chch.live a suburb, in depth

Lyttelton, Christchurch

5,527 council reports since June 2015, the 23rd busiest suburb in the city. 4,587 photographs on record. About 3,220 people, Stats NZ’s June 2025 estimate for the wider Lyttelton urban area.

Reports, all time
5,527
In the year to 13 Oct 2026
866
Busiest in Christchurch
23rd
Photographs
4,587

The record also holds about $600 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 4,587 photographs 265 old photographs 1 school 16 parks 4 civic facilities 3 places of worship 2 tracks 28 names on the map 1.6% of the outline mapped liquefied 1.8% of the outline in the red zone the record drew water over 1% of the outline the mapped tsunami reach covers 13% of the outline slope-hazard bands cover 26% of the outline the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 85% of the outline landscape schedules over 42% of the outline setback strips over 4% of the outline 2,646 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 20 remembered names on this ground 18 drawn rules bind this ground 10 parcels on the dangerous-work register 13 parcels of made ground 1,023 surveyed rocks 1 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly unlikely 45 engineered defences 75 council structures on the register 7 recreation register records 179 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 4% of the outline reserved the plan’s exceptions touch 1% of the outline 74 places on the heritage schedule 28 epicentres inside the outline 77 injury crashes 533 recorded victimisations 11 bus stops 113 businesses the council’s fix times 75 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

$600/week middle half $473–$640

New bonds here ran at about $600 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $473 and $640, across 24 bonds lodged, up 9% on a year ago. That’s about $50 a week above the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the “Lyttelton” statistical area, close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom house, $630 a week · 9 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: 2% of the outline went into the residential red zone; the February 2011 survey drew liquefaction over 2% of it, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 1 school, 16 parks, 4 civic facilities, 3 places of worship, 2 tracks and 11 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly graffiti & vandalism, 866 reports in the year to 13 October 2026, the newest 13 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 7 January 2026, 72 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
3,117
Under 15
15%
65 and over
17%
Occupied households
1,353

About 3,117 people and 1,353 occupied private households in the “Lyttelton” statistical area, grouped from 19 SA1 areas. This exact statistical-area match is close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

More of the 2023 Census
  • Born overseas27% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity92% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity12% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity2% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity3% of ethnicity responses
  • Households with internet86% of stated households
  • Households with two or more vehicles56% 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

Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The town is separated from Christchurch by the Port Hills, an eroded remnant of the extinct Banks Peninsula Volcano.

the encyclopaedia’s version · Wikipedia · population: Stats NZ June 2025 subnational estimate for the urban area of the same name

As reported 4,587 on record

22 Godley 3, Lyttelton71 Canterbury Street, Lyttelton 808213 Marina Access, Lyttelton 808254 Oxford St, Lyttelton 808240 Brenchley Road, Lyttelton 808221 Marina Access, Lyttelton 8082 4,587 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 265 in the archive

Lyttelton and port view, 1881Graving dock, Lyttelton, 1885Lyttelton, The Harbour, 1896Lyttelton, the harbour, 1896Holy Trinity Church, Lyttelton, 1900Lyttelton, 1900Lyttelton port viewArchive 1054, 1900People swimming in the graving dock, 1900Summit Road scrapbook, pages 288 and 289, 1900Lyttelton graving dock and pump house, 1910 265 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 Lyttelton

Lately the newest reports

Reports per year up 7% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Graffiti & vandalism 1,982
Water & drains 1,186
Roads & footpaths 1,085
Trees & parks 605
Rubbish & dumping 296
Everything else 202
Vehicles & parking 126
Animals & pests 31 Noise 14

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Lyttelton →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 7,764 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Lyttelton took 6 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. 274 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 10 January 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, Lyttelton Primary 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 Christchurch Adventist School · Hillview Christian School · Lyttelton Primary School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · St Anne's School (Woolston) · and 2 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 16

The first eight of 16, 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 4

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 tracks through here 2

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 28

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 1.6% of this outline, about 10 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 1.8% of this outline, about 11 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 flood record drew water over 1.0% of this outline, about 6 hectares, across 1 named event. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

The mapped tsunami extent covers 13% of this outline, about 78 hectares. The sea’s modelled reach, not a prediction, the plan’s inundation line, not the evacuation zones; the share is read from a sampled join. The whole extent is drawn at /tsunami.

