Rakaia

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Town in Canterbury, New Zealand

title: "Rakaia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ashburton-district", "populated-places-in-the-canterbury-region"] description: "Town in Canterbury, New Zealand" topic_path: "general/ashburton-district" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakaia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in Canterbury, New Zealand ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Rakaia
settlement_type	town
image_skyline	Raikaia Salmon.JPG
image_caption	The Big Salmon of Rakaia
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	9
coordinates
	subdivision_type
subdivision_name	New Zealand
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Canterbury
subdivision_type2	Territorial authority
subdivision_name2	Ashburton District
subdivision_type3	Ward
subdivision_name3	Eastern
seat_type	Electorates
seat
leader_title	Territorial authority
leader_name	Ashburton District Council
leader_title1	Regional council
leader_name1	Environment Canterbury
leader_title2	Mayor of Ashburton
leader_name2
leader_title3	Rangitata MP
leader_name3
leader_title4	Te Tai Tonga MP
leader_name4
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	11.30
population_footnotes
elevation_m	108
population_total
population_as_of
population_density_km2	auto
::

Rakaia was also the junction of the Methven Branch, a branch line railway to Methven that operated from 1880 until its closure in 1976. An accident at the railway station in 1899 killed four people.

Rakaia's most obvious feature is a large fibreglass salmon. The river from which the town takes its name is known for its salmon fishing and jetboating. In 2025 the sculture was temporarily moved to the workshop of its creator Phil Price for restoration.

The town and river were previously known as Cholmondeley, but the Māori name would eventually prevail over the English one.

The rural community of Acton is located south of the Rakaia township.

Demographics

Rakaia is described by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area and covers 11.30 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/War_Memorial_Rakaia.jpg" caption="War Memorial Rakaia"] ::

Rakaia had a population of 1,440 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 168 people (13.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 369 people (34.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 576 households, comprising 723 males and 720 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 42.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 303 people (21.0%) aged under 15 years, 225 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 657 (45.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 255 (17.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 86.9% European/Pākehā, 12.9% Māori, 5.2% Pasifika, 3.3% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 12.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.1% had no religion, 34.8% were Christian, 0.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhist and 1.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 93 (8.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 330 (29.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 135 people (11.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 636 (55.9%) people were employed full-time, 162 (14.2%) were part-time, and 24 (2.1%) were unemployed.

Notable buildings

Saint Mark's Anglican Church

Saint Marks was built in 1877. It was designed by architect Benjamin Mountfort in a Gothic style. It is considered a typical example of the wooden churches he designed for small parishes. The church was listed as a category two historic place in 1992.

Rakaia Post Office

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Post_Office_Building_Rakaia.jpg" caption="Rakaia Post Office Building built 1910"] ::

The Rakaia Post Office was built in 1910.

Bank of New Zealand

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/BNZ_Rakaia.jpg" caption="Bank of New Zealand Building, Rakaia"] ::

The Rakaia Bank of New Zealand building.

South Rakaia Hotel

The South Rakaia Hotel is almost 150 years old.[[File:South Rakaia Hotel.jpg|thumb|South Rakaia Hotel]]

St Andrews Presbyterian Church

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/St_Andrews_Rakaia.jpg" caption="St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Rakaia (July 2021)"] ::

References

McLintock, A. H.. (1966). "Rakaia Railway Accident". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand.
link
(1 May 1934). "Names of Places, Fights for Priority". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
[http://www.geonames.org/6218967/acton.html Acton, New Zealand] on GeoNames.org
"ArcGIS Web Application".
{{NZ census 2018. Rakaia (337600). rakaia. Rakaia
"Search the List {{!}} St Mark's Church (Anglican) {{!}} Heritage New Zealand".
"PRESS, VOLUME LXVII, ISSUE 14018, 15 APRIL 1911".
(2014-12-29). "The Country Pub: The South Rakaia Hotel".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::