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Akaroa, Christchurch

1,918 council reports since July 2015, the 65th busiest suburb in the city. 1,534 photographs on record. 640 people at the 2023 Census, 4 to the square kilometre across 154 km².

Reports, all time
1,918
In the year to 13 Oct 2026
299
Busiest in Christchurch
65th
Photographs
1,534

The record also holds 2023 Census snapshot 1,534 photographs 206 old photographs 1 school 35 parks 8 civic facilities 3 places of worship 110 names on the map the record drew water over 11% of the outline inside the broad slope-instability overlay the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 31% of the outline ecological sites over 1% of the outline landscape schedules over 71% of the outline setback strips over 4% of the outline 49 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 62 remembered names on this ground 37 drawn rules bind this ground 1 parcels on the dangerous-work register 18 parcels of made ground 2 parcels with a cleanup on file 151 council structures on the register 18 recreation register records 710 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 123 places on the heritage schedule 1 epicentre inside the outline 58 injury crashes 94 recorded victimisations 121 businesses the council’s fix times 40 documents 5 mentions on the wire

See it on the map Its decade, charted

Living here rent · the ground · the day-to-day

Rent: too few new bonds lodged here for Tenancy Services to publish a median this quarter, the last figure it released was about $475 a week, and it counts this under the “Akaroa” statistical area, close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

Median and quartiles of weekly rents on new private bonds, by quarter. New bonds are fresh lodgements, not the whole rental stock; under five bonds the rent is withheld, and counts are randomly rounded. Source: Tenancy Services rental bond data: provisional while the bond system migrates.

The ground: the flood record drew water over 11% of it, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 1 school, 35 parks, 8 civic facilities and 3 places of worship, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly roads & footpaths, 299 reports in the year to 13 October 2026, the newest 4 September 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 30 September 2023, 11 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
633
Under 15
9%
65 and over
40%
Occupied households
288

About 633 people and 288 occupied private households in the “Akaroa” statistical area, grouped from 6 SA1 areas. This exact statistical-area match is close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

More of the 2023 Census
  • Born overseas25% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity91% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity8% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity1% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity6% of ethnicity responses
  • Households with internet76% of stated households
  • Households with two or more vehicles44% of stated households

Ethnicity is a multiple-response measure, so those percentages are not meant to add to 100%.

Stats NZ’s 2023 Census uses fixed random rounding to base 3. Unavailable or confidential cells are left out, not treated as zero. individuals · households · geography · CC BY 4.0.

About the suburb

Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled Whangaroa in standard Māori. The area was also named Port Louis-Philippe by French settlers after the reigning French king Louis Philippe I.

the encyclopaedia’s version · Wikipedia · population: Stats NZ 2023 Census SA2 counts; the area is measured from the suburb outline

As reported 1,534 on record

57 Rue Lavaud, Akaroa 7520Beach road Akaroa Near The Steps To The Monument, Akkaroa Northland 752048 Woodills Rd, Akaroa 7520289 Beach Rd, Akaroa 75204 Rue Balguerie, Akaroa 752017 Aubrey Street South, Akaroa 7520 1,534 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 206 in the archive

Akaroa, Banks Peninsula, 1860Akaroa, 1867Akaroa Post Office, 1870Snow in Akaroa, 1870Akaroa, 1874Akaroa Mail, Library and Gaiety Hall, 1880Akaroa pound, 1885Group of unidentified men and children on Akaroa wharf, 1886Thirteen unidentified men climbing the hill to Akaroa, 1886Thirteen unidentified men mounting the hill to Akaroa, 1886 206 photographs
from back when →

Placed by the record’s locality join or the name in its own title, a lead, not a claim each frame stood here.

