Ngaio, New Zealand

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Ngaio is an inner suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is situated on the slopes of Mt. Kaukau, 3500 metres north of the city's CBD. It was settled at the same time as the neighbouring suburb of Khandallah, and like its neighbour many of its streets are named after places on the Indian subcontinent. Ngaio was originally a logging community. Originally known as Crofton until 1908, the area was administratively part of a separate local authority called the Onslow Borough Council which amalgamated into Wellington City in 1919.

Ngaio takes its name from a New Zealand native tree, the Ngaio.

Ngaio contains a library, multi-purpose hall, pharmacy, petrol station, café, Plunket rooms, dentist and a variety of small shops. The Ngaio Union Church has modern buildings and serves the Methodist and Presbyterian community, whilst the Anglican All Saints Church is on a nearby hill, its distinctive brick tower visible from most places in the suburb. There is an Exclusive Brethren Church nearby in Churchill Drive, Crofton Downs.

Near the All Saints Church is a public primary school, Ngaio School, established in 1908. It is co-educational and does not have a uniform. Its school song is Tūrangawaewae, Māori for "A Place to Stand".

Most of Ngaio's dwellings are large 1960s weatherboard houses, but there is a small section of railway cottages called the Tarikaka Settlement, built in 1928. In the late 1990s, new subdivisions were built up the sides of Mt. Kaukau. The houses in these were typically constructed of stucco, and many of their inhabitants suffered "leaky homes" in 2000^{[citation needed]}.

Ngaio has had a number of notable inhabitants including James K Baxter and his family from the late 1950s until the 1980s.

The suburb is served by the Johnsonville Branch commuter railway which connects it to the central city, and many bus routes going to Johnsonville stop on the main road. See Ngaio Railway Station.