Ashley Forest
Ashley Forest | |
|---|---|
Locality | |
Interactive map of Ashley Forest | |
| Coordinates: 43°07′41″S 172°29′46″E / 43.128°S 172.496°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Canterbury |
| Territorial authority | Hurunui District |
| Ward | South Ward |
| Electorates | |
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Hurunui District Council |
| • Regional council | Environment Canterbury |
| • Mayor of Hurunui | Marie Black[1] |
| • Kaikoura MP | Stuart Smith[2] |
| • Te Tai Tonga MP | Tākuta Ferris[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 340.57 km2 (131.49 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2025)[5] | |
• Total | 850 |
| • Density | 2.5/km2 (6.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time) |
Ashley Forest is a forest and a statistical area in the Canterbury Region's Hurunui District on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located north of the Ashley River / Rakahuri and northeast of the Okuku River.[6]
The forest was planted from 1939.[7] It is managed by Rayonier Matariki and is only accessible by the public with a permit.[8]
Ashley Forest Village is a small settlement at the southern end of the forest.
Demographics
The Ashley Forest statistical area covers 340.57 km2 (131.49 sq mi).[4] It had an estimated population of 850 as of June 2025,[5] with a population density of 2.5 people per km2.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 522 | — |
| 2013 | 642 | +3.00% |
| 2018 | 669 | +0.83% |
| 2023 | 807 | +3.82% |
| Source: [9][10] | ||
Ashley Forest had a population of 807 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 138 people (20.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 165 people (25.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 414 males, 393 females, and 3 people of other genders in 279 dwellings.[11] 3.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 186 people (23.0%) aged under 15 years, 99 (12.3%) aged 15 to 29, 405 (50.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 123 (15.2%) aged 65 or older.[9]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 94.8% European (Pākehā); 11.9% Māori; 0.7% Pasifika; 1.9% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 5.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.0%, Māori by 1.9%, and other languages by 5.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.6% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 14.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.[9]
Religious affiliations were 29.7% Christian, and 0.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 61.3%, and 7.4% of people did not answer the census question.[9]
Of those at least 15 years old, 150 (24.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 369 (59.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 108 (17.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 81 people (13.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 315 (50.7%) full-time, 138 (22.2%) part-time, and 12 (1.9%) unemployed.[9]
Climate
| Climate data for Ashley Forest (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1942–1989) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.4 (93.9) |
39.8 (103.6) |
33.9 (93.0) |
28.3 (82.9) |
26.7 (80.1) |
22.4 (72.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
22.2 (72.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.5 (86.9) |
31.7 (89.1) |
39.8 (103.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 21.6 (70.9) |
21.3 (70.3) |
19.9 (67.8) |
17.3 (63.1) |
14.0 (57.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
10.9 (51.6) |
12.0 (53.6) |
14.5 (58.1) |
16.3 (61.3) |
17.9 (64.2) |
20.1 (68.2) |
16.5 (61.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.5 (61.7) |
16.3 (61.3) |
14.7 (58.5) |
12.4 (54.3) |
9.7 (49.5) |
7.5 (45.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
7.6 (45.7) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
12.9 (55.2) |
15.1 (59.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) |
11.4 (52.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
5.4 (41.7) |
3.3 (37.9) |
2.4 (36.3) |
3.3 (37.9) |
4.7 (40.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.2 (50.4) |
7.0 (44.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
0.6 (33.1) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 57.3 (2.26) |
57.6 (2.27) |
84.3 (3.32) |
70.4 (2.77) |
59.1 (2.33) |
62.7 (2.47) |
78.2 (3.08) |
69.9 (2.75) |
64.8 (2.55) |
84.1 (3.31) |
50.7 (2.00) |
65.3 (2.57) |
804.4 (31.68) |
| Source: NIWA[12] | |||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "2025 Triennial Elections Declaration of Result" (PDF). Electionz. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
- ↑ "Kaikōura - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ "Te Tai Tonga – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service". Statistical Area 2 2023 (generalised). Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Subnational population estimates - Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ↑ "NZ Topo Map" (Map). Ashley Forest. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ↑ "Ashley". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ↑ "Ashley Forest Access". North Canterbury Cycling Club. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Ashley Forest (312600). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ↑ "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Ashley Forest (312600). 2018 Census place summary: Ashley Forest
- ↑ "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ↑ "CliFlo – National Climate Database : Ashley Forest 1". NIWA. Retrieved 25 October 2024.