Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
and the
second-largest city by urban area population in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in the
Canterbury Region
Canterbury () is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of
The region in its current form was estab ...
, 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
Pegasus Bay, earlier known as Cook's Mistake, is a bay on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, to the north of Banks Peninsula.
Toponymy
Pegasus Bay takes its name from the brig ''Pegasus'', a sealing ship that was sailing from H ...
, 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 the city, with
a large urban park along its banks. With the exception of the
Port Hills
The Port Hills () are a range of hills in Canterbury Region of New Zealand, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Banks Peninsula Volcano ...
, it is a relatively flat city, on an average around 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 a
temperate oceanic climate with regular moderate rainfall.
The area of modern-day greater Christchurch was first inhabited by the historic Māori
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
Waitaha in the mid-thirteenth century. Waitaha, who occupied the
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
lands with patchworks of
marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
land, were invaded by
Kāti Māmoe
Kāti Māmoe (also spelled Ngāti Māmoe) is a Māori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha.
A centu ...
in the sixteenth century, and then were absorbed by
Kāi Tahu a century later. Ōtautahi was inhabited seasonally, and a major trading centre was established at
Kaiapoi Pā.
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
colonial settlement began in the mid-nineteenth century. The
First Four Ships
The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zea ...
were chartered by the
Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...
and brought the Canterbury Pilgrims from Britain to
Lyttelton Harbour
Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is a major inlet on the northwest side of Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand; the other major inlet is Akaroa Harbour, which enters from the southern side of the ...
in 1850. It became a city by
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand. Christchurch was heavily industrialised in the early 20th century, with the opening of the
Main South Line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...
railway and the development of
state housing
Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
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 the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
). Christchurch has hosted numerous international sporting events, notably the
1974 British Commonwealth Games at the purpose-built
Queen Elizabeth II Park
Queen Elizabeth II Stadium was a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, located in a large park called Queen Elizabeth II Park. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000 people and was built in 1973 to host the 1974 British Commonwealth Ga ...
. 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, 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 many central city buildings collapsing, leading to ongoing recovery and rebuilding projects. Christchurch later became the site of
a terrorist attack targeting two mosques on 15 March 2019.
Toponymy
The name ''Christchurch'' was adopted at the first meeting of the
Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...
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
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
, the alma mater of many members of the association, including
John Robert Godley. Christ Church college had similarities with the planned new city, including its own cathedral, the smallest in England.
Other possibilities are that it was named for
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch () is a town and civil parish on the south coast of Dorset, England. The parish had a population of 31,372 in 2021. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part of the Historic counties of England, hist ...
, or for
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
. 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 the settlement from the port.
The
Māori name for modern-day Christchurch is , meaning . 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
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
chief Te Pōtiki Tautahi. A different account claims 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 , a transcription of ''Christchurch'' in the
Māori language
Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...
.
"ChCh" is commonly used as an abbreviation of ''Christchurch''. In
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
, ''Christchurch'' is signed with two Cs.
History
Waitaha Māori settlement
Prior to European occupation of the modern-day greater Christchurch area, the land was originally
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
land with patchworks of marshland, grassland, scrub and some patches of tall forest of mostly
kahikatea
''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...
,
mataī and
tōtara
''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...
.
The inner coastal sand dunes were covered in hardier scrub bush, including
akeake,
taupata,
tūmatakuru,
ngaio,
carmichaelia, and
coprosma
''Coprosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands.
Description
The name ''Copros ...
.
[ 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 the area begins in approximately 1250 AD, with evidence of prolonged occupation beginning no later than 1350 AD.] These first occupants lived in coastal caves around modern-day Sumner
Sumner may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica
* Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica
Australia
* Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
New Zealand
* Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...
, and preyed upon local species of moa. The early settlers and their descendants became known as the historic Waitaha Māori iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
. Around the Kāti Māmoe
Kāti Māmoe (also spelled Ngāti Māmoe) is a Māori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha.
A centu ...
iwi migrated south from the east coast of the North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
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.
Most of the Māori settlement was along the coast. Other areas of Christchurch were also important foraging grounds and a seasonal settlement. Several Māori settlements were within Christchurch during the early-nineteenth century, such as Pūtarikamotu in modern-day Riccarton, and Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometres to the northwest of the Christchurch Central City, city centre. Papanui has a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (New Zeala ...
. In both cases these were located in areas of surviving tall forest. In South New Brighton there 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
The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, pa ...
presence and mānuka scrub. Te Ihutai (The Avon Heathcote Estuary) was an important food source for local iwi and hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
, 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 was located at the nexus of the major rivers of Christchurch, the Avon River / Ōtākaro, Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River and the Styx River. It was likely the richest eel fishery in the country at that time. Sugar was produced from plantations of cabbage trees
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an Annual plant, annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabba ...
.
European settlement
European settlement of the Canterbury region was largely influenced by brothers William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and John Deans in 1843. The Deans farm located in Riccarton Bush 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
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
, Scotland; they also named the river near their farm after the Avon Water in South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
, which rises in the hills near to where their grandfather's farm was located.[''A History of Canterbury'', Vol. 1 – Sir James Hight & Straubel, C.R.; Canterbury Centennial Association and Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch 1957, p. 121.][
The ]Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...
's Chief Surveyor, Captain Joseph Thomas, surveyed 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
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at Angle#Types of angles, right angles to each other, forming a wikt:grid, grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, fr ...
for the streets of Christchurch. The First Four Ships
The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zea ...
were chartered by the Canterbury Association and brought the ''Canterbury Pilgrims'' to Lyttelton Harbour
Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is a major inlet on the northwest side of Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand; the other major inlet is Akaroa Harbour, which enters from the southern side of the ...
in 1850. These sailing vessels were the '' Randolph'', ''Charlotte Jane
''Charlotte Jane'' was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury in New Zealand.
Maiden voyage
The ''Charlotte Jane'' departed from England in 1848, bound for Sy ...
'', , and '' Cressy''. The journey took three to four months, and 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
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
.
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
Sumner may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica
* Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica
Australia
* Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
New Zealand
* Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...
. By 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
A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use o ...
