Timaru, New Zealand
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Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern
Canterbury Region Canterbury () 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 form was estab ...
of New Zealand, located southwest 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 ...
and about northeast 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 ...
on the eastern
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
coast of the
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 ...
. The Timaru urban area is home to people, and is the largest urban area in
South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...
, and the third-largest in the Canterbury Region overall, after Christchurch and Rolleston. The town is the seat of the
Timaru District Timaru District is a Districts of New Zealand, local government district on New Zealand's South Island, administered by the Timaru District Council. It is part of the larger Canterbury Region. Timaru district was formed in 1989 from the amalgama ...
, which includes the surrounding rural area and the towns of Geraldine, Pleasant Point and
Temuka Temuka is a town on New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, 15 kilometres north of Timaru and 142 km south of Christchurch. It is located at the centre of a rich sheep and dairy farming region, for which it is a service town. It lies on the north ...
, which combined have a total population of .
Caroline Bay Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to people, and is the ...
beach is a popular recreational area located close to Timaru's main centre, just to the north of the substantial port facilities. Beyond Caroline Bay, the
industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban ...
of
Washdyke Washdyke is an industrial suburb in the north of Timaru, in south Canterbury, New Zealand. State Highway 1 passes through Washdyke on the way north out of the city. The northern terminus of State Highway 8 is in Washdyke. Washdyke is home to ...
is at a major junction with State Highway 8, the main route into the
Mackenzie Country The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest su ...
. This provides a road link to Pleasant Point, Fairlie,
Twizel Twizel () is the largest town in the Mackenzie District, in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand. The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. Today, Twizel is a ser ...
,
Lake Tekapo Lake Tekapo () is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau). It covers an area of and ...
,
Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, , is listed as . It is situated in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ch ...
and Queenstown. Timaru has been built on rolling hills created from the lava flows of the extinct Mt Horrible volcano, which last erupted thousands of years ago. The result is that most of the main streets are undulating, a clear contrast with the flat landscape of the
Canterbury Plains The Canterbury Plains () are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and ...
to the north. This volcanic rock is used for the construction of local "
bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of natural dimension stone, dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * diabase, dolerites in Tasmania, ...
" buildings.


History


Māori settlement

The origin of the name 'Timaru' is disputed. Some believe that it derives from
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 ...
''Te Maru'', which can mean a 'place of shelter'. However, other authorities allege that Timaru originates from a literal translation of the combination of ''tī'', a
cabbage tree Cabbage tree is a common name for several plant species: * '' Andira inermis'', native to Central and South America * Various members of the genus ''Cordyline'' native to New Zealand. **''Cordyline australis'' (Cabbage tree) **''Cordyline banksii'' ...
and ''maru'', meaning 'shady'. Māori
waka WAKA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Selma, Alabama, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM (channel 22); B ...
seem to have employed the site of Timaru as a place to rest on journeys up and down the eastern coastline for many years before the arrival of the first Europeans in the 19th century. The area includes over 500 sites with traces of Māori rock art, particularly in the rock overhangs and caves of the Opuha and Ōpihi River valleys, to the west of modern-day Timaru. Archaeologists have suggested that Māori
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
(tribes) were permanently settled in the district before 1400 AD. During the 17th or 18th century the resident
Ngāti Mamoe Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
were driven southwards into
Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
by an invasion of the
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
, who came from the North Island. Te Runanga o Arowhenua is the
hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
(subtribe) for Aoraki (Timaru District). Their marae is located just outside Temuka.


