91-488: Aranui is one of the eastern suburbs of Christchurch . It is a low socio-economic area. In its early years, Aranui grew along Pages Road, the suburb's main road. Aranui soon became a working -class suburb. There are also areas of light-industrial premises in Aranui. The suburb grew rapidly between 1945 and 1951. The area is predominantly residential with pockets of light industry . A large number of state houses were built in
182-415: A temperate oceanic climate with regular moderate rainfall. The area of modern-day greater Christchurch was first inhabited by the historic Māori iwi Waitaha in the mid-thirteenth century. Waitaha, who occupied the swamplands with patchworks of marshland , were invaded by Kāti Māmoe in the sixteenth century, and then were absorbed by Kāi Tahu a century later. Ōtautahi was inhabited seasonally, and
273-554: A combined community profile for the two suburbs. Other suburbs nearby include New Brighton and Avondale . The Christchurch City Council administers Aranui. The suburb is part of the Burwood Ward for Christchurch City Council local body elections. The currently elected councillor is Kelly Barber. Nationally, Aranui is part of the Christchurch East parliamentary electorate. The currently elected member of parliament
364-612: A few months later in December 1856. In 1862 the Christchurch City Council was established. By 1874, Christchurch was New Zealand's fourth-largest city with a population of 14,270 residents. Between 1871 and 1876 nearly 20,000 immigrants arrived in Canterbury, and through the 1880s frozen meat joined wool as a primary export. The last decades of the nineteenth-century were a period of significant growth for
455-405: A few months later, which occurred directly under the city centre and also caused widespread damage, but this was less severe. Nearly two months later, on Tuesday 22 February 2011, an earthquake measuring magnitude 6.3 struck the city at 12:51 pm. Its hypocentre was located closer to the city, near Lyttelton, at a depth of 5 km (3 mi). Although lower on the moment magnitude scale than
546-554: A grid pattern, centred on Cathedral Square . Growth initially took place along the tramlines, leading to radial development. Major expansion occurred in the 1950s and 60s, with the development of large areas of state housing . Settlements that had originally been remote, such as Sumner , New Brighton , Upper Riccarton and Papanui eventually became amalgamated into the expanding city. The Christchurch functional urban area , as defined by Statistics New Zealand, covers 2,408.1 km (929.8 sq mi). Towns and settlements in
637-609: A major trading centre was established at Kaiapoi Pā . British colonial settlement began in the mid-nineteenth century. The First Four Ships were chartered by the Canterbury Association and brought the Canterbury Pilgrims from Britain to Lyttelton Harbour in 1850. It became a city by royal charter on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand. Christchurch
728-733: A metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in the Canterbury Region , near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains . It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay , and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by the ancient volcanic complex of the Banks Peninsula . The Avon River (Ōtākaro) winds through the centre of
819-585: A multicultural and urban lifestyle. As these houses were purchased, the available rental stock plummeted, and Pasifika families who tended to rent more began to relocate to suburbs further out from the city centre. The Pasifika populations in Ponsonby and Freemans Bay peaked in 1976. Grey Lynn continued to have a large Pasifika population (particularly Samoan ) until the mid-1980s. The umbrella term Pasifika , meaning "Pacific" in Polynesian languages ,
910-595: A number of minor natural disasters during this period. Heavy rain caused the Waimakariri River to flood Christchurch in February 1868. Victoria Square (known as Market Place at the time) was left underwater with "the whole left side of the [Avon] river from Montreal-street bridge to Worcester street was all one lake, as deep as up to a horse's belly". Christchurch buildings were damaged by earthquakes in 1869 , 1881 and 1888 . The 1888 earthquake caused
1001-502: A particular Pacific nation and their descendants – are Samoan New Zealanders (182,721 people), Tongan New Zealanders (82,389), Cook Island Māori (80,532), and Niueans (30,867). In 1993, Samoan-born Taito Phillip Field became the first Pasifika member of parliament (MP), when he won the Otara electorate seat for Labour . Field was joined in 1996 by Samoan politicians Mark Gosche and Arthur Anae (the first Pasifika MP from
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#17328019632661092-435: A period when there was also slow subsidence in the eastern coastal plains of Canterbury and Christchurch. The result has been the deposition of sequences of mostly fluvial gravel (occurring during periods of low sea level and glaciation), and fine deposits of silt, sand and clay, with some peat, shells and wood (occurring during interglacial periods when the sea level was similar to the present). The layers of gravel beneath