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 the Bridle Path
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...
because the path was so steep that pack horses needed to be led by the bridle
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. It prov ...
. Goods that were too heavy or bulky to be transported by pack horse over the Bridle Path were shipped by small sailing vessels some 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 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.
Provincial growth
Between 1853 and 1876, Christchurch was the administrative seat of the Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses).
Overview
The Province consi ...
. 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
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
on 31 July 1856, and Henry Harper was consecrated by the archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
as the local Anglican bishop. He arrived in Christchurch a few months later in December 1856. In 1862 the Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
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 the city, despite the national economic depression. Many of the city's stone Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
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 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 von
The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or .
Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' ...
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
Events January
* January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan.
* January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded.
* January 20 – Elizabe ...
, 1881 and 1888. The 1888 earthquake caused the highest 7.8 metres of the Christchurch Cathedral spire to collapse, many chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...
s 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 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 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
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...
. There was notable development of breweries, flour mills, and light-commercial in Christchurch. This significantly increased the population of workers in the city, which soon spread industrialisation to Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
. 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.
Modern history
Despite 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. Part of this period of growth included the annexation of surrounding municipalities — in 1903 the boroughs of Linwood, St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, and Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
were annexed into Christchurch City. In 1921, two more boroughs were annexed: Spreydon and Woolston. In 1941, the New Brighton Borough was annexed and in 1945 the Sumner
Sumner may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica
* Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica
Australia
* Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
New Zealand
* Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...
Borough was annexed. In 1953, an urban part of Heathcote County was incorporated into the city.
In November 1947, a basement fire at the Ballantynes department store on the corner of Cashel
Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to:
Places in Ireland
*Cashel, County Tipperary
**The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named
** Archbishop ...
and Colombo Street
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial Capital city, capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limit ...
s 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 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
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
, with much of 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
The Lyttelton road tunnel runs through the Port Hills to connect the New Zealand city of Christchurch and its seaport, Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. It opened in on 27 February 1964 and carries just over 10,000 vehicles per day as p ...
between Lyttelton and Christchurch 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, 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
Queen Elizabeth II Stadium was a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, located in a large park called Queen Elizabeth II Park. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000 people and was built in 1973 to host the 1974 British Commonwealth Ga ...
. The sports complex was open in 1973, one year before the games.
2010–11 earthquakes
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 , it caused widespread damage to the city and minor injuries, but no direct fatalities. This was followed by the Boxing Day earthquake 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 12:51pm. Its hypocentre was located closer to the city, near Lyttelton, at a depth of . Although lower on the moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...
than 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; the first, of magnitude 5.8, north-east of the city at a shallow depth at 1:58pm, followed by several aftershocks and another earthquake of magnitude 5.9 and similar location 80 minutes later.
Many heritage buildings have been demolished since the earthquakes, and so have most of the city's high-rise buildings. Over 8,000 homes in the residential red zones—areas deemed infeasible to rebuild on due to land damage—were either demolished or relocated. Several churches have also been demolished. The temporary replacement of Christ Church Cathedral, known as Cardboard Cathedral, opened in August 2013. Repair work of Christ Church Cathedral has been on hold since 2024.
Port Hills fires
On 13 February 2017, two bush fires started on the Port Hills
The Port Hills () are a range of hills in Canterbury Region of New Zealand, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Banks Peninsula Volcano ...
. These later merged and the single large wildfire extended down both sides of the Port Hill almost reaching Governors Bay in the south-west. Eleven houses were destroyed by fire and over of land was burned.
In 2024, a second fire on the Port Hills burned . The fire was also started under similarly suspicious circumstances. Lessons from the 2017 fire contributed to a more effective emergency response, and the fire was more-quickly contained.
2019 mosque shootings
On 15 March 2019, fifty-one people died from two consecutive mass shootings at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre by an Australian white supremacist
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
. Forty others were injured. The attacks were described by then prime minister Jacinda Ardern
Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...
as "one of New Zealand's darkest days". Just days after the attacks the live-streamed footage became classified as objectionable by 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.
Geography
Location
Christchurch is halfway along the east coast of the South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
, facing the South Pacific Ocean. With the exception of the Port Hills
The Port Hills () are a range of hills in Canterbury Region of New Zealand, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Banks Peninsula Volcano ...
on Banks Peninsula to its south, the city sits on flat land, on average around above sea level.
Geology
The present land mass of New Zealand split from the super continent of Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
around 85 million years ago. Prior to that time, mudstone and hardened sandstones commonly known as greywacke
Greywacke or graywacke ( ) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness (6–7 on Mohs scale), dark color, and Sorting (sediment), poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or sand-size Lith ...
was deposited and deformed by tectonic
Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons.
These processes ...
movement. Following 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
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
were rising, there were multiple periods of glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...
. Rivers flowing from the mountains carried alluvial
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
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
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
led to multiple rises and falls in sea level. These sea level changes occurred over 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
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...
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).
Aquifer and spring-fed streams
The layers of gravel beneath the eastern Canterbury Plains and Christchurch area form an artesian aquifer
An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of Permeability (ea ...
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 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 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 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.
Central City
Christchurch Central City 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 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
The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, often referred to as the Blueprint, is the plan developed by the Fifth National Government of New Zealand for the recovery of the Christchurch Central City from a series of earthquakes, in particular the F ...
was developed to lead 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.
Suburbs
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
Statistics New Zealand (), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats NZ produces New Zealand c ...
and New Zealand Post
NZ Post (), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing most postal services in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunications servi ...
, and may differ between agencies or sources.
The earliest suburbs of Christchurch were laid out with streets in 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
Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
. Settlements that had originally been remote, such as Sumner
Sumner may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica
* Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica
Australia
* Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
New Zealand
* Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...
, New Brighton, Upper Riccarton and Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometres to the northwest of the Christchurch Central City, city centre. Papanui has a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (New Zeala ...
eventually became amalgamated into the expanding city.
Satellite towns
The Christchurch functional urban area, as defined by Statistics New Zealand, covers . Towns and settlements in the functional urban area include:
* Leeston
Leeston (Māori language, Māori: ''Karumata'') is a town on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 30 kilometres southwest of Christchurch, between the shore of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora and the mouth of the Ra ...
