Brooklands, Christchurch

Brooklands, the northernmost suburb of Christchurch, used to be right here, built on what was once swamp land next to Brooklands Lagoon. The lagoon is part of the Waimakariri River mouth, which forms the northern boundary of the area. The Styx River also flows through Brooklands and into the lagoon, and to the west is Kainga, a semi-rural suburb, while Bottle Lake Forest is to the south.

Back in the 1960s, this was a rather "ramshackle settlement of fibrolite houses," and well-built homes were apparently "almost a talking point." But by fifty years later, the houses here were much more substantial.

Then came the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. These events really hit the area hard, causing significant land subsidence and liquefaction. Because of the damage, the government announced on November 17, 2011, that most of Brooklands was zoned red. This meant that homeowners with insurance would get an offer for a government buyout of both their house and land. The land was considered too uneconomic to repair with houses still on it. Some of the properties that were condemned had actually been built in 2011, and at least one house even got its building consent after the February 2011 earthquake.

By 2015, most of the properties in Brooklands had been demolished. Only 25 residents remained, those who hadn't accepted the government's buyout offers.

According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the population here was just 129 people across 42 households. That was a big drop from 402 people in 2013 and 951 people in 2006. The median age was 45.4 years, and about 79.1% identified as European/Pākehā. Most people, 51.2%, had no religion, and 30.2% were Christian. The median income was $37,100.