1183-621: A population density of 1,370 people per km . Pasifika New Zealanders Pasifika New Zealanders (also called Pacific Peoples ) are a pan-ethnic group of New Zealanders associated with, and descended from, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands (also known as Pacific Islanders ) outside of New Zealand itself. They form the fourth-largest ethnic grouping in the country, after European descendants , indigenous Māori , and Asian New Zealanders . Over 380,000 people identify as being of Pacific origin, representing 8% of
1274-572: A roll of 570 students as of August 2024. It was created by merging Aranui School, and Wainoni School, and was built on the former Aranui High School site in 2017. Christchurch Christchurch ( / ˈ k r aɪ s . tʃ ɜːr tʃ / ; Māori : Ōtautahi ) is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand . Christchurch has an urban population of 415,100, and
1365-424: A terrorist attack targeting two mosques on 15 March 2019. The name Christchurch was adopted at the first meeting of the Canterbury Association on 27 March 1848. The reason it was chosen is not known with certainty, but the most likely reason is it was named after Christ Church, Oxford , the alma mater of many members of the association, including John Robert Godley . Christ Church college had similarities with
1456-566: Is Reuben Davidson of the Labour Party . Historically, Christchurch East has supported the Labour Party in general elections and is considered one of Labour's safest seats. Aranui covers 1.42 km (0.55 sq mi). It had an estimated population of 4,550 as of June 2024, with a population density of 3,204 people per km. Aranui had a population of 4,200 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 423 people (11.2%) since
1547-720: Is a Māori word, with ara meaning path and nui meaning great. In its early years, the New Brighton Tramway Company extended the Linwood Cemetery route. Land in Aranui was cheap at the time, though infertile for agriculture purposes, and transportation so that settlement in Aranui increased. Aranui soon became a working class suburb. There are also areas of light-industrial premises in Aranui. The suburb grew rapidly between 1945 and 1951 from 404 to 1,141 dwellers. Local shopping centres were established around Christchurch, particularly in some of
1638-556: Is defined as the area centred on Cathedral Square and within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue). It includes Hagley Park , and the Christchurch Botanic Gardens . The design of the central city with its grid pattern of streets, city squares and parkland was laid out by 1850. The central city was among the most heavily damaged areas of Christchurch in
1729-712: Is recorded. The lowest temperature recorded in Christchurch was −9.4 °C (15 °F) in the suburb of Wigram in July 1945. On cold winter nights, the surrounding hills, clear skies, and frosty calm conditions often combine to form a stable inversion layer above the city that traps vehicle exhausts and smoke from domestic fires to cause smog. While not as bad as smog in Los Angeles or Mexico City, Christchurch smog has often exceeded World Health Organisation recommendations for air pollution. To limit air pollution,
1820-610: The 2013 census , and a decrease of 60 people (−1.4%) since the 2006 census . There were 1,392 households, comprising 2,106 males and 2,091 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.01 males per female. The median age was 30.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 1,101 people (26.2%) aged under 15 years, 999 (23.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,740 (41.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 354 (8.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 66.1% European/ Pākehā , 29.9% Māori , 17.6% Pasifika , 3.7% Asian , and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
1911-534: The 2013 census . Some of the increase between the 2013 and 2018 census was due to Statistics New Zealand starting to add ethnicity data from other sources (previous censuses, administrative data, and imputation) to the census data to reduce the number of non-responses. The median age of Pasifika New Zealanders was 24.9 years, compared to 38.1 years for all New Zealanders; 136,077 people (30.4%) were aged under 15 years, 123,828 (28.0%) were 15 to 29, 156,534 (35.4%) were 30 to 64, and 26,193 (5.9%) were 65 or older. At
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#17328019632662002-487: The Ballantynes department store on the corner of Cashel and Colombo Streets unexpectedly burned out of control, resulting in New Zealand's worst fire disaster . Despite being initially thought to be under control, the fire suddenly spread to the upper floors and consumed the entire building within minutes. The speed of the fire trapped 41 staff members on the upper floor, all of whom were killed. The department store
