Christchurch is a city in the region of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand that is frequently termed as probably the most English city beyond England. Additionally it is often called the Garden City as it has so many impressive gardens. The urban area contains a population of just below 400 000, making it the second largest city in New Zealand after Auckland. The Avon River passes via the center of the city with many different parks situated alongside its banks with Hagley Park being a central feature of Christchurch. In the middle of Christchurch is Cathedral Square featuring the landmark Anglican church which is at present being reconditioned because of earthquake damages.

The farming and agricultural market is the economic heart of Christchurch and the bulk of the first business there were designed to support that. Travel and leisure is now also a significant factor for the local economy, with the city promoting itself being a gateway to the South Island with its beautiful surroundings, snow skiing as well as adventure tourism. It is also the gateway for the Antarctic, with the city having a long reputation of assistance in Antarctic investigation. It has an International Antarctic Centre that provides both base amenities and a museum having a visitors center. The USA Navy uses Christchurch Airport as the entry place for the key supply path to its McMurdo and also Scott Bases in Antarctica.

There exists some data that people first moved in the Christchurch location in about 1250. Settlement took off at the start of 1840 following the purchase of property in what is now Riccarton by the Weller siblings as well as a group of European settlers encouraged by Herriott and McGillivray set up themselves in what has become Christchurch, at the beginning of 1840. The Canterbury Association organized The First Four Ships to carry 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. The ships were called were the Randolph, Charlotte Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy. The Charlotte Jane got here first upon 16 December 1850. These Canterbury Pilgrims were going to produce a city about a cathedral in line with the model of Christ Church in Oxford, UK, hence the name of Christchurch.

Quite a few major situations have molded Christchurch. Back in 1947, a fire happened at Ballantyne's Department Store in the central city with 41 people being killed in a blaze that burnt down the collection of structures. It's still New Zealand's most severe fire disaster. In between September 2010 and January 2012 the city had a number of serious earthquakes with the most severe being on Tuesday 22 February 2011 when 185 individuals being killed and 1000s of buildings falling apart or experiencing significant problems. Following the earthquakes in excess of 1500 structures in the city ended up being demolished, resulting in a still ongoing recovery and rebuilding undertaking. Christchurch did undergo some speedy growth following the earthquakes. On 15 March 2019, 51 individuals were murdered in the course of 2 terrorist episodes at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre by a white supremacist that entered NZ from Australia. These terrorist attacks ended up referred to by the leader of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern as being "One of New Zealand's darkest days".