World City Guide

City Overview

The second largest city in New Zealand, Christchurch lies at the southern end of Pegasus Bay, in the middle of the east coast of the South Island, between Banks Peninsula and the Canterbury Plains.

The main city in the Canterbury region, Christchurch boasts over 740 parks and an extensive system of rivers, streams and wetlands, hence its name – it is known as the ‘Garden City’.

Christchurch has a distinctive quaint English character. Its iconic city Square and Cathedral, its historic tram, its wide tree-lined avenues, beautifully maintained gardens, ambling inner-city rivers and restored heritage buildings do make Christchurch a picture-perfect city& and a very pleasant one to visit or live in.

The Christchurch area was first settled by moa-hunting tribes. Maori oral history tells that humans began living in the area around 1000 AD. These first inhabitants were followed by the Waitaha who are thought to have migrated from the east coast of the North Island in the 16th century. This migration was joined by the Ngati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu and continued until about 1830.
Although there were European settlers from the 1830s, the first English settlers to Lyttelton Harbour arrived in December 1850. Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on July 31, 1856, making it the oldest city in New Zealand. The country’s first public railway line was opened from Ferrymead to Christchurch a few years later in 1863.

Today Christchurch is a vibrant city, with a lively café scene and plenty of museums and culture venues to keep locals and tourist entertained. Canterbury has warm summers and cool to cold winters.