A Capital Letter: I’m sick of people saying Wellington is dying

You can’t beat Wellington on a good day — or a bad one, says Georgina Campbell. Photo / 123rf

OPINION:

I’m sick of people dragging up John Key’s comment from 2013 that Wellington is “dying” and using it to justify an onslaught of hot-takes about how the capital’s golden age is over.

It’s a stale line - uttered a decade ago - that prompts a wave of pointless nostalgia.

Yes, the late nineties and early 2000s were great but we can’t leverage that forever.

There’s actually a whole new generation of Wellingtonians who want to have their own golden age that looks different to the era people are so fond of reminding us is over.

Put yourself in my shoes, my memory of that era was as an 8-year-old living in Johnsonville.

My mum didn’t let me watch Lord of the Rings until I was much older and I distinctly remember a trip to Cuba St where Blanket Man scared the living daylights out of me.

Fast-forward to the present day and I’m now an almost 30-year-old living in the eastern suburbs.

I am within walking distance of Miramar peninsula’s beautiful coastline. There are white sandy beaches like Worser and cute little hidden bays at Karaka.

There are fabulous places to meet friends for brunch like Polo or The Larder where you can find a delicious cheese soufflé (you’re welcome!).

Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood on Lambton Quay during the parade for the world premiere of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Photo / Mark Mitchell

There are loads of great op-shops and you can stop off for some of the best coffee in town at Swimsuit Cafe owned by Tait Burge, who is not yet 30 and has managed to open three cafes.

The city is a short bus ride away and the number 2 line is fully electric. I hardly ever need to drive my car.

The precinct around Ghuznee St is my nightlife spot. The old favourites like Meow and San Fran still delight with groovy live music.

Puffin or Ascot are great little places off the beaten track for a glass of chilled red. My experience with eating out lately is that you can’t get a table unless you book well in advance.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that area is humming at night.

You always hear about the doom and gloom of the hospitality scene but did you hear that Chaat Street is so successful it’s moving to bigger premises in Wellington and has expanded to Auckland? Or that Damascus has moved into a permanent venue on Tory St?

I never tire of the walk around the city’s waterfront- whether it’s the thrill of a sharp southerly whipping across my face or the joy of Wellington on a good day.

Swimsuit Coffee owner Tait Burge has opened three cafes and he's not even 30 years old yet. Photo / Georgina Campbell

The green hills that embrace the city are filled with walking tracks for all levels. Kākā and tūī have started to spill over into suburban areas from our ecosanctuary Zealandia, which is something to be immensely proud of.

I love visiting other parts of the country, but I never return to Wellington thinking I want to pack up and leave. I can honestly say that if I won Lotto, I would want to live in the suburb where I already reside.

I can’t imagine dealing with Auckland’s traffic. The city of sails also feels a bit flashy to me between the labels and places “to be seen” for dinner.

Wellington is more relaxed, where people are free to be themselves, and where you’re more likely to find conversations about politics than the latest trends.

In case you were wondering, no, I do not live under a rock. I am aware of the bus cancellations, the broken pipes, people feeling unsafe in the city, and the sky-high house prices.

These problems would have been bubbling away in Wellington’s so-called golden era and were neglected for future generations to deal with.

Instead of pining for a different time, maybe people could put their energy into reimagining the next chapter of Wellington.

Some solutions are on the way like better wages for bus drivers and changes to immigration settings, our $7.4b transport plan, pulling the planning levers for more houses, and investing properly in our pipes.

An artist impression of proposed changes to Wellington's Golden Mile as part of the Let's Get Wellington Moving. Image / Supplied

None of these will act as a silver bullet and many of them are going to be painful, but that’s usually the way to meaningful change.

There are some things to look forward to more imminently like the new convention centre opening in June, the Town Hall reopening in 2025, and the re-vamped central library opening in 2026.

Other projects like the boardwalk on Dixon St and parklets for businesses have transformed one area of the central city and I always get a kick out of people enjoying the new outdoor dining they provide.

Unlike my Newstalk ZB colleague Kate Hawkesby who said last week she wanted to love Auckland but she was running out of puff, I have endless energy for the city I love.

So please, can we stop talking about how Wellington is dying? It’s a tiresome narrative and it’s wrong.

• Senior Wellington journalist Georgina Campbell’s fortnightly column looks closely at issues in the capital.