{"id":1845209,"date":"2025-11-23T16:36:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T21:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1845209"},"modified":"2025-11-28T13:46:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T18:46:21","slug":"the-man-who-drew-wellington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/11\/the-man-who-drew-wellington\/","title":{"rendered":"The Man Who Drew Wellington"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Thomas<\/a>
Thomas Ward survey map of Wellington City, sheet 22, 1892. Wellington City Council Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the 1890s, Thomas Ward created maps of the city of Wellington, New Zealand that are the subject of a new book by Elizabeth Cox, Mr Ward\u2019s Map<\/a><\/em>, and this article in New Zealand Geographic<\/em> about both Ward and Cox\u2019s book<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Over two and a half years, Ward walked every street in the city. He drew the outline of every single building, including garden sheds and outhouses (but spared himself the effort of documenting henhouses). Historian Elizabeth Cox thinks that Ward may have knocked on all the doors of all Wellington\u2019s houses, too, because he recorded the number of rooms in each dwelling, the number of storeys, and the building materials used. The resulting map is huge, spanning 88 sheets of paper, each the size of a poster. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Ward stopped updating the map himself, others took on the task\u2014much less perfectly, notes Cox\u2014leaving behind ink spills, coffee-cup rings, drips of tea, and scribbled mathematical equations. It was the city\u2019s primary map for more than 80 years, only superseded in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, a copy of Ward\u2019s original, plus many of its subsequent versions, lives in a set of wide, shallow drawers in the Wellington City Archives\u2014and online, as an overlay in mapping software for anyone to use.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ward\u2019s maps can be seen here<\/a> and here (updated version)<\/a>. As you can see from the sample above, they\u2019re at a level of detail that would give Sanborn maps a run for their money. Thanks to Ken Dowling for the tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"Book<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mr Ward\u2019s Map: Victorian Wellington Stree<\/strong><\/em>t by Street<\/em><\/strong>
by Elizabeth Cox
Massey University Press<\/a>, 13 Nov 2025, NZD $90
Amazon<\/a> (Canada<\/a>, UK<\/a>) | Bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 1890s, Thomas Ward created maps of the city of Wellington, New Zealand that are the subject of a new book by Elizabeth Cox, Mr Ward\u2019s Map, and this article in New Zealand Geographic… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo","date":"2025-11-23T21:36:19+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m6dbf7eutw2f","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m6dbf7eutw2f\",\"cid\":\"bafyreifmougo323drkwwhxmujtuu6z53jo7b7mhtevolr7zhyhsqjtafvu\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreih4wt52jlrps5rzzxvjhswzgbx45bnpu7kfio6mwbajyxhbrdzysq\",\"rev\":\"3m6dbf7ezq62f\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[54,1051,1760],"class_list":["post-1845209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-antique-maps","tag-cities","tag-new-zealand","tag-wellington","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":470899,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/andrew-douglas-cliffords-maps-of-new-zealand\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845209,"position":0},"title":"Andrew Douglas-Clifford’s Maps of New Zealand","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 December 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"New Zealand cartographer Andrew Douglas-Clifford\u00a0(\"The Map Kiwi\") recently\u00a0got profiled by\u00a0The Press, a Christchurch-based newspaper. I've been aware of his work for a while; it includes\u00a0some interesting items, like\u00a0a map of state highways in the form of a metro map, a series of circle-shaped city maps (so-called \"map dots\"), and, most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5829,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/11\/maps-without-new-zealand\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845209,"position":1},"title":"Maps Without New Zealand","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 November 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"New Zealand is left off world maps so often that there's a Reddit group about it. BBC News has picked up the story. [Peter Mellow]","rel":"","context":"In "Map Errors"","block_context":{"text":"Map Errors","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/map-errors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1808036,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/07\/apple-maps-updates-france-monaco-new-zealand\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845209,"position":2},"title":"Apple Maps Updates: France, Monaco, New Zealand","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 July 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"Justin O\u2019Beirne reports that Apple\u2019s new map data has now launched in France, Monaco and New Zealand. Meanwhile, cycling directions have expanded to cover all U.S. states except Hawaii.","rel":"","context":"In "Mobile"","block_context":{"text":"Mobile","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/mobile\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1787093,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/02\/ikea-map-poster-omits-new-zealand\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845209,"position":3},"title":"IKEA Map Poster Omits New Zealand","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"15 February 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"IKEA is apologizing after it was discovered that one of its BJ\u00d6RKSTA world map posters left off New Zealand. (Yes, that again.) IKEA says the product will be phased out; it's still available in my country, for the moment. Note that there are three other world maps in the BJ\u00d6RKSTA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Map Errors"","block_context":{"text":"Map Errors","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/map-errors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/bjorksta-ohne-nz-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/bjorksta-ohne-nz-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/bjorksta-ohne-nz-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/bjorksta-ohne-nz-1024x683.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1787130,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/02\/last-week-tonight-solves-the-missing-new-zealand-problem\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845209,"position":4},"title":"‘Last Week Tonight’ Solves the Missing New Zealand Problem","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 February 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"On Last Week Tonight\u2019s 17 February episode, host John Oliver\u00a0took a moment to look at how New Zealand keeps getting left off world maps\u2014the case of IKEA's map poster being the most recent example. They are nothing if not helpful: as a solution, the show's Twitter account has posted a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Map Errors"","block_context":{"text":"Map Errors","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/map-errors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Last Week Tonight cutout New Zealand map","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/last-week-tonight-nz-276x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1785531,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/05\/new-zealand-launches-campaign-to-get-itself-back-on-world-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845209,"position":5},"title":"New Zealand Launches Campaign to Get Itself Back on World Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 May 2018","format":"video","excerpt":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/267399963 Frustrated by being left off world maps, New Zealand\u00a0has launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign called #getNZonthemap, the highlight of which is a three-minute video featuring New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and actor Rhys Darby, who goes full conspiracy theory in the clip. Fun all round. See the video on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Map Errors"","block_context":{"text":"Map Errors","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/map-errors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1845209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1845209"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1845209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1845248,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1845209\/revisions\/1845248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1845209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1845209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1845209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}