19th century onwards

European settlement began with the construction of a
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
station in 1839 by the
Weller brothers The Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney, Australia, and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and New Zealand's most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s. Immigration Members of a wealthy land-ownin ...
of
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
at Patiti Point, close to the present town centre. A supply ship, ''The Caroline'', provided the name for a local bay. Later a sheep station, known as ''The Levels'', was set up on land obtained by the Rhodes brothers, and run by George Rhodes. One of the earliest settlers was Captain
Henry Cain Captain Henry Cain (1816 – 29 January 1886) was the second Mayor of Timaru. He was at sea from age 13 and was one of Timaru's first settlers, where he lived for his last 30 years. Life Cain was born in 1816 in England. He went to sea at th ...
, who set up a store in 1857 on behalf of Henry Le Cren of Lyttelton, and Le Cren himself moved to Timaru in the following year. Few lived in Timaru until 1859 when the ship SS ''Strathallan'' arrived from England, carrying a party of 120
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
. Persistent land disputes arose between the Rhodes brothers and local government officials with the result that two townships were established in the port area, Government Town and Rhodestown. These eventually merged into a single community in 1868. Given this division, until recently none of the main north-south streets lined up. Stafford Street, which became the main thoroughfare, was formed along the early bullock wagon trail. Following the loss of a number of vessels off the coast, the breakwater design by Engineer John Goodall was adopted and work started on the redevelopment of the artificial port in 1877, which eventually caused sand washed south down the Pacific shoreline to build up against the northern mole. This was the beginning of the extensive
land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
around the Caroline Bay district, an area which is still growing today. Timaru continued to expand during the 20th century, with much of the development taking the form of wooden colonial style
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...
s set in individual sections of land. Sacred Heart Basilica was opened in 1911.


Geography

Timaru is situated along the Pacific Ocean coast. Much of the hinterland is farmland. To the north and northeast are the
Canterbury Plains The Canterbury Plains () are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and ...
.


Suburbs

*
Washdyke Washdyke is an industrial suburb in the north of Timaru, in south Canterbury, New Zealand. State Highway 1 passes through Washdyke on the way north out of the city. The northern terminus of State Highway 8 is in Washdyke. Washdyke is home to ...
* Smithfield * Grantlea *
Waimataitai Waimataitai is a suburb of Timaru, in the South Canterbury district and Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Demographics The statistical area of Waimataitai-Maori Hill covers and had an estimated population of as of with a po ...
*
Marchwiel Marchwiel (; standardised: ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is about 2 miles south-east of Wrexham city on the A525 road towards Bangor-on-Dee. The community has an area of 1,488 hectares and a population of ...
* Timaru Central * Maori Hill * Highfield * Glenwood *
Gleniti Gleniti is a suburb of Timaru, in the South Canterbury district and Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located west of the town centre. The name is a hybrid of the Scottish term ''glen'' and the original Māori name for th ...
*
Seaview Seaview or Sea View may refer to: Places * Clifton Beach, Karachi, also known as Sea View, a beach in Pakistan * Sea View, Dorset, a suburb in England * Seaview, Isle of Wight, a small village in England * Seaview, Lower Hutt, an industrial subur ...
* West End * Watlington * Parkside *
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
*
Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...
* Oceanview * Port Timaru


Climate

Timaru has a relatively dry temperate climate similar to that of neighbouring Ashburton and
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 ...
, classified as an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(''Cfb'') by Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. Temperatures are warm in summer and cool in winter, with Timaru's extreme maximum temperature being on 6 February 2011 and the extreme minimum on 3 August 1998. Rain is evenly distributed throughout the year, with a very small proportion of it falling as snow.


Demographics

The Timaru urban area is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a medium urban area. It covers and incorporates sixteen statistical areas. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Timaru had a population of 27,498 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 1,236 people (4.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,380 people (5.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 11,502 households, comprising 13,368 males and 14,133 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 4,758 people (17.3%) aged under 15 years, 4,893 (17.8%) aged 15 to 29, 11,709 (42.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 6,147 (22.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.2% 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 ...
, 9.3%
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 ...
, 2.4% Pasifika, 5.2% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.8% had no religion, 40.9% 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 ...
, 0.3% 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 ...
, 0.9% 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 ...
, 0.3% 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 ...
, 0.3% 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 1.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,892 (12.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 5,742 (25.3%) people had no formal qualifications. 2,979 people (13.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 10,791 (47.5%) people were employed full-time, 3,264 (14.4%) were part-time, and 648 (2.8%) were unemployed.


