View source for Sumner, New Zealand

{{Short description|Suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2021}}
{{stack begin}}
{{Infobox New Zealand suburb
| name         = Sumner
| image        = Sumner 033.JPG
| caption1     = Looking down on Sumner (left) from [[Scarborough, New Zealand|Scarborough]]
| city1        = [[Christchurch]]
| council      = [[Christchurch City Council]]
| ward         = Heathcote
| community_board = Waihoro Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote
| established  = 
| location_map = 
| coordinates  = {{coord|-43.57144|172.76447|display=inline,title}}
| area         = 264
| arearef      = <ref name="Area"/>
| population   = {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Sumner|y}}
| popdate      = {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|||y}}
| popref       = {{NZ population data 2023 SA2||||y}}
| airports     = 
| hospitals    = 
| map          = {{infobox mapframe|coord={{coord|-43.57144|172.76447}}|zoom=10}}
| caption2     = 
}}
{{Adjacent place
| centre       = Sumner
| north        = 
| northeast    = ([[Pegasus Bay]])
| east         = [[Scarborough, New Zealand|Scarborough]]
| southeast    = [[Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake]]
| south        = [[Port Hills]]
| southwest    = 
| west         = [[Richmond Hill, New Zealand|Richmond Hill]]
| northwest    = [[Clifton, Christchurch|Clifton]]
}}
{{stack end}}
'''Sumner''' is a coastal seaside suburb of [[Christchurch]], [[New Zealand]], and was surveyed and named in 1849 in honour of [[John Bird Sumner]], the newly appointed [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] and president of the [[Canterbury Association]]. Originally a separate borough, it was later amalgamated with the city of Christchurch as communications improved and the economies of scale made small-town boroughs uneconomic to operate.

==Toponymy==

[[Joseph Thomas (surveyor)|Captain Joseph Thomas]] named the settlement for Bishop [[John Bird Sumner]], one of the leading members of the Canterbury Association.<ref name="Amodeo1">{{cite book |editor1-last=Amodeo |editor1-first=Colin |title=Rescue, The Sumner community and its lifeboat service |date=1998 |publisher=Sumner Lifeboat Institute Incorporated |location=Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand |isbn=0-473-05164-8 |page=1}}</ref>

The [[Ngāi Tahu]] name for the beach between Cave Rock (''Tuawera'') and Scarborough is ''Matuku Tako Tako''.<ref name="Andersen">{{cite web |last1=Andersen |first1=Johnannes C. |title=Map of Banks Peninsula showing principal surviving European and Maori place-names 1927 |url=https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Maps/536127.asp |publisher=Govt. Print |access-date=22 December 2020 |location=Wellington |date=1927 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416071803/https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Maps/536127.asp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Amodeo1" /> This name has been used by both the state primary school and the city libraries.

A. W. Reed gives the [[Māori language|Māori]] name for {{clarify|date=December 2020 |reason=J F Menzies give the location as between Redcliffs and Mt. Pleasant and a different translation |text=the area}} as ''Ohikaparuparu'' ("o" means place of; "hika" means rubbing, kindling, or planting; "paruparu" means dirt, deeply laden, or a preparation of fermented cockles).<ref name="Reed">{{cite book|last=Reed|first=A. W.|title=Place Names of New Zealand |year=2010|publisher=Raupo|location=Rosedale, North Shore|isbn=978-0-14-320410-7|page = 379|editor=Peter Dowling}}</ref> However, J. F Menzies indicates this name is associated with a settlement on the shores of the estuary between Redcliffs and Mt Pleasant and prefers an alternative translation of "''The place where sticks were rubbed together to make a fire with which to cook cockles in preparation for a journey''".<ref name="Menzies">{{cite web |last1=Menzies |first1=J. F. |title=Sumner |url=https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/DigitalCollection/Publications/1940s/1941Sumner/PDF/69264-021.pdf |website=Digital Collection, Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=20 December 2020 |page=34 |date=1941 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416083047/https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/DigitalCollection/Publications/1940s/1941Sumner/PDF/69264-021.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Andersen places this name on the beach at the mouth of the estuary, near Shag Rock (''Rapanui'').<ref name="Andersen" /> [[James Cowan (New Zealand writer)|James Cowan]], retelling [[Maui Pomare|Sir Maui Pomare]], indicates this name applies to the estuary shallows and means "''fall in the mud''".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowan |first1=James |title=LEGENDS OF THE MAORI |date=1987 |publisher=Southern Reprints |location=Wellington |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Pom01Lege-t1-body2-d6-d3.html |access-date=22 December 2020 |chapter=EPISODE III. THE LAUNCHING OF THE SPELL |quote=And the dwellers in the riverbank pa, Pohoareare, men, women and children, launched their canoes and paddled down the slow Opaawaho, across the shallows of Ohikaparuparu, or, literally, “Fall-in-the-mud,” and so out past the black, tooth-like rock of Rapanui to the firm beach sands, where Sumner township stands to-day. |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113162620/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Pom01Lege-t1-body2-d6-d3.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Black Map Sumner Township 1849, 01.JPG|thumb|Plan of '''Sumner''', November 1849, by Edward Jollie]]
Sumner was surveyed in 1849 by [[Edward Jollie]]{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} for Captain Joseph Thomas, the advanced agent of the [[Canterbury Association]].{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded? Contractual relationship between Thomas and Jollie? Brief?|date=February 2019}} Jollie's map of November 1849 showed 527 sections and numerous reserves and provisions for churches, schools, cemeteries, town hall, emigration barracks and other town amenities. However, his plans were abandoned through lack of funds and a new survey on which Sumner is based was carried out in 1860.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=February 2019}}

