Rakaia is a town seated close to the southern banks of 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 ...

on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's

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 ...

, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...

and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the township are New Zealand's longest road bridge and longest rail bridge, both of which cross the wide shingle beds of the

braided river A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''. Braided streams tend to occur in rivers with high sediment l ...

at this point. Both bridges are approximately 1750 metres in length. Rakaia was also the junction of the

Methven Branch The Methven Branch was a branch line railway that was part of New Zealand's national rail network in Canterbury. It opened in 1880 and operated until 1976. Construction In 1877, the District Railways Act was passed to enable districts to cons ...

, a branch line railway to Methven that operated from 1880 until its closure in 1976. An accident at the railway station in 1899 killed four people. Rakaia's most obvious feature is a large fibreglass salmon. The river from which the town takes its name is known for its salmon fishing and jetboating. The town and river were previously known as ''Cholmondeley'', but the Maori name would eventually prevail over the English one. The rural community of Acton is located south of the Rakaia township.Acton, New Zealand
on GeoNames.org

Demographics

Rakaia is described by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area and covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Rakaia had a population of 1,440 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 168 people (13.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 369 people (34.5%) 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 576 households, with 582 occupied private dwellings and a further 72 unoccupied private dwellings.. There were 723 males and 720 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 42.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 303 people (21.0%) aged under 15 years, 225 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 657 (45.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 255 (17.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.9% European/Pākehā, 12.9% Māori, 5.2% Pacific peoples, 3.3% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 12.3%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 53.1% had no religion, 34.8% were Christian, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhist and 2.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 93 (8.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 330 (29.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,500, compared with $31,800 nationally, with 11.8% earning over $70,000. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 636 (55.9%) people were employed full-time, 162 (14.2%) were part-time, and 24 (2.1%) were unemployed.

Notable buildings

Saint Mark's Anglican Church

Saint Marks was built in 1877. It was designed by architect Benjamin Mountfort in a Gothic style. It is considered a typical example of the wooden churches he designed for small parishes. The church was listed as a category two historic place in 1992.

Rakaia Post Office

The Rakaia Post Office was built in 1910.

Bank of New Zealand

The Rakaia Bank of New Zealand building.

South Rakaia Hotel

The South Rakaia Hotel is almost 150 years old.

St Andrews Presbyterian Church

References

External links

Rakaia Tourism
{{Authority control Ashburton District Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand