Heathcote Valley is a suburb of
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, 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 Rive ...
, New Zealand. It is named after
Sir William Heathcote, who was secretary of the
Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...
.
Location
Nestled at the foot of the steep volcanic crags that form the northern edge of the hills, some southeast of the city centre the Heathcote Valley is dominated by the approaches to the
Lyttelton road tunnel
The Lyttelton road tunnel runs through the Port Hills to connect the New Zealand city of Christchurch and its seaport, Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. It opened in 1964 and carries just over 10,000 vehicles per day as part of New Zealan ...
, a major arterial that passes through the
Port Hills
The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago.
The hi ...
. The road is part of the
State Highway 74 network. The
Main South Railway line also passes through the suburb, before entering the
Lyttelton rail tunnel
The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is the country's oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on t ...
that connects with the port of
Lyttelton.
Heathcote Valley is the lower terminus of the
Christchurch Gondola
The Christchurch Gondola is a tourist attraction service offered bChristchurch Attractionsin Christchurch, New Zealand. The gondola base is located in Heathcote Valley, and it traverses the slopes of Mount Cavendish in the Port Hills. Also known ...
, which goes up to
Mount Cavendish
Mount Cavendish is located in the Port Hills, with views over Christchurch, New Zealand and Lyttelton. It is part of the crater wall of the extinct volcano that formed Lyttelton Harbour. The Mount Cavendish Reserve displays some of the best exam ...
on the Port Hills, and also for the
Bridle Path walking track over the northern rim of the Lyttelton volcano to the port of Lyttelton.
History
In the past the Heathcote Valley was known for its orchards, brickworks and maltworks. The distinctive towers of the Canterbury Malting Company's maltworks dominated the skyline until 2012 - when along with the rest of the remaining buildings were demolished to make way for residential developments.
Relation to Heathcote River
Despite its name, Heathcote Valley is situated some two kilometres south of the
Heathcote River Heathcote may refer to:
Places
in Australia
*Heathcote, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
**Electoral district of Heathcote, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
**Heathcote National Park
** Parish of Heathcote a parish of Cumberla ...
, which does not flow through the suburb but rather flows east across a wide plain.
Demographics
Heathcote Valley covers .
It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Heathcote Valley had a population of 2,229 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 111 people (5.2%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 57 people (2.6%) 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 873 households. There were 1,083 males and 1,146 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 44.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 411 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 330 (14.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,080 (48.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 405 (18.2%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 94.1% European/Pākehā, 6.9% Māori, 1.7% Pacific peoples, 2.3% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 20.6%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 59.1% had no religion, 30.1% were Christian, 0.3% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 0.1% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 459 (25.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 294 (16.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 927 (51.0%) people were employed full-time, 315 (17.3%) were part-time, and 36 (2.0%) were unemployed.
Education
Te Kura o Te Tihi o Kahukura / Heathcote Valley School is a full primary school catering for years 1 to 8. It had a roll of as of The school started in a private house in 1860 and the first classroom opened in 1861.
Notable residents
*
Wally Argus – New Zealand rugby international who bought a market garden in Heathcote Valley in 1949
*
Bob Parker – former mayor of Christchurch was brought up here
Further reading
* ''In The Shadow Of The Rock, 150 Years of Heathcote Valley'', 2010, Paul Corliss
References
External links
Christchurch City Libraries: Gimblett Collection historic photographs of Heathcote ValleyOfficial site of the Christchurch Gondola
{{Banks Peninsula
Suburbs of Christchurch