In 1898, a tramway from Lambton Quay to the Upland Farm Estate at Kelburn was proposed to the Mayor of Wellington

The Directors of The Upland Estate Company set up The Kelburne & Karori Tramway Co. Ltd & engaged engineer James Fulton

Following the passing of Wellington High Level Tramways Bill (Nov 1898) the Company proceeded to construct the cable car

On 1 Feb 1890, the Company announced the construction contract was given to Maurice O'Connor for 12,172 pounds

On 22 Feb 1902, the cable car service was officially opened

Line from Lambton Quay to Kelburn is 785 metres

Line climbs 119 metres

A two-storey powerhouse built at the upper terminus housed a steam engine which powered the cable winding gear

The service has two cars, which start from opposite ends of the line & pass in the middle

The cars are attached to each other by a 30 mm diameter cable which runs round a pulley at the powerhouse

The car driver signalled by bell to an engineer in the winding room to apply the gripper lever for the descending cable

The descending car gripped the haulage cable & was pulled downhill, in turn pulling the ascending car uphill

Line passes through three tunnels

Line travels over three viaducts

In 1904, the Tea Kiosk was built at Kelburn. (Later changed hands & burnt down in 1982. A new building opened in 1984.)

View of cable car, power house & Kelburn Tea Kiosk

Cable car at Kelburn Park. The journey from Lambton Quay to the ridgetop at the north end of Upland Road took 3.5 mins.

In 1905, Kelburn Park and the Dominion Observatory were completed

Cable Car Kiosk at Kelburn (ca. 1980)

In 1980, a "new" lookout was completed

Over 425,000 passenger trips on the cable car in the first year. By 1912, 1 million passenger trips held annually.

Entrance to Cable Car Lane

In 1956, Lambton Terminal was upgraded

In 1933, electricity replaced steam in powering the winding gear

A brakeman to be used on the cars instead of by an engineer in the power-house (1933)

In 1941, the Kelburn and Karori Tramway Company accused the Wellington Council of running buses in direct competition

In 1946, the Company took its case against the Wellington Council to the Supreme Court

The Council agreed to purchase the cable car service which was renamed "Wellington Corporation Tramways"

First cable car

In 1904, 3 old horse-drawn trams were converted into trailer carriages to increase passenger capacity

In 1907, electric lights were installed in the cable cars

Cable car and tracks, Kelburn, ca. 1910

Cable to be fitted on a cable car, 1958

View of running gear of cable car, 1966

Cable car, ca. 1950s - 1960s

View from cable car, ca. 1960s

Cable car, ca. 1960s

Cable car, 1962

In 1974/5, following Ministry of Works' safety investigations, Council removes trailer carriages & makes system upgrades

Council awards tender for new cable car system to Habeggar AG of Switzerland. The old cars' last run was on 22 Sep 1978.

New tracks were re-gauged for the new cable cars

Interior of new cable car

In 1991, the Council's Cable Car Limited took ownership of the cable cars

In 1991, the tender for cable cars went to Harbour City Cable Car Ltd, & the maintenance contract to Stagecoach

In 1994, Wellington Cable Car Ltd takes the maintenance contract in-house & upgraded data communication system in 1996

In Dec 2000, the Cable Car Museum was opened in the original winding house, & a new extension was completed in 2006

In 2007, the full operation of the Cable Car is in-house by the Wellington Cable Car Limited

In 2013, the Kelburn terminal was rebuilt to include an internal viewing deck, which officially reopened on 14 Feb 2014

During 2016, Wellington Cable Car closed temporarily for an equipment upgrade to replace electric drive & control system

Following a month's trial held in Nov 2021, dogs are allowed to travel on the cable cars

In 2022, small dots installed on upper terminus windows as birds were killed when flying into the clear glass

RNZ (9 May 2022): On Europe Day, tunnels lit in blue & yellow lights & classical music played in support of Ukraine