* Lyttelton
* Governors Bay
* Diamond Harbour
Diamond Harbour is a town and municipality located in the South 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, it serves as the administrative headquarters of the Diamond Harbour su ...
* Tai Tapu
* Little River
* Lincoln
* Prebbleton
* Rolleston
* Templeton
* West Melton
* Rangiora
Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...
* Woodend
* Waikuku
* Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
* Kaiapoi
* Kainga
* The Pines Beach
* Motukarara
Climate
Christchurch has a temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfb'') with a mild summer, cool winter, and regular moderate rainfall. It has mean daily maximum air temperatures of in January and in July. Summer in the city is mostly warm, but is often moderated by a sea breeze
A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...
from the north-east. A notable feature of the weather is the '' nor'wester'', a hot föhn wind
A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm katabatic wind, downslope wind in the leeward, lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...
that occasionally reaches storm force, causing widespread minor damage to property. Like many cities, Christchurch experiences an urban heat island
Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...
effect; temperatures are slightly higher within the inner-city regions compared to the surrounding countryside. The highest temperature recorded in Christchurch was on 7 February 1973, however the highest for the Christchurch metropolitan area was recorded in Rangiora
Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...
on the same day.
In winter, subfreezing temperatures are common, with nights falling below 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
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
occurs on average three times per year, although in some years none is recorded. The lowest temperature recorded in Christchurch was in the suburb of Wigram in July 1945.
On cold winter nights, the surrounding hills, clear skies, and frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
y 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
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
recommendations for air pollution. To limit air pollution, the regional council banned the use of open fires in the city in 2006.
Demographics
Christchurch City covers a land area of and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
This is the second-most populous area administered by a single council in New Zealand, and the largest city in the South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. The population comprises people in the Christchurch urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
, people in the Lyttelton urban area, people in the Diamond Harbour
Diamond Harbour is a town and municipality located in the South 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, it serves as the administrative headquarters of the Diamond Harbour su ...
urban area, and people in rural settlements and areas.
Christchurch City had a population of 391,383 in the 2023 New Zealand census
The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, 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 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 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.
Culture and identity
People could identify as more than one ethnicity in the census. The results were 75.9% European (); 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 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
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
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
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 2.1% Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 1.3% Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 1.0% Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.5% New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1% Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 2.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 54.9%, and 6.3% of people did not answer 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%).
Urban area
Christchurch urban area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
The urban area had a population of 380,079 in the 2023 New Zealand census
The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 22,011 people (6.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 49,434 people (15.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 187,086 males, 190,911 females and 2,082 people of other genders in 146,055 dwellings. 4.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 63,138 people (16.6%) aged under 15 years, 83,217 (21.9%) aged 15 to 29, 172,314 (45.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 61,413 (16.2%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 75.4% European (); 11.3% Māori; 4.4% Pasifika; 17.5% 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 was spoken by 95.7%, Māori language by 2.4%, Samoan by 1.3% and other languages by 17.0%. No language could be spoken by 2.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 27.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 31.8% Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 2.2% Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 1.3% Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 1.0% Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.5% New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1% Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 2.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 54.6%, and 6.3% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 68,472 (21.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 155,583 (49.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 71,943 (22.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $40,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 33,714 people (10.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 158,859 (50.1%) people were employed full-time, 45,678 (14.4%) were part-time, and 8,727 (2.8%) were unemployed.
Economy
Economic profile in 2023
In 2023, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Christchurch City was $31.5 billion, representing 8.4% of New Zealand's total GDP. The sector with the largest contribution to the Christchurch City GDP was professional, scientific and technical services, at 12%. This is higher than the 9.6% contribution that these services make to the national economy. The next highest contribution to the city GDP was from healthcare and social assistance at 8.8%, versus 6.5% in the national economy. Manufacturing contributed 8.1%, compared with 8.2% in the national economy.
Christchurch City provides a diverse range of services for the Canterbury Region, but there are significant differences in the ranking of the sectors with the greatest contribution to GDP, when comparing the city GDP with the Canterbury Region GDP. Manufacturing and construction are the top two ranked sectors for the Canterbury region, but these two sectors are ranked third and fourth for the contribution to the city GDP. Conversely, professional, scientific and technical services are top ranked for the city, but third in the Canterbury Region GDP. Healthcare and social assistance is ranked second in the city GDP, but only seventh in the Canterbury Region GDP. Agriculture remains a significant contributor to the Canterbury Region GDP (sixth placed at $3.3 billion).
The four largest industries in the city, based on the percentage of filled jobs were healthcare and social assistance, professional scientific and technical services, construction, and retail trade. Christchurch City had a higher proportion of people in employed in healthcare and social assistance (12.9%) than the national average (10.3%), but the proportions employed in professional, scientific and technical services, construction and retail trade were close to the national averages.
A number of nationally and internationally recognised brands and companies were founded and have their headquarters in Christchurch including Macpac, Kathmandu
Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
, PGG Wrightson, Tait Communications, Cookie Time, and Smiths City.
Industry
Christchurch is the second-largest manufacturing centre in New Zealand behind Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, the sector being the second-largest contributor to the local economy, with firms such as Anderson's making steel work for bridges, tunnels, and hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
dams in the early days of infrastructure work. Now manufacturing is mainly of light products and the key market is Australia, with firms such as those pioneered by the Stewart family among the larger employers. Before clothing manufacture largely moved to Asia, Christchurch was the centre of the New Zealand clothing industry, with firms such as LWR Industries. The firms that remain mostly design and market, and manufacture in Asia. The city also had five footwear manufacturers, but these have been replaced by imports.
In the last few decades, technology-based industries have sprung up in Christchurch. Angus Tait founded Tait Electronics, a mobile-radio manufacturer, and other firms spun off from this, such as Dennis Chapman's Swichtec. In software, Cantabrian Gil Simpson founded a company that made LINC
The LINC (Laboratory INstrument Computer) is a 12-bit, 2048-word transistorized computer. The LINC is considered by some to be the first minicomputer and a forerunner to the personal computer. Originally named the Linc, suggesting the project' ...
and Jade
Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...
programming languages, and a management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
spawned local firm ''Wynyard Group''.
