chch.live a suburb, in depth

Hillsborough, Christchurch

2,990 council reports since June 2015, the 50th busiest suburb in the city. 2,393 photographs on record. 2,430 people at the 2023 Census, 363 to the square kilometre across 6.7 km².

Reports, all time
2,990
In the year to 13 Oct 2026
468
Busiest in Christchurch
50th
Photographs
2,393

The record also holds about $445 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 2,393 photographs 5 old photographs 1 school 11 parks 1 place of worship 16 tracks 8 names on the map 9.2% of the outline mapped liquefied 0.8% of the outline in the red zone graded mostly TC2 in 2011 the record drew water over 11% of the outline slope-hazard bands cover 10% of the outline the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 1% of the outline ecological sites over 1% of the outline landscape schedules over 61% of the outline high flood hazard over 1% of the outline setback strips over 15% of the outline 1,778 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 7.3 km of cycleway crosses the outline 5 remembered names on this ground 15 drawn rules bind this ground 11 parcels on the dangerous-work register 105 parcels of made ground 923 surveyed rocks 2 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly unlikely 88 engineered defences 15 council structures on the register 5 recreation register records 985 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 3% of the outline reserved 1 place on the heritage schedule 52 epicentres inside the outline 91 injury crashes 463 recorded victimisations 11 bus stops 24 businesses the council’s fix times 7 heritage places 40 documents 5 mentions on the wire

See it on the map Its decade, charted

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

$445/week middle half $96–$615

New bonds here ran at about $445 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $96 and $615, across 15 bonds lodged, down 22% on a year ago. That’s about $105 a week below the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the “Hillsborough (Christchurch City)” statistical area, close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom flat/unit, $96 a week · 6 new bonds
  • 3-bedroom house, $615 a week · 6 new bonds

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: 1% of the outline went into the residential red zone; the February 2011 survey drew liquefaction over 9% of it, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 1 school, 11 parks, 1 place of worship, 16 tracks and 11 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly water & drains, 468 reports in the year to 13 October 2026, the newest 11 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 29 August 2026, 12 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
2,373
Under 15
17%
65 and over
18%
Occupied households
936

About 2,373 people and 936 occupied private households in the “Hillsborough (Christchurch City)” statistical area, grouped from 15 SA1 areas. This exact statistical-area match is close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

More of the 2023 Census
  • Born overseas22% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity91% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity10% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity3% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity5% of ethnicity responses
  • Households with internet88% of stated households
  • Households with two or more vehicles59% 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

Hillsborough is a mixed industrial and residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south-east of the city centre.

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

As reported 2,393 on record

13 Erewhon Tce7 Brabourne St2 Avoca Valley Road, HillsboroughSummit Road, Hillsborough288 Opawa Road, Hillsborough200 Opawa Road, Hillsborough 2,393 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 5 in the archive

Aerial photomosaic of Huntsbury and Hillsborough, 1926Glass Plate Negative: Artillery Company Canterbury Volunteer Regiment, Hillsborough, 1865Hillsborough, Christchurch, 1963Hillsborough, Christchurch, 1963Hillsborough, Christchurch, 1963 5 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 Hillsborough

Lately the newest reports

Park - General Request, a report photo
Park - General RequestSummit Road

sharp, barbed wire, on top of pedestrian gate. at top of rapaki track. put a whole in my hand. wire should be pointed down or use alternative

Overgrown Vegetation, a report photo
Overgrown VegetationOpawa Rd near Brougham St

trees could do with a trim, makes it hard for the bus driver to see up waiting at the bus stop.

Reports per year down 5% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Water & drains 785
Roads & footpaths 609
Rubbish & dumping 518
Graffiti & vandalism 441
Trees & parks 416
Vehicles & parking 107
Everything else 57
Animals & pests 54 Noise 3

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Hillsborough →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 4,932 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Hillsborough took 4 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 3 months or longer. 128 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 8 January 2019.

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, Mastery Schools New Zealand - Arapaki, and the Local Alcohol Policy restricts new off-licences within 200 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 Christchurch Adventist School · Hillview Christian School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · St Anne's School (Woolston) · St Peter's School Te Kura Haoika · and 7 more zones, 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 11

The first eight of 11, 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.

Where the suburb worships 1

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 tracks through here 16

The first eight of 16, Tracks in the council’s open data, a line belongs to every suburb it passes through. The whole network is at /tracks.

