Tasbury

This is an article related to the Commonwealth of New Duveland

Tasbury Te Tomokangana Nui (Māori)
City
Clockwise from top: Tasbury CBD, the new Tasbury Harbour Crossing, Tasbury War Memorial, Royal Exhibition Centre, the Tasbury Harbour Bridge and Union Dome.
Flag Official seal of Tasbury Seal
Country	New Duveland
Province	Moanarua
Founded	1799
City Council	Tasbury City Council
Population  (2021)
• Total	4,293,980
Time zone	UTC+11 (NDST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+
Postal Code	5000
Telephone Code	02
Website	www.TasburyCity.gov.nd

Tasbury is the Provincial capital of Moanarua and the most populous city in New Duveland. Located on New Duveland's west coast, the metropolis surrounds the entrance to the largest body of brackish water in the southern hemisphere, the Ōmokoroa Sea, and sprawls along the coasts on both sides of the sea entrance, up the Mahi Peninsula in the west and into the foothills of the Southern Tasman Ranges in the east. Citizens are known as "Tasburians" and is the most culturally and economically important city in New Duveland.

The region has been inhabited by Māori populations for hundreds of years, with the first European settlers arriving in 1799, at first glance, mistaking the entrance to the sea for a large river, with Captain Arthur Phillip founding and establishing Tasbury as a penal colony. Successive colonial Governors assisted to transform the settlement into a thriving and independent metropolis. Since convict transportation ended in the mid 1800s the city has become a global cultural and economic centre. The population of Tasbury at the time of the 2015 census was 4 million. About 1.3 million of this total were born overseas and represent many different countries from around the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Tasbury and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home, with the most populous being French and Māori.

Tasbury has an advanced market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing, and tourism. Its gross regional product was $300 billion in 2012 making it a larger economy than countries such as the Philippines, Chile, and Egypt. There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Tasbury and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacific's leading financial hub, second only to Sydney. In addition to hosting events such as the 1954 Commonwealth Games and the 1984 Summer Olympics, millions of tourists come to Tasbury each year to see the city's landmarks. Its natural features include Phillip Straight, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Canterbury Beach, and Mt. Heather lookout. Man-made attractions such as the TCG, Royal Exhibition Centre, the Tasbury Harbour Bridge and the Union Dome are also well known to international visitors.

Name

The name Tasbury derives from the combination of two words: "Tas" and "bury". The first part of the name, "Tas", is taken from the Tasman Sea, which is located to the west of the city. The Tasman Sea is a body of water that lies between New Duveland and Australia. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who was the first European to sight the landmass that is now New Duveland. The second part of the name, "bury", is derived from the Old English word "byriġ", which is the dative case of "burg". "Burg" means "fortified place", and it is the origin of the modern English word "borough". The suffix "-bury" was commonly used in the naming of Anglo-Saxon settlements, and it denotes a place that was fortified or protected. Therefore, the name Tasbury has a meaning of "fortified place near the Tasman Sea".

This fortification reference is no coincidence, as the region has a rich history of fortified defensive settlements/hillforts Pā. These Pā were built by a federation of tribes formed under Te Hua-o-Kaiwaka, the Waiohua. The Pā were strategically located on hills and other high points to provide protection and defence against rival tribes and other external threats. The Pā were typically surrounded by palisades made of timber or other materials and were often defended by skilled warriors.

The Māori name for the region is Tomokangana or Te Tomokangana Nui, which means "The Great Entrance". This name refers to the city's location as the opening to the Ōmokoroa Sea. The Ōmokoroa Sea is a body of water that lies between the mainland and the Mahi Peninsula. The area has a rich Māori cultural heritage and a strong connection to the sea, which is still evident in the region today. The Ōmokoroa Sea provided an important source of food and transportation for the Māori people, who were skilled navigators and seafarers. Today, the sea remains an important part of the region's economy, supporting industries such as fishing and tourism.

History

Pre-European occupation

Remains of dozens of Māori defensive settlements/hillforts (Pā) with their notable terraced layouts can be found throughout Tasbury.

Māori settled around the Tasbury Harbour around 1450, calling it Tomokangana or Te Tomokangana Nui, meaning "The Great Entrance", in reference to the city being the opening to the Ōmokoroa Sea. The large harbour was a strategic location with its deep harbours providing ideal docking for large boats, with the eastern shores further away from the open ocean being calm all year round. It had fertile soils that facilitated horticulture and the Ōmokoroa Sea provided plentiful kai moana (seafood). Māori constructed terraced pā (fortified villages) on the many hills of the region. However, for most of the period Māori living in defended pā was a rare event, with most people living in undefended kāinga.

Some of the earliest archaeological sites in Tasbury are found on the southern side of the harbour, however it is likely that early Māori settled widely in the area. From early occupation until European contact, the economy of the region was centred around horticulture (mostly root vegetables such as kūmara (sweet potato)), fishing and shellfish gathering. However, some areas such as Kaimai and Mt Pahoia had specialised areas to produce toki (stone adze).

The Ngāi Tai tribe, descended from the people of the Tainui canoe, settled in Maraetai. Other Tainui descendants were Te Kawerau ā Maki, who lived under forest cover in the Waitākere Ranges and controlled land as far north as the Kaipara, across to Mahurangi and down to Takapuna. The Ngāti Te Ata tribe was based south of the Manukau Harbour at Waiuku. Along the coast from Whangaparaoa to the Thames estuary was Ngāti Pāoa, a Hauraki tribe. The dominant power on the harbour was Waiohua, a federation of tribes formed under Te Hua-o-Kaiwaka.

From 1600 to 1750 the Tomokangana tribes terraced hills closest to the harbour, building pā. Across both sides of the harbour, they developed 2,000 hectares of kumara (sweet potato) gardens. At the peak of prosperity in 1750, the population numbered tens of thousands. It was pre-European New Duveland's most wealthy and populous area. However, from the early 18th century conflict arose with neighbouring tribes that caused the area to devolve into petty warfare, with the Tomokangana tribes using the arrival of European colonists to their advantage to push back waring tribes as far east into the foothills of the Great Tasman Ranges.

Early history and foundation

A scene of early settlers looking over the Tasbury Harbour, towards the existing Ngāti Te Ata settlement which would later become Koterataha.

Tasbury was officially founded in 1799, with Captain Arthur Phillip founding and establishing Tasbury as a penal colony.

Britain had been sending convicts to its American colonies for most of the eighteenth century, and the loss of these colonies in 1783 was the impetus for the decision to establish a penal colony at Tasbury Harbour. Proponents of colonisation also pointed to the strategic importance of a new base in the Asia-Pacific region and its potential to provide much-needed timber and flax for the navy.

A series of ships arrived in what is now Tasbury Harbour in 1799, originally set for the newly established penal colony in Macquarie, the fleet eventually moved to the more suitable Tasbury Harbour after reports from explorers reported that Tasbury Harbour was much more ideal for setting up a colony. The fleet consisted of over a thousand settlers, including 702 convicts. First settlement at Tomokangana Point was established on 13 September 1799. The colony of Moanarua was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillip on 6 October 1799. Tomokangana Point offered a fresh water supply and a safe harbour, which Philip described as being, 'with out exception the finest Harbour in the World [...] Here a Thousand Sail of the Line may ride in the most perfect Security'.

George Silver's View of Tomokangana Point, c. 1801-1802

The settlement was planned to be a self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade and ship building were banned in order to keep the convicts isolated. The soil around the settlement proved immaculate, leading to a plentiful first harvest, leading to several years of constant growth of the colony. Former convicts received small grants of land, and government and private farms spread to the even more fertile lands around Ipswich, Preston and Hotham on the Mahi Peninsula. By 1804, the colony was self-sufficient in food.

A smallpox epidemic in April 1805 killed about half the Indigenous population of the Tasbury region. In March 1805 a group of Tomokangana survivors made their way to the settlement, establishing a continuous presence of Māori New Duvelanders in settled Tasbury.

Phillip had been given no instructions for urban development, but in June 1807 submitted a plan for the new town at Tomokangana Point. It included a wide avenues, a permanent Government House, law courts, a hospital, public buildings, warehouses, shops, and commercial buildings. From then on, Tasbury followed a strict planning layout based around Tasbury's topography.

After the departure of Phillip in December 1806, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships. Former convicts also engaged in trade and opened small businesses. Soldiers and former convicts built houses on Crown land, with or without official permission, in what was now commonly called Tasbury. Governor Harold Smith (1806–08) imposed restrictions on trade and commerce in the town and ordered the demolition of buildings erected on Crown land, including some owned by past and serving military officers. The resulting conflict culminated in the deposition of Smith by the Moanarua Corps.

Print of a painting of Tasbury port, 1857.

Governor Lachlan Guidford(1810–1821), played a leading role in the development of Tasbury and Moanarua, establishing a bank, a currency and a hospital. He employed a planner to design the street layout of Tasbury and commissioned the construction of roads, wharves, churches, and public buildings. Canterbury Road, linking Tasbury and Canterbury, was opened in 1811 and a road across the Mahi Peninsula was completed in 1815, opening the way for large scale farming and grazing in the lightly-wooded pastures west of the city, and connecting the settlement to Macquarie by land for the first time. The Cashel Route was completed a few years later in 1815, connecting Tasbury to Lisburn across the Southern Tasman Ranges.

Following the departure of Guidford, official policy encouraged the emigration of free British settlers to Moanarua. Immigration to the colony increased from 900 free settlers in 1826-30 to 29,000 in 1836-40, many of whom settled in Tasbury. By the 1840s Tasbury exhibited a geographic divide between poor and working class residents living east of the Mt Pahoia in areas such as Te Raorao, and the more affluent residents living to its east. Free settlers, free-born residents and former convicts now represented the vast majority of the population of Tasbury, leading to increasing public agitation for responsible government and an end to transportation. Transportation to Moanarua ceased in 1845.

Gold Rush

Koterataha "Canvas Town" provided temporary accommodation for the thousands of migrants who arrived each week during the 1850s gold rush.

The discovery of gold in Moanarua in mid-1851 sparked a gold rush, and Tasbury, the colony's major port, experienced rapid growth. Within months, the city's population had nearly doubled from 40,000 to 76,000 inhabitants. Exponential growth ensued, and by 1865 Tasbury had overtaken Espérance as the most populous city on the island of New Duveland.

An influx of intercolonial and international migrants, particularly from Europe and China, saw the establishment of slums, including Chinatown and a temporary "tent city" on the southern banks of the harbour, now known as Koterataha, literally "the other side" in Māori, giving rapid urban growth to the southern side of the Tasbury Harbour for the first time in it's history. Public support for the plight of the miners resulted in major political changes to the colony, including improvements in working conditions across mining, agriculture, manufacturing and other local industries. At least twenty nationalities took part in the rebellion, giving some indication of immigration flows at the time.