The plan’s slope-hazard bands cover 26% of this outline, about 166 hectares, rockfall management area 1, rockfall management area 2, cliff collapse management area 2. The broad remaining-instability overlay covers 57% 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.

10 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly vehicle refuelling, service and repair, chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, mineral extraction, refining and reprocessing, storage and use, 9 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 13 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, mostly mixed fill with demolition material, gravel, 3 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 1,023 rocks inside this outline across 419 survey pins, 612 came down, 48 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.

1 parcel inside this outline carries 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 1% of this outline in the "unlikely" class, 1% of the outline fell inside an assessed area. 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 45 engineered rockfall defences inside this outline, 36 rock anchors, 5 catch fences, 3 mesh drapes, 4 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 75 assets on this ground, 61 sets of steps, 5 ramps, 5 shelters, 3 boat ramps, sited at Lyttelton Cemetery, Park Terrace Reserve, Lyttelton Recreation Centre, Albion Square. 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 7 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 2 basketball, 2 football, 2 rugby, 1 skateboard. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 179 living trees inside this outline, 5 veterans among them, 2 carrying a protection, mostly Sycamore, Cabbage tree, English Oak. The file remembers 51 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 27% of this outline under Open Space Natural, 15% residential, the rest mostly Specific Purpose (Lyttelton Port) 24%, Residential Banks Peninsula 15%. 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 22 hectares of this outline, 4%, under 5 designations, mostly movement, pipes. 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 exceptions touch 1% of this outline, 1 qualifying matter, mostly heritage. A matter narrows how the density rule applies, it does not forbid; the mix is read from a sampled join, and the cultural-significance areas are the plan’s own unnamed ones. The whole register is drawn at /matters.

The plan’s heritage schedule protects 74 places by name in this suburb, 15 graded highly significant, Battery Point Battery, Bridle Path, Commercial Building and Setting, Former Maher's Drapery among them. And the street itself is listed, the Lyttelton heritage area lies here, protected as a street rather than house by house. 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 85% of this outline, about 532 hectares, ngā tūranga tūpuna, ngā wai. Shares read from a sampled join; a recognition overlay, not a catalogue. The whole schedule is drawn at /cultural.

The plan’s landscape schedules cover 42% of this outline, about 261 hectares across 8 scheduled areas, 24% of it outstanding, the plan’s strongest landscape standing, and 38% of it sits inside the coastal environment. 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, 14 classified reaches, 4% of it inside the setback strips, the widest holding 20 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 plan’s allowed shape holds this outline, 1 hill density line holds the high ground low. 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 2,646 photographs on this ground, 2010–2017, wastewater 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, 20 inscribed plaques, Sumner Road Gardens, Oxford Street Reserve, Sutton Reserve 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, 18 drawn instruments, 13 of them dog rules, 4 camping zones, a certified self-contained van can stay the night at Christchurch Urban Restricted Area and Naval Point Freedom Camping Area; the other 2 zones ban it outright, 1 bottle-store buffer; 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 28 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M4.1 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 77 injury crashes

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

The corner that keeps appearing: Sumner Road at Dump, 12 injury crashes, 1 fatal.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 533 recorded victimisations

533 victimisations on the Police record inside Lyttelton’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 43 a year per 1,000 residents. Down 19% 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 Lyttelton's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 8, route 155, the Diamond Harbour ferry.

