Shelly Bay

Shelly Bay and the former defence force base

Shelly Bay is a bay on the Miramar Peninsula of Wellington, New Zealand.

The area was settled by a collection of peoples from multiple Māori iwi in the 1820s and 1830s. It was later bought by the New Zealand Company, in a sale the Crown apologised for in 2008, admitting that the deed was flawed and promises were never kept.

Most of the land was owned by the New Zealand Defence Force for 124 years until 2009. During that time, land was reclaimed and the area was used as a submarine mining base, a naval station, Airforce base, and an arts centre.

Shelly Bay was the site of a planned residential development. The development was the subject of multiple court cases and other opposition. Opponents of the development included the then-Mayor of Wellington Andy Foster, film-maker Peter Jackson, some businesses and some Māori. In November 2020, the Wellington City Council agreed to sell and lease land to the development, against the wishes of mayor Foster. The bay was occupied by Mau Whenua, a Māori group opposing the development, from November 2020 through to May 2022. While ground broke on the project in January 2023, the project was announced as aborted in September 2023, and the land was sold to Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.