The first European to carry out work in Sumner is believed to be Charles Crawford, a whaleboat owner, who transported materials from Port Cooper, now [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Lyttelton]], under contract to build the headquarters and storeroom for Captain Thomas.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} Sumner was settled in late 1849 or early 1850 by work crews building the road to Lyttelton,{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} Sumner is thus one of the oldest European settlements in the Christchurch area.{{Synthesis inline|reason=What about the Deans at Riccarton Bush and the port at Lyttelton?|date=February 2019}}{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} The Day family was the first to settle permanently in Sumner,{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} followed by [[Edward Dobson]] and his family.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}}

[[File:Edward_Dobson%27s_house,_Sumner,_1865.jpg|thumb|left|Dobson's house, on left (pencil sketch, 1865)]]
Sumner had its first shop early in 1870, and its proprietor, S. E. Horneman, was postmaster from 1873 until 1876.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}}

In 1872, it came under the control of the [[Heathcote County|Heathcote Road District]].{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} When provincial councils were disestablished in 1876 and replaced with counties, Sumner had a second parent body, the [[Selwyn County, New Zealand|Selwyn County]], added to the continuing road board.{{r|"Menzies"|p=17}} In 1883, Sumner was constituted as a town district and was run by a board of five elected commissioners.{{r|"Menzies"|p=19}} The board elected its own chairmen, and the two people who filled that role were C. L. Wiggins (March 1883 – September 1884) and J. M. Wheeler (September 1884 – June 1891).{{r|"Menzies"|p=20}} On 1 June 1891, Sumner was proclaimed a [[borough]].{{r|"Menzies"|p=30}} Mayoral elections were held on 27 June, and the last chairman was elected the first [[Mayor of Sumner, New Zealand|Mayor of Sumner]].{{r|"Menzies"|pp=30-31}}

In 1885 the Harbour Board granted the concession to build a bath at the East end of Sumner beach. S. L. Bell enclosed some of the sea, and built dressing sheds and a tea shop.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}} The bathing pool was a great attraction but every year terrific storms would batter the bath and gradually dump fine sand in it. Eventually a flood filled the bath with clay and silt from the hills forcing its closure.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}}

In 1912 Sumner established its own gasworks and electricity was connected in 1918.<ref>{{cite book | last = de Their | first = Walter| title = Sumner to Ferrymead, a Christchurch History | publisher = Pegasus Press, Christchurch| year=  1976 | pages = 19–54| isbn = 1-877151-04-1}}</ref> The Anglican evangelical leader [[William Orange (clergyman)|William Orange]] was vicar of Sumner from 1930 to 1945.<ref name="DNZB Orange">{{DNZB|title=William Alfred Orange|first= Jeremy J.|last= Clark|id=4o7|accessdate=23 April 2017}}</ref> In 1945 Sumner was annexed by [[Christchurch City]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Bloomfield | first=Gerald Taylor | title=The Evolution of Local Government Areas in Metropolitan Auckland, 1840-1971 | publisher=[Auckland] : Auckland University Press | publication-place=Auckland | date=1973 | isbn=0-19-647714-X | page=14}}</ref>