2093-659: The Bridle Path because the path was so steep that pack horses needed to be led by the bridle . Goods that were too heavy or bulky to be transported by pack horse over the Bridle Path were shipped by small sailing vessels some 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) by sea around the coast and up the Avon Heathcote Estuary to Ferrymead . Overturned boats at the Sumner bar were a frequent cause of new arrivals to
2184-589: The Charlotte Jane was the first to arrive on 16 December 1850. The Canterbury Pilgrims had aspirations of building a city around a cathedral and college, on the model of Christ Church in Oxford . Transport between the port and the new settlement at Christchurch was a major problem for the early settlers. By December 1849, Thomas had commissioned the construction of a road from Port Cooper, later Lyttelton , to Christchurch via Evans Pass and Sumner . By
2275-585: The Halswell River begins north-west of the Port Hills on the periphery of Christchurch and flows to Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora . As a consequence of the flat terrain and spring-fed streams, large parts of the area now occupied by Christchurch City were originally a coastal wetland, with extensive swamp forests. Much of the forest was destroyed by fire, mostly likely by the earliest inhabitants, from around 1000 CE . When European settlers arrived in
2366-464: The Kaikōura district had the lowest concentration at 1.0%, with the neighbouring Hurunui district having the second-lowest concentration at 1.3%. According to responses to the 2018 census, 91.6% of Pacific Peoples spoke English, and 37.8% spoke two languages. At the 2018 census, 59.4% of Pasifika reported belonging to a single ethnic group. The largest Pacific Peoples ethnic groups – immigrants from
2457-561: The National Party ), and by Winnie Laban in 1999. In 2008, Field left the Labour Party and formed the New Zealand Pacific Party , a short-lived political party aimed at representing conservative Christian Pasifika communities. For the 2008 New Zealand general election , Samoan-born Sam Lotu-Iiga was elected as MP for Maungakiekie , and was joined by Labour list MPs William Sio and Carmel Sepuloni , who
2548-619: The University of Canterbury ). Christchurch has hosted numerous international sporting events, notably the 1974 British Commonwealth Games at the purpose-built Queen Elizabeth II Park . The city has been recognised as an Antarctic gateway since 1901, and is nowadays one of the five Antarctic gateway cities hosting Antarctic support bases for several nations. Christchurch is served by the Christchurch Airport in Harewood ,
2639-481: The 1970s, governments (both Labour and National ), migration officials, and special police squads targeted Pasifika illegal overstayers. Pacific Studies academic Dr Melani Anae describes the Dawn Raids as "the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand's history". Immigrant Pasifika families settled in the inner city suburbs of Auckland and other major cities in
2730-486: The 19th century, the area was a mixture of swamp and tussock grasslands, with only remnant patches of forest. An early European visitor was William Barnard Rhodes , captain of the barque Australian, who climbed the Port Hills from Lyttelton Harbour in September 1836 and observed a large grassy plain with two small areas of forest. He reported that "All the land that I saw was swamp and mostly covered with water". Most of
2821-485: The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Following the second earthquake, the Central City Red Zone was set up as an exclusion zone for public safety reasons, and many parts remained closed to the public until June 2013. A large number of heritage buildings were demolished following the earthquake, along with most of the city's high rise buildings . The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan was developed to lead
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2912-520: The 2018 census, there were 191,391 males and 190,254 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.006 males per female. The majority of Pasifika were born in New Zealand: 66.4% at the 2018 census, up from 62.3% at the 2013 census and 60.0% at the 2006 census. In terms of population distribution as at the 2023 census, 275,079 (62.1%) Pasifika New Zealanders lived in the Auckland region, 126,678 (28.6%) live in
3003-867: The Blessed Sacrament was opened in February 1905. It was designed by Francis Petre with inspiration from the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Paris. In 1906, the New Zealand International Exhibition opened in Hagley Park, which had over a million visitors. In 1908, the city experienced its first major fire which started at the Strange's Department Store and destroyed buildings in central Christchurch on High St, Cashel St and Lichfield Streets. Christchurch
3094-486: The Chief Censor, making the footage illegal to possess and distribute within New Zealand. On 2 June 2020, the attacker pleaded guilty to multiple charges of murder, attempted murder, and terrorism. On 27 August, he was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole, the first time such a sentence was handed down in New Zealand. Christchurch is halfway along the east coast of the South Island , facing
