Parkside, New Zealand

Suburb in Timaru, New Zealand

Parkside
Suburb
Sacred Heart Church (Timaru Basilica)
Coordinates: 44°24′14″S 171°15′04″E / 44.404003°S 171.251246°E / -44.404003; 171.251246
Country	New Zealand
City	Timaru
Local authority	Timaru District Council
Electoral ward	Timaru
Area [1]
• Land	115 ha (284 acres)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• Total	2,530
Hospitals	Timaru Hospital

East End	Seaview	Timaru Central
Watlington	Parkside
	Kensington

Parkside is a suburb of Timaru, in the Timaru District and Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island.

The suburb includes the Timaru Botanic Gardens, a garden reserve officially set aside in 1867. The garden started being planted in 1868 and was put under the care of a ranger in 1872.^[3]

Timaru Hospital is located on the north-eastern corner of the Botanic Gardens. It is a public hospital operated by South Canterbury District Health Board, which provides medical, mental health, children's health, maternity and surgical services.^[4]

The suburb has one designated park, Anzac Square.^[5] It also has three smaller pockets of reserve land: Alexandra Square, Russell Square and Boer War Memorial Park.^[6]

Parkside covers 1.15 km² (0.44 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 2,530 as of June 2024,^[2] with a population density of 2,200 people per km².

Parkside had a population of 2,376 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 18 people (0.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 81 people (3.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,053 households, comprising 1,182 males and 1,197 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 40.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 420 people (17.7%) aged under 15 years, 474 (19.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,035 (43.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 447 (18.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 87.9% European/Pākehā, 11.7% Māori, 2.8% Pasifika, 5.3% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 12.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.1% had no religion, 36.0% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.9% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 183 (9.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 564 (28.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 198 people (10.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 966 (49.4%) people were employed full-time, 255 (13.0%) were part-time, and 69 (3.5%) were unemployed.^[7]

Timaru South School is a co-educational state primary for years 1 to 8^[8] with a roll of 227. The school opened in 1881 as an extension of Timaru Main School. It merged with Pareora East School in 2004 and kept both campuses until 2018.^[9]

Timaru Girls' High School is a single-sex state secondary school for years 9 to 13^[10] with a roll of 451. It opened in 1880, initially sharing a site with Timaru Boys' High School but separated by a fence.^[11]

Roncalli College is a Catholic coeducational state-integrated school for years 9 to 13^[12] with a roll of 514. It was created by the 1982 merger of Mercy College (established 1935 as Sacred Heart College) and St Patrick's High School (established 1938).^[11]

Rolls are as of August 2024.^[13]