On 22 February 2011, Sumner was hit by the [[February 2011 Christchurch earthquake|Christchurch earthquake]], which destroyed or made uninhabitable a large number of the local houses and commercial buildings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2014|title=Community Profile - Sumner/Taylors Mistake|url=https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Culture-Community/Stats-and-facts-on-Christchurch/CommunityProfile-HagleyFerrymead-SumnerTaylorsMistake.pdf|url-status=|access-date=18 May 2021|website=ccc.govt.nz}}</ref> On 13 June the same year, Sumner was hit by [[June 2011 Christchurch earthquake|another earthquake]] of almost the same magnitude as the February event.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Potter|first1=S.H.|last2=Becker|first2=J.S.|last3=Johnston|first3=D.M.|last4=Rossiter|first4=K.P.|date=December 2015|title=An overview of the impacts of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes|journal=International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction|language=en|volume=14|pages=6–14|doi=10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.01.014|doi-access=free|bibcode=2015IJDRR..14....6P }}</ref> These two earthquakes caused many of Sumner's iconic cliffs to collapse, and many areas to be cordoned off with both traditional fences and shipping containers.<ref name=":0" />

==Geography==
[[File:Black Map Sumner Township 1849, 01.JPG|thumb|Black Map of Sumner township from November 1849, produced by [[Edward Jollie]] for chief surveyor [[Joseph Thomas (surveyor)|Joseph Thomas]]|254x254px]]
Sumner is nestled in a coastal valley separated from the adjacent city suburbs by rugged [[Volcano|volcanic]] hill ridges that end in cliffs that descend to the sea shore in places.  Sumner Bay is the first bay on the northern side of [[Banks Peninsula]] and faces [[Pegasus Bay]] and the [[Pacific Ocean]].

Because of its ocean exposure, a high surf can form in some swell conditions. The beach is gently sloping, with fine grey sand.  It is a popular surf beach for these reasons.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}}

Sand dunes have filled the river valley behind the beach.  This has made housing construction relatively easy, although flooding at the head of the valley has been a problem in the past due to the reverse slope caused by the sand dunes filling the front of the valley.  This has been addressed by a flood drain.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}}

A sea wall and wide esplanade have been built along the length of the beach to prevent coastal erosion.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded? Also a war memorial?|date=February 2019}}

The rocky volcanic outcrop of '''Cave Rock''', or ''Tuawera'' dominates the beach.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tuawera — Cave Rock |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/ti-kouka-whenua/tuawera/ |website=Tī Kōuka Whenua |publisher=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=19 December 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024123123/https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/ti-kouka-whenua/tuawera/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Until the mid-1860s, this feature was known by Europeans as Cass Rock, after the surveyor [[Thomas Cass (surveyor)|Thomas Cass]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/PlaceNames/ChristchurchPlaceNames-A-M.pdf |title=Christchurch Place Names: A-M |last=Harper |first=Margaret |publisher=[[Christchurch City Libraries]] |pages=52–53 |access-date=11 April 2013 |archive-date=19 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219075752/http://www.christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/PlaceNames/ChristchurchPlaceNames-A-M.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There are other rocky outcrops in the area and the volcanic nature of the geology is readily apparent from several of the exposed cliffs around the valley.

'''Shag Rock''', or ''[[Rapanui Rock|Rapanui]]'', is another large volcanic outcrop at the western end of the beach and sits at the mouth of the Estuary formed by the Avon and Heathcote rivers.<ref name="Rapanui">{{cite web |title=Rapanui — Shag Rock |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/ti-kouka-whenua/rapanui/ |website=Tī Kōuka Whenua |publisher=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=19 December 2020 |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113043548/https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/ti-kouka-whenua/rapanui/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This landmark was shattered by the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, which reduced the iconic rock to a pile of boulders.<ref name="Rapanui" />

===Sumner bar===

The Sumner Bar is a sand bar where the estuary meets the sea and is notoriously dangerous to cross.<ref>{{citation |last1=Willis |first1=Dr. J. S. |title=Private correspondence |date=1851}} quoted by {{cite book |editor1-last=Amodeo |editor1-first=Colin |title=Rescue, The Sumner community and its lifeboat service |date=1998 |publisher=Sumner Lifeboat Institute Incorporated |location=Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand |page=3}}</ref><ref name="Amodeo3">{{cite book |editor1-last=Amodeo |editor1-first=Colin |title=Rescue, The Sumner community and its lifeboat service |date=1998 |publisher=Sumner Lifeboat Institute Incorporated |location=Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand |page=3}}</ref> The outlet of the [[Avon Heathcote Estuary]], at the western end of the beach, forms the Sumner bar off shore of Cave Rock.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated this fact and where is it recorded? Not clear as the bar has changed position in 1938, moving north-west to be off shore of Shag rock, when it reformed by the interaction between the ebb flow and mobilised sand encountered large sea waves during a winter storm in June 1938. |date=February 2019}}  The Sumner bar presents a major hazard to shipping, while the fast currents, strong rips and undertows in the area can be a danger to swimmers.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated these facts and where are they recorded?|date=February 2019}}