With the wealth brought in from the gold rush and the subsequent need for public buildings, a program of grand civic construction soon began. The 1850s and 1860s saw the commencement of the Treasury Building, the Old Tasbury Gaol, Moanarua Barracks, the State Library, University of Tasbury, General Post Office, Customs House, the Tasbury Town Hall, St John's cathedral, though many remained uncompleted for decades.

When the topography allowed, the layout of the inner suburbs began on a largely one-mile grid pattern, cut through by wide radial boulevards and parklands surrounding the central city, was largely established in the 1850s and 1860s. These areas rapidly filled with the ubiquitous terrace houses, as well as with detached houses and grand mansions, while some of the major roads developed as shopping streets. Tasbury quickly became a major finance centre, home to several banks, the Royal Mint, and (in 1861) New Duveland's first stock exchange. In 1855, the Tasbury Cricket Club secured possession of its now famous ground, the TCG. Members of the Tasbury Rugby Club codified Rugby as the city's main sport in 1859, and in 1861, the first Tasbury Cup race was held.

With the gold rush largely over by 1860, Tasbury continued to grow on the back of continuing gold-mining, as the major port for exporting the agricultural products of Moanarua (especially wool) and with a developing manufacturing sector protected by high tariffs. An extensive radial railway network spread into the countryside from the late 1850s. Construction started on further major public buildings in the 1860s and 1870s, such as the Supreme Court, Government House, and the Tomokangana Markets. The central city filled up with shops and offices, workshops, and warehouses. Large banks and hotels faced the main streets, with fine townhouses to the north of the city centre, contrasting with tiny cottages down laneways within the blocks. The Māori population continued to decline, with an estimated 80% total decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases (particularly smallpox, frontier violence and dispossession of their lands.

Land boom and bust

Bird's Eye View of Tasbury, 1888 - A. H. Fullwood, with the Tasbury Town Hall pictured in the bottom left.

he 1880s saw extraordinary growth: consumer confidence, easy access to credit, and steep increases in land prices led to an enormous amount of construction. During this "land boom", Tasbury reputedly became one of the richest cities in the world, and one of the largest in the British Empire.

The decade began with the Tasbury International Exhibition in 1885, held in the large purpose-built Exhibition Building. A telephone exchange was established that year, and the foundations of St Patrick's were laid. In 1881, electric light was installed in the city centre, and a generating station capable of supplying 2,000 incandescent lamps was in operation by 1882. The Tasbury cable tramway system opened in 1885 and became one of the world's most extensive systems by 1890.

The late 1880s saw large commercial buildings, grand hotels, banks, coffee palaced, terrace housing and palatial mansions proliferated in the city. The establishment of a hydraulic facility in 1887 allowed for the local manufacture of elevators, resulting in the first construction of high-rise buildings. This period also saw the expansion of a major radial rail-based transport network.

Tasbury's land-boom peaked in 1890, culminating in a brash boosterism that had typified Tasbury during this time ended in the early 1890s with a severe economic depression, sending the local finance- and property-industries into a period of chaos. Twelve small "land banks" and building societies collapsed, and 102 limited companies went into liquidation. The Tasbury financial crisis was a contributing factor in the 1890s economic depression in New Duveland and in the 1894 banking crisis of New Duveland. The effects of the depression on the city were profound, with virtually no new construction until the late 1890s.

Early 20th Century

Koterataha Bridge opened in 1939, becoming the first link between both sides of the Tasbury harbour.

The spread of bubonic plague in 1900 prompted the colonial government to modernise the wharves and demolish inner-city slums. The outbreak of the Fist World War in 1914 saw more Tasbury males volunteer for the armed forces than the Commonwealth authorities could process, and helped reduce unemployment in the city. Those returning from the war in 1918 were promised "homes fit for heroes" in new suburbs such as Naumaihaere and Toa Toa. "Garden suburbs" and mixed industrial and residential developments also grew along the rail and tram corridors. The population reached one million in 1930. The government created jobs with massive public projects such as the electrification of the Tasbury rail network and building the Koterataha Bridge. Tasbury was more severely affected by the Great Depression of the 1930s than regional Moanarua or other cities across New Duveland. New building almost came to a standstill, and by 1933 the unemployment rate for male workers was 28 per cent, but over 40 per cent in working class areas such as Preston and Hotham. Many families were evicted from their homes and shanty towns grew along coastal Tasbury and to the north east of the harbour. The largest being "Raorao Harikoa" at Lower Pahoi. The Depression also exacerbated political divisions.

With the outbreak of war in 1939, Tasbury experienced a surge in industrial development to meet the needs of a wartime economy. Unemployment virtually disappeared and women moved into jobs previously male preserves. Tasbury was attacked by Japanese submarines in May and June 1942 with 21 lives lost. Households throughout the city built air raid shelters and performed drills.

Post-war period

King Street looking north, 1959.

In the immediate years after World War II, Tasbury expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by post-war immigration to New Duveland, primarily from Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. While the "London End" of King Street began Tasbury's boutique shopping and open air cafe cultures, the city centre was seen by many as stale—the dreary domain of office workers. Up until the 21st century, Tasbury was considered New Duveland's "industrial heartland".

An estimated one million onlookers, most of the city's population, watched as Queen Elizabeth II landed in 1955, commencing her New Duveland Royal Tour. It was the first time a reigning monarch stepped onto New Duveland's soil.

Height limits in the CBD were lifted in 1958, after the construction of ICI House, transforming the city's skyline with the introduction of skyscrapers. Suburban expansion then intensified, served by new indoor malls beginning with Kohatu Shopping Centre. The post-war period also saw a major renewal of the CBD and Southwharf which significantly modernised the city. New fire regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings partially retained through a policy of facadism. Many of the larger suburban mansions from the boom era were also either demolished or subdivided.

To counter the trend towards low-density suburban residential growth, the government began a series of controversial public housing projects in the inner city by the Housing Commission of Moanarua, which resulted in the demolition of many neighbourhoods and a proliferation of high-rise towers. The provincial government also increased incentives to continue building modern terraced housing to replicate the vibrant inner-city areas. In later years, with the rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining inner-city population. Tasbury began to rapidly accelerate the modernisation of it's infrastructure, with major road projects including the remodelling of Hatokilda Junction, the widening of various arterial roads and then the extensive 1970 Tasbury Transportation Plan changed the face of the city into a car-dominated environment.

New Duveland's financial and mining booms during 1969 and 1970 resulted in establishment of the headquarters of many major companies (NGND and San Pedro, among others) in the city. Tasbury has remained New Duveland's main business, cultural and financial centre ever since.

Tasbury experienced an economic downturn between 1989 and 1992, following the collapse of several local financial institutions. In 1992, the newly elected liberal government began a campaign to revive the economy with an aggressive development campaign of public works coupled with the promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events and sports tourism. Major projects included the construction of a new facility for the Tasbury Museum, Union Square, the Tasbury Convention & Exhibition Centre, Karauna Casino and the MetroLink tollway. Other strategies included the privatisation of some of Tasbury's services, including power and public transport, and a reduction in funding to public services such as health, education and public transport infrastructure.

The opening of Tasbury Harbour Bridge at the end of 1999 kick-started the new millennium for Tasbury, and instantly became one of the city's most recognisable landmarks.

Contemporary Tasbury

The opening of the Tasbury Harbour Bridge at the end of 1999 started the new millennium for Tasbury, and instantly became one of the city's most recognisable landmarks. There are now several crossings, with two other bridges; the oldest Koterataha Bridge opened in 1939 and the Ōmokoroa Bridge opening in 2004. Four additional rail & road under-sea tunnels have opened since the start of the new millennium. Since the mid-1990s, Tasbury has maintained significant population and employment growth. There has been substantial international investment in the city's industries and property market. Major inner-city urban renewal has occurred in areas such as Southwharf, Tasbury Port, Northcote and more recently, Taharaki. Tasbury sustained the highest population increase and economic growth rate of any New Duveland capital city from 2001 to 2005.

From 2006, the growth of the city extended into "green wedges" and beyond the city's urban growth boundary. Predictions of the city's population reaching 4 million people pushed the provincial government to review the growth boundary in 2008 as part of its Tasbury @ Four Million strategy. In 2009, Tasbury was affected by the late-2000s financial crisis, and was one of the worst affected cities in comparison to other cities in New Duveland. In 2020, Tasbury was classified as an Alpha city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Out of all major cities in New Duveland, Tasbury was the least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but still spend a considerable amount of time under lockdown restrictions, with Tasbury experiencing six lockdowns totalling 122 days.

Geography

Topography

Satellite photo of the Tasbury area, the border with McKenzie is highlighted to the south.

Tasbury is located on the south western coast of the New Duveland Mainland, with the Tasman Sea to the west, and the inland Ōmokoroa Sea to the east and split in the middle by the Tasbury Harbour (that is actually a straight), which is 3.0km at it's narrowest. The central and densest part of the city located to the north of the harbour on the Mahi Peninsula. The north is very hilly with various small coastal basins that open up the interior Thornbury Mountains of the peninsula to the coastal lowlands. South of the harbour is flatter up until the outer suburbs begin to transition into the foothills of the Southern Tasman Ranges. Both sides of the harbour have deep valleys that allow for natural protection for ships, which is still popular today even after multiple road and rail crossings have been constructed since the Koterataha Bridge first opened in 1939. The north has historically been where a majority of the city has grown, until the Koterataha Bridge first opened and encouraged enormous growth in the south to counter-balance the growth that had historically been focused to the north during colonial times.

The Greater Tasbury Region covers 8,887km2, while the built-up urban area covers just 1,576 km2. Due to the shape of the Mahi Peninsula, offering little room to expand depth wise into the hills, Tasbury's suburbs have expanded narrowly along the coast up to 100km north from the city centre, while south it sprawls nearly 50km, also clinging to the coast. Metropolitan Tasbury's boundaries stretch 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) from Taunton in the north west to Omana in the south west, and 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) from Waiau in the north east to Briston in the south east. Hundreds of beaches line the city's coast, with famous surf beaches such as Herenga Beach and Po Beach found along the western coast, while the eastern coast along the Ōmokoroa Sea are calmer, with various inlets and sunken valleys.

The southern Tasman Ranges as seen from the eastern outskirts of Tasbury.