3185-658: The Christchurch urban area , 3,310 people in the Lyttelton urban area, 1,720 people in the Diamond Harbour urban area, and 6,770 people in rural settlements and areas. Christchurch City had a population of 391,383 in the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 22,377 people (6.1%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 49,914 people (14.6%) since the 2013 census . There were 192,684 males, 196,557 females and 2,139 people of other genders in 150,909 dwellings. 4.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+ . The median age
3276-653: The North Island and invaded the Christchurch basin, ultimately gaining control of much of Canterbury. Kāi Tahu arrived a century later, and the two ultimately absorbed Waitaha through a mixture of conflict and marriage. For these early Māori, the area of Christchurch was an important foraging ground and a seasonal settlement. Several Māori settlements were within Christchurch during the early-nineteenth century, such as Pūtarikamotu in modern-day Riccarton , and Papanui . In both cases these were located in areas of surviving tall forest. In South New Brighton there
3367-499: The North Island outside the Auckland region, and 40,845 (9.2%) live in the South Island. The Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area of Auckland had a majority Pasifika population at 60.4%, with the next highest concentrations in the nearby Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area (48.7%) and Manurewa local board area (39.9%). Porirua City had the highest concentration of Pacific people outside of Auckland at 26.5%. The lowest concentrations of Pasifika New Zealanders are in northern Canterbury :
3458-458: The Port Hill almost reaching Governors Bay in the south-west. Eleven houses were destroyed by fire and over 2,076 hectares (5,130 acres) of land was burned. In 2024, a second fire on the Port Hills burned 700 hectares (1,700 acres). The fire was also started under similarly suspicious circumstances. Lessons from the 2017 fire contributed to a more effective emergency response, and the fire
3549-571: The South Pacific Ocean. With the exception of the Port Hills on Banks Peninsula to its south, the city sits on flat land, on average around 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. The present land mass of New Zealand split from the super continent of Gondwana around 85 million years ago. Prior to that time, mudstone and hardened sandstones commonly known as greywacke was deposited and deformed by tectonic movement. Following
3640-517: The Tautahi in question was the son of the Port Levy chief Huikai. Prior to that, Ngāi Tahu generally referred to the Christchurch area as Karaitiana , an anglicised version. "ChCh" is commonly used as an abbreviation of Christchurch . In New Zealand Sign Language , Christchurch is signed with two Cs. Prior to European occupation of the modern-day greater Christchurch area, the land
3731-455: The area begins in approximately 1250 C.E., with evidence of prolonged occupation beginning no later than 1350 AD. These first occupants lived in coastal caves around modern-day Sumner , and preyed upon local species of moa . The early settlers and their descendants became known as the historic Waitaha iwi. Around c. 1500 the Kāti Māmoe iwi migrated south from the east coast of
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3822-683: The area in 1849 and 1850. Working with his assistant, Edward Jollie , they named the various ports and settlements in the area, and chose a simple grid pattern for the streets of Christchurch. The First Four Ships were chartered by the Canterbury Association and brought the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour in 1850. These sailing vessels were the Randolph , Charlotte Jane , Sir George Seymour , and Cressy . The journey took three to four months, and
3913-818: The census question. At the 2018 census, Europeans formed the majority in all sixteen wards, ranging from 57.7% in the Riccarton ward to 93.1% in the Banks Peninsula ward. The highest concentrations of Māori and Pasifika people were in the Linwood ward (18.3% and 9.0% respectively), followed by the Burwood ward (15.5% and 6.6%), while the highest concentrations of Asian people were in the Riccarton ward (34.9%) and Waimairi ward (26.7%). Christchurch urban area covers 294.43 km (113.68 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 403,300 as of June 2024, with
4004-544: The central city remaining relatively unchanged between 1914 and 1960, Christchurch grew rapidly during the 20th century in part due to the construction of many state houses . The earliest state houses were built in Sydenham in the 1900s, to house workers that were employed in nearby factories, with more houses built in 1909 near the Addington Railway Workshops . In November 1947, a basement fire at