The names on this ground 8

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 9.2% of this outline, about 62 hectares. A patch is a footprint, not a finding about an address; the count for the whole city is at /liquefaction.

The Crown’s 2011 classification drew 0.8% of this outline, about 5 hectares inside the residential red zone. A mapped area files under the suburb its middle sits in, and a classification is the record of a decision, not a finding about an address; the whole line is drawn at /redzone.

The 2011 grading filed 6.3% of this outline, about 42 hectares, mostly TC2. A graded area files under the suburb its middle sits in, and a category is a verdict for a patch of ground, not a finding about an address; the grades are drawn at /technical-categories.

The flood record drew water over 11.2% of this outline, about 75 hectares, across 4 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

The plan’s slope-hazard bands cover 10% of this outline, about 65 hectares, rockfall management area 1, rockfall management area 2, mass movement management area 2. The broad remaining-instability overlay covers 63% 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.

11 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, cemeteries and waste recycling, treatment and disposal, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, 4 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 105 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 69 hectares, mostly gravel, topsoil, sawdust, 7 carry fill the file can’t vouch for. A record is the file’s word on what was laid, not a fresh survey; the whole layer is drawn at /fill.

The rockfall survey mapped 923 rocks inside this outline across 651 survey pins, 612 came down, 73 still wobble easy. A pin may stand for a cluster and marks where the survey saw the rock, not where it is now; the whole survey is drawn at /boulders.

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

The 2019 liquefaction study put 69% of this outline in the "unlikely" class, and 3 assessed areas here carry the free-face flag for possible lateral spreading. A class is the model’s verdict on a patch of ground, not a finding about an address; the whole study is drawn at /vulnerability.

The register puts 88 engineered rockfall defences inside this outline, 56 rock anchors, 30 rock cables, 1 catch fence, 6 rated poor or worse on the file. Nearly all are the emergency works the quake years left standing; the whole register is drawn at /defences.

The council’s structure register stands 15 assets on this ground, 5 ramps, 5 sets of steps, 2 bridges, 2 jetties, sited at Hillsborough Park, King George V Reserve, Scruttons Reserve, Heathcote Riverbank Tr South. 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 5 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 2 football, 1 tennis, 1 basketball, 1 cricket. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 985 living trees inside this outline, 24 veterans among them, 6 carrying a protection, mostly Pin Oak, English Oak, Manna Ash. The file remembers 430 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 52% of this outline under Open Space Natural, 17% residential, the rest mostly Residential Suburban 8%, Residential Hills 8%. 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 reserves about 19 hectares of this outline, 3%, under 2 designations, mostly movement. A designation is a claim on the ground, not a build date, the mix is read from a sampled join; the whole register is drawn at /designations.

The plan’s heritage schedule protects 1 place by name in this suburb, Dwelling and Setting, Glenmore. 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 1% of this outline, ngā wai. A silent-file precinct covers 13% 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 across 1 scheduled site, all protected under Schedule A. 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 61% of this outline, about 407 hectares across 4 scheduled areas, 57% of it outstanding, the plan’s strongest landscape standing. Shares read from a sampled join; a protection overlay, not a ranking of views. The kept view is drawn at /landscape.

The plan’s flood map draws 1% of this outline inside high flood hazard ground across 1 mapped area. The broader flood-management watch covers 20% of it, Heathcote River, Avoca Heathcote Valley. Shares read from a sampled join; a model’s map, not a promise. The waiting water is drawn at /flood-hazard.

The plan’s water-margin layers cross this outline, 90 classified reaches, the plan calling Victory Drain and Popes Drain by name, 15% of it inside the setback strips, the widest holding 30 m off the bank, and an esplanade line holds a public edge here. 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 rebuild’s cameras filed 1,778 photographs on this ground, 2009–2016, 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 pedal network threads this ground, 7.3 km of cycleway crosses the outline. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.

The remembered names stand on this ground, 5 inscribed plaques, Monro Playground, Heathcote Riverbank Tr South, Natural Heritage Project Monum 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, 15 drawn instruments, 10 of them dog rules, 5 bottle-store buffers; the outline sits inside the takiwā of Rapaki Runanga and Te Ngai Tuahuriri Runanga. The bylaw is the instrument, this the map of it, the whole rulebook is drawn at /rules.

