chch.live a suburb, in depth

Sumner, Christchurch

4,623 council reports since May 2015, the 32nd busiest suburb in the city. 3,590 photographs on record. 3,490 people at the 2023 Census, 291 to the square kilometre across 12 km².

Reports, all time
4,623
In the year to 12 Oct 2026
639
Busiest in Christchurch
32nd
Photographs
3,590

The record also holds about $620 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 3,590 photographs 188 old photographs 3 schools 13 parks 1 civic facility 2 places of worship 9 tracks 23 names on the map 0.1% of the outline mapped liquefied 2.5% of the outline in the red zone graded mostly TC2 in 2011 the record drew water over 2% of the outline the mapped tsunami reach covers 10% of the outline slope-hazard bands cover 10% of the outline the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 55% of the outline landscape schedules over 83% of the outline setback strips over 8% of the outline 9 bach settlements inside the outline 1,042 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 2.4 km of cycleway crosses the outline 24 remembered names on this ground 29 drawn rules bind this ground 2 parcels on the dangerous-work register 54 parcels of made ground 6,354 surveyed rocks 1 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly unlikely 47 engineered defences 91 council structures on the register 4 recreation register records 683 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 1% of the outline reserved the plan’s exceptions touch 1% of the outline 13 places on the heritage schedule 101 epicentres inside the outline 75 injury crashes 427 recorded victimisations 24 bus stops 89 businesses the council’s fix times 39 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

$620/week middle half $500–$793

New bonds here ran at about $620 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $500 and $793, across 27 bonds lodged, up 3% on a year ago. That’s about $70 a week above the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the “Sumner” statistical area, close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 3-bedroom house, $725 a week · 12 new bonds
  • 1-bedroom house, $560 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: 3% of the outline went into the residential red zone; the February 2011 survey drew liquefaction over 0% of it, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 3 schools, 13 parks, 1 civic facility, 2 places of worship, 9 tracks and 24 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly trees & parks, 639 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 11 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 20 June 2023, 49 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
3,414
Occupied households
1,344

About 3,414 people and 1,344 occupied private households in the “Sumner” statistical area, grouped from 25 SA1 areas. This exact statistical-area match is close to this suburb’s outline, not exactly it.

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

Sumner is a coastal seaside suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, and was surveyed and named in 1849 in honour of John Bird Sumner, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and president of the Canterbury Association. Originally a separate borough, it was later amalgamated with the city of Christchurch as communications improved and the economies of scale made small-town boroughs uneconomic to operate.

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

As reported 3,590 on record

147 Esplanade18 Finnsarby Pl110 Esplanade, Sumner27 Esplanade97 Wakefield Avenue, Sumner83 Wakefield Avenue, Sumner 3,590 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 188 in the archive

Sumner Clock Tower at Scarborough Park, 1930Sumner Scarborough Clock Tower and beach, 1940Popular Christchurch seaside suburb, 1942Cave Rock in Sumner, 1858Day's Hotel in Sumner, 1858Sumner Road, Christchurch, 1867Sumner Road, Christchurch, 1868Cave Rock at Sumner, 1870Shag Rock, Sumner Road, looking towards Christchurch, 1870Sumner, 1873 188 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 Sumner

Lately the newest reports

General Request, a report photo
General Request27 Esplanade

The Cave Rock Georgian cross lights have been lit after 11pm since the clocks changed. As this is in breach of the Deed, please enforce the deed and insist…

Reports per year up 14% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Trees & parks 1,015
Water & drains 1,004
Roads & footpaths 881
Graffiti & vandalism 809
Rubbish & dumping 592
Everything else 143
Vehicles & parking 116
Animals & pests 61 Noise 2

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Sumner →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 6,206 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Sumner took 5 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 5 months or longer. 239 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 13 October 2021.

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, Ko Taku Reo - Deaf Education New Zealand, Our Lady Star of the Sea School, Sumner 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

Zoned for Christchurch Adventist School · Hillview Christian School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · St Thomas of Canterbury College · Te Aratai College · and 3 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 13

The first eight of 13, 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 1

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 2

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 9

The first eight of 9, 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 23

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 0.1% of this outline. 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 2.5% of this outline, about 30 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 76 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 2.5% of this outline, about 30 hectares, across 2 named events. A patch is one event’s observation, not a live hazard finding; the whole record is drawn at /floods.

The mapped tsunami extent covers 10% of this outline, about 114 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 10% of this outline, about 114 hectares, rockfall management area 1, rockfall management area 2. The broad remaining-instability overlay covers 80% 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.