4095-613: The city, despite the national economic depression. Many of the city's stone Gothic Revival buildings by provincial architect Benjamin Mountfort date from around this period, including Canterbury University College , ChristChurch Cathedral , Canterbury Museum , and the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings , among others. Mountfort oversaw construction of a prison on Lincon Road in 1874, which operated until 1999. Christchurch experienced
4186-468: The city, with a large urban park along its banks. With the exception of the Port Hills, it is a relatively flat city, on an average around 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. Christchurch has a reputation for being an English city, with its architectural identity and nickname the 'Garden City' due to similarities with garden cities in England, but also has a historic Māori heritage. Christchurch has
4277-533: The colony losing all their luggage. The Sumner Road was completed in 1857, though this did not alleviate the transport problems. In 1858 the provincial superintendent William Sefton Moorhouse announced that a tunnel would be dug between Lyttelton and Christchurch. While the tunnel was under construction, New Zealand's first public railway line, the Ferrymead Railway , opened from Ferrymead to Christchurch in 1863. Between 1853 and 1876 Christchurch
4368-713: The country's population, with the majority residing in Auckland . Prior to the Second World War Pasifika in New Zealand numbered only a few hundred. Wide-scale Pasifika migration to New Zealand began in the 1950s and 1960s, typically from countries associated with the Commonwealth and the Realm of New Zealand , including Western Samoa (modern-day Samoa), the Cook Islands and Niue . In
4459-399: The country's second-busiest airport. The city suffered a series of earthquakes from September 2010 , with the most destructive occurring on 22 February 2011 , in which 185 people were killed and thousands of buildings across the city suffered severe damage, with a few central city buildings collapsing, leading to ongoing recovery and rebuilding projects. Christchurch later became the site of
4550-509: The country, when middle-class Pākehā families were tending to move outwards to newer, more distant suburbs. Pasifika immigrants also tended to replace Urban Māori in central suburbs. By the mid-1970s, gentrification became an issue for Pasifika communities in Auckland. The cheap housing found in Ponsonby and other inner city Auckland suburbs were attractive to Pākehā young professionals, especially socially liberal families searching for
4641-459: The eastern Canterbury plains and Christchurch area form an artesian aquifer with the interbedded fine sediments as an impermeable layer, or aquiclude. Water pressure from the artesian aquifer has led to the formation of numerous spring-fed streams. In Christchurch, the Avon River / Ōtākaro and Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River rivers have spring-fed sources in the western suburbs of Christchurch, and
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#17328019632664732-464: The eastern, southern and northern parts of the city were wet areas when European settlement began. Over the period since European settlement commenced, land drainage works have enabled development of land across the city. There are now only small remnants of wetland remaining, such as Riccarton Bush , Travis Wetland , Ōtukaikino wetland, and the Cashmere Valley. Christchurch Central City
4823-495: The first, of magnitude 5.8 according to the US Geological Survey, 26 km (16 mi) north-east of the city at a depth of 4.7 km (2.9 mi), at 13:58, followed by several aftershocks and another earthquake of magnitude 6.0 and similar location 80 minutes later. On 13 February 2017, two bush fires started on the Port Hills . These later merged and the single large wildfire extended down both sides of
4914-463: The functional urban area include: Christchurch has a temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) with a mild summer, cool winter, and regular moderate rainfall. It has mean daily maximum air temperatures of 22.6 °C (73 °F) in January and 10.9 °C (52 °F) in July. Summer in the city is mostly warm, but is often moderated by a sea breeze from the north-east. A notable feature of
5005-619: The highest 7.8 metres of the Christchurch Cathedral spire to collapse, many chimneys were broken, and the Durham Street Methodist Church had its stonework damaged. In November 1901, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake , centred near Cheviot , caused the spire on top of ChristChurch Cathedral to collapse again, but this time only the top 1.5 metres fell. On this occasion, it was rebuilt with timber and metal instead of stone. The Catholic Cathedral of
5096-506: The highest for the Christchurch metropolitan area was 42.4 °C (108 °F) recorded in Rangiora on the same day. In winter, subfreezing temperatures are common, with nights falling below 0 °C (32 °F) an average of 50 times a year at Christchurch Airport and 23 times a year in the city centre. There are on average 80 days of ground frost per year. Snowfall occurs on average three times per year, although in some years none