In December 1854, Commander [[Byron Drury]], in [[HMS Pandora (1833)|HMS ''Pandora'']], surveyed the Sumner Bay, including the bar and mouth of the [[Avon-Heathcote Estuary]] for the [[Canterbury Provincial Council]]. Drury wrote a report and produced a detailed chart of the area, with soundings.<ref name=Rescue>{{cite book |last=Amodeo |first=Colin |date=1998 |title=Rescue: The Sumner community and its lifeboat |location=Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand |publisher=Sumner Lifeboat Institution Incorporated |page=2 |isbn=0-473-05164-8 }}</ref> Commander Drury's 1854 chart locates several buildings on shore, including a store at the foot of the hill in Clifton Bay, Day's house, which is set well back from the foreshore on a bend in the road, as it turns away from the foot of Clifton hill, and Dobson's house, which is shown at end of the spur at the foot of Richmond Hill. Compared to a modern-day map, the Day's house would have been near the corner at the top end of Nayland Street while Dobson's house would be near the intersection of Nayland Street and Wakefield Avenue.

The earliest recorded accident crossing the Sumner Bar occurred in May 1845 when a whaleboat capsized, without loss of life.<ref name="Amodeo3" /> The earliest recorded loss of life was in 1851 when a dinghy capsizes and two men aboard drowned.<ref name="AmodeoFrontpaper">{{cite book |editor1-last=Amodeo |editor1-first=Colin |title=Rescue, The Sumner community and its lifeboat service |date=1998 |publisher=Sumner Lifeboat Institute Incorporated |location=Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand |at=front paper}}</ref> The cutter ''Hawk'' broke up crossing the Sumner Bar in rough weather at the end of June 1851 and wrecked on the beach, though the crew survived, the cargo was plundered.<ref>{{cite news |title=JOURNAL OF THE WEEK |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18510628.2.8 |access-date=29 December 2020 |work=[[Lyttelton Times]] |volume=I |issue=25 |date=28 June 1851 |location=Lyttelton, New Zealand |page=5 |archive-date=9 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509162904/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18510628.2.8 |url-status=live }}</ref>  Fifteen more vessels were recorded as stranding on the bar between 1851 and 1867, with 7 being total losses.<ref name="Amodeo3" /><ref name="Shipwrecks">{{cite book |last1=Menzies |first1=J. F. |title=Sumner |date=1941 |publisher=Sumner Borough Council |location=Christchurch, New Zealand |pages=13–15 |url=https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/DigitalCollection/Publications/1940s/1941Sumner/PDF/Menzies.pdf |access-date=29 December 2020 |chapter=Shipwrecks at Sumner}}</ref>

One regular vessel crossing the bar in the early days was the ''[[Mullogh (1855 ship)|Mullogh]]'', New Zealand's first iron hulled steamer. On 25 August 1865 the ''Mullogh'' ran onto Cave Rock, Sumner, in violent surf. Her cargo of liquor created keen interest on the beach. George Holmes of Pigeon Bay, the contractor for the [[Lyttelton Rail Tunnel]], then bought the ship, refitted and used her until 1869.<ref name=Mullogh>{{cite web|title=The single screw Iron steam ship Mullogh of 1855|url=http://www.nzmaritime.co.nz/mullogh.htm|publisher=New Zealand Maritime Record|access-date=1 October 2011|archive-date=16 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716022550/http://nzmaritime.co.nz/mullogh.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Shipwrecks" />

The [[NZ Trawler Muriel]] was stranded on Sumner Beach in 1937 and was a total loss and had to be dismantled where she lay.<ref name="Shipwrecks" />

==Community==
Sumner is a focal point for the adjacent suburbs of [[Clifton, Christchurch|Clifton]], [[Richmond Hill, New Zealand|Richmond Hill]] and [[Scarborough, New Zealand|Scarborough]]. In earlier times, residents of those suburbs would often have been considered to be living in Sumner, because these suburbs have road access via Sumner or depend on services available in Sumner. Before 1945, Sumner was a separate borough from Christchurch City. Also, before seven-digit landline telephone numbering was implemented in Christchurch (late 1980s or early 1990s), telephone subscribers in these suburbs would have had a four-digit Sumner telephone exchange number.

