Purau

Settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand

Place in Canterbury Region, New Zealand

Purau

Purau

Coordinates: 43°38′30.44″S 172°45′8.23″E﻿ / ﻿43.6417889°S 172.7522861°E﻿ / -43.6417889; 172.7522861
Country| New Zealand
Region| Canterbury Region
District| Christchurch City
Ward| Banks Peninsula
Community| Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula
Electorates|

* Banks Peninsula
* Te Tai Tonga (Māori)

Government

• Territorial Authority| Christchurch City Council
• Regional council| Environment Canterbury
• Mayor of Christchurch| Phil Mauger
• Banks Peninsula MP| Vanessa Weenink
• Te Tai Tonga MP| Tākuta Ferris
Area

[1]

• Total

| 0.21 km2 (0.08 sq mi)
Population

(June 2022)[2]

• Total

| 70
• Density| 330/km2 (860/sq mi)

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

## Geography

[edit]

Purau is located on Banks Peninsula, one of the southern bays forming Lyttelton Harbour.

## History

[edit]

Purau has a long history of Māori settlement. Ngāti Māmoe lived here prior to Ngāi Tahu settling the bay. There are many Māori burial sites in the area.[3]

The bay's first English name was "Acheron Bay", and this name persisted until the 1860s. The name derives from the British Admiralty survey ship HMSV Acheron, which was anchored at Purau in early 1849 while its captain John Stokes and surveyor W.J.W. Hamilton conducted the first survey off the New Zealand coastline since Cook's voyage, exploring the Peninsula and nearby Canterbury Plains.[4]

European occupation started in 1843, when the Greenwood brothers started a farm here. They sold to the Rhodes brothers in 1847 (William Barnard and George, with the latter taking over management of the station).[5][6] When Robert Heaton Rhodes, another of the Rhodes brothers, came to New Zealand in 1850, he took over Purau.[7]

## Demographics

[edit]

Purau is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, and covers 0.21 km2 (0.081 sq mi).[1] It had an estimated population of 70 as of June 2022 with a population density of 333 people per km2. It was part of the Eastern Bays-Banks Peninsula SA2 statistical area in 2018,[8] and part of Diamond Harbour in 2023.[9]

Historical populationYear| Pop.| ±% p.a.

|
|

2006| 63| —
2013| 51| −2.97%
2018| 69| +6.23%
Source: [10]

Purau had a population of 69 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 18 people (35.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6 people (9.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 33 households, comprising 33 males and 33 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 52.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 9 people (13.0%) aged under 15 years, 6 (8.7%) aged 15 to 29, 39 (56.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 15 (21.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 95.7% European/Pākehā, 13.0% Māori, and 4.3% Pasifika. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.8% had no religion, 26.1% were Christian and 4.3% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 18 (30.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 6 (10.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 9 people (15.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 27 (45.0%) people were employed full-time, 12 (20.0%) were part-time, and 3 (5.0%) were unemployed.[10]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Panorama of Purau Bay

* A house in Purau

* Beach

* Bridge across Purau Stream

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Purau.

1. ^ a b "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
3. ^ "Purau". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
4. ^ Ogilvie, Gordon (2017). Place Names of Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. p. 15\. ISBN 978-1-927145-93-7.
5. ^ McLintock, A. H. (1966). "Rhodes Brothers". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
6. ^ Leopold George Dyke Acland (1946). "Land Tax And Advances To Settlers' Department". The Early Canterbury Runs: Containing the First, Second and Third (new) Series. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs Limited. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
7. ^ Pinney, Robert. "George Rhodes". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
8. ^ 2018 Census place summary: Eastern Bays-Banks Peninsula
9. ^ 2018 Census place summary: Diamond Harbour
10. ^ a b "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7026638.

* v
* t
* e

Settlements of Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand

Settlements|

* Allandale
* Akaroa
* Ataahua
* Barrys Bay
* Birdlings Flat
* Cass Bay
* Charteris Bay
* Chorlton
* Church Bay
* Cooptown
* Corsair Bay
* Diamond Harbour
* Duvauchelle
* French Farm
* Gebbies Pass
* Gebbies Valley
* Governors Bay
* Gold Valley
* Hilltop
* Kaituna Valley
* Kukupa
* Lansdowne
* Le Bons Bay
* Little Akaloa
* Little River
* Lyttelton
* Motukarara
* McQueens Valley
* Ohinetahi
* Okains Bay
* Okuti Valley
* Ōnuku
* Orton Bradley Park
* Otanerito Bay
* Peraki
* Pigeon Bay
* Port Levy
* Prices Valley
* Puaha
* Purau
* Robinsons Bay
* Tai Tapu
* Takamatua
* Teddington
* Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa
* Wainui

Port Hills suburbs|

* Cashmere
* Clifton
* Cracroft
* Ferrymead
* Halswell
* Heathcote Valley
* Hillsborough
* Hoon Hay
* Huntsbury
* Kennedys Bush
* Moncks Bay
* Mt Pleasant
* Murray Aynsley Hill
* Redcliffs
* Richmond Hill
* Scarborough
* St Andrews Hill
* Sumner
* Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake
* Westmorland

Māori pā and kāinga|

* Ōnawe Peninsula
* Ōnuku
* Puāri
* Takapūneke

*[Pop.]: Population
*[±% p.a.]: Per annum growth rate
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