Cashmere, New Zealand

This is Cashmere, or Te Iringa-o-Kahukura, as the Māori called it. It’s a suburb that rises up from the southern part of Christchurch, on the north side of the Port Hills. You can really see how it offers a commanding view over the city. It also covers about 4.71 square kilometers and had a population of 6,453 back in 2018.

This area is known for hill-related hazards like rock fall, cliff collapse, and landslips. That became particularly clear during the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. A 'blind' fault rupture extended from here east-northeast to the estuary, causing extensive damage from rockfalls, land movement, and cliff collapse. A GNS report identified 36 areas of mass movement, and hundreds of houses were damaged by rockfall, landslides, and ground cracking. Even after the quake, deep tension cracks showed where more collapses could happen.

The Māori name, Te Iringa-o-Kahukura, comes from a demigod who, according to mythology, uplifted a wooden figure of Kahukura and recited a karakia here. The name Cashmere itself comes from Sir John Cracroft Wilson’s farm. He named it after his birthplace, Kashmir, using the British spelling at the time. Wilson moved to Christchurch in 1854 from India, buying 108 hectares to develop his Cashmere farm. Some of his farm buildings are still around today. For instance, the house he built for his Indian workers became "The Old Stone House" in 1979, a function centre that’s been significantly damaged and restored twice after a fire in 1971 and the recent earthquakes.

European settlement here started in the late 1800s, with homes appearing in the 1890s. John Cracroft Wilson even donated land for a church that was finished in 1908. Around that time, the Christchurch tramway system extended to Cashmere, running until 1954. This area gained a reputation as a well-to-do suburb, and that continues today, with the 2018 census showing a higher percentage of high incomes here compared to the rest of Christchurch.

You can also find two of Harry Ell's rest houses here, the Sign of the Takahe and the Sign of the Kiwi, both Category I heritage buildings. Dame Ngaio Marsh's former house on Valley Road is also a museum, registered as a Category I heritage item. The Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River marks the northern edge of the suburb, flowing along the base of the Port Hills.