==Demographics==
The statistical area of Sumner, which includes [[Scarborough, New Zealand|Scarborough]] and [[Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake]], covers {{Convert|2.64|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Area">{{Cite web|title=ArcGIS Web Application|url=https://statsnz.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6f49867abe464f86ac7526552fe19787|access-date=11 October 2021|website=statsnz.maps.arcgis.com|archive-date=24 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324152440/https://statsnz.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6f49867abe464f86ac7526552fe19787|url-status=live}}</ref> It had an estimated population of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Sumner|y}} as of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|||y|y||,}} with a population density of {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Sumner|y}}|R}}/2.64|0}} people per km<sup>2</sup>.

{{Historical populations|2006|3,768|2013|3,483|2018|3,519|percentages=pagr|align=left|source=<ref name="Census 2018"/>}}
Sumner had a population of 3,519 at the [[2018 New Zealand census]], an increase of 36 people (1.0%) since the [[2013 New Zealand census|2013 census]], and a decrease of 249 people (−6.6%) since the [[2006 New Zealand census|2006 census]]. There were 1,338 households, comprising 1,752 males and 1,764 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 42.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 714 people (20.3%) aged under 15 years, 483 (13.7%) aged 15 to 29, 1,806 (51.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 516 (14.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 95.6% European/[[Pākehā]], 4.9% [[Māori people|Māori]], 0.6% [[Pasifika New Zealanders|Pasifika]], 2.1% [[Asian New Zealanders|Asian]], and 2.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 29.5, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 57.6% had no religion, 33.5% were [[Christianity in New Zealand|Christian]], 0.1% had [[Religion of Māori people|Māori religious beliefs]], 0.2% were [[Hinduism in New Zealand|Hindu]], 0.5% were [[Buddhism in New Zealand|Buddhist]] and 1.8% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,113 (39.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 216 (7.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $43,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 879 people (31.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,419 (50.6%) people were employed full-time, 501 (17.9%) were part-time, and 66 (2.4%) were unemployed.<ref name="Census 2018">{{NZ census 2018|Sumner (332700)|sumner|Sumner}}</ref>

==Government==
[[File:Sumner Borough Council building, ca 1910.jpg|thumb|right|Sumner town centre and the Sumner Tram, ca 1910]]

The [[Canterbury Association]] initially administered Sumner, with the valley being surveyed by Edward Jollie in 1849 and he drew up a street plan in November of that year.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021|reason=Jollie explains this in his Reminiscences.}} However, the planned settlement was rejected by Godley and the land was not subdivided.{{Explain|date=January 2021|reason=This is a placeholder summary statement that needs expanding upon including dates and citations.}} When the first allocation of rural sections was made public in February 1851, rural section No.2 was allocated to [[Felix Wakefield]].<ref name="LT18510301p6">{{cite news |title=RURAL SECTIONS CHOSEN |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18510301.2.13 |access-date=26 December 2020 |work=[[Lyttelton Times]] |volume=I |issue=8 |date=1 March 1851 |location=Lyttelton, New Zealand |page=6 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411041252/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18510301.2.13 |url-status=live }}</ref> This section was bounded in the North by a road along the coast, in the West by the road between Christchurch and Lyttelton, by an accommodation road against the hillside in the East and another accommodation road across the valley in the South.<ref name="LT18510301p6" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Map of the Heathcote Road district |url=https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Maps/ATL-Acc-3243.asp |website=Christchurch City Libraries |publisher=National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa |access-date=26 December 2020 |date=1879 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204141343/https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Maps/ATL-Acc-3243.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> The street names on the 1850 settlement plan were not used and Wakefield subdivided and leased or sold off parts of this rural section in smaller lots to create a settlement he called '''Wakefield Township'''.

