Greendale is a lightly populated rural area, part of the Selwyn District, Canterbury, a region of New Zealand's South Island. One of the first farmers was Thomas William Adams, a pioneer of forestry and education in the area. Another one of the first farmers was Charles Early who moved to Greendale (Water ford) in 1876. On 4 September 2010, Greendale became further notable as the location of the strongest earthquake ground-shaking ever recorded in New Zealand, registering an acceleration 1.25 times that of gravity. This was later exceeded by the 2.2 g recordings during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake at Heathcote Valley.

Demographics

Greendale is part of the rural Charing Cross statistical area, which covers 168.68 km2. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Charing Cross had a population of 885 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 42 people (5.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 189 people (27.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 333 households, comprising 438 males and 447 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female. The median age was 39.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 171 people (19.3%) aged under 15 years, 159 (18.0%) aged 15 to 29, 453 (51.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 102 (11.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.8% European/Pākehā, 6.8% Māori, 0.7% Pasifika, 4.4% Asian, and 4.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 19.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.2% had no religion, 40.7% were Christian, 1.0% were Hindu and 2.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 135 (18.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 99 (13.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $38,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 159 people (22.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 435 (60.9%) people were employed full-time, 129 (18.1%) were part-time, and 9 (1.3%) were unemployed.

Education

Greendale School is a contributing primary school catering for years 1 to 6. It had a roll of as of The school opened in 1872.

Notable people