2 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, 1 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 54 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 6 hectares, mostly mixed fill with rubbish, topsoil, engineered fill, 2 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 6,354 rocks inside this outline across 1,908 survey pins, 3,792 came down, 1,176 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 43% of this outline in the "unlikely" class, 54% 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 47 engineered rockfall defences inside this outline, 34 rock cables, 9 mesh drapes, 3 catch fences. Nearly all are the emergency works the quake years left standing; the whole register is drawn at /defences.

The council’s structure register stands 91 assets on this ground, 50 sets of steps, 13 shelters, 11 ramps, 9 boardwalks, sited at Scarborough Beach Developed, Scarborough Park, Greenwood Park, Port Hills 11 Rrz Land. 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 4 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 2 cricket, 1 skateboard, 1 rugby. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 683 living trees inside this outline, 5 veterans among them, 25 carrying a protection, mostly Pohutukawa, Manna Ash, Cabbage tree. The file remembers 444 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 68% of this outline under Open Space Natural, 11% residential, the rest mostly Rural Port Hills 12%, Transport 6%. 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 16 hectares of this outline, 1%, under 2 designations, mostly power & signal, learning. 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, 3 qualifying matters, mostly section 6. 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 13 places by name in this suburb, 2 graded highly significant, The Esplanade War Memorials, Sea Walls and Setting, Tuawera/Cave Rock and Pilot/Signal Station, 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 55% of this outline, about 657 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 83% of this outline, about 997 hectares across 7 scheduled areas, 82% of it outstanding, the plan’s strongest landscape standing, and 45% 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.

No high-hazard flood area covers this outline. The broader flood-management watch covers 6% of it, Sumner. 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, 87 classified reaches, the plan calling Sumner Stream and Richmond Hill Waterway by name, 8% 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, 9 numbered bach settlements sit inside. 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 1,042 photographs on this ground, 2011–2017, 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 pedal network threads this ground, 2.4 km of cycleway crosses the outline, Te Ara Ihutai Coastal Pathway. A segment counts under every suburb its path enters; the whole network is drawn at /cycleways.

The remembered names stand on this ground, 24 inscribed plaques, Scarborough Park, Port Hills 11 Rrz Land, King Edward Memorial 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, 29 drawn instruments, 25 of them dog rules, 1 alcohol ban, 3 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 101 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M5.3 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 75 injury crashes

75 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Sumner's outline, 4 people killed, 22 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: Summit Road at Evans Pass Road, 11 injury crashes, 1 fatal.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 427 recorded victimisations

427 victimisations on the Police record inside Sumner’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 31 a year per 1,000 residents. Down 17% 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 24 stops

24 Metro stops inside Sumner's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 3.

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 89 in the directory

89 premises in Sumner across 34 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. 34 Taylors Mistake Bay34 Taylors Mistake Bay
  2. 48 Taylors Mistake Bay48 Taylors Mistake Bay
  3. 51 Taylors Mistake Bay51 Taylors Mistake Bay
  4. 52 Taylors Mistake Bay52 Taylors Mistake Bay
  5. 53 Taylors Mistake Bay55 Taylors Mistake Bay
  6. 58 Taylors Mistake Bay58 Taylors Mistake Bay
  7. 60 Taylors Mistake Bay60 Taylors Mistake Bay
  8. 69 Taylors Mistake Bay69 Taylors Mistake Bay
  9. 70 Taylors Mistake Bay70 Taylors Mistake Bay
  10. Dwelling and Setting62 Nayland Street
  11. Dwelling and Setting58 Colenso Street
  12. Dwelling and Setting1 The Spur
  13. Godley Head
  14. Sumner Clock Tower and Setting147R Esplanade
  15. Taylors Mistake Bach 168 Taylors Mistake Bay
  16. Taylors Mistake Bach 1030 Taylors Mistake Bay
  17. Taylors Mistake Bach 1128 Taylors Mistake Bay
  18. Taylors Mistake Bach 259 Taylors Mistake Bay
  19. Taylors Mistake Bach 357 Taylors Mistake Bay
  20. Taylors Mistake Bach 456 Taylors Mistake Bay
  21. Taylors Mistake Bach 549 Taylors Mistake Bay
  22. Taylors Mistake Bach 646 Taylors Mistake Bay
  23. Taylors Mistake Bach 733 Taylors Mistake Bay
  24. Taylors Mistake Bach 832 Taylors Mistake Bay
  25. Taylors Mistake Bach 931 Taylors Mistake Bay
  26. Taylors Mistake Bach 3535 Taylors Mistake Bay
  27. Taylors Mistake Bach 3636 Taylors Mistake Bay
  28. Taylors Mistake Bach 3737 Taylors Mistake Bay
  29. Taylors Mistake Bach 3838 Taylors Mistake Bay
  30. Taylors Mistake Bach 3939 Taylors Mistake Bay
  31. Taylors Mistake Bach 4040 Taylors Mistake Bay
  32. Taylors Mistake Bach 4141 Taylors Mistake Bay
  33. Taylors Mistake Bach 4242 Taylors Mistake Bay
  34. Taylors Mistake Bach 4343 Taylors Mistake Bay
  35. Taylors Mistake Bach 4444 Taylors Mistake Bay
  36. Taylors Mistake Bach 4545 Taylors Mistake Bay
  37. Taylors Mistake Bach 4646 Taylors Mistake Bay
  38. The Esplanade War Memorials, Sea Walls and Setting
  39. Tuawera/Cave Rock and Pilot/Signal Station, and Setting

The register’s own page for Sumner →

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Sumner, 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.

