It is located close to State Highway 1, which bypasses the town to the west, between Ashburton and Rakaia on the Canterbury Plains.

In 1876 Thomas Wilkinson took up land in the district, and the following year the village was surveyed and officially named Chertsey.

This was shortly followed by a butcher's shop, two general stores, a bakery and a coal and timber yard.

In September 1921 a drill bit had broken down the well and with the sandy ground surrounding the well they were unable to retrieve it.

George 1 well was drilled about 10 km south of Chertsey 1, oil seepages were found at 1650 metres but this well was discontinued.

The fire was caused by a train starting at the Chertsey township and travelled 20 km to the coast.

When it reached Taverners Road several kilometres from its start point the front of the fire was over 3 km wide.

Following transport advances and with the development of large supermarkets in nearby Ashburton, Chertsey store was forced to close in the 1990s.

Harness racing is a popular sport in the district, and in 1994 Chertsey trainer Colin Calvert won the New Zealand Trotting Cup with Bee Bee Cee, Greyhound racing is also held at the Chertsey domain greyhound track.