5187-664: The largest cohort of Pasifika MPs entering parliament: Terisa Ngobi , Barbara Edmonds , Tangi Utikere , Neru Leavasa for the Labour Party, and the first Pasifika MP from the Green Party , Teanau Tuiono . 2023 saw Efeso Collins , formerly a member of the Auckland Council , joining as a member of the Green Party. The Auckland Council has had three Pasifika councillors since its founding in 2010: Alf Filipaina and former National MP Arthur Anae representing
5278-538: The mountains carried alluvial gravels over the area that is now the Canterbury Plains , covering the underlying rock to depths of between 200 and 600 metres. Continuing tectonic movement created faults that penetrate from the greywacke rock into the layers above. These faults remain beneath Canterbury and Christchurch. The glacial/interglacial cycles of the Quaternary Period led to multiple rises and falls in sea level. These sea level changes occurred over
5369-549: The neighbourhoods which had larger state-housing developments. Today, the suburb is mainly residential, though it has areas of retail businesses sited on Pages Road. There is also a smaller retail precinct centred on Hampshire Street. A large number of state houses were built in Aranui after the World War II . Residents are still generally of low socio-economic status. In a 2020 report of the Burwood ward from Kāinga Ora ,
5460-447: The one-way system running through central Christchurch was established. The first two streets to be made one-way were Lichfield and St Asaph streets. They were followed by Barbadoes, Madras, Salisbury and Kilmore streets. A police station opened in 1973 on Hereford street, it was imploded and demolished in 2015. Christchurch hosted the 1974 British Commonwealth Games at the purpose-built Queen Elizabeth II Park . The sports complex
5551-464: The planned new city, including its own cathedral, the smallest in England. Other possibilities are that it was named for Christchurch, Dorset , or for Canterbury Cathedral . Many of the early colonists did not like the name, preferring instead the name Lyttelton, but the Colonists' Council resolved to stick with the name of Christchurch in 1851, because it had been used by surveyors and distinguished
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#17328019632665642-420: The population of workers in the city, which soon spread industrialisation to Sydenham . As central Christchurch grew, many cottages were demolished to make way for light-industrial and retail premises near Moorhouse Avenue as they expanded south. Many churches were also built to compensate for its growing Christian population. The population of Christchurch exceeded 100,000 for the first time in 1919. Despite
5733-418: The previous earthquake, the intensity and violence of the ground shaking was measured to be IX ( Violent ) , among the strongest ever recorded globally in an urban area, which killed 185 people. On 13 June 2011 Christchurch was again rocked by two more large aftershocks . This resulted in more liquefaction and building damage, but no more lives were lost. There were further earthquakes on 23 December 2011;
5824-516: The rebuild of the city centre, and featured 17 "anchor projects". There has been massive growth in the residential sector in the central city, particularly in the East Frame development. There are currently no legal definition of the boundaries of suburbs in Christchurch. The suburb boundaries are largely defined by third-party agencies, such as Statistics New Zealand and New Zealand Post , and may differ between agencies or sources. The earliest suburbs of Christchurch were laid out with streets in
5915-446: The regional council banned the use of open fires in the city in 2006. Christchurch City covers a land area of 1,415.15 km (546.39 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 415,100 as of June 2024, with a population density of 293 people per km . This is the second-most populous area administered by a single council in New Zealand, and the largest city in the South Island . The population comprises 403,300 people in
6006-406: The retail business of the central city moving out to urban shopping malls. These typically included large car parking areas to suit the growing shift towards personal car ownership, and away from public transport. Hornby became a significant industrial suburb in the 1960s, with industrial and residential premises expanding westwards. The Lyttelton road tunnel between Lyttelton and Christchurch
6097-407: The settlement from the port. The Māori name for modern-day Christchurch is Ōtautahi , meaning ' the place of Tautahi ' . It was adopted as the Māori name for the city in the 1930s. Ōtautahi precisely refers to a specific site by the Avon River / Ōtākaro in Central Christchurch. The site was a seasonal food-gathering place of Ngāi Tahu chief Te Pōtiki Tautahi. A different account claims
6188-486: The split from Gondwana, during the period between 80 and 23 million years ago, the land became eroded and subsided below sea level. Marine and terrestrial sediments were deposited, leaving the greywacke as the oldest and deepest layers ( basement rock ). Around 11–6 million years ago, volcanic eruptions created the Banks Peninsula volcanic complex . Over the last two million years as the Southern Alps were rising, there were multiple periods of glaciation . Rivers flowing from
6279-400: The suburb after the World War II. There are shops and service facilities at the intersection of Breezes Road and Pages Road and a smaller retail precinct centred on Hampshire Street. It is served by the composite school Haeata Community Campus in Wainoni, which was created by a merger of four schools in 2017. Aranui is part of the Christchurch East parliamentary electorate. Part of the area
6370-524: The suburb of Aranui had the highest number of state-owned houses in Christchurch. In the 19th century, much of the area consisted of rough grass and sand hills. Today, Aranui is one of the eastern suburbs. Its eastern boundary is the Avon River . Boundary roads are Pages Road in the south, Breezes Road in the west, and Wainoni Road in the north. Bexley is located to the south of Pages Road. Aranui and its neighbouring suburb of Wainoni are sometimes considered together. Christchurch City Council publishes
6461-407: The time that John Robert Godley arrived in April 1850 all of the funds for public works had been used up in constructing the road. Godley ordered that all work on the road should stop, leaving the steep foot and pack horse track that had been hastily constructed over the hill between the port and the Heathcote valley as the only land-access to the area of Christchurch. This track became known as
6552-427: The weather is the nor'wester , a hot föhn wind that occasionally reaches storm force, causing widespread minor damage to property. Like many cities, Christchurch experiences an urban heat island effect; temperatures are slightly higher within the inner-city regions compared to the surrounding countryside. The highest temperature recorded in Christchurch was 41.6 °C (106.9 °F) on 7 February 1973, however
6643-491: Was $ 21,300, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 96 people (3.1%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,224 (39.5%) people were employed full-time, 363 (11.7%) were part-time, and 288 (9.3%) were unemployed. Aranui is served by the composite school Haeata Community Campus in Wainoni , which was created by a merger of four schools in 2017. Haeata Community Campus has
6734-647: Was $ 40,400, compared with $ 41,500 nationally. 35,010 people (10.7%) earned over $ 100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 163,554 (50.1%) people were employed full-time, 47,463 (14.5%) were part-time, and 8,913 (2.7%) were unemployed. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 75.9% European ( Pākehā ); 11.2% Māori ; 4.3% Pasifika ; 17.1% Asian ; 1.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English
6825-468: Was 13.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.9% had no religion, 31.8% were Christian , 2.6% had Māori religious beliefs , 0.7% were Hindu , 0.1% were Muslim , 0.2% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 153 (4.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,098 (35.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income
6916-449: Was 37.5 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 64,722 people (16.5%) aged under 15 years, 84,633 (21.6%) aged 15 to 29, 178,113 (45.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 63,912 (16.3%) aged 65 or older. Of those at least 15 years old, 70,764 (21.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 160,440 (49.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 73,659 (22.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income
7007-721: Was a crucial factor in the decision of where to place the settlement of Christchurch, as it proved that the swampy ground could be farmed. The Deans brothers named their farm after their former parish in Ayrshire , Scotland; they also named the river near their farm after the Avon Water in South Lanarkshire , which rises in the hills near to where their grandfather's farm was located. The Canterbury Association 's Chief Surveyor, Captain Joseph Thomas , surveyed
7098-421: Was a major Māori settlement named Te Kai-a-Te-Karoro , this was an important food-gathering area to Ngāi Tūāhuriri that had kelp gull presence and mānuka scrub. Te Ihutai (The Avon Heathcote Estuary ) was an important food source for local iwi and hapū , the estuary providing food such as, flounder and shellfish. Kaiapoi Pā was the most important trading area, and the centre of a thriving economy. The pā
7189-482: Was actually a combination of seven or eight different buildings, joined to form a "perplexing maze" with no sprinklers or alarm system. A subsequent Royal commission of enquiry resulted in changes to the building code to improve fire safety. Thousands of mourners, including the Prime Minister, attended a mass funeral in the aftermath. During the 1960s Christchurch experienced urban sprawl , with much of
7280-547: Was first used by government agencies in New Zealand in the 1980s to describe all migrants from the Pacific islands and their descendants. There were 442,632 people identifying as being part of the Pacific Peoples ethnic group at the 2023 New Zealand census , making up 8.9% of New Zealand's population. This is an increase of 60,990 people (16.0%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 146,691 people (49.6%) since
