Porirua turns 60 this week. We officially became a city on 2 October in 1965 – when our population hit 20,000 people, the threshold (at the time) to become a city. Today, Porirua is home to 61,800 people.
Porirua became New Zealand’s 21st city and was the first place to make the transition from a borough to a city. Porirua had become a borough in 1962 before achieving city status in 1965, and the make-up of suburbs has changed since that time. The northern suburbs of Paremata, Plimmerton, Pukerua Bay, Pāuatahanui and Whitby were part of Hutt County until 1973, with Horokiri joining Porirua city in 1989 with the final dissolution of Hutt County.
Whitford James Richard Brown was elected Porirua’s first Mayor in 1962 when Porirua was a borough, but became Mayor of Porirua in 1965. Porirua has had just six mayors in the 60 years we’ve been a city – Whitford Brown, OBE (1965–1983), John Burke, QSO (1983–1988), Jenny Brash (1988–2010), Nick Leggett (2010–2016), Mike Tana (2016–2019) and Anita Baker (2019 – current).
In the lead-up to our 60th anniversary, we’ve been honouring Porirua’s journey and more recent history on Facebook and on our website. You can check them out at poriruacity.govt.nz/60for60
To celebrate the milestone there will be a cake cutting ceremony and live music at Pātaka Art + Museum at midday on Thursday 2 October – all are welcome.
There are also other whānau-friendly events happening on and around that date to celebrate our anniversary. Here are the detailsof all the events:
Cake Cutting Ceremony – Celebrate with a slice of Porirua
When: Thursday 2 October 12pm
Where: Spine, Pātaka Art+Museum
Free event, open to the community
Join us in celebrating Porirua City’s 60th birthday with a formal ceremony followed by birthday cake and live music.
When: Thursday 2 October, 11am–1pm
Where: Spine, Pātaka Art+Museum
Come and design your own badge for Porirua’s 60th birthday, all ages welcome.
When: Thursday 2 October – Sunday, 6 October
Where: Pātaka Art+Museum
Write your hopes, dreams or advice for Porirua 60 years from now. Drop them in the Pātaka letterbox and these will be preserved as taonga for future generations
When: Saturday 5 October and Sunday 6 October
11am–1pm
Where: Kai Tahi
When: Saturday 5 October and Sunday 6 October
All day
Where: Kai Tahi
When: Saturday 5 October and Sunday 6 October
All day
Where: Kai Tahi
29 Sep 2025
