Hataitai

Hataitai is an inner suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It lies on the southeastern flanks of Mount Victoria, 3500 metres southeast of the city centre.

It is situated on the shore of Evans Bay, one of the two large indentations in the Wellington Coast which almost separate the Miramar Peninsula from the rest of the city. Numerous small bays and beaches dot the shoreline between Hataitai and the central city.

Hataitai is an important transportational link between the central city and Wellington International Airport, to the south of Evans Bay on the isthmus at Rongotai. Most notably, it lies at the eastern end of the Mount Victoria road tunnel, as well as a smaller nearby tunnel for buses only. This latter tunnel, originally a tram tunnel, was opened in 1906, and it was subsequent to that that the suburb became a more popular place to live.

The suburb's name, Hataitai, has an interesting history. The ridge of the hill was thought to have been the petrified remains of the great taniwha (sea monster) Whataitai, one of the two creatures who helped form the harbour of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (now Port Nicholson). When one taniwha broke through the rock that separated the then lake from Cook Strait, the waters rushed out leaving Whataitai stranded on rocks. An earthquake later lifted the monster's body into the hills below Tangi Te Keo (Mount Victoria).