Timaru

Timaru Te Tihi-o-Maru (Māori)
City
View along Stafford Street in 2006
Timaru Location within New Zealand
Coordinates: 44°23′35″S 171°15′03″E
Country	New Zealand
Region	Canterbury
Territorial authority	Timaru District
Established	13 July 1868
Government
• Mayor	Nigel Bowen
Area
• Land	2,736.54 km2 (1,056.58 sq mi)
• Urban	33.98 km2 (13.12 sq mi)
Highest elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (June 2025)
• Urban	29,300
• Urban density	862/km2 (2,230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Postcode	7910
Local iwi	Ngāi Tahu
Website	timaru.govt.nz

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Timaru (English: /ˈtɪməruː/; Māori: Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand, 157 km (98 mi) southwest of Christchurch and about 196 km (122 mi) northeast of Dunedin, on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The urban area's population of 29,300 people is the largest in South Canterbury, and the third-largest in the Canterbury Region overall, after Christchurch and Rolleston. The town is the seat of the Timaru District, which includes the surrounding rural area and the towns of Geraldine, Pleasant Point and Temuka, which combined have a total population of 49,500.

Caroline Bay beach is a popular recreational area close to Timaru's main centre, just to the north of the substantial port facilities. Beyond Caroline Bay, the industrial suburb of Washdyke is at a major junction with State Highway 8, the main route into the Mackenzie Country. This provides a road link to Pleasant Point, Fairlie, Twizel, Lake Tekapo, Aoraki / Mount Cook and Queenstown.

Timaru is built on rolling hills created from lava flows of the extinct Mt Horrible volcano, which last erupted thousands of years ago. The result is that most of the main streets are undulating, a clear contrast with the flat landscape of the Canterbury Plains to the north. The volcanic rock is used in the construction of local bluestone buildings.