Thorndon is a historic inner suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Comparatively level Thorndon contained hilly Wellington's elite residential area until long after motorised transport became usual but the best of its heart was almost entirely destroyed in the 1960s by a new motorway and the erection of tall office buildings on the sites of its Molesworth Street retail and service businesses. Thorndon combines upmarket residential accommodation and the home of government, and is located at the northern end of the Central Business District.