West Melton is a town in the

Selwyn District Selwyn District is a predominantly rural district in central Canterbury, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after the Selwyn River / Waikirikiri, which is in turn named after Bishop George Selwyn, the first Anglican bis ...

, 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 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 ...

. It is located west 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 River / ...

and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. The town has a population of 2,640 (June 2022), making it the 124th-largest urban area in New Zealand, the 16th-largest in Canterbury and fifth-largest in the Selwyn District (behind Darfield and before

Leeston Leeston (Māori language, Māori: ''Karumata'') is a town on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 30 kilometres southwest of Christchurch, between the shore of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora and the mouth of the Ra ...

History

West Melton was first settled in the 1870s, where it has long been associated with

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

(trotting), cropping, and

sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin an ...

. Recently, it has become associated with

wine growing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

and deer farming. In 1881, Alfred Saunders arrived in West Melton, where he bought a farm that he referred to as a “bleak and wild looking property”. On 26 October 2014, West Melton residents celebrated the town's 150th anniversary.

Urban expansion

In 2007, West Melton saw the start of its urban expansion. Gainsborough and Halkett Grove subdivisions were the first developments to be built, followed by Preston Downs to the west of Gainsborough and a third subdivision called Wilfield built to the south of Gainsborough. One more subdivision and a southern extension of Wilfield are planned to be built. This third subdivision is being developed by Hughes Developments Ltd, and will be built to the east of Gainsborough. A retirement village, developed by Marama Te Wai Ltd, is to be built to the west of Preston Downs. This is in contrast to scaled-down plans. In December 2020, original plans were for a 50-hectare subdivision to be built, however, in June 2022, only 12.5 hectares was allocated for zoning change. The spread of housing developments into fertile rural land has led to tensions between the traditional farming community and recent arrivals. It is common for these tensions to spill onto community notice boards.

Demographics

West Melton is described by

Statistics New Zealand Statistics New Zealand ( mi, Tatauranga Aotearoa), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats ...

as a small urban area, and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². West Melton had a population of 2,085 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 1,305 people (167.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,758 people (537.6%) 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 675 households. There were 1,017 males and 1,068 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 39.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 549 people (26.3%) aged under 15 years, 207 (9.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,116 (53.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 210 (10.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.0% European/Pākehā, 5.9% Māori, 0.9% Pacific peoples, 5.2% Asian, 0.6% MELAA 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 19.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.9% had no religion, 40.1% were Christian, 0.1% were Hindu, 0.3% were Muslim, 1.0% were Buddhist and 1.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 444 (28.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 153 (10.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $55,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 918 (59.8%) people were employed full-time, 246 (16.0%) were part-time, and 27 (1.8%) were unemployed. West Melton and the Selwyn District are two of the fastest growing areas in New Zealand with regards to population, and economic progression. Halkett is a rural statistical area north of West Melton and south of the

Waimakariri River The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. ...

. It covers 86.01 km² (33.21 sq mi). It had an estimated population of 1,800 as of with a population density of 21 people per km². Newtons Road is a rural statistical area south of West Melton, and north of

Burnham Military Camp Burnham, also known as Burnham Camp, is the largest army base in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 28 kilometres south of Christchurch on the Canterbury Plains in the Selwyn District, close to the town of Dunsandel. Burnham was named aft ...

and

Rolleston Rolleston may refer to: Places * Rolleston, Queensland, Australia * Rolleston, Leicestershire, England * Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England ** Rolleston railway station * Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England ** Rolleston Hall * Rolleston, ...

. It covers 153.14 km² (59.13 sq mi). It had an estimated population of 3,820 as of with a population density of 25 people per km².

Services

West Melton has a shopping precinct including a

Four Square Four square is a team sport played among two teams with two players each on a square court divided into four quadrants: A, B, C, and D (usually numbers 3, 4, 2, and 1, respectively, depending on the court.) The square that a player gets to bef ...

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

and a domain, as well as a primary school. West Melton Aerodrome is located in the area, as is the Canterbury Astronomical Society. West Melton also has a Rugby Football club with a long and proud history. The club is known for its exciting style of Rugby at the Rippa Rugby level, with many of those players going on to play U8. Although success at senior level has been elusive, the following players have gone on to higher representative level... The West Melton Car Key club is another popular club enjoyed by the residents of this small Canterbury town. Established in 2015 in the Gainsborough subdivision, this club was set up to promote stronger relationships between neighbours and to provide alternative entertainment to the local pubs on cold winter nights. The West Melton community centre was demolished in 2020 and replaced with an improved Gymnasium with multiple features such as; Badminton courts and a yoga room. A skate park was added next to the community centre in 2022

Education

West Melton School is a full primary school catering for years 1 to 8. It had a roll of as of The school opened in 1871.

Transport

Bus

West Melton is serviced with the 86 bus route, a morning and evening express route that connects Darfield with the Central Christchurch.

Road

West Melton is accessed by which pass through the centre of the town. West Melton is also closely linked to the newly built extension of the

Christchurch Southern Motorway The Christchurch Southern Motorway is the main southern route into and out of Christchurch, New Zealand. The motorway forms part of (SH 1) and (SH 76) . The motorway, which heads in a generally south-west direction, is approximately 20 k ...

via Weedons Ross Road Interchange. In 2023, West Melton's first set of

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

are to be installed at the intersection of State Highway 73 and Weedons Ross Road.

References

External links

Selwyn District Council

West Melton & Halkett
{{Selwyn District, New Zealand Selwyn District Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand