lake of Kahumatamomoe") is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand.

New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated.

Whangarei

Whangarei is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District

Gisborne

Gisborne is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne Region. It has a population of 34,300. The district council has its headquarters in the city.

Invercargill

Invercargill (Māori: 'Waihōpai')[2] is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region.

Whanganui

Whanganui About this sound pronunciation , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region

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Last Updated: 30 November 2009

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