Principal town of North Canterbury, 27 km north of Christchurch. Rangiora lies between the Waimakariri and Ashley rivers. Starting in 1852 as a sawmilling town, Rangiora became the administrative and commercial centre for a large area of farms and orchards.
Meaning of place name
Rangi: sky or day; ora: health. As a South Island name the meaning may be either Good weather after a bad spell, or Invalid recovering from sickness, or Day of peace or health.
