Census data reveals Wellington neighbourhood has the most rainbow-identifying residents

Rainbow-identifying Victoria University of Wellington student Zia Ravenscroft. Photo / Mark Mitchell

• The 2023 Census was the first time all New Zealanders were asked about their sexual orientation, with about 4.2% of the population aged 15+ identifying as LGBTIQ+ or rainbow.
• The Wellington neighbourhood where Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University’s Weir House is located is much higher at 51.2%, the highest in the country.
• 72 out of 100 of New Zealand’s “queerest” neighbourhoods are in Wellington. Explore our interactive map below to find your neighbourhood.

When Victoria University of Wellington student Josh Robinson came out of the closet, he wasn’t met with questioning, homophobic remarks, or hatred that many in the community fear.

He was delighted to find out “no one cared” about his identity, “in the best way”.

Robinson and fellow student Zia Ravenscroft both moved from rural towns so they could be themselves in Wellington.

Robinson, a law and arts student, came to Victoria last year, partially due to Wellington’s reputation for being a haven for people in the LGBTQ+ community.

“I started coming out, really at the start of first year. I was kind of shocked how easy it is, moving from a rural community,” he said.

“I always knew [Wellington] was supportive, but I didn’t realise that literally no one actually cared. When I came out, genuinely no one cared, but in the best way – and that’s all I could ask for. They gave me all the support that I could ever want.”

Rainbow-identifying Victoria University of Wellington student Josh Robinson says nobody cared when he came out – "in the best way". Photo / Mark Mitchell

Robinson serves as the equity officer for the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association [VUWSA], and credits staff at his former University Hall for helping him embrace his true self during his studies.

The VUWSA office is adorned with rainbow flags, placards from protests, and free condoms on offer to students. Members of the students’ union and queer support group UniQ often put on community events to help students fit in.

Quizzes, drinks nights, barbecues, and markets in Kelburn, where the university is, and central Wellington often come with pride flags and an overall vibe of positivity and acceptance.

In his first year, Robinson called Weir House home – a uni hall often fondly described by rainbow-identifying students as “Queer House” for its supportive reputation.

The 2023 Census was the first time all New Zealanders were asked about their sexual orientation. In all, 172,383 people or 4.2% of the population aged 15+ identified as LGBTIQ+ or rainbow.

Detailed Census results are available for more than 33,000 neighbourhoods (Statistical Area 1 or SA1) around the country.

In the Kelburn neighbourhood where Weir House is, 51.2% of adults identify as rainbow, the highest proportion in the country, and much higher than the overall value of 4.2%.

At the other end of the scale, Stats NZ reported no LGBTIQ+ identifying individuals in just over 5000 neighbourhoods. However, due to privacy rules, if only one or two people are counted, it’s still reported as 0.

Use the map below to explore all 33,000 neighbourhoods.

Josh Robinson believes the staff at Weir, and student services at the University, were paramount in his personal journey.

Weir House was originally established as an all-boys’ boarding house but is now run by a female head of hall and a non-binary deputy head of hall.

“I kind of feel as though that’s a big f-you to all of the sort of heteronormative standards that New Zealand society has sometimes,” Robinson smiles.

“I just think Wellington’s two steps ahead as it always has been, and I think it’s a really good place for queer students, all students, to be.”

A 2021 article in Victoria’s student magazine, Salient, embraced the rainbow-aligned nature of Weir House.

“Perhaps it is an accumulation of all these factors that brings in the queer to Weir – that act of being able to occupy a space that historically would have excluded you for who you are; being able to forge an accepting community with like-minded individuals with shared experiences,” students Zoe Mills and Jeanne-Claire Gordon wrote.

Over the years, Wellington City has become known as a haven for members of the LGBTQ+ community, including gender minorities.

The Census data shows 72 of New Zealand’s 100 queerest neighbourhoods are in Wellington.

Outside the capital, prominent rainbow neighbourhoods are found just south of the Octagon in Dunedin (38.1%), near Queen St in Central Auckland (31.5%), in Warren Park in Queenstown (26.3%), in Christchurch Central (25%), and in Poutoa in Palmerston North (21.9%).

Zia Ravenscroft, who identifies as a member of the transgender community, feels much more supported in the capital than when they lived in a small town.

“One of the reasons I wanted to study at Vic was because I knew there was a much better queer scene in Wellington – I mean there’s not a queer scene in my small town.”

Ravenscroft saw Wellington as a place to make friends and have a safer experience coming out.

They haven’t looked back since.

“I’ve made so many queer friends through living in Wellington,” the theatre student added.

“It’s really amazing. I don’t think I have that many straight friends or cis friends – it’s just kind of mind-blowing because that’s the total opposite of my experience throughout high school.”

Zia Ravenscroft says Wellington has been much more supportive about their queer journey than their small hometown. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Ravenscroft started hormone treatment through Mauri Ora - Student Health, an on-campus health and wellbeing service which is free for students.

“Stuff like that makes me feel really safe to be myself.”

They also joined queer students’ association UniQ to help other students feel welcomed, recently becoming the vice-president of equity and wellbeing for the group, offering social support and advocacy.

“We run a lot of social events. That just means we have the chance for queer students to just connect with each other and meet with each other and make friends.

“Throughout high school I was always trying to start a queer support group because I knew that myself and other students needed it really badly. My principal was really homophobic and shut down that idea every time I tried to bring it up.”

The association also helps run Pride Week – a celebration of diverse genders and sexualities.

“A lot of people, especially in rural spaces, just feel so isolated in their queerness. You feel like you’re the only person in your school who feels like this, you’re the only person in your town who feels like this. That’s what I felt,” Ravenscroft said.

“Then I moved to Wellington and I realised that’s not true.

“It just makes me really happy that queer people are not alone - there’s always so many others like us. We’ve got a whole community out there.”

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 and has a keen interest in city council decisions, public service agency reform and transport.

She identifies as being part of the rainbow community.