Ilam, New Zealand

for the electorate, see Ilam (New Zealand electorate)

Ilam /ˈaɪləm/ is a leafy suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand about five kilometres west of the city centre. It is the location of the University of Canterbury.

Located adjacent to State Highway 1 and the Christchurch International Airport, it is handily placed for transportation. It is also located close to the major retail area of Riccarton.

The suburb was named after the ancestral home of the Hon. John Charles Watts-Russell (1825–75), who hailed from Ilam Hall in Staffordshire, England. He settled in Canterbury in 1850, arriving on the Sir George Seymour and named his property Ilam.^[1] The Ilam homestead was in the 1950s inhabited by the rector of Canterbury College, Henry Rainsford Hulme. In 1954 the homestead gained notoriety as Hulme's 16-year-old daughter Juliet was involved in the Parker–Hulme murder case. The homestead was used as a major location for Peter Jackson's film about the murders, Heavenly Creatures. The homestead has been the University of Canterbury Staff Club since 1971.^[2]

Education

• Cobham Intermediate School is a coeducational school located on Ilam Road, that educates in years 7 and 8. With a roll of 726 it is the largest intermediate school in the South Island. It has a decile rating of 8. Notable alumni include John Key and Hayley Westenra.^[3]

• Ilam Primary School, also located on Ilam Road, is a primary school situated next to the Canterbury University whose facilities the school uses. The school educates many children from overseas. It has a roll of 483 and a decile rating of 7.^[4][5]

• Westburn School is a state coeducational contributing primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of 475 and a decile rating of 9.^[6] The school was founded in 1961.

The Canterbury Japanese Supplementary School (カンタベリー日本語補習校 Kantaberī Nihongo Hoshūkō), a weekend Japanese school, holds its classes at the Ilam School in Ilam.^[7]

References

Coordinates: 43°31′34″S 172°34′49″E / 43.52611°S 172.58028°E / -43.52611; 172.58028