There have also been spin-offs from the electrical department of the University of Canterbury engineering school. These included Pulse Data, which became Human Ware (making reading devices and computers for blind people and those with limited vision) and CES Communications (encryption). The Pulse Data founders had moved from the Canterbury University engineering school to work for Wormald Inc. when they set up Pulse Data through a Management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
of their division. Spin-off company Invert Robotics developed the world's first climbing robot capable of climbing on stainless steel, aimed at the dairy tank inspection market.
In recent times, the University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
engineering school and computer science department play an important role in supplying staff and research for the technology industries, and the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology provides a flow of trained technicians and engineers. Locally and nationally, the IT sector is known not for its size (the third largest in New Zealand) but for producing innovative and entrepreneurial solutions, products and concepts.
Services for agriculture
The agricultural industry was originally the economic core of Christchurch. Its surrounding farming countryside was originally the basis of its industry, part of the original "package" sold to New Zealand immigrants. PGG Wrightson, New Zealand's leading agribusiness, is based in Christchurch. Its local roots go back to Pyne Gould Guinness, an old stock and station agency serving the South Island.
Other agribusinesses in Christchurch have included malting, seed development and dressing, wool and meat processing, and small biotechnology operations using by-products from meat works. Dairying has grown strongly in the surrounding areas, with high world prices for milk products and the use of irrigation to lift grass growth on dry land. With its higher labour use, this has helped stop declines in rural population. Many cropping and sheep farms have been converted to dairying. Conversions have been by agribusiness companies as well as by farmers, many of whom have moved south from North Island dairying strongholds such as Taranaki
Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the ...
and the Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
.
Cropping has always been important in the Canterbury Region. Wheat and barley and various strains of clover and other grasses for seed exporting have been the main crops. These have all created processing businesses in Christchurch. Agriculture in the region has diversified, with a wine industry developing at Waipara
Waipara is a wine and tourism district in Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River (Canterbury), Waipara River. Its name translates to "muddy water", ''wai'' meaning water and ''para'' meaning mud.
It is at the junction of Ne ...
, and the beginnings of new horticulture industries such as olive production and processing. Deer farming has led to new processing using antlers for Asian medicine and aphrodisiacs. The high-quality local wine in particular has increased the appeal of Canterbury and Christchurch to tourists.
An important component of the regions agricultural calendar is the Canterbury A&P Show. The first show took place in Christchurch on 22 October 1862 and is now the largest agricultural and pastoral show in New Zealand featuring a combination of agriculture presentations, trade stalls, competitions and entertainment over three days. The Friday of the A&P Show had since at least 1918 been the People's Day or Show Day, and sometime between 1955 and 1958, Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
moved the anniversary day to coincide with Show Day, as this allowed banks and businesses to close and people to attend the A&P Show.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
is also a significant factor in the city economy. As a city with a major international airport and the largest city in the South Island, Christchurch is a gateway for international tourists visiting the South Island attractions of Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park is a national park located in the Canterbury Region in the central-west of the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in October 1953 and takes its name from the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aora ...
, Queenstown, the West Coast and Kaikōura
Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...
. However, the city is also a destination in itself because of its gardens, its history and heritage, galleries and museums, the scenery of the Port Hills, and the stories of the impact and recovery from the 2011 earthquakes. The tourism sector contributed 3.7% of the GDP of Christchurch in 2023, a significant increase over the 2.1% contribution in 2000. Annual growth in the tourism GDP since 2000 has been an average of 5.9%, slightly below the national average growth rate of 6.9%. The largest category of tourism expenditure in 2023 was sales at $780m (31.6% of total tourism spending). The next highest category was passenger transport, at $392.5M (15.9% of total).
Gateway to the Antarctic
The city began its long history as an Antarctic gateway in 1901, when the ''Discovery'' Expedition left from Lyttelton. Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...
's second departure from Christchurch in 1910 would be his last; he died as part of the ''Terra Nova'' Expedition. The city mourned his death, and a memorial statue of him was unveiled in 1917. The International Antarctic Centre provides both base facilities and a museum and visitor centre focused upon current Antarctic activities. The United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and United States Air National Guard, augmented by the New Zealand and Australian air forces, use Christchurch Airport as the take-off point for the main supply route to McMurdo and Scott Bases in Antarctica. The Clothing Distribution Center in Christchurch had more than 140,000 pieces of extreme cold weather gear for issue to nearly 2,000 United States Antarctic Program
The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...
participants in the 2007–08 season.
Government
Local government
Christchurch's local government is a democracy with various elements, including:
* Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
, comprising the Mayor of Christchurch
The mayor of Christchurch is the elected head of local government in Christchurch, New Zealand; one of 67 Mayors in New Zealand, mayors in the country. The mayor presides over the Christchurch City Council and is directly elected using the First ...
, and 16 councillors elected in 16 wards: Spreydon, Cashmere, Halswell, Riccarton, Hornby, Fendalton, Waimairi, Papanui, Innes, Central, Linwood, Heathcote, Harewood, Burwood, Coastal, and Banks Peninsula.
* Community boards, currently six, typically covering 3 wards with 2 members elected, and one councillor appointed from each (9 members): Waihoro Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote, Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central, Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton, Waimāero Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood, Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood; the exception to this rule being the one covering Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula where all members are elected from 4 subdivisions within the Banks Peninsula Ward (Akaroa, Mount Herbert, Lyttelton, Wairewa) alongside the Ward Councillor.
* District councils in surrounding areas: Selwyn, and Waimakariri. The Banks Peninsula district council was amalgamated into Christchurch City in March 2006 after a vote by the Banks Peninsula residents to disestablish in November 2005.
* Canterbury Regional Council
Environment Canterbury, frequently abbreviated to ECan, is the promotional name for the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the Regions of New Zealand, regional council for Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, the largest region in the South Is ...
, known as 'Environment Canterbury', including four Christchurch constituencies with two members from each constituency.
* Prior to the disestablishment of the district health board model during the 2022 local elections, elections were also held for the Canterbury District Health Board
The Canterbury District Health Board (Canterbury DHB or CDHB; ) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand, north of the Rangitata River. It was responsibl ...
