Papanui is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometres to the northwest of the city centre. Papanui has a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (New Zealand European & Others) 86.9%, Asian 7.6%, Māori 5.3%, Pacific peoples 3.1%, Middle Eastern/Latin American/African 0.7% (2013 census). The suburb is located at the junction of three busy thoroughfares; Papanui Road leading to the city, the Main North Road that leads to North Canterbury and Harewood Road that leads to Christchurch International Airport. However, as with most Christchurch suburbs, Papanui has no defined borders.
Over the last 160 years Papanui has developed into a major suburban centre and is a satellite centre for Government and City Council services. These include the central government 'Super Centre' in Winstone Avenue, Housing New Zealand in Restell Street and the Council Service Centre and Library on Langdons Road. The area has two high schools and five primary schools. There is little farm land left in the suburb with most of it having been developed into residential and commercial properties.
Etymology The Māori name Papanui literally translated means 'Big plain' (papa means flat and nui means big), a name which would aptly suit most of central Christchurch, which is one of New Zealand's flattest cities. Another meaning, equally applicable to the district in the early days, is a platform set in the branches of a tree to accommodate a bird-spearer. A third meaning for the word Papanui comes from a Māori Legend and refers to a large funeral pyre. According to the legend, Tuhaitara, a Ngāi Tahu princess, sent her eldest son, Tamarairoa to Papanui to kill her former husband Marukore. But Marukore was aware of his son's intentions and when Tamarairoa and his younger brother arrived, Marukore killed them both and burnt their bodies on a huge pyre.
History
Pre-European
Before European settlement Papanui, like much of Christchurch, was mostly marshy ground covered with native flax, toetoe and raupō brush. There was an abundance of forest birds which were hunted for food by the area's Māori inhabitants. It is believed in 1800 possibly as many as 5000 Māori lived in Canterbury, but from disease like measles and influenza, introduced through the early whaling settlements on Banks Peninsula, and through tribal wars the number had fallen to around 500 in 1840.Christchurch Changing – Geoffrey W. Rice (1999) While most of the plains in the South Island of New Zealand were deforested by either the Māori or Pākehā, Papanui Bush was one of the few stands of pine and tōtara left in the Canterbury region at the time of European colonisation.
European colonisation
The Canterbury Association's surveyor Captain Joseph Thomas and his team of surveyors arrived in Lyttelton (originally named Port Cooper) on 15 December 1848 on the ship Fly. They began to survey the Port Hills and Canterbury Plains around what would become Christchurch and its suburbs. As chief agent for the association Thomas was also responsible for preparing the infrastructure for the arrival of the first settlers at Lyttelton in December 1850. The First Four Ships, Charlotte Jane, Randolph, Sir George Seymour and Cressy landed 773 colonists. By the first anniversary of the first landing fifteen more ships had arrived bringing the colonist population to 3,000. By 1876 the estimated population of the city and suburbs was around 23,000 with the number increasing to 44,000 by 1886.
Papanui Bush
When the pilgrims first began to settle in Christchurch in the early 1851, Papanui Bush attracted a number of sawyers who made a living from milling tōtara and pine timber for construction and fire wood. Near the bush a settlement sprung up along on the old Māori track leading north to Kaiapoi which eventually became the Main North Road. The settlement soon boasted a hotel, store, blacksmiths, clothing shop, butchers, chemist, dispensers, and a school room appeared in 1853. Due to the pressing need for building materials in Christchurch, Papanui Road was one of the first roads built outside the city boundaries. The Papanui Bridge was also built over the Avon River in March 1852 to allow the timber to be brought by bullock drawn wagons directly into the Market Square near the city centre. In 1857 sawmilling had attracted a population of 692 to the Papanui village compared with 953 in Christchurch in the same year.Papanui Herald – Issue No. 559, 16 March 1976
Farm land
By 1857 most of the trees in the area were felled and market gardening and orchards began to flourish. The land around Papanui proved to be remarkably fertile for farming once ditches and drains were dug to relieve the swampy areas. Gradually more immigrants settled in Papanui, crops were sown and sheep and dairy farms were established in the surrounding areas. Exports of wheat and wool soon became the main source of income for the province. From the mid-1880s frozen mutton shipments, from the nearby Canterbury Frozen Meat Company in Belfast, to the U.K. grew steadily and eventually surpassed other exports to become the main export earner. In the 1890s butter shipments joined the export trade with the Fernleaf brand becoming as well known as 'Canterbury Lamb'. As settlement of Christchurch continued farms were sold for residential and commercial developments with Papanui being transformed into a suburb which became part of Christchurch city in 1923.
