Hornby, New Zealand


Hornby is a major residential and retail suburb at the western edge of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Naming and history

Hornby was apparently named by Frederick William Delamain, who came to Christchurch from England in 1852. The name reportedly refers to Hornby-with-Farleton in Lancashire. The second possible explanation of the name is that it refers to Geoffrey Hornby, who was the Admiral of the British flying squadron and who visited Christchurch in 1870. The post office was originally called Southbridge Junction, which was renamed to Hornby on 2 September 1878.

Location and services

Hornby is located on an important road junction on New Zealand State Highway 1 where southbound traffic turns sharply west, continuing towards to Dunedin and other points south. Northbound connects to Picton via the Christchurch International Airport.
Hornby contains a large retail mall named 'The Hub Hornby', which is the westernmost within the Christchurch urban area. The suburb, which could almost be considered a town in its own right, is separated from the heart of the city by Wigram Aerodrome and the industrial estates of Sockburn to the east. Hornby is home to a velodrome and a BMX track. It has annually hosted the "Westside Party in the Park" for the last several years.
Hornby is the location where Kempthorne Prosser Limited set up their large chemical fertiliser works in 1922 that are now operated by Ravensdown Fertiliser.
The Hornby area contains six schools: South Hornby Primary, Hornby Primary, Gilberthorpes Primary, Sockburn Primary, St. Bernadettes, and Hornby High School.
The Hornby area contains many sports clubs. These include : Hornby Netball Club, Christchurch Junior Cricket Association, Hornby Soccer, Westside Sports Club, Hornby Touch Club, ISL Hornby Women's Football Club, Burnham Golf Club, Hornby Working Men's Club and Pegasus Cycling Club.