The record on Akaroa

Lately the newest reports

Water General, a report photo
Water General57 Rue Lavaud

Land being cleared has turned up erosion and what looks to be an old stone retaining wall that has served its time. This is a urgent response required as land…

Trees - General, a report photo
Trees - General48 Woodills Rd

Overhanging tree at the beginning of steep part of Woodills Road Akaroa . This tree seems to be getting lower and in danger of falling down on the road or a…

Water Leak, a report photo
Water Leak289 Beach Rd

Water leak in previous watermain blow out location, maybe nothing by a consistent low level flow of clear water existing from the seashore bank at the same…

Reports per year up 18% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Roads & footpaths 700
Water & drains 572
Trees & parks 402
Everything else 88
Rubbish & dumping 77
Vehicles & parking 40
Graffiti & vandalism 28 Animals & pests 11

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Akaroa →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 3,880 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Akaroa took 13 days to resolve, the city-wide median is 3 days, so this ground runs slower than the city as a whole. The slowest tenth waited 4 months or longer. 146 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 12 August 2020.

Work orders, not the resident reports above, the council’s MyCouncilTicket stream, and one job can appear in both. A median counts only finished jobs; open ones are named as open, never averaged in. The ticket roll · the whole city’s fix times.

Alcohol rules on this ground

One sensitive site stands here, Akaroa Area School, and the Local Alcohol Policy restricts new off-licences within 50 m of it.

The council’s bylaw zones and the Local Alcohol Policy’s buffer list, read from the Regulatory open-data service. A ban rules drinking in public places; it says nothing about whether a premises may sell, that is the licence register’s job.

The suburb today

Schools here 1

Zoned for Aidanfield Christian School · Christchurch Adventist School · Middleton Grange School · St Thomas of Canterbury College · Villa Maria College, the drawn zone is indicative; the Ministry’s written scheme is the legal boundary.

Decile and EQI describe the community a school draws from, not how well it teaches.

The green here 35

The first eight of 35, Parks and reserves in the council’s open data, a park lands in the suburb its centre falls inside. The whole roll is at /parks.

The civic shelf 8

Libraries, halls, cemeteries and the rest in the council’s open data, a facility lands in the suburb its point or centre falls inside. The whole shelf is at /facilities.

Where the suburb worships 3

Places of worship in the open map’s record, one lands in the suburb its building stands in. The whole roll is at /worship.

The names on this ground 110

The flood record drew water over 11.0% of this outline, about 1,702 hectares, across 3 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

No named slope-hazard band reaches this outline. The broad remaining-instability overlay covers 72% of it besides, the plan’s background watch over the hill country. Shares read from a sampled join; a management overlay, not a prediction. The whole watch is drawn at /slope.

1 parcel inside this outline sits on the hazardous-activities register, mostly vehicle refuelling, service and repair. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 18 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, mostly sand, gravel, silt. A record is the file’s word on what was laid, not a fresh survey; the whole layer is drawn at /fill.

2 parcels inside this outline carry a cleanup on the file, 2 marked verified. A cleanup on the file is the register’s word, not a clearance; the whole register is drawn at /remediated.

The council’s structure register stands 151 assets on this ground, 80 sets of steps, 24 boardwalks, 15 shelters, 11 bridges, sited at Takapuneke Reserve, Garden Of Tane, Childrens Bay, Stanley Park. The register’s site names are its own labels for the ground an asset stands in; the layer is drawn at the map.

The recreation register keeps 18 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 3 cricket, 3 tennis, 3 netball, 3 pickleball. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 710 living trees inside this outline, 113 veterans among them, 94 carrying a protection, mostly Ngaio, English Oak, Pohutukawa. The file remembers 77 trees felled here. A tree record is the register’s word on what stands or stood; the whole canopy is drawn at /trees.

The plan files 57% of this outline under Rural Banks Peninsula, the rest mostly Open Space Natural 11%, Papakainga Kainga Nohoanga 2%, 72% of the outline fell inside a mapped zone. A zone is a permission, not a description, the mix is read from a sampled join of the plan’s polygons; the whole district is drawn at /zones.