Hotels
One of the first buildings in the area was the Sawyers Arms Hotel which was opened by an American named Robert Carr. The hotel was built on the Main North Road near the corner of Sawyers Arms Road which derived its name from the hotel. Henry Roil was also "mine host" at the hotel in the early years as a partner of Carr's. The hotel burnt down twice, firstly in November 1874 and was reopened by the current licensee John Wild in June 1875. The second fire occurred in September 1898 and was rebuilt by the licensee John Cooper and was renamed The Phoenix (the beautiful bird rising from the ashes) for its third incarnation. This building was finally demolished in February 1989 in a Supermarket redevelopment with the site eventually being encompassed by the Northlands Shopping Centre.Papanui Heritage Trail Second Edition, Second Print 2005, published by Papanui Heritage Group.
The Papanui Hotel was originally built in the early 1850s as a parsonage for the Reverend Bradley. The building was bought in 1859 by William Meddings, a local blacksmith and store keeper, who opened it as a hotel. In 1865 the hotel was bought by William Lawrence who rebuilt the front section in 1871. Lawrence passed the hotel on to his son William in 1898, and it is believed it remained in the Lawrence family ownership until 1906. The grounds boasted gardens, lawns, fruit trees, walkways and a skittle bowling alley. In 1957 a new public and lounge bar complex was built on the corner of the Main North Road and Winstone Avenue adjacent to the old building which was finally demolished in March 1969 having served as a landmark for 110 years.The Early Days of Canterbury – A. Selwyn Bruce (1932)The Papanui Hotel – C Grant & W Hudson – Papanui Heritage Group (2008)
2010–2011 earthquakes
Papanui's location in the north western area of the city saved it from the worst of the liquefaction that was suffered by the eastern and southern areas. The Papanui Building (the first photo on this page) at 1 Main North Road was severely damaged by the first two main earthquakes and demolition commenced on 23 February 2011, the day after the second earthquake. All of the churches in the area were damaged to some extent. The St Paul's Vicarage was particularly badly damaged and has been demolished. St Paul's Anglican Church is still under repair with the scaffolding now being removed from the bell tower. A source close to the parish says it will reopen in September 2013. St Giles Presbyterian Church was also un-repairable and has been demolished. Only the parish centre now remains there. The status of St Joseph's Catholic Church and the Papanui North Methodist Church repair or demolition has still not been resolved. The Sanitarium factory was also significantly damaged and although production was halted for a while it is online with repairs being made. Many of the older shops in the Papanui Village were substantially damaged and demolished.
Demographics Papanui comprises four statistical areas. Papanui North, Papanui West and Papanui South are primarily residential, and Northlands is mostly commercial. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
+Individual statistical areasName Area(km2) Population Density(per km2) Dwellings Median age Medianincome Papanui North 0.60 2,037 3,395 798 39.5 years $28,700 Papanui West 1.00 2,988 2,988 1,146 40.3 years $39,800 Papanui East 0.83 2,286 2,754 984 45.7 years $42,500 Northlands 0.63 123 195 51 41.1 years $34,700 New Zealand 38.1 years $41,500
Residential Papanui The residential areas of Papanui, comprising the statistical areas of Papanui North, Papanui West and Papanui East, cover . They had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
The residential areas had a population of 7,311 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 51 people (0.7%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 81 people (1.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,339 males, 3,939 females, and 36 people of other genders in 2,928 dwellings. 3.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 1,188 people (16.2%) aged under 15 years, 1,320 (18.1%) aged 15 to 29, 3,114 (42.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,686 (23.1%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 76.2% European (Pākehā); 10.1% Māori; 3.7% Pasifika; 17.3% Asian; 1.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.4%, Māori by 1.7%, Samoan by 0.9%, and other languages by 17.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 27.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 38.8% Christian, 2.5% Hindu, 1.2% Islam, 0.2% Māori religious beliefs, 1.0% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 48.7%, and 5.3% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,737 (28.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,847 (46.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,542 (25.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 627 people (10.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 2,781 (45.4%) full-time, 837 (13.7%) part-time, and 144 (2.4%) unemployed.
Northlands Northlands covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Northlands had a population of 123 in the 2023 New Zealand census, unchanged since the 2018 census, and unchanged since the 2013 census. There were 57 males and 66 females in 51 dwellings. 4.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 27 people (22.0%) aged under 15 years, 18 (14.6%) aged 15 to 29, 48 (39.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 30 (24.4%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 70.7% European (Pākehā); 14.6% Māori; 2.4% Pasifika; 26.8% Asian; and 7.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA). English was spoken by 95.1%, Māori by 2.4%, and other languages by 22.0%. The percentage of people born overseas was 31.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.