Climate

Tasbury has a cool, temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. The city is located on the edges of the Phillip Straight and is surrounded by both the sea and many large hills and mountains. With this type of topography, Tasbury's weather patterns can change considerably in a short period of time. The warmest months are in January and February with an average air temperature range of 12.2 to 24.4 °C. Throughout the year there is an average of 4.3 days a year over 30 °C. The maximum recorded temperature was 39 °C on 18 January 2009, with Tasbury Airport reaching 40.4 °C on that same day, during the Early 2009 New Duveland heat wave. Winters are cool with minimum temperatures dropping below 2 °C an average of 61 days a year. The coldest month is July, with an average temperature range of 2.2 to 12.5 °C. The lowest recorded minimum at Tasbury's current weather station, Sharp Bend was -5.2 °C. Tasbury very rarely receives snowfall, though it is not unusual, with the mountainous suburbs in the Heather Ranges receiving occasional snowfall in the winter months.

Winter, for Tasbury, is also the season with the least amount of wind. Because of this and the topographical affect of the Heather Ranges, Tasbury winters are renowned for foggy mornings, with Tasbury Airport the most fog-bound commercial airport in New Duveland. The average annual rainfall, with moderate to low variability, is 665 mm, falling on an average of 88.4 days a year. The most rain Sharp Bend has received in a year was 829.6 mm in 1995, though Tasbury Airport received 953.1 mm in 1960. As in most of Moanarua 2006 was the driest year when just 394.8 mm fell.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported that 2007 was the warmest year ever recorded in Tasbury since temperatures were first recorded in 1880. Temperatures ranged from a minimum of 8.1 °C to a maximum of 19.2 °C. During 2006 and 2007, Tasbury had the hottest maximums throughout the province. In 2008, Tasbury had the highest average maximum temperature out of all Moanaruaien cities with 18.6 °C.

Climate data for Tasbury (Airport)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	39.9 (103.8)	34.8 (94.6)	34.9 (94.8)	26.9 (80.4)	21.8 (71.2)	17.3 (63.1)	16.6 (61.9)	18.7 (65.7)	23.9 (75.0)	29.6 (85.3)	31.1 (88.0)	34.7 (94.5)	39.9 (103.8)
Average high °C (°F)	23.2 (73.8)	23.2 (73.8)	21.1 (70.0)	17.4 (63.3)	14.0 (57.2)	11.4 (52.5)	10.9 (51.6)	12.0 (53.6)	14.0 (57.2)	16.4 (61.5)	18.8 (65.8)	21.2 (70.2)	17.0 (62.6)
Average low °C (°F)	10.2 (50.4)	10.3 (50.5)	8.9 (48.0)	6.6 (43.9)	4.6 (40.3)	2.8 (37.0)	2.3 (36.1)	3.0 (37.4)	4.2 (39.6)	5.5 (41.9)	7.1 (44.8)	8.7 (47.7)	6.2 (43.2)
Record low °C (°F)	0.8 (33.4)	0.5 (32.9)	−1.2 (29.8)	−4.5 (23.9)	−4.8 (23.4)	−7.1 (19.2)	−4.8 (23.4)	−5.3 (22.5)	−3.6 (25.5)	−3.7 (25.3)	−3 (27)	−1 (30)	−7.1 (19.2)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	44.0 (1.73)	38.7 (1.52)	38.1 (1.50)	54.5 (2.15)	60.0 (2.36)	61.5 (2.42)	76.7 (3.02)	78.3 (3.08)	64.1 (2.52)	60.2 (2.37)	50.1 (1.97)	50.7 (2.00)	676.9 (26.64)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)	7.8	6.6	8.2	10.4	12.6	13.7	15.8	16.2	13.9	13.2	10.6	9.9	138.9
Average relative humidity (%)	44	45	49	57	66	72	71	66	61	56	52	48	57
Mean monthly sunshine hours	285.2	254.2	235.6	195.0	151.9	132.0	142.6	170.5	195.0	244.9	258.0	279.0	2,543.9
Source: Bureau of Meteorology

Regions

Tasbury is divided into 10 regions, including the CBD or City of Tasbury (colloquially referred to as 'the City') and Inner North, the Southern Mahi Peninsula, Western Mahi Suburbs, Eastern Mahi Suburbs, Thornbury Hinterlands to the north of the harbour, and Greater Koterataha, the South Eastern Suburbs), the Mt Waituna Region (including Rye and Bristo), and the Eastern Hinterlands south of the harbour. The Greater Tasbury Commission divides Tasbury into five districts based on the 30 LGAs in the metropolitan area; the Western City, the Central City, the North Eastern City, the South Eastern District, and the South District.

Central City

Tasbury's City centre and surrounding inner suburbs are dense, and is home to the most high-rise buildings in New Duveland.

Tasbury's central business district is the historical and main commercial centre of the city. The CBD is Tasbury's city centre, or Tasbury City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referred to simply as "the City". The Tasbury city centre extends northwards for about 2.5 km (2 mi) from The Docks, the point of first European settlement in which the Tasbury region was initially established. Due to its pivotal role in New Duvelands's early history, it is one of the oldest established areas in the country.

Geographically, its north–south axis runs from The Docks in the south to the city's royal botanical gardens in the north. Its east–west axis runs from a chain of parkland that includes Tomokangana Park, Tasbury Convention Centre, the historic suburb of Ngatoka and Kokopāmu cove on Whangaiti harbour in the east; to Poroquay and the Southwarf in the west.

Tasbury City is New Duveland's main financial and economic centre, as well as a leading hub of economic activity for the Asia-Pacific region. The city centre and areas immediately around it employ approximately 22% of the Tasbury region's workforce. The City has the largest gathering of workers in the whole of Tasbury. Most of them are white collar office workers in the finance and professional service industries. In 2012, the number of workers operating in the City was 192,672. Based on industry mix and relative occupational wage levels it is estimated that economic activity (GDP) generated in the city in 2015/16 was approximately $100 billion. Culturally, the city centre is Tasbury's focal point for nightlife and entertainment. It is also home to some of the city's most significant buildings and structures.

Inner city areas with considerable urban-renewal include Southwarf, which has developed extensively since the completion of Union Dome, Tauranga Island which used to be the site of fishing markets and warehouses, as well as various other surrounding suburbs. This was an attempt by the governments in charge at the time to encourage central high-density living as the city has struggled with urban sprawl. Nowadays high-density developments are still encouraged, but often required to go through strict regulations to comply with New Duveland Apartment Living Guidelines, historic preservations, overshadowing and wind modelling.

All of the city's metro railways and rapid transit go through the city's centre, terminating or looping around the city's underground metro loop. The city's main ferry terminal at Poroquay with the iconic Tasbury Ferry Building sitting behind is the base of all of Tasbury's ferry system. The city's northern tram network also loops through or terminates in the city centre. New Duveland National Motorway (A1) goes directly through the city's centre and over the Tasbury Harbour Bridge, while the A4 motorway passes through and over the Ōmokoroa Bridge.

Inner North

The Inner-north is dense, with apartment towers and terraces common throughout.

The Inner North generally includes the Inner North Council, Municipality of Burakau, Municipality of Maratika, and City of Kanata Bay. These span up to about 11 km north of the CBD. Suburbs in the Inner North have historically housed working class industrial workers, but have undergone gentrification over the 20th century. The region now mainly features medium- and high-density housing. Major features in the area include the University of Tasbury, as well as a large cosmopolitan communities and the nightlife hub on Kingi Street in Taonehou. The Andnzac Bridge spans Whangaiti harbour and connects Rōhelle to Tauranga Island and the city, forming part of the Coastal Distributor. The region includes some of the most affluent and advantaged areas in the country, with some streets being amongst the most expensive in the world.

The area is serviced by the West Coast Ōmokoroa, and Ipswich railway lines, including the Main Suburban Line; which is the first to be constructed in Moanarua. Maratika railway station is a secondary railway hub within Tasbury, and major station on the Suburban and other northern lines. It was constructed in 1876, and also connects directly to the city's northern light rail lines. The area is also serviced by numerous bus routes and cycleways. Notable shopping centres in the area include Hauāuru Burakau and TMO Ngahekainga. Both the A1 and A4 motorways follow the west and east coast respectively.

Mt Pahoia Parklands is the largest parkland in Tasbury, and offers extensive uninterrupted views of Tasbury's central city, the Harbour, The Tasman Sea, the Ōmokoroa Sea and even views of the Southern Tasman Ranges on days with good visibility.

Southern Mahi Peninsula

Taonehou is a fine example of Victorian and Edwardian era commercial precincts in New Duveland.

The Southern Mahi Region encompass the Municipality of Preston, the City of Hotham, Waenganui City Council, and Kūraiti Municipality. The University of Preston and Tasbury Institute of Technology & Science are have their main campuses around Preston.

The area is home to traditional town-centres that developed as railway towns, featuring Victorian and Edwardian era architecture that has been well preserved. Beaches line both the east and western sides of the region with popular beaches including Smiths Beach, Tika Beach and Tapu Beach. Prominent shopping areas include Hauāuru Preston and Hauāuru Hotham, with several smaller shopping centres and town centres serving the region.

The region is served by the and Hotham-Preston, West Coast and Ipswich, as well as the Preston-Cork driverless Rapid transit line that connect the southern Mahi Peninsula to the inner north, the central city. Regional services through the NDLoop are also available from Preston, connecting the region to Tasbury, the rest of Moanarua and further into other provinces. Tasbury's tram network northernmost extent reaches Hotham and provides transit into areas without rail services. The region also has several bus lines and numerous cycle paths. The A1 and A4 motorways both traverse north-south through the region, with the A40 connecting either side of the region.

Western Mahi Suburbs

Po Beach is a popular get-away spot for locals and tourists alike.

Western Mahi Suburbs include Canterbury City Council, the City of Guildford, Poraiti Municipality and Aporo Hill Council. Canterbury University is one of the most prestigious in New Duveland, and has one of the largest student bases in the city. As the region sits along the Mahi Peninsula's west coast, there are plentiful surf beaches along the entire coastline, with Po Beach being one of the most famous in New Duveland.

The climate in the western suburbs is notably dryer than that of the east, and has been deemed as some as the 'LA of New Duveland', due to the area receiving more sunlight on average than any other region of Tasbury. This has alluded to be one of Tasbury's more affluent areas outside of the immediate harbour area, with some of the most expensive and large houses in Tasbury being found in this region.

The area is served by the Thornbury, Canterbury-Ipswich and the West Coast railways lines, with a NDLoop connection at Canterbury Station. Several bus routes traverse the region as well. There are plans to extend Tasbury's northern tram network to the region's southern half, with estimates than an extension could be functional as early as 2030. The A1 motorway also serves as a direct route to the city centre for road traffic, and the A28 also connects the region to the Thornbury Hinterlands and the eastern Mahi suburbs.

Eastern Mahi Suburbs

The eastern suburbs of the Mahi Peninsula have calmer coastlines.

