Hurunui District is a territorial local government district within the Canterbury Region on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch. It stretches from the east coast to the Main Divide. Its land area is .
Local government During the period, 1853 to 1876, the area north of the Hurunui River was administered as part of the Nelson Province. After the abolition of the provinces in 1876, the Amuri and Cheviot counties were formed. In the 1989 local government reforms, these counties were merged with Hurunui County to form the present district. The current district mayor is Marie Black, who was elected in 2019 upon the retirement of the previous mayor Winton Dalley.
Population Hurunui District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Hurunui District had a population of 13,608 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,050 people (8.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,079 people (18.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 6,942 males, 6,636 females and 33 people of other genders in 5,814 dwellings. 2.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 46.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 2,412 people (17.7%) aged under 15 years, 1,809 (13.3%) aged 15 to 29, 6,327 (46.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 3,063 (22.5%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 90.5% European (Pākehā); 10.1% Māori; 1.3% Pasifika; 4.7% Asian; 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.8%, Māori language by 1.7%, Samoan by 0.2% and other languages by 7.1%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 30.3% Christian, 0.5% Hindu, 0.2% Islam, 0.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 58.5%, and 8.4% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,488 (13.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 6,384 (57.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,853 (25.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $37,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 912 people (8.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 5,562 (49.7%) people were employed full-time, 1,974 (17.6%) were part-time, and 162 (1.4%) were unemployed.
+Individual wardsName Area(km2) Population Density(per km2) Dwellings Median age Medianincome West Ward 6,457.64 5,088 0.79 2,322 42.2 years $40,000 East Ward 1,686.36 2,685 1.59 1,152 46.7 years $36,100 South Ward 496.96 5,835 11.74 2,340 50.0 years $35,000 New Zealand 38.1 years $41,500
Urban areas and settlements The Hurunui district has two towns with a population over 1,000: Amberley and Hanmer Springs. Together they are home to % of the district's population. Urban areaPopulation (% of districtAmberley%Hanmer Springs%Leithfield%Leithfield Beach%Culverden%Cheviot%Waipara%Waiau%Waikari%Hawarden%
Other settlements and localities in the district include the following:
East Hurunui Ward: Cheviot Sub-Division:a Blythe Valley Caverhill Cheviot Claverley Conway Flat Domett Ferniehurst Gore Bay Hawkswood Hundalee Hurunui Mouth Leamington Mina Napenape Nonoti Parnassus Phoebe Port Robinson Spotswood Medina Beckenham Hills Glenmark Sub-Division:b Greta Valley Motunau Motunau Beach Omihi Scargill Spye Waipara Stonyhurst Davaar
West Hurunui Ward: Amuri Sub-Division:c Balmoral Culverden Mount Lyford2 Mouse Point Pahau Rotherham Waiau Cheddar Valley Greenbrae Ngawiro Red Post Corner Woodchester Marble Point Hurunui Sub-Division:c Hawarden Horsley Down Hurunui Masons Flat Medbury Pyramid Valley The Peaks Virginia Waikari Weka Pass Lake Sumner Hanmer Springs Sub-Division:d Boyle Village Hanmer Springs2 Lewis Pass Engineers Camp
South Hurunui Ward: Amberley Sub-Division:e Amberley1 Amberley Beach Balcairn Broomfield Glasnevin Leithfield Leithfield Beach Greneys Road Teviotdale
References
External links
Hurunui District Council website