Akaroa
Akaroa
Port Louis-Philippe | |
|---|---|
Akaroa township and main wharf, in 2004 | |
| Coordinates: 43°48′15″S 172°58′00″E / 43.80417°S 172.96667°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Canterbury Region |
| District | Christchurch City |
| Ward | Banks Peninsula |
| Community | Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula |
| European settlement | 18 August 1840 |
| Founded by | Jean François Langlois |
| Electorates |
|
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Christchurch City Council |
| • Regional council | Environment Canterbury |
| • Mayor of Christchurch | Phil Mauger |
| • Banks Peninsula MP | Vanessa Weenink |
| • Te Tai Tonga MP | Tākuta Ferris |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.03 km2 (0.78 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2024) | |
• Total | 780 |
| • Density | 380/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
| Postcode | 7520 |
| Local iwi | Ngāi Tahu |
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled Whangaroa in standard Māori. The area was also named Port Louis-Philippe by French settlers after the reigning French king Louis Philippe I.
The town is 84 kilometres (52 mi) by road from Christchurch and is the terminus of State Highway 75. It is set on a sheltered harbour and is overlooked and surrounded by the remnants of an eruptive centre of the miocene Banks Peninsula Volcano.