THE "Wellington Independent." Wednesday, August 22, 1849. (Wellington Independent, 22 August 1849)…d under mr compton superintendence constructing a road from lyttleton on port victoria to sumner plain the road is to bo 15 miles in length and will terminate at christchurch the capital of the canter…Wellington Independent · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Untitled (Daily Southern Cross, 28 September 1849)…ed under mrcompton superintendence constructing a road from lyttleton on port victoria to sumner plain the road is to be 15 miles in length and will terminate at christchurch the capital of the canter…Daily Southern Cross · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
No. I.—THE BRIDLE-PATH TO THE PERRY (Lyttelton Times, 18 January 1851)…a bright barrier across the plain down to its estuary and bar-harbour about 10 miles n of sumner be iyondthat river in very clear weather the ohoka tuahiwi and rangiora woods near the maori settlement…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 25 January 1851)…eex esplanade lyttelton jan 22 1851 for freight or charter rphe schooneb boat margaret to sumner or any place on the coast apply to henry kerry on board or thomas ellis jan 23rd 1851 to be sold or let…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 01 February 1851)…3p or particulars apply to mr c w bishop market-place christchurch conveyance of 600ds to sumner rphe margaret 10 tons rich ards master conveys goods fromlyttel ton to sumner at the rate of 20s per to…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
WALKS ON THE ROADS. (Wellington Independent, 19 February 1851)…to be and hidos the junction of that river with the shakspeare near their common mouth at sumner to the northward the coast extends in the form of a crescent the first half of which consists of sandhi…Wellington Independent · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 01 March 1851)…hat he is prepared to continue arrangements for the conveyance of goods from lyttelton to sumner in decked crafts 2 norwich quay lyttelton 28th feb 1851 r c bealby li as at his store a good assortment…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
RURAL SECTIONS CHOSEN. (Lyttelton Times, 15 March 1851)…no 40 rev b w dudley 50 acres in the lyttelton district commencing at the junction of the sumner bridle-path with norwich quay ia the town of lyttelton following the line of the town sections to near…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 12 April 1851)…ase several valuable sections of land advantageously situate in lyttelton christchurchand sumner for further particulars apply to mr wokmald solicitor canterbury street lyttelton to let qn building le…Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
RURAL SECTIONS CHOSEN. (Lyttelton Times, 03 May 1851)…d 143 on the chief surveyor map no 144 b parherson 100 acres in the lyttelton district at sumner bay adjoining section no 2 on its south side and numbered 144 on the chief survey map no 146 rev t jack…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 Sumner 5 lately

Psychidae seen — Sumner, Christchurch 8081, New ZealandiNaturalist · seamusmoran ·
Something seen — Sumner, Christchurch 8081, New ZealandiNaturalist · seamusmoran ·
Eastern Welcome Swallow seen — Sumner, Christchurch 8081, New ZealandiNaturalist · seamusmoran ·
kiwakiwa seen — Sumner, Christchurch 8081, New ZealandiNaturalist · seamusmoran ·
Police, fire, St John and the Sumner lifeboat are responding to an ‘incident’ at Christchurch’s Scarborough Beach.The Press · Tina Law ·

The whole wire →

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

Next door

Richmond HillScarboroughCliftonte-onepoto-taylors-mistakeMoncks BayRedcliffs

Compare Sumner with Richmond Hill · Scarborough · Clifton · te-onepoto-taylors-mistake · Moncks Bay · Redcliffs, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Sumner?

Sumner is a coastal seaside suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, and was surveyed and named in 1849 in honour of John Bird Sumner, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and president of the Canterbury Association. The public record holds 4,623 council reports for it, the first filed in May 2015.

How many people live in Sumner?

3,490 people at the 2023 Census, 291 per square kilometre across 12 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Sumner?

About 3,414 people and 1,344 occupied private households: grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

What gets reported in Sumner?

4,623 reports on record, most often trees & parks (1,015), water & drains (1,004), roads & footpaths (881). 639 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.

How many crashes has Sumner had?

75 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 4 people killed, 22 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Sumner?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 101 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M5.3 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 →