Lambton Quay

Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.

[1][2] Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll across the road and enter the shops on the opposite side.

[5] Land uplift caused by the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake and further reclamation have left Lambton Quay some 250 metres from the current shoreline.

[8] The city's retail trade has spread further south to also include Cuba Street, but Lambton Quay remains a major commercial thoroughfare.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive Simon Arcus expressed concern that these changes could affect local businesses and emphasised the need for consultation.

Lambton Quay about 1880 showing the reclamation, T. Mountain's store at 80 Lambton Quay, [ 14 ] Cutler & Moore piano shop, James Gear's butchery and the Criterion Hotel (rebuilt after the 1855 earthquake damaged the Wellington Hotel)