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Woolston, Christchurch

16,562 council reports since May 2015, the 3rd busiest suburb in the city. 13,368 photographs on record. 11,120 people at the 2023 Census, 2,030 to the square kilometre across 5.5 km².

Reports, all time
16,562
In the year to 12 Oct 2026
2,581
Busiest in Christchurch
3rd
Photographs
13,368

The record also holds about $511 a week to rent 2023 Census snapshot 13,368 photographs 28 old photographs 5 schools 27 parks 7 places of worship 30 tracks 6 names on the map 62.9% of the outline mapped liquefied graded mostly TC3 in 2011 the record drew water over 26% of the outline the mapped tsunami reach covers 27% of the outline the Ngāi Tahu schedule covers 5% of the outline ecological sites over 7% of the outline landscape schedules over 6% of the outline high flood hazard over 1% of the outline setback strips over 14% of the outline 11% of the outline inside the plan’s density overlays 5,354 SCIRT photographs filed on this ground 35.8 km of cycleway crosses the outline 13 remembered names on this ground 13 drawn rules bind this ground 49 parcels on the dangerous-work register 252 parcels of made ground 14 parcels with a cleanup on file the 2019 model grades this ground mostly medium 48 council structures on the register 25 recreation register records 2,728 trees on the register the plan’s word on this ground 4% of the outline reserved the plan’s exceptions touch 4% of the outline 9 places on the heritage schedule 27 epicentres inside the outline 338 injury crashes 4,350 recorded victimisations 42 bus stops 151 businesses the council’s fix times 13 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

$511/week middle half $387–$548

New bonds here ran at about $511 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter, the middle half of them between $387 and $548, across 84 bonds lodged, down 2% on a year ago. That’s about $39 a week below the city’s own quarter median of $550. Tenancy Services counts these under the Woolston North, Ensors, Woolston West, Woolston East and Woolston South areas combined, approximately this suburb.

By dwelling type and bedrooms, April–June 2026 quarter
  • 1-bedroom house, $508 a week · 36 new bonds
  • 2-bedroom house, $518 a week · 6 new bonds
  • 3-bedroom house, $450 a week · 6 new bonds

Median and quartiles of weekly rents on new private bonds, by quarter; suburb figures are a bond-weighted blend of the areas. 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 63% of it; the 2011 grading filed it mostly TC3, the rest of the watch is drawn further down.

Day to day it holds 5 schools, 27 parks, 7 places of worship, 30 tracks and 42 bus stops, each is counted further down.

Lately the record’s mostly rubbish & dumping, 2,581 reports in the year to 12 October 2026, the newest 11 October 2026.

One for the quiz, Its busiest day on record was 29 August 2026, 62 reports in a single day.

2023 Census snapshot SA1 areas grouped here

People
10,608
Under 15
17%
65 and over
16%
Occupied households
4,371

About 10,608 people and 4,371 occupied private households in the “Ensors”, “Woolston South”, “Woolston West”, “Woolston East” and “Woolston North” areas, grouped from 73 SA1 areas. Several statistical areas are combined here, so this is a grouped proxy rather than a count for one suburb boundary.

More of the 2023 Census
  • Born overseas22% of stated birthplace
  • European ethnicity77% of ethnicity responses
  • Māori ethnicity17% of ethnicity responses
  • Pacific Peoples ethnicity8% of ethnicity responses
  • Asian ethnicity12% of ethnicity responses
  • Households with internet77% of stated households
  • Households with two or more vehicles43% 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

Woolston is an industrial and residential suburb of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated 3 kilometres southeast of the city centre, close to major arterial routes including State Highways 74 and 76 to Banks Peninsula. The Heathcote River flows through the suburb.

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

As reported 13,368 on record

23–81 Dyers Rd713 Ferry Road, Woolston40 Dampier StCanterburyRadley Park Woolston Court, Woolston23 Heathcote Street, Woolston 13,368 photographs
on the wall →

The suburb, back then 28 in the archive

3 Phase transformer, 1928St John the Evangelist Church, Woolston, 1870St John the Evangelist Church, Woolston, 1870Woolston RS 32, 20, 37, 89 and 96, 1877Miss Hopkins, Woolston, 1904. [Cake], 1904DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT CHRISTCHURCH: A VIEW OF THE RUINS AT MESSRS. BOWRON BROS.' WOOLSTON TANNERY, SHOWING WORKERS SAVING TINS OF BENZINE, 1905DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT CHRISTCHURCH: THE RUINS OF MESSRS. BOWRON BROS.' WOOLSTON TANNERY. DESTROYED BY FIRE. DECEMBER. 1, 1905, 1905Woolston Borough Council, traffic and tram lifting bridge, 1905St John the Evangelist Church, Woolston, 1910St John the Evangelist Church, Woolston, 1910 28 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 Woolston