The plan’s heritage schedule protects 123 places by name in this suburb, 21 graded highly significant, Akaroa Lighthouse and Setting, Banks Peninsula War Memorial and Setting, Dwelling and Setting among them. A setting is the ground the item stands in, each files under the suburb holding its centroid; the whole schedule is at /heritage.

The plan’s schedule of sites significant to Ngāi Tahu covers 31% of this outline, about 4,809 hectares, ngā tūranga tūpuna, ngā wai, wāhi tapu/wāhi taonga. A silent-file precinct covers 3% of it besides, sensitive ground the plan flags without naming the sites. Shares read from a sampled join; a recognition overlay, not a catalogue. The whole schedule is drawn at /cultural.

The plan’s ecological schedules cover 1% of this outline, about 78 hectares across 1 scheduled site, 1% of it Schedule B, identified on private land but not yet protected. Shares read from a sampled join; a recognition overlay, not a survey. The whole ledger is drawn at /ecology.

The plan’s landscape schedules cover 71% of this outline, about 11,014 hectares across 39 scheduled areas, 27% of it outstanding, the plan’s strongest landscape standing, and 14% of it sits inside the coastal environment. 4 main ridgelines run through, the skyline itself is protected. Shares read from a sampled join; a protection overlay, not a ranking of views. The kept view is drawn at /landscape.

The plan’s water-margin layers cross this outline, 336 classified reaches, the plan calling Grehan Stream and Balguerie Stream by name, 4% of it inside the setback strips, the widest holding 20 m off the bank. The margin is the plan’s drawing, not a survey of the bank; the reaches, strips and held edges are mapped at /water-margin.

The plan’s allowed shape holds this outline, 8 hill density lines hold the high ground low, Akaroa’s heritage character area covers the town. The shape is the plan’s permission, not a survey of what stands; the allowed shape is drawn at /density.

The rebuild’s cameras filed 49 photographs on this ground, 2011–2012, stormwater work mostly. Each frame is a receipt the dig left behind, a work log, not a survey of what stands now; the whole record is drawn at /rebuild.

The remembered names stand on this ground, 62 inscribed plaques, Garden Of Tane, Akaroa War Memorial, Akaroa Recreation Ground among the grounds. The plaque is the register’s pin, not a surveyed spot; the whole roll is kept at /plaques.

The rulebook binds this ground, 37 drawn instruments, 27 of them dog rules, 1 alcohol ban, 8 camping zones, a certified self-contained van can stay the night at Akaroa Freedom Camping Area and Robinson’s Bay Restricted Area and Takamatua Restricted Area; the other 3 zones ban it outright, 1 bottle-store buffer; the outline sits inside the takiwā of Te Runanga o Koukourarata and Te Runanga o Onuku. The bylaw is the instrument, this the map of it, the whole rulebook is drawn at /rules.

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M3.0 in 2011. An epicentre is where the instruments placed the break, not a measure of the shaking here; the whole catalogue is counted at /sequence, the live record is /quakes, and the story in plain language is the earthquakes explainer.

The named waterways, bays, headlands, monuments, summits and old sites OpenStreetMap puts inside this outline, a pin is the mapper’s own; a waterway belongs to every suburb it crosses. Every roll, counted: /geography.

The crash record 58 injury crashes

58 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Akaroa's outline, 2 people killed, 22 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: Onuku Road at Stanley Place, 4 injury crashes, 1 fatal.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 94 recorded victimisations

94 victimisations on the Police record inside Akaroa’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 37 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 71% on the year before. Reported is not all, how much never reaches the record depends on the offence.

the suburb on the crime map →

Businesses here 121 in the directory

121 premises in Akaroa across 38 kinds, from OpenStreetMap, the council’s licensed-premises register and its 2024 Find Christchurch directory. Each kind below opens at this suburb’s shelf.