7371-483: Was heavily industrialised in the early 20th century, particularly the suburbs of Woolston and Addington , with Woolston housing a large amount of New Zealand's rubber industry. Many warehouses, factories and large premises of railway workshops were built along the Main South Line . There was notable development of breweries, flour mills , and light-commercial in Christchurch. This significantly increased
7462-399: Was heavily industrialised in the early 20th century, with the opening of the Main South Line railway and the development of state housing saw rapid growth in the city's economy and population. Christchurch has strong cultural connections with its European elements and architectural identity. Christchurch is also home to a number of performing arts centres and academic institutions (including
7553-615: Was located at the nexus of the major rivers of Christchurch, the Avon River / Ōtākaro, Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River and the Styx River . It was the likely richest eel fishery in the country at that time. Sugar was produced from plantations of cabbage trees . European settlement of the Canterbury Region was largely influenced by brothers William and John Deans in 1843. The Deans farm located in Riccarton Bush
7644-432: Was more-quickly contained. On 15 March 2019, fifty-one people died from two consecutive mass shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre by an Australian white supremacist . Forty others were injured. The attacks have been described by then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as "one of New Zealand's darkest days". Just days after the attacks the live-streamed footage became classified as objectionable by
7735-471: Was open in 1973, one year before the games. On Saturday, 4 September 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Christchurch and the central Canterbury region at 4:35 am. With its hypocentre near Darfield , west of the city at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), it caused widespread damage to the city and minor injuries, but no direct fatalities. This was followed by the Boxing Day earthquake
7826-493: Was opened in 1964. Television broadcasts began in Christchurch on 1 June 1961 with the launch of channel CHTV3, making Christchurch the second New Zealand city to receive regular television broadcasts. The channel initially broadcast from a 10-kilowatt transmitter atop the Gloucester Street studios until it switched to the newly built 100-kilowatt Sugarloaf transmitter in the Port Hills on 28 August 1965. In 1969,
7917-501: Was originally swampland with patchworks of marshland, grassland, scrub and some patches of tall forest of mostly kahikatea , mataī and tōtara . The inner coastal sand dunes were covered in hardier scrub bush, including akeake , taupata , tūmatakuru , ngaio , carmichaelia , and coprosma . Christchurch was rich in birdlife prior to European colonisation, as they burned down forests and introduced predators, it led to local extinction of native birds. Evidence of human activity in
8008-408: Was previously called Flemington, named after the hairdresser and tobacconist Jubal Fleming ( c. 1844–1903). Fleming had a subdivision at the corner of Breezes and Pages Roads, and the tram stop on Breezes Road was informally called Flemington. The post office was established in 1912 and it was named Aranui by George Kyngdon Burton ( c. 1859–1957), with that name then applied to the wider area. Aranui
8099-557: Was spoken by 95.8%, Māori language by 2.4%, Samoan by 1.3% and other languages by 16.8%. No language could be spoken by 2.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 27.8, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 31.6% Christian , 2.1% Hindu , 1.3% Islam , 0.4% Māori religious beliefs , 1.0% Buddhist , 0.5% New Age , 0.1% Jewish , and 2.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 54.9%, and 6.3% of people did not answer
8190-472: Was the administrative seat of the Province of Canterbury . While slow at first, growth in the town began to accelerate towards the end of the 1850s, with a period of rapid growth between 1857 and 1864. Christchurch became the first city in New Zealand by royal charter on 31 July 1856, and Henry Harper was consecrated by the archbishop of Canterbury as the local Anglican bishop. He arrived in Christchurch
8281-612: Was the first MP of Tongan heritage. In 2010, Kris Faafoi entered parliament by winning the 2010 Mana by-election , becoming the first MP of Tokelauan descent. In 2011, Alfred Ngaro became the first MP of Cook Island descent by winning the Maungakiekie electorate. Further Pasifika MPs entered parliament in the 2010s: Asenati Taylor for New Zealand First (2011), Christchurch East MP Poto Williams (2013), Manukau East MP Jenny Salesa (2014) and Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki (2017). The 2020 New Zealand general election saw
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