Ashley Forest is a forest and a statistical area in the Canterbury Region's Hurunui District on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located north of the Ashley River / Rakahuri and northeast of the Okuku River.
The forest was planted from 1939. It is managed by Rayonier Matariki and is only accessible by the public with a permit.
Ashley Forest Village is a small settlement at the southern end of the forest.
Demographics The Ashley Forest statistical area covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Ashley Forest had a population of 807 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 138 people (20.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 165 people (25.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 414 males, 393 females, and 3 people of other genders in 279 dwellings. 3.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 186 people (23.0%) aged under 15 years, 99 (12.3%) aged 15 to 29, 405 (50.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 123 (15.2%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 94.8% European (Pākehā); 11.9% Māori; 0.7% Pasifika; 1.9% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 5.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.0%, Māori by 1.9%, and other languages by 5.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.6% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 14.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 29.7% Christian, and 0.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 61.3%, and 7.4% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 150 (24.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 369 (59.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 108 (17.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 81 people (13.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 315 (50.7%) full-time, 138 (22.2%) part-time, and 12 (1.9%) unemployed.
Climate
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