After the Canterbury Association was disestablished, Sumner came under the control of the [[Canterbury Provincial Council]].{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated these facts and where are they recorded?|date=December 2020}} This lasted until the provinces were disestablished in 1876 and county councils were established instead. Sumner came under the jurisdiction of the Selwyn County Council initially.{{Explain|date=January 2021|reason=This is a placeholder summary statement that needs expanding upon including dates and citations.}}

A Town Board was established during the 1870s.{{Explain|date=January 2021|reason=This is a placeholder summary statement that needs expanding upon including dates and citations.}}

By the end of the 1880s Sumner had become a borough and administered the still mostly rural suburbs east of Ferrymead, including Mount Pleasant, Redcliffs, Moncks Bay, Clifton and Richmond Hill as well as the mostly undeveloped land between Scarborough and Godley Head, including Taylors Mistake.{{Explain|date=January 2021|reason=This is a placeholder summary statement that needs expanding upon including dates and citations.}}

By the 1940s, small town boroughs were becoming uneconomic and Sumner was merged with Christchurch city area.{{Explain|date=January 2021|reason=This is a placeholder summary statement that needs expanding upon including dates and citations.}}

Sumner is currently administered by the [[Christchurch City Council]].

==Culture and heritage==
[[File:Pascoe House, Christchurch 62.JPG|thumb|right|Pascoe House (2012)]]

===Architecture===
The Pascoe House in Colenso Street is a category II historic place and an early example of a two story private dwelling in the Post War Modern Domestic style of the period between 1940 and 1960. It was designed by architect [[Paul Pascoe]] and constructed in 1948 as his own private home.<ref name="NZHPT 7466">{{NZHPT|7466|Pascoe House|8 February 2021}}</ref>

==Transport==
The need for a convenient route between the Port at Lyttelton and the plains settlement of Christchurch was quickly recognised by Captain Thomas, Chief Surveyor for the Canterbury Association. Settlement of flat land at Sumner was also planned at an early stage.

===By sea===
The '''Sumner Bar''' is a notable navigation hazard, though it can be crossed safely in the right wind, tide and sea conditions. However, with an exposed coast and no safe anchorage immediately off-shore, good seamanship is also required.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Richards|first1=George Henry|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/thenewzealandpilot/page/n232/mode/1up|title=New Zealand Pilot|last2=Evans|first2=Fredrick John Owen|publisher=Hydrographic Office, Admiralty|year=1875|edition=Fourth|location=London|pages=210–211|chapter=Avon River|chapter-format=|quote=From surveys made by H.M. ships Acheron and Pandora, Captain J. Lort Stokes, and Commander Byron Drury, 1848–55.|access-date=20 January 2021}}</ref>

There is a small boat harbour, protected by a substantial breakwater, at the south-eastern end of Sumner Bay, below Scarborough. There is a slipway for launching small boats from a trailer, as well as the lifeboat station.  However, the area has a tendency to silt up, as it is still exposed to wind and sea.

In 1849, this area was known as ''Sumner Nook'' and was the only comparatively safe place in the bay for landing from a boat, because of a lagoon formed by a small stream running into the sea in this area. But, with Sumner Bay open to the Pacific Ocean, there was no nearby safe anchorage for larger ships, short of Lyttelton Harbour, about 8 nautical miles away by sea.{{cn|date=June 2024}} An early proposal, by Captain Thomas, was to builds a jetty here to unload ships and transport the cargo by tramway to the estuary beyond Shag Rock, to avoid ships having to cross the Sumner Bar, but a land option was chosen instead.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

===By land===
A convenient land route between Lyttelton to Christchurch has been a requirement from the beginning of Canterbury settlement. While rail and road tunnels between Lyttelton to Christchurch have been constructed, there remains the need to transport goods that are too dangerous or too large to travel through one of the tunnel. The route via Sumner remains a necessary transport alternative.

Construction of a road from Lyttelton to Christchurch via Evans Pass and Sumner began in 1849. However, progress was slow due to steep hillsides and hard volcanic rock being encountered. In 1850, a [[Bridle Path (New Zealand)|Bridle Path]] was cut directly over the saddle between Lyttelton and the Heathcote Valley so that the early settlers could travel to [[Ferrymead]] by foot and pack horse, while their heavy goods still needed to be transported across the Sumner Bar by boat. Road construction on the western side of the Sumner valley ceased in 1851 when construction encountered steep volcanic bluffs and funds ran out. The original road line, now known as '''Captain Thomas' Track''', was abandoned and a new way down the eastern side of the valley between Evans Pass and Sumner was subsequently found and constructed. In 1952, the suburb was linked by several bus routes to its neighbouring suburbs and the central city.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Estuary of Christchurch |last=Penney |first=Sarah E. W. |publisher=Penney Ash Publications |year=1982 |location=Christchurch, New Zealand|page=199}}</ref>

Today, Southshore's [[Public transport in Christchurch|public transportation]] is served by the frequent Airport (or Sheffield Crescent)—Sumner (route 3) bus service operated under the Metro brand. It serves the suburb to its neighbouring suburbs and the final destination of the route being Christchurch International Airport.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.metroinfo.co.nz/timetables/3-airport-or-sheffield-cres-sumner/ |title=Airport or Sheffield Cres/Sumner |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Metro Info |archive-date=8 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508025627/https://www.metroinfo.co.nz/timetables/3-airport-or-sheffield-cres-sumner/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Public transport===
{{Main article|Christchurch tramway system}}
A tramway opened to Sumner on 1 November 1888.