Lately the newest reports

Water Leak, a report photo
Water Leak40 Dampier St

Leaking watermain on Council side I have dug most of it up for you Wet damp, Ground Water meter is running continuously with all the water shut off in the…

Dumped Rubbish, a report photo
Dumped Rubbish20 Manning Pl

This is my second post in a couple of weeks, the dumping seems to be the same offenders. I’m really sorry to have to make this the council’s responsibility…

Reports per year up 1% 2024→2025

What gets reported

Rubbish & dumping 5,332
Graffiti & vandalism 4,497
Water & drains 2,173
Roads & footpaths 1,971
Trees & parks 1,751
Vehicles & parking 351
Everything else 325
Animals & pests 93 Noise 69

Streets that keep coming up each a street page

Every street the archive knows in Woolston →

Exactly what people say

How fast the council fixes things here 21,591 finished jobs on record

The median council work order pinned in Woolston took 3 days to resolve, the city-wide median is 3 days, so this ground runs faster than the city as a whole. The slowest tenth waited 7 weeks or longer. 385 tickets are open here now, the oldest was filed 6 May 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

5 sensitive sites stand here, Kimihia Parents College, Ngutuawa School, St Annes School, Tamariki School, Te Waka Unua 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 5

Zoned for Christchurch Adventist School · Hillview Christian School · Marian College · Middleton Grange School · St Anne's School (Woolston) · St Thomas of Canterbury College · and 6 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 27

The first eight of 27, 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 7

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 30

The first eight of 30, 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 6

The February 2011 survey drew mapped ground failure over 62.9% of this outline, about 345 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 20.0% of this outline, about 110 hectares, mostly TC3, with TC3 95 ha · TC2 15 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 25.6% of this outline, about 140 hectares, across 5 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 27% of this outline, about 147 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.

49 parcels inside this outline sit on the hazardous-activities register, mostly chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage, vehicle refuelling, service and repair, cemeteries and waste recycling, treatment and disposal, 21 still doing the work. A listing records the work, not a soil test; the whole register is drawn at /hazards.

The files record 252 parcels of made or characterised ground inside this outline, about 103 hectares, mostly peat, mixed fill with rubbish, engineered fill, 28 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.

14 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 55% of this outline in the medium class, and 13 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 48 assets on this ground, 18 bridges, 15 sets of steps, 5 ramps, 4 jetties, sited at Woolston Park, Christchurch Quay Reserve, Charlesworth Reserve, Staunton Esplanade 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 25 records inside this outline, bookable surfaces for 5 cricket, 4 football, 3 rugby league, 1 tennis, plus a marked dog exercise area and 8 pieces of dog-agility gear. Seasons and surfaces are the register’s record, not this week’s draw; the layer is drawn at the map.

The register counts 2,728 living trees inside this outline, 31 veterans among them, 23 carrying a protection, mostly Ribbonwood, Cabbage tree, Kowhai. The file remembers 1,229 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 33% of this outline under Residential Suburban, 55% residential, the rest mostly Transport 16%, Residential Suburban Density Transition 12%. 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 21 hectares of this outline, 4%, under 3 designations, mostly movement, 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 4% of this outline, 4 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 9 places by name in this suburb, 1 graded highly significant, Woolston Cemetery, 51 Radley Street, Commercial Building 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 5% of this outline, about 27 hectares, 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 7% of this outline, about 38 hectares across 2 scheduled sites, 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 6% of this outline, about 34 hectares across 3 scheduled areas, and 2% 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 flood map draws 1% of this outline inside high flood hazard ground across 1 mapped area. The broader flood-management watch covers 83% of it, Heathcote River, Bells Creek, 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, 118 classified reaches, the plan calling Steamwharf Stream and Bells Creek by name, 14% 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, 11% of it inside the residential overlays, the densest standing Medium Density. 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 5,354 photographs on this ground, 2007–2017, 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, 35.8 km of cycleway crosses the outline, Heathcote Expressway, Rapanui Shag Rock, Smith Street Neighbourhood Greenway, 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, 13 inscribed plaques, Woolston Park, Heathcote Quay Monuments, Woolston Borough Monument 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, 13 drawn instruments, 4 of them dog rules, 1 alcohol ban, 8 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 27 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside this outline since the sequence opened, the biggest a M4.1 in 2012. 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 338 injury crashes

338 crashes that hurt somebody on record inside Woolston's outline, 6 people killed, 79 seriously hurt.

