Parnassus is a locality in the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

region's

Hurunui District Hurunui District is a territorial local government district within the Canterbury Region on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch. It stretches from the east coast to the Main Divide. Its land area is . Local go ...

on the east coast of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. It is located on the north bank of the

Waiau Uwha River Waiau Uwha River, previously known as the Waiau River, is a river in north Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. The Waiau Uwha River rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows eastward to the Pacific Ocean. The Waiau Uwha River has the ...

. It takes its name from a local sheep run owned by a classical scholar, Edward Lee. He saw a likeness between a local hill and the Greek

Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

, mythical home of the god Apollo and the Muses.Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Cheviot district

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 ...

passes through the town on its route from Cheviot to

Kaikōura Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...

, and the Main North Line railway from

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 ...

to Picton also runs through the town. At one stage, the

Waiau Branch The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of ...

was intended to be the main line north and a

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

diverged from the Waiau route in

Waipara Waipara is a wine and tourism district in Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River (Canterbury), Waipara River. Its name translates to "muddy water", ''wai'' meaning water and ''para'' meaning mud. It is at the junction of Ne ...

to service coastal communities. This line was opened to Parnassus in 1912 and was known as the Parnassus Branch at that stage. However, the decision was made to use the Parnassus route as the main line, relegating the route from Waipara through the

Weka Pass Weka Pass is a locality in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island between the towns of Waipara and Waikari. The Waipara River cut the Weka Pass by wearing down the soft limestone and mudstone in the area. Erosion has cre ...

to Waiau to the status of branch line. The Main North Line was completed in 1945 and continues to serve Parnassus today. The epicentre of the

1901 Cheviot earthquake The 1901 Cheviot earthquake occurred at 07:47 NZT on 16 November 1901 (20:15 15 November Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) with an estimated magnitude of 6.9, centred near the township of Cheviot, New Zealand, Cheviot in the Canterbury, New Zeala ...

was at Parnassus.

Demographics

The Parnassus statistical area, which includes Cheviot, covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Parnassus Roadhouse

Parnassus had a population of 1,323 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 15 people (1.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 51 people (4.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 546 households, comprising 657 males and 666 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 47.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 273 people (20.6%) aged under 15 years, 153 (11.6%) aged 15 to 29, 612 (46.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 285 (21.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 93.9% 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 ...

, 11.8%

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 ...

, 1.6% Pasifika, 1.1% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.7% had no religion, 34.9% 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 ...

, 0.7% 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 ...

, 0.2% 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 ...

, 0.2% 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 0.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 156 (14.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 219 (20.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 117 people (11.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 504 (48.0%) people were employed full-time, 222 (21.1%) were part-time, and 18 (1.7%) were unemployed.

References

External links

{{Hurunui District Populated places in the Canterbury Region Hurunui District