Cashmere () is a suburb which rises above the southern end of the city of Christchurch in New Zealand's South Island, on the north side of the Port Hills. It covers an area of and has a population of 6,453 as at 2018.
Cashmere is prone to hill related hazards such as rock fall, cliff collapse and landslips.
Geography
Cashmere is situated on the north side of the Port Hills, immediately above the southern terminus of Colombo Street and approximately five kilometres south of the city centre. The suburb's location on the Port Hills offers it a commanding view over the rest of the mostly flat city. Cashmere's proximity to the rest of the Port Hills has also made it a favourite for recreation, with the upper reaches of the suburb dominated by Victoria Park with its multiple bike and walking tracks and connections to further tracks running the length of the Port Hills. Above Victoria Park is Sugarloaf, a peak which is the location of a transmission tower used for local radio and TV stations. The Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River marks the northern extent of the suburb, flowing roughly along the base of the Port Hills. Cashmere is prone to hill related hazards such as rock fall, cliff collapse and landslips.
Canterbury earthquakes
Cashmere was hit hard by the 4 September 2010 Canterbury and 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. The fault rupture (a 'blind' fault) extended from Cashmere east-northeast to the estuary area. A GNS report on land instability indicated 36 areas of mass movement. The fault caused extensive damage due to rockfalls, land movement and cliff collapse. Following the quake, deep tension cracks and rents on slopes indicated areas with potential for further collapse. Rock fall included both cliff collapse and boulder roll, loess landsildes, retaining wall and fill failures. Hundreds of houses were damaged by rock fall, landslides and ground cracking.
History
The Māori name for the area occupying modern-day Cashmere is Te Iringa-o-Kahukura. According to Māori mythology, the Māori name reflects a demigod who uplifted a wooden figure of Kahukura near the eastern edge of Dyers Pass who also recited a karakia.
Cashmere takes its name from Sir John Cracroft Wilson's farm in the area, which in turn was named after his birthplace of Kashmir (with Cashmere being the British spelling of that region at the time). Wilson briefly moved to Christchurch in 1854 from India by way of Australia, where he purchased 108 hectares of land to develop into Cashmere farm. Wilson built multiple farm buildings on the property, some of which persist to this day. In 1979, the house Wilson built for his Indian workers became a function centre known as "The Old Stone House". The building has been significantly damaged and restored twice, following a fire in 1971 and earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.
In the late 19th century, the area around Cashmere began to be settled by Europeans. Homes began to be built in Cashmere in the 1890s, although informal church services were being held as early as the 1880s. In response to the growth of this congregation, land from John Cracroft Wilson donated land for a church, which was completed in 1908 and marked the parish's formal split from neighbouring Sydenham. At roughly the same time, the Christchurch tramway system was extended to include the area, with the previous Cashmere line being extended from the southern end of Colombo street to the future site of the Sign of the Takahe. The tram line continued operation until 1954, with Cashmere gaining a reputation as one of the country's more well-to-do and refined suburbs in the process. This reputation continues to the present day, with the 2018 census showing that Cashmere has a significantly higher percentage of incomes over NZ$70,000 than the rest of Christchurch city. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.