Government

The mayor of Timaru District is Nigel Bowen. Timaru is part of the parliamentary electorate of Rangitata, represented by James Meager of the
New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...
.
Jo Luxton Jo-Anne Marie Luxton (born 1973) is a New Zealand politician. She has been a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party since the 2017 general election. Before her political career, Luxton was an early childho ...
is a local list MP in the electorate from the
New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...
.


Sister cities

Timaru District has established four sister city relationships. *
Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...
, Australia *
Weihai Weihai ( zh, t=, p=Wēihǎi), formerly Weihaiwei ( zh, s=, p=Wēihǎiwèi, l=Mighty Sea Fort, first=t), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport city in the easternmost Shandong province of China. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow ...
, Shandong, China *
Eniwa, Hokkaidō is a city in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is on the Ishikari plain, 8 km north of Chitose, and 26 km south of the prefectural capital Sapporo. It is reached through route 36 and the Chitose Railway Line. The town is ...
, Japan *
Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...
, United States of America


Economy

Timaru is an agricultural service town and port for the South Canterbury regional economy. Timaru is one of the major cargo ports of the South Island, with a number of light manufacturing plants associated with the export and import trade. Many of these producers are concerned with processing, packing, and distributing meat, dairy and other agricultural produce. Timaru is the second largest fishing port in New Zealand. Allan Hubbard the chartered accountant and philanthropist established the failed finance company
South Canterbury Finance South Canterbury Finance was New Zealand's largest locally owned finance company when it collapsed in August 2010, triggering a $1.6 billion bail-out of investors deposits by the New Zealand Government; almost $1 billion was recovered by receivers. ...
and accounting firm Hubbard Churcher in Timaru and lived locally until his death in a car accident on 2 September 2011. In late September 2024, the
Alliance Group Alliance Group Limited, a cooperative originally named Alliance Freezing Company (Southland) Limited, operates freezing works at seven sites in New Zealand and exports grass-fed meat and by-products to Europe, North America, as well as Asia incl ...
proposed closing down its Smithfield meatworks plant, which would affect about 600 jobs. Following consultation, the Alliance Group confirmed in mid-October 2024 that it would close down its Smithfield meat processing plant in December 2024, citing declining sheep processing numbers caused by land-use changes.


Shopping

Retailing is concentrated around the Stafford Street area. In addition there are a number of local shopping malls distributed around the city, with extensive car parking facilities.


Tourist attractions

The South Canterbury Museum is the main museum for the region, containing exhibits relating to physical geography and the environment, fossil remains,
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 ...
rock art, the early settlement of the district, local maritime history,
scrimshaw Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and te ...
, the E P Seally natural history collection, and information about
Richard Pearse Richard William Pearse (3 December 1877 – 29 July 1953) was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterwards describe observing Pearse flying and landing a powered h ...
, a local inventor and his attempts at manned flight in the first years of the 20th century. The Aigantighe (a
Scots Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both Irish and Manx, developed ou ...
word pronounced "egg and tie") Art Gallery in Wai-iti Road is the South Island's third largest art museum. It holds a collection of New Zealand, Pacific, Asian and European art works from the sixteenth century to the present day and includes a
sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...
. The gallery was founded in 1956 and is housed in a homestead built in 1908. Timaru has with a number of open spaces, public gardens and parks. The Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden at Caroline Bay Park is a major feature of the Timaru Piazza development. The parkland of the Bay Area contains a mini golf course, a roller skating rink, a maze and staging for musical events. It is home to the annual Summer Carnival that takes place over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. To the south of the city centre are the Timaru Botanic Gardens, first laid out in 1864, with a notable collection of roses and native tree ferns. To the west is the Centennial Park Reserve, opened in 1940, that includes a tranquil 3.5 km walkway following the wooded valley of the Otipua Creek. The DB Mainland Brewery in Sheffield Street offers tours and tasting sessions. The Caroline Bay Carnival, featuring live performances, games, and side shows, takes place from Boxing Day through to mid-January at Caroline Bay Park. Aoraki Tourism is the official tourism body for the whole Timaru District.


Recreation and leisure


Performing arts

The Theatre Royal at 118 Stafford Street was home of much of Timaru's live entertainment up to 2019, however it is currently closed for renovations. The South Canterbury Drama League hosts shows at the Playhouse.


