Christchurch
Ōtautahi (Māori) | |
---|---|
Nickname: The Garden City | |
Motto(s): | |
Coordinates: 43°32′S 172°37′E / 43.533°S 172.617°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Island | South Island |
Region | Canterbury |
Communities |
|
Wards |
|
Settled by the UK | 1848 |
Named for | Christ Church, Oxford |
NZ Parliament | Banks Peninsula Christchurch Central Christchurch East Ilam Selwyn Waimakariri Wigram Te Tai Tonga (Māori) |
Government | |
• Mayor | Phil Mauger |
• MPs | |
• Territorial authority | Christchurch City Council |
Area | |
• Territorial | 1,426 km2 (551 sq mi) |
• Land | 1,415.47 km2 (546.52 sq mi) |
• Urban | 295.15 km2 (113.96 sq mi) |
• Metro | 2,408.1 km2 (929.8 sq mi) |
Elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
Population (June 2023)[4] | |
• Territorial | 396,200 |
• Density | 280/km2 (720/sq mi) |
• Urban | 384,800 |
• Urban density | 1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi) |
• Metro | 521,881 |
• Metro density | 220/km2 (560/sq mi) |
• Demonym | Cantabrian |
Time zone | UTC+12:00 (NZST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13:00 (NZDT) |
Postcode(s) | 8011, 8013, 8014, 8022, 8023, 8024, 8025, 8041, 8042, 8051, 8052, 8053, 8061, 8062, 8081, 8082, |
Area code | 03 |
Local iwi | Kāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu |
Website | ChristchurchNZ.com |
Christchurch (/ˈkraɪstʃɜːrtʃ/ ; Māori: Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand.[a] Christchurch lies in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by Banks Peninsula. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. Christchurch has a reputation for being an 'English' city, with its architectural identity and common nickname the "Garden City" due to similarities with garden cities in England.
The city's territorial authority population is 396,200 people, and includes a number of smaller urban areas as well as rural areas.[4] The wider Christchurch metropolitan area, including the satellite towns of Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Rolleston and Lincoln, is home to over half a million people. Christchurch is served by the Christchurch Airport in Harewood, the country's second-busiest airport.
The area of modern-day greater Christchurch was originally swampland with patchworks of marshland, which became a bustling Māori settlement. Evidence of human activity in the area goes as far back as 1250 AD, with evidence of prolonged occupation by the Waitaha iwi beginning no later than 1350. The Waitaha were superseded as mana whenua in the Christchurch area by Kāti Mamoe and Kāi Tahu. The area of Christchurch was an important foraging ground and a seasonal settlement for local iwi and hapū before the arrival of Europeans, with Kaiapoi being the site of a major pā and trading centre. Christchurch was settled as a British colonial settlement in the mid-nineteenth century. The First Four Ships were chartered by the Canterbury Association and brought the first 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims from Britain to Lyttelton Harbour in 1850. It became a city by royal charter on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand. Later, industrialisation and the opening of the Main South Line railway and the connection to Lyttelton Harbour by the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel saw rapid growth in the city's economy and population, with large industrial premises built along the railway.[not verified in body] The city has been recognised as an Antarctic gateway since 1901, when the Discovery Expedition left from Lyttelton Harbour, and is nowadays one of the five Antarctic gateway cities hosting Antarctic support bases for several nations. Christchurch hosted the 1974 British Commonwealth Games at the purpose-built Queen Elizabeth II Park. The early presence of the University of Canterbury and the heritage of the city's academic institutions in association with local businesses has fostered a number of technology-based industries.
The city suffered a series of earthquakes from September 2010, with the most destructive occurring on 22 February 2011, in which 185 people were killed and thousands of buildings across the city suffered severe damage, with a few central city buildings collapsing, leading to ongoing recovery and rebuilding projects. The city later became the site of a terrorist attack targeting two mosques on 15 March 2019.
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