The Eastern Mahi Suburbs is largely centred on the City of Ipswich, and spread north including Bramford City Council, Spilsby Council, and up to the border with Waiau. The suburbs are incredibly narrow along the coast of the Ōmokoroa Sea, with suburbs almost immediately from the coastline growing into the foothills of the Thornbury Mountains. The Eastern Mahi Suburbs include several landmarks, notably Ipswich University, Bramford Beach, the Ipswich Centre and the Cultural Hall in Mansfield.

While there are a few beaches along the coast, most of the coastline has extensive tidal bays and mud flats that are exposed at low tide, with rivers and creeks draining into the Ōmokoroa Sea through extensive mangroves, mudbanks and sand banks. During early colonial times, the region was mostly developed and large swathes of mangroves were cleared. However, in recent decades local governments, with the help of national grants have expanded protected areas throughout a majority of the coastline, improving the ecosystem for native wildlife and providing a barrier between the sea and low-lying suburbs.

The East has great public transport connectivity with the rest of Tasbury, with the Ōmokoroa, Canterbury-Ipswich metro railways, as well as regional connections to Newcastle and Bayview departing from Ipswich. The A4 Motorway follows the coast to the inner north, with the A28 connecting the region to the western coast of the Mahi Peninsula.

Thornbury Hinterlands

uburbs in the Thornbury Hinterlands sprawl into forests from the valleys below.

The Thornbury Hinterlands are named after the largest centre in the region, Thornbury, but is surrounded by numerous other city councils and dozes more suburbs. It is know as the gateway to natural beauty, as it is almost exclively bordered by national parks to the north and east. Most suburbs therefore in this area are hilly, with it not uncommon for every house in a neighbourhood to have uninterrupted views of the Tasman Sea, even kilometres inland.

While the region is landlocked, it still enjoys the services of all other regions in Tasbury, including large shopping centres such as Hauāuru Thornbury, Hillside and Titaha shopping centres, as well as numerous town-centres and strip-malls. Also connecting to the central city is the Thornbury Railway Line which terminates in the suburb's main activity centre, and connects right into Tasbury Central Station through the Western Mahi, Southern Mahi and Inner north suburbs. The A28 also traverses east-west through the region, passing directly through the lower Thornbury Mountains through a series of tunnels and bridges linking the region to the east and west coasts of the Mahi Peninsula.

Greater Koterataha

Koterataha's skyline has grown considerably since the 2010's and acts as Tasbury's 'second CBD'.

Greater Koterataha encompasses the areas of Koterataha, the eighth largest business district in New Duveland, and was settled the same year as when Tasbury was founded, as well as surrounding suburbs such as Newmarket, Glen Iris, Rākau and Kūpapa Bay. Greater Koterataha has the most multicultural suburbs in the country. The population is predominantly of a working class background, with major employment in the heavy industries and vocational trade.

Koterataha is directly connected to Tasbury's central city and other northern suburbs by multiple freeway, railway and rapid transit lines, the most notable being the Koterataha Bridge that opened in 1939, the Tasbury Harbour Bridge and the Ōmokoroa Bridge. Tasbury's rapid transit lines also converge into a single line from Tasbury Central Station underground to Koterataha Station before heading south east and south west, allowing for direct and fast connections to major industrial and commercial centres across both sides of the harbour. All of Tasbury's southern suburban railway lines come through Koterataha, including the Holt, Rye, Aorere, Southampton, Melrose, Melrose and Lutton railway lines. Koterataha is also the terminus of Tasbury's southern tram network, which spread out from Koterataha's centre to urban centres such as Holt, Kaimai and Southampton.

Kākāriki Botanic Gardens, a botanical garden situated in Kākāriki, attracts thousands of visitors each year, including a significant number from outside New Duveland. It's central location right next to Koterataha's central business district gives the area a very green vibe. Koterataha also includes the Tasbury Motorsport Park, a motorsport circuit located in Rawhiti Creek. The Tihokahoka Aqueduct in Kerei is a 19th-century water bridge that is listed on the Moanarua Heritage Register as a site of significance. Tirohanga Hill, a historically significant ridge in the south and the only area in Tasbury with ancient volcanic activity, is also listed on the NMS Heritage Register.

South Eastern Suburbs

Suburban sprawl is most prevalent in Tasbury's South Eastern suburbs.

The South Eastern Suburbs include the Kaimai Council, The City of Hull, Southampton and also stretches narrowly along the coast to Omana. This region is Tasbury's fastest growing area, with greenbelts in the north prevent any further large expansions in the north, leading to extensive urban-sprawl development in this region. Another leading reason to this region's fastest growth is that compared to the northern suburbs, the South East is relatively flat and allows for easy subdivisions of already rectangular farmland.

There are various railway lines through the region, including the Southampton, Euramo, Melrose and Lutton railway lines. The NDLoop also passes through, with a single station at Southampton connecting it to regional and inter-provincial traffic. Tasbury's southern tram network also extends from Koterataha to Kaimai and Southampton.

The A1, A36 traverse the region, with the A29 and A25 acting as the region's boundaries to the hinterlands and the Mt Waituna regions.

Mt Waituna Region

Briston is the centre of the Mt Waituna Region.

The Mt Waituna Region is named after the most prominent peak in the region, Mt Waituna within the Waituna Ranges Park. The region includes numerous other councils, including Holt Council, Rye Municipality, Briston City Council, and Cork Council. The region's centre and largest activity hub is Briston, which sits on the south western coast of Minora Bay within the Ōmokoroa Sea. Briston is one of the oldest settlements in Tasbury, and has slowly over the decades been incorporated into Tasbury's urban area.

As it is with the South Eastern region, the outer reaches of the Mt Waituna Region are slowly impeding into the eastern hinterlands, with farmland subdivisions making way for Exurban developments that promote large blocks of land that are unavailable to those in existing suburban areas.

The region is services by the A4 motorway that circles the Ōmokoroa Sea, connecting the region to Tasbury's CBD and Koterataha, as well as north along the bay to Aorere. The A36, A41 and A54 also pass through the region. The Rye, Cork and Aorere railway lines also provide connection to Tasbury's central city as well as central Koterataha, with Tasbury's southern tram network also reaching into Holt, with several bus lines also operating in areas without rail or tram networks.

Eastern Hinterlands

The Eastern Hinterlands has become popular for hobby farmers in recent years.

The Eastern Hinterlands generally refers to the suburbs in the south-east of Tasbury including the local government areas of Elm Shire, Shire of Euramo, Lutton City Council and the Kawarau Council. Actual suburbs and localities that are considered to be in the Hills District can be somewhat amorphous and variable. The region is named for its characteristically comparatively hilly topography as the relatively flatter southern regions opens up into the Southern Tasman Ranges. As such, the Eastern Hinterlands is itself a buffer between the dense suburban areas and the remote Southern Tasman Ranges.

Growth in the region is picking up pace within the last decade, as urban sprawl from the South East region spills over into the hinterlands, with the A29 Motorway previously acting as the border between suburban and hinterland suburbs.

Several of its suburbs also have "Hill" or "Hills" in their names, such as Batman Hills, Pākaha Hill, Whitu Hills, Kopere Hills, and Winitana Hills, among others. Elm and Old Elm Roads are historic roads in New Duveland, as they are the second and third roads, respectively, laid in the colony. The area is popular for hobby farmers with large plots of land allowing for ranch-style dwellings, while still maintaining railway connections to the city centre, such as that of the Melrose, Euramo and Lutton railway lines.

Cityscape Gallery

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  Abbotsbury
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  Auheke Beach
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  Bentleigh
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  Clearview
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  Craven
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  Daylesford
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  Ēheputa
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  Glenvale
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  Green Beach
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  Holt
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  Junction View
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  Kaimai
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  Kilmore
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  Napier
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  North Barnsley
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  Northern Gardens
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  O'Sullivan Beach
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  Oxley
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  Pouakana
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  Preston
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  Queensferry
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  Rye
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  Ryeford
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  Southampton
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  Surrey Hills
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  Surrey
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  Taumata
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  Telegraph Hill
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  Tiāre
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  Whāma Tātahi

Governance

Parliament House, Tasbury is the home of the Moanaruan Government.

Tasbury, the capital of Moanarua, operates under a unique system of governance split between the Moanaruan provincial government and 22 cities and four shires that form the metropolitan area. The absence of a ceremonial or political head of Tasbury has been filled by the Lord Mayor of the City of Tasbury, who often acts as a first among equals.

The 22 cities and four shires of Tasbury have significant autonomy and are responsible for providing a range of services under the Local Government Act 1989, including urban planning and waste management. Meanwhile, the Moanaruan provincial government oversees most other government services, such as public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, health, and major infrastructure projects. The provincial government operates from Parliament House, located in King Street, Tasbury.

As the provincial capital, Tasbury houses all the major government institutions of Moanarua. The city's government is responsible for governing and overseeing the entire province, with a focus on promoting economic growth, maintaining social and cultural harmony, and preserving the natural beauty and resources of the region.

Tasbury Town Hall is a prominent example of a Victorian sandstone building juxtaposed with modern skyscrapers

The Tasbury Metropolitan Region is made up of 22 local government areas (LGAs), one for each provincial electoral district. Over the years, the boundaries of these districts have been adjusted, renamed, and changed in response to the city's growth and evolution. Nonetheless, the LGAs remain an essential part of the local government system, providing essential services and infrastructure to the people of Tasbury and the wider province.

The governance of Tasbury is dominated by the New Duveland Labor and the Greens, which together hold around three-quarters of Lisburn's districts in the current Moanaruan Legislature. However, there is healthy representation from other political parties, including the Liberals and New Duveland First, which collectively hold the remaining quarter of the districts.

Tasbury's government operates on a democratic system, with regular elections held to elect members to the Provincial Legislature of Moanarua and the various local government councils. This allows for the people of Tasbury and the wider province to have a say in the running of their government and ensures that their voices are heard. The Moanaruan provincial government, together with the local councils, work together to provide the necessary services and infrastructure to the people of Tasbury and the wider province, while preserving and promoting the region's natural and cultural heritage.

Urban structure

Architecture

The Kingsway Hotel is one of the city's most famous early skyscrapers, taking inspiration from Canadian Railway Hotels.

Brutalist architecture was popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with the Canterbury City Town Hall building one of the most famous examples in the Tasbury metro area.

The earliest structures in the colony were built to the bare minimum of standards. Upon his appointment, Governor Lachlan Guidford set ambitious targets for the architectural design of new construction projects. The city now has a world heritage listed building, several national heritage listed buildings, and dozens of Commonwealth heritage listed buildings as evidence of the survival of Guidford's ideals.

