Graffiti on a fence, building or structureCanterbury
Graffetti on metal box .. by RisingHolme Park walkway entrance on Cholmondeley Ave number 22..
Opawa, Christchurch
3,159 council reports since June 2015, the 46th busiest suburb in the city. 2,593 photographs on record. 1,400 people at the 2023 Census, 1,713 to the square kilometre across 0.8 km².
The record also holds about $555 a week to rent· 2023 Census snapshot· 2,593 photographs· 12 old photographs· 3 schools· 4 parks· 1 place of worship· 12 tracks· 4 names on the map· 38.6% of the outline mapped liquefied· graded mostly TC3 in 2011· the record drew water over 26% of the outline· the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 3% of the outline· ecological sites over 4% of the outline· landscape schedules over 3% of the outline· high flood hazard over 2% of the outline· setback strips over 18% of the outline· 4% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays· 954 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground· 19.8 km of cycleway crosses the outline· 8 remembered names on this ground· 5 drawn rules bind this ground· 2 parcels on the dangerous-work register· 55 parcels of made ground· 2 parcels with a cleanup on file· the 2019 model grades this ground mostly high· 26 council structures on the register· 16 recreation register records· 1,201 trees on the register· the plan’s word on this ground· 8% of the outline reserved· 4 places on the heritage schedule· 1 epicentre inside the outline· 29 injury crashes· 346 recorded victimisations· 7 bus stops· 22 businesses· the council’s fix times· 7 heritage places· 40 documents· 5 mentions on the wire
Live source links
Link-outs to the source’s own live pages, chch.live does not copy their live values or source text.
Living here rent · the ground · the day-to-day
$555/week
middle half $448–$655
New bonds here ran at about $555 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $448 and $655, across 9 bonds lodged, up 11% on a year ago. That’s in line with the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the “Opawa” 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 February 2011 survey drew liquefaction over 39% of it; the 2011 grading filed it mostly TC3, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.
Day to day it holds 3 schools, 4 parks, 1 place of worship, 12 tracks and 7 bus stops, each is counted further down.
Lately the record’s mostly graffiti & vandalism, 396 reports in the year to 13 October 2026, the newest 12 October 2026.
One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 25 October 2017, 17 reports in a single day.
2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here
About 1,401 people and 549 occupied private households in the “Opawa” statistical area, grouped from 9 SA1 areas. This exact statistical-area match is close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.
More of the 2023 Census
- Born overseas24% of stated birthplace
- European ethnicity89% of ethnicity responses
- Māori ethnicity11% of ethnicity responses
- Pacific Peoples ethnicity1% of ethnicity responses
- Asian ethnicity4% of ethnicity responses
- Households with internet81% of stated households
- Households with two or more vehicles46% 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
Opawa is an inner residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located approximately 3.5 kilometres south-east of the city centre. Prior to European settlement, much of the area consisted of marshlands and mixed-use vegetation. By the 1850s, the area was sparsely populated by settlers and became a dairying locality, with many of the early settlers being farmers and people of English descent. Opawa had little development in its early years as it transitioned into a residential suburb.
As reported 2,593 on record
The suburb, back then 12 in the archive
Placed by the record’s locality join or the name in its own title, a lead, not a claim each frame stood here.
The shape of it outline © OpenStreetMap · recent reports, pinned
The record on Opawa
- Opawa enters the written record on 11 October 1854, “Page 9 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 11 October 1854)”, Papers Past.
- “Opawa” appears somewhere in 1,875 of the archive’s records, title, description or body.
- A Papers Past search for the name surfaced 32 records, leads by provenance, not by phrase.
- The first report the feed ever carried here: rubbish/recycling, 10 June 2015, at 1 Louisson Pl.
- Its busiest day on record was 25 October 2017, 17 reports in a single day.
- The street that keeps coming up is Opawa Road, reported on 258 separate days.
- For elections the suburb’s centre falls inside Heathcote ward, the Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote community board is its local layer. The whole roll is at /wards.
- On foot: The named houses, a heritage walk over this ground.
