Sockburn, New Zealand

Sockburn is an industrial suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located between Hornby and Riccarton, some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the Christchurch city centre. The suburb is roughly bounded by the triangle formed by State Highway 1 in the west, Main South Road (SH73a) in the south and SH73 in the north. The suburb of Wigram, containing the city's former RNZAF base (now an aviation museum) is located nearby. One of the city's main horseracing circuits, Riccarton Racecourse, is located close to Sockburn's northern edge, and Racecourse was the initial name for the area. The name Sockburn is likely to have come from the village of Sockburn in County Durham, England.[3]

Sockburn
Suburb
A former RNZAF North American Harvard mounted outside the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, a prominent feature of Sockburn.
Sockburn Show map of New Zealand Sockburn Show map of Christchurch, New Zealand
Coordinates: 43.535°S 172.55°E / -43.535; 172.55
Country	New Zealand
Local authority	Christchurch
Electoral ward	Riccarton
Area
• Land	274 ha (677 acres)
Population  (2018)
• Total	4,398[1][2]

	Avonhead
Hei Hei	Sockburn	Upper Riccarton
	Wigram

The name of Sockburn is most often currently associated with its role in arterial routes south from the city, with Main South Road (formerly part of State Highway 1) crossing the Sockburn Overbridge and having a major junction at the Sockburn roundabout, where the road splits into two main routes to the city, one extending through the commercial heart of Riccarton, and the other, Blenheim Road, passing to the south through a light industrial area.

The population of Sockburn was 6,342 in the 2013 Census, an increase of 639 people since the previous census in 2006.[4] It has an area of 2.74 km² and a population density of 2557/km². A boundary change for the 2018 census led to the official population for Sockburn (divided between North and South areas) to drop to 4,398, however this remains an increase from the 2013 census for the same area.[1][2]