, with five members for Christchurch.
Some of the local governments in Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and the NZ Transport Agency
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), superseded by is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, and administering the New Zealand st ...
have created the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy to facilitate future urban planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
.
Central government
Christchurch is covered by seven general electorates (, , , , , and ) and one Māori electorate (Te Tai Tonga
Te Tai Tonga () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorates, Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives. It was established for the 1996 New Zeal ...
), each returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives
The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...
. As of the 2023 New Zealand general election
The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th New Zealand Parliament, 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives ...
there are four general electorate members of the National party and three members of the Labour party. The Māori electorate is represented by Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
.
Culture and entertainment
Cinema
Historically, most cinemas were grouped around Cathedral Square.
One of the first generation of suburban cinemas still operating as a cinema, the Hollywood in Sumner, operated from 1938 until 2022; before closing to be refurbished and becoming part of the Silky Otter cinema chain which also runs a cinema in Wigram. The largest multiplexes were the Hoyts
The HOYTS Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes HOYTS Cinemas, a cinema chain, and Val Morgan, which sells advertising on cinema screens and digital billboards.
The company was established by dentist Arthur Russell in Melbo ...
8 in the old railway station on Moorhouse Avenue (now replaced by EntX) and Reading Cinemas (also eight screens) in the Palms Shopping Centre in Shirley. Hoyts in Riccarton opened in 2005 with one of its screens for a time holding the record for the largest in New Zealand.
The Rialto Cinemas on Moorhouse avenue specialised in international films and art house productions. The Rialto also hosted the majority of the city's various film festivals and was home to the local film society. The Rialto was closed following the February 2011 earthquake.
The Alice Cinema first operated as a specialised video store, now has two screens and a comprehensive library foreign films, documentaries, cult and arthouse films to rent.
The Canterbury Film Society is active in the city, operating every Monday evening from the Christchurch Art Gallery.
The Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
film ''Heavenly Creatures
''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh. It stars Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their feature film debuts, with Sarah Peirse, Dian ...
'' (1994), starring Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...
, was set in Christchurch.
Parks and nature
Christchurch has been described as ''The Garden City'' because of the large number of public parks and well-developed residential gardens with many trees. A British lawyer John Eldon Gorst
Sir John Eldon Gorst, (24 May 1835 – 4 April 1916) was a British lawyer and politician. He served as Solicitor-General for England and Wales from 1885 to 1886 and as Vice-President of the Committee on Education between 1895 and 1902.
Backg ...
, stated that Christchurch reminded him of the garden cities in England, and he called it as such. Hagley Park and the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, founded in 1863, are in the central city, which is an active habitat for kererū
The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin describ ...
. The Hagley Oval
Hagley Oval is a Cricket field, cricket ground in Hagley Park, Christchurch, Hagley Park in the Christchurch Central City, central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1867, when Canterbury cricket te ...
is a popular cricket field
A cricket field or cricket oval is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: perfect circles, elongated ovals, rounded rectangles, or irregular shapes with ...
. Other sports such as association football, and rugby are popular in Hagley Park, and open-air concerts by local bands and orchestras. North Hagley Park is known for its cherry blossom
The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...
s, planted along Harper Avenue on Arbor Day
Arbor Day (or Arbour Day in some countries) is a Secularity, secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date v ...
in 1936. During the flowering season the trees are popular with visitors.
To the east lies Rāwhiti Domain, in New Brighton, and to the north lies Spencer Park. And there are many inner city urban parks such as, Latimer Square, Cranmer Square, and Victoria Square. To the north of the city is the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. Travis Wetland, an ecological restoration programme to create a wetland, many native plants and birdlife thrive there, notably royal spoonbills and spotless crake and recent plantings of fork-leaved sundew. It is located to the east of the city centre near the suburb of Burwood and North New Brighton. There has been recent work to restore Papanui Bush, it began in 2018, with recent plantings of native wildlife such as rimu
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...
and tōtara
''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...
to restore this area like it was pre-European urbanisation.
Orana Wildlife Park is New Zealand's only open-range zoo, sitting on 80 hectares of land, located on the outskirts of Christchurch.
Theatre
Christchurch has a long history with performing arts, dating back to December 1861, when the first theatre opened on the current site of The Press building on Gloucester Street. Across the road from that building is the Isaac Theatre Royal, originally opened in 1863, and has since been rebuilt four times, most recently the building was moderately damaged following the 2011 earthquake. The Isaac Theatre Royal reopened to the public on 17 November 2014.
Christchurch has one full-time professional theatre, the Court Theatre, founded in 1971. Originally based in the Christchurch Arts Centre, the Court Theatre has been located in the suburb of Addington in temporary accommodation following the 2011 earthquakes. Construction of a new premises located in the Performing Arts Precinct was complete in 2025 with the presentation of Bruce Mason's play '' The End of the Golden Weather''.
The Free Theatre Christchurch was established in 1979 and based in the Arts Centre from 1982, and Showbiz Christchurch, an incorporated society established in 1938 and primarily producing musical theatre. There is also an active recreational theatre scene with community-based theatre companies, such as the Christchurch Repertory Society, Elmwood Players, Riccarton Players, and Canterbury Children's Theatre, producing many quality shows.
Pacific Underground is a theatre and music company that was established in Christchurch in 1993, with many well known New Zealand artists starting out with them including Oscar Kightley
Oscar Vai To'elau Kightley (born 14 September 1969) is a Samoan-New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian. He acted in and co-wrote the successful 2006 film '' Sione's Wedding''.
Biography
Kightley was ...
, David Fane
David Rodney Fane (born 28 December 1966) is a New Zealand actor.
Early life and education
Fane was educated at St. Pauls College in Grey Lynn.
Career
Fane got into acting quite late and trained at the New Zealand Drama School Toi Whakaa ...
, Ladi6 and Scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing.
The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...
. Their first theatre production was ''Fresh Off the Boat'', by Kightley and Simon Small presented at the Arts Centre.
Music
The city is known for its many live acts, including a professional symphony orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
. After the closure of Canterbury Opera in 2006, due to financial reasons, in 2009 another professional opera company, Southern Opera, was founded. After the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, it suspended its activities, before merging with New Zealand Opera in 2013.