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 113 in the directory

113 premises in Lyttelton across 48 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. 2 Norwich Quay2 Norwich Quay
  2. Battery Point Battery
  3. Bridle Path
  4. Cobblestone Gutters and Setting
  5. Commercial Building and Setting14 London Street
  6. Commercial Building and Setting18 London Street
  7. Commercial Building and Setting47 London Street
  8. Commercial Building and Setting13 Oxford Street
  9. Commercial Building and Setting15 London Street
  10. Commercial Building and Setting20 Oxford Street
  11. Commercial Building and Setting, Former Maher's Drapery31 London Street
  12. Dwelling and Setting6 Godley Quay
  13. Dwelling and Setting62 London Street
  14. Dwelling and Setting27 Sumner Road
  15. Dwelling and Setting22 St Davids Street
  16. Dwelling and Setting28 St Davids Street
  17. Dwelling and Setting30 St Davids Street
  18. Dwelling and Setting34 St Davids Street
  19. Dwelling and Setting53 Oxford Street
  20. Dwelling and Setting51 Oxford Street
  21. Dwelling and Setting47 Oxford Street
  22. Dwelling and Setting49 Canterbury Street
  23. Dwelling and Setting45A Canterbury Street
  24. Dwelling and Setting45A Canterbury Street
  25. Dwelling and Setting59 Oxford Street
  26. Dwelling and Setting28 Winchester Street
  27. Dwelling and Setting32 Winchester Street
  28. Dwelling and Setting34 Winchester Street
  29. Dwelling and Setting36 Winchester Street
  30. Dwelling and Setting38 Winchester Street
  31. Dwelling and Setting23 Winchester Street
  32. Dwelling and Setting13 Winchester Street
  33. Dwelling and Setting66 London Street
  34. Dwelling and Setting64 London Street
  35. Dwelling and Setting30 Dublin Street
  36. Dwelling and Setting32 Dublin Street
  37. Dwelling and Setting2 Coleridge Terrace
  38. Dwelling and Setting3 Coleridge Terrace
  39. Dwelling and Setting6 Coleridge Terrace
  40. Dwelling and Setting7 Coleridge Terrace
  41. Dwelling and Setting47 Jacksons Road
  42. Dwelling and Setting2 Cunningham Terrace
  43. Dwelling and Setting26 Godley Quay
  44. Dwelling and Setting12 Reserve Terrace
  45. Dwelling and Setting31 Sumner Road
  46. Dwelling and Setting29 Sumner Road
  47. Dwelling and Setting75 St Davids Street
  48. Dwelling and Setting25 Ripon Street
  49. Dwelling and Setting3 Winchester Street
  50. Dwelling and Setting39 Winchester Street
  51. Dwelling and Setting32 St Davids Street
  52. Dwelling and Setting, Dalcroy House16 Godley Quay
  53. Dwelling and Setting, Islay Cottage1 Ticehurst Road
  54. Dwelling and Setting, Lochranza14 Godley Quay
  55. Dwelling and Setting, Omarama53 Cressy Terrace
  56. Dwelling and Setting/ Former St Saviour's Vicarage2 Brittan Terrace
  57. Erskine Point Gun Emplacement and Setting
  58. Former Boarding House and Setting28 Dublin Street
  59. Former British Hotel and Setting10 Oxford Street
  60. Former Court Queen of the Isles Foresters' Lodge Hall and Setting26 St Davids Street
  61. Former Dwelling and Setting21 Exeter Street
  62. Former Harbour Board Office and Setting5 Norwich Quay
  63. Former Kilwinning Lodge and Setting26 Canterbury Street
  64. Former Lyttelton Borough Council Stables and Setting4 Donald Street
  65. Former Lyttelton Gaol Site26D Oxford Street
  66. Former Lyttelton Police Station Cells and Setting5 Sumner Road
  67. Former Masonic Lodge Hall, Lodge of Unanimity, and Setting6 St Davids Street
  68. Former Warder's House and Setting39 Oxford Street
  69. Governors Bay Road Bridge/Culvert and Setting
  70. Graving Dock and Setting45 Godley Quay
  71. Lyttelton Railway Tunnel, Lyttelton and Heathcote Tunnel Portals and Setting
  72. Magazine and Setting
  73. Pilgrims Landing Site and Setting7 Norwich Quay
  74. Signal Box and Setting1 Norwich Quay
  75. St Saviours Church at Holy Trinity17 Winchester Street

The register’s own page for Lyttelton →

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Lyttelton, 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.

