Whangarei
17.89°C
Whangarei
17.89°C
Waitakere City
16.98°C
Manukau City
17.11°C
Papakura
24.46°C
Hauraki
17.26°C
Waikato
17.67°C
Matamata
18.46°C
Hamilton
17.51°C
Otorohanga
18.52°C
Rotorua
16.6°C
Taupo
15.44°C
Tauranga
19.27°C
Kawerau
18.6°C
Whakatane
19.64°C
Gisborne
15.51°C
New Plymouth
16.98°C
Stratford
8.97°C
Ruapehu
14°C
Wanganui
17°C
Palmerston North
16.41°C
Wairoa
19.19°C
Hastings
18.84°C
Napier
18.49°C
Masterton
15.49°C
Carterton
15.66°C
Porirua
15.99°C
Lower Hutt
16.45°C
Wellington
15.79°C
Tasman
9.35°C
Nelson
16.27°C
Marlborough
3.22°C
Kaikoura
15.48°C
Christchurch
12.59°C
Ashburton
12.52°C
Timaru
13.37°C
Waitaki
11.32°C
Waimate
13.08°C
Queenstown
12.38°C
Dunedin
14.33°C
Southland
9.98°C
Gore
11.31°C
Invercargill
12.06°C
Blenheim
14.73°C
Te Anau
27.35°C
Wanaka
11.17°C
Kaikoura
13.38°C
Stratford
13.54°C
Upper Hutt
15.9°C
About
Oriental Bay is a bay and suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Noted for being both a popular beach and a luxurious centre of affluence in the city, it is located close to the Central Business District on Wellington Harbour.
It has the closest beach to the central city and is thus a common destination for locals, who swarm here especially in the warmer months (December to March). Painted Ladies and other historic houses, such as those in distinctly Wellingtonian streamline moderne style, are prominent alongside and up into the hills that face the bay. Situated against the northern slope of Moutn Victoria, the suburb lies 1.5 kilometres southeast of the city centre, at the start of a coastal route which continues past Hataitai around Evans Bay. Originally named Duppa Bay, after its sole original resident George Duppa, in 1843 it was rechristened after one of the first ships to bring settlers to Wellington- the Oriental. Originally described as a remote "dreary-looking spot" of rocks lying between cliffs and the sea used primarily for quarantining foreigners, it has undergone considerable renovation since colonisation's early stages. Many landmarks were built over the 20th century, such as the grand streamlined moderne houses like the Olympus building and the Anscombe Apartments, and the modernist Freyburg Pool built in the 1960s (which jets out onto the harbour and is named about Lord Freyburg, who adored the beach as a young man). However, the beach's greatest renovation came in 2004, when 22,000 tonnes of sand was shipped especially from Golden Bay to rebuild the beach, which had become worn down over many years.
In the summer months, Oriental Bay becomes a hive of activity. The beach seems covered with swimmers, party goers and families. The Carter Fountain is a distinctive feature in the Bay, as is the wooden barge which is often covered in swimmers. A small section of the bay that lies beside Freyberg pool is known as Freyberg Bay, after Lord Freyberg.