The corner that keeps appearing: Ferry Road at Hopkins Street, 18 injury crashes, 1 fatal.

the suburb’s crashes on the map →

The crime record 4,350 recorded victimisations

4,350 victimisations on the Police record inside Woolston’s outline, September 2022–August 2026, mostly theft, about 103 a year per 1,000 residents. Up 6% 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 42 stops

42 Metro stops inside Woolston's outline, in ECan’s stop record, served by route 155, route 3, route 140.

Every route in the record →

Businesses here 151 in the directory

151 premises in Woolston across 42 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. 51 Radley Street51 Radley Street
  2. Canterbury Crematorium and Setting447 Linwood Avenue
  3. Commercial Building and Setting650 Ferry Road
  4. Dwelling and Setting63 Aldwins Road
  5. Dwelling and Setting14 Bass Street
  6. Dwelling and Setting, Bloomsbury37 Maunsell Street
  7. Dwelling and Setting, The Hollies188 Richardson Terrace
  8. Dwelling and Setting, Whalebone Cottage704 Ferry Road
  9. Edmonds Factory Garden
  10. Former Girls’ Training Hostel and Setting30 Sullivan Avenue
  11. MED substation and setting
  12. Woolston Borough Monument and Setting
  13. Woolston Cemetery76 Rutherford Street

The register’s own page for Woolston →

Documents 40

What the archive’s sources say about Woolston, 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.

LIST OF CLAMANTS TO BE PLACED ON THE ELECTORAL ROLL FOR THE DISTRICT OF CHEVIOT. (Lyttelton Times, 19 April 1862)Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
Plan of part of Heathcote CemeteryRutherford Street (Woolston) cemeteryCanterbury Stories · Christchurch City Libraries ·
Whalebone Cottage - List No. 1945The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga · 1867
House - List No. 3720…farmers. People began to move there in greater numbers to escape the industrial suburb of Woolston from the turn of the century. Whilst later factory workers from Woolston also moved into Opawa it rem…The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga · 1867
St John the Evangelist Church, WoolstonSt John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Woolston, Christchurch. Built of cob in 1857, it was replaced with a wooden church in 1882. Photographs / He…Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries ·
St John the Evangelist Church, WoolstonSt John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Woolston, Christchurch. Built of cob in 1857, it was replaced with a wooden church in 1882. Photographs / He…Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries ·
Local and General. (Star, 07 November 1870)…nts given by the local rowing club came off on thursday evening last at the ferry road or woolston schoolroom and was a great success there were about 1 60 persons present and mr w montgomery vice-pre…Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
CRICKET. (Star, 19 December 1870)…hagley park ground the following are the scores made up to the time of drawing the stumps woolston v ellesmeke a match between these two clubs was played on the christchurch ground on saturday last ti…Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held
The Hollies - List No. 3112The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga · 1871
Local and General. (Star, 02 May 1871)…there ought to be some experiment made tc ascertain if salt spray has any or what effect woolston a special general meeting oi members of the cricket club was held at the wharf hotel last night the t…Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · · text held

The rest are a search away, the whole shelf, for the name →

The wire on Woolston 5 lately

Kāruhiruhi (Pied Shag) seen — Woolston, Christchurch, New ZealandiNaturalist · smankelow ·
Sacred Kingfisher seen — Garlands Rd near Cumnor Tce, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New ZealandiNaturalist · woody832 ·
Hi! This is a question mainly for V Energy drinkers based in Christchurch and people who commonly shop for energy drinks at diaries... There is a disconnected V flavour called "Tropical Tang" that…r/chch · Emergency-Frame-9054 ·
Heart-podded Hoary Cress seen — Charlesworth St near Ti Rakau Dr, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New ZealandiNaturalist · noahfenwick ·
Eriophyes plaginus seen — Charlesworth St near Ti Rakau Dr, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New ZealandiNaturalist · noahfenwick ·

The whole wire →

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

Next door

OpawaHillsboroughBromleyPhillipstownWalthamSaint Martins

Compare Woolston with Opawa · Hillsborough · Bromley · Phillipstown · Waltham · Saint Martins, same record, side by side.

Questions, answered briefly

What is Woolston?

Woolston is an industrial and residential suburb of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. The public record holds 16,562 council reports for it, the first filed in May 2015.

How many people live in Woolston?

11,120 people at the 2023 Census, 2,030 per square kilometre across 5.5 km².

How many people does the 2023 Census count for Woolston?

About 10,608 people and 4,371 occupied private households (combined SA2s): grouped from Stats NZ SA1 areas through this site’s suburb join. Indicative, not a LIM.

What gets reported in Woolston?

16,562 reports on record, most often rubbish & dumping (5,332), graffiti & vandalism (4,497), water & drains (2,173). 2,581 of them in the year to 12 October 2026.

How many crashes has Woolston had?

338 injury crashes on the police record inside the suburb’s outline, 6 people killed, 79 seriously hurt. The suburb’s crashes, mapped →

Did earthquakes strike under Woolston?

GeoNet’s catalogue puts 27 magnitude-3+ epicentres inside the suburb’s mapped outline since the September 2010 mainshock, the biggest a M4.1 in 2012. 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 →