city, southern North Island, New Zealand. It lies in the Hutt River valley near Wellington. Founded in 1848, it is part of the larger Hutt area named for Sir William Hutt, an original shareholder in the New Zealand Company, which pioneered the region in 1840. Upper Hutt is for the most part residential, although it does have engineering works, tire- and vaccine-manufacturing plants, and some farming. It is known as a centre of veterinary practice. Pop. (2001) 34,527.