Belfast () is a suburb of

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand. It is in the north of the city from Cathedral Square, close to the banks of the Waimakariri River.

History

Belfast is named after

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It was originally known as North Road District, Seven Mile Peg, Styx, or by its

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

name Purarekanui. James McNeight Watt (1838–1892) emigrated from Belfast and was a partner with the original meat works, around which the settlement grew. Watt, who developed much of the area, is believed to have given it its present name.

Demographics

Belfast, comprising the statistical areas of Belfast West and Belfast East, covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Before the 2023 census, Belfast had a smaller boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Belfast had a population of 4,218 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 318 people (8.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 549 people (15.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,632 households, comprising 2,091 males and 2,124 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female, with 759 people (18.0%) aged under 15 years, 801 (19.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,956 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 705 (16.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.8% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 11.7%

, 2.5% Pasifika, 6.4% Asian, and 2.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.5% had no religion, 33.4% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.3% had

Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 1.1% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.4% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 0.7% were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and 2.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 441 (12.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 855 (24.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 474 people (13.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,812 (52.4%) people were employed full-time, 492 (14.2%) were part-time, and 129 (3.7%) were unemployed.

Economy

Belfast has had a freezing works since 1883. It is now owned by

Silver Fern Farms Silver Fern Farms Limited is a New Zealand multinational meat company. It is owned in equal partnership by Silver Fern Farms Co-op Ltd, a cooperative of 16,000 New Zealand sheep, cattle and deer farmers, and Shanghai Maling Aquarius Ltd. The co ...

. The nearest shopping complex is at Northwood Supa Centre.

Education

Belfast School is a contributing primary school catering for years 1 to 8. It had a roll of as of The school opened in 1878.

Sport

Belfast is home to the Belfast Rugby Club, which competes in the Christchurch rugby competition. The team's colours are green and gold. Its main sports ground is Sheldon Park. The northern end of the suburb houses light industry.

Notable people

Shane Bond Shane Edward Bond (born 7 June 1975) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer and present bowling coach of Rajasthan Royals, described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee", and often among the greatest fast b ...

(Former player for New Zealand Black Caps cricket team) * Bill Bush (former All-Black) Now President Belfast Rugby Club (Cobras) * Craig Green (former All Black) *

Jamie Nutbrown Jamie Ronald Nutbrown (born 1981 in Christchurch, New Zealand), is a former first-class New Zealand rugby union player and referee. Rugby playing career Educated at St Bede's College in Christchurch, Nutbrown played as a Half-back/Scrum Half. ...

Former Canterbury Crusaders halfback, also a former Super Rugby referee. * Wayne Smith (All Black's assistant coach) * Mabel Whitaker (1884–1976), teacher and local historian. * Lewis Brown (Former New Zealand Kiwi League player) and New Zealand Warriors

References

{{Waimakariri River Suburbs of Christchurch Populated places in the Canterbury Region