Frank Gehry's Dr Chau Chak Wing Building

In 1814 the Governor called on a convict named Francis Greenway to design Guidford Lighthouse. The lighthouse and its Classical design earned Greenway a pardon from Guidford in 1818 and introduced a culture of refined architecture that remains to this day. Greenway went on to design the Tomokangana Park Barracks in 1819 and the Georgian style St James's Church in 1824. Gothic-inspired architecture became more popular from the 1830s. Grace Point House and St Philip's Church of 1856 were built in Gothic Revival style along with Tasbury's Government House of 1845. Koterataha House, completed in 1858, and St Andrew's Cathedral, New Duveland's oldest cathedral, are rare examples of Victorian Gothic construction.

Victorian Mannerist architecture on Toene Street with the inter-war Grace Building in the background.

From the late 1850s there was a shift towards Classical architecture. Mortimer Lewis designed the New Duveland Museum in 1857. The General Post Office, completed in 1891 in Victorian Free Classical style, was designed by James Barnet. Barnet also oversaw the 1883 reconstruction of Greenway's Guidford Lighthouse. Customs House was built in 1844 to the specifications of Lewis, with additions from Barnet in 1887 and W L Vernon in 1899. The neo-Classical and French Second Empire style Town Hall was completed in 1889. Romanesque designs gained favour amongst Tasbury's architects from the early 1890s. Technical College of Tasbury was completed in 1895 using both Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne approaches. The Queen Victoria Building was designed in Romanesque Revival fashion by George McRae and completed in 1898. It was built on the site of the Central Tasbury Markets and accommodates 200 shops across its three storeys.

As the wealth of the settlement increased, and as Tasbury developed into a metropolis after Federation in 1901, its buildings became taller. Tasbury's first tower was Iraturanga Place on the corner of King Street and Matua Street which topped out at 50 metres (160 feet) making 12 floors. The Commercial Traveller's Club, located in Govoner Place and built in 1908, was of similar height at 10 floors. It was built in a brick stone veneer and later incoporated into Harry Seidler's Toru Tuatahi Centre. This heralded a change in Tasbury's cityscape and with the lifting of height restrictions in the 1960s there came a surge of high-rise construction. Acclaimed architects such as Jean Nouvel, Harry Seidler, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, and Frank Gehry have each made their own contribution to the city's skyline.

The Great Depression had a tangible influence on Tasbury's architecture. New structures became more restrained with far less ornamentation than was common before the 1930s. Modern and International architecture came to Tasbury from the 1940s. Since its completion in 1989 the Union Dome has become one of the city's most recogniseable landmarks. Tasbury is home to New Duveland's first building by renowned Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building (2015), based on the design of a tree house.

Contemporary buildings in the CBD include Tasbury Place, Teitei Tower, Deutsche Bank Tower, Toru Tuatahi Centre, and the Victoria Place complex. The tallest structure is the Moanarua Financial Centre, completed in 2015. Regulations limiting new buildings not to overshadow Tomokangana Park, other important green spaces and the city's waterfront have been in effect since the late 1970s. heritage overlays have been in place since at least 1977 to protect Tasbury's heritage after controversial demolitions in the 1970s led to an outcry from Tasburians to preserve the old and keep history intact, sufficiently balancing old and new architecture.

Housing

Terraces are common and widespread in older suburbs, such as these Filigree style terraces in Cork.

High-density public housing from the 1970s can be found throughout the city.

Tasbury surpasses both New York City and Paris real estate prices, having some of the most expensive in the world. The city remains New Duveland's most expensive housing market, with the mean house price just ober NDD$1.0 million as of December 2020 (over 25% higher the national mean house price).

There were 1.52 million dwellings in Tasbury in 2016 including 770,000 (57%) detached houses, 250,000 (14%) semi-detached terrace houses and 500,000 (28%) units and apartments. Whilst terrace houses are common in the inner city areas, detached houses dominate the landscape in the outer suburbs.

Due to environmental and economic pressures, there has been a noted trend towards denser housing. There was a 50% increase in the number of apartments in Tasbury between 2001 and 2011. Public housing in Tasbury is managed by the Government of Moanarua. Suburbs with large concentrations of public housing include Canterbury, Cork, Holt, and Kaimai. The Government has announced plans to sell nearly 300 historic public housing properties in the harbourside neighbourhoods of North Tasbury, Koterataha, and Natoka.

Tasbury is one of the most expensive real estate markets globally. With the average property costing 12 times the annual Tasbury salary as of December 2016. A range of heritage housing styles can be found throughout Tasbury. Terrace houses are found in the inner suburbs such as North Tasbury, Natoka, Preston and Koterataha of which have been the subject of gentrification. These terraces, particularly those in suburbs such as Natoka, were historically home to Tasbury's miners and labourers. In the present day, terrace houses now make up some of the most valuable real estate in the city.

Federation homes, constructed around start of the 20th century, are located in suburbs such as Bramford, Southampton, and in Lower Pahoia. Lower Pahoia is known as "The Federation Suburb" due to the extensive number of Federation homes. Workers cottages are found in Hotham, Spilsby, and Guildford]]. California bungalows are common in Richmond, Pukenga Arch, and Whareporaka Kokoru. Larger modern homes are predominantly found in the outer suburbs, such as Omana, Elm and Euramo in the east, Cheltenham, Waiau, and Punapango to the west.

Parks and open spaces

The Andnzac War Memorial in Tomokangana Park is a public memorial dedicated to the achievement of the Imperial Forces of New Duveland of World War I.

The Royal Botanic Gardens is the most iconic green space in the Tasbury region, hosting both scientific and leisure activities. There are 20 separate parks under the administration of the City of Tasbury. Parks within the city centre include Tomokangana Park, The Royal Botanic Garden and Commonwealth Park.

The Government House gardens within the Royal Botanic Gardens offers extensive views of the harbour.

Mt Pahoia Parklands is the largest park in the City of Tasbury, comprising 250 hectares (620 acres).

The inner suburbs include Herautau Park and Ētahiatu Park in the west (both within the City of Tasbury local government area), while the outer suburbs contain Tasbury Park and Arikitapa National Park in the south east, Mt Waituna National Park in the north east, and the Lower Thornbury Ranges National Park in the outer east, which is one of the largest urban parks in the world. The Arikitapa National Park was proclaimed in 1888 and with 11,500 hectares (44 square miles) is one of the oldest national parks in the world.

Tomokangana Park is the oldest parkland in the country. The largest park in the Tasbury metropolitan area is Whaia National Park, established in 1894 with an area of 20,500 hectares (79 square miles). It is regarded for its well-preserved records of indigenous habitation and more than 800 rock engravings, cave drawings and middens have been located in the park.

The area now known as Te Rohe was set aside by Governor Arthur Phillip in 1812 as his private reserve. Under the orders of Guildford the land to the immediate north of Te Rohe became the Royal Botanic Garden in 1821. This makes them the oldest botanic garden in New Duveland. The Gardens are not just a place for exploration and relaxation, but also for scientific research with herbarium collections, a library and laboratories. The two parks have a total area of 104 hectares (0.4 square miles) with 9,500 individual plant species and receive over 3.0 million annual visits.

To the south of Te Rohe is Tomokangana Park, the oldest public parkland in New Duveland which measures 15.2 hectares (0.1 square miles) in area. Its location was used for both relaxation and the grazing of animals from the earliest days of the colony. Guildford dedicated it in 1810 for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town" and named it in honour of the Māori name of the region.

Gallery

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  Tasbury's Shrine of Remembrance, Completed in 1935.
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  Tasbury University's City Campus, late 1860s
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  The Koterataha Town Hall, Koterataha, 1890s
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  A row of Victorian Renaissance Revival buildings
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  The Daylesford Post Office, Inter war Gothic style
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  The old Richmond Post Office, Victorian Academic Gothic style
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  The Moanaruan Provincial Library
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  St Peter's Cathedral

Culture

Sports

Stadium New Duveland is the largest stadium in the country, with a capacity of 100,000.

Sport is an important part of the culture in Tasbury. Tasbury has attracted many international multi-sport events including the 1984 Summer Olympics. Tasbury was also the host of the 1954 Commonwealth Games. The Tasbury Cricket Ground was home to the Olympic's opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field events, and the finals in field hockey and soccer. The TCG traditionally hosts the 'New Year' cricket test match from 2–6 January each year. The annual Tasbury to Cascade Yacht Race begins in Tasbury Harbour on Boxing Day, whilst the climax of New Duveland's touring car racing series is the Bayview 1000, held at the Tirohanga whanui Circuit near the city of Bayview in the Alexandria Valley.

Stadium New Duveland is the scene of the annual NRL Grand Final. It also regularly hosts rugby league State of Origin as well as rugby union and soccer internationals. It hosted the final of the 1999 Rugby World Cup and was also the main opening and closing ceremony to the 2017 AFA Alliance World Cup, as well the closing ceremony of the 2022 AFA Alliance World Cup.

The Tasbury Autumn Racing Carnival features the richest two-year-old horse race in the world, the Hepa Koura Stakes, which is run in April every year. The Peekeronga International tennis tournament is held in January. The City to Surf foot race is held every August and is one of the largest timed foot races in the world.

Rugby league is by far the main sport of Tasbury. This stems back from the earlier colonial days of the city where the city and its cultural were largely dictated by wealthy Englishmen whom traditionally played and were supporters of the Rugby code of football, which was largely advertised and passed on to the people of Tasbury, including the working class who in back in England largely played soccer. The game quickly grew a working-class following, and has been a Tasbury tradition ever since.

The headquarters of the New Duveland Rugby League and National Rugby League (NRL) are in Tasbury, which is home to seven of the 24 NRL football clubs (Tasbury Titans, Koterataha Swans, Cork Eagles, Canterbury Lions, Southern Raiders, Preston Bulldogs, North Tasbury Devils and Ipswich Lions).

Tasbury has a local club rugby union competition (the Kati Shield), and a Super Rugby team the Moanarua Warriors, who play their games in the city and represent the entire province of Moanarua. The National Rugby Championship has four teams in Tasbury: Tasbury Giant Moas, Harbourside Sharks, Guildford Rays and the Southampton Bulls. The New Duveland Rugby Union headquarters are located in Tasbury. The Kati play out of the Tasbury Football Stadium, and when in Tasbury the Giant Moas play out of Stadium New Duveland.

Science, art, and history

The New Duveland Museum is the oldest museum in New Duveland.

The Mt Pahoia Parklands contains hundreds of pieces of historic Māori artworks – the largest single cluster of Indigenous sites in New Duveland, surpassing the Montgeard Rainforests and Olympic Ranges National Park, which has around 3,000 sites but over a much greater landmass. The park's indigenous sites include petroglyphs, art sites, burial sites, caves, marriage areas, birthing areas, midden sites, and tool manufacturing locations, among others, which are dated to be over 500 years old. The inhabitants of the area belong to the Kūwaha hapū, which was largely home to the Kūwahatuhanga whānau. Other notable sites exist in the Tasbury region, such as in The Tāhimana Headlands which contains several Pā sites, and Herautau Park, although the locations of most are not publicised to prevent damage by vandalism, and to retain their quality, as they are still regarded as sacred sites by the Kūwahatuhanga.