==Education==
=== Sumner School ===
Sumner School was founded in 1876<ref name="School history">{{cite web|title=Sumner School History|url=http://www.sumner.school.nz/history.html|publisher=Sumner School|access-date=11 October 2021|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011034234/http://www.sumner.school.nz/history.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and is these days a full primary school, teaching children from years 1 to 8.<ref>{{TKI|3546|Sumner School}}</ref> The school has a roll of {{NZ school roll data|3546|y}} students as of {{NZ school roll data|||y|y||.}}

=== Our Lady Star of the Sea School ===
Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic School is a full primary school, teaching children from years 1 to 8.<ref>{{TKI|3544|Our Lady Star of the Sea School}}</ref> The school has a roll of {{NZ school roll data|3544|y}} students. It opened in 1928.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourladystar.school.nz/Web/10/|title=History|publisher=Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic School|accessdate=11 October 2021|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011034237/http://www.ourladystar.school.nz/Web/10/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ko Taku Reo ===
{{Main|van Asch College}}
The former [[van Asch College]], which took hearing-impaired children from all over the South Island and the southern North Island, is now a residential campus for Ko Taku Reo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kotakureo.school.nz/parents-and-whanau/residential/residential-villages-campuses|title=Residential campuses|publisher=Ko Taku Reo|accessdate=11 October 2021|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011034233/https://www.kotakureo.school.nz/parents-and-whanau/residential/residential-villages-campuses|url-status=live}}</ref> It opened in 1880 as Sumner School for the Deaf.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kotakureo.school.nz/about-us/our-history|title=Our History|publisher=Ko Taku Reo|accessdate=11 October 2021|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011034234/https://www.kotakureo.school.nz/about-us/our-history|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sumner College ===
Variously known as "''Sumner College''", "''Beach Glen Boarding School''" or "''Chelford''", existed in Sumner between about 1877 and 1895. Schoolmaster C. L. Wiggins, as he was almost invariably known, appears to have moved his boarding school for young gentlemen to Sumner in August 1877, according to newspaper advertisements of the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thorpe |first1=Marianne |last2=Murdoch |first2=Peter |last3=Lintott |first3=Howard |last4=Mower |first4=Peter |title=The Sumner School History |date=2001 |publisher=Sumner School Centennial Committee and 125th Jubilee Committee |location=Christchurch |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Menzies |first1=J. F. |title=Sumner |date=1941 |publisher=Sumner Borough Council |location=Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand |page=41 |url=https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/DigitalCollection/Publications/1940s/1941Sumner/PDF/Menzies.pdf |access-date=14 February 2021 |chapter=Educational |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226225047/https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/DigitalCollection/Publications/1940s/1941Sumner/PDF/Menzies.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Educational (Page 4 Advertisements Column 7) |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18770822.2.22.7 |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=[[The Press]] |issue=3771 |volume=XXVIII |date=22 August 1877 |pages=4 |quote=SEASIDE EDUCATION, BEACH GLEN, SUMNER. MR C. L. WIGGINS begs to notify that he has REMOVED from Fernside to the above address, where he will be prepared to receive YOUNG GENTLEMEN as Boarders or Day Scholars. References and Terms on application |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411032152/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18770822.2.22.7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Wanted (Page 1 Advertisements Column 6) |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18770822.2.2.6 |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=[[The Press]] |issue=3771 |volume=XXVIII |date=22 August 1877 |page=1 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411050328/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18770822.2.2.6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wiggins has previously operated his boarding school at Akaroa and Fernside, before moving to Sumner.<ref>{{cite news |title=Untitled (Page 2 Column 3) |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AMBPA18770828.2.13 |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser |issue=116 |volume=2 |date=28 August 1877 |page=2 |quote=Mr. C. L. Wiggins, so long and favourably known in Akaroa, has lately purchased a property at Sumner, which he has fitted up with all the requisites for a scholastic establishment. His leaving Fornside was taken as an opportunity by the residents of that district for testifying to him in a substantial manner, their appreciation of his many acts of kindness, and those social qualities which had gained their respect and esteem, by presenting him with a handsome black-marble eightday clock, bearing, on a silver plate, the following inscription:— "Presented to C. L. Wiggins, Esq., by the parishioners of the Fernside district." We wish him every success in his new school at Sumner. |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411033725/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AMBPA18770828.2.13 |url-status=live }}</ref> The school taught "the usual branches of a sound English education, together with Latin and French" and provided recreations including sea bathing, cricket, and "pedestrian excursions".<ref>{{cite news |title=Page 2 Advertisements Column 1 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18770905.2.17.1 |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=[[Lyttelton Times]] |issue=5162 |volume=XLVIII |date=5 September 1877 |page=2 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411033510/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18770905.2.17.1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wiggins expanded his school at Sumner and built the dormitories and school rooms that were later leased and then sold to the Government School for the Deaf in the mid 1880s. From 1896, Wiggans was the Assistant Master in the Lower School of Christ's College.<ref name="TCoNZ">{{cite book |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District] |date=1903 |publisher=The Cyclopedia Company, Limited |location=Christchurch |page=171 |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc03Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d20-d21.html#name-420713-mention |access-date=14 February 2021 |chapter=Secondary Schools |archive-date=2 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202101106/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc03Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d20-d21.html#name-420713-mention |url-status=live }}</ref> He subsequently founded a preparatory school in Durham Street, where he taught until he was 80 years old.<ref name="Obit" />

