Christchurch (/ˈkraɪstʃɜːrtʃ/; Māori: Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River (Ōtākaro) flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks.
The first inhabitants migrated to the area sometime between 1000 and 1250 AD.[5] They hunted moa, which led to the birds' extinction by 1450, and destroyed much of the mataī and tōtara forest. The first iwi to settle the area that would later become known as Christchurch were the Waitaha, who migrated to the area in the 16th century. They were followed later by the Kāti Māmoe, who conquered the Waitaha. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ngāi Tahu migrated to the area and subjugated the Kāti Māmoe.[5]
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 population of the urban area is 384,800 people.[4] Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland.[a] It is the major urban area of an emerging sub-region known as Greater Christchurch.[8] Notable smaller urban areas within this sub-region include Rangiora and Kaiapoi in Waimakariri District, north of the Waimakariri River, and Rolleston and Lincoln in Selwyn District to the south.
Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand. The Canterbury Association, which settled the Canterbury Plains, named the city after Christ Church, Oxford. The new settlement was laid out in a grid pattern centred on Cathedral Square; during the 19th century there were few barriers to the rapid growth of the urban area, except for the Pacific to the east and the Port Hills to the south. Agriculture is the historic mainstay of Christchurch's economy. 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. Christchurch is one of five Antarctic gateway cities, hosting Antarctic support bases for several nations.[9]
The city suffered a series of earthquakes between September 2010 and January 2012, with the most destructive occurring at 12.51 p.m. 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. By late 2013, 1,500 buildings in the city had been demolished, leading to ongoing recovery and rebuilding projects. The city later became the site of a terrorist attack targeting two mosques on 15 March 2019.
Etymology
The name Christchurch was adopted at the first meeting of the Canterbury Association on 27 March 1848. The reason it was chosen is not clear but the most likely reason is it was named after Christ Church, Oxford, 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.[10]
The Māori name Ōtautahi, meaning 'the place of Tautahi', was adopted in the 1930s. Ōtautahi was the name of a specific site by the Avon River / Ōtākaro (near the present-day fire-station on Kilmore Street).[11] The site was a seasonal dwelling of Ngāi Tahu chief Te Pōtiki Tautahi, whose main home was Port Levy on Banks Peninsula, although a different account claims the Tautahi in question was the son of the Port Levy chief Huikai.[12] Prior to that, the Ngāi Tahu generally referred to the Christchurch area as Karaitiana,[13] a transliteration of the English word Christian.
"ChCh" is sometimes used as an abbreviation of Christchurch.[14][15][16]
In New Zealand Sign Language, Christchurch is signed with two Cs.[17]
History
See also: History of the Canterbury Region
Pre-European settlement
The first people to live in the place now known as Christchurch were Māori moa hunters.[18] This was supported by archaeological evidence found in a cave at Redcliffs in 1876 and by Māori oral evidence.[citation needed][19][20][21]
European settlement
Markets, Christchurch, New Zealand, 20 May 1871
After the purchase of land at Putaringamotu (modern Riccarton) by the Weller brothers, whalers of Otago and Sydney, a party of European settlers led by Herriott and McGillivray established themselves in what is now Christchurch, early in 1840. Their abandoned holdings were taken over by brothers William and John Deans[22] in 1843 who stayed.
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