The New Duveland Museum opened in Tasbury in 1834 with the purpose of collecting and displaying the natural wealth of the colony. It remains New Duveland's oldest natural history museum. In 1990 the Tasbury Museum opened on the site of the first Government House. It recounts the story of the city's development. Other museums based in Tasbury include the Powerhouse Museum and the National Maritime Museum of New Duveland.

The State Library of Moanarua holds the oldest library collections in New Duveland, being first established as the Subscription Library of New Duveland in 1826. In 1866 then Queen Victoria gave her assent to the formation of the Royal Society of Moanarua. The Society exists "for the encouragement of studies and investigations in science, art, literature, and philosophy". It is based in a terrace house in Retimana owned by the University of Tasbury. The Tasbury Observatory building was constructed in 1859 and used for astronomy and meteorology research until 1982 before being converted into a museum.

The Museum of Contemporary Art was opened in 1991 and occupies an Art Deco building in Poroquay. Its collection was founded in the 1940s by artist and art collector Hōne Punahiko and has been maintained by the University of Tasbury. Tasbury's other significant art institution is the Art Gallery of Moanarua which coordinates the coveted Whakaahua Prize for portraiture. Contemporary art galleries are found in Kātaloo, Surry Hills, Tōrerehurst, Westminster, Richmond, Queenton, and Inglestone.

Entertainment

The Royal Theatre on Edward Street was opened in 1860.

Tasbury's first commercial theatre opened in 1832 and seven more had commenced performances by the late 1920s. The live medium lost much of its popularity to the cinema during the Great Depression before experiencing a revival after World War II. Prominent theatres in the city today include The Provincial Theatre, Royal Theatre, Tasbury Theatre, The Docks Theatre, and Centre Theatre. The Tasbury Theatre Company maintains a roster of local, classical, and international plays. The city's other prominent theatre companies are Wharetapere, Canterbury, and Preston Theatre Company. Tasbury is also home to Pure Cinemas' first theatre, which opened on King St in 1913; the theatre currently operates, and is regarded as one of New Duveland's busiest cinema locations.

Union Dome is the home of Opera New Duveland and Tasbury Symphony. It has staged over 100,000 performances and received 50 million visitors since opening in 1989. Two other important performance venues in Tasbury are Town Hall and the City Recital Hall. The Tasbury Conservatorium of Music is located adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden and serves the New Duveland music community through education and its biannual Music Examinations Board of New Duveland exams.

Southwarf is home to Tasbury's only casino and gambling district.

Tasbury is the host of several festivals throughout the year. The city's New Year's Eve celebrations are the largest in New Duveland. The Royal Easter Show is held every year at Tasbury's Commonwealth Park. Tasbury Festival is New Duveland's largest arts festival. The city's largest film festivals is the Tasbury Film Festival. Vivid Tasbury is an annual outdoor exhibition of art installations, light projections, and music. In 2015, Tasbury was ranked 15th for being the top fashion capitals in the world. It hosts the Tasbury Fashion Week in autumn. The Tasbury Mardi Gras has commenced each March since 1975.

Daylesford Rainbow Crossing in Little Balisca, celebrates the city's LGBTQIA+ community.

Tasbury's Chinatown, established in the 1850s, is the oldest of it's kind in New Duveland. Established during the Gold Rush of the 1850s, it has played an important role in establishing the culture of Chinese immigrants in New Duveland, and is still home to many Chinese restaurants, cultural venues, businesses and places of worship. Today, Tasbury's Chinatown is a major tourist attraction, known for its architectural heritage, annual festivals and cuisines of Asian origins, as well as its karaoke venues, bars and fashion boutiques.

Restaurants, bars and nightclubs can be found throughout the city's metro area, but the most notable entertainment hubs are in the Tasbury CBD (Southwarf, Ngatoka, The Docks and King Street), Richmond, Koterataha, Taonehou and Maratika. Queen's Place is considered the red-light district of the city, and is also home to the city's gay village, with bars such as Takatāpoka, Tarakaka, Wet on Westminster found there. Southwarf is home to the city's regulated casino district and is situated next to Porowhita Harbour. Casinos are heavily monitored in Tasbury, with Southwarf being the only legal gambling centre in the Province.

Media

New Duveland's national broadcaster, the NDBC, is headquartered in Southwharf.

The Tasbury Times is New Duveland's oldest newspaper still in print. Now a compact form paper owned by Network Two, it has been published continuously since 1812. Its competitor is the News Corporation tabloid Tasbury Daily which has been in print since 1879. Both papers have Sunday tabloid editions called Sun-times and The Sunday Daily respectively. Retapānui was founded in Tasbury in 1880 and is New Duveland's longest running magazine. Tasbury heralded New Duveland's first newspaper, the Tasbury Kāhiti, published until 1842.

Each of Tasbury's three commercial television networks and two public broadcasters is headquartered in Tasbury. Network Two offices and news studios are in Koterataha, Twelve and Five are based in Ngatauranga, Five has a news studio in the Tasbury CBD in Matini Place the New Duveland Broadcasting Corporation (NDBC) is located in Southwharf, and the Motuhake Broadcasting Service is based in North Tasbury. Multiple digital channels have been provided by all five networks since 2000. Pokiha is based in North Ekenga and sells subscription cable television to most parts of the urban area. Tasbury's first radio stations commenced broadcasting in the 1920s. Radio became a popular tool for politics, news, religion, and sport and has managed to survive despite the introduction of television and the Internet. TwoII was founded in 1925 and under the ownership of Network Two is the oldest station still broadcasting. Competing stations include the more popular GB5, NBDBC Radio Tasbury, KIHI 111.1, Triple E, Hou 99.9 and 2Now FM.

Economy

Tasbury is the financial and economic centre of New Duveland, having the largest economy and contributing a quarter of New Duveland's total GDP.

Researchers from Loughborough University have ranked Tasbury amongst the top twenty world cities that are highly integrated into the global economy. The Global Economic Power Index ranks Tasbury number fifteenth in the world. The Global Cities Index recognises it as number twenty in the world based on global engagement. There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Tasbury and the city is promoted as New Duveland's financial capital and one of Asia Pacific's leading financial hubs.

The prevailing economic theory in effect during early colonial days was mercantilism, as it was throughout most of Western Europe. The economy struggled at first due to the lack of a stable monetary system, but quickly rebounded once early cultivation was a wide success. The economy was clearly capitalist in nature by the 1840s as the proportion of free settlers increased, the maritime and wool industries flourished, and the powers of the East India Company were curtailed.

Wheat, gold, and other minerals became additional export industries towards the end of the 1800s. Significant capital began to flow into the city from the 1870s to finance roads, railways, bridges, docks, courthouses, schools and hospitals. Protectionist policies allowed for the creation of a manufacturing industry which became the city's largest employer by the 1920s. These same policies helped to relieve the effects of the Great Depression during which the unemployment rate in Moanarua reached as high as 35%. From the 1960s onwards Koterataha gained recognition as the city's second CBD and finance and tourism became major industries and sources of employment.

Tasbury's nominal gross domestic product was AU$400.9 billion and ND$75,000 per capita in 2015. Its gross domestic product was ND$300 billion in 2013, the largest in New Duveland. The Financial and Insurance Services industry accounts for 20.0% of gross product and is ahead of Professional Services with 9.5% and Manufacturing with 8.0%. In addition to Financial Services and Tourism, the Creative and Technology sectors are focus industries for the City of Tasbury and represented 10% each of its economic output in 2012.

Corporate citizens

There were just over 400,000 businesses based in Tasbury in 2011, including 40% of the top 500 companies in New Duveland and two-thirds of the regional headquarters of multinational corporations. Global companies are attracted to the city in part because its time zone spans the closing of business in North America and the opening of business in Europe. Most foreign companies in Tasbury maintain significant sales and service functions but comparably less production, research, and development capabilities. There are 250 multinational companies with regional offices in Tasbury.

Domestic economics

Smith Street, a major street in the CBD, runs from Poroquay in the west to the Convention Centre in the east, and is home to many large high-end retailers.

Tasbury has been ranked between the twentieth and the eighth most expensive city in the world and is the most expensive city in New Duveland. Of the 15 categories only measured by UBS in 2012, workers receive the ninth highest wage levels of 80 cities in the world.

The labour force of Greater Tasbury Region in 2016 was just over 2 million with a participation rate of 60.5%. It was made up of 61.2% full-time workers, 30.9% part-time workers, and 6.0% unemployed individuals. The largest reported occupations are professionals, clerical and administrative workers, managers, technicians and trades workers, and community and personal service workers. The largest industries by employment across Greater Tasbury are Health Care and Social Assistance with 11.6%, Professional Services with 9.8%, Retail Trade with 9.3%, Construction with 8.2%, Education and Training with 8.0%, Accommodation and Food Services 6.7%, and Financial and Insurance Services with 6.6%. The Professional Services and Financial and Insurance Services industries account for 25.4% of employment within the City of Tasbury.

In 2016, 57.6% of working age residents had a total weekly income of less than $1,000 and 14.4% had a total weekly income of $1,750 or more. The median weekly income for the same period was $719 for individuals, $1,988 for families, and $1,750 for household.

Unemployment in the City of Tasbury averaged 4.0% for the decade to 2013, much lower than the current rate of unemployment in Southern Tasbury of 7.3%. Southern Tasbury continues to struggle to create jobs to meet its population growth despite the development of commercial centres like Koterataha. Each day about 200,000 commuters travel from Southern Tasbury to the CBD and suburbs in the north of the city.

Home ownership in Tasbury was less common than renting prior to the Second World War but this trend has since reversed. Median house prices have increased by an average of 8.6% per annum since 1970. The median house price in Tasbury in December 2014 was $600,000. The primary cause for rising prices is the increasing cost of land and scarcity which made up 32% of house prices in 1977 compared to 60% in 2002. 31.6% of dwellings in Tasbury are rented, 30.4% are owned outright and 34.8% are owned with a mortgage. 11.8% of mortgagees in 2011 had monthly loan repayments of less than $1,000 and 82.9% had monthly repayments of $1,000 or more. 44.9% of renters for the same period had weekly rent of less than $350 whilst 51.7% had weekly rent of $350 or more. The median weekly rent in Tasbury is $450.

Financial services

Commonwealth Bank of New Duveland, King Street

Guildford gave a charter in 1820 to form the first bank in New Duveland, the Bank of Moanarua. New private banks opened throughout the 1800s but the financial system was unstable. Bank collapses were a frequent occurrence and a crisis point was reached in 1902 when 10 banks failed.

