Miramar is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, south-east of the city centre. It is on the Miramar Peninsula, directly east of the isthmus of Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport.

History

'Miramar' means "Behold the sea" or "Wonderful Sea" in Spanish, and was thus named by the first settler on Watt's peninsula area, resident James Coutts Crawford, who arrived in Wellington in 1840. In 1872 he changed the name of Watt's Peninsula to Miramar as that was the name of a house built for him by his brother-in-law, Major McBarnett. The original Māori name of the area was Whataitai. On 18 November 1904 Miramar Borough was formed.

In April 1921, Miramar was incorporated into the City of Wellington.

Miramar is given the nickname '02' because of the bus route.

Film

Film director Peter Jackson and his colleagues Richard Taylor (VFX) and Jamie Selkirk (Editor) have built a series of multi-million dollar studios, sound stages, and pre- and post-production (Including Weta Digital and Weta Workshop) facilities in Miramar where he filmed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. It has been hailed by Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro, who will be producing the The Hobbit film duology alongside Jackson, as "Hollywood the way God intended it".

Sport

Miramar is the home of the AFC soccer club and the Miramar Rangers.

References

1. http://www.wcl.govt.nz/wellington/miramarseatoun.html Wellington City Library
2. Guillermo del Toro Chats with TORN About ‘The Hobbit’ Films! | Hobbit Movie News and Rumors | TheOneRing.net | The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Movie News and Rumors