Fairfield is a suburb of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand. Fairfield lies in rolling hill country, close to the slopes of Saddle Hill and Scroggs Hill. The name Fairfield was originally given as a descriptive name by early European settler William Martin to his farm property, located close to where the town now stands. Under the

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, on Regions of New Zealand, regional and Territo ...

, the city of Dunedin and its surrounding region was grouped into a

territorial authority Territorial authorities (Māori language, Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regions of New Zealand, regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 list of cities in New Zealand, city ...

called Dunedin City. Under this system, Fairfield is officially an outer suburb within this territorial authority. Until 2000, Fairfield was located 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 numbered S ...

, but is now on a bypass of the

Dunedin Southern Motorway The Dunedin Southern Motorway is the main arterial route south from the South Island city of Dunedin, part of New Zealand's State Highway 1. Despite its name, only a portion of the route is officially classified as motorway. The route is the so ...

. Fairfield is situated about west-southwest of

the Octagon The Octagon may refer to: *The Octagon, Christchurch, a former church in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand *The Octagon, Dunedin, the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand *The Octagon (Egypt), the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of ...

, Dunedin's city centre. As of the

2013 New Zealand census The 2013 New Zealand census was the thirty-third national census. "The National Census Day" used for the census was on Tuesday, 5 March 2013. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,242,048 – an increase of 214,101 or 5.3% over the 20 ...

(delayed from 2011 due to the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...

), Fairfield had a population of 2,379 – an increase of 5.0% from the population of 2,275 in the 2006 census. Fairfield accounts for 2.0% of the total Dunedin City territorial authority population. The local primary school is Fairfield School.

Demographics

Fairfield covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Fairfield had a population of 2,511 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 96 people (4.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 243 people (10.7%) since the 2006 census. There were 933 households, comprising 1,263 males and 1,248 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.01 males per female. The median age was 44.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 462 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 402 (16.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,227 (48.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 423 (16.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 93.0% 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 ...

, 6.8%

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 ...

, 1.1% Pasifika, 4.1% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.7, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 56.3% had no religion, 36.0% 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 ...

, 0.1% 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 ...

, 0.4% 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 ...

, 0.2% 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 ...

, 0.1% 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 1.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 378 (18.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 339 (16.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $38,700, compared with $31,800 nationally. 426 people (20.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,104 (53.9%) people were employed full-time, 360 (17.6%) were part-time, and 42 (2.0%) were unemployed.

Education

Fairfield School is a full primary serving years 1 to 8 with a roll of students. It was established in 1872 as Waldron School. A fire destroyed the school in 1951, and it was rebuilt on the current site in 1963. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ōtepoti is a composite school serving years 1 to 13 with a roll of students. The school was founded in 1994, and teaches entirely in the

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

. Both schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of

References

{{Dunedin suburbs Localities in the Dunedin City territory