Public libraries

The Timaru District Library has branches situated in Timaru, Temuka and Geraldine. The first Reading Room was opened in the School House, Barnard Street in 1862. It was open daily from 5.00pm – 10.00pm and on Saturdays 10.00am – 8.00pm. English and Colonial Newspapers were provided and a selection of Library Books for the use by members. In 1870 the Mechanics Institute was created by an addition on an existing building and aimed to provide a Library, Reading Room and News Room. Timaru Public Library was officially opened in 1909 on the present Timaru District Council site. It was a Carnegie library, built with a 3,000 pound grant from Andrew Carnegie of New York – the condition under which the money was given was that the reading rooms should be open to everyone and that the lending Library should be free to ratepayers of the borough. The current library was opened on Sophia Street by the roundabout in 1979. It was designed by Miles, Warren and Mahoney.


Sports


Sporting venues

Timaru has a comprehensive range of community sporting facilities designed to international standards for rugby, tennis, yachting,
Hardcourt Bike Polo Hardcourt Bike Polo (aka Hardcourt, Urban Polo, Bici Polo, Velo Polo or simply Bike Polo) is a fast-paced, gender-inclusive team sport played on a hard, smooth, enclosed court with rounded or angled corners. Three players per team ride bicycles a ...
, swimming, netball, motor racing, cricket, golf, hockey, croquet, pistol shooting, trap shooting, bowls and horse racing. Aorangi Park is Timaru's major sporting venue. The Council also operates the CBAY Complex which includes upgrades to the old swimming pool, a restaurant and gym. Timaru is also home to the
Timaru International Motor Raceway Timaru International Motor Raceway is a motor racing circuit situated about 10 minutes or outside of Timaru, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the ...
, which is one of only 4 permanent sealed motor racing circuits in the South island. Horse races are held at the Phar Lap Raceway.


Football

Timaru's main football ground is Sir Basil Arthur Park. It has four senior pitches and six junior pitches. Football is also played at The Caledonian Grounds, Anzac Square, West End Park, Aorangi Park and Marchwiel Park. Clubs include
West End AFC West End AFC is an association football club in Timaru, New Zealand. The team home ground is West End Park, Timaru and they play in the South Canterbury 1st Division as well as enter into the National Chatham Cup. West End AFC entered the Chat ...
,
Northern Hearts Northern Hearts is an association football club based in Timaru, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1947 and from 1982 to 1990 was amalgamated with Timaru City as South Canterbury United. It reverted to Northern Hearts in 1991. Northern Heart ...
,
Timaru City Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to people, and is the ...
, Timaru Thistle and Pleasant Point.


Golf

Timaru has many golf clubs and well-maintained golf courses, including: * Highfield Golf Club * Gleniti Golf Club * Timaru Golf Club and in close proximity to these: * Pleasant Point Golf Club * St. Andrews Golf Club * Maungati Golf Club (9 holes) * Temuka Golf Club


Rugby

*
South Canterbury Rugby Football Union The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at Fraser Park (Timaru), Fraser Park located in Timaru. History Club rugby in So ...
is based in Timaru.
Fraser Park Fraser Park is Lower Hutt's largest recreational sportsground, at 27 hectares it is the biggest sporting ground in the lower North Island. It is home to the Ricoh Sports Centre, a multi-use venue, as well as sports like rugby, rugby league, fo ...
is the home of local rugby. * In the wake of the February
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 ...
, the
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
team, the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
, moved two seasonal games to Timaru.


Surfing


Patiti Point
near Timaru city, has a left-hand reef break, which operates very consistently in any swell from the east or south. * Jack's Point (3 km south of Timaru) has both left and right-hand reef breaks at high tide, as does Lighthouse Reef, a short walk to the south. Southerly swells produce super-heavyweight monster breakers along the Timaru coast, which are only suitable for top-gun surfers.


Inline speed skating

Timaru has New Zealand's largest
Inline speed skating Roller speed skating is the roller sport of racing on inline skates. The sport may also be called ''inline racing'' or ''speed skating'' by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on traditional roller skates, the sport is simila ...
teams, South Canterbury, which has national records in several disciplines. The club has held many national tournaments over the years and holds the annual tour of Timaru.


Transport

Timaru is 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 ...
(SH1), the main road route down the eastern coast of the South Island. There are regular coach and minibus services to
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...
, Queenstown and the
Mackenzie Country The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest su ...
, leaving from outside the Visitor Information Centre, which provides booking facilities and other travel services. The
Main South Line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...
section of the
South Island Main Trunk Railway The Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch and the Main South Line between Lyttelton and Invercargill, running down the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, are sometimes together referred to collectively as the South Isl ...
runs through Timaru and is a significant freight corridor. Passenger rail services were discontinued after the cancellation of the Southerner in February 2002. Between 1949 and 1970, Timaru was serviced by the
South Island Limited The ''South Island Limited'' was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between 1949 and 1970. It operated over the almost Main South Line between Christchurch and Invercargill. It was replaced by the ...
, one of the former
New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...
's most prestigious trains.
Richard Pearse Airport Richard Pearse Airport , also known as Timaru Airport, is located off the Pleasant Point Highway, 4 km north of the suburb Washdyke in Timaru, New Zealand. History The airport takes its name from the local pioneer aviator, Richard Pears ...
is to the north of the town. It is equipped to handle light aircraft and short haul domestic flights, with regular services to
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
The "Timaru Link" bus service runs weekdays and the on demand bus service known as "MyWay" run daily.


Utilities

Timaru's water comes from the
Pareora River The Pareora River is a river of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It has its origins in several small streams flowing from the Hunters Hills, and flows north before turning southeast to reach the Pacific Ocean at the southern ...
and
Ōpihi River The Ōpihi River flows through south Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull. Description T ...
, and is stored in the Claremont Reservoir. Timaru's water is treated with ozone and is chlorinated.


Education

Further information:
List of schools in Canterbury, New Zealand A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


Primary

*Barton Rural Primary School (previously Fairview) *Beaconsfield Primary School (previously Pareora West) *Bluestone Primary School (previously West School) *Gleniti Primary School * Grantlea Downs (previously Grantlea) *Highfield Primary School *Oceanview Heights Primary School (previously Marchwiel School) *Sacred Heart Primary *St. Josephs School *Timaru Christian School *Timaru South School *Waimataitai Primary School


Secondary

*Aoraki Alternative Education Centre * Craighead Diocesan School * Mountainview High School *
Roncalli College Roncalli College is a Catholic secondary school in Timaru, New Zealand. It was named after Pope John XXIII, whose birth name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. A co-educational school with about 500 students from Year 9 to Year 13, it stands on Crai ...
*
Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At t ...
*
Timaru Girls' High School Timaru Girls' High School is a secondary school in Timaru, New Zealand, founded in 1880. Timaru Girls' High provides education for girls aged between 13–18 years of age (class levels – years 9 to 13). It also has a boarding facility within ...


Tertiary

*
Ara Institute of Canterbury Ara Institute of Canterbury, often simply referred to as Ara, is an institute of technology in Canterbury, New Zealand. It was formed in 2016 from the merger of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) and Aoraki Polytechnic. A ...


Media


Print

''
The Timaru Herald ''The Timaru Herald'' is a daily provincial newspaper serving the Timaru, South Canterbury and North Otago districts of New Zealand. The current audited daily circulation is about 14,500 copies, with a readership of about 31,000 people. The pa ...
'' is the local daily newspaper for the district and has been published since the mid nineteenth century. Papers are printed in Ashburton and then distributed throughout the
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
and South Canterbury region. ''The Herald'' is owned by
Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...
(formerly
Fairfax New Zealand Stuff Limited (previously Fairfax New Zealand) is a privately held news media company operating in New Zealand. It operates Stuff, the country's largest news website, and owns nine daily newspapers, including New Zealand's second and third-hig ...
). The '' High Country Herald'', also published by Stuff, has a circulation of 43,000 copies. The region also supports a weekly community newspaper, ''
The Timaru Courier ''The Timaru Courier'', also known as ''The Timaru Courier'', is an A3 tabloid community newspaper delivered free to 27,000 homes every Thursday in the Timaru and South Canterbury area of New Zealand's South Island. It is published by Allied Pre ...
'', which has a circulation of over 24,000 copies and is delivered free every Thursday to local households. ''The Courier'' is owned by
Allied Press Allied Press is an independent New Zealand media and publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the ''Otago Daily Times'', New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper. Allied Press has a number of other daily and community news ...
of Dunedin.