Christchurch NZ, 1852-1921…'Christchurch, N.Z. 1852-1921', comprising 49 black and white prints of Christchurch and Lyttelton scenes as they appeared in the mid-nineteenth century and in 1919. Photographs / He Whakaahua; Albu…Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries ·
13 Dublin Street, Lyttelton2023 Photo Hunt · Canterbury Stories · Christchurch City Libraries ·
Holy Trinity Church, LytteltonExterior view of the original Holy Trinity Church at Lyttelton, built of wood and brick in 1852. The green timber shrank, making the church unsafe in high wind, it…Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries ·
Islay Cottage - List No. 3351…try. DESCRIPTION: On 2 June 1851 the Reverend Benjamin Woolley Dudley, who had arrived in Lyttelton as chaplain on board the 'Cressy' in 1850, purchased 50 acres of rural land (Rural Section 40) from…The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga · 1851
No. I.—THE BRIDLE-PATH TO THE PERRY (Lyttelton Times, 18 January 1851)…thcote this means of communication between the port and the plain issues from the town of lyttelton just to the west of the custom-house reserve norwich quay having been made per fectly passable for c…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
WALKS ON THE ROADS. (Lyttelton Times, 25 January 1851)…12 c to the market-place at christchureh is about 3 and to riccarton nearly 4 miles from lyttelton it is thus whether by the path on the top or by that aiong the foot of the hills about 8 miles to ch…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 25 January 1851)…several large window-frames with casements glazed complete apply to mr e dobson surveyor lyttelton nb wanted to purchase two strong navies narrows on sale patent galvanized corrugated tp on for hoofi…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 01 February 1851)…obtained provisions of every description hardware tools nails earthenware c agent for the lyttelton times market-place christchurch jan 31 1851 for sale a saddle mare 15 hands high c3p or particulars…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
WALKS ON THE ROADS. (Wellington Independent, 19 February 1851)…thcote this means of communication between the port and the plain issues from the town of lyttelton just to the west of the custom-house reserve norwich quay having been made perfectly passable for ca…Wellington Independent · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
RURAL SECTIONS CHOSEN. (Lyttelton Times, 01 March 1851)…ion is to be adhered to as closely as possible no 1 maria somes fifty acre section in the lyttelton district commencing at the end of jackson street and proceeding in a north direction in the same lin…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 Lyttelton 5 lately

Nature and nurture are inspirations for a Lyttelton-based fashion designer featuring in the Christchurch Spring Fashion Festival.The Press · Carly Gooch ·
Lyttelton is heading into another subdued cruise season with about 15,000 fewer passengers expected, even as several other South Island ports add more ship visits.The Press · Blayne Slabbert ·
Bracken seen — Lyttelton 8082, New ZealandiNaturalist · heiditaiao ·
Ferns seen — Lyttelton 8082, New ZealandiNaturalist · heiditaiao ·
European Goldfinch seen — Lyttelton St near Conway St, Somerfield, Christchurch 8024, New ZealandiNaturalist · adamduchac ·

The whole wire →

1,778 more documents came up in searches for Lyttelton's places and have not been read yet, a lead is a search result, not a fact, until somebody reads it.

Next door

Corsair BayCass BayHeathcote ValleyDiamond HarbourRapakiMount Pleasant

Compare Lyttelton with Corsair Bay · Cass Bay · Heathcote Valley · Diamond Harbour · Rapaki · Mount Pleasant, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Lyttelton?

Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The public record holds 5,527 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.

How many people live in Lyttelton?

About 3,220: Stats NZ’s June 2025 estimate for the wider Lyttelton urban area, 513 per square kilometre across 6.3 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Lyttelton?

About 3,117 people and 1,353 occupied private households: grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

What gets reported in Lyttelton?

5,527 reports on record, most often graffiti & vandalism (1,982), water & drains (1,186), roads & footpaths (1,085). 866 of them in the year to 13 October 2026.

How many crashes has Lyttelton had?

77 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 Lyttelton?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 28 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M4.1 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 →