# Purau, Christchurch

33 council reports since September 2015, the 107th busiest suburb in the city. 29 photographs on record.
75 people at the most recent Census.

https://www.chch.live/purau

## Live source links

Link-outs to the source’s own live pages, chch.live does not copy their live values or source text.

- [Christchurch City Council What’s On](https://www.ccc.govt.nz/news-and-events/whats-on)
- [Christchurch City Libraries events](https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/events/)

## The encyclopaedia on it

Purau is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, facing Lyttelton Harbour.

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purau), a tertiary source
Population: Stats NZ  Census Statistical Area 2 counts summed over the suburb’s own areas, as Wikipedia maps them.

## Living here

Rent: too few new bonds for a median this quarter, last published about **$575 a week**.

Median and quartiles of weekly rents on new private bonds (Tenancy Services), new bonds only, not the whole stock.

## 2023 Census snapshot

About 1,536 people and 693 occupied private households, grouped from 13 SA1 areas in Diamond Harbour, Teddington. A wider statistical area stands in for this suburb, so this is a proxy rather than a count for the suburb boundary.


Ethnicity is a multiple-response measure, so those percentages are not meant to add to 100%. Stats NZ uses fixed random rounding to base 3; unavailable or confidential cells are left out, not treated as zero.

[individuals](https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/layer/120766-2023-census-totals-by-topic-for-individuals-by-statistical-area-1-part-1/) · [households](https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/layer/120765-2023-census-totals-by-topic-for-households-by-statistical-area-1/) · [geography](https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/table/111243/) · [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

## As reported (29 on record)
- [22 Camp Bay Road, Purau 8972](https://www.chch.live/report/8692600)
- [11A Purau Port Levy Road, Purau 8972](https://www.chch.live/report/8336229)
- [Purau Bay Ramp 50 Purau Avenue, Purau 8972](https://www.chch.live/report/8268540)
- [68 Purau Port Levy Road, Diamond Harbour, Purau 8972](https://www.chch.live/report/7977451)
- [193 Purau Avenue, Purau 8972](https://www.chch.live/report/7211900)
- [175 Purau Avenue, Diamond Harbour, Purau 8972](https://www.chch.live/report/6077798)

[29 photographs on the wall](https://www.chch.live/wall?suburb=purau)

## The suburb, back then (5 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.*
- [Fernglen House at Purau Bay](https://www.chch.live/then/1920s#p-46149867), 1922 · Canterbury Stories
- [Camping at Purau](https://www.chch.live/then/1930s#p-61349809), 1934 · Canterbury Stories
- [Christmas holiday at Purau](https://www.chch.live/then/1930s#p-61349806), 1934 · Canterbury Stories
- [Sailing on Purau Bay](https://www.chch.live/then/1930s#p-61349815), 1934 · Canterbury Stories
- [Walking along Purau Avenue](https://www.chch.live/then/1940s#p-46097975), 1942 · Canterbury Stories

## The record on Purau
- Purau enters the written record in 31 March 1855, [“JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 31 March 1855)”](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18550331.2.3), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past).
- “Purau” appears somewhere in 143 of the archive’s records.
- A Papers Past search for the name surfaced 30 records, leads by provenance.
- The first report here: roading/streets, 13 September 2015, at 150–164.
- The street that keeps coming up is [Purau Port Levy Road](https://www.chch.live/street/purau/purau-port-levy-road), reported on 8 separate days.
- For elections the suburb’s centre falls inside [Banks Peninsula ward](https://www.chch.live/wards/banks-peninsula), the [Banks Peninsula community board](https://www.chch.live/boards/banks-peninsula) is its local layer. The whole roll is at [/wards](https://www.chch.live/wards).