Radio

The Breeze broadcasts live from Timaru on 89.9FM or 92.3FM each morning with OJ on The Breeze Timaru also has local FM radio station 100.3FM South Canterbury and a volunteer-run Hospital Radio 88.0/107.5 which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019.


Notable residents


Academics

* Hugh D. Wilson, botanist *
Giselle Byrnes Giselle Margaret Byrnes (born 17 July 1967) is a New Zealand historian. She is the provost and assistant Vice-Chancellor of Massey University, New Zealand. Previous employment included the Waitangi Tribunal and as lecturer at Victoria Universit ...
, historian, b.1967


Business

* Henry Le Cren, Timaru pioneer and first European trader * Fulbert Archer, of the merchant house Miles Archer and Co 1867–1893; first Chairman of the Timaru Harbour Board


Politics

* James Craigie, politician *
Basil Arthur Sir Basil Malcolm Arthur, 5th Baronet (18 September 1928 – 1 May 1985) served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1984 to 1985. He was a member of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Arthur was born in T ...
, politician *
Jo Goodhew Joanne Gay Goodhew (born 1961) is a New Zealand politician. She served as a member of Parliament between 2005 and 2017. Early years Goodhew grew up in Timaru, and attended Timaru Girls' High School. She holds a qualification in nursing from Ota ...
, politician *
Jim Sutton James Robert Sutton (born 7 November 1941), generally known as Jim Sutton, is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament between 1984 and 1990 and again between 1993 and 2006. He has held a range of ministerial portfolios includin ...
, politician


Film and television

*
Phillip Leishman Phillip John Leishman (9 April 1951 – 25 February 2013) was a New Zealand television broadcaster. Biography Born in Timaru in 1951, Leishman was educated at St Patrick's High School (now Roncalli College). He began his broadcasting care ...
, broadcaster *
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
, actor *
Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, U ...
* Jane Wills, actor


Entertainment

* Aubrey Haive, drag queen *
Sam Wills Sam Wills (born 28 August 1978) is a New Zealand prop comic, busker, clown, and mime artist residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He performs under the name The Boy With Tape On His Face and, more recently, as Tape Face. He was also half of the t ...
, comedian


Journalism

*
Allen Curnow Thomas Allen Monro Curnow (17 June 1911 – 23 September 2001) was a New Zealand poet and journalist. Life Curnow was born in Timaru, New Zealand, the son of a fourth generation New Zealander, an Anglican clergyman, and he grew up in a relig ...
, poet and journalist * John Hardcastle, journalist and amateur scientist


Medicine

* Edith Tennent, nurse and Matron of Dunedin Hospital, born in Timaru


Music

* Peter Dawkins, Record producer and musician *
Michael Houstoun Michael James Houstoun (born 20 October 1952) is a concert pianist from New Zealand. He has twice in his life performed the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas and in between these achievements, he overcame focal hand dystonia. Early life Ho ...
, concert pianist


Art

* Rosemary Campbell, painter *
Betty Curnow Elizabeth Jamaux Curnow ''née'' Le Cren (31 October 1911 – 24 September 2005), commonly known as Betty Curnow, was a New Zealand artist and the subject of the iconic ''Portrait of Betty Curnow'' by Rita Angus. Background Born in Timaru, Ne ...
, painter and printmarker *
Roy Good Roy Good (born 1945, Timaru) is a New Zealand artist and designer known for his modern abstraction. Early life At age 12, Good's cartoons appeared in The Press, a newspaper in Christchurch. He attended art classes at the Canterbury College S ...
, painter and designer


