Asians in Christchurch : The ‘most British’ city diversifies

Abstract

The 2006 New Zealand Census revealed an increasingly diverse population in terms of ethnicity and demography following 20 years of change since the introduction of the Immigration Act of 1987. The most notable aspect of this change has been the growth of populations of Asian origin, although other populations have also increased. After Auckland, the second-largest destination of immigrants has been Christchurch, sometimes called ‘the most British (or English) city outside Britain’, and this city can be seen as representative of the impacts of the ‘new migration’ beyond the primary city of Auckland. It is of interest that while many of the processes and patterns shown in the Auckland case are similar in Christchurch, there are also some distinctive differences