Merivale, Christchurch

Merivale
Suburb of Christchurch
Chinese Methodist Church
Coordinates: 43°31′01″S172°36′59″E / 43.517031°S 172.616522°E / -43.517031; 172.616522 Coordinates: 43°31′01″S172°36′59″E / 43.517031°S 172.616522°E / -43.517031; 172.616522
Country	New Zealand
City	Christchurch
Local authority	Christchurch City Council
Electoral ward	Fendalton
Area [1]
• Land	223 ha (551 acres)
Population  (June 2022) [2]
• Total	5,210

	Strowan
Fendalton	Merivale	St Albans
Riccarton	Hagley Park	Christchurch Central City

Merivale is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, north of the city centre. Like all suburbs in Christchurch, it has no defined boundaries and is a general area, but for the purposes of statistical analysis only, Statistics New Zealand ^[3] defines it as being Heaton Street to the north, Papanui Road to the east, Harper and Bealey Avenues to the south and Rossall Street to the west, although Real Estate advertising often will claim residences outside this area, especially St Albans to the east of Papanui Road, as being Merivale due to the perceived desirability of the area. The area directly west of Rossall Street, which is called Holmwood by Statistics New Zealand, is sometimes considered part of Merivale.^{[ citation needed ]}

The area is predominantly residential.

Early history

Charlotte Jackson of Rugby arrived in 1851 for her two rural sections which went from Merivale Lane to Aikmans Road and from Papanui Road to Boundary Road. She named the 100 acres (0.40 km²) block Merevale. Her brother-in-law, the Rev. Thomas Jackson, was the vicar of Merevale, near Atherstone in Warwickshire. Charlotte Jackson later sold the sections. In December 1859 she sold the northern 50 acres (200,000 m²) to Capt. T. H. Withers of Deptford, and in 1862 the southern 50 acres (200,000 m²) to William Sefton Moorhouse. Moorhouse built a magnificent home on Merevale farm at 31 Naseby Street, which was demolished after the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010/2011. ^[4] Subsequent owners of the property included John Studholme, John Thomas Peacock and Alfred Louisson. ^[5]

Merivale Shopping Centre (1983)

A hotel has stood at the intersection of Papanui Road and Bealey Avenue since 1865. Carlton Hotel was built in its place in 1906 in time for the New Zealand International Exhibition. ^[6] The hotel was demolished in April 2011 and has since been rebuilt to a contemporary design. ^[7]

There are still a few of the narrow streets and lanes and many of the original cottages have been restored.

Demographics

Merivale, comprising the statistical areas of Merivale and Holmwood, covers 2.23 km² (0.86 sq mi). ^[1] It had an estimated population of 5,210 as of June 2022, with a population density of 2,336 people per km².

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	5,553	—
2013	5,016	−1.44%
2018	5,034	+0.07%
Source: [8]

Merivale had a population of 5,034 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 18 people (0.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 519 people (−9.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,076 households. There were 2,274 males and 2,757 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.82 males per female, with 786 people (15.6%) aged under 15 years, 981 (19.5%) aged 15 to 29, 2,292 (45.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 966 (19.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 86.8% European/Pākehā, 4.7% Māori, 1.3% Pacific peoples, 10.3% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 25.8%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 46.6% had no religion, 43.4% were Christian, 0.8% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, 0.7% were Buddhist and 2.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,749 (41.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 288 (6.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,085 (49.1%) people were employed full-time, 753 (17.7%) were part-time, and 108 (2.5%) were unemployed. ^[8]

Individual statistical areas

Name	Population	Households	Median age	Median income
Merivale	2,904	1,284	42.1 years	$44,700 [9]
Holmwood	2,130	792	46.7 years	$52,800 [10]
New Zealand			37.4 years	$31,800

Economy

Merivale Mall

Merivale Mall, the local shopping centre, covers 7,580 m². It has 55 retailers including FreshChoice. ^[11]

Education

Kilburn House at St Margaret's College

Elmwood Normal School is a coeducational contributing primary school catering for years 1 to 6. ^[12] It has a roll of 472. The school opened in 1882. ^{[13] : 57}

St Margaret's College is a private Anglican girls' school for years 1 to 13. ^[14] It has a roll of 810. The school opened in 1910. ^{[13] : 163}

Rangi Ruru Girls' School is a private Presbyterian girls' school for years 7 to 13. ^[15] It has a roll of 689. The school opened in 1889. ^[16]

Selwyn House School is a private full primary girls' school for years 1 to 8. ^[17] It has a roll of 283. It opened in 1929, with the forerunner Miss Sanders' School founded in 1875. ^{[13] : 168}

Ferndale School is a special school ^[18] with a roll of 131.

Rolls are as of July 2022. ^[19]

References

1. "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
2. "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
3. Statistics New Zealand.
4. St Albans, from Swamp to Suburbs, An Informal History. New Zealand Federation of University Women Canterbury Branch. 1989. pp. 10–18. ISBN   0-473-00693-6.
5. "Historic Christchurch House For Sale". Canterbury Heritage. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
6. "Carlton Hotel". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
7. Davis, Joanna (9 April 2011). "Historic hotel for urgent demolition". The Press . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
8. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Merivale (323000) and Holmwood (322600).
9. 2018 Census place summary: Merivale
10. 2018 Census place summary: Holmwood
11. "Merivale Mall". ampcapital.com. AMP Capital.
12. Education Counts: Elmwood Normal School
13. "Miscellaneous Local Historical Information" (PDF). Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
14. Education Counts: St Margaret's College
15. Education Counts: Rangi Ruru Girls' School
16. "Our School – Our Principal". Rangi Ruru Girls' School. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
17. Education Counts: Selwyn House School
18. Education Counts: Ferndale School
19. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 19 August 2022.