## Lately
- [Dumped Rubbish](https://www.chch.live/report/8692600), 5 Aug 2026 · 22 Camp Bay Road, “Old TV dumped by bench on Camp Bay Road. How could they? ??”
- [Overgrown Vegetation](https://www.chch.live/report/8336229), 31 May 2026 · 11A Purau Port Levy Road, “3 cabbage trees and one other tree on waterways land in full contact with power lines”
- [General Request](https://www.chch.live/report/8268540), 18 May 2026 · Purau Bay Ramp 50 Purau Avenue, “These pollution signs need to be collected up around the Diamond Harbour area. This one at the Purau boat ramp will…”
- [Fallen Tree](https://www.chch.live/report/7977451), 26 Mar 2026 · 68 Purau Port Levy Road, “Large dangerous dead tree on council berm. It dropped a large dead branch onto Old Port Levy Road missing me by about 3…”
- [Hazard, vehicle](https://www.chch.live/report/7211900), 14 Nov 2025 · 193 Purau Avenue, “These people driving on purau beach”
- [General Request](https://www.chch.live/report/7000922), 7 Oct 2025 · Purau Bay Ramp 50 Purau Avenue, “Large macocapa log has come down Purau stream and is now floating amongst the moored vessels off the Purau jetty. Is…”
- [Animal - Deceased](https://www.chch.live/report/6077798), 24 Mar 2025 · 175 Purau Avenue, “Large dead seal - possibly a leopard seal - Diamond Harbour end of Purau Beach - likely to get very smelly soon!”
- [Trees - General](https://www.chch.live/report/5914885), 22 Feb 2025 · 60 Purau Port Levy Road, “A big dead tree”
- [Facility - General Request](https://www.chch.live/report/5507666), 5 Dec 2024 · 50 Purau Avenue, “A step at Purau jetty has a board missing and others are displaced, leaving a gap. This is extremely dangerous when…”
- [Facility - General Request](https://www.chch.live/report/5255037), 12 Oct 2024 · 50 Purau Avenue, “Purau jetty. Steps that form part of the dinghy launching ramp have detached from the stringer. A temporary repair was…”
- [General Request](https://www.chch.live/report/5117334), 9 Sept 2024 · 50 Purau Avenue, “Unsafe wharf treads at purau wharf, accident recorded, as I went to swim on Saturday the 7th 8.30 am. Photo attached…”
- [General Request](https://www.chch.live/report/5117326), 9 Sept 2024 · 50 Purau Avenue, “Broken step at Purau jetty, very dangerous for swimmers and boaties”

## Reports per year
- 2015, 1
- 2016, 1
- 2017, 2
- 2018, 3
- 2019, 3
- 2020, 1
- 2021, 2
- 2022, 4
- 2023, 1
- 2024, 7
- 2025, 4

## What gets reported
- Roads & footpaths, 11
- Trees & parks, 8
- Everything else, 7
- Rubbish & dumping, 3
- Water & drains, 1
- Vehicles & parking, 1
- [Noise](https://www.chch.live/problems/noise), 1
- [Animals & pests](https://www.chch.live/problems/animals-pests), 1

## Exactly what people say
- [Roading/Streets](https://www.chch.live/problems/road-damage), 9
- General Request, 5
- [Parks](https://www.chch.live/problems/parks-maintenance), 3
- [Fallen Tree](https://www.chch.live/problems/trees), 3
- Facility - General Request, 2
- [Damaged Road](https://www.chch.live/problems/road-damage), 2
- [Wastewater/Stormwater](https://www.chch.live/problems/stormwater), 1
- [Trees - General](https://www.chch.live/problems/trees), 1

## On the heritage register (2)
- [Dwelling and Setting, Purau](https://www.chch.live/place/348), 16A Camp Bay Road
- [Dwelling and Setting, The Whare](https://www.chch.live/place/347), 16A Camp Bay Road

## The streets that keep coming up
- [Purau Port Levy Road](https://www.chch.live/street/purau/purau-port-levy-road), reported on 8 separate days
- [Purau Avenue](https://www.chch.live/street/purau/purau-avenue), reported on 7 separate days
- [Camp Bay Road](https://www.chch.live/street/purau/camp-bay-road), reported on 4 separate days