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 52 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M4.9 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 91 injury crashes

91 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Hillsborough's outline, 29 seriously hurt, nobody killed.

The corner that keeps appearing: Centaurus Road at Aynsley Terrace, 6 injury crashes.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 463 recorded victimisations

463 victimisations on the Police record inside Hillsborough’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 49 a year per 1,000 residents. Down 36% on the year before. Reported is not all, how much never reaches the record depends on the offence.

the suburb on the crime map →

The buses through it 11 stops

11 Metro stops inside Hillsborough's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 8.

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 24 in the directory

24 premises in Hillsborough across 14 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

On the register here

  1. 9 Ford Road9 Ford Road
  2. Dwelling and Setting, Bloomsbury37 Maunsell Street
  3. Dwelling and Setting, Fifield14 Hawford Road
  4. Dwelling and Setting, Glenmore6 Peartree Lane
  5. Dwelling and Setting, The Hollies188 Richardson Terrace
  6. Former Dwelling and Setting, Risingholme22 Cholmondeley Avenue
  7. Woolston Cemetery76 Rutherford Street

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Hillsborough, 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.

Page 9 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 11 October 1854)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Glenmore - List No. 3109Historic Place Category 2 List entry. Forty hectares of land at what was to become Hillsborough was purchased and stocked in 1851 by 'Honest' John Cordy (1805-1886) for Henry Selfe Selfe (1810-…The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga · 1857
Page 9 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 23 November 1861)…all members are requested to attend by order of the ng j harrup secretary new township of hillsborough railway station river heathcote messrs aikman and wilson are authorised to submit for selection a…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 30 November 1861)…er being about to leave christchurch the property will be sold very cheap new township of hillsborough railway station river heathcote messrs aikman and wilson are authorised to submit for selection a…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 04 December 1861)…er being about to leave christchurch the property will be sold very cheap new township of hillsborough railway station river heathcote messrs aikman and wilson are authorised to submit for selection a…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 11 December 1861)…wilson rangiora or at the offices i of the auctioneers in christchurch i new township of hillsborough j railway station i river heathcote tutessrs aikman and wilson are j authorised to submit for sel…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 4 (Lyttelton Times, 14 December 1861)…and wilson rangiora or at the offices of the auctioneers in christchurch new township of hillsborough railway station river heathcote messrs aikman and wilson are authorised to submit for selection a…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 6 Advertisements Column 4 (Lyttelton Times, 18 December 1861)…and wilson rangiora or at the offices of the auctioneers in christchurch new township of hillsborough railway station river heathcote messrs aikman and wilson are authorised to submit for selection a…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 28 December 1861)…ch railway station so generally acknowledged christchurch december 211861 new township of hillsborough railway station river heathcote messrs aikman and wilson are authorised to submit for selection a…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 Hillsborough 5 lately

Tangier Pea seen — Hillsborough, Christchurch 8022, New ZealandiNaturalist · smankelow ·
Muehlenbeckia seen — Hillsborough, Christchurch 8022, New ZealandiNaturalist · smankelow ·
White Banded House Jumper seen — Hillsborough, Christchurch 8022, New ZealandiNaturalist · smankelow ·
Spring Fieldcap seen — Hillsborough, Christchurch 8022, New ZealandiNaturalist · smankelow ·
Grey Warbler seen — Hillsborough, Christchurch 8022, New ZealandiNaturalist · smankelow ·

The whole wire →

163 more documents came up in searches for Hillsborough's places and have not been read yet, a lead is a search result, not a fact, until somebody reads it.

Next door

OpawaSaint MartinsWoolstonHuntsburyBeckenhamWaltham

Compare Hillsborough with Opawa · Saint Martins · Woolston · Huntsbury · Beckenham · Waltham, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Hillsborough?

Hillsborough is a mixed industrial and residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south-east of the city centre. The public record holds 2,990 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.

How many people live in Hillsborough?

2,430 people at the 2023 Census, 363 per square kilometre across 6.7 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Hillsborough?

About 2,373 people and 936 occupied private households: grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

What gets reported in Hillsborough?

2,990 reports on record, most often water & drains (785), roads & footpaths (609), rubbish & dumping (518). 468 of them in the year to 13 October 2026.

How many crashes has Hillsborough had?

91 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 29 seriously hurt, nobody killed. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Hillsborough?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 52 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M4.9 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 →