Government Centre

One part of Wellington belongs to all New Zealanders: the country's political center. It crowns a knoll near the north end of Lambton Quay, where it intersects with Bowen and Molesworth streets.

Parliament Buildings. Dignified Parliament House, completed in 1922, and the lighter Gothic architecture of the 1897 General Assembly Library contrast dramatically with the new circular Executive Wing (commonly called "the Beehive"), opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1977. New Zealand materials, especially native woods and Takaka marble, were used liberally in their construction.

The buildings are not open to casual sightseers, but you can join a conducted tour of the public areas. Tours depart from the main reception desk at regular intervals; information is available from the Chief Messenger's Office. Parliamentary procedures, modeled after those of Britain's Parliament, are explained. If Parliament is in session (usually from May through October), you can watch the proceedings from the visitors' gallery.

Other buildings. At Museum and Bowen streets behind the Parliament Buildings is Broadcasting House, center of the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand. Facing Lambton Quay opposite the Cenotaph are the Government Buildings, a marvelous example of Well ington's early architecture. Constructed on reclaimed Something for everyone land in 1876, the 152 room wooden building converts traditional 19th century stone architecture into timbered Italianate style. Open on weekdays, the buildings of the Law Courts on Ballance Street house three levels of New Zealand's legal hierarchy the Magistrate's Court, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals.