Newlands, New Zealand

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Newlands is one of the northern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand. It lies approximately 8km north of the city centre and to the east of its nearest neighbour, Johnsonville. Most of Newlands is perched on one of several hills, one side of which overlooks Wellington Harbour and up to the Hutt Valley. This leaves many of the houses very exposed to either the cold southerly or very strong north-westerly winds, or both, that Wellington is known for. However, this also allows for some spectacular views and a good amount of sun.

As well as the wind, keen gardeners in Newlands have to contend with the hard clay or bare rock that makes up the substrate. Tussock grasses, flax and other hardy natives flourish, while anything that is sensitive to the wind or requires less difficult soil is difficult to grow.

Despite reasonable proximity to shops, public transport, good schools and some new high-value housing subdivisions it has one of the lowest average house valuations ($298,900, 1 September 2005) in Wellington, as determined by Quotable Value for Wellington City Council. It has some small grocery shops ("dairies"), but the nearest supermarket is in Johnsonville. It is well served by buses to and from the city, run by Newlands Coach Services.

Newlands is home to Newlands College, Newlands Intermediate and Newlands Primary School, the local secondary, intermediate and primary schools as well as Rewa Rewa Primary School and Bellevue Primary School. It is also known for its abundance of Dairies (there are currently five in the Newlands Mall ) and fish and chip shops (currently four listed in the mall ).