Clement Lester Wiggins was born in England in 1843, and educated at various schools before arriving in Lyttelton in 1861, aged 18. By 1870, he had become headmaster of the Akaroa public school, and served there for three years, before founding a private boarding school.<ref name="TCoNZ" /><ref name="Obit" /> He was also a church organist, Sunday school teacher, a founding member of the Sumner Lawn Tennis Club, and involved in local body politics. He died on 18 August 1927, aged 84.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news |title=OBITUARY. MR C. L. WIGGINS. |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19270818.2.138 |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=[[The Press]] |issue=19082 |volume=LXIII |date=18 August 1927 |page=15 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411034022/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19270818.2.138 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=MEMORIAL SERVICE. LATE MR C. L. WIGGINS. |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19270822.2.102 |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=[[The Press]] |volume=LXIII |issue=19085 |date=22 August 1927 |page=11 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411042859/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19270822.2.102 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sumner Life Boat Institution==
[[File:Sumner Lifeboat Station, Sumner, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand 07.jpg|thumb|right|Sumner Lifeboat Station, Scarborough Slipway and Boat Harbour]]
Because of the hazard posed by the Sumner Bar, Sumner has had a [[Lifeboat (rescue)|lifeboat]] of some kind almost since its settlement. There is no record of a formal or even informal lifeboat being available prior to the appointment of a pilot in September 1864. However, it is likely that small open rowing boats were available in the bay from the early 1850s.{{Citation needed|reason=Who stated these facts and where is it recorded?|date=February 2019}}

The Sumner Life Boat Institution has operated a formal life boat or similar rescue craft in the bay since 1898.  The traditional name of ''Rescue'' has been applied to three of the life boats.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

==Notable people==
*[[Rita Angus]] (1908–1970), painter
*[[Edward Dobson]] (1816/17? – 1908), early landowner and resident
*[[Ruth France]] (1913–1968), librarian, poet and novelist
*[[W. M. Hodgkins|William M. Hodgkins]] (1833–1898), painter
*[[William Orange (clergyman)|William Orange]] (1889–1966), Anglican clergyman
*[[Samuel Hurst Seager]] (1855–1933), draftsman and architect who had a subdivision of eight houses built on Clifton Spur
*[[Petrus Van der Velden]] (1837–1913), Dutch-born painter and lithographer
*[[Felix Wakefield]] (1807–1875), first landowner

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{commons category|Sumner, New Zealand}}
*{{cite book
 |last       = Menzies
 |first      = J. F.
 |title      = Sumner
 |year       = 1941
 |publisher  = Simpson & Williams Ltd
 |location   = [[Christchurch]]
 |url        = http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/DigitalCollection/Publications/1940s/1941Sumner/PDF/Menzies.pdf
 |access-date = 31 March 2013
 }}

{{Banks Peninsula}}
{{Christchurch City, New Zealand}}

[[Category:Suburbs of Christchurch]]