Ashburton District is a territorial authority district in the

Canterbury Region Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current fo ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. It encompasses the town of Ashburton, a number of small towns and settlements and the surrounding rural area, roughly coterminous with

Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury (also spelt Mid-Canterbury and mid-Canterbury) is a traditional, semi-official subregion of New Zealand's Canterbury Region extending inland from the Pacific coast to the Southern Alps. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of C ...

. The district had a population of as of .

Geography

Ashburton District extends from the Pacific Ocean to the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

, and from the

Rangitata River The Rangitata River is one of the braided rivers that helped form the Canterbury Plains in southern New Zealand. It flows southeast for from the Southern Alps (New Zealand), Southern Alps, entering the Pacific Ocean northeast of Timaru. The riv ...

to the

Rakaia River The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand. The Rakaia River has a mean flow of and a mean annual seven-day low flow of . In the 1850s, Euro ...

, including the towns of Methven,

Mount Somers Mount Somers ( mi, Te Kiekie) is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, nestled in the foothills of the Southern Alps. The population in the 2001 census was 2,307. Due to its scenic location, it has seen growth in the number of holiday homes ...

, and

Rakaia Rakaia is a town seated close to the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the ...

. The

Hakatere Conservation Park Hakatere Conservation Park is a protected area between the Rakaia River and the Rangitata River in the Ashburton District (Mid Canterbury) of New Zealand. The park was established in 2007. It covers 60,000 hectares of rugged mountains and mount ...

covers a large area of the lower mountains, including

Mount Hutt Mount Hutt ( mi, Opuke) rises to the west of the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand, above the braided upper reaches of the Rakaia River, and 80 kilometres west of Christchurch. Its summit is 2190 metres above sea level. The Ne ...

skifield, popular tramping area

Mount Somers / Te Kiekie Mount Somers / Te Kiekie is a mountain in the South Island of New Zealand, located in the foothills of the Southern Alps. At , it is prominently visible from the Canterbury Plains. The area around the mountain offers opportunities for day walks ...

and the Ashburton Lakes.

Demographics

Ashburton District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Ashburton District had a population of 33,423 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 2,382 people (7.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6,051 people (22.1%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 12,996 households. There were 17,016 males and 16,407 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 39.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6,810 people (20.4%) aged under 15 years, 5,937 (17.8%) aged 15 to 29, 14,697 (44.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 5,982 (17.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 83.8% European/Pākehā, 8.2% Māori, 5.1% Pacific peoples, 7.4% Asian, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.6, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 44.7% had no religion, 45.4% were Christian, 0.8% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 3,477 (13.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 6,243 (23.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $35,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 4,071 people (15.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 14,211 (53.4%) people were employed full-time, 4,281 (16.1%) were part-time, and 633 (2.4%) were unemployed.

Government

Ashburton District Council Ashburton District Council is the territorial authority for the Ashburton District of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Isl ...

administers the district. The council consists of a mayor and nine councillors. The councillors are elected from three wards: five from the Ashburton ward, and two each from the Eastern and Western wards.

References

{{coord, -43.5456, 171.2393, display=title Districts of New Zealand