Lately the newest reports
Graffiti on a fence, building or structure63 Vincent Place
Graffiti ( black x 2) between 2 bridges, Richardson Terrace Woolston.Thanks. Please notify me when this SSS is solved. Thanks. ( Note, not Vincent Place…
Dumped Rubbish46 Ford Road
A tyre has been on the banks of the Heathcote River between Louisson Place and the river in behind trees and foliage. The tyre is visible from the other side…
Dumped Rubbish267–273 Fifield Tce
Small backpack filled with glass and other rubbish dumped beside the river
Reports per year up 2% 2024→2025
15
21
16
89
17
125
18
159
19
306
20
297
21
248
22
321
23
409
24
429
25
436
What gets reported
Exactly what people say
How fast the council fixes things here 4,344 finished jobs on record
The median council work order pinned in Opawa took 3 days to resolve, about the city-wide median (3 days). The slowest tenth waited 10 weeks or longer. 84 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 10 September 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
3 sensitive sites stand here, Rudolf Steiner School, St Marks School, Te Kura o Ōpāwaho – Opawa School, and the Local Alcohol Policy restricts new off-licences within 200 m of them.
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 3
- Rudolf Steiner School (Chch)Composite · decile 8 · EQI 410
- St Mark's School (Christchurch)Full Primary · decile 10 · EQI 398
Te Kura o Ōpāwaho – Opawa SchoolFull Primary · decile 4 · EQI 463
Zoned for Christchurch Adventist School · Hillview Christian School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · St Thomas of Canterbury College · Te Aratai College · 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 4
- Hansen ParkSports ground · 12 ha · playground, 63 pieces
- Risingholme ParkBotanic · 2 ha · playground, 10 pieces
- Heathcote Riverbank Reserve
- Fifield Reserve
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
- Saint Mark'san Anglican church · 101 Opawa Road
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 12
- Walk and bike track through Opawa3.5 km · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa1.4 km · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa797 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa757 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa610 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa485 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa326 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
- Walk and bike track through Opawa266 m · Christchurch · walk · bike
The first eight of 12, 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 4
The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 38.6% of this outline, about 32 hectares. A patch is a footprint, not a finding about an address; the count for the whole city is at /liquefaction.
The 2011 grading filed 104.2% of this outline, about 85 hectares, mostly TC3, with TC3 79 ha · TC2 7 ha. 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 26.3% of this outline, about 22 hectares, across 4 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.
2 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly cemeteries and waste recycling, treatment and disposal, 1 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.
The files record 55 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 16 hectares, mostly mixed fill with rubbish, sand, topsoil, 11 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.
2 parcels inside this outline carry a cleanup on the file, 1 marked verified. 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 52% of this outline in the high class, and 9 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 council’s structure register stands 26 assets on this ground, 11 ramps, 10 sets of steps, 4 bridges, 1 jetty, sited at Hansen Park, Risingholme Park, Opawa Public Library, Heathcote Riverbank Reserve. 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 16 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 4 football, 3 shotput, 2 long jump, 2 rugby. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.
The register counts 1,201 living trees inside this outline, 25 veterans among them, 1 carrying a protection, mostly Cabbage tree, Ribbonwood, Pin Oak. The file remembers 541 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 Residential Suburban, 55% residential, the rest mostly Transport 18%, Open Space Community Parks 14%. 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 7 hectares of this outline, 8%, under 3 designations, mostly learning, 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 4 places by name in this suburb, 1 graded highly significant, Former Dwelling and Setting, Risingholme, 9 Ford Road, Dwelling and Setting, Fifield 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 3% of this outline, ngā wai. 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 4% 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 3% of this outline across 1 scheduled area. 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 2% of this outline inside high flood hazard ground across 2 mapped areas. The broader flood-management watch covers 19% of it, Heathcote River. 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, 18 classified reaches, the plan calling Jacksons Creek Lower and Heathcote / Opawaho River by name, 18% 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 plan’s allowed shape holds this outline, 4% of it inside the residential overlays, the densest standing Suburban Density Transition. 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 954 photographs on this ground, 2010–2016, 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 pedal network threads this ground, 19.8 km of cycleway crosses the outline, Ōpāwaho River. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.
The remembered names stand on this ground, 8 inscribed plaques, Risingholme Park, Hansen Park 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, 5 drawn instruments, 5 bottle-store buffers; the outline sits inside the takiwā of 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 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M3.3 in 2010. 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.
- Hansen Parkold dump · 1936–1955
- Recorded dump 483old dump
- Jacksons Creekwaterway · 4.1 km
- Ōpāwaho / Heathcote Riverwaterway · 30.7 km
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 29 injury crashes
29 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Opawa's outline, 1 person killed, 8 seriously hurt.
The corner that keeps appearing: Opawa Road at Ensors Road, 7 injury crashes.
