for the electorate, see Ilam (New Zealand electorate)

Ilam (New Zealand electorate)

Ilam is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. Formed for the , it has always been held by Gerry Brownlee MP.-Population centres:Ilam is considered a safe National seat. The electorate includes the suburbs of Riccarton , Upper Riccarton, Fendalton, Burnside, Avonhead, Merivale, Bishopdale, Ilam,...

Ilam (icon) is a leafy suburb of Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 about five kilometres west of the city centre

Christchurch Central City

Christchurch Central City is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the four avenues and thus includes the densely built up central city, some less dense surrounding areas of residential, educational and industrial usage, and green...

. It is the location of the University of Canterbury

University of Canterbury

The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...

.

Located adjacent to State Highway 1

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 and the Christchurch International Airport

Christchurch International Airport

-Facts & figures:As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.5,908,077 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009...

, it is handily placed for transportation. It is also located close to the major retail area of Riccarton

Riccarton, New Zealand

Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of the city centre, separated from it by Hagley Park. Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton.-History:...

.

The suburb was named after the ancestral home of the Hon. John Charles Watts-Russell

John Charles Watts-Russell

John Charles Watts-Russell JP was a 19th century New Zealand politician, a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council and a member of the Legislative Council. He was supposedly the wealthiest of the early settlers, and his homestead became the centre of entertainment in Christchurch...

 (1825–75), who hailed from Ilam Hall

Ilam Park

Ilam Park is a country park situated in Ilam, on both banks of the River Manifold five miles north west of Ashbourne, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust...

 in Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He settled in Canterbury in 1850, arriving on the Sir George Seymour

Sir George Seymour (ship)

The Sir George Seymour was one of the first four ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand. The other three ships were Cressy, Charlotte-Jane and Randolph.-Voyage:...

and named his property Ilam. 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

Parker-Hulme murder

The Parker-Hulme Murder was a murder and subsequent court case that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954, achieving notoriety because a mother was murdered by two teenage girls: her daughter and her daughter's best friend...

 case. The homestead was used as a major location for Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson

Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...

's film about the murders, Heavenly Creatures

Heavenly Creatures

Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...

. The homestead has been the University of Canterbury Staff Club since 1971.

Education

• Cobham Intermediate School
  Cobham Intermediate School
  Cobham Intermediate School is a state intermediate school in North West Christchurch, New Zealand.Cobham was originally named Fendalton Intermediate but that caused confusion between Fendalton Open Air Primary School so the governor-general of New Zealand, Viscount Cobham, allowed Cobham to use his...
  
   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
  Middle school
  Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
  
   in the South Island
  South Island
  The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
  
  . It has a decile rating
  Socio-Economic Decile
  Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....
  
   of 8. Notable alumni include John Key
  John Key
  John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
  
   and Hayley Westenra
  Hayley Westenra
  Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
  
  .

• Ilam Primary School, also located on Ilam Road, is a primary school situated next to the Canterbury University
  University of Canterbury
  The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
  
  whose facilities the school uses. The school educates many children from overseas. It has a roll of 483 and a decile rating of 7.

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