Christchurch is a home for the experimental music scene of New Zealand.
Singer-songwriter Hayley Westenra launched her international career by busking in Christchurch.
Some of New Zealand's acts, such as Shapeshifter
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...
, Ladi6, Tiki Taane and Truth
Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
are from Christchurch. Promoters, Venues and clubs such as Bassfreaks, The Bedford and Dux Live regularly have international, and New Zealand acts within the Drum and Bass scene performing live in Christchurch, along with dance parties, raves and gigs all featuring NZ and local Drum and Bass DJs, with often two or three happening on a single night or weekend (e.g. 2010 when UK Dubstep DJ Doctor P with Crushington was playing at The Bedford, while simultaneously Concord Dawn featuring Trei and Bulletproof was playing at Ministry).
In recent developments, hip hop has effectively landed in Christchurch. In 2000, First Aotearoa Hip Hop Summit was held there. And in 2003, Christchurch's Scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing.
The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...
released his debut album in New Zealand and has received five times platinum in that country, in addition to achieving two number one singles.
Since 2015 the city has hosted Electric Avenue, a two-day music festival in Hagley Park which is the largest held in Australasia. Taking place annually in February, the festival hosts international and domestic acts, such as Lorde
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...
, The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...
, and The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured
Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
being amongst recent headliners.
Venues
Situated in Addington, the Wolfbrook Arena is the city's major multipurpose indoor arena. The venue has capacity for nearly 9000 people when configured for concerts.[ In sports, it is one of the home venues of the Mainland Tactix ]netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
side and was the venue for the 1999 World Netball championships.
The Christchurch Town Hall auditorium opened in September 1972, it was the first major auditorium design by architects Warren and Mahoney and acousticians Marshall Day. It is still recognised as a model example of concert-hall design with an excellent modern pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
. The hall was reopened on 23 February 2019, after being closed for eight years for repair after the significant damage caused by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...
.
Christchurch also has a casino, and there are also a wide range of live music venues – some short-lived, others with decades of history. Classical music concerts were held at the Christchurch Music Centre until it was demolished as a result of earthquake damage. The Piano was built to offer a variety of performance spaces for music and the arts.
In late 2014 it was announced that a 475 million dollar project was underway to build a convention centre located on the block defined by Armagh Street, Oxford Terrace, Worcester Street and Colombo Street. Gloucester Street becomes part of the Centre itself, but allows for retail use and public access. The convention centre, now called Te Pae, hosts several events at the same time; starting with space for up to 2,000 people, this complements facilities in Auckland and Queenstown. Te Pae opened on 17 December 2021.
In 2012, in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan
The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, often referred to as the Blueprint, is the plan developed by the Fifth National Government of New Zealand for the recovery of the Christchurch Central City from a series of earthquakes, in particular the F ...
, it was announced there will be a replacement for Lancaster Park. Construction started on a new stadium in 2022 and is due to be complete in April 2026.
Festivals
Word Christchurch is a long running literary festival, the director in 2023 was Steph Walker. The regular Christchurch Arts Festival wound up in 2023 after more than 50 years with their assets donated to the WORD literary festival. Christchurch had a biennial Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA) from 2012 to 2018 founded by architectural historian Jessica Halliday. This has turned into an annual festival of architecture events called Open Christchurch since 2019 run by Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making. Pacific Underground established the Pacific Arts Festival in Christchurch in 2001 and it ran until 2010. Christchurch hosts the World Buskers Festival in January each year.
Architecture
The architecture of Christchurch has been said to be distinctly English; however, it contains various European elements, with strong Gothic Revival architecture
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
. As early settlers of New Zealand, Māori culture
Māori culture () is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Polynesians, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of Culture of New ...
is also prevalent in the city. It features many public open spaces and parks, river beds and cafés and restaurants situated in the city centre and surrounding suburbs.
Sport
Sport in Christchurch has developed from the time of the initial settlement of Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
by British migrants, and remains an important part of community life. Cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
have been popular team sports since the early years of settlement, with the first cricket club established in the city in 1851, and the first rugby club in 1863. Interest in organised sports has diversified and now includes a wide range of codes. In 2022, the top five sporting codes in Canterbury based on club membership were netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
, touch rugby, rugby union, golf and cricket.
There are around 1,200 sports clubs and associations, and in 2022 there were 140,000 affiliated members. Most of the sporting codes remain amateur, and rely upon volunteers as administrators and officials. However, there are some professional teams. Notable teams representing Christchurch or the Canterbury region include the Mainland Tactix (netball), Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
(rugby) and the Canterbury Kings (cricket).
The city has hosted many international competitions including championship events. A particularly notable international event held in Christchurch was the 1974 Commonwealth Games.
There are many outdoor sportsgrounds and a variety of indoor venues. Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
maintains 110 sportsgrounds across Christchurch City and Banks Peninsula. A large indoor sports, exhibition and entertainment venue was constructed adjacent to the Addington Raceway in 1998. the venue is named Wolfbrook Arena. The sports venues Lancaster Park
Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 earthqu ...
and Queen Elizabeth II Park
Queen Elizabeth II Stadium was a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, located in a large park called Queen Elizabeth II Park. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000 people and was built in 1973 to host the 1974 British Commonwealth Ga ...
were damaged beyond repair in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...
, and were demolished. New facilities built to replace those damaged in the earthquake include the Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, the Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre — an aquatic and indoor sports venue scheduled to open in 2025, and a multi–purpose covered stadium ''Te Kaha'' seating 30,000 spectators that is expected to be complete by April 2026.
Education

Secondary schools
Christchurch is home to the fourth-largest school in New Zealand, co-educational state school Burnside High School, with pupils. Cashmere High School, Papanui High School and Riccarton High School are other large schools. There are four single-sex state schools: Shirley Boys' High School, Christchurch Boys' High School, Avonside Girls' High School and Christchurch Girls' High School.