The Bank of New South Wales exists to this day as Southpac. The Commonwealth Bank of New Duveland was formed in Tasbury in 1911 and began to issue notes backed by the resources of the nation. It was replaced in this role in 1962 by the Reserve Bank of New Duveland which is also based in Tasbury. The New Duveland Securities Exchange began operating in 1989 and with a market capitalisation of $1.4 trillion is now one of the twenty largest exchanges in the world.

The Financial and Insurance Services industry now constitutes 43% of the economic product of the City of Tasbury. Tasbury makes up half of New Duveland's finance sector and has been promoted by consecutive Commonwealth Governments as one of Asia Pacific's leading financial centres. In the 2017 Global Financial Centres Index, Tasbury was ranked as having the tenth most competitive financial centre in the world.

In 1990 the Federal Government granted 12 banking licences to foreign banks and now 30 of the 40 foreign banks operating in New Duveland are based in Tasbury, including the People's Bank of China, Bank of America, Citigroup, UBS, Mizuho Bank, Bank of China, Banco Santander, Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered, State Street, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sumitomo Mitsui, ING Group, and Investec.

Manufacturing

Tasbury has been a manufacturing city since the protectionist policies of the 1920s. By 1961 the industry accounted for 40% of all employment and by 1970 over 30% of all manufacturing jobs in New Duveland were in Tasbury. Its status has declined in more recent decades, making up 15% of employment in 2001 and 9% in 2011. Between 1970 and 1985 there was a loss of 180,000 manufacturing jobs. Despite this, Tasbury still has still maintained being the largest manufacturing centre in New Duveland in the 2010s. Observers have noted Tasbury's focus on the domestic market and high-tech manufacturing as reasons for its resilience against the high New Duveland dollar of the early 2010s. The Parakimete Park Industrial Estate in Greater Koterataha is the second largest industrial estate in the Southern Hemisphere and is the centre of manufacturing and distribution in the region.

Tasbury Zoo is the largest and most visited in New Duveland, with 2,000+ animals of 250+ species over 60 acres.

Tourism and international education

Tasbury is a gateway to New Duveland for many international visitors. It has hosted over 2.5 million international visitors in 2013, or nearly half of all international visits to New Duveland. These visitors spent 50 million nights in the city and a total of $5.9 billion. The countries of origin in descending order were China, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, and India.

The city also received 7.5 million domestic overnight visitors in 2013 who spent a total of $6 billion. 25,250 workers in the City of Tasbury were directly employed by tourism in 2012. There were 480,000 visitors and 27,500 people staying overnight each day in 2012. On average, the tourism industry contributes $30 million to the city's economy per day.

Popular destinations include Union Dome, Tasbury CBD, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Tomokangana Park, the Royal Exhibition Centre, Moanarua Financial Centre, Poroquay, the Old Tasbury Gaol, Tasbury Town Hall, the Tasbury Museum, the Tasbury Convention & Exhibition Centre, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Tasbury Zoo, Tasbury Aquarium, Ngatoka, Kokopāmu cove, Auheke Beach, Luna Park, The Tāhimana Headlands and Stadium New Duveland.

Major developmental projects designed to increase Tasbury's tourism sector include a casino and hotel district at Southwarf and the redevelopment of The Docks and Whangaiti harbour, which involves a new exhibition and convention centre, now New Duveland's largest.

Tasbury is the second highest-ranking city in the world for international students. More than 40,000 international students study at the city's universities and a further 40,000 study at its vocational and English language schools. International education contributes $1.3 billion to the local economy and creates demand for 3,750 local jobs each year.

Demographics

Chinese New Year is more popular in Tasbury as Chinese New Duvelanders become the fastest growing ethnic group in the city.

The population of Tasbury in 1805 was less than 1,000. With convict transportation it more than tripled in ten years to 3,201. The population then exploded after a gold rush during the 1850s and reached 76,000 by 1860. For each decade since 1961 the population has increased by more than 250,000. The 2021 census recorded the population of Greater Tasbury as 4,293,980. The New Duveland Bureau of Statistics (NDBS) projects the population will grow to between 7 and 8 million by 2061, and will remain New Duveland's most populous city indefinitely. The four most densely populated suburbs in New Duveland are located in Tasbury with each having more than 13,000 residents per square kilometre (33,700 residents per square mile). Between 1971 and 2018, Tasbury experienced a net loss of 524,800 people to the rest of New Duveland, but its population grew due to overseas arrivals and a healthy birth rate.

The median age of Tasbury residents is 36 and 11.5% of people are 65 or older. The married population accounts for 48.5% of Tasbury whilst 35.2% of people have never been married. 49.2% of families are couples with children, 33.2% are couples without children, and 17.6% are single-parent families.

Tasbury is home to the largest Pacific Islander population in the world, with several population groups within just Tasbury itself surpassing even the nation of origin's entire population, such as Samoa, Tonga and Avaiki, due to the city's strong connection to the South Pacific and offering better economic opportunities than in home nations.

Ancestry and immigration

Country of birth (2021)

Birthplace	Population
New Duveland	2,172,482
Mainland China	484,673
India	438,033
Samoa	335,272
Tonga	176,552
England	125,632
Vietnam	76,977
Philippines	74,975
New Zealand	70,176
Lebanon	50,580
Iraq	43,179
South Korea	41,618
South Africa	32,476
Italy	31,817
Fiji	31,693
France	30,200
Indonesia	29,068
Malaysia	28,731
Pakistan	25,466
Australia	24,580

Most immigrants to Tasbury between 1840 and 1930 were British, Irish or Chinese. At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:

• New Duvelander (12.6%)
• Māori (11.9%)
• English (10.6%)
• Chinese (10.4%)
• Indian (9.8%)
• Irish (8.2%)
• Samoan (7.2%)
• Scottish (5.1%)
• Tongan (3.9%)
• Italian (3.6%)
• Greek (2.5%)
• French (2.1%)
• German (1.9%)
• Vietnamese (1.8%)
• Filipino (1.7%)
• Korean (0.9%)
• Fijian (0.7%)
• Other ~ (5.0%)

At the 2021 census, 40.5% of Tasbury's population was born overseas. Foreign countries of birth with the greatest representation are Mainland China, India, England, Vietnam, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

At the 2021 census, 11.93% of Tasbury's population identified as being Māori New Duvelanders, with the highest concentration of Māori urbanisation in New Duveland, but comparatively lower compared to the entire population when compared to other cities in New Duveland, largely due to high international immigration to Tasbury.

Language

A language other than English is used in 42% of households in Tasbury. The most widely used non-English languages at home are Mandarin, Māori, Samoan, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hindi and French.

Religion

St Michael's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tasbury.

In 2021, 40.3% of Tasbury residents identified themselves as having no religion. Christianity was the largest religious affiliation at 45.4%, the largest denominations of which were Catholicism at 22.8% and Anglicanism at 8.9%. The most common non-Christian religious affiliations were Islam (6.3%), Hinduism (4.8%), Buddhism (3.8%), Sikhism (0.7%), and Judaism (0.7%).

The Church of England was the only recognised church before Governor Guildford appointed official Catholic chaplains in 1825. Guildford also ordered the construction of churches such as St Michael's, St Lucas', St Jacob's, and St Anthony's. Religious groups, alongside secular institutions, have played a significant role in education, health and charitable services throughout Tasbury's history.

Future growth

Tasbury is experiencing substantial population growth via immigration (two-thirds of growth) and natural population increases (one-third), and is set to grow between 7 to 8 million inhabitants by 2061 in a medium-variant scenario. This substantial increase in population will have a huge impact on transport, housing and other infrastructure that are, particularly in the case of housing, that are considered to be under pressure already. The high-variant scenario shows the region's population growing to over nine million by 2061.

In July 2020, Tasbury Council released, as the outcome of a five-year study and public hearings, the Tasbury 2061 Initiative. The initiative aims to free up to 30 percent more land for housing by allowing for greater in-fill developments and mixed-use zoning, allowing for greater intensification of the existing urban area, creating over 3 million new dwellings in the next 30 years. A large portion of the new dwellings are expected to be in-fill townhouses and units, as well as dense medium-density apartments set up along existing rail corridors along the city's rail network. There would also be a limit put on the amount of new subdivision for low-density living, with green-belts put in place to prevent the city expanding into any forested or crucial agricultural areas.

Education

The Future Green Chemicals Building at Kaimai Campus of the University of Tasbury.

Some of New Duveland's most prominent and well-known schools are based in Tasbury. Of the top twenty high schools in New Duveland, five are in Tasbury. There has also been a rapid increase in the number of International students studying in the city. Furthermore, Tasbury was ranked as one of the world's top university cities in 2008. Eight public universities operate in Tasbury: the University of Tasbury, University of Preston, Tasbury Institute of Technology & Science (TITS), Canterbury University, Ipswich University, Koterataha Institute, Catholic University of New Duveland (CUND) and the University of Moanarua.

Tasbury universities have campuses all over New Duveland and some internationally. Tasbury Institute of Technology & Science and University of Tasbury have campuses in Malaysia. The University of Tasbury, the oldest university in New Duveland, is ranked first among New Duveland universities in the 2016 THES international rankings. In 2018 Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Tasbury the 35th best university in the world which is higher than the rankings in 2016 and 2017, Canterbury University was ranked 85th best. Both are members of the a coalition of leading New Duveland tertiary institutions, the Akoranga Coalation offering comprehensive and leading education.

As of 2017 University of Tasbury is ranked 20th in the world in art & design, and 30th in architecture. The Tasbury Institute of Technology & Science, based in the inner-city Tasbury suburb of Queen's Place, was as of 2014 ranked 80th–100th in the world for physics by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Canterbury University maintains two major campuses in Tasbury and Newcastle, and is the third largest university in Moanarua. In recent years, the number of international students at Tasbury's universities has risen rapidly, a result of an increasing number of places being made available for them. Education in Tasbury is overseen by the Department of Education (DETNM), whose role is to 'provide policy and planning advice for the delivery of education'.

Infrastructure

Health

Tasbury Hospital opened in 1811.

The first hospital in the new colony was a collection of tents at The Docks. Many of the convicts that survived the trip from England continued to suffer from dysentery, smallpox, scurvy, and typhoid. Healthcare facilities remained hopelessly inadequate despite the arrival of a prefabricated hospital with additional fleets of settlers and the construction of brand new hospitals at Koterataha, Hotham, and Preston in the 1810s.

Governor Lachlan Guildford arranged for the construction of Tasbury Hospital and saw it completed in 1811. Parts of the facility have been repurposed for use as Parliament House but the hospital itself still operates to this day. The city's first emergency department was established at Tasbury Hospital in 1855. Demand for emergency medical care increased from 1895 with the introduction of an ambulance service. The Tasbury Hospital also housed New Duveland's first teaching facility for nurses, the Rākaunui Wing, established with the input of Nāhi Rākaunui in 1860.