Drama

*
Violet Targuse Violet Targuse (née Healey, 1884–1937) was an early female playwright in New Zealand. She has been described as "probably New Zealand's most successful and least acclaimed one-act playwright", and "the most successful writer in the early year ...
, playwright


Religious leaders

*
Reginald Delargey Reginald John Delargey (10 December 1914 – 29 January 1979) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, and later Cardinal, Archbishop of Wellington and Metropolitan of New Zealand. His title was Cardinal-Priest of '' Immacolata al Tiburtino ...
, Roman Catholic cardinal


Aviation

*
Richard Pearse Richard William Pearse (3 December 1877 – 29 July 1953) was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterwards describe observing Pearse flying and landing a powered h ...
, farmer, inventor and pioneering aviator


Sports

*
Uini Atonio Uini Atonio (; born 26 March 1990) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a Prop (rugby union), prop for Top 14 club Stade Rochelais, La Rochelle. Born in New Zealand, he represents France national rugby union team, France at interna ...
, professional rugby player, French international * Hamish Bennett, cricketer, former Black Cap *
Craig Cumming Craig Derek Cumming (born 31 August 1975) is a New Zealand former international cricketer. He played 11 Test matches and 13 One Day Internationals for the New Zealand national team. He played domestic cricket with Canterbury and Otago. Domes ...
, former Black Cap cricketer, sports broadcaster *
Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a Cornish professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating "Gentleman Jim" Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sulliv ...
,
World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...
from 17 March 1897 until 9 June 1899 * Ross Gillespie New Zealand Olympic field hockey representative *
Tony Lamborn Tony Lamborn (born 31 July 1991) is a New Zealand people, New Zealand-born Americans, American Rugby Union, rugby union player who plays as a Flanker (rugby union), flanker. He currently plays his club rugby for Southland in the Mitre 10 Cup, a ...
, Professional rugby player, USA international * Brendan Laney, former professional rugby player, sports broadcaster *
Danyon Loader Danyon Joseph Loader (born 21 April 1975) is an Olympic champion, former world record holder swimmer from New Zealand, based in Dunedin. He remains the national record holder in the 400 metre freestyle short course. He swam for New Zealand a ...
, men's swimming Olympic champion, born in Timaru *
Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushington ...
, New Zealand runner, 1936 Olympic 1500m champion, world mile record holder *
Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rallying, rally driver. He was World Rally Championship-3, PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2023 Europea ...
,
rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...
driver, 2011
Production World Rally Championship The FIA Production car World Rally Championship, or PWRC, was a companion rally series to the World Rally Championship, contested mainly by Group N rally cars. History The series started in 1987 as ''FIA Cup for Production Rally Drivers'' and ...
champion * Mark Moreton Parker, NZ cricketer * Murray Parker, NZ cricketer * Aki Seiuli, NZ Rugby Player, Otago, Glasgow Warriors *
Haidee Tiffen Haidee Maree Tiffen (born 4 September 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricket player. She played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium. She appeared in 2 Test matches, 117 One Day Internationals a ...
, NZ women's cricketer * John Ward, NZ cricketer *
Tomas Walsh Tomas Walsh (born 1 March 1992) is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put.Tomas W ...
, NZ shotputter * Kalolo Tuiloma, professional rugby player, Samoan international


See also

*
Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a New Zealand-born champion Australian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Achieving great success during his distinguished career, his initial underdog status gave people hope during the ear ...


References


Further reading

* James Belich, Russell Brown, and Martin Robinson (2004) ''New Zealand'', Lonely Planet Series * Darroch Donald (2003) ''New Zealand'', 2nd Edition, Footprint Guide Series. * Laura Harper, Tony Mudd and Paul Whitfield (2000) ''The Rough Guide to New Zealand'', Rough Guide Series * Mark Lawson (1993) ''The Battle for Room Service: Journeys to all the safe places''


External links

*
Timaru District Council

Tourist information

Timaru District Library

South Canterbury Museum

Historic images of Timaru from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
{{Authority control Populated places in the Canterbury Region Port cities in New Zealand