Christchurch is also home to several single-sex private church schools, some of them of the traditional English public school type. These include St Thomas of Canterbury College, St Margaret's College, Christ's College, St Bede's College, Marian College, Catholic Cathedral College, St Andrew's College, Villa Maria College and Rangi Ruru Girls' School. Less conventional schools in the city include Ao Tawhiti, Hagley Community College, and the Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School.
Tertiary institutions
A number of tertiary education institutions have campuses in Christchurch, or in the surrounding areas.
* Ara Institute of Canterbury
* Lincoln University
* University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
* University of Otago, Christchurch
Transport
Private cars are the dominant form of transport in Christchurch, with 62% of commuter journeys utilising a private car, . Historically, decisions on land use and infrastructure investment in Christchurch have tended to favour car travel, resulting in high adoption of cars.[ , Christchurch has almost of roads. The city is served by State Highways 1, 73, 74, 74A, 75 and 76. Christchurch has three motorways consisting of the Christchurch Northern Motorway (includes the Western Belfast Bypass), Christchurch Southern Motorway and the Christchurch-Lyttelton Motorway.
Christchurch has an extensive bus network, with bus routes serving most areas of the city and satellite towns. The local bus service, marketed as ''Metro'', is provided by Environment Canterbury.] The topology of the network broadly follow a spoke–hub distribution paradigm
The spoke–hub distribution paradigm (also known as the hub-and-spoke system) is a form of transport topology optimization in which traffic planners organize routes as a series of " spokes" that connect outlying points to a central "hub". Sim ...
, with major routes intersecting the city and crossing at the central Christchurch Bus Interchange.[ Less-frequent 'connector' and 'link' services provide journeys between suburbs not on the major routes.][ Additionally, a service called the ''Orbiter'' connects the suburban mall hubs by running in a ring around the outside of the central city.][ Before the 2011 earthquakes, in addition to normal bus services, Christchurch also had a ]zero-fare
Free public transport, often called fare-free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is public transport which is fully funded by means other than collecting fares from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local governme ...
hybrid bus service, the ''Shuttle'', in the inner city. The service was suspended following the earthquakes. public transport mode share in the Greater Christchurch area was 2.8%, with daily journeys still well-below pre-earthquake levels.[
Historically, Christchurch has been known as New Zealand's cycling city, even earning the nickname "Cyclopolis" around the turn of the 20th century.] Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
described Christchurch in 1895 as a place "where half the people ride bicycles and the other half are kept busy dodging them". The central city has very flat terrain and the Christchurch City Council has established a network of cycling infrastructure
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...
in the form of both dedicated and shared paths, such as the major Northern Line Cycleway. Post-quake public consultation on rebuilding the city expressed a strong desire for a more sustainable transport system, particularly greater use of cycling; this was reflected in the council's 2012–42 strategic transport plan. The number of cycle paths across the city has continued to increase since the earthquakes, with the roll-out of the Major Cycle Route initiative intending to create of cycle paths in the city. This has contributed to a 30% increase in bicycle journeys between 2016 and 2023, with over 3.6 million cyclists detected at counting stations in a 12-month period. Data from the 2023 census revealed Christchurch as a national leader in the adoption of cycling as commuter transport.[ Nearly 25% of all bicycle commuters in New Zealand live in Christchurch, with the highest levels of adoption in suburbs with robust cycle infrastructure.]
Trams were running as public transport in Christchurch as early as 1880, with the system mostly electrified beginning in 1905. Routes mostly centred around Cathedral Square connecting out as far as Papanui, New Brighton and Sumner, but all had ceased operating by 1954. In 1995, the Christchurch tramway system was re-established as a tourist attraction.[ The tram follows a short loop around central city streets, with stops at Cathedral Square, the Arts Centre, Canterbury Museum, Victoria Square and Cathedral Junction, which is also the location of the depot. The tram tracks are owned by the Christchurch City Council, with the trams supplied, maintained and operated by the Tramways Historical Society.][ In 2022 the tram tracks were extended south down High Street at a cost of , though due to an engineering issue they derailed a tram and had to be relaid.
There is a cable car system called the Christchurch Gondola which operates as a tourist attraction, providing transport from the ]Heathcote Valley
Heathcote Valley is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is named after Sir William Heathcote, who was secretary of the Canterbury Association.
Location
Heathcote is southeast of the city centre. It is site of the lower terminus o ...
to the top of Mount Cavendish in the city's south-east.
Rail services, both long-distance and commuter, used to focus on the former railway station on Moorhouse avenue. Commuter trains were progressively cancelled in the 1960s and 1970s. The last such service, between Christchurch and Rangiora
Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...
, ceased in 1976. After the reduction in services, a new Christchurch railway station was established at Addington Junction. The Main North Line railway travels northwards via Kaikōura
Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...
to Picton and is served by the Coastal Pacific
The ''Coastal Pacific'' is a long-distance passenger train that runs between Picton and Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail. It was called the ''TranzCoast ...
scheduled passenger train while the Main South Line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...
heads to Invercargill
Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...
via Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
and was used by the Southerner until its cancellation in 2002.
The most famous train to depart Christchurch is the TranzAlpine
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line, New Zealand, Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train jour ...
, which travels along the Main South Line to Rolleston and then turns onto the Midland Line, passes through the Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
via the Otira Tunnel, and terminates in Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...
on the West Coast. This trip is often regarded as one of the ten great train journeys in the world for the remarkable scenery through which it passes. The TranzAlpine service is primarily a tourist service and carries no significant commuter traffic.
Christchurch Airport is located in Harewood, to the north-west of the city centre. The airport is the second-busiest airport in New Zealand, with regular passenger services from Christchurch to sixteen New Zealand and seven international destinations. The airport serves as the major base for the New Zealand, South Korean, Italian and United States Antarctic programs.
Utilities
Water supply
Christchurch has one of the highest-quality water supplies in the world, with its water rated among the purest and cleanest in the world. Untreated, naturally filtered water is sourced, via more than 50 pumping stations surrounding the city, from aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
s emanating from the foothills of the Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
. However, since 2018 about 70% of Christchurch's water supply has been temporarily chlorinated
In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction which introduces one or more halogens into a chemical compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, drugs. ...
due to well-head upgrades, and the chlorination is planned to be stopped after the upgrades have been completed and certified.
