Towns

On the face of it, Kaiapoi sits on the map as a satellite of Christchurch, commutable in

15 minutes, slow-paced and picturesque. The town flanks the Kaiapoi River, which flows to the Waimakariri River at its mouth. From a comfortable seat in a café opposite the bridge on the town's main shopping stretch, it is possible to simultaneously smell the sea air and see the Southern Alps. The coffee is good and locals smile.

Those smiles embody a resilience. Kaiapoi was badly hit in the first round of Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 when almost a third of its houses were red-zoned and its infrastructure was seriously damaged. Today the Kaiapoi Letterbox Sculpture, constructed by local artist Mark Larsen from mailboxes retrieved from red-zoned properties, sits proudly on centrally located Williams Street. It symbolises the strength of the Kaiapoi community in the face of adversity. Some locals believe that under the auspices of the Waimakariri District Council – instead of the slower-turning wheels of Christchurch – the town has made fast work of its redevelopment.

There's more to Kaiapoi's past than the earthquake. A former stronghold for Ngai Tahu, who established a large pa in the vicinity in the 1700s, the name Kaiapoi is said to mean ‘to swing the food' – the pa was isolated and food had to be swung across a lagoon. The settlement was later besieged by the forces of Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha approximately 1831. Europeans put down roots in the area approximately 1850. Within 10 years a bustling port settlement had been established between the south and north branches of the Waimakariri River.

The township garnered a reputation for milling in the late 1800s. What began as a flax mill later became the well-known Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company mill, a business that survived two world wars, the Depression and a changing commercial landscape before closing in 1978. The local freezing works – operational from 1917 until 1991 – was also a major employer in the town.

The historic river town may have been battered by changing economic times and the earthquake but it's bouncing back. Since the 2010 quake, new businesses have opened in the township, existing businesses have recovered, the number of building consents for new residential dwellings is growing rapidly and the local construction sector has burgeoned. Kaiapoi is on a roll.

Kaiapoi's letterbox sculpture by local artist Mark Larsen.