
The Waimakariri District
The District was established on 1 April 1989 following the merger of Rangiora District and Eyre County. The district covers 2,217 square kilometres (shown on the map below) and is home to 69,000 people (as at June 2023).
Rangiora is the district seat and largest town, with other major towns including Kaiapoi, Oxford, Pegasus and Woodend.

Waimakariri District Council is one of the highest-performing Councils in New Zealand.
In 2019 the Council received its second AA rating from expert assessors of the performance of Councils across New Zealand. The Independent Assessment Board that oversees the Local Government Excellence Programme, CouncilMARK™, described Waimakariri District Council as “showing that Councils can consistently deliver high performance for their communities”.

Waimakariri is one of only two Councils among 33 assessed to date to receive the AA level.