View of the Upper Dam in the Karori Reservoir. In the western Wellington suburb of Karori, two dams were constructed to harness the water resources of the Kaiwharawhara Stream. These are now located within the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Zealandia. The Lower Karori Dam was completed in 1878, followed by the Upper Dam in 1908. Both played a vital role in supplying water to New Zealand’s capital.
The Upper Dam, built using a concrete arch design, had a significantly greater capacity and reflected a more advanced approach to water storage at the time. However, as Wellington’s population expanded, the Karori dams alone could no longer meet the city’s needs. The development of the Wainuiomata and later the Orongorongo water supply schemes introduced larger and more reliable sources, gradually replacing Karori as the primary supply. The Upper Karori Dam was decommissioned in the 1990s, but its reservoir remains an important part of the Zealandia sanctuary, now serving conservation and ecological purposes.