## Documents that name it

*These are leads, not verified claims, search ties, not read sources.*
- [JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 31 March 1855)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18550331.2.3), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1855-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- [JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 04 April 1855)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18550404.2.3), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1855-04-04T00:00:00.000Z
- [Evans, Charles, Papauni Laboure (Lyttelton Times, 20 February 1856)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18560220.2.4), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1856-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- [JURY LIST. (Lyttelton Times, 20 February 1856)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18560220.2.3), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1856-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- [Page 9 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580210.2.20.3), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1858-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- [Page 10 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580210.2.21.3), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1858-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- [Page 10 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580210.2.21.2), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1858-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- [Page 9 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580210.2.20.1), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1858-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- [Provincial Council. (Lyttelton Times, 20 February 1858)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580220.2.5), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1858-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- [Page 6 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 17 March 1858)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580317.2.16.2), [Papers Past](https://www.chch.live/collection/papers-past) · 1858-03-17T00:00:00.000Z

## The wire on Purau
- [Pioneer held their Club Championship at Purau Bay last weekend with 30 riders taking part on what was a warm Canterbury day. The property has seen a lot of development with a new road and better…](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nzpeterb/55585564144/), Flickr · nzpeterb, 13 Oct 2026
- [Aussie pygmyweed seen — Purau 8972, New Zealand](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/406724987), iNaturalist · alice_shanks, 8 Oct 2026
- [Mossy Stonecrop seen — Purau 8972, New Zealand](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/406671135), iNaturalist · alice_shanks, 8 Oct 2026
- [Banks Peninsula Button Daisy seen — Purau 8972, New Zealand](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/401741544), iNaturalist · shamptonz, 20 Sept 2026
- [Banks Peninsula Sun Hebe seen — Purau 8972, New Zealand](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/401741095), iNaturalist · shamptonz, 20 Sept 2026

[The whole wire](https://www.chch.live/wire)

## The crash record

No boundary is on record for Purau, the outline joins can't answer, so nothing counts.

## Next door
- [Diamond Harbour](https://www.chch.live/diamond-harbour)
- [Port Levy](https://www.chch.live/port-levy)
- [Charteris Bay](https://www.chch.live/charteris-bay)
- [Lyttelton](https://www.chch.live/lyttelton)
- [Corsair Bay](https://www.chch.live/corsair-bay)
- [Cass Bay](https://www.chch.live/cass-bay)

[Compare](https://www.chch.live/compare) Purau with [Diamond Harbour](https://www.chch.live/compare?a=diamond-harbour&b=purau) · [Port Levy](https://www.chch.live/compare?a=port-levy&b=purau) · [Charteris Bay](https://www.chch.live/compare?a=charteris-bay&b=purau) · [Lyttelton](https://www.chch.live/compare?a=lyttelton&b=purau) · [Corsair Bay](https://www.chch.live/compare?a=corsair-bay&b=purau) · [Cass Bay](https://www.chch.live/compare?a=cass-bay&b=purau), same record, side by side.

## Questions, answered briefly

**What is Purau?**

Purau is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, facing Lyttelton Harbour. The public record holds 33 council reports for it, the first filed in September 2015.

**How many people live in Purau?**

75 people at the the most recent count Census.

**How many people does the 2023 Census count for Purau?**

About 1,536 people and 693 occupied private households (wider SA2 stand-in): grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

**What gets reported in Purau?**

33 reports on record, most often roads & footpaths (11), trees & parks (8), everything else (7). 5 of them in the year to 13 October 2026.

**What stood in Purau before?**

The heritage register holds 2 places here, [Dwelling and Setting, Purau](https://www.chch.live/place/348), [Dwelling and Setting, The Whare](https://www.chch.live/place/347). The written record goes back further: [the shelf, for the name →](https://www.chch.live/documents?q=%22Purau%22)

Data: https://api.chch.live/suburb?name=Purau · Reports: https://api.chch.live/reports.rss?suburb=Purau