A ‘Quay’ is traditionally known as a place on a waterfront where jetties and wharves tend to ships at berth. But Jervois Quay is no longer a Quay in that sense – the incessant march of land reclamation, particularly in the 19 century, which has left it a distance from the Port of Wellington, saw to that.

Jervois Quay is a section of the main arterial route along the Wellington waterfront extending from Customhouse Quay and Post Office Square in the north and south towards Cable Street, Taranaki Street and Wakefield Street. Traffic is often busy on this six-lane section of road as it feeds vehicles from the northern motorway to and from the southern and eastern suburbs.

In many respects, with the modern orientation of the city away from commercial shipping and towards the waterfront as a place for people and recreational activities, Jervois Quay is a traffic barrier between the city and the sea. But the CBD and ocean are in close proximity and there are some foot bridges, including the City to Sea Bridge from Civic Square. People regularly make the foot journey from the city-side areas of Grey, Victoria, Willis and Featherston Streets over to the waterfront and Frank Kitts Park, Queens Wharf and the Lagoon .

In recent times the Wellington City Council has begun its ‘Greening the Quays’ project, which creates a boulevard that features nearly 40 Maori Princess pohutukawa trees along the centre of Jervois and Customhouse Quays.

Take a look at ‘Place Finder’ Wellington.