Riccarton is a suburb of
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 ...
. It is due west of the
city centre
A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
, separated from it by
Hagley Park.
Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton.
History
On 12 April 1840, the ship ''Sarah and Elizabeth'' landed Herriot, McGillivray, Ellis, Shaw (and wife) and McKinnon (with his wife and child) who established a farm at Riccarton. They were the first European settlers on the plains."
In January 1841, they abandoned their attempt to farm in the area.
Riccarton House
Riccarton House is an historic building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is part of the Riccarton estate, the first area in Christchurch lived in by British settlers, after which the suburb of Riccarton is named. The house was commissioned by J ...
was the homestead commissioned by
Jane Deans
Jane Deans (née McIlraith, 21 April 1823 – 19 January 1911) was a New Zealand pioneer and community leader. She came to Christchurch in 1853 onto her husband's farm that he had established ten years earlier. Her husband died in the followin ...
in circa 1855. The Deans brothers, who along with the Gebbies and the Mansons were the second group of Europeans to settle in Christchurch on the same site as the first group in 1843.
Their original cottage is on the grounds, moved twice from its original position. Riccarton House is now a restaurant and function centre, and conducts regular tours.
The Deans brothers,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
and William, named the suburb after the parish in
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
, Scotland, in which they were born. They were also responsible for naming the
River Avon after the
river of the same name in
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...
, Scotland.
Antonio Hall is located on Riccarton Road. A large property with 279 rooms and once described as "one of the finest in Christchurch and vicinity", it has been left to decay despite a Category II listing with
Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
. In July 2019, 30% of the building was lost to a fire started by a 14 year old youth.
The
Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue was the site of a mass shooting during the
Christchurch mosque shootings
Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40p.m. and almost immediately afterwards ...
on 15 March 2019.
Riccarton Bush
Adjacent to Riccarton House is Riccarton Bush, a prominent feature also known as Deans Bush (). The Māori word ''Pūtaringamotu'' means either 'the place of an echo' or 'the severed ear'. The latter is a metaphoric expression referring to 'bush isolated from the rest'. It is one of only four remnants of the original forest that covered the Canterbury plains, escaping the huge fires that swept across the province during the
moa
Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand.
Moa or MOA may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Metal Open Air, a Brazilian heavy metal festival
* MOA Museum of Art in Japan
* The Moas, New Zealand film awards
People
* Moa ...
hunter period. Another remnant, at
Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometres to the northwest of the Christchurch Central City, city centre. Papanui has a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (New Zeala ...
, was cut down in the 1850s. The other two remnants were at
Kaiapoi
Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...
and
Rangiora
Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...
. It is dominated by
kahikatea
''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...
trees. A predator-proof
perimeter fence
Demarcation of a perimeter, when the protection of assets, personnel or buildings is required, is normally affected by the building of a perimeter fence system. The level of protection offered varies according to the threat level to the perimeter ...
has now been erected, with the hope of reintroducing
kiwi
Kiwi most commonly refers to:
* Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand
* Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders
* Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds
* Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...
to the reserve. In 1848, Scots brothers John and William Deans signed an agreement with the
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...
to protect what was originally about 22 hectares of the kahikatea forest at Pūtaringamotu. In 1914, the 6.4 hectares that remained of Deans Bush was formally protected, with the passing of the Riccarton Bush Act 1914, spearheaded by prominent citizens of Christchurch, including
Harry Ell
Henry George Ell (probably 24 September 1862 – 27 June 1934), commonly known as Harry Ell, was a Christchurch City councillor and a New Zealand Member of Parliament. He is famous for his conservation work around Christchurch's Port Hills, hi ...
and botanist Dr.
Leonard Cockayne
Leonard Cockayne (7 April 1855 – 8 July 1934) is regarded as New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of Western science in New Zealand.
Biography
He was born in Sheffield, England where he attended Wesley College. He travelled to Aus ...
.
Riccarton Bush has played an important role in the history of New Zealand
entomology
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
. A number of native insects were first collected and named from Riccarton Bush.
One of the first collections was of a plume moth ''
Pterophorus monospilalis'' in 1859 which is now in the Fereday collection held in the
Canterbury Museum. Thirty nine families of
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
are found in New Zealand; 27 of these occur in Riccarton Bush. The
moths of Riccarton Bush represent the majority of these families. The bag moth ''
Mallobathra metrosema'' is only known to occur in Riccarton Bush.
Riccarton Racecourse Hotel
The Riccarton Racecourse Hotel is considered to be one of the most haunted places in New Zealand. It is said that the ghost of former licensee Donald Fraser walks the corridors of the hotel looking for his killer. In 1933, Fraser was murdered in the dead of night in his bedroom, where his wife was sleeping, by two blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun. Despite investigations, nobody was found guilty of the crime.
Governance
Until
local government amalgamation in 1989, Riccarton was an independent
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
. Since then, Riccarton is represented by the Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton community board. In the 2018 local government elections, Catherine Chu was elected as Councillor for the Riccarton ward. In the following local government election held in October 2022, she was replaced by speaker, consultant, and basketball coach Tyla Harrison-Hunt.
Economy

Riccarton is home to
Westfield Riccarton
Westfield Riccarton, also known by its former name Riccarton Mall, is a large retail complex located in the Christchurch, New Zealand, suburb of Riccarton. First opened on 3 November 1965, it is Christchurch's oldest shopping mall. The comple ...
, which at approximately is one of New Zealand's largest shopping malls. The mall was first opened as Riccarton Mall in 1965, and has since undergone multiple redevelopments and expansions. The most recent of these took place in 2009, with the addition of a second floor and new carpark building, while plans for further expansions into neighbouring property are within the design process. This development underpins much of the economic activity in Riccarton, with the nearby stretch of Riccarton Road also a busy retail area with numerous motels.
Population
Riccarton is divided into five statistical areas by Statistics New Zealand. Four of these are primarily residential, and Riccarton Central is the commercial area.
Residential areas
The residential areas of Riccarton cover .
It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
The residential areas, comprising the statistical areas of Mona Vale, Riccarton West, Riccarton South and Riccarton East, had a population of 9,198 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 879 people (10.6%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 1,338 people (17.0%) since the
2006 census. There were 3,123 households, comprising 4,821 males and 4,377 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.1 males per female, with 1,095 people (11.9%) aged under 15 years, 3,969 (43.2%) aged 15 to 29, 3,429 (37.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 702 (7.6%) aged 65 or older.
Due to its proximity to the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
, Riccarton is also home to many Christchurch students. The population of Riccarton is disproportionately younger as a result.
Riccarton is one of the most culturally diverse suburbs of Christchurch. Ethnicities were 53.4% 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 ...
, 7.5%
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 ...
, 3.5%
Pasifika, 39.1%
Asian, and 4.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The proportion of people born overseas was 47.7%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
After English, the next most common languages spoken are
Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
,
Sinitic
The Sinitic languages (), often synonymous with the Chinese languages, are a group of East Asian analytic languages that constitute a major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is frequently proposed that there is a primary split be ...
,
Northern Chinese and
te reo Māori.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 44.9% had no religion, 35.5% 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 ...
, 0.2% 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 ...
, 4.9% 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 ...
, 3.8% 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 ...
, 1.9% 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 4.3% had other religions.
Places of worship cover a variety of faiths, including Christian churches, the Yolin Assemblies of God Korean Church, the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist temple, a Sikh temple on Kilmarnock St, and the
Al Noor Mosque.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,382 (29.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 786 (9.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 708 people (8.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,927 (48.5%) people were employed full-time, 1,416 (17.5%) were part-time, and 423 (5.2%) were unemployed.
Riccarton Central
Riccarton Central includes
Westfield Riccarton
Westfield Riccarton, also known by its former name Riccarton Mall, is a large retail complex located in the Christchurch, New Zealand, suburb of Riccarton. First opened on 3 November 1965, it is Christchurch's oldest shopping mall. The comple ...
and the commercial area along Mandeville Street. It covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Riccarton Central had a population of 51 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 30 people (142.9%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 21 people (70.0%) since the
2006 census. There were 21 households, comprising 27 males and 21 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.29 males per female. The median age was 32.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 3 people (5.9%) aged under 15 years, 18 (35.3%) aged 15 to 29, 24 (47.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 3 (5.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 70.6% 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 ...
, and 29.4%
Asian. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 35.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.1% had no religion, 29.4% 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 ...
, and 11.8% 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 ...
.
Of those at least 15 years old, 18 (37.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 3 (6.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 6 people (12.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 27 (56.2%) people were employed full-time, 6 (12.5%) were part-time, and 3 (6.2%) were unemployed.
Education
Christchurch Girls' High School
Christchurch Girls' High School () in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School.
History
Christchurch Girls' High School was establishe ...
is a girls' secondary school for years 9 to 13, with a roll of students. It opened in 1877.
Wharenui School is a full primary school for students in years 1 to 8. It has a roll of . The school opened in 1907.
St Teresa's School is a Catholic full primary school for years 1 to 8. It has a roll of . It opened in 1936.
Rolls are as of
Notable residents
*
Charlotte Godley
*
Vicki Buck
*
John Britten
John Kenton Britten (1 August 1950 – 5 September 1995) was a New Zealand mechanical engineer who designed a world-record-setting motorcycle with innovative features and materials.
Biography
John Britten was born to Bruce and Ruvae Britten in ...
*
Kate Dewes
Catherine Frances Dewes (born 1953) is a New Zealand activist for disarmament and former advisor on peace matters to two United Nations Secretary-General, United Nations Secretaries-General. She was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Orde ...
*
Octavius Mathias
Octavius Mathias (27 February 1805 – 18 June 1864) was a pioneering Anglican priest in New Zealand in the mid-nineteenth century.
Mathias was born at Mundham in 1805. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and ordained in 1829. ...
See also
*
Riccarton Park Racecourse
Riccarton Park Racecourse is the main thoroughbred horse racecourse for the Christchurch city area in New Zealand.
History
The Canterbury Jockey Club was established in 1854 and held its first meeting at Hagley Park in Easter 1855. The Riccart ...
*
Riccarton Racecourse Siding
References
External links
*
Riccarton Bush Act 1914Blog – "The place of an echo: Pūtaringamotu (Deans Bush)"
{{Christchurch City, New Zealand
Suburbs of Christchurch