Mount Cook, Wellington

After being settled by Māori since roughly 1350 CE, the Mount Cook area was situated on a fertile hill, just south of Te Aro Pā. The hill was the origin-point of the original survey marks through Wellington. It was given its current name by the New Zealand Company, after Captain James Cook (the mountain in the South Island was named separately), and was the site of a large British military base, and later a prison that was "loathed by Wellingtonians", and demolished in 1931.^[3][4] A still-standing police station was constructed nearby in 1894, built with bricks made by prisoners at the gaol.^[5]

During the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Mt Cook became a favoured suburb of Wellington's elite, and many palatial mansions, such as the timber houses known as "painted ladies", were constructed along the Kent and Edward Terrace rivers; After the Earthquake of 1855, many were built around what was now the Basin Reserve. Densely populated mid-to-postwar Wellington had all eyes on Mount Cook, where the Dominion Museum and the carillon opened for the country's 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1940.^[6] Over the span of its history, Mount Cook has become known for its culture of bohemianism and preservation of uniquely Wellingtonian Victorian Architecture. Mount Cook's attractions and institutions include the Colonial Cottage Museum, the Wellington campus of Massey University and the National War Memorial, and, to cricketers locally and around the world, the Basin Reserve.

Mount Cook, comprising the statistical areas of Mount Cook North, Mount Cook South and Mount Cook East, covers 1.05 km² (0.41 sq mi).^[1] It had an estimated population of 7,180 as of June 2025, with a population density of 6,838 people per km².

Mount Cook had a population of 6,690 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 171 people (−2.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 87 people (1.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,183 males, 3,309 females, and 198 people of other genders in 2,727 dwellings.^[9] 18.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 26.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 360 people (5.4%) aged under 15 years, 3,606 (53.9%) aged 15 to 29, 2,298 (34.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 423 (6.3%) aged 65 or older.^[7]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 69.5% European (Pākehā); 11.8% Māori; 4.1% Pasifika; 20.5% Asian; 6.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.7%, Māori by 3.2%, Samoan by 1.1%, and other languages by 25.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.0% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 37.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.^[7]

Religious affiliations were 18.4% Christian, 3.1% Hindu, 3.4% Islam, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs, 2.0% Buddhist, 0.7% New Age, 0.4% Jewish, and 2.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 64.7%, and 4.9% of people did not answer the census question.^[7]

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,688 (42.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,811 (44.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 831 (13.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $36,500, compared with $41,500 nationally. 765 people (12.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 3,351 (52.9%) full-time, 1,161 (18.3%) part-time, and 399 (6.3%) unemployed.^[7]

Wellington High School and Community Education Centre is a state co-educational secondary (years 9–15) school.^[13] It has a roll of 1,650 as of October 2025.^[14] It opened in 1886 as Wellington College of Design, in an existing building on the Featherston Street and Branston Street corner. In 1891 it moved into its own building on Mercer Street and became Wellington Technical College. It moved again to Wakefield Street in 1899, and to Taranaki Street in 1922. It became Wellington High School in 1964.^[15]

Mount Cook School is a state co-educational full (years 1–8) primary school.^[16] It has a roll of 307 as of October 2025.^[14] It opened in 1875 as Buckle Street Girls' School, with a boys' school sharing the site until it moved to its own premises in 1878 to become Taranaki Street Boys' School. Mt Cook Infants' School opened across the road from the girls' school in 1877. The three schools merged into Mount Cook Main School on Buckle Street in 1926. It moved to Tory Street in the mid 1970s.^[17]

Massey University's Wellington campus is in Mount Cook.^[18]