Among them, the ones the record says most about:

The whole directory →

Before any of that

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Akaroa, titled for it, turned up by a search for one of its places, or carrying its name in the text. These are leads and citations: the originals live at the provider, linked from each row.

RURAL SECTIONS CHOSEN. (Lyttelton Times, 22 March 1851)…oad 141 chains and numbered 60 on the chief surveyor map no 61 daniel waikins 50 acres in akaroa harbour on the french creek frontage on the harbour and numbered 61 on the chief surveyor map no 62 b l…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
RURAL SECTIONS CHOSEN. (Lyttelton Times, 29 March 1851)…ns and numbered 99 on the chief surveyor map no 100 j dick en 100 acres in the harbour of akaroa the part commonly known as the french farm sea frontage and numbered 100 on the chief surveyor map no 1…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
The Lyttelton Times. December 27, 1851. (Lyttelton Times, 27 December 1851)…espect we are anxious to call the attention of all i masters of crafts sailing to or from akaroa to 1 no 13 of the harbor regulations which we i publish this week under the head post office and mails…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 24 January 1852)akaroa to be let on lease for building on several very desirable quarter-acre town sections on the properties…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 07 February 1852)com missioner of crown lands office akaroa february 2 1852 notice hp he commissioner under the ordinance of council session 1 no 2 purposes on tue…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 03 April 1852)…application at the office of mr richard wormald solicitor london street lyttelton land at akaroa two and a half acres of building land for sale in small allotments in a central part of the town of aka…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
The Lyttelton Times. (Lyttelton Times, 03 April 1852)…be directed to call public meetings of all the inhabitants at christchurch lyttelton and akaroa for the purpose of effecting such an acquisition the third resolution was moved by captain westenra sec…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 10 April 1852)…application at the office of mr richard wormald solicitor loudon street lyttelton land at akaroa npwo and a half acres of building j land for sale in small allotments in a central part of the town of…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 11 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 15 May 1852)…application at the oilioe of mr richard wormald solicitor london street lyttelton land at akaroa two and a half acres of building land for sale in small allotments in a central part of the town of aka…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
SCHEDULE A. (Lyttelton Times, 19 June 1852)…omprised in the town of christchurch district in the town of lyttelton district or in the akaroa district 3 the town of lyttelton distbict comprises the site of the town of lyttelton as shown in the p…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held

The rest are a search away, the whole shelf, for the name →

The wire on Akaroa 5 lately

Something seen — Lighthouse Rd, Akaroa, Canterbury, NZiNaturalist · sedgehoe ·
Cormoran moucheté seen — Akaroa, Canterbury, NZiNaturalist · pauline47460 ·
Mouette argentée seen — Rue Jolie, Akaroa, Canterbury, NZiNaturalist · pauline47460 ·
Bromes seen — Akaroa, New ZealandiNaturalist · bga51 ·
Rushes seen — Akaroa, New ZealandiNaturalist · bga51 ·

The whole wire →

Next door

WainuiDuvauchelleLe Bons BayOkains BayPigeon BayLittle River

Compare Akaroa with Wainui · Duvauchelle · Le Bons Bay · Okains Bay · Pigeon Bay · Little River, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Akaroa?

Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The public record holds 1,918 council reports for it, the first filed in July 2015.

How many people live in Akaroa?

640 people at the 2023 Census, 4 per square kilometre across 154 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Akaroa?

About 633 people and 288 occupied private households: grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

What gets reported in Akaroa?

1,918 reports on record, most often roads & footpaths (700), water & drains (572), trees & parks (402). 299 of them in the year to 13 October 2026.

How many crashes has Akaroa had?

58 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 2 people killed, 22 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Akaroa?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M3.0 in 2011. An epicentre is where the instruments placed the break, not a measure of the shaking felt here. The whole sequence, counted → · The story, in plain language →

Every suburb in Christchurch → · Its decade, charted → · the whole A–Z →