The crime record 346 recorded victimisations
346 victimisations on the Police record inside Opawa’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly burglary, about 62 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 5% on the year before. Reported is not all, how much never reaches the record depends on the offence.
The buses through it 7 stops
7 Metro stops inside Opawa's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 8, the Orbiter (anticlockwise), the Orbiter (clockwise).
- Ensors Rd
- Ensors Rd
- Opawa
- Opawa Rd near Cholmondeley Ave
- Opawa Rd near Ensors Rd
- Opawa Rd near Hawford Rd
- Opawa Rd near Locarno St
Businesses here 22 in the directory
22 premises in Opawa 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.
- Cafés3
- Restaurants3
- Dairies & convenience2
- Doctors & clinics2
- Fast food2
- Sports centres2
- Bike shops1
- Clothing1
- Delis1
- Hairdressers1
- Handicraft1
- Ice cream1
- Podiatrists1
- Vets1
Among them, the ones the record says most about:
Before any of that
On the register here
- 9 Ford Road9 Ford Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Cardowan64 Opawa Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Fifield14 Hawford Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Former Calimo44 Opawa Road
- Dwelling and Setting, Roxburghe41D Opawa Road
- Dwelling and Setting, The Hollies188 Richardson Terrace
- Former Dwelling and Setting, Risingholme22 Cholmondeley Avenue
Documents 40
What the archive’s sources say about Opawa, 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.
21850s
431860s
1201870s
4511880s
2081890s
6991900s
1051910s
401920s
651930s
681940s
1950s
41970s
1980s
1990s
262000s
832010s
82020s
Page 9 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 11 October 1854)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 9 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 01 March 1862)
…862 877 sheeprun for sale qq kci acres good sheep country for oojouu sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together w…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 12 March 1862)
…71862 877 sheeprun for sale qq k acres good sheep country for oyjwvv sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together w…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 22 March 1862)
…62 877 sheeprun for sale qq kart acres good sheep country for oojovv sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together w…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 29 March 1862)
…877 sheeprun for sale q q x affc acres good sheep country for oojovv sale situated on the opawa river the home statum is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together wi…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 02 April 1862)
…2 877 sheeprtjn for sale q q fhn acres good sheep country for oojwuv sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together w…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 8 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 05 April 1862)
…2 877 sheeprun for sale qq kff acres good sheep country for oojjvyvj sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together w…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 3 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 09 April 1862)
…71862 877 sheeprun for sale 3o kaa acres good sheep country for oojj sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles fromtimaru there is a good road all the way together wi…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 2 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 12 April 1862)
…62 877 sheeprun for sale qq kfk acres good sheep country for oojtlwv sale situated on the opawa river the home station is distant about 35 miles from timaru there is a good road all the way together w…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 Opawa 5 lately
Here are four of my more notable observations from my weekly biodiversity run about Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ, yesterday. The steel blue ladybirds are back. These are Australians that have been…Fediverse · Jon Sullivan ·
Thistle Tortoise Beetle seen — Opawa, Christchurch 8023, New ZealandiNaturalist · kylie81712 ·
OPINION: Sprawling from Redwood to Opawa and Spreydon to Phillipstown, boundary changes have reshaped the electorate of Christchurch Central. It is anything but central now, rather a cross-shaped…The Press · Mike Yardley ·
Australian Leafroller Tachinid seen — Opawa, Opawa, Christchurch 8023, New ZealandiNaturalist · dwgryphon ·
yellow fieldcap seen — Opawa, Christchurch 8023, New ZealandiNaturalist · meurkc ·
153 more documents came up in searches for Opawa's places and have not been read yet, a lead is a search result, not a fact, until somebody reads it.
Next door
Compare Opawa with Saint Martins · Hillsborough · Waltham · Woolston · Huntsbury · Beckenham, same record, side by side.
Questions, answered briefly
What is Opawa?
Opawa is an inner residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. The public record holds 3,159 council reports for it, the first filed in June 2015.
How many people live in Opawa?
1,400 people at the 2023 Census, 1,713 per square kilometre across 0.8 km².
How many people does the 2023 Census count for Opawa?
About 1,401 people and 549 occupied private households: grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.
What gets reported in Opawa?
3,159 reports on record, most often graffiti & vandalism (1,117), trees & parks (715), rubbish & dumping (468). 396 of them in the year to 13 October 2026.
How many crashes has Opawa had?
29 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 1 person killed, 8 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →
Did earthquakes strike under Opawa?
GeoNet’s catalogue puts 1 magnitude-3+ epicentre inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M3.3 in 2010. 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 →