Healthcare gained recognition as a citizen's right in the early 1900s and Tasbury's public hospitals came under the oversight of the Government of Moanarua. The administration of healthcare across Tasbury is handled by nine local health districts: Thornbury Hinterlands, Western Mahi Suburbs, Eastern Mahi Suburbs, Southern Mahi Peninsula, Tasbury & the Inner North, Greater Koterataha, South Eastern Suburbs, the Mt Waituna Region and the Eastern Hinterlands. The Royal Frederick Hospital was established in 1866 and became the first of several major hospitals to be opened in the coming decades. St Wetene's Hospital was founded in 1857, followed by Royal Albert Hospital for Children in 1880, the York Hospital in 1881, the Royal Alfred Hospital in 1884, the Royal Koterataha Hospital in 1885, the St Geoffrey Hospital in 1894, and the Abbotsbury Hospital in 1895. Junction View Hospital opened in 2003, and was the the last major facility to open.

Roads

The Ōmokoroa Bridge is the newest bridge to cross the Tasbury Harbour.

Tasbury has a dense network of urban freeways.

The motor vehicle, more than any other factor, has determined the pattern of Tasbury's urban development since World War II. The growth of low density housing in the city's outer suburbs has made car ownership necessary for hundreds of thousands of households. The percentage of trips taken by car has increased from 13% in 1947 to 50% in 1960 and to 70% in 1971. As Tasbury is dissected by the Tasbury Harbour, a major bottleneck occurs in the city's road network, as all roads north-south pass through the city's central area where the Tasbury Harbour is at it's narrowest, roughly 3km. Starting with the Koterataha Bridge in 1939, several bridges and tunnels have since been constructed to ease congestion from the north and south, such as the Tasbury Harbour Bridge in 1999, the Ōmokoroa Bridge on 2004, the Central Bypass Tunnel in 2010 and the Outer Harbour Tunnel in 2021. Widespread criticism over Tasbury's reliance on sprawling road networks, as well as the motor vehicle, have stemmed largely from proponents of mass public transport and high density housing.

There can be up to 300,000 cars using Tasbury's roads simultaneously during peak hour, leading to significant traffic congestion. 84.9% of Tasbury households own a motor vehicle and 46.5% own two or more. Car dependency is an ongoing issue in Tasbury–of people who travel to work, 58.4% use a car, 9.1% catch a train, 5.2% take a bus, and 4.1% walk. In contrast, only 25.2% of working residents in the City of Tasbury use a car, whilst 15.8% take a train, 13.3% use a bus, and 25.3% walk. With a rate of 26.3%, Tasbury has the highest utilisation of public transport for travel to work of any capital city in New Duveland.

A fourth bridge and sixth crossing in total is currently under works, and would become the longest bridge in New Duveland at current plans, bypassing the entirety of inner Tasbury at roughly 10km long, with the north landing point in Millers Point, and the southern landing at Glen Huntly. The bridge is expected to be completed in the 2030s, with the government reportedly being influenced by the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden. It would house 2 traffic lanes and an emergency stopping lane on both sides and two train lines below the road deck.

Public Transport

Trains

A fleet of the driverless Tasbury Metro trains at the depot in Cork.

A map of Tasbury's suburban rail network.

Established during massive revitalisation works of Tasbury's suburban railway network during the late 1990's, Poruquay Station is the largest and busiest railway station in the province and is the main hub of the city's rail network. Tasbury Trains is the suburban rail service. Its tracks form part of Rail Moanarua's provincial network. It serves over 250 stations across the city and had an annual ridership of 400 million passenger journeys in 2017–18. Tasbury's railway was first constructed in 1854 with progressive extension to the network to serve both freight and passengers across the city, suburbs, and beyond to rural Moanarua. The main station is the Poruquay Station, an underground station directly connected to the famous Tasbury Ferry Building in the eastern part of the CBD, taking over from Central Station during the 1990s, where central station now serves as a bypass of the city's underground railway loop directly connecting the city to it's main airport. In the 1860s and 1870s, the railway reached areas that are now outer suburbs of Tasbury.

A NDLoop train stopped at Koterataha Station.

The city's railway network is divded into 12 lines that radiate in and around the central city loop, a largely underground subway system. The city has rail connections with regional Moanarua cities run by Rail Moanarua, as well as direct inter-province lines via the NDLoop that passes through Poroquay Station in the centre of Tasbury's rail network. The network, in increasing line numbers include: Line 1: Tāwaiwhīra to city, Line 2: Thornbury - Southampton, Line 3: Loxford - Airport, Line 4: Airport South to City, Line 5: Canterbury - Ipswich, Line 6: Auheke - Pātapā, Line 7: Southampton - Cork, Line 8: Preston - Hotham, Line 9: Ipswich - Rye, Line 10: Plympton to city, Line 11: Rungatāhapa - Airport and Line 12: Pastoria to city. Lines will either terminate/loop around the city loop or pass through via the central bypass, which was originally the terminus to all railway networks in Tasbury prior to the 1990's revitalisation works.

Tasbury Metro, a driverless rapid transit system separate from the suburban commuter network, which first opened in 2019 as the Southampton-Cork Line in the southern suburbs, connecting major centres such as Southampton, Plympton and Cork to the city's second airport, the Southern Tasbury Airport. Future lines are planned in the northern suburbs as well. During the great depression, through government-run initiatives to maintain employments, all of Tasbury's rail network at the time was electrified and renovated to remove all level crossings with road networks, either fully underground or via open-cut trenches. This practice continue today, with all new lines constructed to be completely separated from road traffic, removing dangerous level crossings from the city and lowering congestion through peak hour times. This, among with the network's 250+ stations, has given the city a reputation for efficient and timely rail transit.

During weekdays, trains cease operating between midnight and 5am, while on Friday and Saturday nights, trains run on a limited, usually hourly service, down from the standard average 2 minute intervals in the city centre, and 20-30 minute in the outer suburbs.

Trams

Tasbury has the second largest tram network in the country.

Tasbury's tram network dates from the 1880s land boom and, as of 2021, consists of 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) of double track, 350 trams, 15 routes, and 963 tram stops, making it the second largest in New Duveland, behind Espérance. Around 75 per cent of Tasbury's tram network shares road space with other vehicles, while the rest of the network is separated or are light rail routes. Tasbury's trams are recognised as an iconic cultural assets and a tourist attraction, with heritage trams operate on the free Tasbury Square network around the CBD. Trams are free within the central city Free Tram Zone and run 24-hours on weekends.

Due to the city's geography, the city's tram network is split in two, with the north side terminating in the central city, while the smaller, southern network terminates in Koterataha.

Ferries

The Tasbury Ferry Building at Poroquay sits in front a complex of wharves and serves as the hub for the Tasbury Harbour ferry network.

At the time the Koterataha Bridge opened in 1939, the city's ferry service was one of the largest in the world. Patronage declined from 37 million passengers in 1945 to 11 million in 1963 but has increased in recent years as the city's roads and rail networks become increasingly bottlenecked crossing the Tasbury Harbour, with routes bypassing the entire city centre becoming increasingly popular, such as the Hotmam to Holt service.

Bus Network Bus services today are conducted by private operators under contract to Transport Moanarua. Integrated tickets called Pine cards operate on bus routes. In total, nearly 100 million boardings were recorded across more than 300 bus routes, which mainly service the outer suburbs and fills the gaps in the network between rail and tram services. Night bus services operate every half hour to 45 minutes depending on the suburb, operating between midnight and 5am except for Friday and Saturday nights, replacing many train services for most of this period.

Airports

The Southern Tasbury Airport opened in 2019 relieved overcrowding at Tasbury Airport.

Tasbury has two main airports. Tasbury International Airport, officially "Tasbury Te Tomokangana Nui Airport", is the city's main international and domestic gateway and is the busiest in New Duveland. The airport, which has four terminals, is home base for New Duveland's largest airline, Air New Duveland, and it's subsidiaries, Air New Duveland Express and Air New Duveland Link. It is also home to Fly Kāinga, Oceania-Pacific and is a major hub for Kapua Airlines and is a secondary hub for Lapérouse Airlines. The airport is located in the inner coastal suburb of Tēpene with two of the runways going into the Tasbury Harbour, and a third, smaller runway cutting across them. It services 40 international and 35 domestic destinations. As the busiest airport in New Duveland it handled 35.6 million passengers in the 2016-2017 financial year and 450,000 tonnes of freight in 2011. Southern Tasbury Airport, located in the outer southern suburbs in the Eastern Hinterlands, is a secondary hub of Air New Duveland. It is also used as a freight and maintenance facility.

Railway lines directly connect both airports to various parts of the city, with Tasbury Te Tomokangana Nui Airport connected directly to the city centre via lines 3, 6 & 11, the Southern Tasbury Airport is connected via lines 7 & 10, which are all connected either directly or indirectly to the NDLoop network, opening up access to the airport to anywhere in Moanarua.

Utilities

Waitakere Dam is Tasbury's largest water supply dam.

Water storage and supply for Tasbury is managed by Tasbury Water, which is owned by the Government of Moanarua. The organisation is also responsible for management of sewerage and the major water catchments in the region as well as the Port Laoise desalination plant and East-West Pipeline. Water is stored in a series of reservoirs located within and outside the Greater Tasbury area. The largest dam, the Waitakere Dam, located in the Eastern Hinterlands, is capable of holding around 60% of Melbourne's water capacity, while smaller dams such as the Hurō Taiororua Dam, Upper Thornbury Reservoir, and the Kawarau Reservoir carry secondary supplies.

Gas is provided by the government-run Gas Network, Gas Moanarua (GNM), which serves the entire province of Moanarua after the government took control of the previously private network of up to 5 gas networks that were each accused of mis-managing and overcharging customers. The network has since been in government control since 2010 and has been successful in keeping prices down. Future goals have been to eliminate all new gas systems in residential and un-crucial commercial sectors to meet national environmental guidelines, with most heating and cooking services being replaced by electric systems.

Electricity is also provided by the government, known as PowerCorp Moanarua (PCNM), also servicing the entire province. Which was re-nationalised during a similar scenario as the gas network in 2014 to combat rising prices.

Numerous telecommunications companies provide Tasbury with terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services and wireless internet services and at least since 2016 Tasbury offers a free public WiFi which allows for up to 250 MB per device in some areas of the city. Fast Broadband has been available in the city since the national roll-out began in 2015, providing fibre optic connections to large portions of the city.

Sister cities

Country	City	Date
Iberia	Barcelona	1965
Turkey	Istanbul
Teiko	Kaijo	2002
Siculia	Miami de Lecce	2010
Nakama	Nanohana	2000
Neu Westfalen	Port Lantea	1965
United States	San Francisco	1965
Australia	Sydney	1952