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50 free Auckland trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Auckland is the city with a harbour on two oceans, 53 volcanoes under its suburbs, the world's largest Polynesian population and a nickname, City of Sails, earned by a boat in one of every three households. It was New Zealand's capital for a quarter century before losing the job to Wellington, and it has been the country's biggest city almost ever since. These 50 questions cover the lot: Tāmaki Makaurau, the Earl whose name it carries and the Durham village behind his title, William Hobson and the Ngāti Whātua land gift, the Fencibles, the Irish settlers, kauri gum exports and the 1865 capital move. Then geography and sport: the isthmus, Rangitoto's eruption, the Harbour Bridge, Spaghetti Junction, Eden Park, the Warriors, the Breakers and three America's Cups in the Viaduct. The hard tier asks about the 1939 snow on Mount Eden, Kipling's poem, Heinlein's Venus colony and the forklift that blacked out Northland. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something either way. Play it solo or print it for a Kiwi quiz night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Auckland lies on which of New Zealand's islands?
North Island
Its urban population alone is larger than the entire South Island.
Q 02What is the Māori-language name for Auckland?
Tāmaki Makaurau
It means 'Tāmaki desired by many', a nod to its rich land and geography.
Q 03Which nickname reflects the popularity of boating in Auckland?
City of Sails
About one in three Auckland households owns a boat.
Q 04Which city replaced Auckland as New Zealand's capital in 1865?
Wellington
Port Nicholson was considered more central because of its proximity to the South Island.
Q 05Auckland was named after which British statesman?
George Eden
Eden was then Viceroy of India and a former First Lord of the Admiralty.
Q 06The village of West Auckland, source of the earldom's name, is in which English county?
Durham
The name may derive from the Cumbric 'Alclud', meaning 'cliff on the Clyde'.
Q 07Which Lieutenant-Governor chose Auckland as the colony's new capital in 1840?
William Hobson
He received a strategic gift of 3,500 acres from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei for the new capital.
Q 08Which iwi gifted 3,500 acres of land for the new capital?
Ngāti Whātua
They sought British protection from Ngāpuhi and a reciprocal relationship with the Crown.
Q 09In which year was Auckland founded?
1840
It was officially declared the capital the following year.
Q 10Auckland's central isthmus lies between which two harbours?
Waitematā and Manukau
At its narrowest the isthmus is less than two kilometres wide.
Q 11The city's southern harbour opens west onto which sea?
Tasman Sea
Auckland is one of few cities with a harbour on each of two major bodies of water.
Q 12How many volcanic centres make up the Auckland Volcanic Field?
53
Each volcano in the field erupts only once, so the next eruption will be at a new location.
Q 13Which volcano produced the field's most recent eruption, around 1450 AD?
Rangitoto
Māori occupants witnessed it, making it the only observed eruption in the field.
Q 14Which Auckland structure is the second-tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere?
Q 21What nickname is given to Auckland's Central Motorway interchange?
Spaghetti Junction
It is where State Highways 1 and 16 meet.
Q 22Which is Auckland's primary stadium, home of the Blues?
Eden Park
It hosts international rugby and cricket.
Q 23Which NRL team plays at Mt Smart Stadium?
New Zealand Warriors
Auckland FC of the A-League also play there.
Q 24Which basketball team calls Spark Arena home?
Sky Tower
Only Jakarta's Thamrin Nine stands taller.
Q 15The 1959 bridge linking the North Shore crosses which harbour?
Waitematā
It carries eight lanes with a moveable median barrier but no rail, pedestrian or cycle access.
Q 16Auckland has the world's largest population of which ethnic group?
Polynesians
Pasifika New Zealanders and Māori together give the city this distinction.
Q 17A 2016 study put Auckland 4th for foreign-born share, behind Dubai, Toronto and which city?
Brussels
39% of Auckland residents were born overseas.
Q 18Which is the most common overseas birthplace of Auckland residents?
Mainland China
It accounted for 6.2% at the 2018 census, ahead of India and England.
Q 19After English, which language is most spoken in Auckland?
Samoan
It was spoken by 5.3% at the 2023 census, ahead of Māori at 2.7%.
Q 20Auckland's international airport is in which southern suburb?
Māngere
It sits on the shores of the Manukau Harbour and handled 18.5 million passengers in 2024.
New Zealand Breakers
They compete in Australia's National Basketball League.
Q 25Which part of the waterfront hosted the America's Cup in 2000, 2003 and 2021?
Viaduct Basin
Westhaven Marina nearby is the largest marina in the Southern Hemisphere.
Q 26Who was elected the first mayor of the amalgamated 'super city' council in 2010?
Len Brown
He had been mayor of Manukau City.
Q 27Who succeeded the first super-city mayor in October 2016?
Phil Goff
The former Labour leader took over after Brown chose not to stand again.
Q 28What name was given to retired soldiers settled as a defensive line around Auckland in the 1840s?
Fencibles
Their towns stretched from Onehunga in the west to Howick in the east.
Q 29About half of early Auckland's population came from which country?
Ireland
That contrasted with the mainly English settlers of Wellington, Christchurch and New Plymouth.
Q 30Which was one of Auckland's three main exports in 1891, alongside gold and wool?
Kauri gum
Together the three were worth almost a million pounds.