A southern right whale was spotted in Wellington Harbour near Petone.

A rare southern right whale has been spotted in Wellington Harbour near Petone.

The whale was seen swimming south towards Wellington on Tuesday morning.

Nadine Bott, from the Department of Conservation, said the whale appeared to be a rare southern right whale.

STUFF The whales are spotted in Wellington only about once every two years. (File photo)

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They were only spotted in Wellington Harbour about once every two years, Bott said.

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"They used to be more common. When Wellington was first inhabited, they used to talk about the sound of whales blowing in the harbour keeping people awake at night."

The whales were hunted to near extinction in the 18th century, but sightings were slowly starting to increase, Bott said.

There were two right whale populations in New Zealand - one in the sub-antarctic Auckland Islands and another which travelled along the coast and stuck closer to the mainland.

Whale sightings were typically seen about once a year in Wellington Harbour, Bott said.

They were usually seen in winter.