Sumner (Christchurch)

Sumner was founded in 1849 by as one of the first European settlements in New Zealand. In particular, the territory of the modern suburbs was intended to be placed at the disposal of Captain , an agent of the . Plots with planned places for the construction of churches, schools, cemeteries, a town hall, barracks for immigrants, and other urban structures are marked on his map ^[2] .

Captain Thomas named the settlement after Bishop John Sumner , one of the leaders of the Canterbury Association. In Maori, this territory is called Ohikaparuparu, where "o" means "place"; "Hika" - friction, kindling or landing; "Paruparu" - mud, deep mouth or the preparation of mollusks ^[3] .

Sumner was first transferred to the . In 1872, he transferred to the administration . With the abolition of the provincial councils in 1876 and the introduction of districts in Sumner, a second higher organ, Selvin County, appeared ^[4] . In 1883, Sumner received the status of an urban district and was governed by five elected authorized persons ^[5] . This governing body elected a chairman. Over the years, this post was held by K. L. Wiggins ( English CL Wiggins , March 1883 - September 1884) and J. M. Wheeler ( English JM Wheeler , September 1884 - June 1891) ^[6] . June 1, 1891 Sumner received the status of boro ^[7] . On May 27 of the same year, mayoral elections were held, where Wheeler won, becoming the first mayor of Sumner ^[8] .

Charles Crawford , the owner of a whaleboat contracted for transporting materials from Port Cooper (now Littelton ) to build headquarters and a storeroom for Captain Thomas, is considered to be the first European to start business in Sumner . ^[9] The first European immigrants appeared in Sumner in late 1849 or early 1850. These were the workers who built the road to Littleton. Thus, Sumner is considered one of the first European settlements in the Christchurch area. Then the Day family settled here on an ongoing basis, and later Edward Dobson and his family joined them ^[10] .

In 1885, the bay administration granted permission to build a bath at the eastern end of Sumner Beach. S. L. Bell ( English SL Bell ) fenced part of the sea near his site and built a pool. This pool was popular among locals, but annual storms destroyed the embankment and covered the pool with fine sand. In the end, as a result of torrential rains, the basin was covered with clay and silt from the hills, and it ceased to exist ^[11] .

In 1912, a gas station appeared in Sumner, and in 1918 electricity was supplied to the city ^[12] . The Evangelist of the Church of England, served as Vicar of Sumner from 1930 to 1945. ^[13]

On February 22, 2011, Sumner was affected by an earthquake that destroyed or rendered unsuitable for operation a large number of residential buildings and commercial real estate ^[14] . On June 13 of the same year, another earthquake occurred at almost the same intensity as the February one. These two earthquakes led to the collapse of many Sumner coastal cliffs, and many zones were fenced for safety, both with a regular grid and sea containers ^[15] .

Sumner is located in a coastal valley separated from neighboring suburbs by steep volcanic mountain ranges that descend to the seashore and end with cliffs. Sumner Bay is located on the north side of the Banks Peninsula , it goes into and then into the Pacific Ocean ^[16] .

Since the terrain is open to the ocean, under certain conditions a high wave can form here. The beach is gentle, with thin gray sand, is popular among surfers ^{[17] [18]} .

The river valley behind the beach is filled with sand dunes. This makes housing easier. In the past, there were floods in the upper valley associated with the reverse slope of the sand dunes filling the lower part of the valley, but this problem was solved with the help of a sewage system built taking into account such floods ^[10] .

Cave Rock , a rocky outcrop of volcanic rocks to the surface, dominates the beach. Until the mid-1860s, it was called Cass Rock , after the explorer ^[19] .

There are other rock outcrops in the suburbs, and the rocks surrounding the valley demonstrate the volcanic nature of the rocks underlying this area ^{[20] [21]} .

Breakwaters and a wide esplanade were built along the beach to prevent coastal erosion ^[22] .

Shovel Sumner

At the western end of the beach, near the volcanic rock Sheg Rock , also known as , the sandy sediments of the form the Sumner Sandbank. This sandbank poses a certain danger to navigation, and fast undercurrents and whirlpools can be a danger to swimmers ^[23] .

Sumner sandbank formed at the confluence of the estuary into the sea, and is dangerous for crossing. One of the regular ships to overcome this barrier is the Mullogh , the first New Zealand steamboat with a metal hull. On August 25, 1865, Mullogh carried Cave Rock on a big wave. The ship was transporting liquor, which caused a stir on the beach. After that, George Holmes from Pigeon Bay , contractor of the , bought the ship, restored it and used it until 1869 ^[24] .

In 1937, the New Zealand trawler ran aground on Sumner Beach, and then was dismantled in the same place ^[25] .

Climate

Due to the fact that Sumner is a suburb of Christchurch, Sumner’s climate is largely identical to that of Christchurch. In Christchurch and the surrounding areas, the temperate sea climate with an average monthly air temperature in summer ( December - February ) is above +19 ° C and in winter ( June - August ) below +12 ° C. At night in winter, air temperature can drop below 0 ° C ^[26] .

In 2011, as a result of the earthquake, the population census in New Zealand was canceled and postponed to 2013 ^{[28] [29]} .

According to the 2013 census, 3,612 people lived permanently in Sumner. Compared with the 2006 census, there was a decrease in the population by 369 people (9.3%). In general, the Sumner population in 2013 was 1.1% of the Christchurch population ^[30] .

According to the census, the total population of Sumner in different years was people ^[31] :

According to the 2013 census, the average age of the population was 42.1 years, 14.7% of Sumner's residents were over 65 years old, 21.5% of the population were under 15 years old. The ethnic composition of the Sumner population according to the 2013 census ^[34] :

28.4% of Sumner residents were born abroad. These are mainly immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland ^[34] . 29.9% of Sumner residents over the age of 15 have never been married, 52.7% live in a marriage, 17.5% live separately, divorced or widowed. 36.2% have never been married, but live in cohabitation with a partner ^[35] . 91.2% of residents over the age of 15 have formal qualifications; 35.8% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher ^[36] . The unemployment rate in Sumner reaches 3.1% percent ^[37] .

The Sumner School was founded in 1876 as a complete primary school, in which students from the first eight grades studied. As of 2011, 435 students attended the school, the school had a 10 ^{[38] [39]} .

Star of the Sea School is a Catholic complete elementary school for children in their first eight years of school. In 2011, 121 students attended the school; the decile of the school was 10 ^{[40] [41]} .

for Children with Hearing Impairment provides education for all children in need on the South Island and the South of the North Island. In addition to the Sumner campus, college professionals give lessons at Sumner School and . In 2011, 28 people attended college, the college decile was 4 ^{[42] [43]} .

Due to the danger, Sumner shallows in the suburbs almost from the moment of its foundation, a rescue vessel has been operating. No records of the existence of an official or unofficial rescue vessel were preserved until the official appearance of the rescue vessel in September 1864. The Sumner Water Rescue Organization had its own rescue ship since 1898 ^{[44] [45] [46]} .

• JF Menzies. Sumner . - Simpson & Williams Ltd, 1941 .-- 48 p.
• Ingram, CWN New Zealand shipwrecks: 195 years of disaster at sea. - Beckett, 1990. - ISBN 0908676492 , 9780908676491.