Kaiwharawhara, formerly known as Kaiwarra, is an urban seaside suburb of Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

. It is located north of the centre of the city on the western shore of Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...

, where the Kaiwharawhara Stream

Kaiwharawhara Stream

The Kaiwharawhara Stream is a stream located in the North Island of New Zealand on the northwestern side of the national capital, Wellington. Its headwaters are within the suburb of Karori and it passes through other suburbs before reaching the western shore of Wellington Harbour in Kaiwharawhara...

 reaches the sea from its headwaters in Karori

Karori

Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, some 4 km from the city centre.Karori is significantly larger than most other Wellington suburbs, having a population of over 14,000 at the time of the 2006 census.-History:Before the arrival of...

. It is a largely commercial and industrial area and thus has little residential population. The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

The New Zealand government department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. The census scheduled for 2011 was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, however, and legislation introduced to hold the next...

 gave the suburb's resident population as merely 15. A recent housing development up the hillside towards Te Kainga has increased the resident population.

Kaiwharawhara contains some major transport infrastructure. Both State Highway 1

State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...

 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway pass through Kaiwharawhara on their routes from central Wellington northwards. Just north of Kaiwharawhara Railway Station

Kaiwharawhara Railway Station

Kaiwharawhara railway station is a dual island platform railway station on the North Island Main Trunk and the Wairarapa Line in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the first station north of Wellington, and is served by trains operated by Tranz Metro as part of the Metlink network on the Melling Line,...

, the Wairarapa Line

Wairarapa Line

The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city of Wellington with the Wairarapa region. The line ends at Woodville, where it joins the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line...

 (including the commuter Hutt Valley Line) diverges from the North Island Main Trunk Railway. Due to its waterfront location, Kaiwharawhara also has shipping activity, with the Wellington Interislander Ferry

Toll Shipping

Toll Shipping, part of Toll Holdings, operates shipping services between the island of Tasmania and mainland Australia. It also once operated ferries in New Zealand.-History:...

 terminal located on the boundary of Kaiwharawhara and Pipitea.

In sport, Kaiwharawhara was previously represented in soccer by Waterside, a club formed by dock workers in 1921. In 1988, they merged with the Karori Swifts to form Waterside Karori AFC

Waterside Karori

Waterside Karori AFC is an association football club in Karori, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand.Waterside Karori was formed in 19881 when Karori Swifts merged with Waterside. These two clubs had contrasting origins: Swifts were founded in 1894 from a Sunday School, and Waterside were founded...

.

The suburb (and the station) was renamed from Kaiwarra to Kaiwharawhara from 9 February 1951 by a decision of the New Zealand Geographic Board