Wastewater
Christchurch was the first city in New Zealand to develop an underground sewerage network. In the early 1870s, Christchurch had a population of around 12,000 people. However, there was a high death rate from diseases such as typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
, with 152 people dying in an epidemic from 1875 to 1876. The city was considered as the unhealthiest in New Zealand at that time. Most of the human waste was being discharged untreated into the Avon and Heathcote rivers, despite those rivers also being used for bathing. Following the passing of the Christchurch District Drainage Act 1875, the Christchurch Drainage Board was established, holding its first meeting on 4 January 1876. The first chairman of the board was the city mayor, Fred Hobbs, who had been a strong advocate for a drainage system.
In 1878, an English drainage engineer William Clark
William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
proposed detailed designs for an underground sewerage network for the city, with a pumping station to pump the sewage to sandhills in Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
for irrigation over land adjacent to the estuary. The city's first sewage pumping station was established in Tuam Street in 1882, with a boiler and steam-driven pumps. Homeowners were required to pay for a connection to the new sewerage system and establish flushing toilets, and by 1884 there were 293 connections. The 1903 Cyclopedia of New Zealand
''The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations'' was an encyclopaedia published in New Zealand between 1897 and 1908 by the Cyclopedia Company Ltd. Arthur McKee was one of the ori ...
stated that following the implementation of the drainage system "the city now ranks amongst the most healthy in the Colony".
Electricity
The Christchurch City Council established the city's first public electricity supply in 1903, and the city was connected to Coleridge Power Station in 1914. Until 1989, electricity distribution and retailing in Christchurch was the responsibility of four entities: the Christchurch City Council Municipal Electricity Department (MED), Riccarton Electricity, the Port Hills Energy Authority, and the Central Canterbury Electric Power Board. In 1989, all four companies entered a joint venture, named Southpower. The 1998 electricity sector reforms required all electricity companies to separate their distribution and retailing businesses. Southpower retained its distribution business and sold its retail business to Meridian Energy
Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
. In December 1998, the distribution business was renamed Orion New Zealand. Today, Orion owns and operates the local distribution network servicing the city, with electricity fed into it from two Transpower substations at Islington
Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
and Bromley.
The electricity distribution network in Christchurch suffered significant damage in the 2011 earthquakes, especially in the north-east, where the 66,000-volt subtransmission cables supplying the area were damaged beyond repair. This necessitated major repairs to the existing infrastructure, as well as building new infrastructure to supply new housing developments.
At the 2013 census, 94.0% of Christchurch homes were heated wholly or partly by electricity, the highest in the country.
Telecommunications
Telephone service was introduced in Christchurch on 1 October 1881 with the commissioning of New Zealand's first telephone exchange. The city converted to fully automatic service on 14 September 1929. Subscriber toll dialling was introduced in Christchurch from 19 November 1976, with the city given the area code 03; in the early 1990s, the 03 area code was expanded to cover the entire South Island and Christchurch telephone numbers were lengthened from six to seven digits by prefixing 3 to existing numbers. Mobile phone service was introduced to Christchurch on 5 September 1988 by Telecom (now Spark).
As part of the Ultra Fast Broadband initiative, fibre to the premises was rolled out in Christchurch during the 2010s, with the network completed in August 2018. Enable Networks operates the fibre network in Christchurch and Lyttelton, while Chorus Limited operates the fibre network in Diamond Harbour and in towns on the Banks Peninsula. Chorus also operates the copper network across all of Christchurch City.
Media
The major daily newspaper in Christchurch is ''The Press
''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...
'', which has a daily circulation of 31,207 and is owned by Stuff
Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to:
*Physical matter
*General, unspecific things, or entities
Arts, media, and entertainment
Books
*''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly
*''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong
Fictional c ...
. ''The Press'' was first published on 25 May 1861, originally as a weekly paper before becoming a daily paper in March 1863. Weekly newspapers include '' The Star,'' owned by Allied Press
Allied Press is an independent New Zealand media and publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the ''Otago Daily Times'', New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper. Allied Press has a number of other daily and community news ...
, which began in 1868 as a daily evening newspaper before becoming a bi-weekly (and later weekly) free newspaper
Free newspapers are distributed Gratis versus libre, free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. T ...
in 1991.
The Christchurch radio market is the second-largest in New Zealand, with 511,700 listeners aged 10 and over. The three largest stations in Christchurch by market share are Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio, talk-radio network operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, NZME Radio. It is available in almost every media market, radio market area in New Zealand, and has news reporters based in m ...
, More FM, and The Breeze. As with other New Zealand radio markets, most radio stations in Christchurch are centralcast out of Auckland.
Television was introduced in Christchurch on 1 June 1961 with channel CHTV3. The channel networked with its NZBC
The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a State-owned enterprise, publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BC ...
counterparts in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin in 1969 and today is part of Television New Zealand (TVNZ). As with radio, television channels in Christchurch are centralcast out of Auckland.
Notable people
Sister cities
Christchurch's sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there ar ...
are:
* Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, Australia (1972)
* Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, Dorset, England, United Kingdom (1972)
* Kurashiki, Okayama
is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...
, Japan (1973)
* Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, United States (1981)
* Songpa-gu
Songpa District () is one of the List of districts of Seoul, 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. Previously known as Wiryeseong, the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Baekje, Songpa is located in the southeastern part of Seoul. With roughl ...
, Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, South Korea (1995)
* Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
, Hubei, China (2006)
Christchurch also has friendly relations with Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
in China.[
]
See also
* Christchurch City Holdings
* List of radio stations in Christchurch
* List of tallest buildings in Christchurch
This list of tallest buildings in Christchurch ranks Tower block, high-rise buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand, by height.
Although New Zealand's second-largest city, Christchurch is predominantly low-rise. The current tallest building is ...
* List of people from Christchurch
References
Notes
Bibliography
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Citations
External links
Christchurch City Council
– official council website
Ōtautahi Christchurch
– official website of the Christchurch City Council economic development agency, includes a tourism guide and visitor information
{{Authority control
Christchurch
Populated places established in 1843
Former provincial capitals of New Zealand
1843 establishments in New Zealand